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Julz

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Everything posted by Julz

  1. I believe its natural instinct to seek out water where the ph balance and oxygen levels are better and easier to live in. Its a bit like us humans would do if crammed into a room that was filled with smoke, we would try and get our heads down low to where the better oxygen levels are , and head out in search of fresh air, except the fish search for fresher less brackish water which carries more oxygen. Julz
  2. In the past the amount of fish taking refuge both here and further upstream in one of the dykes where a second barrier had been created has been so great that the amount of oxygen in the water was quickly being depleated, and the fire brigade were called to pump fresh water at high pressure into the area to stir and re-oxygenate the depleated supply to stop the fish from suffocating. Somewhere on my old and abandoned pc l had some pics of this being carried out, along with some of numerous and sometimes large fish, pike ect that simply didnt make it being scooped up by the rangers for disposal, even the boardwalks around Herbert Woods yard were littered with dead fish after the water level returned to normal. Julz
  3. We used it externally too, and at a point that was very exposed to the forces of the elements, not to mention the pull of the awning in high winds, and the flexing of the GRP whilst being towed at much greater speed than a boat ever travels. Its really good stuff and well worth every penny you pay for it, handy to use around the house too. Julz
  4. You can also get some very good stuff called The Captains Creeping Crack Cure, which you can pour into the point at which you suspect the ingress is coming from, and it will follow the line of flow before setting to become a fairly durable seal. Ok, im a caravanner, but l used this stuff on the GRP panels of my last caravan to cure a leak between where the awning rail joined onto the moulded GRP, and it did keep it dry until a more perminent repair could be made and a new rail fitted, or in our case lol, we sold it onto a dealer and bought a new caravan. Julz
  5. We have just returned from our maiden voyage in our new Elddis Avante, after trading in our Lunar, a bit of a learning curve regards how things work onboard after trading in a 6yr old caravan for a brand new one, but we are very pleased with it. Theres fore and against for a motorhome, and the best advice that l can give you is to hire one for a week first and see if the lifestyle is for you. We did consider buying one ourselves this time, but opted for the more flexible car and caravan combination due to parking restrictions if you ever want to visit a town centre or somewhere with restricted access, narrow lanes ect, a motorhome is not such a go anywhere out fit as a car and caravan is, where you can just de-hitch and go with the car alone. Some motorhomers either carry bikes to get around on, or tow a toad car on an A -frame, but that rather defeats the object of having a motorhome in the first place Imho. We have just spent a fortnight on Danny's paddock, a lovely little caravan club CL, we usually use Broadlands site at Ludham, but after the last visit with loads of children racing around on bikes and the wardens having great difficulty getting parents to control their offspring for their own safety as well as everyone elses, we opted for Danny's which is an adult only site. We also spent a week up at Sandringham, and a week visiting family down just south of Beccles. I have also worked for the animal rescue charities in the past, my Dad was a founding member of Adaws at Ashbourne, ans we ended up adoptiong two dogs ourselves, although one died of old age last year, and our Boxer is now 13 and we are coming to terms with the fact that we wont have her for much longer either, shes becoming a real old lady, and can no longer walk far. Julz
  6. Hi Mandy, im so glad that you are enjoying your holiday, and also descover the delights of inventing dishes in the lovely little galley. Being a caravanner myself, l also love to cook in my galley and watch and listen to the comments of passers by as they smell the aromas of our food. We also bake our own bread onboard, which gets our neighbours drooling, and indeed sometimes we do share some with them if they turn out to be of the friendly variety! Its a small world, from your avatar, you only live a couple of miles away from me, we have family in Cromford, Wirksworth, Hulland and Belper, it wouldnt be the first time lol that one of our members on here has turned our to be a neighbour of ours. Julz
  7. We watched a bit of a game of Richo's dodgems taking place at Ludham bridge last week, two into one narrow bridge wont go, Broadsman tried to give way like a Gentilman should, but was biffed around the bow by Orange bathtubs stern, leaving some nasty Orange wounds as bathtub pushed by and made a hasty retreat through the bridge without stopping to inspect the damage. The crew of the Broadsman tried to inspect the damage, but it was difficult for them to see as it was on the curved underpart of the Hull riverside, but they did stop and moor up on the Demasting moorings, as the impact did give them quite a thump. Hopefully the orange paint will be easily polished off, and the excellent yard team will have it all as good as new very soon. We didnt manage to spot the name of the Orange bathtub as he really did legg it through the bridge and out of the way heading towards the Bure. Lots of lovely new Boats around, and nice to see that some yards are equiping crews with less clumbersome life jackets than the standard orange variety, although not everyone was taking heed and wearing them. We loved your new Laundry Clive, paid a visit last week and did a full wash, then pegged it out in the warm Norfolk sunshine to dry, well worth the journey up to Stalham. Julz
