Mouldy

Nice one, Ray! Our old girl just glares at the wife if she dares to sit on the navigator‘s seat, so the wife moves and the dog jumps up . . . . . . well, when I say jumps, gets helped up. She is totally relaxed on board, which is a bonus! Enjoy - deeply jealous, although we’re heading up for the weekend tomorrow afternoon!

I wouldn’t swear to that - possibly more like 8ft. We went under in July and the river was a few inches below the concrete. Height markers were showing 8 feet and we went through with very little clearance. I still think that the chances of getting under Ludham Bridge that late in the season in a boat with a stated airdraft of 8ft 10ins are slim, even allowing for a bit of safety built into that figure and the inaccuracy of the height boards.

Personally, I’d be looking for some with a lower airdraft. Sometimes the clearance at Ludham is less than 8ft. Our boat has an airdraft of 8ft 3ins and there have been times in September when we haven’t been able to negotiate the bridge. It is true that the height boards are pessimistic, probably by three or four inches heading from The Bure, but slightly less in the opposite direction. Spring tides and the weather also affect the river levels, so if cruising The Ant is an important part of your holiday, I’d definitely be looking for something lower to hire.

Enjoy it, Ray!

Forget the week after. We’re up for a week on 22nd so wet and windy is almost certainly guaranteed!

One has to remember that Ferry, as well as one or two other yards, operate what they call an ‘all inclusive’ pricing policy, which doesn’t compare well to similar branding on foreign holidays that include food and drink, but does include all of the extras, such as fuel, parking, damage waiver etc. that are added on elsewhere. If you intend to blast around the network, making good use of the included fuel, it could represent good value, however if you intend to potter about the northern rivers, in my opinion it is not good value for money. There are plenty of dual steer boats available from other yards. Windsor Bridge from Bridgecraft for example or maybe Swan Ranger or Moon Enterprise from Richardson’s, depending on the size of your party. Have a look round - there are plenty of options that may fit your requirements.

That’s handy. It’ll ensure that the usual YouTubers have a few bumps and crashes to video and post.

There have already been several posts on Norfolk Broads FB groups, asking whether it’s worth booking in advance for next year, or whether to wait for the heavy discounting to be applied and make last minute bookings. I’ve noticed that petrol and diesel are on the way back up again and not just local to me, by around 10p per litre. The B o E are still threatening further interest rate rises, house prices are falling and overall inflation is still high. With all of these (and more) factors to consider, is it any wonder that having set what I think was a dangerous precedent, some folk will avoid early booking in the hope of late discounting.

We spent several holidays using Eurocamp sites in France and once at Lake Maggiore, Italy. We also used Campaniles for overnight stopovers, but later discovered a new (at the time) hotel chain called Ace, which became our chain of choice. In the main, we stayed inland, visiting the Ardeche, Gorges du Verdon, Gorges du Tarn and the Dordogne, but did venture as far as Argèles sur Mer once. We crossed the Viaduc du Millau, visited, Monaco, Rocamador, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and returning from Italy went over the magnificent Sustenpass. Memorable times. Maybe, in time, we’ll go again, but since Brexit, taking our dog with us has become much more expensive and more involved than when the Pet Passport was in operation. We’ll see.

And I won’t be holding my breath for any of that to happen. Using profits to pay for improvements in infrastructure seems an alien concept to UK companies. A lack of investment in so many areas in which we used to excel, has resulted in the death of most industries which will never return. We’ll just wait for foreign investment to build power stations, car manufacturing plants, wind farms etc that we need and rely on Victorian sewage systems to deal (or not) with ever increasing levels of waste. I fear for the UK that my grandchildren are growing up to live in.

We’re on EE and have generally found the coverage over The Broads to be quite good. We were on the boat over the weekend before the Bank Holiday and coverage everywhere was atrocious, but we went again over the Bank Holiday weekend and we were getting 4G and sometimes 5G, even on Short Dyke, Rockland. Not sure what happened the weekend before, but normal service seems to have resumed.

We hired Gainsborough Girl from Summercraft in 2018 and I think they are great boats, with excellent accommodation for four and with the potential for six, but as you say, access is not the best, especially when stern moored. I’d have one in a heartbeat, but the wife isn’t keen and our arthritic staffy struggled even then.

Owning a boat is not without its issues. Fellow owners will know what I mean - BOAT and all that, but when you wake up, open the curtains to scenes like these, any questions you may have about the sanity of it all, are answered. This is why we do it!

