Mouldy

By the end of October, there’s every possibility of high tides that would make passage through Ludham Bridge difficult. To be fair, Richardson’s usually send some staff to the bridge in such circumstances to help, but if I were you, I’d look for something with a lower airdraft that will ensure that the you can get through without issues. Broads Harmony from Richardson’s is a similar design but with screen and canopy lowered, has an airdraft of just 7ft 2ins.

I would imagine that people living on the rat-run through Weston Green and Weston Longville would concur! Turning right onto the A47 heading from Attlebridge on the B1535 is extremely hazardous too. I know that a lot of people aren’t fans of the NDR, but it does make sense having a ring road around Norwich. It would take a lot of traffic away from roads that are inadequate for today’s traffic volumes.

Reminds me of when the wife and I went to Devils Bridge back in 2016. I’d celebrated my 60th birthday just a few months earlier and when we went to the kiosk to pay to get in, there was a concessionary price for ‘Seniors over 60.’ Yes, it made me feel old, but the feeling of saving money was even better! 😁

Maybe we should be grateful for small mercies. I moved from north west London to Milton Keynes in 1977. The reason was purely so I could afford to buy a house. When I moved there, Milton Keynes was really in its infancy. Some of the famous grid roads were already laid out and building of the shopping centre and some of the many housing estates was underway. Aside from the three existing towns that were already there, Stony Stratford, Wolverton and Bletchley, all of the planned development was to be on land previously used for farming. When completed, the projected population was to be 250,000, however, according to Google, the current population of the new city is over 288,000. This equates to just under 8,500 per square mile. Reports, again on Google, suggest that the anticipated population will rise to somewhere between 315,000 and 326,000 by 2030 and potentially 500,000 by 2050. The current average population per square mile in Norfolk is less than 500. As for light pollution, we have no street lighting in our village and the sky on a clear night is a star gazer’s delight. I know where I would rather live.

Yep, remember it well. Almost silent in the supermarkets, where you were only allowed in on your own, so no children screaming and running around. Deserted roads on my way into work, involved in the logistics industry, so classified as an ‘essential worker’ and being given a letter by my employer to produce to the police incase I was stopped and questioned about the necessity of my journey. Feeling slight miffed that NHS workers were being clapped on Thursday nights, but feeling forgotten as they weren’t the only people who were doing their bit in very trying times. Wondering what fate would befall me when I caught Covid in early April, before much was known. How bad would it get? As it happened, despite dealing face to face with drivers from across Europe, with absolutely no masks or sanitizer available at work, not too bad although I still can’t drink Coca-Cola, smell onions or garlic four years later. Returning to work after two weeks with Covid, but being sent home for another week, as I coughed in our office causing panic amongst my colleagues. Having to work even longer hours, due to many of our team being furloughed to save the company money, but having an even greater workload, due to panic buying in the shops. Strange times indeed, but how quickly have we’ve forgotten the people who worked through it, to keep us supplied with essentials and keep us well. Some folk have very short and selective memories.

I spoke to George at HPC a few days ago about turnaround servicing for Moonlight Shadow this coming Friday, as it’s a Bank Holiday and they have nine hire boats starting on Friday afternoon. If that is typical of the hire yards generally, Easter weekend looks as if it will be busy at least.

For comparison, mine is £517.16 for the same size boat.

Fairly certain that The White Heron at Brundall has pool and darts in their ‘sports bar.’ If you go there, remember that it’s cashless, so payment by card only.

It’s only a couple of years since The Chet was dredged. If the channel isn’t widened soon, it will become increasingly difficult to navigate, especially on the bends as you near the junction with The Yare. It’s also disappointing that the moorings at Pyes Mill are falling into disrepair. I’m not a big fan of Loddon basin. I try to avoid stern on moorings, as I don’t really like being the meat in the sandwich between other boats and issues at the car park which resulted in the toilets being pinned as Loddon Drug Store on Google Maps (pin now removed) have done little to enhance my opinion of the mooring. We’ve always preferred to moor at Pyes Mill and walk into the village, which has much to offer. It would be a massive disappointment if those moorings are lost. I do enjoy cruising The Chet, though. To me, it’s kind of The Ant of the southern rivers and relatively easy to get to from our base at Brundall.

