riyadhcrew

Not allowed christmas pud, christmas trees, christmas cards, etc.............. At least not legally.

Hi Grace, I'm lucky in that I don't have to wait until next summer. March 20th and I'll be at Rocho's for Carousel. I'll still have 20 quid in my pocket, but this time I want to see how many beers I can get for that. Roll on.

Good Morning All, It appears that winter is finally upon us here in Riyadh. We had plenty of rain over the last week (lots of flooding due to the lack of storm drainage) and last night, I had to change my house a/c from cooling to heating. The temperature outside this morning is a cool 9degC, but it will still get up to around 20-23degC at lunch time. I know it doesn't sound cold to you guys, but it's a big change out here. January sees the coldest temps, which will be around 5degC lower than now, but come March, it all starts to go up again rather quickly. Where is my wooly hat.

On the Broads is on the Broads. If it's a cheap boat, the peace and tranquility is still good and the moorings are the same. If you're lucky enough to be on an expensive boat, you may have bigger beds, better hot water and a nicer galley, but the rest is just the same. I've been on boats without heating and a BMC engine shaking your bum for every hour cruised. I'm lucky now that I can afford a nice boat and I will continue to do so for as long as it lasts. As for being tight, NAAAAAHHHH, although I installed double glazing so the kids couldn't hear the ice cream van coming.

Well done Clive and the team!!! This is becoming a habit. lol

Condolences from us here in the Middle East. Our thoughts are with you.

Many moons ago, 8 of us hired 2 boats for a week from Ferry in Horning. We moored up one night side-on and stern to stern. In the morning, one of the ladies stood on the transom of the other boat and shouted for the marmalade. She then put one foot across on our boat (you can guess) and the boats started to part company. Well, it was like the splits in slow motion and then splash, she was in the water. 2 of us blokes leaned over the transoms and had her out in a jiffy. It was a "get your wet clothes off and get in the shower" and we all had a good laugh. Needless to say, we bought another jar of marmalade.

I left Reedham on an ebbing tide in April and the boat (Fair Monarch) was on tick-over. Going under the railway bridge, I had to give it a few more revs to get some control from the rudder. Mr. BA in his boat flagged me just before the New Cut and told me to slow down. I explained the situation to him and he said he understood and to be carefull. Good man I thought.

Name that photo - "STUNNING AT STALHAM".

Sounds similar to me. Wastage on both sides. However, you don't get a bad back when cruising against the tide, but if you wait for the tide to change, you get a sore arm tipping the beer cans 135 degrees from vertical to empty. lol

I'm siding with Robin on this one. Locks sound like hard work to me. lol.

I'm at a loss here - how can you sink a 65ft steel hulled boat in a lock? I'd love to hear some suggestions.

Kingfisher - lotto - lotto - lotto. I wish.

BowWave, Is that Kingfisher in your Avatar?

BowWave, Welcome from me too. I've no doubt that you will have plenty of criticism on the forum, but I'm equally sure that it will be constructive, as it comes from members who have a combined knowledge of hundreds of years of the broads and boating. Good luck with which ever way you go.

No hangover Grace. I had to be on good form for that drive back, but saying that, what I wouldn't have given for a nice pint when I got home. lol

Frank, This is when the old saying - if a job's worth doing......... comes to the fore. You will be the primary beneficiary of all your hard work and you will be able to enjoy it for a long time to come. Cruisin without worryin. The way to go!!!

Hello All, Well, got back to Riyadh safely last night. I got back an hour quicker than it took me to go, albeit that I had to stop and fill the fuel tank an extra time. On the way there, I spent most of the time on cruise control at 140kph (84mph), as the roads are more or less straight and empty from Riyadh to the UAE border. On the way back after entering Saudi from the UAE, I decided to wind it up a little and I set the cruise at 160kph (100mph). I know it sounds fast, but believe me the roads were empty and I was able to keep this up for an hour and 45 minutes non stop. The only downside to this was watching the fuel guage go down. I used 50 litres more for the same distance coming back. Dubai is worth a visit, but be aware - IT IS NOT CHEAP!!! Hotels and clubs are the only place you can legally buy alchohol and they charge what they feel they can get away with. My wife and I went to a Roberto Cavali night club on Saturday and single shot drinks were 20 pounds each. Needless to say that we didn't stay long. On the other hand, there is a huge Irish pub which is known as the Irish Village and the prices are acceptable. I drank enough Kilkenny to put their shares up a few percent. The food was 'pub grub' and very good. I will attach a couple of pics, one of the Dubai skyline at night and one of the local beggars at a petrol station.

JM, Just checking also to see if you got my mail.

I think Boulters better get a bigger fuel tank incase they come for a fill-up.lol

Welcome to the forum Sean. This is a great place to be and you never really know what will be posted and replied to - many times over. Keep your posts coming and you will see what we are all about.

Just came back from the Emirates Mall and had a couple of pints of Stella (that was as good as I could get in the Kempinski Hotel). It was cold and clear and the cost was 13 pounds a pint. My wife had simple house white wine which was 10 pounds for a normal glass. Roll on March to get back on the broads and make profit. lol.

Hi All, Well, it turned out to be 1182km and it took 11 hours driving. Not a difficult drive, but very boring. I think we saw every different breed and colour of camel there is in the world and enough sand to fill the Med. Now going to take the girls to the ski slope inside the shopping mall and then it's off for a beer or 2. As I've said before, 95oct petrol in Saudi is 9p per litre, in UAE it is 27p per litre. Will let you know about the beer later.

Hi Mark, Haven't been in Dubai for about 5 years, so not sure on the price of beer or petrol, but I will let you know when I get back next Monday.

MM, I'll get my wife to take a few pics and I'll post them for a laugh. A bit different from reeds and wind pumps.