Mouldy

Hi Steve We used someone called Ian Lumley of Lumley Marine. The survey was good, highlighted a few points that we hadn’t seen, too and wasn’t extortionately expensive. If you are buying through NYA, he is in their list. Good luck with it mate.

Only 40? Wish I could remember being 40!!!!! Many happy returns, Robin. Have a great day!

All clear now Steve??😁😁😁

Clifton Bridge maybe.

LMAO!!!!!!😂😂😂😂 We live on a relatively new estate on the outskirts of Northampton, where a twenty mph limit is in place, that is largely ignored by everyone regardless of their age. Surely consideration for others is lacking in all areas of our society and every age group. Are we saying that everyone who speeds on the Broads is young?

Nice write up David. I always enjoy reading about other folks exploits and seeing their photos. I particularly like the drone shots . . . . .I’ve thought about buying one myself, but fear that it wouldn’t last too long before landing in the drink!! It seems a long wait for us now until September, when we’re back on Moonlight Shadow again.

I think the term you're looking for is caramelised.

Saturday 13th April We were awake early on Saturday. There always seems so much to do and so little time to do it in when you get ready to go home. Deb pulled on some clothes and walked the dog whilst I switched on the immersion heater, made a cuppa and stripped the bed before going for a shower. Depending on which direction you looked, the weather appeared very different. Towards Brundall, it was sunny, but towards Bramerton, the clouds looked ominous. I was ready not long after the wife returned with Harley, so whilst she showered, I toasted some crumpets for breakfast. Deb had her breakfast after she had showered and dressed. By then it was about 07:40 and time to cast off for our last short cruise back to our home yard. As we drew closer I could see that that the fuel quay was empty, so we headed there and waited until 08:00 for them to open. Fuel for the week and pump outs for both toilets came in at a very reasonable £91.00, which was a lot less than I anticipated given the distance we'd covered. When finished, we moved to our berth and tied Moonlight Shadow up for the last time this holiday. It only seemed like a few minutes since we had cast off for the first time the previous week. Why do holidays always take so long to arrive, yet pass before you realise they're over? With the car packed we left Brundall at about 09:30 and despite the road works, still arrived home before 12:30. Roll on September, when we will be back again for another week aboard MS. Until then, we have our memories and photos to remind us of the wonderful week we had just had.

Friday 12th April And so it was Friday, our last full day. To the front of the boat, it was cloudy and behind, there was broken cloud and some watery sunshine. It wasn't long before the cloud won and grey skies took charge. The wife walked the dog, as usual and as we had been connected to shore power, I had been able to switch on the immersion heater to heat the water and shower before she got back. We had breakfast of hot, buttered crumpets, before casting off at about 09:00, hoping to arrive at Yarmouth in time for slack water at 10:22. Deb went for her shower as we chugged down the river. We passed a few boats heading north as we neared Yarmouth and eventually turned at the yellow post 8 minutes late (head hung in shame!). We appeared to be the last boat heading south, but did pass a few stragglers making their way in the opposite direction as we crossed Breydon Water. The crossing was uneventful, if not as smooth as it had been on Monday and we were soon passing the deserted Berney Arms. We were heading for Reedham, to stop for water and to break the journey. When we arrived, there was plenty of mooring spaces available, so I selected a spot between the Rangers hut and Sandersons boatyard, alongside the hose. Whilst topping up the tank, I thought I could detect the faint smell of fish and chips, which made me feel hungry. I checked the Interweb and found that the chippy was open, so decision made - fish and chips for lunch. It had been many years since we had moored at Reedham on the days that it opens and remembered that it used to be very good, so hoped that we would not be disappointed. I waited until about 13:00 before walking up the hill to the chip shop and bought fish and chips for us both before returning to the boat. I had a chat with the owner whilst waiting for it to be cooked – it turned out that he had not been there the last time I had. I was a little concerned that the batter looked a little dark, but the fish was superb, wonderfully fresh and big flakes. Why can we not get a chippy like that at home? We washed up before casting off again. Cantley was still again - there were cars in the car park, but no steam from the chimneys, I guess proction must be over until the harvest starts again. We were thinking about Rockland St Mary for our last night, but the pull of The Ferry House at Surlingham was too strong, so we found ourselves moored there for our last night on board. Apart from a short period when we were at Reedham when the sun appeared, it had been cloudy all day, with a couple of rain showers thrown in for good measure. No sooner had we taken our seats in the pub, but the sun came out again as it began to set. Just typical!!!! We had another lovely meal in what I think is my favourite pub on the southern rivers, before returning to the boat. It was to be an early night - we needed an early start the following morning.

