Paul

as a Liverpool fan I was hoping Chelsea would stick with Mourinho until at least the end of the season but I'm not surprised they have sacked him now. Personally, I believe he has become so focused on the Mourinho legend that he's forgotten how to coach a football team. For his own sake I hope he turns his back on football now, at least for a year or two and takes some time out. Otherwise I can see serious mental and psychological issues on the horizon.

What I want to know is will the new Queensferry Crossing be called the Fifth Bridge?

I'm afraid I cut my charitable spending back the year before last, out of necessity more than choice. As Gracie says, feeding your own children comes first, then there are school uniforms etc etc. I kept just sight savers, water aid, the RSPCA and PDSA. Since then the latter two have both gone, the RSPCA because if their aggressive door step campaigning (we had four visits in six days earlier this year, two of then on the same day, and they don't take a hint) and the PDSA because of they let me down badly last year, after which I looked at what they actually do and their charges for treatment are similar to many vets anyway. I still support water aid, they are very clear where their money goes and openly publish their fund raising budget and results. Ditto sight savers. What I would suggest for anyone who feels they want to donate to something they have been approached about in the street or at the doorstep is to wait, then contact the charity direct. If the collector is genuine they will not mind this, if they do object then you can be sure that they are making from the deal and not all your money is going to reach the charity, let alone benefit the cause you are supporting.

I've used LPG for the last twenty years or so, except for the last vehicle I owned, which ran (or, being a Renault more commonly broke down) on diesel. I did once consider the self transesterification route but as a former neighbour managed to blow his barn up brewing his own biodiesel (a roof tile was found sixty yards away sticking out of the ground in the opposite neighbours orchard) it rather put me off. It was a rather dramatic, not to mention expensive way of demonstrating the extreme volatility of methanol. Especially as the insurance company nullified his claim as soon as they heard what he was doing.

Yep, good old Gas. I've just gone past 60000 miles on this one, saving 11p on each and every mile (even more when I can fill up at 40p/litre) Even after the cost of buying the kit that's over £6000 saved in three years. I can't understand why anyone uses anything else

Howard is being very polite when he says it is a "food led pub", sadly as with Griff this is now off our visiting list. Last time we were in we were not quite asked to leave, though we all agreed in hindsight that would have been friendlier and more polite than the attitude we got. If you are not eating then do yourself a favour, get some cans in and a deck of cards. In the interest of balance and fairness, if you do want to eat then the food is very good.

£1 a litre, crikey. I had to pay 51.9p the other day and thought I was being ripped off

If you can see the music I'll have twenty of what you've been smoking

Are Woodies still brewing Mardlers? I thought it had gone the same way as Baldric and Headcracker. Once upon a time I was a real fan, any trip to broadland would have to include a trip to the brewery to stock up with a box or three, but I haven't been for a few years. Sadly, those old characterful ales have gone, replaced by such things as Sundew, Bure Gold and Once Bittern. Weaselpiss all. I'm not a Wherry fan, bland and featureless, Nelsons is, as previously mentioned a half decent session beer but the best is Admirals Reserve. It is a citrussy brew and I can appreciate some not liking that, personally I am not a fan of broadside which I find much too sweet, almost sickly after a couple of pints. Each to there own taste I guess. If you get a chance to try it, tinsel toes is very nice, a real shame that it is only around as a seasonal brew, it puts the Sundew brigade to shame.

The best drinking chocolate is made from real chocolate, rather then powders or potions. Hasslachers is one of the best but it costs around a tenner for a pound bar. Thorntons do a passable alternative which is sold in bags. It is specifically made for drinking and contains no added sugar. Make it with steamed milk, if possible as it has a better texture.

Dad hailed from Corby, and two of my cousins have, at different times worked for Fairline at Oundle. They have been struggling for years. There have been several rounds of redundancies. Sadly it appears that they cannot, for whatever reason keep pace in a market which is supposedly still quite bouyant (excuse the pun)

My spellings fine, it's the loptaps spill chucker that koops cacking up

or even Dyslexic ..... Given that Dyslexia is a problem with letters and words, why does it have such a complicated name?

