Mouldy

Sunday 25th September I woke on Sunday at about 06:15 and lay for a few minutes collecting my thoughts, eventually clambering out of bed about 15 minutes later. With the kettle on for my customary morning cuppa, I peered out of the curtains and it looked like a lovely start to the day. The wife had also got up and was dressed ready to take the dogs out and Iain poked his head out of the cabin at the sharp end, heading for the forward heads. He dressed hurriedly and accompanied Debbie and the two dogs, Simba and Harley for their morning walk. The hot water was still relatively hot, so I headed for my morning shower. Dressed and refreshed, the curtains came down in the stateroom and were stowed ready to be re used that evening. The wife, son and dogs returned and told me that there had been several people standing near Thurne Mill earlier taking photos and asked if I had joined them. An opportunity missed to exercise the new camera. Bother!!! Rachel had, by this time, emerged from the forward cabin with Harry (our grandson) and the wife duly obliged with her duties as nanny and gave him a cuddle while Rachel got ready. Women and babies!! Obviously I’m a proud granddad, but I’m looking forward to the time we can have a Scalextric or train set (or bothJ) and relive my childhood again. I headed for the galley and started to prepare breakfast and some time later served bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, black pudding, mushrooms and fried bread. My cholesterol level suffered, but it did taste good, even if I say so myself. We tidied up and set off, heading for Acle to top up with water before carrying on down the Bure and onto Breydon. It was still a pleasant morning, if a little breezy. The others showered whilst we chugged towards Acle. As the bridge loomed into view, I assessed the available moorings close to the water hoses and the only one where there was space to moor was at Bridgecraft. I turned Grande Girl to face into the tide and Rachel stepped ashore with the ropes. I jumped from the helm and we secured the boat without and dramas. I topped up the water and the others headed across the bridge to the little shop and headed up the bank a way to give the dogs a walk before the long cruise through Yarmouth on onto our overnight moorings. Another boat moored up behind Grand Girl and the skipper asked if I would pass the hose to him when I had finished with it, which I did. I headed for the loo at the blunt end and had just started get on with the job in hand when I felt a jolt as someone had bumped into Grand Girl. By the time I had made necessary adjustments to my clothing, whoever it was had cruised off, unseen by me. I had a quick check round and couldn’t see anything untoward, but there was another example of some inconsiderate helming. I couldn’t even have a pee in peace!!!! I watched a couple trying to moor a small aft cockpit cruiser from Ferry Marina with interest on the far side of the entrance to Horizon’s basin. The ‘wife’ was standing on the bank whilst the ‘husband’ was attempting to moor, stern on. She was giving plenty of instructions but making no effort to take the ropes and as you can imagine, each time the boat was close to the bank, the breeze blew it away. I wondered if it was they who had disturbed me earlier!! The others returned and we cast off at about 11:15. Slack water at Yarmouth was about 13:00 and I reckoned it would take about an hour and three quarters at a steady chug to get there. It had clouded over a little, but it was warm enough for the canopy to be down and all was well with the world. The landmark wind turbines and water tower grew ever larger as we neared Yarmouth and we were soon passing Marina Quays (or what was left of it). What a shambles – surely something can be done to make it more presentable. We carried on past the Yacht Station, under the bridges and rounded the yellow post at 12:55. Not bad timing, I thought. Breydon was calm and there were a few boats crossing. A couple came past us, but I had a view to preserving some of my fuel deposit, so we carried on at a reasonable pace and the crossing was uneventful. We forked left at the end of Breydon passing Burgh Castle and on towards St Olaves. Only the fleeting sight of a kingfisher flitting about in the reeds on the right hand bank brought any degree of excitement as we carried on. The remainder of the journey was relatively uneventful. We passed under the bridges at St Olaves and Somerleyton with plenty of clearance. As Beccles was the destination for Monday, we followed the Waveney, past the entrance to the dyke leading to Oulton Broad. We had purchased a couple of pork loin joints from Roys on Saturday, so whilst Iain was at the helm, I wrapped them in foil, put them in a roasting tin and set them cooking for dinner. The WRC loomed into view and I did consider mooring there for the night, but fancied somewhere quieter so carried on past, eventually finding the BA moorings at North Cove. Aside from a day boat and a small private cruiser, no one else was there. We moored towards the far end and shortly after, the crew of the dayboat untied and moved off, followed soon after by the cruiser. Iain and I pulled Grande Girl to the end of the moorings and tied her up again. The weather was fine and it looked as if there was going to be a good sunset, so the camera came out and I spent a few minutes taking some photos. Iain and the wife took the dogs for a walk and Rachel looked after Harry. Later, we had our roast pork, carrots, broccoli, roast potatoes (courtesy of Aunt Bessie) and gravy, washed down with something alcoholic. We watched TV for a while before the customary hot drink followed by another early night. There must be something in that Suffolk air. More to follow . . . . . .