Hi Simon - thanks for the kind comments regarding the photos. The mooring above Hunsett Mill is a little overgrown, but I dare say as the season progresses, it will soon be trampled or cut back to allow all of the space to be used. The biggest problem was goose poo, of which there was plenty!! I was very careful where I placed my feet as I wandered along the bank with the camera!!

Thursday 11th April The weather on Thursday morning was much the same as it had been the previous morning with no sign of the sun, albeit the breeze didn't seem quite as strong. The wife took Harley for her walk and I tidied again. When they returned, we waited until after 08:00 before starting the engine for hot water and I set about preparing another cooked breakfast. Bacon, sausages, black pudding, fresh tomatoes, scrambled eggs and mushrooms make a very satisfying start to the day. Once eaten, we washed up and I went for a shower and to get ready. We cast off at about 09:30 and Deb went for her shower. We headed back towards Ranworth, but when we arrived, the staithe was full and there were about seven or eight craft waiting for spaces. I wasn't going to waste time there, so we returned to the Bure and moored at St Benets instead. The weather continued to be cold and the wind strengthened again, but we had a wander round the abbey and walked to the cross. The river was busy, with a constant stream of craft passing by and I noticed Evening. Shadow pass, too. I took a few photos before we headed back to the boat. By now it was about 13:00 and lunchtime, but we were both still feeling quite full from breakfast, so elected to pass on lunch. We set off again and had a slow cruise along Fleet Dyke and through South Walsham Outer and Inner Broads. It had been a while since we’d been there and I’d forgotten what a lovely broad it is. How idyllic must it be to own one of the shoreside properties and look across the broad every day. Note to self – best start buying lottery tickets again!! We needed to moor in a position to make the Breydon crossing the following morning. Slack water on Friday was at 10:22, so Stokesby seemed to be as good a place as any so we retraced our route back along Fleet Dyke and turned right, back onto the Bure. We had not topped up with water that morning - I had intended to do that at Ranworth, so stopped off at Acle. The party of scouts must have been there again – we were moored directly alongside the water point, but I had to unwind all of the hose to get the knots out to allow the water to come through again. Doh!! The Broads Boating Company had been busy over since we had been there on Monday as all of the boats that had been out of the water, were back afloat in the basin. With the water topped up, we cast off to make the short journey to Stokesby. Unbelievably, much the same as the previous day, the cloud that had been present all day cleared and the sun came out. It was still cold in the breeze, but the sunshine lifted the mood as it lit the surrounding countryside. As we cruised into the village and much to my surprise, I noticed that the BA moorings at the green were empty, so we moored and set up for the evening, connecting to shore power to boost the batteries. Once again, dinner was delayed as I rushed about taking many photos of the setting sun, which proved every bit as spectacular as the previous evening. We ate on board - pork chops, new potatoes and cauliflower with gravy and the obligatory (for me, at least) apple sauce before watching TV for a while. We went to bed at about 22:00. I was reflecting on the fact that it was to be our last full day on Friday and how quickly the week had passed as I drifted to sleep.

