JennyMorgan

Marsh, did I really write 'ALONE'? It was actually Martin George who pointed out to me the vast amount of work done by the EA and reminded me of the past damage done by the drainage boards to which you allude. As for Andrea Kelly, a realist at the BA if ever I met one, a lady for whom I have a very high regard. However, as far as water quality is concerned, I stand by my contention that the EA, to-date, has achieved far more than the BA.

Any half decent pub that doesn't have a live band or a pretentious menu.

Unless a boater us anglers pay nothing towards the Broads Authority. We do pay for our fishing licences, that goes to the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is responsible for water quality and the Flood Alleviation Scheme. In my honest opinion the Environment Agency far does more for the Broads, the environment and water quality, than ever does the Broads Authority.

It has been argued that 'others' contribute via their taxes and the NP grants. Well, as a boater I contribute both ways so that negates that argument! Dare I mention it again, a visitor tax? No, perhaps not !

Perhaps if the BA were to provide rather less sticks with which to beat them? The BNP lie is continually repeated thus criticism of that lie is also likely to continue.

Ted Ellis, the naturalist. and Prof Aitkin Clarke, the previous Broads Authority CEO, both incomers, both conservationists, both wise enough to recognise the Broads for what they are and both wise enough to recognise the value of the 'floating' pound, both accepted for the wise men that they were. The same can be said of others, Dr Martin George for example. I have yet to meet anyone who has even hinted let alone suggested the same of Dr Packman. I have long banged the drum suggesting that Broadland attracts other user groups such as walkers and backpackers. I still think that is a viable addition to the attractions on offer. However, without the rivers and the boats the Broads would not be the Broads.

Long may it remain so!

I will, after I have found a life-jacket for her urn!

But then you'd spend all weekend worry about the blessed creature, preying that it won't run off or worse, drown itself.

Why has he not been replaced? Simple, contracts and compensation. He has the Authority nicely stitched up & in his pocket. I have copies of later letters all saying the same thing, No. He's just kept on until he's found a way around the dictates. The bloke is nothing if not tenacious! Like a little child determined to get its own way.

How many folk are lucky enough to be able to use their boats for more than 20 weekends per year? Probably a minority but for argument's sake take the full costs of your boating plus travelling to mooring and back for a year then divide it by twenty. Add to that the commitment and upheaval from home and there you have it, the probable reasons why there are few waitings lists for moorings nowadays. When the adventure turns into a chore and a burden then the boat is put up for sale.

The more the Authority spends on dredging then the more it has to spend on overheads and the more it charges us boaters. Remember that it milks off 50% of the toll so the higher the toll then the higher that 50% becomes. Consider that dredging also advantages conservation. That aside, consider the content of these letters. They are a few years old now but the logic and principle still apply. Remember that DEFRA is Packman's paymaster:

Paul, by and large I agree with your reasoning if not your conclusion. Do you not think that this latest move in the ongoing NP saga is indicative of the malaise that is Dr Packman? This game has gone on now for more than ten years would you believe!

A red rag to a bull or a major concern to a Broadlander who just so happens to love his environment, his heritage and his environment.

Frivolous projects have become something of a feature of the Authority under Dr Packman. The Government gave the Authority a grant of several million pounds to catch up on the backlog of maintenance work. The Authority used that grant to move from Thomas Hardy House to Dragonfly house, subsequent to that the BA then to Yare House, the first two moves alone have been calculated to have cost well over one million pounds. On top of that the same grant funded the failed Broads National Park Bill and the partially successful Broads Bill. Rather than getting on with the job the Authority has famously wasted bucketfuls of cash on empire building and what are clearly personal 'visions'.

My impression of the NP cuts was that the Government was trying, unsuccessfully with the BA, to get the message over to make cuts. Why make cuts when you can make up the shortfall by hitting boat tolls and toll payers? Reminder, half our tolls goes to the Authority's so called 'overheads'.

The passenger boat owners are not impressed & I don't blame them. Dr Packman (manipulated) took this one out of the hands of the committees and this is the result: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/broads_hire_boat_companies_rethinking_plans_to_expand_after_27pc_increase_in_river_tolls_1_4932471

You wouldn't be the first! I could name a few who have clearly succumbed.

Absolutely nothing, and there lies the problem.

Actually, DNKS, had you spoken the Dr Packman then I am sure you would have been received with courtesy and offered an opportunity to visit his office for a coffee and a chat. Credit where it's due, he generally welcomes visitors.

I can well remember someone pulling the plug out and the subsequent cheer!

Stella, argghhhhh. Next you'll be demanding karaoke and pole dancing with big, sweaty, shummekin girt Norfick mawthers? Who said 'yes please'?

Each to their own but I largely agree with Thingamybob on this one although I am no great fan of 'country music' and would much prefer a modern style 'folk' band . My own personal feeling is that there are some terrible 'pub' bands out there, okay, so there are a few exceptions, but by and large their 'success' depends on the amount of ale consumed! As a guide, by my way of thinking, if a band plays a pub gig for free, and some do, then that band isn't good enough to charge. I don't know Rick & I don't know much about his intentions but my guess is that he is in a bit of a dilemma. Does he take The Lion up market to what he is clearly very good at, or does he go down market to where the Lion's previously was? Me, well, spit and sawdust has long been my preferred drinking habitat, but there are limits! At the top end, pretentious, boutique pubs, argggghhhhhh, where's the door? Long gone is the riverside haunt when a couple of pickled eggs, an arrowroot biscuit or two, a packet of pork scratchings and several pints of 'twos', a chance to let rip without causing offence, an acoustic folk band and a group of friends was considered a good night out. Well, maybe not so long gone, The Pleasure Boat at Hickling, Geldeston Locks and Surlingham Ferry, when the band is a pleasure to listen to, can all still deliver.

With regard to music venues around the Broads the BA planning department worked hard with the Ivy Farm at Oulton Broad, the end result being a great success for all concerned. The problem arose when music was transferred to a marquee adjoining the pub. The sound itself was not incredibly loud but sound travels over water and marshes and was deemed unacceptable. All parties worked together and subsequently a purpose built music venue was allowed alongside the pub and restaurant and it's now a great success. As for bands frightening more away than they attract, that's the balance that any pub has to achieve, and it can't be easy.