Timbo

Came across this today...finally a campaign I can get behind!

Not a mention of it here in Gainsborough, I spent the morning walking the beagles through Castle Hills Woods to take some film footage of Sweyne Forkbeard and his son Cnut's fortified long house. Today though I will be going through Nettleham and will pass the site of the event I think is being commemorated in Lincolnshire Day. 1530's would be the Lincolnshire Riots and the Pilgrimage of Grace. Culminated in some 20,000 people in the area just north of what is now the show ground at a hamlet called Grange de Lings.

ewwww...why were you drinking by candlelight in the corrugated gents outside loos...and what were you drinking in the corrugated gents outside loos?

Errr...you don't have to tell her you know Doug!

I look back with horror on my own school uniform days. I moved from an inner city junior school where my own particular uniform consisted of the then fashionable flared trousers, with exactly six buttons on the waistband above the fly...less than six you were so uncool, to a village comprehensive school with strict uniform policy. Having moved house Mum and Dad were a little short of the readies to buy the school uniform, so I had to go in mufti...but wait a minute...did they let me go in jeans and my doc martins...oh no! I had such evil parents that they made me wear a two piece suit and tie...my life was ruined from that point on!

Six years ago they amalgamated the two secondary modern schools in town and created one of those 'academies' right on the outskirts of the town. This meant we had a Grammar School on one side of town and the Academy on the other. The Grammar School kids had smart blazers, school ties...the uniform I was more familiar with from my school days. The Academy had the black trousers, black sweatshirt and white polo shirt of the modern school. The major difference in the schools as seen by the public was the journeys made by the kids to and from school. The Grammar School was orderly, kids walking in small groups. The Academy kids in larger groups, shouting, bawling, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. My daughter attended the Academy which hit the national headlines when it became one of the 'failing' schools schools that had the management removed and replaced. I have to admit I visited the school several times in the past to play 'merry hell up'. My daughter wanted to study history at university, however thanks to the 'modern thinking' at the school, would have to take basic history and geography at sixth form before even starting her A levels. The school of course had a state of the art 'audiovisual suite' yet I found that the kids were sharing text books one book between three kids. " You wouldn't understand how university works!" a head of year told me. Things have changed for the better and dramatically. The new management at the Academy have introduced quite a few changes and one of the most visible is a change in uniform. Where the schools students had once sloped and sidled their way to and from the school like a mass exodus of penguins it is fantastic to see the change in the kids.They walk proudly,heads held high in their new uniform blazers and ties. Gone are the droves of kids playing havoc in the streets. You actually see kids from both schools associating with each other in the coffee shops, which was something that never occurred before To be honest its a pleasure to see the changes and I'm looking forward to seeing how they reflect come exam time. The kids are a credit to the school and the community and I hope the school and community now get behind the kids.

I too am a fan of Norfolk Ales...Uncle Albert is not! Norfolk beer turned Uncle Albert into a lager lout. To be exact it was 1976 in the Maltsters at Ranworth. "Whad'll it be?" asked the barman. "Pint of you best!" said Uncle Albert. A pint arrives. "What's it called?" asked Uncle Albert holding the glass up to the light. "Witches Brew" said the barman as Uncle Albert took a long swallow and...spat it back into the glass. "More like Witches P***!" gasped Uncle Albert as he bowked and spluttered his way to the loos! From that day to this he drinks nothing but that amber fizzy crud...oh and rum...whiskey...port....wine...drain fluid...meths...you know, the usual stuff!

The bloke that sold 'Prawns on an ashtray' outside Lathems and would buy any large eels that you had caught.

Having worked in marketing, I suppose I still do, the idea of re-branding these days is considered not so much 'old hat' as a 'bit of a con job'. There are quite a few large organisations out there that try to sell a re-branding package to business, with no solid financial benefit to the business. Slowly the mega marketers like Nike have worked out that business is so much more than branding. Nike themselves have turned away from their 'Just do it!' ethos and no longer assume that customers will fall for it. To be honest, the Nike of today is returning very much to the values portrayed in the car images that Robin posted. What they feel to be important these days is continued and quality customer service...a bit like what we had in the olden days like? No matter the size of the company, many of them get sucked into the idea of re-branding when an alternative marketing strategy is far more appropriate and cost effective. I've come across clients ranging from Nationals to small local business who had gone into a major re-branding operation costing large amounts of cash for some idiotic reasons. I was brought in by one national company to help redesign all of their artwork to find that the re-branding had come about to increase their position on Google. After I had explained to the MD how Google actually worked and how to go about bettering his companies position...there were a few nervous marketing managers about the place. I was asked to redesign website and company brand for a small local business 'as cheap as you can'. When I got to the bottom of what they actually wanted to do was to let the public know that their carpet shop also sold lino. "Have you tried putting a sign in the window saying 'we also sell lino'? I asked. Now onto the Hoseasons logo...It just made me think 'I fancy a cup of tea'. Even if they dangled a couple called Tarquin and Cressida wearing medicalert bracelets saying 'In case of emergency fetch a Mercedes and a Perrier" from the bow it wouldn't provide any incentive to book. It's the service that is important. That's why I buy my diesel from Richardsons...OK they might be a couple of pence more than elsewhere, but when I've got Uncle Albert on board they will watch out for us arriving if I ring in advance, they even stayed open as I was late one day, they give as much help as they can, always polite and courteous...no matter what rubbish comes out of Uncle Albert, just first rate excellent service. Although if they ever need me to re-brand I know a couple called Rupert and Reece!

