Paul

Crying out loud MM, now I have brain ache. I would suggest at the depths on The Bargate there is not sufficient travel through the water to fully slow a heavy object to the terminal velocity in medium, especially if it is given a good chuck, if of course you are Popeye. I say this as a total ignoramus on the subject, just my guess and not from any personal knowledge or research.

Wasn't quite sure whether to put this in car talk, or my day, much of it could feature in either. I should have had an inkling that this would not be a good day when the phone rang just after 9.00am, my car insurance company. Now, following Griff's "adventures" with his windscreen i hesitate to raise the issue again, but last year when travelling along the M5 a bolt detached from a bicycle on a roof rack as it went past us, hitting the passenger side of the windscreen and chipping it. The insurance company sent a man to repair the chip, which he did. He did advise it would not fully hide the chip, but actually it didn't hide it at all, it was still just as visible. I contacted the insurance company as I wasn't happy with this but they said as I had given my consent the repair was all they could do. Yesterday, just as i drove up the street whilst lowering the roof the chip cracked, in for directions, up down left and right. I rang the insurance company who advised the windscreen company would contact me to arrange replacement. The call this morning was to say they cannot accept the claim, as they have already settled a claim on this damage. To say I went ballistic is an understatement. Anyway, that one's ongoing. A little after 10:00 the company that should have been collecting my Honda CRV rang to say that they could not make it today as arrange, the next date they can collect it is Monday, which is no good as we will be in Norfolk (Hallelujah!) . I have arranged for them to collect it when we get back, but it's far from the quote today / collect tomorrow promise on their advertising. The MOT runs out whilst we are away, so I shall have to move the caravans, trailers and the boat around now so I can get it on the driveway. So, I thought to get some unwind time I would mow the lawns, especially as one of them is likely to become a boat park in the near future, but the mowers won't start - neither of them. I've cleaned carbs, I've changed air filters and spark plugs, I've been to the garage and got fresh petrol, I've removed and cleaned ignition coils, I have a good spark on both, fuel is flowing, both fire up with a shot of easy start, then fade away and stubbornly refuse to restart. So i sit down with some stilton and pork pie for me tea and log on to the forums. I only frequent two nowadays, this and one about caravans, only to find on the one that isn't this one an outrageous personal attack because I dared to suggest that a certain brand of continental caravan was not as good as some people made out, based on the fact that my grandparents had one in the 70s and it was rubbish and that there have been a number of people posting with issues about them on the forum in recent weeks. Now I'm pretty think skinned, I know my opinions can sometimes be contrary to others, and I will stick up for them and when people stick up for their different opinion (obviously incorrect) I don't take it personally and never hold a grudge. But this post, from a moderator no less really upset me. As a result I've been a real grump futtock all evening. Still, tomorrow is another day. It will start with two lawn mowers and a two stone sledge hammer. I haven't checked this evening's lottery numbers, I don't think I'll bother.

That is how they are intended to be used, so give it as good a lob as you can, just make sure you clear the deck and that you don't have anything such as an arm or leg tangled in the ropes.

No. I have queried this with a ranger, if the engine is running it is considered to be in use, so a sail boat with motor running be it inboard or outboard, in neutral or engaged is considered a motor vessel and yields to non powered craft, and likewise has no priority over any other motor vessel. If you think about it properly this makes sense as who is to know whether a sail boat with engine running has it engaged or not?