Wednesday 10th April We woke on Wednesday to a grey, cold windy day. The breeze had not abated overnight and coupled with the chilly temperature, it wasn't a pleasant morning. Deb took Harley for her walk and I tidied the boat, making the bed and straightening the blankets we use to cover the seating. When she returned, we breakfasted on toasted crumpets, thickly buttered. Just after 08:00, we started the engine for hot water (no shore power for the immersion heater at Salhouse) and cast off around 08:30, heading for Ranworth. Deb took the helm whilst I showered and dressed and took over when I’d finished so she could do the same. There were a few spaces available when we arrived, so we slotted in alongside another syndicated cruiser, Blue Mist. We had intended to walk to the church, but wanted to top up with water first, so moved to another mooring nearer a hose after discovering that the hose wouldn't reach. We had just finished topping up when a large craft from Richardsons eventually moored alongside. To be fair, they had manoeuvred with consideration and had made much effort not to hit the side of MS, but the operation had taken a good 15 minutes and it was clear the strong wind was seriously hampering their efforts. The weather had not improved and we agreed that it would not be an enjoyable stroll to the church and certainly not sufficiently pleasant to sit outside the church café and enjoy a coffee and slice of cake. Instead, we cast off, heading for the River Ant and chugged back up Ranworth Dam, turning right onto the Bure at the junction and shortly after, left onto the Ant. I was hopeful that there would be sufficient clearance under the bridge to allow us to pass without dropping the roof and screen due to the wind and was pleased to see 8ft 3ins on the advance marker, just 3 inches more than we needed. There was the usual confusion of craft attempting to moor on the other side, jockeying for space near the shop and water point, but we navigated through the melee without incident and carried on up the river. We passed How Hill and through Irstead before entering Barton Broad. Much to our surprise, after such a grey and cheerless morning, the clouds began to break, allowing the sun to peek through and by the time we reached the other side of the broad, the sun was beaming down, although the breeze continued to blow. We continued up the Ant, bearing left at the Stalham turn before passing Hunsett Mill. I was pleased to see the mill has now been restored, with sails replaced, but I cannot get used to the abomination that the once chocolate box pretty cottage has become. We travelled a couple of hundred yards further before turning and mooring for lunch of toasted ciabatta and pate. We stayed there for a while, the wife doing her cross stitch and me taking some photos, before casting off and retracing our route towards Barton Broad. I saw a flash of iridescent blue flash in front of the boat, but the kingfisher had disappeared before I could grab my camera. Another lost opportunity, but maybe one day I'll get lucky and get a photo of this shy, beautiful bird. The moorings at Irstead were taken and Johny Crowe's staithe was also occupied, so we moored at How Hill and settled down for the evening. The sun was still shining and there was a real prospect of a decent sunset, so dinner was delayed whilst I spent some time photographing the setting sun as it lit the horizon and Turf Fen Mill with a glorious orange glow. I stood outside to watch the sun drop below the horizon. Nature certainly does provide some wonderful sights and satisfied that I had committed some worthy shots to memory card, I returned to the boat. We had dinner on board, before watching TV for a while and retiring to bed at about 22:00, happy that the day that promised so little in the morning, had delivered so much in the end.

