Timbo

Well behaved dogs are also welcome at the Wayford Inn. Ah you see Jon, they don't like dogs on Broadland Nature Trails or Reserves because...they would be the only creature in the place and detract from the observation of...nowt really?

Did anyone see the mention of 'weaving' as an activity in the Bronze Age Broads? Just goes to show Monsieur Mynah has been visiting Norfolk hostelries for a longer period than he's been admitting to!

R.... Ri....Rit....I just can't do it. Students using that word in any of my tutorials learned to duck...I tended to teach using the thrown chalk and board rubber technique. I once had one 'herbert' say 'high status' at me so I had him excavating an ancient latrine and emptying our contemporary one for a week!

A fascinating film, highlighting much of the new work and thought centered upon the Broads. The Bronze Age finds at Ormesby St Michael another nail in the coffin of the Great Estuary Theory. Our Bronze Age ancestors would have found it difficult to build field systems, dwellings and ditches at the bottom of an estuary. I think the program highlighted certain 'key' points many of which we all on the forum take as read, but some which are often missed partially as a result of the way history is taught. The Broads are artificial. Although we divide history into periods, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo Saxon, these are not clear 'cuts' in the line of history. Our Iron age relatives didn't wake up in 55 BC as think 'that's it...were in the Roman Age now!'. Finally there is so much archaeology that we do not recognise or have misinterpreted. I should point out that the drone footage of St Benet's was not the first time the abbey had been viewed like this. Take a look at some of the work of Lord Paul on YouTube. He got there first and the footage is of much better quality! I quite liked the point that unlike many interpretations of St Benet's being 'secluded in a wilderness' it's sat there on a prominent major trading route.

Very early 1970's as a child of around five or six I'd had a trip to the dentist and been anaesthetised...very bad reaction whilst 'under' and a GP had to be summoned. I'd kicked the dentist in the unmentionables whilst unconscious. Brought back to consciousness Mum was walking me home along Balby Road in Doncaster. I felt rough. Sick, queasy, dizzy. Two lorries thundered past on the road. The first carried a T-Rex, the second a Diplodocus. I didn't say a word. I remained quiet for a week...until Blue Peter carried a piece on two life-size replica dinosaurs being transported to Flamingo Land via Doncaster.

Oh I dunno, I drive through and past many new build housing estates on my way down to Norfolk, there are three on my doorstep, all two thirds unoccupied. A forest of 'To Let' and 'For Sale' signs testament that the houses are not fit for requirements. In my home town (population 20,000) 5,500 houses are currently being built, many on a flood plain, and 90% are to be three to five bedroomed and destined to join the rest of the vacant housing stock. Having recently had a taste of the idiocy of housing developers trying to house Uncle Albert in suitable accommodation I was left scratching my head at the mentality of these people. A bidding war erupted over the two solitary single and double bedroomed houses on a 200 house estate. I dropped out of the contest when the price hit £150,000, final figure was in excess of £200,000. Only fifty homes on that estate have residents, the rest are empty. This lead me to wonder exactly who was going to occupy the large amount of three and four bedroomed, empty housing in the town? With no industry where were they going to work? With no infrastructure such as roads and rail how were they going to get to travel to work or bring work to the town? What about medical facilities? The local council's take on these issues when I asked were 'we're going to build a shopping center...with some three and four bedroom houses near by'. I think Marshman is right in that it will take a long time for the building industry to build housing suitable to our needs. It will take even longer to get the idiocy that 'everyone should aspire to own a three bedroomed house' engendered by the politicals over the last thirty odd years out of their system.

