Mouldy

Thanks! She’s not bad for her age and she’s an ex hire boat, too. Well, we did get to Pyes Mill, where we did not a lot. After some lunch, we walked to Thee Kings Head, using the permissive path across the field. In case anyone fancies that walk into town, long trousers are advised. Talk about overgrown. Nettles and thistles abound, well over waist high in places. It was worth it though, as I was allowed a cheeky pint in the pub, before going to the Co-Op for a few bits before returning to the boat, this time using the path behind the church. It’s worth noting that the other path across the field from the back of the church is now closed, although the public footpath is open as usual. Due to no phone signal at the moorings, I read for a while, before picking up a crossword book I found on board. Deb did some sewing and we spent a quiet afternoon in perfect weather, watching the comings and goings on the river. I’d bought some minted lamb shoulder steaks for dinner, that I’d intended to cook on the Cobb, but in the end just cooked them in the oven which we enjoyed with some boiled new potatoes and salad. There was a wonder sunset, so I took a few photos with my phone. I should add that they have been enhanced in Lightroom, but the clouds were reflected beautifully in the calm water of the river, until a boat cruised past! It had been a lovely day and we retired to bed tired and happy. Aside from having to get up during the night for my customary old man wee, I slept like the proverbial log and woke at about 06:45 this morning, which is late for me. We had a leisurely breakfast before returning to the marina, where we cleaned NL through, ready for our return next weekend.

Happy to report that we’re back on board for the weekend. We should have been up a couple of weeks ago, but torrential rain stopped play and last weekend we were looking after our son’s stupid dog. There’s just not room for him on our boat! Not deterred by the threat of an overnight thunderstorm, we headed to the marina where we loaded our things on board before casting off. With the non availability of Langley Dyke now, Hardley Mill was the planned overnight mooring and there was only one other private craft there when we arrived. We had been passed by Smoggy on the way and it was no surprise to have seen him moored at Cantley! They said it would rain overnight and it didn’t disappoint. It was so bad, it woke me up. There were a few flashes of lightning, but I didn’t hear any thunder. I was soon back in the land of slumber and woke to a glorious morning. Were now on our way to Pyes Mill, where the intention is just to relax and enjoy a day of doing not a lot!

Sadly, people only seem interested in watching other folk’s misfortunes. Clickbait titles encourage scores of armchair admirals to watch mishaps to drive up the YouTube metrics where money can be earned by the owner of the channel and make stupid comments like ‘it’s only a boat. A dab of paint and it’ll soon be as good as new!’. As Robin said, there was one such YouTuber originally, but the format is clearly popular and it now appears that more have joined the party.

Have a look on other waterways. Boats are frequently cheaper on maybe The Great Ouse or The Thames. One of the Forum sponsors specialises in boat transport and will quote for transfer to The Broads. There does appear to be a ‘Broads premium’ for craft on the Broadland waterways.

Just park near there Jean. There are plenty of spaces between Flavours and Ferry Marine’s yard.

Just be good if they stopped pontificating about finishing the NDR. The people living in Weston Longville must be really hacked off with their village being used as a rat run between the A47 and the A1067.

Cross Keys, Dilham, The Lion, Thurne, The White Horse, Neatishead, The White Horse, Upton, The Bridge Inn, Acle, The Kings Arms, Ludham (especially their carvery on Sundays and Wednesdays).

Dunno about fit as a fiddle, Kate. Definitely feeling my age . . . . . . . every ruddy minute of it!

When were you in The Heron, Ray? I read on FB that they’ve introduced a new menu, which does sound a bit more than basic ‘pub grub,’ not unless it’s the same stuff and they’ve just translated it all into French!

Only the BA moorings were due to be cleared. The remainder of the quay heading doesn’t fall within the BA’s remit, so doesn’t receive any attention. Over the past couple of years, the number of visitors has guaranteed that most of the overgrowth along the remaining length of the quay heading been ‘trampled down,’ but this year, being so much quieter, it hasn’t received the same treatment.

Well, that’s one side finished. I managed to dig out the hole for the gate post on the other side today and with the wife’s help, when she’d finished work, the post is now concreted in. I wanted to dig the post hole 600mm deep, but was into a mixture of clay and flints, so gave up at 500mm. Four more holes to dig for the remaining posts and the hard work will be finished. Just rails to fix then and a gate to make.

Didn’t realise that. That automatically puts UK holiday destinations at a disadvantage.

It might seem easy to hire a fleet out at low prices, but will that guarantee the yard’s existence in the future. Let’s take a holiday costing £2000, over £300 of that will be VAT, which is not kept but paid to the revenue. There may be booking agents fees, there will be tolls, insurance, servicing costs, staff wages, fuel costs for the yard (heating, lighting etc), rates, turnaround cleaning costs plus a whole load of other things that we may not be aware of. New builds have to be financed, loans paid and we all know how much interest rates have risen over the last year. Costs to businesses have increased massively over the past eighteen months, just as they have for us. It’s easy pointing a finger and saying that they’re profiteering, but are they? If times were better for the majority of us, would we be questioning the cost of holidays. When foreign travel wasn’t available to us, no one cared. We were grateful to get a holiday anywhere, whatever the cost. It’ll be interesting to see how folk deal with the anticipated EU visas and whether the inevitable resulting delays deter sun seeking, all inclusive foreign holiday makers to return to UK based breaks. These extraordinary times have certainly generated a lot of social media discussion. It might be worth remembering how lucky we are to even be thinking about a holiday in a World where so many folk won’t have that opportunity.