Tuesday 9th April Tuesday morning dawned and I clambered out of bed, hoping to see a beautiful sunrise, lighting the mill in glorious golden sunshine, creating another wonderful photo opportunity. However, I was to be disappointed. It was grey and cloudy with no significant breaks in the cloud to even let the sun peek through. No matter, we were still on holiday and still on the Broads. Deb got up and took the pooch for a walk and I tidied up the boat. It was 9th April and the wife's birthday, so upon her return I cooked a breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh tomatoes and mushrooms. Very tasty slightly unhealthy, but occasionally, who cares? Breakfast eaten and with the washing up done (always a downside), we got ready and cast off, which is when the stiff breeze became apparent. By now, the sun had made an appearance and the sky was blue. Maybe the day would be similar to Monday – we could only hope. We chugged back up the Thurne and turned left into Womack Dyke, heading for Womack Water and the staithe to moor, so we could walk into Ludham for supplies. There was plenty of space at the staithe and we moored alongside a family on Grande Girl, a boat we have hired on four occasions previously, who were topping up with water. We had a chat and filled our tanks before wandering into the village. First stop was the butchers, then to Throwers, before wandering back to the boat, where we bought a couple of ice creams from the shop by the staithe. We cast off and retraced our way back along Womack Dyke, turning right onto the Thurne and right again onto the Bure, heading for Wroxham. We had bought a new multi-port USB charger for our phones, tablets and the wife's Fitbit, from Amazon before we came away, but it had expired with a pop in a cloud of acrid smoke when we used it for the second time and we urgently needed to get a new charger, so thought Roy's may be the place. By now the breeze had stiffened and it had become quite chilly. Definitely not the day for the roof to be back. The journey was uneventful, but I do believe I saw 'The Admiral' (Russell Thompson) heading in the opposite direction as we went through Horning. We arrived in Wroxham, so I headed for Summercrafts yard and asked Sue if we could moor there for an hour or so, whilst we went to the shops. She agreed, so after she and I had chatted about boats, hire fleets and the coming season, the wife and I headed into the town. We found a couple of USB chargers in Roy's Food Hall of all places, so it was back to the boat and back on our way to our overnight destination at Salhouse Broad. Dinner was to be at The Fur and Feather, where I had booked a table. The broad was quite busy, but we found a spot and moored, not easy with a strong crosswind, then watched several other craft attempt to moor, their skippers struggling with the difficult conditions. No sooner had we stopped than we were pounced on for the mooring fee, but £10 soon changed hands and we settled down for a couple of hours until it was time to walk to the pub. Dinner was enjoyable, but I fear that it has lost out to The Lion in terms of quality and the restaurant extension has robbed the place of its atmosphere. Were returned to Moonlight Shadow for a cheeky gin and tonic before retiring for the night. Not many photos today due to the uninspiring weather but normal service will return tomorrow.

Monday 8thApril We were awake at about 05:30 on Monday. The wife pulled on some clothes to take Harley for a walk and I hurriedly dressed to take a few photos. The early start was necessary due to the tides and slack water at Yarmouth. It was quite foggy as we cast off at about 06:15. With navigation lights on we headed along Langley Dyke and turned right onto the Yare. The fog was quite patchy, but visibility was okay with the side door slid open and my head sticking out. With the engine revs set to 1500, we made good progress, helped by a strong ebbing current and were soon passing what appeared to be a silent Cantley plant. We passed through Reedham and headed towards Breydon and I did wonder whether the fog would prevent our passage across, but the nearer we got to the start of the crossing, the rising sun was burning off the mist and by the time we passed Berney Mill, visibility was returned to near normal. Breydon was calm and although we passed several craft heading south, we were the only one heading in the opposite direction. We were running a little after slack water and as we neared Yarmouth, the effect of the incoming current became more noticeable. We passed the yellow post at 08:20, some 40 minutes later than the ideal time, but the benefit was the help we had from the current as we headed up the Bure. The weather improved as the morning drew on and it wasn't long before we had to wind the roof back and let the sunshine in. We stopped at Acle for water and to let the dog off for a while and to top up with water. I’m not sure who had used the hose before, but it had more knots in than at a scouts convention. It took me a while to untangle it so that the water would flow through. We cast off again heading towards Potter Heigham. We needed some milk and I was keen to see if the bakery in Lathams had any London cheesecakes in. It was very noticeable how much more river traffic there was on the Northern rivers. We kept right at the junction of the Bure and the Thurne, past Thurne Mill, looking smaty now with relatively fresh paint and the sails repaired. It wasn't too long before we reached our destination where we got ready and walked the short distance over one of Potter’s famous landmarks to the other. Deb sat outside with a cup of tea whilst I was entrusted with the shopping. Milk, cakes and a couple of other essentials purchased, it was back to the boat for lunch before we chugged back down the Thurne to Thurne Dyke for our overnight mooring. Dinner was to be at The Lion. It was Deb’s birthday on Tuesday, so a good excuse to celebrate the day. The meal was excellent as always and the pub must now be my favourite on the Northern Broads for food. We returned to the boat at about 21:00 and it wasn't long before the early start caught up with us and we retired to bed, happy after a fantastic day rounded off with a wonderful meal.