...or apparently not! Perhaps this should be in the BOG section...perhaps the archaeology section but it's in the 'Lounge' section because that's what modern archaeologists do, don't cha know? Many who know me come to understand that I often get sidetracked, sometimes through no fault of...I need to take those clamps off the timber I'm laminating for the cross cut sled...have you seen the price of angle iron? Where was I? Oh yes...sidetracked. Once Royal Tudor is back on the water I intend to make a few films for YouTube on the history and archaeology of the Broads. I'm currently researching this and was surprised at where, geographically, my research has taken me. One particular site caught my interest...it had Vikings (to keep Grendel happy), Normans (to keep fans of narrow plastic boats happy), Royalists (without whom we wouldn't have Pippa Middleton's rear) and Parliamentarians (who frankly don't keep anyone happy). I ordered relevant map's, reports and documents. I discovered that planning permission had been given for an extensive housing estate to be built on the site, so armed with a camera, compass, notebook, pencil and two beagles I set off to survey the site while there was still something to survey. Arriving on site I set my map and immediately noticed that something was wrong. Dylan the beagle was just about to cock his leg up against a mound, that according to the archaeological report, that justified the planning permission, should not be there. "Hang on a minute Dylly...that mound's not supposed to be there!" I exclaimed. Dylan stopped mid widdle and looked around suspiciously. I checked the archaeological report which read "No evidence of inhumation" and looked again at the obvious burial. Report in one hand and map in the other we walked onto the site. 'No inference of occupation' read the report. I bent down and picked up a sizeable chunk of medieval pottery. 'No evidence of structure' read the report. I paced out the remains of an enclosure and two, possibly three, buildings inside it. Something was amiss with this report. I finished surveying and photographing the site and headed for home. What on earth was wrong with the report? It seemed to have been written by someone who had never visited the site at all! Back at home I hunted down my original copy of the report. Something was wrong...I just knew it. Two days later as I packed all of my papers into a box...work is starting on my new study, floor to ceiling bookcases, map chests, writing tables and space for my server...I spotted what was wrong with the report. The title said it all. 'A desk based archaeological study of...'. I quickly looked up the author. A commercial company of archaeologists. Desk based? Desk Based? There are certain activities that are not suitable for the involvement of commercial organisations. The NHS, Railways...The Steel Industry. Archaeology is another of these! I've left the site location unmentioned for the moment as I seemed to have stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest. The upshot is...a non commercial team of archaeologists will be surveying the site. There won't be hoards of treasure found. The site will be built upon. But, the archaeology will be recorded and recorded correctly. Now the reason for the title of this post. There is one 'desk based' archaeological report I am looking forward to, having read a sample, and that is Maurice Mynahs History of the Broads. Pratchettesque in it's quality and scope. When's the publication date MM?

On a hike across the Yorkshire Moors with our Scout Troop in the late 1970's, my Mum one of our Scout Leader's, we were placed with an enthusiastic Leader from another troop from London. In his early sixties this bloke stood only a few inches taller than Mum (who was 4' 8") in his high heeled cowboy boots and hat...on a 12 mile hike indeed...and introduced himself as 'Duke'. Around six miles into the hike the guy threw himself to the floor beckoning us kids to come and inspect the object a couple of inches from his nose and jam jar bottom glasses. "Can anyone tell me what this is?" he asked excitedly in a forced stage whisper. The Scouts, country lads all, gathered round and looked dubiously at Dukes's 'discovery' not wanting to state the obvious. "It's spoor!" whispered Duke urgently. Eleven year old Bruce, a farmer's son, leaned over the prone cowboy. "Looks like sh** to me!" said Bruce as he and the rest of the Scouts walked away shaking their heads. As a very junior archaeologist on my first dig I had removed a large amount of 'pebbles' from my test pit only to find they were not pebbles! I suppose future archaeologists would look at the lack of 'deposits' of the canine variety and then leave it to the historians to correlate the lack of archaeology with documentary evidence of the 1994 act and it's association with the 1970's 'Pooper Scooper' ordinances of New York City.

Toxocara is not confined to dogs. Cat's, foxes...most mammals will harbour the roundworm. Let's be quite clear to catch it (excuse the pun) you have to ingest it. That's putting your dirty hands in your cakehole. You can also catch it by eating contaminated meat. Let's face it, before the advent of the motor car, Britain was knee deep in excrement. To be honest thanks to the chinless and gormless in Westminster...it still is. As a dog owner I clean up after my dogs. I carry enough bags on me to deal with any mess. We also have a dedicated airtight container on the boat to hold the mess. If we come across a mooring that has already been littered...be it dog poop, fishing line or on several occasions used nappies and sanitary towels I don the gloves and pick that up as well. We also keep hand sanitizer 'on hand' so to speak for use after touching ropes etc. There's also weil's disease to think about. I must say since the dog fouling legislation came into law in 1994 it's totally ruined one of my favourite Dirty Harry quotes...you just don't see those dried up yellow dog doo's any more!

Dear readers, we at the Wallet Trust desperately need your help.All over the country little wallets don't get enough put into them and all too regularly what little they had of value is ripped away. At the Wallet Trust we work hard on behalf of wallets to try and educate owners. Take Eric...he's dragged his little wallet halfway around the world only to subject it to being 'hammered' on the streets of Norwich, and actively admits the violence will continue. We at the Wallet Trust actively campaign on behalf of the little wallets and house a number safely and securely here at our facilities in Lincolnshire. We need your help in the form of cash donations to help feed the poor little wallets, helping them to put on weight so that they can more easily deal with what life takes out of them. We ask you to give generously, folding english currency only, to prevent what happened to Eric's wallet happening to ours! Thank you in advance on behalf of all the little wallets.