A little win, and a sad loss. When Breydon was born, nearly three years ago we bought new stairgates, despite having the ones leftover from when Jamie was little. They were posh black metal and dark wood ones from Argos. We bought two, plus two extension pieces for each so they would close off the hallway and landing at the top and bottom of the stairs, rather than have to fit on the stairs themselves. To be honest, they looked good but were rubbish. Within days the wooden gate sections were working loose and within a couple of months they "hung" on the hinges to such an extent they wouldn't swing closed properly. Then one broke completely and when I tried to return it Argos told me it was damage caused by misuse and that was not covered under warranty. The kids will grab hold of the gate and rattle it, and that is what has caused the damage, my argument being that a child stairgate should be built to withstand that, Argos disagreed. The broken one was replaced, at my expense, stupidly with another of the same to maintain "the look". It was no better than the first two. CAB then Trading Standards got involved. TS had already had a number of complaints about these gates, not latching properly, breaking and splintering and they sent me a form to fill in and told me to keep the gates in case they were needed as evidence. Over a year later I had an email from Argos to advise the product had been recalled due to a number of technical faults which might render them dangerous. Then came the pandemic. I finally took them back to our local store today and received a full refund. The sad loss? Well driving home I notice building work has started on the old golf course. Back in the 1980s the local district council built the town a golf course. It was one of the best things they had ever done. OK, not much of a golf course but it proved very popular, 9 holes inc a couple of par 4s and a par 5. Pay and play. For years it was £3 for 9 holes are £5 to go round twice and play 18, Par 62. It proved so popular that the price increased at weekends to £5/8 When it first opened my father was responsible for collecting the money and issuing tickets, as he was the fishing warden at the leisure center ponds and the golf course was built partly around the lake and across a couple of fields alongside the bypass. I played two or three times a week. There were a few quite challenging shots needed, a par five with a narrow fairway needing accuracy off the tee, a dog leg par four where you had to choose to lay up well short of the green or try drawing around the corner and risking the OOB. It was no St Andrews but we liked it. If the warden was not around we would right our names on a piece of paper with the time we started and tuck into the door frame of his hut. He'd either wander round and collect the fees when he got back or wait for us to finish and collect it as we left. All very pleasant, very relaxed. It was taking on average £1000 per week, over double the income from the fishing lakes. Then came the recession and the golf course was closed. It was maintained by the parks department, who lost 4 out of every 5 members of staff to the cutbacks. The fishing warden was also made redundant and fishing tickets had be be obtained from the leisure center reception. There was no longer anyone available to mow and maintain the golf course or to collect the money and so the precious little asset, both in terms of income, and community facility was lost. It was no surprise that as soon as the course was closed the land alongside the bypass was acquired by the county council for "future development". Having lay waste for a number of years the bulldozers moved on to the land this morning, leveling the site so that work can begin on a new Burger King and Pizza Hut complex, right next to the existing McDonalds and KFC. It's only a small town, it doesn't need all these drive throughs. The KFC is empty 90% of the time, the site is so run down and infested with vermin, anyone who knows the place won't touch it with a barge pole. These new outlets are not needed. Alongside there are two hundred and sixty houses to be built, on a plot not much larger than the old church yard, how on earth they expect to shoe horn so many houses in I don't know. This will mean another two new roundabouts on the bypass, this will take it to 8 in less than two miles. The bypass is so slow nowadays that locals drive through the town again, it's quicker. We'll soon need a bypass to bypass the bypass.

Having been one of those hirers I can say from experience that is not the case. By the time you have moored at 5.30, cooked an evening meal on your electric galley and then spent an hour if front of Dr Who then made the horlicks there is no power left in the batteries to boil a kettle in the morning. You've heard I'm sure the joke, "they've found something that can do the work of ten men ..... a woman". guess what, they've also found something that can do the work of thousands of pounds worth of lithium ion batteries. It's called a £40 bottle of propane.

and the fact that it has a gas cooker and hob. Certain boatyards need to take notice and realise that modern BSS regs don't preclude gas onboard and that boats don't need to be all electric and have engines running to make a brew at 06:30.

I was at NYA Brundall the other day and they had quite a selection, couldn't do a deal alas. Waterside at potter had a load of tat at wee wee taking prices.

The main difference between the two, other than the beam of course, is the variety of boat styles available on the rivers compared to the canals, and nobody else can tell you what you want, though inevitably some will try. I would suggest that, if you can, take a trip to a couple of brokers yards and look around the different boats, go onboard and then take your thoughts away and ponder them for a while. Broads boats are always a trade off between different benefits. Boats with greater outside space have less room inside, high steering positions afford better views but need greater bridge clearance.

Whilst I would trust the WHO not to knowingly circulate false information the frequency with which their advice has changed during this pandemic demonstrates that they know very little more than the rest of us. They gather data which is in itself subject to the vagaries of the national organisations compiling it, and they use that to make informed assumptions. Many of those assumptions have been shown to be partly or wholly inaccurate. I'm not having a go at them, they make the best calls they can in a very difficult situation, but what they say today is different to what they said last week, and next week it will no doubt be different again. Such is the nature of a pandemic.

I contracted COVID-19 at the end of April, despite following all guide lines in place at that time,. Severe symptoms lasted 72 hours, the cough about 8 weeks. I was tested clear at the beginning of June as Jamie's school insisted on me testing clear before they would let him back. Breydon, our youngest showed mild symptoms, temperature, cough etc but Elaine and Jamie nothing. From that first hand experience asymptomatic cases are far more common than the WHO statement suggests, or Elaine and Jamie did not contract the virus meaning it is not as infectious as suggested, bearing in mind they were confined in the house with me. I know which I think is more likely.

I can understand McDonalds, but why not Costa? We have McDonalds occasionally mostly for the kids, not too often though, but I'm partial to my Costa

not unlike the seaside town close to where my sister used to live, which for many years resisted a Costa fearing it would damage the existing local tea rooms. Under similar circumstances the potential franchisee purchased an existing cafe and in quick order a Costa was opened. Despite all the protests, guess where the locals get their caffeine hit now?