Sunday 7thApril Sunday dawned. As usual, I was first up, with the wife following. She pulled some clothes on to take Harley for a walk. I turned on the immersion heater and boiled the kettle and made a cuppa before heading for the shower. The wife returned after almost an hour, just as had finished getting ready. She’d found another new (to her) path, resulting in a lengthy walk for the pooch. By then the rest of the party were up and getting ready, so we breakfasted on hot buttered crumpets before setting off towards Norwich. The weather reports had forecast light rain showers. If that was a light shower, I’d hate to see torrential rain as in reality, there was an absolute deluge as we chugged along the river. I’ve now lost count of the times I’ve cursed the windscreen wiper on Moonlight Shadow. Fortunately, it had all but stopped by the time we moored at the yacht station. We got ready and walked into the city, stopping for a while at the Cathedral to take some photos. Once done, we continued to the centre to shop for some essentials before returning to the boat for lunch. The brother in law and his girlfriend went off to do some window shopping and get their own lunch, leaving the wife, her mum and I to walk back to the boat, where we enjoyed some sausages in rolls. The others returned and we set of, retracing our earlier route and past The Ferry House, back to Brundall arriving back at the boatyard at about 16:15. We had a cuppa before our weekend guests gathered their belongings and packed their car. They left us at about 17:15, so we cast off, heading towards Reedham. Slack water at Yarmouth the following morning was at 07:40, so the nearer we were to Breydon, the better the chance of us crossing somewhere close to the optimum time would be. We eventually moored in an otherwise deserted Langley Dyke about an hour later. The crows nesting in the trees to the side of the dyke were in full voice for a while. Small wonder the collective noun for them is a murder!! By this time, the clouds had blown over and we were left with a beautiful evening. We had dinner and watched TV for a while before heading for bed just before 22:00. It was to be an early start on Monday morning, so a good night's sleep was needed.

Saturday 6th April So the 6th April arrived at the start of another week on Moonlight Shadow. I’d been watching the weather forecast for a few days and to be frank, it wasn’t looking too promising, but we’d be away and after a quite challenging time due to happenings at work and my mums continuing ill health, the break would be most welcome. We’d already invited the wife’s brother and his girlfriend to join us for the weekend, but we also took the mother in law, to cheer her up a bit. We set off from Northampton just after 09:00 and due to continuing roadworks on both of my usual routes, picked our way across some back roads to Bedford, where we joined the A421, continued on the A428, A14, A11 & A47. We arrived in Brundall at about 11:30 after a trouble-free journey. The weather had been grey and cheerless throughout the journey, but we were glad to be at the boatyard at the start of another relaxing week. It was clear that Brooms season had started as preparation of some craft was underway and a couple of early arrivals were already unpacking their possessions onto their floating homes for the week, all of which looked clean ad smart after the winter maintenance. The cars were soon unpacked, beds made and belongings stowed, before heading to the Co-op for a couple of bits and the chippy for some lunch. Fish and chips were consumed on board, washed down with a mug of tea before we cast off and headed for Rockland Broad. The brother in law took the helm for a spell but handed it back to me as we turned into Short Dyke (he said it was too narrow) and across the broad before mooring at the Staithe. The wife and I took the dog for a walk, around the broad and along Short Dyke to the junction with the Yare and back whilst the others stayed on board. Harley (our dog) seemed to realise she was on holiday too and enjoyed chasing a couple of geese that were pecking at the grass along the riverside. I took my compact camera, but wasn’t exactly inspired by the cheerless weather – just a few shots of the geese and close ups of the plants along our route. A while later, we made our way back along Fleet Dyke to the main river, turning left towards Brundall and left again across Bargate to The Ferry House at Surlingham, where I’d booked a mooring and a table for dinner. We chatted for a while before heading to the pub at about 18:45 for our meal. As ever the welcome was warm, the atmosphere friendly and the food excellent. The weather had remained dull for the whole day, but everyone had enjoyed themselves and we retired to bed around 22:00, tired and happy.