Living close to Scampton we get to see the Red Arrows practising through the summer on most days. The other week they scared me a little as I came back from Lincoln down Tillbridge Lane. On one pass they were a lot lower than they normally are with the two outer planes rolling outwards and one of them pulling out of formation as the trajectory seemed somewhat erratic. They were soon back with another pass as we went further down the road, this time it was perfect. Must have been a new manouver they were practising. The other year my other half was watching the Red Arrows practise as we went towards Lincoln. At the top of Tillbridge lane on the hill is a 'viewpoint' so you can pull over and get a good look at the Arrows. Well that's what it's supposed to be for. I told my other half it was a bad idea but she insisted I pull over. We left rapidly when I explained why the other two cars in the car park had steamed up windows and why a bloke with a camera was not interested in the planes at all.

Its all true you know...Dr Who is real.... I have photographic evidence that not only are the Ood (inset) in Norfolk...but that indeed aliens have a home phone number!

Or Vermin as Terry Pratchett would have it!

I would have changed those black arrows to 'Ducks feet' !

We've only ever had one incident with an uninvited guest, a bikini clad young lady waltzed past the galley windows to retrieve a fishing hook after her other half miscast. Now my daughter Holly was about to say something...but the usually proprietorial Uncle Albert shushed her for some reason. I can't think why? We often get folks congregating around the stern though, to come and talk to and pet the beagles although we do get the occasional visitor who want to take a look at the boat usually because they once hired her. But so far everyone has been polite and asked permission to come on board.

Congratulations! She looks rather smart!

Have you tried talking to Tim Collins on the Rhond at Wroxham? I went in recently asking daft questions,as I do, about toe rails and cant rails and he just walked to a large rack of various hardwood rails made for Broads Boats and said 'you will need some of my medium cant rail'.

MM....now that one is wayyyy to easy!

50p on a pint? Half a quid? Oh hang on a minute...panic over, I just woke up thinking I was back in the 1970's!

I will occasionally use a keep net in the following circumstance So anyone I'm teaching can learn how to use one correctly To retain a fish so pupils can take a closer look and understand the fish without damage to the fish. If I fish a match. These days I tend not to use a keep net if I can get away with it to avoid going through the rigmarole of disinfecting the net and drying it out thoroughly when I move from water to water. On my home waters in the case of matches, particularly with the younger end, we don't use keep nets but use stitch counters from the local haberdashery and go for the 'number' of fish caught rather than the weight. Of course you are relying on people's honesty in this case. The kids that we teach through my syndicate seem to get more enjoyment through 'targeting' a species...actually setting out to catch a particular species and then catching it...rather than a catch all 'a fish is a fish' attitude. I have to admit that I get a real kick out of setting out to catch, say a Tench...tackling up and baiting appropriately and then catching tench. One of my young pupils joined us for a Tench fishing session on our local Warping Drain and hooked a very fine Bream of around 10 to 12 lb. We thought he would be elated, "I'll try again and see if I can do better" said the lad and an hour later was rewarded for his patience with a small 3lb Tench. He was ecstatic with the smaller fish!

Try the Israeli National Maritime Museum... Failing that Jon has all sorts at Wayford. But for my own curiosity what's with the thrutching accoutrements...looking for a little revenge? :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-29239169

Oh lawks-a-lumme sorry folks I went and used hyperbole.

Oh that means building stuff, tearing it down, often used by the RSPB Gestapo, planners and housing developers when ignoring local objections to projects, it often involves changing the 'name' of an area, at vast expense, such as 'public access' to 'wetland conservation area' or 'green belt' to 'shopping centre'. In archaeology it means 'why is that there, how was it used etc'. You do know I am an old cynic?

Wouldn't he be on a motorbike like Steve McQueen jumping Hadrians Wall or perhaps like a ninja leaping over it?

I agree with David and Strowager on this one. I too can remember the comprehensive book that came through the post prior to our family holidays, and Uncle Albert sitting reading it from cover to cover and taking notes. I can also remember the 'enforced hanging around' in moorings until Uncle Albert had calculated the 'optimum time of passage' and the clock hands slowly made their way to the time we could 'get under way'. It 'used' to be about 'boating',the boat and how different it was to be on board a boat instead of at home in your house on land. These days it seems to be a case of 'how can we make the boat like an apartment'. Cruising about the Broads you may hear Uncle Albert pass the odd comment such as 'there's a bungalow coming' (Topliner) or on some occasions 'here's a block of flats' (anything with a superstructure not suited to the Broads). I try to engender a healthy respect for Breydon in my kids. I've crossed and it was like a mill pond, I've also crossed and had a nightmare journey, buffeted by wind and waves. I've crossed and then had a job and a half finding a mooring before it got dark. I've seen too many boats stranded on the mud...more private craft than hires of late and I've also seen several idiots in the water with no life jacket being swept along faster than they anticipated. I still read everything I can get my hands on, and try to plan my own crossing, but even so I will always ring the Yacht Station. A calm reassuring voice asks the name of the vessel, the height, one one occasion what engine I had, my intended destination and my current location. They will then give advice such as 'set off now and dawdle down to arrive at such and such a time' or 'leave it until tomorrow leave at this time to arrive at that time' and even 'you can go across but moorings will be scarce'. I have a lot of respect for the guys at the Yacht Station...particularly in the way they patrol the boats moored and the river, asking things like 'where's your life jacket' and in one occasion I had to chuckle when a ranger approached a 'lads cruise' who were attempting to put a drunken crew member back on the boat, and declared he 'wouldn't trust the lad to climb a ladder sober let alone in his current state' and made all the lads from the boat sit with their friend on the bank until they had sobered up. There was no argy bargy, no nastiness, all done politely but with a great deal of authority. To be honest it was fantastic to see a professional at work in what seemed to be a more old world approach, looking after both the safety of others and the crew with a minimum of fuss.