JennyMorgan

Marsh, have a peep at Tim last post on this subject, it contains a certain logic. That the 'Chair' has gone into defensive mode does appear to support 'dnks's' assertion.

He certainly does! Khan doesn't impress me either but he's your problem, not mine!

Fred, as a London outsider I rather admire Boris. Imagine Boris Boats, toll free and available to all, so long as they can climb aboard and have a quid or two. Congestion charging for Wroxham & Horning, bring it on! Emission control of diesel guzzling boats at Brundall, surely that's the way forward. Borris for BA CEO!!!

Nigel, you can fish for free on the Broads! The original question was a good one, namely 'Should We Judge The BA On What They Do Or The End Result?' It wasn't about costs. Your toll is £131.00, how often do you use your boat? Do you not have other relevant costs? Some folk might only use theirs only ten times a year. Cost really isn't the issue, nor the question. Complacency will do do the Broads no great favours.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/broads-authority-urged-to-work-together-for-common-good-1-5323509

Fred, this area fits my criteria, my birthright and heritage a treat. I value it highly. I was here long before the present set up and I hope that my grandchildren and their children will be here long after they have gone.

G'night John, fun jousting with you!

There is a lot more to it than that, John! You say 'reasonable' price but do you know that about half your toll is diverted into paying for matters other than navigation? Did you know that there are those within the Authority who would dearly love to be able to prevent you going to where you want and just when you want unless what you're doing agrees with their 'vision'? The Authority is not faultless, I don't think that in anyone's wildest imagination could they claim otherwise, neither can anyone reasonably suggest that they don't do some very creditable work both for the Broads and us boaters. It is just a pity that the ethos and heritage of the Broads does sometimes get brushed under the carpet, but generally for not too long!! I certainly wouldn't wish to see the Authority disbanded, but it does need a darn good shake-up.

In regard to Authority Yacht Stations but not in regard to Authority moorings in general. I think that we are perhaps being a tad pedantic on this one. In practical terms Reedham is a 52 week a year mooring and in this day and age the electrical installation should reflect that fact. That it can't be relied upon to operate efficiently and safely during an equinoctial tide is pretty damnable!

I doubt it and your point is well made, to a point. Reedham is not actually closed, just unmanned. Yarmouth still provides mooring facilities but it it is fenced off and the gates are locked. There is no easy answer to the yacht station situation but it is a fact that other power points do remain usable during the winter, Beccles & Oulton Broad for example. Beccles, by the way, does flood but presumably the posts are more suited to resisting ingress by the wet stuff.

I would turn them off too, as they are prone to tripping. Indeed I wouldn't turn them back on until they were unlikely to trip, especially in the litigious climate that we have nowadays. Someone got it wrong in the first place, plain and simple.

Fair point, John K, but for all practical purposes the Quay is not closed. The Rangers have gone, agreed, but the quay is still there, as are boats, the mooring posts, the river and the need for moorings.

I have read and re-read the report. Totally sterile really, could we expect it to be otherwise? As far as it goes it is quite fair but does it really go as far as it might, does it probe into hidden corners or discuss the obvious concerns regarding policies and visions, or more importantly the glaring exclusion of alternative points of view? I suspect that JP will take comfort from the antiseptic pleasantries that have been bandied about, however, I honestly don't see any really meaningful high praise. The report is not the product of an impartial and independent body, it's almost, but possibly not quite 'in house'. At best it's lacking in any real substance, in my opinion of course.

There is no doubt that the BA has done and does do some first class work on the Broads. However, to install a power supply for boats in a manner that does not allow all year round use in a manner that is entirely safe, and tripping trip switches suggests that it is not, is of no great credit to the Authority. As for bickering, as a label 'discussion' would be more to the point, is that not common to all forums? Without it a forum would be sterile. On this particular topic there is no denial from the BA, the posts have been turned off. Not something that is likely to effect me but if I were paying for a service that I required, that is what my toll is for, then I would expect it to work. Okay, okay, so some hoses are turned off when it's likely to freeze, but in this instance the BA has admitted that these trip switches trip during floods. Floods do also happen in the summer, ergo the installation at Reedham is not fit for purpose and who's fault is that?

The electricity supply to the charging points also had to be turned off due to the frequency of the water over topping at the mooring and constantly tripping out the charging points. The blatantly obvious possibility of which should surely have been considered before installing the charging points as they were. To be honest I think that this minor lack of forethought goes a long way to describing the Authority's understanding, or lack of, of the Broads. About on a par with installing wood chip paths at a 24 hr mooring that floods, as did happen!

Time on my hands!

Only 17 to go, Lulu, keep it up. Maybe post the same topical reply 17 times, we will understand! He does!