Or Langley Dyke. No pub, put peaceful and although there is some tidal rise and fall, off the main river and with an ebbing tide less than 2.5 hours from GYYS.

I had a Karcher, that didn’t last very long. Now have a Nilfisk that I believe is a better machine. Plenty of choice on Amazon, depends on your budget and what features you’re looking for.

If that’s what you want to post, crack on. If it is of interest to me, I’ll read it but if it isn’t (and frankly talking about washing and washing machines isn’t), I won’t. I think whether I do or not comes under the banner of choice. I can’t stand Coronation Street, Eastenders and the other cr*ppy soaps on tv, so I don’t watch them. Simples.

The thread has been posted in The Broadscot Lounge, an area of the Forum for 'non boat/Broads related topics' so personally, I don't see an issue with it. Sorry . . . . . . just saying.

The Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence is very different to the CPC required to hold an O Licence, whether National or International. The DCPC is required for all holders of a LGV licence and is obtained by completing 35 hours of training over a five year period. A current LGV licence is not valid without the holder having a current DCPC qualification. The National and International CPCs are now combined and it is not an easy qualification to obtain, necessitating knowledge of financial requirements, employment law, construction and use regulations, National and EU driving law and a great deal more.

Always worth remembering that what was an expensive vehicle when new, will be an expensive vehicle to repair as it gets older, regardless of the purchase price now. As for me, I’m on my third Skoda, - a great car with VW build quality at a more reasonable price with all the modern features one would expect on a modern car. And not only does it have a heated rear window, but a heated windscreen too, so one can keep warm hands whichever way you push it!!!!!!!! (Just thought I’d throw that in before some other comedian mentioned it).

Just to clarify, the heating fault the week previous to us taking Moonlight Shadow out had been identified as an issue with the burner, which had been replaced. The new fault was a problem with the fuel feed to the heater unit and probably not related. I understand that it has now been fixed and I have seen emails from other members of the syndicate stating that the heating is now working correctly. Everything breaks down, some more frequently than others. In eight years hiring from Summercraft we didn't experience anything more major than a bulb blowing in the toilet and a hair drier not working, but we have suffered much more significant issues hiring from other yards and watching some Youtube blogs, it's apparent that others have had many more problems than us. I believe even Robin (London Rascal) had an issue with a relatively new heater on Indy, so it's not necessarily a question of maintenance, just the way it goes sometimes. At the end of the day, we still enjoyed our time on the boat and we will not have to wait long to be back on board again. Syndicate membership suits us very well indeed and my only regret is that it took me so long to get round to joining one.

Friday 8th February We were up at the usual time on Friday morning. Debbie took Harley for her walk and I had breakfast and went to get showered. What a godsend the immersion heater is, too. Our little fan heater had been set to low and on all night and had certainly kept the chill off. The pub moorings were not busy and we had moored side on, due to the weather and it certainly was windy and the sky grey and cheerless with heavy cloud cover. Debbie had breakfast when she returned and while she was waiting for me to finish showering, she had stated to pack. She went to get ready as I emerged from the aft cabin, feeling better for my shower. I started to move all of our bits and pieces from where we had stowed them into the saloon, so they were all together and when Debbie was showered and dressed, we finished packing our clothes, stripped the bed and moved all of our bags into the aft cabin to make it easy to get them out of the aft doors to pack the car. I topped up with water at the pub, as I knew from our experiences earlier in the week, that the hose at the kiosk at Brooms had been turned off. We had really been in no particular rush and by about 11:00, we cast off for the short trip back to the yard, filled up with fuel and had the required pump-out, which all together came to about £90. Bill paid, we moved to our berth, I packed the car and the wife vacuumed through MS. With everything done, we pulled out of the boatyard at about 12:15. We weren’t in any great rush to go home, so headed for Hoveton (for the pedants) and had fish and chips from Greys before heading for home. The return journey took about three hours, largely due to a combination of roadworks and Friday traffic and could have been worse has it not been for some local knowledge around Bedford, where I turned off the A421 and headed through some local roads home. No scenic photos on the last day – the weather was too uninspiring, just one of MS at her home mooring. That’s all for this trip – thanks for reading and your comments. Just looking forward now to April and another week on Moonlight Shadow.