Saturday 24th September We had booked our 2016 Broads break as we finished our holiday on Grande Girl 1 in October last year and had all become more excited as the days counted down. I have worked permanent nights since 2002, but due to some personnel changes at work a couple of months ago, was asked to transfer to days on a permanent basis. I had hoped to finish early on Friday, but working in logistics for a very demanding customer, I was late leaving the office and as a result, wasn't as well prepared as I like to be, prior to going on holiday. Our son, his fiancée and their baby, our first grandchild born in April, had spent Friday night at our house, so we could get away on time on Saturday morning and I had intended to leave at 09:00. The best laid plans and all that . . . . . so we eventually left at 09:20 – not too bad, I suppose, all things considered. The weather wasn’t too bad, especially considering the time of year, a little overcast but with some spells that were bright enough to make me break out the sunglasses. Our route was the A45 from Northampton, turning onto the A14 at Thrapston, continuing onto the A11 near Newmarket to Norwich, then the A47 towards Great Yarmouth where we turned left just before the roundabout near Brundall, through the villages to Wroxham and crossing the bridge into Hoveton. The roads were surprisingly clear and we made the journey in just under two and a half hours. We found parking spaces behind Roys and headed for the supermarket, where we bought enough groceries to last for a couple of days, always mindful of the size of the fridge on Grande Girl 1. The wife had taken some other food (and alcohol) with us, to save time spent in Roys and the amount we had to carry. Shopping done, we headed for the seating area between the bridge and hotel Wroxham, where the wife and Rachel found an unoccupied bench and looked after the dogs, shopping and baby, whilst the son (Iain) and I headed to Kens for fish and chips. We sat at a bench watching the activities on the river whilst eating, but although the river was quite busy, nothing of note occurred before we had finished the food. Chip wrappers disposed off, we collected bags, dogs and the pushchair (with baby) and headed back to the cars, loading everything in before making the short trip to Summercraft’s yard. Sue greeted us as I climbed out of the car and pointed us in the direction of Grande Girl. She was moored in the main basin, but one of the staff moved her, stern on, under the canopy, making it far easier to unload the cars, transferring everything onto the boat. Grande Girl 2 was also moored under the canopy and the party must have been first time hirers, as they were being given very full and thorough instructions on all aspects of the boat. I had to laugh (to myself, obviously) as one of the female member was clutching her handbag the whole time, even whilst wobbling round the decks to see where the water filler was. We were told to park one car under the canopy and one on the car park, so Iain moved his and we reported to reception to complete the paperwork. Sue asked Dave (Brister) to go through the usual instructions and fit us all, including the baby (Harry) with life jackets. Having been on Grande Girl the previous year, the instructions were kept to a minimum, sufficient to satisfy the H & S requirements and we were deemed not to require a demo run, so around 15:00 we chugged slowly out of Summercraft’s yard and onto the Bure. Aside from re-upholstered settees in the stateroom, everything was familiar, immaculately clean as usual and with the welcoming tray of cup cakes, sachets of tea, coffee and sugar - all little touches that make hiring a boat from Summercraft especially pleasurable. We followed one of Faircraft’s fleet slowly through Wroxham and I noticed Royall Commander was following us a few yards aft. I thought about our holiday on her the year before last and that next year would be Royall’s last as a hire fleet. What a shame – one of the finest maintained hire fleets on the Broads. I will miss seeing that distinctive livery in a couple of years! The river opened up as we passed Wroxham Broad, so I opened Grande Girl up to 5mph and we headed for Horning, passing the Faircraft boat that we had been following. The helm had been handed to another crewmember and it began to weave about, probably finding the control a little difficult at such a low speed. The sun was out as we passed through Horning. As usual, all of the moorings were taken. I cannot remember when we moored there last, it was so long ago. The river was busy as we passed the Ferry and on towards St Benets. My intention for our first night was to try to moor at Womack Dyke, with Thurne Dyke as an alternative, so cruised past the moorings at St Benets Abbey, turning left at the junction of the Thurne and Bure. I checked to see what space was available as we passed the mouth of Thurne Dyke and it looked relatively empty, but chugged on to Womack Dyke, where we had wild moored on our first night last year. All of the wild moorings were now overgrown with reeds and the BA moorings were unsurprisingly full, so I turned Grande Girl round and headed back to Thurne Dyke and moored on the opposite side to the pub moorings. Iain and the wife (Debbie) took the dogs for a walk and I went to take some photos, anxious to try my newly acquired camera. It was quite windy as the sun set and the reeds were blowing about, but I took a few shots and returned to the boat. The others returned with the dogs and we decided to eat out that night. Later, we all headed for The Lion, for dinner. Iain and his fiancée (Rachel) had steaks, the wife had a gourmet burger and I settled for steak and mushroom pudding. Very nice it all was, too. I know that it is not everyone’s favourite pub, but we have eaten there during our last three Broads holidays, each time enjoying some good grub. We returned to the boat, sated and tired. I had promised a full English breakfast for us all the following day, when I planned to cross Breydon, so a reasonably early start was needed. Hot drinks all round before an early night for us all. How happy was I to be back on the Broads. More to follow . . . . . .