Likewise Mondeoman, welcome. Interestingly I post on a number of forums as Mondeoman, mostly car based. I did have to double check when I saw the name that you were not me! Rio Light. Firstly, I doubt you'll regret choice of boatyard. Herbert Woods are one of the longest established yards and have a good reputation. With regards to the boat then this design divides opinion. The idea was to provide a boat with outside steering which would still pass under Broads bridges but there are some compromises, mostly with regard to the helms. I must say at this point I have not been on Rio, but have been on Barnes Brinkcraft's Brink of Day which is identical. I'll deal with the bad bits first, get them out of the way. The lower helm suffers restricted vision, as Iain has said. You can navigate along the river reasonably safely, it's not dangerously bad or anything but the slope of the front of the boat and the fact you sit a little way back from the front screen means you only get to see along the river, there's no skyward view. The curtains get in the way but you get round that by tucking them up (we took them down in the end). The upper helm is the real issue. The wheel is very, very low down so you have to reach forward and lean down to it. It's a real back breaker. Fifteen minutes of that and I needed a day in traction to straighten the back out. I ended up putting cushions on the upper helm seat and steering with my foot. Stern mooring is not a real problem, but you have to do it from the outside helm, if it's raining just pop a mac on for a few minutes. The plus sides for this boat are that it offers great social areas. The front seating area is excellent. I'm 5'10 and suffer claustrophobia but didn't have any issues with the lowering roofline, though you do have to stoop in and out a little. But it is a very comfortable seating area, probably the best of any boat we have hired. It would be very good with children who can sit at the table and see what's happening as you cruise along. Likewise the upper deck offers a nice social seating area, and is good for kids being reasonably well enclosed. The level of fit out was very good on Brink, and HW's Rio will be no different. As with any boat, it is swings and roundabouts and whether it suits you depends on your priorities. If you want a very comfortable, well appointed boat then she fits that. If ease of helming is your priority it is probably not the best.

Don't take the water out of Watney's, it needs all the flavour it can get

What is the interviewer going on about, "Essex girl a bimbo with only two brain cells to rub together"? I guess she was referring to the pregnant ones.

the other thing worth remembering is that not all devices are created equal. Reception, especially for data varies between manufacturers. Mifi units are usually better than mobiles, and Sony and Samsung mobiles tend to be better than I phones, and Nokia Lumias are dreadful unless you have the large screen 9xx series which have better antennas.

It's not that long ago that mobile providers, 3 especially were telling us that home broadband was dead, mobile 4G would take over everything. Loads of people bought into that and all of a sudden the mobile operators realised that they couldn't actually afford to supply all that bandwidth, and so the uncapped contracts quickly disappeared. Elaine is on a 3 contract now, and they won't let her upgrade. Friends on the same contract have just been told that they have got to migrate to the new tariffs, which they answered with true English gusto, two fingers enthusiastically waived. They have joined Giffgaff, £20 a month, unlimited everything, tethering (mobile hotspots) permitted. They do say they will slow daytime data speed after you have used 6Gb a month, but our friends have not noticed any great change despite using much more than that,

I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that he'll be sacked. If he is, will he become the first manager to be sacked by the same club twice? I did here tell that Roman's mega yacht was seen moored in Accra the other day, what could he have been doing there I wonder? Isn't Avram Grant managing Ghana at the moment?

It's official, Jose is not special any more, did you not hear us singing at the Bridge on Sunday? There were fantastic sustained chorusses of "You're not special anymore" and "Sacked in the morning" but sadly MOTD seemed to ignore them, focussing instead on the final chorus of "You'll never walk alone ..... unless your name is Jose"

My niece found the same, the service was excellent but they charged her £116 for a replacement coil pack for her 1250 Fiesta. When I checked with our local Ford dealer the shelf price was £40 plus VAT. She wrote to the AA who pointed her to a raft of weasel words in their Ts&Cs such as restocking fees, carriage charges etc. That said, I have never come across anyone else having parts fitted at the roadside so it may be something they are all up to, and the fact that the van which attended was carrying the correct part could be considered merit worthy. It depends which way you look at it I suppose. She was certainly not going to find a coil pack at 6pm on New Years Eve anywhere else!

I use start resuce, £16 for roadside / local recovery, £18 for nationwide recovery, £28 for home assistance as well. Only ever had cause to call them once and their agent turned up within half an hour. rates are for cars upto five years old, above that they add IIRC 25%, you can also add personal cover if you want even most AA and RAC breakdown vehicles are franchised now, gone is the man on the motorcycle who saluted your metal badge as you drove by.....

