Mouldy

Here are a few from this years adventures:

Thanks, JF. The ones on FB are off my phone. I'm hoping for better shots when I've gone through the ones taken on my cameras.

Back home tomorrow (sob, sob). First job will be to download the memory cards and see if there any suitable shots to submit for consideration for the calendar.

Guess what. I got caught! Haven't been fishing since I was about thirteen or fourteen, so having bought a share in Moonlight Shadow and with the opportunity of spending more time on The Broads, I mentioned in passing to my brother-in-law that I was thinking of buying some tackle and he gave me a rod, reel and other necessary bits and pieces. I went on line and not realising where to get I licence from, Googled getting a fishing licence and this website was top.of the list - http://www.fishingandrodlicences.co.uk/‎ . I duly paid my 20.00 for an eight day licence to cover our holiday and to date, still havent received anything, despite requesting it to start on 29th September. Rest assured, the same mistake will not happen again.

Most of the photos I take on my camera (24.3MP sensor) result in images of between 13 and 16MP using jpeg format. I would have thought that these, taken on a good quality camera, should be suitable for the calendar, if I was suffiently fortunate to have one selected. I realise that RAW files are better, however the reason I shoot jpegs is simply that I currently do not have time for post processing, preferring to try to get the exposure right in the camera, in the first place.

We saw Seraphina near How Hill in July. Had a cheeky trip on a daycruiser from Barnes and went from Wroxham to How Hill and back, with a stop at Salhouse on the return journey.

So Saturday 29th September will see the wife and me head for The Broads, to spend a week on Gainsborough Girl from Summercraft, which we booked at the end of our holiday last September. Neither of us had, at the time, any inkling that in the intervening period we would be in a position to buy a share in a syndicate, so this is likely to be our last week as hirers and our next visit will be on Moonlight Shadow in the New Year. It will be slightly odd for us as on the last four Broadland holidays, we have been accompanied by our son and daughter-in-law and for the last two, our grandson too, but we are both looking forward to a rest and hopeful that the current spell of clement weather will continue. I will, of course, write a blog, probably when we come home and I hope to have a few new photos to post (possibly another entry or two for the calendar competition) as well. Even at my advancing time of life, the feeling of excitement at the prospect of being back on The Broads is the same as I remember back in the 70s. Two more get-ups for work to go . . . . . . . . .

Wouldn't do for me. An electric hob and a microwave isn't a replacement for a proper cooker with an oven and grill. I guess its okay if you intend to eat out a lot, but we also enjoy wild mooring and eating on board and however good a combi microwave is, it lacks the versatility of a conventional cooker (imho, of course).

You only learn to drive when you have passed your test. The period is before is spent learning to pass your test. In my opinion, it's only when you have the pass certificate in your possession and you lose the comfort of dual controls and an experienced driver beside you, that the art of appreciating roadcraft begins.

Just checked the price of Cover Girl on Hoseasons and a week in peak next year is 'reasonably' priced at just shy of £3000. There appears to be another craft of a similar design called Clean Sweep, available in peak for the modest sum of £3340 per week. Both craft are for up to four people. HOW MUCH?? Do they send someone out each night to turn down the sheets so I won't have to? My pleasure visiting the Broads is gained from cruising all of the rivers, including the Chet and the Ant (two of the prettiest, in my opinion, but not an option certainly on Cover Girl), mooring up somewhere quiet, enjoying the peace and the slower pace. I don't need the biggest and flashest hire cruiser to do that, however there are clearly those who have the means or the need, so I'll shut up and leave them to it.

Apologies all, I've just re-read my post on a tablet and what I typed using Comic Sans font on the PC has reverted to some difficult to read script on the tablet. Note to self: I must remember to use the default font when contributing further to the Forum.

For the cost of one week in peak equating to circa £300 pounds more than my annual contribution to Moonlight Shadow, which gives me four weeks on board per year, you can keep the drench showers, mood lighting and other fripperies. Besides, Moonlight Shadow does look like a boat.

Its not often that I feel the need to post anything not Broads related on here, but this has made my blood boil. We, like many others now, check the comparison websites to see what deals are on offer to lower our fuel prices, so last year signed up with a company who required us to have smart meters installed. The electricity meter was changed back in January and the gas should have been done at the same time, however as we have a semi-submerged meter box, he didn't have a suitable one on the van and a second appointment would be required. I waited and waited and waited for a phone call or email to advise the appointment date and time and eventually, about four months ago, thought I'd better call to find out when the elusive appointment would be. I managed to speak to someone and ask, who told me that he would forward the request and I should hear within ten days. As you might imagine, ten days elapsed, followed by another ten weeks or so, when I thought another call might be necessary as a sort of reminder. This time, a response - within a couple of weeks, I received an email with the date and time for the gas meter to be fitted and so it duly was, yesterday. When the engineer finished, I asked what would happen if I wanted to change suppliers in the future and to my amazement, I was told that the meters are not generic and I would probably need new ones!! He explained that some are used by more than one supplier, but until the 'new generation' meters are issued, they are not all compatible. Slightly aghast, I called one of the comparison websites and some to an advisor, who told me the same, but she did add that as this was a Government funded scheme, there would be no cost to me should a switch require the fitting of new meters. Phew - what a relief. Government funded? Who provides the Government with the funds to waste on schemes like this? The next call was to my current dual fuel supplier and their best deal can be bettered by about 20% by another supplier. Looks as if I might be getting another set of meters then, as one of the criteria is that we must have smart meters fitted. This appears to be another of the Governments half-cocked, ill-conceived ideas all based upon the need for us to jump on the environmental band-wagon. Much the same as the demonisation of diesel cars, it appears that this idea to have us all equipped with smart meters by 2020, has been rushed through with no forethought or planning. Surely, a pre-requisite of the scheme would be to have meters that are compatible with all suppliers. I wonder what the cost of the two possibly wasted visits by an engineer to install our meters that could already be obsolete was and how many times this has been replicated all over the country. With an economy screwed to the floor, local services cut to the bone and our roads, which let's face it are a vital part of the country's infrastructure, crumbling through lack of maintenance, what a cock-up? I'm off for a couple of tablets to ease my blood pressure.

This might shed new light on your breakfast cereal: https://www.myshreddies.com

That's a blow. We aren't starting our holiday until 29th September. I'll have to look through last year's to see what I can find!!