  8. Such a shame, he looks fairly undamaged, so probably died from an illness rather than injury, im also suprised though that none of the organisations wanted to investigate his demise further. We have just spent 3weeks down on Dannys Paddock and a lot of time wildlife spotting bankside on the Ant and around Womack, and indeed spotted you following BA through Ludham bridge last Friday I think, theres been the usual fun and games in that area, a few down to inexperianced first time helmsmanship, some due to sheer stupidity, like the lads crew who tried Legging there boat through canal tunnel style, with one of the crew falling off the stern and into the river inches away from the prop, which thankfully was not engaged at the time, and the privateer who had forgotton about his bikes on his roof and managed to loose a couple of them into the water during transit, causing caos whilst they were retrieved. Spotted some beautiful butterflies, loads of dragonflies, wild deer, and barn owls, we would have loved to have seen an otter, but prefably an alive one. Julz
  9. You should try one Fred, and if you dont fancy negociating the locks, you could do the waterways by hotel barge, a lazy way of cruising Holland and exploring many of the small towns and villages from the waterways. I hope John that you and Mary Jane have a lovely holiday, and congratulations on reaching your special wedding aniversary, and hopefully many more to come, Julz & Bill
  10. Im sure the stag parties will love you for that one Clive, l can just imagine them having a race down the Ant with a settee followed by two easy chairs, and back ended by the one who drew the short straw and got the foot stool! A dinner plate in each hand for paddles, and a whole new Broads sport has been born! Ok, whos knicked my smilies again?.. Julz
  11. I have just done a quick check, and everything is still down at NBF, the NBO is still up and running, but as you say Roy, it appears that every thread has been attacked by the spammers, quite a task to sort out, especially with Hank being unwell at the moment. Richard, if you are reading this, as in the past, the offer of using NBN to update your members to what is happening with NBF is still open to you, please feel free to post on this thread. Julz
  12. Once upon a time before we started Caravaning again, l used to be a regular resident of Wroxham bridge when staying in the Faircraft appartments, watching the fun and games with the comfort of my own facilities for hot brews, cold drinks, and a snack from the kitchen whenever the fancy takes us! Some very skilled helmsmanship when Conersuire cruisers had their yard upstream and the only way to get them through at high states of the tide was to flood the bilges to lower them in the water. They used a big green tug boat with a powerful pump to do this, took them through, then left the boats bilge pump to sort out the extra water for itself. We have seen a couple of nasty accidents as well, althogh since the new footbridge has been installed and the chains dangle down as a warning gauge, these have been less frequent. Julz
  13. I just love your story Fred, and im taking note on your Pub recomendations, as we only have a couple of days to go now until we are Norfolk bound ourselves, and looking forwardto our months tour, starting on the North coast and working our way down to Ludham for a fortnights stay, then down south to visit family for a few days before our return. Im looking forward to the rest of your tale, we are considering cruising above Potter Heigham bridge on a dayboat whilst we are down, weather and bridge clearance permitting, l much prefare the quieter areas to cruise in during the height of the season, although one of my favourite spots to sit and watch the waterway is at Ludham Bridge, plenty of boats to spot, some nice crews to meet, and a few wallies too, its always fun and games at the bridge! Julz
  14. Lovely story bob, its a few years since we took a dayboat up that stretch of river, and enjoyed its full beauty, we stayed at the Brinkcraft apartments, and got a dayboat included in the hire fee, not only was this a good deal, it enabled us to cruise from dawn until dusk, as we just simply moored and secured it up for the night outside our apartment. We were not lucky enough to see any snakes, but we did spot a Bittern along the bankside, and as you say, the waters were crystal clear and teaming with fish, although my quest to spot a pike or any large fish remained unsolved. Julz
  15. We are mostly Norfolk bound in August, so have a chance of making it to a meet then as long as there is fairly easy road access and parking, as mentioned above, we try and avoid traveling at bank holiday times, our 5 hour journey can quickly turn into almost a full day if we get stuck in traffic due to roadworks, accidents ect. I agree a northern meet with plenty of hype towards the hirers and inviting them to Join NBN by flyers, and local shop window adds to incourage the tourists would be a good idea, especially if hosted in a popular area with plenty of boater footfall. Julz
  16. Thanks Clive, l will come well prepared with a supply of pound coins then Julz
  17. Did you help crew them then John? I bet most of her original aircrews are now retired, hence the difficulty getting enough experianced pilots and crew together to fly the Vulcans at Displays. Just before l retired l nursed a old pilot who had crewed a Vulcan on the Falklands campaign, he lived near to the East Midlands airport, where his career had ended flying planes for a commercial airline, he was suffering from Dementia, and it was hard work keeping him confined within his large bungalow which had several concealed exits, at every oputunity he tried to give me the slip and head off down to the runway! The lads down at the local pub loved him, if he did escape, he would head down there and bribe them with large rounds of drinks to give him a lift 'to work', which of course ended up with them delivering him back to his own front door! Julz