Correct. Most folk in a pub wouldn’t even realise we had a dog with us. She is really well behaved and lays down by the side of our table. To be honest, I have a bigger issue with children who run around in a pub and treat the establishment like a big playground. I always wonder what the parents would say and how they’d react if one of their offspring tripped a waiter or waitress and had hot food or a tray of drinks spilled over them. I realise that they have a lot of energy to run off, but there is a time and a place and in my opinion, the inside of a pub isn’t the place.

The state of the weather is open to question at any time of the year. As Easter is relatively early this year anyway, the chances of it being good are probably a little less than usual. As for the forecast, they struggle to get it right for tomorrow, so predictions for what will happen in an eleven days time should probably be taken with a pinch of salt (whatever that means). We certainly hope to be afloat over the Bank Holiday. Certainly feeling deprived of opportunities over what has seemed such a long, wet winter.

Prestige brand and prestige prices! Should be spelt Ow-di. Could be worse - could have a BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oh, forgot, he has!

If you’re not match fishing, I always wonder why the need for a keep net. Surely, it’s best for the fish to be released as soon as possible.

Maybe they’re turning over a new leaf: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/24188171.broads-authority-rethink-use-money-navigation/?fbclid=IwAR052vdmFCmdaCbn6H6ncTpmWxCkB5YzGg04eH-IWnzBoFYqrvivmB6xzzU

Thinking logically, if there are two cruisers with a 12ft beam moored opposite each other and there is room for another with a similar beam to pass (just), I’d guess at about 38 - 40ft, allowing a little extra for fenders etc..

Wouldn’t really be any good any other way!

No. The original one was sold to a private buyer.

Hmmm! Think yourselves lucky! I went to the bloody dentist on Tuesday for three fillings and came out suffering from serious GBH of the wallet. £670! Yep, £670! Unbebloodylievable! I should have guessed before I went in when I saw a stable outside with the horse’s name on the door - Black Bess! At least the toll isn’t as much. Just thankful that we have a more compact boat!

Just seen this on the BA website, stating that their yacht stations will be manned from 24th March. I guess that means that the mooring fees will be reintroduced a little earlier than expected at Ranworth, which may cause a few people to get caught out, thinking that they will be applicable from the beginning of April. https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/yacht-stations

Moonlight Shadow has two Thunderbox loos, flushed with water pumped from the river. To be fair, I think they were fitted extensively to hirecraft, back in the day. They are generally reliable, don’t block easily and fairly cheap to maintain. The downside is sitting on top of a tank full of ‘slurry,’ but if you don’t look too closely and keep them maintained , they’re fine. We do find that they have an appetite for seals though, which we’ve found need changing annually. We used to have a manual Jabsco loo on Norfolk Lady, flushed with river water. It did use more water to flush than a Traveller loo, but depending on where one was on the system, the flushing water could sometimes be a little sour, leaving the loo a little whiffy. Our new macerating toilet is much cleaner, but I think uses even more water to flush than the Jabsco. Additional care has to be taken to avoid blocking it, though, which would be an issue when there’s only one toilet on the boat. Water usage on NL isn’t a problem. We have two large tanks and with normal usage will last us three or four days easily, including showering every day.

Thanks on the tip. I do know that Paul at the yard adds an extra jug of blue when he does a pump out, because the tank is big, but even then it was becoming a bit noxious as it filled. We haven’t tried it with the filter fitted yet, but I’m hoping that it will help.

Yeah, I think you mean you have a Jabsco manual flush loo and you possibly had a Traveller (Thunderbox) loo on Luna. Not sure if you’d be able to fit a Traveller toilet, as the holding tank is directly under the seat. You could convert to a macerating one, similar to the one Paul fitted in NL, but we find that they use more water than a manual flush. If conserving capacity in your black water tank is a priority, just remember Griff’s saying: if it’s yellow, let it mellow, but if it’s brown, flush it down! Fortunately, the waste tank on NL is massive - so much so that we’ve had to have a filter fitted on the tank vent, to try and stop the obnoxious odour that developed after a few days use.

I guess that hiring the venue in the evening would (a) cost more and (b) attract the wrong audience. Isn’t it good to know that the future of The Broads and navigation in particular, is in such safe hands!

You might like to look at this, then: https://www.broads-society.org/post/the-state-of-the-broads-in-the-family-of-national-parks Good to see that The Broads Society are promoting the Notional Park as a National Park.