Lorraine

Hi everyone, haven't been on for ages, so have missed all these posts. Well done Howard for keeping up with the search. I wonder who that gent is, sitting outside. You can still see where the doorway had been, by the rather uneven plaster! The windows were changed to wood frames at some stage, possibly when Alan Monk had the lease. They unfortunately had become rather 'old' and very draughty, and we finally managed to change them at the end of last year to new UPVC, which are much more effective. We also were keen to keep them in keeping with the place, so the frames are white inside, but black outside. We have also put leads and coloured diamonds in, very similar the what the Monk family had done many years ago. (I can remember one of their sons applying the leads whilst the windows were in place, and painting the diamond-shaped centres green). I and our son Ross put the leads on the panes in the dining room, and I printed the coloured diamond centres at my sign shop . Julz, as far as I am aware, the Dog has never had an underground cellar, we certainly haven't any sign of one. We are (surprisingly) much higher than the caravan site, and have not had (so far) the same issues with flooding, or the threat of. Regards Lorraine

Hi Howard Yes, we are having some music on over the winter, we have Chrissy Stone singing on Friday 23rd December, and Carol (Nichols) for our New Years Eve party. This is an optional fancy dress event with a buffet. The fancy dress theme, for those that wish to dress up, is the 'Rocky Horror Show' - so, basically, dress how you like! Our NYE parties are always fun, all welcome, including children.

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I have had time to do any updates, but now the quieter winter season is upon us..... We are re-instating the weekly Sunday quiz, commencing 8.30pm, but instead of me pulling my hair out trying to sort the questions out, we have Keith (used to do the Falgate's Wednesday night quizzes) organising and hosting the quiz. The entry fee is £1 per person, and all entry money will be given to a local charity each week. This week (our first one) the subs went to Ludham Surgery towards their equipment fund. Next week will see a different charity recieving funds. Keith will also run a 'Play Your Cards Right' game, again, £1 per person entry, but this time the cash will go to the winner of the game-and very good fun it is too! The big draw will be the weekly meat raffle. Tickets will be available all week from both the Dog Inn, right up to Sunday evening, prior to the draw, and Ludham Butchers. £1 each, of course!! The prize(s) will be in the form of vouchers 'to the value of', to be used against goods available from Rodney (Ludham Butchers). You may pre-order, ie use as part-payment for your Christmas turkey etc, but the voucher must be collected from the Dog Inn, and presented to Rodney by the following Saturday. There is no cash value, or change given if not fully used. The money collected from ticket sales will ALL go back into creating prize vouchers, from £10, £20 etc. This week there is one voucher, for £17.00 available. I hope that I have explained this coherently. As it is a new idea there may be areas which need to be tightened up, but this is the way it will work for the time being, unless we run into problems, when it may have to change. Any queries, I will be happy to try and answer. Regards Lorraine

It was a pleasure Monica. Lorraine

Hello there everyone, I have just come across this discussion, so apologies for the delay in replying. You are quite right, I am 'Absolute Signs' in Stalham, and landlady of the Ludham Dog! I have an in-house printer which prints to a variety of mediums, self-adhesive vinyl being one of them. I also provide cut vinyl lettering too. The inks used to print have a life of approximately 3 years outdoors, longer inside. To extend the life, and to protect against scratching etc we apply a laminate-a clear vinyl - over the top, then cut the 2 layers to shape. The printer is capable of printing almost any size text, so will be ideal for the labels you require. You are welcome to contact me at the shop on 01692 581117 Tuesday-Friday, 10.30am - 5pm, or email me at absolutesigns_uk@yahoo.co.uk with your request, and i will see what I can do to help. Regards Lorraine

Ah, couldn't edit the original post. I had a chat with a few of the guys last night, one of whom was also in the 1955 group. They have been visiting the Broads every year (excepting the WW2 years) since 1926, '27 or '28 (Some dispute here). They have hired Herbert Woods sailing boats ever since Woods started, from Womack Staithe. Woods hadn't actually started up when the Bitter Boys first started, so hired elsewhere in the first year(s). Originally it was a group of men from Lloyds of London, hence them being known as 'The Bankers' to us, although the invitation has in later years spread to others, and they now come from far & wide, and various backgrounds. It also passes on father to son. Their actual 'group' name was 'The Bitter Boys', as is written on the back of the original photograph, due to them only drinking real ale. No other drinks are allowed (not in the pubs, anyway). They do take ice back to the boats for their G & T's though! They have a syndicate going, where they save so much per week to pay for their holiday, and they always visit the first weekend after the early May bank holiday, for a week. Anyway, they are a very well-mannered bunch of gentlemen, of all ages, who quaff a huge amount of ale between them, and are full of stories about their years on the Broads. Apparently we have a goat buried on the field "somewhere", which the landlady of the time had a ceremony around the grave for! A 'whip' back around 1955 was £5, and it cost less than £3 per person for the weeks holiday! The guys had another photograph taken yesterday, in the same spot as the original, so I will post that up on here when I receive it, and it will join the old picture on the wall in the bar. Afraid I can't remember any more at the moment, but maybe one of them will come across this and add their own input. Lorraine.

Sounds very mysterious! However, donations are always welcome! However strange!!!! Do you want an email copy Nigel? I have the original, which was a bit damaged, so I repaired it best I could. One of the original crew from 1955 were back in last night, along with around 24 others, so had a bit of a chat with him. (See above post). Thanks for your efforts with helping the research. You are correct about the history being in the building, but I haven't managed to steel myself to get up in the loft for a proper poke around as yet. (It's a female thing...) Lorraine

I have just routed out this photo at the request of some of the descendants in it. It was taken in May 1955, the group (or their 'replacements') have been holidaying on the Broads together since at least 1955, and are back this week. All great Real Ale drinkers, we know them as 'The Bankers'. They are coming back in tonight, so will ask for more history of their existance. Nigel, how would I get in touch with Pop Snelling? If you could talk to Beaulah Gowing I would be most grateful. Must go now, but will add to this post when I have more time. Thanks for your interest Lorraine

Hey Howard, WOW! Thank you so much for starting this thread, As we were discussing the last time you were in The Dog, I would be thrilled to have some idea of the history of the pub. There are so many additions to the building, the older of them done so well that it is difficult to decide which bit is the original. I suspect that the original building is the part which faces onto the road, a/ this would make sense as the house looks out over How Hill and the marshes, and also due to the layout of the rafters in the roof, and some sloping ceilings upstairs in this part. (Is this making sense?) I then think the 2nd build is the main bar areas, facing over the camp site, and the 3rd build being the back of the bar & cellar behind. There are lots of small additions, ie the dining room, entrance hall with stairs to upstairs, and back of the kitchen which all appear old, then the newer bits, (loos, games room, bar extension, corridor) which are obviously more recent. It is very exciting to see on Nigel's post that there has been an Inn here since 1689, and if anyone else can add to what has been found so far I would love to hear. I have spent many hours trawling the 'net trying to find info, with very little luck! all Lorraine