The best one's d... ahem hush my cakehole

Awfully sorry Alan...even though RT was designed and built by a bloke that designed and built Broom boats...I have it on good authority, that Brundall Navy chap, that he did a much better job on RT! More of a Dyson than a broom!

Somewhere among my Great Granddad's fishing tackle I still have his landing net. Homemade split bamboo handle and a hand crocheted net made by my Great Gran. When he returned home from World War 1 he was too ill from the gas to return to work down the pit. He earned money to support the family from match fishing. My Dad, Uncle Albert, as a young boy around six or seven would have to carry Great Grandad's fishing tackle to the venue and then after the match would carry the tackle home while Great Grandad would visit the pub and drink half of his winnings. I suppose he was a bit of a Macey in his time. When Uncle Albert inherited the old boy's split cane rods he took them to Archer's tackle shop in Doncaster. Old Mr Archer looked at the Archer's label on the rod and said 'hang on I'll bring father'. I was around nine years old at the time and couldn't help thinking 'Old Mr Archer must be about a hundred and he's gonna bring his father? He'll need a shovel!" Sure enough Old, Old Mr Archer was wheeled out and he picked up the rods. "Oh ah med these for Bill Johnson in 1929, but they feel wrong...too heavy!" With that he whipped off the but end of the rod and took out a drilled bullet. "He had a game right arm after they tied him t' cannon and let wheel's run over it for flinchin when a shell 'it us! This will be to balance rod 'owt when he old!" said the old man.

"We would have got away with it but for these meddling kids!" "Zoinks!" In true Scooby Doo fashion British Kids foil the escape of suspected burglars fleeing across a field in Surrey. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35948478 Proof positive that not all kids are thick! Scooby snacks all round I think?

Static? Try running up and down a bit!

I've drunk sufficient for me to stream Broads Authority policy on becoming a National Park through the broadband in my underpants...but not drunk enough to reach the point that the policy makes any sense!

Bluebottle: Are you wearing your long winter draws, Eccles? Eccles: No, I am not wearing my winter-draws-Eccles. Bluebottle: Oh. Eccles: Nope, no. I never wear them, 'bottle. Bluebottle: Cor. Aren't you afraid of going around without wearing any of them? Eccles: Nope. Bluebottle: Oh what courage! Do you know that you're a second Wyatt Earp? Eccles: Doesn't Wyatt Earp wear long draws? Bluebottle: I do not know. I have never looked up his trouser legs. Eccles: I'll tell you something. I looked up my dad's trousers once, and I discovered something. Bluebottle: What? Eccles: That's where he keeps his legs. 'Bottle, you ever seen your daddy's legs? Bluebottle: No. He always takes them to work with him. Eccles: Oh. What for, 'bottle? Bluebottle: He uses them to stop his trousers from bending.

Had a bottle of Adnams Ghostship this evening...fantastic hoppy strong grapefruit flavour...so good I had another two. Definitely a beer that will be found chilled in RT's new fridge!

Hmm...A little animation from a good friend of mine...

Tell Karen 'The Good Doctor and Watson will be booking again in the next few days!"

We used to have a Richard Hore at school. Oddly Richard's nickname was Eimer. His sister was in the year above us and given the nickname Sheeza.

With regard to funding the National Trust receives approximately £30 million from statutory bodies per annum. This is before their fundraising, legacies etc. The Trust is a charity. Having worked for the National Trust in the past, the main difference is management. The Trust has a clear vision of it's purpose, it's goals and objectives and how to achieve them. They are governed by acts of parliament that keep them strictly to their cause. The Trust is overseen by a board of trustees. 'The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for everything that happens at the Trust and for ensuring it meets its statutory purpose. The Board does not manage the Trust; rather its job is to ensure the Trust is managed the way it wishes to be. The Board does this by agreeing a strategy and holding the Director-General and his/her executive team to account for its delivery. There are normally 12 Trustees on the Board but there can be up to 15. ' The Trust is advised and supported by a dazzling array of preeminent experts and can call upon additional support from the likes of Historic England, Elite Universities and Museums as well as professional consultants, advisors and large numbers of volunteer members, who all have one goal in supporting the Trust in its objectives dictated by statute. What the BA shares with the National Trust are highly professional hard working people in the front line, but that's where the similarities stop. The BA's' income is around £3 million. The BA is a quango. Has management accountable to no one and is actively attempting to change its statutory identity. Incidentally I'm not BA bashing...just pointing to the bloody great elephant unicycling in the corner.

Old Peculier But that was the beer!

I've got a fender off an old Maurice Mynah...he just fastened it on the back while we were having a beer one day!

Twice!