JennyMorgan

I read a survey the other day where it suggested that over 60% of the population prefer pubs that are dog free! Got to admit that I think it's going too far when a dog is put on the table to eat from the owner's plate but that aside I have no problem with well mannered dogs, their well mannered owners or their well mannered children, I stress the well mannered bit!

. . . . . unlike here in captain's cap land where the pubs are full of hairless old drunks , , , , , , , , They certainly are in Beccles! Not always the case in Lowestoft though.

Of far greater relevance to Broads tipplers: https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/social-distancing-hits-suffolk-pubs-group-turnover-1-6740877

A telly on a boat, how's that for progress!

Problem for me is that, apart from the dire Lowestoft branch, I actually like Wetherspoons! Their Beccles boozer is excellent and a regular haunt of mine, The boss, like many businessmen, pays his bills out of his turnover so no turnover, no paying, I understand that. Telling his staff to find alternative employment, that seemed very sensible to me, for both parties. The bloke has come up with a successful formula, why knock it?

Youngsters need to catch otherwise they generally lose interest fast so best do it right. I'd fish from the bank if I were you, this is how:

Lay back, or forward, brace yourself and think of England!

That was Easter 2017!

Any volunteers for the role of inseminator?

I'm ashamed to say that I sold a half dozen in my shop at Burgh St Peter! Probably refunded at least three of them. As to what a man finds in his Hampton, really no answer to that one!!

The white top covering the solar panel I presume!

The importance that some folk attach to a hairdryer always amazes me! At home, maybe, but on a boat surely practical is best. Us men, most of us, don't make it an issue, do we? Dress to come boating!

Nigel, it was a one chance in many tens of thousands that you regretfully hit an understandably raw nerve. PLEASE don't be deterred from posting Ludham's history online in the future. I will say that the depth of the research that you and your friends go to is nothing short of amazing. History is at its best when it is shared and for that I thank you.

I can sympathize with Floyd on this one. Firstly I fear that we will lose many of the attractions and facilities that make for our days out. Secondly I shudder at the relaxed attitudes of many people in regard to both hygiene and social distancing. I don't see a quick return to normality, indeed I do wonder what we shall actually return to. We can not take anything for granted, least of all whether toilets will be open!

The slump that Vaughan writes of with such passion took down rafts of yards across Broadland. Some of us were more lucky than others in the manner in which we departed the industry. Today there are nowhere near the number of small yards that there were back then thus I don't see a repeat in yard closures but it might be a year or two before we see the reinvestment and growth of recent years being repeated. This time around I fear that we will lose pubs and cafes, small businesses that depend on the boats for their customers. This will inevitably impact the Broads as we know it. We lost riverside souvenir and provision shops both last time and since, remember the stores at Acle Bridge? Even as a local I stopped of at Reedham or Brundall for a poke around the riverside shops, buying things that I liked but often didn't really need, such was the tapestry of the Broads. I do fear for the remaining small businesses that depend on the boats. For so long much of the attraction of the Broads has been the small businesses along the banks. Which of these small businesses will be here next year?

I have huge respect for both gentlemen thus I will not take sides, perhaps the best course of action.

Worry not, am completely in agreement with your sentiments.

One of the best, a good friend for a number of years. The Broads is a poorer place for his passing.

Both names of boats that I remember as being built at Knights Creek, Oulton Broad during the 1960's. As a young 'un I used to help deliver groceries to both boats on a Saturday. Whether they are one and the same I don't know.

Seemingly

Do you also have a well run-in, disreputable reefer jacket then?

Not allowed to drive speedboats like that on the Broads!

Who are they?

There was me thinking that the boat owner had stuck his registration numbers 2.001m from the stem head! https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/domestic-indident-sparks-police-response-on-river-bure-1-6731978

Apart from the fag ash and dribbled food stains (patina) down the front of the jacket!!