Some of you might have read this before, others may not have so I've dredged this one up again, it being that time of the year, A 1950's Broadland Christmas. Christmas by the Broads has always been very special for my family, not least because it was the one time of the year when we could all come together. My father was the proprietor of a restaurant and shop overlooking Oulton Broad, Christmas and Boxing day being the only two days during the year that his business was closed and his family could come together. As a youngster Christmas Eve was always a joy, a chance to go pike and perch fishing, my mother glad not to have my brother or myself under her feet. For Mum, my Gran and Mrs H, the hired help, Christmas Eve was about preparation. A quick story about Mrs H, I well remember her for her outright broad Suffolk and honest, simple manner. It was a few years before I understood the family legend as of when, during the war, Mrs H was late for work. Full of humble apology she had explained that 'she'd hadda incendry up her back-passage'. Let me explain, back passages in Suffolk, and maybe elsewhere, are the narrow passages between houses that lead to the backdoor. Incendries were incendiary bombs and, thankfully, that one did no real damage. Anyway, back to Christmas Eve, the three ladies did prepare but also entertained their lady friends as seasonal pleasantries were exchanged. In the meantime Roger, my brother, would edge our rowing boat towards the Commodore, the local's local. At that time the pub itself was separated from the rather primitive urinals by a covered passage way where us youngsters were able to congregate in the dry whilst our fathers enjoyed their pints. Back then the Commodore, quite sensibly in my opinion, was a man's pub and the license was for ale only. We were kept supplied with copious ginger beer & crisps, the ones with little blue salt bags, by the men repeatedly crossing the passage and treating us lads. I don't remember what we caught on the way but I do remember downing thirteen bottles of ginger pop one Christmas Eve! Back home and Dad would arrive home with a sometimes odd array of goodies that would be past their best by the time the Christmas holiday was over. Our Christmas Eve feasts were memorable for the family time and the lack of a television. We would eat a plateful, play a game of droughts or pelmanism, Dad's favourites, before the next course and another game. Christmas morning was inevitably about presents, not that we had that many as just after the war such luxuaries were not widely available. Of course we had to make good the aftermath of the previous evening's feast and, as we had no central heating, we had to make up the fires. I well remember the joy of my parents as items that had been absent from the shops during the war and even after made a welcome return to the table and Christmas stocking. More than anything I remember the long walks after our Christmas lunch, an all male affair. Always an adventure and full of interest. My father knew the local marshes like the back of his hand, the net-work of dykes and, most importantly, where the 'liggers' that crossed those dykes were. Liggers were generally nothing more than a narrow plank but, thankfully, non of us fell in. Winters were colder then, frost and snow was not uncommon. Being lost on the marshes would not have been fun but Dad never lost his way. Halfway house would inevitably be on the river bank at the Dutch Tea Gardens where we would sit and enjoy hot drinks and mulled wine. Chatting, laughing and maybe a carol or two, we would watch the sun work its way down towards the horizon. Inevitably we would arrive home in the dark, to a table loaded with mince pies and a Christmas cake from Dad's bakery, courtesy of Mum, Granny C and my Aunty Peggy. Aunty Peggy's husband, Jack, had been a P.O.W. in Burma and Japan, had come back home when he weighed little over six stone, well under half his normal body-weight. He weighed even less on release. It was many years before I knew what he had gone through. A born & bred countryman and farmer, now I can understand and appreciate his joy and thanks for the freedom that we enjoyed on our Christmas walks. His understanding of the countryside was intense and his contribution to our walk was a joy. Boxing day generally started with a bonfire, wrapping paper, used crackers and party hats, any left overs that would burn. No sooner had we finished the big clear up then we were out on the water. As usual our sailing boat was laid up for the winter so we would be out fishing or aboard Dad's motor-boat. Sometimes we would head up to Dirty Dicks, the Waveney Inn at Burgh St Peter, or perhaps up to Reedham Ferry for a drink with the Archers, great friends of Dad's. Way back then Mutford Lock would open on Boxing Day & one year we went through and into Lowestoft Harbour, the fishing fleet was in, the fish dock crammed with boats. Continental shipping would have a Christmas tree at the mast-head, a delightful custom so I thought. Boxing Day would end with a cold table, the Christmas left-overs and a welcome soup. The next day Dad would be back at work, the holiday was over, more memories were made, days were getting longer, summer and the first regatta was only five months away!

http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1064506/Broads-Authority-report-12.12.17.pdf A relevant and fair document, in my opinion. However there is no mention of the relationship of the BA with the public, such as the wider toll payer community. No mention of direct elections either.

Hi LuLu, I'm sure that you can make or respond to 19 posts in next to no time. One liners are good!

Only when the wind blows from down South.

Are you talking the River Gt Ouse proper or a man made tributary, channel or adjoining canal? I say that because many properties up there are actually separated from the water by a public tow-path and the fishing rights might be owned by a fishing club or federation. On the river proper that is less than likely but your deeds should make that clear. However if your property goes to the waters edge, without a tow path, then I suspect that you will own the fishing right.

Malc, as someone in a similar position, lucky sods that we are, Fred is right but there is more, as you might expect. Really you need to check your deeds. Some properties, for various reasons include land under the water, some don't though. It's largely a Broads thing but don't let that cloud the issue. My deeds include a 190 feet out into my local Broad. I can, if I wish, refuse people from mudweighting, or fishing when their tackle lays on the bottom, not that I would do either. I can't prevent folk from sailing or fishing OVER my land, I can object if they anchor their boat or tackle to the bottom. Ownership of a river's bed can be the Crown, some places near Norwich and Oulton Broad, for example, it belong to the Church. Some Broads belong to the local gentry or to the local authority. In practical terms I would just go fishing and not worry about it. In times gone by some landowners sold fishing and gaming rights separately from the land, upper Wensum for example, but that would show on your deeds and is a very rare occurrence on the Broads. Owning the fishing rights does not mean that you don't need a licence though!

In some cases I wonder if a pressure cleaner might't be a worthwhile combination with the Roto--Wipe?