The Water Otter

A Memory of Potter Heigham.

Just by the road bridge on the Yarmouth side was a pub with a long grass garden which went down to the river, on the bank was a post with a notice on it which read "Don't disturb the water otter" and tied to the post was a rusty chain. Now the road to the bridge was like a grandstand overlooking the garden and people in the garden would encourage a friend to pull the chain and the people on the bridge, who knew about its secret, would cheer the person on to pull the chain VERY slowly so as not to disturb the water otter. Most people in those days dressed up to go to the Pub, slowly this MUDDY chain was pulled in spreading the mud on the victim until a large muddy, smelly kettle came out of the river at which point the victim would throw the hotter back into the river and invariably the chain would cover him with more mud much to the joy of the onlookers on the bridge.