addicted

When we came here from the river Gt. Ouse in 2010 we were struck by how much less bird life there is than on the Ouse. There is less of most types particularly Grebe but geese are about the same in numbers it seems there certainly seems to be less swans here. Carole

I can well believe it A couple of years ago, we were in the electrical department of John Lewis Norwich helping a friend who needed a new TV for his boat. We approached the dept. Manager and asked if he could show us an AC/D/C t.v. he went a very bright red and after stuttering a completely incomprehensible reply left us realising he thought we were asking for something with a flexible sexual orientation! Carole

Last Summer while sitting in the cockpit on our mooring on Brundall Bay's Kingfisher quay I saw an otter emerge from the foliage that separates the dyke from the road, cross the road and go onto the pontoon ramp where it got the astonished attention of a black Labrador sitting in the back of a Landrover Discovery by the open tailgate. By the time the dog had recovered from it's surprise and leapt out of the car, the otter had dived into the river. 2days later while driving along the marina road heading for our mooring a very large otter came slowly strolling from our left and ambled across the road in front of us. A few minutes later we saw another much smaller one come out of the bushes and disappear into the river. Carole

Came through yesterday if 'd' known I'd have looked for you to give you a wave Carole

I feel downright insulted when I buy alcohol (a very rare occurrence) and I' m not asked for proof of age! Caro!E

Having got fed up with sitting on the mooring we decided to take a trip to Oulton Broad. We left just before midday on Tuesday, arriving mid afternoon having had a really lovely trip which believe it or not involved a very jovial conversation with the operative at Somerleyton bridge!, It's a first in the 8 seasons we've had on The Broads. We stayed for 2 nights eating on Tuesday night at The lady in the lake another 1st but it was pouring with rain and we didn' want to venture any further. At first we couldn't understand why the restaurant opposite was fully booked and the lady on the lake was practically empty. We soon twigged!. I ordered a sirloin steak and asked the waiter to inform the chef that if it was tough it would be finding it's way back to the kitchen The steak was perfect although not cooked rare as requested but very tender. Naively we requested a wine list They don't have one, well with only 2 wines on offer they don't need one really We ordered a Shiraz, it was truly disgusting. If I hadn't broken the seal myself I'd have sworn it was watered down! The steak and trimmings were perfectly fine but the side salad? That consisted of hacked salad items, most unattractive, but to their credit when I asked for salad dressing other than the bottle of salad cream on the table the chef made some and sent it out in a little jug. Full marks for that. Wednesday even though it was raining yet again we walked up to the Red H erring, we had an absolutely superb meal. I had a skate wing that came with a huge portion of perfectly cooked samphire and beautifully cooked new potatoes.Tony had a smoked chicken Caesar salad which he declared delicious and we also had a very nice bottle of Malbec. All well worth the extra walk in the rain. This morning we woke up to a howling wind which persisted all the way back to Brundall. It was so windy that for the first time ever were unable to come in on our own berth having instead to come in on a double width berth 2 along from our own. Still we're back in, if the wind dies down we'll move on to our own berth. Carole

I rest my case. Carole

And your point is?

He couldn't have been that wise or else he was on the wrong mobo! Carole

Thank for all the helpful info' Trev We are with Nav' Gen and have been for the last few years,Tony always phones round to get the best deal he can and will try these peop!e you use when it's due in October. Your response is much appreciated. Carole

I'd be interested to know who you insure with as £250 sounds good to us Carole

Ain't that the truth! Carole

You must be euphoric.we've had 17 years retired, most of each Summer since spent on the boat. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement. Carole

In the early 60s we had a Wolsley 6/99 and when the ambulance took me into hospital at 3.00am to give birth to my daughter, my husband followed in the car. Halfway there the ambulance man in the back with me called out to the driver "Hey Bert we've got a police escort for this one,mistaking our car for a squad car because of the illuminated emblem in the upper centre of the radiator. We often used to find ourselves going everywhere at night at a snail's pace because vehicles in front mistook us for a police car Carole Carole

Welcome from me also and many congratulations on your pearl anniversary, we had ours in March. Carole

Wretched tablet won't let me edit I fully expected you to say exactly what you did say,sorry to tell you Charlie You're getting predictable! CarolE

Yes we've been there and it's really lovely Great ambience as well as excellent food. Carole

What I think you really need Charlie is a clip you round the ear wench! CarolE CsrolE

Sounds like you've cracked it Gracie, I could live with that situation! CarolE

No that's definitely not just you I do that all the time. Lasttime we took our granddaughter out to lunch she went through the menu and got a picture on her phone of all the dishes so that we all knew what to expect ! Very helpful Caro!e

I like the sound of your house. To be fair Tony always volunteers to do the washing up when we're on board.But as he does all the practical stuff and all the maintenance Ithink doing all the things catering should fairly fall to me. Carole

Had we known they were heading to Coldham Hall we would have persevered at Surlingham We didn't hear anything about any altercation, but there was a boat moored on the front playing loud music before the jazz band got going, maybe he carried on after and irritated someone nearbye. We certainly didn't hear him if he did from where we were on the stern on moorings Carole

To each their own Carole

Last night we decided to try the Indian restaurant recently opened in Brundall where the Lavender House used to be. Mixed reactions really .It totally lacks atmosphere, being very stark and" olde worlde cottagey". The service was excellent and it was very busy for a Tuesday night. We both had a duck dish which consisted of small chunks of crispy duck served with pilau rice, a salad garnish and a small dish of a very spicy sweet and sour sauce. Some of my pieces of duck were chunks of chewy fat,very unpleasant but apart from that it was very nice, the rice and salad were Delicious. Our choice of wine was the house red, I tend to go for the house wine at a previously untried restaurant, as it is often an indication of the general quality of the establishment as a whole, which is why we never eat at East Hills! The house red last night was superb and I would highly recommend it. As I said earlier a bit of a mixed bag, I cannot in truth say I recommend this place (it's called the Masala Cottage) nor would I not recommend it. Perhaps it would be more aptly named the Parson's Egg! Carole

Hi Glenn what a lovely post thoroughly interesting and heartwarming too welcome to the forum, looking for ward to hearing more from you, Carole