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Soundings

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Posts posted by Soundings

  1. You should have visited Stamford!

    The first conservation town in the country. Collyweston slate roofs and stone buildings.

    ........and we live there..........:naughty:

    Oh! and just to please you Neil, the BBMF passes over our house on a regular basis.:dance

    Great place Stamford. We lived close (ish) in a village called Glapthorn, just outside of Oundle - in a Collyweston tiled cottage. We then moved to Norfolk but I do miss that area.

  2. Last Saturday I went to have an eye test and my last eye test was 2 years ago. All my family (brother, sister and sister-in-law) have had cataract operations and they were sure I was next, as I am the baby.

    My eye test showed up that my cataract were no more than the eyes of a 60 year old, but what I was told was how to protect my cataract / eye sight. It is to where sun glasses, as it is the UV ray what damages your eyes. I was told to wear sun glasses all year round not just in the summer.

    Ian (Chelsea14Ian) has always worn his sun glasses and this is for as long as I have known him and he has no cataract.

    So, if it is bright or if the sun is shining (I know at times it's a long shoot) wear your sun glasses to protect your eyes. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter :unsure:.

    Regards

    Marina  :Stinky

     

     

     

     

    Had the same problem and opted for private lense replacement surgery - I wore contact lenses anyway and they were beginning to get on my nerves. The rusults are absolutely brilliant best money I have ever spent...apart from the boat :-)

  3. And I say again because there is a risk of that balance being skewed. So rather than upset it we should make sure we have an infrastructure that maintains it. I am not so sure I would call the loss of all those moorings at South Waltham Broad (Fleet Dyke) an improvement. I would not call the butchering of all those trees and shrubs above Potter Bridge in the name of flood defences an improvement. And I would not call the ever increasing numbers of larger high tech craft requiring power points an improvement. There are  many other example good and bad - there is a way to go yet.

    But that is just my take.

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  4. I think it is more about not letting the balance get skewed, Littlesprite. There have been some great improvements but as in all things not everything is for the better. And some things might actually help the area generally and not just the waterborne activity. I genuinely do worry about the quest for business expansion and profit and the long term effects that can have.

    Incidentally, the NW&D Canal Trust is apparently working with the canal owners and land owners to regenerate. That presumably means it has nothing to do with the BA? I can remember going up to the lock in a small Mayland cruiser and hammering the Roach. That was some years ago now though.

  5. If you want a classic case of deterioration on the Broads, look no further than beyond the limits of navigation on the river Ant, past the junction of Dilham Dyke and the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, also, above the now disused lock at Coltishall, and above Geldeston Lock. These three stretches of the broads are badly overgrown, silting up, and in some places, unnavigable, even by canoe. But hey, by not having any boats using them, that`s conservation, or is it?. These three stretches of rivers and canals have been left to mother nature, and are now vitrually unrecogniseable as former navigable rivers, and bear more resemblence to a stream. Sometimes consrvation is NOT in the best interest of the location.

     

    As for fishing the Ant on a summers day, with the hire boat season being little more than May to Spetember inclusive, that`s precious little more than 4 months. anglers have 9 months of the year to fish the Ant.

     

    If you say so. The fact that there are four months a year when the Ant is solid with boats is incidental then? Not in my books. But in all seriousness conservation and silting up are not necessarilyhe same thing are they? It could just be bad management or an ownership issue  Does the BA have powers over the areas you are referring - not sure what the divides are re the NW & D Canal nor above Coltishall lock but the locks probably leak and that will certainly drop levels. The same re Geldeston, who is responsible for the lock and beyond. I do know there is a canal trust restoring the NW&D Canal but where its responsibility starts and stops I do not know.

    Conservation is preserving where preserving is a realistic option. I would not condemn or support the BA in the areas you refer for I do not know the legal position. Maybe some one can enlighten me? It would be nice to see the canals restored though, I do agree.

  6.  Sandford will have to be part of the package and in my opinion that will impact on boating.

     

    Dave

    I don't disagree with that at all. All I am saying is it could be beneficial if the word "conservation" could be used sensibly and this seems unlikely. Given that we have no alternative to the BA but I think they have a problem being impartial given the funding. I would prefer NP status if Sandford could be applied in a reasonable way that benefits all. However for some reason that I do not understand it appears that Sandford and Navigation are in constant opposition.