Thursday 7th February The weather forecast had warned of strong winds for Thursday and Friday and just when you don’t want them to be right, they are!! I rolled out of bed at the usual time, around 06:00, followed my usual routine of kettle, immersion heater and weather check to see that the tops of the trees round the basin were bent over and the water, although we were relatively sheltered was far from millpond smooth. Not only that, but the heating on MS wouldn’t fire up, despite the repairs carried out at the boatyard following problems reported by shareholders on two previous weeks, so we had taken a small electric fan heater just in-case the problem manifested itself again. The boat soon warmed through, although the one pound credit I had topped up the electric post the previous evening with didn’t last long, but it wasn’t so bad. The wife took Harley for her walk, retracing the route we had followed the day before and I had some toast and marmalade. When she returned, I made her breakfast and went to get showered and dressed. Whist the wife readied herself, I called our home boatyard to report the fault with the heating and they suggested that I call in and they would get someone to look at it, so at about 09:30 I started the engine and cast off. The cloud cleared for a while as we chugged up the Chet, such a pretty river, but quite hard to navigate with the strong wind blowing Moonlight Shadow about, but by the time we reached Hardley Cross and the junction with the Yare, the cloud had rolled in again. We turned left, heading for Brundall. The river was as choppy as I can ever remember seeing it. White horses were forming on the waves as the formed. It was particularly bad from Cantley, where the waves were overtopping the quay heading outside the pub. As we approached Brundall, the small wooden aft cockpit cruiser we had followed the previous day from Somerleyton to Reedham was heading towards us, but with the canopy up this time. We arrived at our moorings and called the yard to say we had arrived. We were told that they would send someone straight away. We waited for about three quarters of an hour, before having our lunch, by which time no one had arrived and about an hour and a half after we had phoned, I wandered round to their office and asked if anyone was going to attend. A few minutes later, an engineer turned up and said that he hadn’t been given the initial message and apologised for the delay. He tried to get the heating to fire, without success, so disappeared under the floor (having first lifted one of the panels) and emerged some time later saying that no fuel was being delivered to the heater unit. He wandered off for some parts and fitted them without success. It appeared that the pipe feeding the heater was only drawing up air. Little wonder it wasn’t working then!! By this time it was about 16:30 and darkness was beginning to fall, so we said not to worry, we’d head off and spend the night at the Ferry House and return on Friday to end our week prematurely, so as to give them time to remedy the problem before the next shareholders arrived on Saturday. To be fair, the weather forecast for Friday and Saturday, was much the same as it had been on Thursday and although we were disappointed, it wasn’t as if we were missing too much of our break. By this time the cloud had partially cleared and the setting sun was creating some wonderful picture worthy skies, so I snapped a few shots on my phone as we cruised to the pub and moored in the same spot as we had the previous Sunday evening. There was still plenty of credit on the electricity post, so we plugged in and set the fan heater going. Moonlight Shadow was soon toasty warm and we relaxed for a while before going to the pub shortly before 19:00 for dinner. As ever, the greeting was as warm as the pub itself and we were soon tucking into our food. Finished, we wandered up the lane with Harley to let her do what she needed to before returning to the boat and our last night onboard on this trip. As usual, we had hot drinks before retiring for the night. Neither of us wanted to go home – we weren’t ready, but at least it wouldn’t be long before our next visit in April.