I’m fairly certain that Clive doesn’t engage in the discounting shenanigans at Horning Pleasurecraft. As Simon (CC) said in an earlier post, it’s a sure fire way to impact early bookings for the following year.

I’m fairly certain that was on the market when we bought Norfolk Lady in 2019. Given how much two privately owned Pearl 38’s have been advertised for recently, I’d agree that it’s overpriced, possibly by a tad and a bit.

Will I need to look out for you on a YouTube video filmed tomorrow?

Another couple of busy days! Yesterday saw me back to Horning to see a couple more upholstery firms to get quotes for new curtains and other upholstery items (headboards etc.) for Moonlight Shadow. I also met with new shareholders in the syndicate, who recently bought their share, to show them over the boat and go through a familiarisation. We also took the opportunity to have a short run up the river to see how our newly fitted propeller had impacted the boat’s performance. Today, after a trip to the shops with the wife, I had a go at fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . no, not that waving a sharp thing around trying to kill your opponent, but erecting a fence. The two sections of our rather odd garden had been separated by a fence made from round posts knocked into the ground, supporting chicken wire, however it had been trampled down by visiting deer. Having tamed at least part of the garden, we want to try to keep them out and our dog in, so the wife instructed me to sort something out. It’s a work in progress at the moment, but coming along. Digging the holes about 60cms deep for the posts, is giving me some kind of workout!

We own a Broom 29 Sedan, the airdraft is 8ft 3ins, so it does impact passage under some additional bridges at certain states of the tide, like Ludham, St Olaves and Somerleyton (which all too frequently can’t swing due to the weather, maintenance issues or some other lame excuse). It’s less restrictive than a 30DS which I believe is a few inches taller.

One option could be a Sancerre style cruiser. They used to be popular on The Broads, having been built by Bondon (latterly Russell Marine) of South Walsham. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Sncr There are a few still on the Broadland rivers, but there are two currently available on the Great Ouse, one at Jones Boatyard: https://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/sancerre-33-boat-for-sale-7430.html and one advertised on Apolloduck: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/sancerre-33-for-sale/738182 They have a relatively low airdraft for a sedan style craft, so can safely negotiate most of the bridges on The Broads, with the exception of Wroxham, Potter and Wayford.

I had a good day yesterday, or I thought I did. A sunny day, a ride on my bike, a constructive afternoon getting a bit more of a fence put up in our garden and then someone mentions bloody Christmas in August! Some people just can’t leave it alone, can they? A good day, spoiled!

Gives me an idea for a ride out on my bike, too. Had a little ride to Horning today. Was surprisingly quiet when I arrived . . . . . . but unsurprisingly there were no spaces on the staithe! Had a latte and a bacon and sausage bap from the takeaway on the corner of the green and watched the boats go by for a while before riding home. Hoveton/Wroxham was heaving though , with traffic tailing back to Roy’s garage heading for the town centre. It had clouded over considerably whilst I was there, but past the Thickthorn interchange, the sky was blue and not a cloud to be seen!

That’ll track me to hit enter, before I’ve finished! 😬 I returned home and finished moving the rest of the logs and now have a heap in my garage! Saturday, like for a good many of us I guess, was something of a washout. It didn’t stop raining from the time I got up until I went to bed. I did venture into Watton in the afternoon, to buy a small chopper. I wasn’t going to buy kindling when I had plenty of logs to chop up! Sunday dawned, bright and sunny, but I’d seen the forecast and knew it wouldn’t last. The wife had a bright idea - I’d cut some shrubs down in our as yet, undeveloped ‘back’ back garden. She suggested that with the ground soft, now would be a good time to dig the roots up! Well, we grunted, strained, broke a saw, I broke into a sweat and eventually managed to get all four out. Some of the thicker roots will have to stay, as they pass under the fence and I’m not sure that the neighbour would welcome us digging up his garden. I also chopped a bit more off the overgrown laurel hedge at the back of our property. I had a hack at it last year and it’s started to thicken up at the bottom now, so I thought I’d help it along a bit! It’s about twelve feet tall, so definitely overdue for a trim! Fortunately, it started raining, so our endeavours were bought to an early end before I got carried away with the loppers. Our garden waste bin, that was emptied last Wednesday, is now full, so another visit to the tip beckons to get rid of the waste. I thought that retirement might allow me a little time to relax. 🤨

Never mind my day, my weekend! I’d ordered 2cu metres of seasoned hardwood logs to be delivered and told it’d be late morning when they arrived. The supplier is clearly in a different time zone, as he rocked up at 09:40. I hastily move the cars off the drive so he could reverse on and tip then nearer my sideway to barrow round to our newly acquired log store. I shouldn’t complain, but I’m sure that there was more than I’d ordered. It was almost inevitable that we should have a short, sharp shower just as he finished tipping them! Grrrr!😡 Quickly, the wheelbarrow was put into service and within an hour or so, most had been transferred to the store and stacked. Id also arranged to be at Horning to meet a couple of upholsterers to quote for new curtains on Moonlight Shadow. Feeling slightly worse for shifting a load of logs, I set off, arriving ten minutes before my first appointment. They measured up, we had a chat and I waited, but the second firm failed to arrive. No matter, I have another to see next week, as well as show a new owner around the boat to familiarise him with relevant bits! I also grabbed a quick photo of our newly installed cooker, which is a huge improvement over the old one, even allowing free access to the cutlery drawer! To be continued.

Two advertised on Apolloduck: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boats/hampton

Follow your progress on the Aweigh app or using Google maps. We hire a Sheerline 950 from Royalls in 1996 called Royal Sceptre. It had its own built in limiter as the position of the throttle wouldn’t allow full movement of the lever, restricting maximum revs to about 1600.