  18. Yes indeed, the motormover is the best invention for trailer shifting since sliced bread! It can be quite comical watching the expressions on some peoples faces when a detached caravan suddenly starts moving to command all by itself, for those not in the know about such things, they are often facinated and stop and watch as this big white box on wheels turns and inches itself with prescision accuracy through tight gateposts and onto its pitch or parking space, l even had a bit of fun a few days ago with some junior school kids, they really believed that me shouting out commands and saying 'well done fiddo' was steering the caravan, as fiddo was actually inside with a steering wheel! We have towed with various vehicles over the years, mainly fairly beefy engined cars, but a couple of 4x4s as well. We are towing with a 1.8 Honda at the moment, but thinking of upgrading to another 4x4 for next year, not just for towing reasons, but because sometimes we need to get out into the sticks in bad weather, to take care of my elderly Dads needs. Julia
  19. I know a fair few of our members have had experiance towing Boat trailers and some, including ourselves, are experianced Caravan towers, so what kind of Tug have you got, are you happy with it, or do you wish you had bought a different Make or model? Do you use any kind of stabilizer device when towing, or suffer any stability problems? What would your dream towcar be and why? All good food for thought as the saying goes, and hopefully resulting in some good hints and tips for all the fellow towers on here. Julz
  20. Hi Clive, any Idea what coins your machines take please, or do we buy a token from the office? Nothing worse than having to scratch around for the right change when trying to use such facilities, we like to come well prepared. We are due to spend most of August in Norfolk, and the use of a good laundry will cut out the need to bring so many clothes with us. Thanks, Julz
  21. Of all the Hireboats we ever had out, the Haines sedan (Brinks Omega) when she was new was my favourite, and most memorable, as its the only one that Bill has managed to fall into the river off, as we were coming into moor on a windy day outside the Ferry Inn at Horning. Just loved the clear view and good visibility from the helm, and fully protected cockpit for all weather cruising. We no longer hire the larger boats out due to us not being so nimble as we used to be a mooring up, but do have friends in North Wales who own a similar Haines Sedan which they use for short trips around the Menai straights and Angelsey, and if we are down that way when conditions are right, we sometimes are lucky enough to be invited onboard for a days ride. Julz
  22. Yes, I must confess to being a fan of the vulcan myself, we were very lucky to have one do a low swoop over our caravan pitch at Cayton bay a few hours before the actual display over Scarborough took place. We clearly heard the roar of those powerful engines before we spotted her come through the early morning cloud, my guess was that she had taken off from RAF Leaming near to Catterick baracks on the A1, and was having a practice over the area before the crowds arrived. Apparently all the old planes in the display performed along the North Yorkshire coast on the same day at three differnt airshows for Armed Forces Day, starting at Whitby and finishing at Hull, before flying back to base. There are a few spots around the Menai straights in North Wales that are also good for military plane spotting, most fly from the Anglesey Base, but a few others fly down to use the Snowdonia mountain range to practice their low level flying skills in Battle mode, deafening when they echo through the valley, but exiting to watch all the same Julz
  23. Also protect yourselves against dehydration, drink plenty of soft drinks and water, as alcohol actualy dehydrates you more in the long term. Its a good idea to have some salty food to replace the salts lost by your body due to heavy perspiration, just a bag of salty crisps or nuts, or a salty bacon butty will do if eaten a couple of times a day. You dont need tons of the stuff, just a bit more than your normal average intake. Taking asprin also helps ward off sunstroke, (consult your local pharmacist)but is no substitute for covering up with a hat and cool cottons. Julz
  24. Bobdog, l will look out for you when we venture up that way, under the right conditions we sometimes do a dawn till dusk cruise, one of the advantages of having a block booking for a dayboat for a few days, you get to keep the keys overnight with some boatyards. When we do this, we tend to explore the quieter upper reaches of the rivers, and this includes above Weyford bridge, with a stop off for lunch at the Weyford bridge Hotel. Alan, we have yet to try the Fakenham racecourse site, mainly because Sandringham is a bit more convenient to the A47 if we are enroute to or from the Broads. The racecourse sites are very nice in good weather, but can become muddy and difficult to manouver on after heavy rain. We have been to the club site at Warwick racecourse and most of that is on hardstanding, some of it trackside. Julz
  25. Thanks everyone, some really useful information there, and as good as it is to look around them on the ground, the real thrill is seeing them doing what they do best, and thats Flying! We are lucky enough to have a Vulcan Bomber on perminent display a few miles from home at the East Midlands Airport Aeropark, about 15 Aircraft of all types and sizes, set in a landscaped picnic area overlooking the runways of the EMA. It was from here a few years ago that I was lucky enough to see Concorde Land and Take off, and on another occasion The Red Arrows landed, but that was back in the 90s. I used to get regular tip offs from my cousin who was a flight engineer at EMA when something good was due in to watch, but since his retirement, its become harder to get to know such things in time to make a visit. Julz
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