smellyloo

Image copyright is something that is often mis-understood a frequent assumption is that if it is in the public domain it can be used. Only pictures that you have taken, have permission to use from the owner or have been purchased from an image bank can be used. If you use any other image then you may be persued for infringement of copyright. Vaughan your railway tread would have been very interesting, it would be worthwhile asking for permission to scan/post the imagery, with correctly formatted accreditation they might be happy to grant it.

1s 6d for a pint of mild when I was 17 so I assume your tenner refers to bobs!

I don't think things are much different now than they have ever been .... it's just that as you get older the things that excite you change. You forget the hot head that existed when you were seventeen and assume it's the world that has changed ... not you. The only certainty is that with age comes the certainty that life was always better in the past ..... But was it really?

These are the meandering thoughts of Smelly on this vexing question. The Motor boat owner on the Broads is restricted to the extent of the waterways. I often see these people striving to motor every inch of available water and this goal can be acheived relatively quickly. So I guess ultimataly they end up sitting in their boats enjoying watching the world go by when they have exhausted the limited challenges. The sail boat owner is challenged every time they go out by differing winds, tides and man made obstacles. So a short half mile, difficult stretch of water can provide endless challenges. Yes they might take hours to overcome the challenges but they enjoy watching the world go by as they do it. So in essence the sail boat skipper can enjoy miles & miles of experience in a relatively short stretch of water. In conclusion the sail boat owner can enjoy a lifetime of challenges on the Broads regardless of the limitations of the waterways. I have often thought it might be nice to exhange the flappy for the comforts of a stinkie but I fear I would quickly be bored. I don't enjoy driving a car and I find driving a stinkie .......... sorry stinkie owners ............. extremely dull!!

Perhaps one reason that the divide between stinkies & raggies seems to be growing is that the modern stinkie, with all the comforts of home, is becoming less like a boat and more like a luxurious camper van. So no longer does the stinkie voyager have to endure the cramped sleeping shelves, bucketit & chuckit, and frying brekkie over a one burner primus whilst trying to ignore the pervading odours from the great un-washed crew, So whilst captaining you great white comfortable caravan spare a thought for the poor, smellie raggie trying to round an arcward river bend with unfavourable tides & wind. They may have been there for some time and by some fluke of nature about to conquer that bend ..... when along comes a stinkie full of waving well wishes, plonked exactly where you need to put in the last tack to send you proudly round the bend, With a defeated wave back to the stinkie crowd you slowly drift back to where you came from ready to mount another attack on that dreaded bend!! Being a less than accomplished raggie lover I have spent many happy hours going round the bend ..... yes I could have added motor assist ..... but that would be like cheating in a game of patiance.

I may have it wrong but don't the English players donate their wages for playing for England to charity?

To be honest I thought their performance was a fair reflection of the chaos that has befallen our once proud nation. Leaderless, rudderless and hopeless.

Hmmmm . I see a dog, rope, mudweight, trees, house, water, Is their a pub called the well hung dog? Or maybe approaching Brammerton on the Yare?

Thanks for explaining that Cheshirecat. I was trying to think of a way of asking why you chose to type in big without causing offence. Not for the first time I seem to have failed so my appologies to you.

I can type louder than you!!

I've used both windows & mac ...... purely based on value for money I choose windows. Perhaps some of the windows issues stem from the fact that it is used on computers from multiple manufacturers from the very cheap to moderately expensive. As far as I am aware the mac os only runs on apple (expensive) hardware so I would expect a higher level of customer satisfaction in line with the higher cost of ownership.

This shocking event and the Orlando shooting demonstrate the devastating result of allowing hatred to take over your life. My sympathy goes out to all her friends & family and especially to her two beautiful children. And a plea that I suspect might fall on stoney ground ..... Please accept that others might hold differing views to you but they have a right to hold those views without persecution.

I like doing the hokey cokey Ian ...... especially the shake it all about bit.

