ChrisB

My late wife and I loved Pembrokeshire to the point that we seriously considered moving there. My wife no longer liked the open sea but Milford Haven with it's creeks and rivers would have been just fine for us in a Drascombe Coaster or Bay Cruiser. The major reason we never went was the language. We felt that we would have been missing so much not understanding Welsh. Rightly or wrongly we felt that it was a language best learned at your mothers knee. Languages did not worry us in any way, we both could speak French and some Spanish but Welsh seemed one too far, maybe we were getting too old.

The name Siobhan always gets me........and anything Welsh, I try when in Wales but the correction! Just can't see it in the spelling.

I do not use cabs very often, usually when boat is in one place like MarineTec and car is in another like Broadsedge. I have used Wroxham, Stalham, and Acle and have no complaints. However one thing I have noticed when looking for a cab is many firms due to our outlying villages do bread and butter school runs so early mornings and mid afternoons are best avoided.

I so totally agree with you Bob. There is no such thing as "victimless crime" Someone has to pay, often all of us by higher prices. Car insurance "whiplash" being an example. However I know of one case where a car went into a low life pub and half the clientelle claimed for trauma. They forgot the cctv which is now in the hands of the insurance company's fraud department who have said they will not let the matter drop.

If you can get a cab "The Swan at Ingham" is very good but not cheap.

The restaurant on the staithe is "The Mermaids Slipper"

As a result of my late wife's illness our small cruiser was emptied out and not touched for eighteen months. It was totally green and baked on, the teak bathing platforms were covered in moss and I thought they were a write off. There was no way I could have tackled the job and having not moved the bottom was covered in mussels so much so you could not see the log paddlewheel. I left it all to Broadsedge and was delighted with the result this morning, I just need to put on the summer canopy and get the kit back on board which I started this afternoon. Though a bit emotional doing the boat on my own, it has given me a lift. The other reason I am pleased is I took my wife's wedding ring and engagement ring to Bradley Hatch in Wroxham (Hoveton) I did not want them sitting in a drawer. They have re-sized the ring and mounted the diamond so that I might wear it. I am very pleased with the result. I was eighteen when I bought that ring, Judith was seventeen, last Monday the 15th would have been our 46th anniversary.

Gays Staithe is stern on and you can stern on on the end od Barton Staithe infront of the black building.

He put the block from a 4.2 Jag in his green bin.

In the mid 1970's there was a quite shocking sign outside a public house in Rickmansworth (Grand Union) that said " NO BOAT PEOPLE" likening those who lived on the canal to the poor refugees escaping the turmoil of the aftermath of the Vietnam War. There were things in the 1970s that would never be allowed today even on the BBC etc.

The problem as explained to me by a marina owner (actually more than one) is the great difference between seagoing livaboards and those on inland waterways. He welcomed the seagoing as their boats were always kept in readiness for passage and were in the main "shipshape". On the other hand he would not have residential moorings inland and got rid of his moorings in this category, mostly by natural wastage. ( he got a lot of stick for this in various waterway mags). His explanation to me was that most of them were looking for a cheap way of living but boats can seldom accommodate all that folk wanted. Gear would get stowed to capacity on the coach roof, when full the overload would spill onto the bank. Some without transport would store coal, and wood on the bank plus old batteries etc that they were unable to take to the dump. His staff would have to mow round the stuff and soon it looked a mess. Then the complaints form other people who wanted their moorings to look smart would start. The last straw was when his offices were visited by officials from the DWP trying to trace individuals. Not saying what is right or wrong just one side of the story.

Sorry, I thought you said Far Side, I'll go back to sleep.......Love Larson.

Waitrose "English" is also very good. Remember though Mr. Colemans favourite saying: " I did not make my fortune by people eating my mustard, I made it by what they leave on their plates"

The BA 24hr at Thurne Mouth have of course gone.

In the States a triangle at a road junction is called a "Heater"

There was a "Bathtub" for sale a couple of years ago on the river Ebro, but it may have come out or a French hire fleet. Big Catfish in the Ebro.

A Pirelli P Zero, cut in half, on two pieces of blue polyprop. Looks very smart.

There used to be some Character Boats, Lune Whamels and Post Boats I think based at Glennriding that you could hire. Day boats and canoes at Pooley Bridge. Had the second half of my honeymoon at the Glenridding Hotel.

They are laid often mid channel. I have seen fykes put down early morning in Horning. They are weighted to the bottom. The bottom of the RGO in the centre of Ely used to be covered in them. Often they will have a grapnel at one end and the net is paid out behind the boat and weighted at the other. On busy waterways they are not buoyed but recovered by grapnel.

Sounds like they were laying fyke nets for eel, as poppy says if they are licenced ok.

Rangers warn those seen to stop and report back to control. I think this is recorded and if warned again reported to EA. That is what I understand anyway.

Sheridan Marine, the Freeman specialists at Moulsford, Nr Goring on Thames used to sell loads of them. I fitted one to an old tractor cab and the passenger side of a Land Rover that only had a drivers wiper. ( might well as not had anything). Used with that screen clear fluid they are ok.

It is a veg that is pretty high in purine which gout sufferers should avoid. Not like offal thought etc.

It brings on my gout if I really make a pig of myself but I can't resist it.

I have to admit I have been remiss in servicing my lifejackets in the last two seasons that I was able to use my boat and then my wife's illness took over and so they never got looked at. Last week I took my jackets to Brundall Bay where I have always taken them. This morning I had a call from SeaSafe on the I.O.W. to say he could service one of my manual jackets but not certify it due to being over 10 years old and manufactured in 2005. Anyway I took the £10 trade-in and bought a new one. But the moral of this story is as follows, I keep detailed records of anything to do with my boat and that Jacket was purchased in 2009. So it was 40% gone at time of purchase. My advice is open the jacket up in the shop and check the manufacturers date before you buy.