He's speaking to Norfolk magazine a few days after Christmas officially launched at its new and bigger lights switch-on event, which saw residents and businesses come together to celebrate the start of the festive season.

Shops and cafes opened late, there were crafting sessions for adults and children, competitions, festive music and much more.

The event was made possible with help from a grant from North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council's High Streets Matter Fund.

The Christmas lights switch-on in Stalham. (Image: Stalham Town Council)

It's part of a year-round programme of events staged by Stalham Town Council, plus Stalham Area Business Forum and other community groups who are pulling together to increase footfall and help the town on the edge of the Broads to thrive.

'I've been part of the council for the last four years since I retired and we're very pro-active, very much over and above what you'd normally expect a it to do,' says Kevin.

'If any high street is going to survive it has to have a unique offer, so we've been looking at various ways to get people come and see that we have some great shops in Stalham.'

Stalham Staithe. (Image: Denise Bradley)

And they've come up with some very inventive ways to do that. At the beginning of December they launched a Grand Christmas Bauble Hunt, which saw 500 baubles hidden around Stalham and the surrounding villages of Ingham, Catfield, Sutton, Smallburgh, Barton Turf and Lessingham.

Each bauble had the name of a business in Stalham High Street written on it, and the finder could take it to that business to win a prize.

'The likelihood is that if someone comes into Stalham to claim their prize they'll hopefully look around and buy something or have a conversation with the person behind the counter,' says Kevin.

'We've got prizes from businesses in the High Street, but also from Norfolk producers. And they've been very generous. If this is a success, we'll do an Easter egg hunt in the spring.'

Events held in Stalham during the year include Christmas visits to care home residents to take the celebrations to them, an artisan market, a Street Trail where the shops get creative with a theme with prizes for the best entries (last year it was judged by Alan Gray from nearby East Ruston Old Vicarage........

© Eastern Daily Press