Good to meet up with you and your (better) half too! Whoaaaaaaaaa! Helen! I have to say that my bad influence didn’t affect @Bikertov at all! Soft drink at the pub as he was driving, but my Trawlerboys slipped down very nicely!

One of these would have been cheaper! 😉 https://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-truvo-multi-detector/1518921_BQ.prd Glad it’s only your wallet that’s been damaged though mate!

Makes my bit of fencing pale into insignificance, but digging those holes for the posts was hard going. I had another flat packed log store delivered on Wednesday, that I assembled yesterday, giving it a good cost of Cuprinol Shed and Fence treatment. Went out this morning to buy the timber to make the gates to finish the fencing off, so I can move on to decorating the living room. I’m so glad I’m retired!

Sam, please come round to ours and tend to the bloody ivy. I’ve used gallons of fairly potent weed killer on it and still haven’t quite managed to kill it off. Perhaps your magic touch will do the job for me for once and for all! 😁😉

My thoughts exactly, the benefit for them is being able to say that they asked us for our opinions (and will probably chose to ignore anything that doesn’t fit with their agenda). My God, am I getting cynical?

The trouble is Ray, Sundays have been incorporated into a normal working week for so many people now, that couples seldom get to spend time together, or with their families. Working in the logistics industry, I’ve worked nights for 14 years, weekends, stupid hours, twelve hour shifts, four on, four off shift patterns, started work at 02:00 in the morning etc. Fifteen hour days were frequently worked, not from choice, but necessity. I’ll never forget having a row with my son when he was about 18 or 19. I can’t remember what started it, but he said to me ‘You’ve never been here for me.’ It was true. I’d worked weekends, long, antisocial hours and hadn't been there to take him to the cinema, or out with the wife, or to his ice skating training and competitions. We get on fine now, but all those times are lost. I missed so much of his growing up, trying to earn a living, that being there at the weekends just took second place. I did it for the right reasons - to keep a roof over our heads. I have a few regrets in my lifetime, but that is probably the one that hurts the most when I think back on what I missed. Family time is so important, but these days so difficult to achieve.

Agreed. Personally, I see no need for Sunday trading. Supermarkets open early and close late all ruddy week. I do not believe that folk can’t do their shopping from Monday to Saturday and leave Sundays free for families. I can see an excuse for DIY centres, garden centres and one or two other shops to trade on Sundays, but it seems that these days a family day out with the kids is a trip to the shopping mall. Little wonder so many families split up. Why can we not be like our European neighbours and minimise Sunday trading, instead of wanting to be like the Americans and shop 24/7.

That’s the one.

Wouldn’t it be good if the BA addressed matters that impact navigation, like loss of moorings, instead of flexing their muscles over small businesses around The Broads?

They can dig away to their hearts content, Helen. We have three yew trees in our back garden that are the subject of TPO’s. If they want to investigate the bricks that I found, two of the trees are in close proximity and I’d hate to see anything happen to jeopardise them. 😉

Not so much my day, but a few days, if I’m honest. Keen to finish my fencing job in the back garden, I went back to the suppliers to get the rest of the timber I needed to complete it. Back at home, I started digging the holes for the posts. To be fair, none of them were easy, with some fine Norfolk clay and a lot of flint found where I was digging. I’d dug four of the five holes and concreted in one of the posts as a guide before I started the last hole. I’d also rewarded myself with another run out on my bike on Thursday to Wells Next The Sea, where I’d enjoyed some spectacular fish and chips, with a cup of tea (much to the wife’s chagrin) before riding home. It’s good to have a reminder that retirement has some enjoyable benefits as well as time for odd jobs! Now, I am aware that our bungalow is built on land that used to belong to the nearby church . . . . . . . . not a graveyard, I hasten to add, but just church owned land and that there used to be a walled cloister separating it from a public footpath behind. I think, digging the last hole, that I found clear evidence of its existence! Let’s just say I wasn’t happy. I ran out of time last week before we headed to the boat for a relaxing weekend, but buoyed by some good weather and a very enjoyable time away, I decided to have a go at it this afternoon, when we got back home. Not having the correct tools, I found a jemmy and lump hammer. Accompanied by a few choice profanities, which I always find help at times like these, I succeeded in chipping away sufficient of the brickwork to allow the hole to be dug in the right place and deep enough for the fence post to be concreted in. Just the rails to cut to length and fix and a gate to make now! Oh, joy!