We decide that Horning will suffice for an overnight stop. We visit the shop and stock up with fresh milk. As usual there is no signal for phone or wi-fi. We do get a decent TV signal though so we sit Jamie in front of c-beebies whilst I start writing the blog. It will have to wait to be uploaded, our plan is to head upriver to Wroxham tomorrow. We have stocked up with the vital bits but need food for the second half of the week so a visit to Roys is on the cards. Jamie could do with new school shoes, I note the ones he has been wearing are a bit scuffed plus there are a few people I would like to take presents back for. I'm thinking I'll even push the boat out and treat Elaine to a lunch at one of the places by the river. We share cooking duties during the evening but Elaine ends up doing the lunches, normally whilst I am driving the boat. Lunch by the river will be nice, especially if the weather is good tomorrow, which the forecast suggests it will be. I will also take the chance to bank a brownie point or two. We take the opportunity for a walk along to the New Inn for a beverage, catch up with Gus and give Jamie a chance to play in the arcade. A pint of Nelsons goes down a treat then we let Jamie loose on the machines. An hour later and several toys better off we head back for the boat, dinner and an early night.

Monday: A Quiet Ranworth, or Lucky Ducks! So, where was I, ah yes, Thurne Dyke. I am writing this on Thursday, you will have to keep reading to find out where, but Thurne Dyke already seems a long time ago. We are in no rush, like the river we will get where we are going when the time is right. I look at the clock at 7:30, another hour between the sheets will do no harm. And so it is a lazy start to Monday. I am awakoen from my doze by Jamie banging around in the wheelhouse, he is old enough now to look after himself and the door to the deck is locked so he cannot get into any trouble. Let me rephrase that, he cannot come to any harm. I eventually decide to check on him, see that he is alright. He is happily playing and watching Milkshake on the TV. I put the kettle on and check on the store cupboard to see what we need to stock up on. There seems to be no bread. I am sure there were two loaves. Jamie, have you seen the bread? I don't know daddy. I don't know is Jamie speak for Yes Daddy, but I don't want to tell you! Jamie, why there are so many ducks around the boat? I don't know daddy. The outcome is that two loaves of Aldi's finest multigrain has been catapulted through the wheelhouse window to the waiting ducks. Wildfowlers in the Thurne area please be aware that the ducks are already stuffed! We have a leisurely breakfast, which needless to say does not involve toast, then walk into the Village. Thankfully Sid has a loaf in the shop and we restock, with a stern warning to Jamie that if it get's fed to the ducks, then so does he! It's late morning before we cast off and head out towards the River Bure. I am so wrapt in admiration for the very smart boat heading towards us I almost ignore the helmsman waving frantically. In the end a shout of "Hello Paul" brings me back to reality. I know I should have recognised the boat, but I still associate Lord Paul with the old one. Sorry M'lord. We wave, shout hellos and continue on our way. It is a pleasant morning, overcast still but not cold and at least the outlook might hold a little sunshine later. But for now the grey skies accompany us up towards South Walsham, St Bennets, Ant Mouth and Ranworth, and we turn down the Dam. A lunchtime stop and Ice Creams are in order, plus I could do with refilling the woodbine supply. The staithe is not busy, yer read that again, not busy. About half full maybe along the front and just the odd boat moored down the side. I head for my preferred spot on the very end and ease Contessa in gently. It looked a perfect mooring, in truth I stopped to take stock and the wind blew us in just right. Don't tell the onlookers though. We visit the shop but at this end of the season there is not much in stock, but we do find Ice Creams, and very lovely they were to! Whilst we eat them I read through the Parish Council minutes pinned in the notice board. I note that they report the issue of dog fouling on the staithe to be improving. Sadly not today. Three great heaps along the quayside. I don't know if this is coming from boat borne animals, local dogs or ferral strays but I am guessing the former. Our little terrier is in the kennels this week. She used to come with us but is getting a bit long in the tooth now. She doesn't like the car so I'm guessing life alfoat would not suit her now. As a dog owner it sickens me that other owners show so little respect for the people around them by allowing dogs to foul, and not clean up after them. The sun is starting to smile down and we leave Ranworth to continue our journey upstream. It is a lovely cruise up past St Bennets Church, Cockshoot and into Horning. The Ferry has a few boats moored alongside, plus three or four tied stern on by the car park. I thought the stern mooring at The Ferry had been discontinued? It certainly made that part of the river very narrow. We pass serenely by, admiring th properties along the river, dreaming of thos six numbers as always until we reach the staithe. There is space, two spaces in fact. I chose the on in the middle and we slide in, again assisted by a gentle onshore breeze which helos us into a gap about five feet longer than the boat.

Sshhh! I quite agree, but don't let Clive know! There will be a fuller review of the boat when we get home.