Paul

Shhh MauriceM, I think you got away with it. Xenophobia aside I think we should all be watching the French very closely as, unless I missed something this is the first country who have detailed any kind of plan to exit lock down.

that was my thinking, though in my world raspberry pie is something to be enjoyed with custard, and there my knowledge ends. I can't believe that we are alone in wanting to know how much their D6's are drinking, especially given there exponential fuel curve. We are told that at 2600 rpm, about 25 knots they should be drinking about 25 liters per hour each but in practice they seem to be using considerably more. The engines have just been serviced, turbos were stripped during a major overhaul in 2018 when she also had new intercoolers and props and her bum was scraped last spring. Due to lcokdown nothing has happened yet this year, though when we can she will be lifted for another clean and we'll see what her fouling is like. Either she's got an oyster bed on her keel, we are suffering massive prop slip or diesel has been evaporating... agreed, and from what we have found with flow meters most are rated in liters per minute, and start at 1+, or 60 liters per hour which is the top end of our usage at "ramming" speed. As Griff says above, turbine meters are not really suitable so we are looking at electric pulse meters, the quote we had included 4 such meters supposedly capable of measuring down to 0.1 lpm and do not interrupt flow, at a cost of £450+vat each. When we decided on this course, we expected there would be something "off the shelf" which could be easily fitted, perhaps even DIY. I'm finding it easier to understand the nuances of neurosurgery!

During my 30 years in the travel business I've been around the world a number of times. I'm lucky to have visited just about everywhere I ever wanted to, with the odd exception. I've never been to Kashmir, and would have loved to have visited the houseboats on Dal Lake, Srinigar. I had it planned a couple of times but tensions in the region which is disputed between India and Pakistan caused my plans to be cancelled. Likewise I've never been to Samarkand, again I was due to do so on a Silk Road tour but local unrest meant this part of the tour was missed and we ended up stuck in Tashkent for several days. As I wasn't paying I could hardly complain and it did give me the chance to experience a flight in a Mig 29. About the only other place I never visited, surprisingly was Italy and whilst the longer haul destinations might have passed me by I do plan to catch up on Italy one day, perhaps a self drive grand tour? Of all the places I visited I was always glad to be heading home with one exception, and that was the Seychelles. Somewhat surprising for me as beach resorts are generally not high on my list but I loved the Seychelles and if I could choose where to be locked down then it would be there. Perhaps the island of La Digue, which was delightful.

Thank you. We've had a quote to install a system which sounds to me like it would be more at home on the Star Ship Enterprise. A bear of little brain I may be, but naive I ain't. I know full well the meaning of the acronym "boat" but there is a sniff of being taken for a ride. The quote we've had creates a can-bus system which takes data from flow and return meters on each lump, plus a gps receiver and tank sender and calculates current flow, average flow, nMPG, range etc to a touch screen display. All that would be lovely but not at £6k plus

Yes, that's what I thought. I can find extension systems for existing networks but nothing stand alone, which is what we really need.

I've never quite made Surlingham, I've taken a dinghy up there a time or two and gone up to King's Fleet but never quite made Surlingham. Sadly many of my once favoured paces have been compromised by running engines, long stayers, places like Stalham Staithe, Neatishead. Several of my favourite bolt holes on the Waveney around Aldeby have had fishing platforms built in them, so nowadays my personal favourite locations tend to be away from the broads, sadly. I still love the Upper Yare, and cruising through Beccles is very special, and the moorings at the Locks still a special place, even is the pub is not what it once was.

can anyone suggest a decent fuel flow meter, ideally something that will display fuel flow to each engine, as well as combined flow and total usage since reset. A fuel level meter for twin tanks in the same instrument would be the cat's whiskers. I'm thinking a digital meter / fuel computer if such a thing exists. I have tried googling but there are surprisingly few serious results, just lots of cheap Chinese meters.

not the best day. I received an email early this morning to advise that an old school friend took his own life on Thursday. I'm sad to say that we lost touch a few years ago after he moved to Lincolnshire but did bump into each other last summer in Great Yarmouth purely by chance. We shared a jar or two in The Barking Smack. His daughter tried to call him on Thursday and getting no reply on several occasions decided it warranted a visit and found him when she arrived. Later this morning I had a call from the minister of our church to advise that a very old friend of the family, one of my late mothers best friends had also passed away. Her carer went in to help her out of bed and found her sat in the armchair wrapped in a blanket, It appears she had got herself downstairs in the night. It is not clear at this time whether her death was corona virus related though she had shown no symptoms. She has been unwell for some time. Keep an eye on your loved ones folks, and stay safe.

