Soundings

The post office/general store by the Falgate has also raised its game big time having just changed hands. Re Latham's, I have never seen them as somewhere I would go for grocery shopping, although I guess they do enough to be convenient to the boating fraternity.

Thanks HA, I thought I'd heard that name, River Retail, before. Wonder what Latham's/QD read into that initially?

It will come round soon enough JM. The question is will it have warmed up by then?

Not sure you'd have the same problem now, Steve. For when it was last open it did not really have any regulars

I am sure he is Gracie, but may I respectfully suggest you read his post - "What DOESNT WORK is people knocking pubs for looks and just because you can ............ Get a life and stop knocking things just for the sake of it....................... END OF i'll shut up". All that shouting and ranting because I made a joke comment that he disagrees with. That is uncalled for. I still disagree with his business proposition but he has the right to be of that opinion. Anyway, I am not here to fall out with him. So water under the (or is it that) bridge

As I said no point in talking about it. But if you think it can work put your money up front and buy the place. You'd be out of business within a year I reckon Incidentally I did not knock the pub - I am one who thinks it can be made to work for the community (local and holiday), but not in its current state of decor. And you obviously did not pick up on the frivolous nature of my earlier comment - "would never "catch" on :-)" But that is perhaps not surprising. See ya.

Thanks Rick...and that is the killer, they will not renovate/enhance. So, can we please have a new freeholder? Thank heavens the Falgate kept going. A bit off topic, but had an excellent Sunday lunch there today.

No point in talking about it. It will never happen and wisely so.

Would never "catch" open

I agree, but are you saying therefore you would only enter an establishment with a score of 5 out of 5. That clearly is not the intention of the scheme for if the test was meant to be used that way it would be a simple pass or fail. It then becomes a matter of where they set the pass mark. There will always be levels of acceptability and it is, of course, up to individuals to decide whether to frequent then establishment or not. Most of the scores I have seen tend to hover around 4, which is fine by me. But is is only a snapshot in time so a 5 today could be a 3 tomorrow. Anyway enough of this...we are way off topic. Interesting though

Thanks Poppy - as I suspected it says "the food hygiene rating is not a guide to food quality" so it does not mean the place is unfit for business, it is just a measure of the standard achieved. Presumably the fact that the place is open is a clear indication the inspection did not identify any significant health risks, although I would be reluctant to go into an establishment that achieved less than 3 out of the possible 5.

Cannot say I have noticed that as a trend, Poppy. No more than anywhere else. Do you have some numbers/percentages/data that support this. I for one would be interested. Have these outlets been shut down or is their rating just lower? Lower does not mean unfit for purpose does it?

That is not commuting really, that is playing at it and I doubt that the sort of people who will do that will be living on an estate by the side of Tesco, Stalham or the A11. It will all be local commuting unless the estate its close to Norwich to allow daily travel to London, but even then the cost of the commute will be horrendous. Cambridge, Yarmouth and of course Norwich are all close enough for a daily commute, but is there work for these people? In is an intriguing question - who will be the beneficiary of this building? Yes the manager of the Broadsahven will have decisions to make but are they really any different to decisions being made at any pub on the Broads. The most significant decision the manager will have is how do I make the place attractive and I agree that the answer to that is probably beyond the wallet of what will be a tenant of what is currently a very, very run down business proposition. Go down market for the summer eh? Are we saying holiday makers don't really care - I doubt that very much.

One decent attempt would be welcome, Poppy. All that has happened so far is the equivalent of a few tins of white paint have been thrown at the place. It needs more, much more, than that - it needs a freeholder with vision and determination. I doubt we will get it but I live in hope. The last "attempt" was not much of an attempt at all really :-(

Absolutely, but I have been in many places like that. And many of those have turned the corner due to effective improvement. But hey - you are entitled to your limited opinions and I am entitled to my visions of hope. Much prefer the half full cup to be honest.

Exactly what I would expect from some - there are people who can work and work well with what they have. That is why so many old structures still stand in the UK and serve useful functions.

They built 9 new houses in Potter. Somehow the developer got the requirement for "affordable" lifted by the council so the main occupants are retired I am told. Commuting Stalham to London is not really viable - I know I had to do it in the 80s and moved back to the home counties as a result. The journey time to Norwich by car is at least half an hour (more once parking etc is attended to) and the train to London still takes one hour fifty minutes. The earliest I could get into Liverpool Street was about 0830. I never got back home before 8pm. So only those that spend days at a time in London will commute - it is not for the daily traveller. Commuting to Norwich is another thing altogether and I agree. Maybe even Cambridge is possible and certainly the Stalham by-pass seems to get busier and busier - anybody for an upgrade to dual carriageway Re Broadshaven, I am sure you are right but as has been said without a huge amount of improvement work it is probably doomed - and I cannot see the pubco stamping up much development cash. It really does need the freehold to be obtained by a someone with vision.

Sorry, yes that is what I meant the "other" boating Richardson's - I know Patrick and Robin quite well.

Ah, so we now have three pubs is Stalham Is that the "boating" Richardson family?

Yes, the Kingfisher was a decent venue - its is still there of course and from what I hear you could say it is still a hotel but a private one!

I guess this could go on an on. Stalham is another town that is a shadow of its former self, although it is looking much tidier these days. But the loss of the market and the addition of Tesco hit the town hard. There are those hoping that that 1200 odd houses going in will help revive the place but I do wonder. There are only two pubs in the town now anyway - The Swan and the Grebe. The latter is not that inviting to me but the Swan is pretty good. There is of course the Harnser a short walk up the road in Sutton which always was an ok pub but I have not been in for months. Apart from that there are only two restaurants - the Oasis (Indian) and the place by the state which I have never tried. Anyone remember the Maids Head?

Potter as a village had many pubs once: The Railway Tavern, Falgate, Broadshaven, Bridge Inn and the club on Station Road (cannot remember the name). All but the Falgate have gone and that was close. We are hoping the Falgate will make it and certainly efforts are being made in that direction but I can never see it being hugely profitable. Potter, like many villages on the Broads, seems to be in a post pub drinking age. It is strange though, for when I go down to my mates village in Somerset the pubs are busy 52 weeks of the year. Why do you think that is?

Exactly. It has always been so but I submit it does not have to be that way. Get some decent design consultants on the job and I bet some interesting and workable ideas will surface. I doubt that exercise has ever taken place though and is unlikely now that it is owned by an "I just want an exorbitant rent" type pubco. The exterior is a shed, I agree, but it is also of a time and that could be made to work - if people think HW is living history then there must be room for the BH. And then of course Lathams is a horrible building. Gracie says " I'm sorry, everyone is entitled to their opinion but in my view you cannot put fox hunting and fishing in the same bracket, the fish we catch are treated with the utmost respect and care by true fisherman or women, put gently back into the water and most definitely not torn to pieces". I am sure you do Gracie but there are also those who do not. You are perfectly entitled to fish away - I just do not see it as a sport: what does the fish have to do to win this game? They are my views and of course everybody has an entitlement to views.

I never thought Potter's water front was attractive. Lathams and HW have seen to that - and Lathams always was full of rubbish in my view. The other side of the village is different again, with some wonderful walks over the Hickling Reserve and the Potter Marshes. You see, JM, we do not all believe the Broads are just for those on boats. There are also some decent eateries around Potter area, but not waterside. The burger van is always good but hardly attractive. The tea room/bar in HW was also very good but that went under what I am told were not nice circumstances. It was nice to sit on that balcony and look over the surrounding area

Enjoy and hope the weather is kind.