  7. I also  wonder  at those  who suggest that there are too many boats. Facts are that there are only a fraction of the boats there were 40 years ago, and a far greater number are now privately owned and see little use compared to hire boats. I have no doubt that has led to the demise of the stracey arms and the inevitable loss of the Berney Arms and likely loss of Broadshaven and Beauchamp. The broads desperately needs more  holiday  boaters along with the money they spend if the infrastructure is to survive

    There are I am told about 13000 boats register on the Broads and growing. It often seems like they are all Up North. It really is hectic or can be unless you are one of the hardy soles who do not mind crowds. It is exacerbated by the reduction in mooring places, especially wild moorings. There is also the increasing demand for more power points and with boats getting bigger and bigger. Have no idea what the numbers were 40 years ago but I bet there was a lot more wild moorings and the boats would have been simple and designed to work with the environment.

    As JM has said, if a lot of the boats could be encouraged to move South it would help. But they remain North and so do the bigger hire fleets I believe. I love boats but not crowds, at least not all the time, and mud weighting is not always an option or desirable

  8. Dajen, I thought you had gone!  However, If you accept, as I do, that conservation is about maintaining, protecting and improving what is there in a way that maintains a fair balance, then yes I stand guilty as charged.  But then I have already said that.

    What I do not want to see, and there is some evidence of it, is one interest group getting a bigger share of the asset to the point where it starts to damage that asset.

  9. Now that is rubbish. I am certainly not single interest. If I am perhaps you would be so kind as to let me know what that interest is? Please do share.

    I said "Or maybe that is what the broads already is supposed to be now" which infers that we may need no further legislation. But personally I still favour Sandford as a general principle and I see conserving the Broads as conserving its unique character in terms of usage, culture and wildlife - the balance is critical. Does the Sandford Principle really stop that, is that the intention, or is it management's potential interpretation that is the concern?

    You can justifiably argue that we do not need Sandford as the legislation covering the Broads provides the protection we need. I do not disagree, except that I am not so sure the protection is really there. In any event the NP label is rather nice from the tourism perspective; but only if it does not destroy the heritage.

    So if a concern that the Broads is properly and fairly cared for is single interest I happily stand guilty as charged.

  10. Dajen, I used the words "maybe" and "special" as opposed to a current NP varient. It is my firm help belief that anything can be tweaked if Govts put their mind to it - nothing is set in stone. It really is not beyond the wit of man to progress an idea because it does not suite a specific scenario. It is called evolution. And there are many ways to dress that change up. Do not the Scots have a "version" of the Sandford principal?

    There is no reason to apologise...oh yes there is I really do object to your assumption that I do not understand. 

  11. Some good reasoning there JM :-) . Taken per available mile the Broads are not cheap but as a debit to the bank account I still think they are cheaper than some, without offering the spread. So yes not such good value on that basis.

    No I do not believe the Broads should just be there for the "well healed". But there are more and more of us humans on this planet with more disposable income. Surely the Broads cannot be expected to accommodate this ever increasing demand. As you say there are only 150 miles.

    I really do take your point about the smaller boats. So cannot the tolls be adjusted to favour them and deter the big stuff? I would not have a problem with that and it could still be combined with an overall max number of registrations if necessary.

    Should mention, I know a few small boats that are no longer on the Broads. These are not because of cost but because of congestion/lack of facilities at peak times. 

    And I most certainly agree, NPs are not (or should not be) just about conservation. I have always believed and understood that to be the case.

  12. I believe the Broads is a very cheap waterway toll wise if contrasted to the EA and CRT.  I agree big money (big business) will kill the Broads without doubt but then so will over usage. If pricing is not the answer then a limit on boat numbers and type must be. A tighter control in respect of Broads based business expansion might also be welcome - both in terms of whether the expansion is warranted in a particular area or at all.

    Must admit JM I cannot see how increasing tolls will have an adverse impact on the Broads. At least not in the same way as big business and development thereof. Either way these are all tools that are available but they do require deployment by capable individuals. Therein lies the problem I guess.

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