The Dambusters was on a couple of days ago, Sony Movies I think, complete with the warning that "this film contains language pertinent to the time of production but which some viewers may find offensive today" I'm surprised they haven't over dubbed it yet.

I've driven along that road many times and nowhere is it less than a meter wide, in fact as my car in nearly two meters wide I can guarantee it.

you mean your late grandfathers boat onboard which he met your grand mother, conceived your father before taking it out to sea to rescue the crew of an upturned fishing boat during which a narwhal punctured the hull leaving his first mate to sit in the hole and plug it with his buttocks whilst being nibbled by moray eels. You've got to get with the backstory!

I have no great faith in any of our media, especially the BBC whose reputation for accurate and unbiased journalism is nothing to write home about. I find the Independent to be as reliable as anything, once I would have said the Telegraph but those days are long gone. Interestingly news of the Prime Ministers transfer to intensive care yesterday broke on TASS, the Russian news agency hours before officially reported in the UK and was dismissed as sensationalism or a deliberate attempt to destabilize the government (which of course it may well have been), but it was accurate. I think the evening corona virus update would be a much better instrument if it were journalist free, an address to the nation rather than a glorified press conference. But then i would not expect our Government to be spending it's time reporting what is happening in the wider world. Whilst they watch and converse with other nations to learn what they can thy have enough to deal with on our own shores, which is where the press takes over, you pays your money and takes your choice.

So how do you get that information from official sources Fred? Are they in direct communication with you?

Pardon? These are not gossip, but reports from reliable media sources such as the Guardian on cases confirmed by the authorities in the countries concerned. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/bronx-zoo-tiger-tests-positive-for-coronavirus https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/coronavirus-pet-dog-can-you-catch-it-transmission-a9376926.html

Several big cats at the Bronx Zoo in New York have been showing signs of Corona Virus, and one animal, a Tiger was tested and found to be infected. There have also been reports of dogs in both Hong Kong and South Korea which have contracted Corona Virus

Radioactive, Jimmy Page and The Firm?

or perhaps it's both ......

Toto, Africa

The Waterboys, The Whole Of The Moon

no, it's When Dove's Cry by Prince, you can just make out the tears

I think you've nailed it Grendel, we too will not be driving anywhere to get exercise but living in a village that's easy for us to say. It's no so easy for others.

Sadly the one thing we all know about common sense is that it's anything but common nowadays, so people need, and should be able to expect clear advice and instruction. Whilst the corona virus outbreak has happened very quickly the legislation is not new, state of emergency legislation has existed for years, ready to be fine tuned and enacted when required. Remember that the virus bill requires us to abide by government instructions but it is useless if those instructions are not specific. The issue of what is and is not acceptable exercise has been rumbling on for more than a week now, surely it is something that should be a priority to resolve. Perhaps more time at the evening briefing could be spent clarifying this, rather than listen to jobbing journalists trying to score points against each other quizzing our ministers about things that did, didn't or might have happened in the past. Are you clear about what is permitted and what is not? I'm not, but thankfully living in a village it's not too difficult for us. We have the allotment a five minute walk away, we have green fields within two minutes. What if you don't? barbecues on the beach is clearly not exercise, these are the areas which our constabularies should be addressing, rather than visiting corner shops telling them to stop selling eater eggs. But what if you live in Brighton, can you walk on the beach for your exercise? What if you are a ten minute drive away, could you then? Twenty minutes? Clarity is vital.

A lot of this is down to unclear instructions from Government which in terms of exercise say "stay local, use open spaces close to your home" etc, which some Police Forces have taken as meaning not to drive when it does not actually say that. One thing we really need in these times is clear instruction so every one knows what is and is not permitted.

I thought the chairman had closed the National Park debate. Surely that applies to everyone, not just one particular side of the argument?