As Capt. Mainwaring might say, I think you're heading in to the realms of fantasy now, although wait, hold on a minute. I can see it taking shape as I type. Ludham would be no good, Womack, that would be ideal. You have that nice straight section just before you get to Hunter's where windows one and two could be located. 'Window' one is actually an intercom machine of course into which you speak to place your order which is then confirmed by an operator at the other end whose voice is so distorted by the machine that in addition to the constant drone of your BMC 1.5 you'll have no idea whether you've just ordered a big mac and fries or put twenty quid on the nose of the favourite in the 4.15 at Kempton Park, but that all adds to the realism. Window 2 is where you pay, or more accurately where you correct your order and pay as you now realise that as little as you could understand the operator speaking to you on that intercom, he or she could likewise not hear a word you were saying. Below the window there is always a little perspex box for you to drop in your loose change for Ronnie Mc D's chosen charities, perhaps to make this more regionally appropriate we could use this loose change box to fund the Acle Debacle? Window three is where you collect your food, or at least what passes for it, and would be opposite window two on the other side of the dyke so you can cruise on around the island then back towards the main river collecting your assemblage of bags, boxes and cardboard cups as you pass. Perhaps we could employ a net system with a drawstring mechanism on the bottom so that the operator can swing this out over the river as you pass and release the string just when you least expect it upending a large latte directly into your lap and your double cheeseburger into the foot well, again maintaining the realism. This cruise around the island will allow sufficient time for some spotty faced youth to over cook your burger, sorry, In Mc D's speak "patty", add the gherkin you ordered to be omitted and for the lettuce to go limp, squash the whole thing down so it resembles something you thought you'd thrown away yesterday and of course, most importantly for the fries to go cold as warm fries would never do. You could then swing around in the main river and repeat the process when you realise they have completely forgotten the large banana milk shake you ordered and paid for, the toy in the kid's happy meal is exactly the same as the one they gave you yesterday and the four cartons of "tangy barbecue" dipping sauce you asked for to accompany your twenty McNuggets is actually tartar sauce because they have run out of barbecue and the person who packed your meal is not aware that Chicken and tartar sauce is about as good a match as a bath tub and a hair dryer. Finally we can install large litter bins on the corner of the main river at which people could aim their waste as they pass by, inevitably missing so that big mac boxes, fillet of fish wrappers and Mc Coke cups can percolate their way around the local area, carried by wind and tide to the four corners of broadland, after all there's nothing like free advertising. I think we're on to a winner.

good suggestion

It's a very complex picture in Leicester and there is no single answer to why it has such a high number of confirmed cases. One without doubt is that there have been a greater number of tests following the initial concern over infection rates in the area so inevitably more confirmed cases. When you look at the number of confirmed cases as a ratio to the number of tests carried out Leicester is not that much different to a number of other vulnerable locations which have been highlighted. That said, the number of cases has been too high and does indicate that the measures supposedly put in place to limit the spread of the disease have not worked. There have sadly been numerous reports in local media of large gatherings in the city in recent weeks, some marking religious festivals, others related to protests ongoing around the country and in all of them social distancing seems to have been non existent. Police have reported visiting a number of manufacturing sites where social distancing has not been observed and "issued advice" though I have not heard of any charges being bought. There are also a large number of extremely secular ethnic communities and it has been suggested that the "message" has just not gotten in to these communities as it should and the method of communicating the lock down rules has been heavily criticised.

Sadly I have to agree with Nigel, as much as I have enjoyed the photos that he has posted over many years on this, and other fora there is no way that he can know if any particular image is going to cause upset or offence. It has certainly made me rethink how I share images online and will in future perhaps be much more circumspect and hesitant in doing so. People tend to relate certain things with times in their lives, for me it might be a song, a film, a place even. For others as in this case an image. Some rekindle good memories, others not so good memories of less happy times. There are to this day a couple of songs and a couple of movies I cannot bear to hear or watch and a certain place I cannot bring myself to visit. These were favourites of mine and my late fiance, and despite the fact that she died thirty years ago next week that nerve is as raw today as it was then. All I can say is that having known Nigel through these fora for close to twenty years, a person less likely to wish to cause offence is difficult to imagine.

The Ferry House at Surlingham, because it's the best pub on the southern rivers and alongside the Bridge Inn at Acle the best on the Broads. The Watersedge is a Restaurant more than a Pub and had a bit of a rough time a few years ago but seems to have recovered, current reviews have been more favourable but there are still some doubts about the welcome given to hire craft on their moorings. To be fair, I'm more of a Gammon and Egg and a pint of best character than Lobster and Chateau Margeaux.

The Nelson's Head at Horsey The Lion at West Somerton The Bridge Inn at Acle The Ferry House, Surlingham The Wherry, Geldeston The Locks Inn, also at Geldeston.

it hardly amounts to a hill of beans in this crazy world, though I note the usual suspects in that other place are baying for blood. Life's too short.

the post will not get anyone in to trouble. If anyone had done wrong gets in to trouble then it will be there own decisions and actions that is the cause, not the reporting of it.

not necessarily, if they were out last night they could have drifted down to Stracey or Stokesby on last nights ebb and through Yarmouth on this morning's slack.

Ssshhhh, don't tell anyone.

If your planning to use the Angles Way path then I think you will be OK for most of the route with the buggy, there are a few short stretches where the buggy might struggle with an occupant but that might be the time for a piggy back and carry the buggy if it's not too heavy

I think you're going to need an extra week!