As per the thread title, three more sleeps and we will be hitting (metaphorically speaking) the A45/A14 and A11 for another week on the Broads. I hope whoever has been on Grande Girl 1 this week, has looked after the old girl. The family has increased by one member since last year and joining us for his first Broadland holiday is Harry, our son and his fiancee's baby, who is almost six months old. Could be an interesting trip. Our intention is to cross Breydon on Sunday and head for Beccles. Due to unfavourable tides last year, we stayed on the Northern rivers, but will spend a couple of nights 'down south' before heading north again. The weather forecast for Saturday into Sunday doesn't look too promising, but perhaps the wind will change. Holiday tale will follow when we get back home, as usual and I have a brand new camera to try out, so I'm hoping that it sees plenty of action!! If you see us, give us a wave!!

When we finished our holiday last October (on Grande Girl 1) from Summercraft, we had a look around Grecian Girl, which is the same style of craft as Rio Light, with a view to hiring her this year,. Even the wife, who is 5'3" had an issue with the headroom in the saloon, so we are back on Grande Girl again this year. Not only that, but if the weather is at all inclement and you have toi steer from the indoor helm, the visibility is dire.

We've not been on the French waterways, but had a day trip to a pretty little town called Meze last year, which is also on the Etang deThau in Southern France, when on holiday in the Gorge du Tarn. It does look very inviting . . . . . a holiday afloat and a reasonable chance of good weather.

Found this one, too. Could only get the blunt end as it was moored between a couple of other craft - it has its own website, too; https://www.symaltesefalcon.com/index.php Not sure what the charter costs are, but it's probably more per day than anything on the Broads for a couple of weeks in peak season!!!

Same thoughts when we spent a day in Monaco a couple of weeks ago - the 'smaller' ones were in the outer harbour and the inner harbour revealed some even larger ones!! There is a Mini Moke on the blunt end of the craft in the last shot!!

My thoughts exactly. Norfolk's economy must be heavily dependent on the tourist industry so why cause potential harm to it? Would they remove the bins from the seafront at Great Yarmouth? Probably not, so why pick on The Broads?

Trafffic lights at Ludham Bridge then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We moored in Woods yard when we were up last September and hired a day boat to go to Horsey. If I remember rightly we had one for about five hours which was just about enough time to do what we wanted, which was to walk to the beach and spend some time seal watching.

4k video is already available as a feature on many digital cameras, so the ability to run memory hungry edit programmes would surely be an advantage. A faster processor and as much RAM as you can get on the machine would at least give some forms of future proofing. Obviously you can't keep up with the march of technological progress, but guard against obsolescence of the machine before you even buy it. I guess it depends on your personal views, as with every other question about any other subject.

I'm no experrt, but my view would be to by the best machine you can afford. Whilst something more basic will be adequate to run software today, as 4k video and editing becomes more commonplace and other programmes become more complex, lower spec machines will not be able to cope and rapidly become outdated.

Probably not enough opportunity to skim a pension fund or similar for a British investor to want to buy it!! On a slightly different tack, but a similar principle, why can we not fund our own nuclear power stations, but have to rely on foreign investment to build one?

Try following this link; https://www.dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/PayforCrossing/PayforCrossing You can pay in arrears for a crossing made 24 hours previously or in advance for a planned crossing. Its a bit of a b*ll ache, to be honest, but it's cheaper than the fine for non-payment. It is still free between 22:00 and 06:00. When they built the bridge, the plan was that it would only have a toll until it was paid for, but instead, the toll charge has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. Another cash cow for the government!!

We hired a dayboat when we were on the Broads last September, so we could take a trip to Horsey and walk to the beach. You can read my account of the holiday including photos of the seals at Horsey Beach here; Have a great time - I had my first hioliday on the Broads in 1969 and have visited regularly ever since.