So much sport has now sold it's soul to satelite pay to view that when the terrestial TV companies can lay their hands on real sport they do tend to overindulge in the frothy delight of continuous broadcasting. Quite why the lesser matches (anything not involving England & Norwich city( aka Ireland)) are broadcast on the mainstream chanels is beyond me ..... there are many less loved channels that could accomodate these games .... and maybe even the red button?

Top Gear had and now has run it's course. The beeb seem unwilling to stop / revamp a show. until it has bored the pants off it's audience. You can never replace the presenters (who had become the main attraction of the show) with another bunch trying to imitate their antics. However I have to agree Chris Evans is definately not the man to host this or any other show IMHO. He, like top gear, needs to be retired from public gaze.

Um Yum ........ especially crispy skin with a nice potato skin salad . Druel

I guess there's nothing wrong with striving for hygeine excellence but surely a premice is either good enough to remain open OR it is closed? Compulsory Display of the "star" rating will only confuce most and might well be mistaken for a mark of quality. Best to leave as it is and allow people to inquire. So .... when all restaurants and pubs reach that perfect hygeine score what will all the inspectors do next ...... Rate our domesic kitchens for hygeine? I'm guessing that will uncover a horrendous pit of nasties, Still eating dirt & germs never did me any harm .............. or maybe it did?

1) Strumshaw HiIl ............. Bump starting steam engines 2) How many rivers ......... None (the Broads are big hand dug puddles) 3) What was the name of the motor cruiser used by the Hullabaloos in the Arthur Ransome book Coot Club? McCutyCootface 4) Which is the only working lock left on the waterways? Loads .... rattle most doors and you'll find the locks work. 5) Which group of broads make up the Trinity Broads? The Norfolk Broads 6) Where is the Broads only mere? Ray's so good at woodcraft I doubt anybody could know where he is. 7) Where is the so-called Cathedral of the Broads located? In the so called Capital of Norfolk ... Dunwich in sea.

I notice the pics in the link are from "Getty images". I believe caution should be the keyword regarding use of their images. I have noted that they have been very aggressive in seeking compensation from un-authorised usage of their imagery. Still, very interesting pics.

Back in the early seventies, when I was invited to parties and actually enjoyed them, we had a party four can of Sainsbury's lagar ....... That can attended more parties than me .............. it never got opened and the recipient used to take it to the next party. I don't recall if it ever got drunk? I suspect not.

I'm not sure who thought up counting your birthdays and deciding that is how old you are but it's utter nonsence. I know many young over sixties and a lot of young/middle aged fuddy duddies. I guess the age thing started to make kiddies feel good about themselves and as a measure of biggness. When you reach that magic age when motor insurance premiums begin to drop (another lie to make you feel better about getting older) then STOP counting birthdays. Celebrate waking up in the morning. Look forward to waking up tomorrow. Don't listen to the government advice on what you should eat, drink & do ...... just do what makes you happy and LIVE YOUR life happy in the knowledge that those younger than you are slowly catching you up in percentage terms! Party for old farts!!

Anyone who has a boat on the broads will have been filmed still & in motion many times and probably have had said footage uploaded to the internet in many places. Sadly this is a sign of the times, previously said footage would have laid, gathering dust in some nook or granny. So, IMHO, I really can't see what all the fuss is about. Now if said footage is taken and publicly displayed to invite ridicule ..... well that's just down right mean!!

Driving to the coast at Winterton (I no longer have a boat) looking over the fields and seeing a large sail or sails ghosting across the plain. Now that's what the Norfolk Broads is about ..... lovely.

That must have made you want to sctatch her eyes out . sorry Grace couldn't resist. This year certainly seems to be taking it;s toll on the celebrity pot. Makes be feel quite sad.

I think it's very easy to under estimate the skills required to manouver a large boat in strong tides. Sadly those only used to the Northern rivers might assume that all the system is as forgiving. I really hope this incident doesn't spoil their holiday.