I've been to the local Waitrose this morning to discover that they are only available from Waitrose stores with a patisserie counter and quantities are limited. I've seen the picture on line and it looks okay, but nothing like the McVities ones I used to enjoy years ago. I have had the ones from Tesco and sadly they are a pale immitation. I seem to remember seeing Mary Berry make one on TV before so I guess the recipe will be on line for those who have the inclination.

Just like to echo Dave's (deebee29's) comments. I also think that the calendars are excellent quality and would like to thank all those who had an input on getting them produced. The photos chosen represent (to me, at least) everything that is special about the Broads - scenery, wildlife, places of interest and the peace and quiet. They also act as a reminder of how much I'm looking forward to being afloat again next September!!

An enjoyable tale - thanks for sharing!

I had a look over Grecian Girl, which is the same design as Swan Rapide, when we had finished our week on Grande Girl with a view to booking her for next year. The cabins and heads were acceptable, but the visibility from the helm in the stateroom was awful. The headroom was poor, decreasing substantially as you moved towards forward end of the living area and access to the upper helm was not easy. Although not as stylish as some of the newer designs on the Broads, the Aquafibre Pearl (Grande Girl, Royall Commander etc.) still looks good and is very practical for a family size cruiser, with good access and excellent visibility from the raised steering position.

Southend brings back many happy childhood memories for me, too. I remember Never Neverland, Peter Pans Playground, the Kursaal, the Guiness clock that stood outside the entrance to Peter Pans Playground and the motor boats on the boating lake on the seafront. Obviously, the pier was there, but wasn't as exciting to me as the rides at Peter Pans. I also remember being taken to see the illuminations, that were never as good as Blackpool's, but a lot closer in the 60's when we lived in North West London. My mum and dad used to enjoy some cockles from one of the stalls under the end of the pier, whilst I had some prawns and my mum was never satisfied unless she had a Rossi's ice cream.

Thanks for all the votes. The view of How Hill House and Mill is one of my favourite Broadland views and I always look forward to a trip up the Ant to revisit . There were some really good images to choose from and I feel quite honoured to have won. I'll look forward to seeing the finished article when it arrives.

Thanks again for your kind comments. I hadn't seen these photos myself for sometime, but clearly remembered the holidays in 1969 with my grandparents and again in 1970 with family friends. Much to my amazement, I remembered where the photo album was, which came as a massive surprise as I sometimes can't remember where I put my keys yesterday!! I must be getting old.

Certainly do . . . . . . . and make me feel old at the same time!!!

Having mentioned my first holiday on the Broads in my recent holiday blog, I was asked by Simon (Broads01) if I had some pictures from that holiday. I've had a root around and found an old album containing a few snaps from 1969, my first holiday and a couple from 1970. My parents, grandparents and I were on a Caribbean in 1969 and we all enjoyed it so much, I remember my dad driving to Hoseasons office in Lowestoft on our way home to London to book for the following year. Before we left FB Wilds yard, we saw an ex private Caribbean there, with a white top, which was being introduced into their hire fleet and specifically requested that one for our next holiday. Sadly, my gran died a couple of months after we got home and my grandpa didn't want to come with us the following year, the memories were too upsetting for him, so we went with family friends in 1970 and enjoyed a week on the ex private craft. I seem to remember that the number was D557, but could be wrong. If you check the pictures, you will see that it had nav lights, a pair of chrome horns on the roof, a guide for the mud weight rope and no Hoseasons 'Bluebird' on the bow. If I remember correctly, it was also centrally heated, unlike the usual Caribbeans of the time, which had a gas fire in the saloon. It was very different inside as well, having wood panelling lining the interior and special headlining throughout. I have also included a couple of pictures that may be of interest - one with my grandpa standing on the bow of the new Lady Min, that had been built by Wilds for the former owner of the white Caribbean as a replacement, a couple of 'woodies' that Wilds still had in their fleet at the time and a Bermuda, which was relatively new then. One photo on the blue Caribbean shows my grandparents and parents and one on the white one is with the family friends who accompanied us the following year. Look how busy Norwich Yacht Station was and check out the clearance under that pesky bridge! The pictures were taken on a Voigtlander Vito B, which was a fixed lens 35mm rangefinder camera. They are somewhat faded, but will give some idea of the boats and our holidays.

Simon, you're in luck. I've had a ferret about in a box in my garage and found an old photo album and scanned a few. I don't want to add them to this holiday tale, so will post them in the Photography section.