Vaughan

It's called "shooting" a bridge, which is what the wherries used to do.

As I pointed out earlier, with Richardsons conditions of hire.

I have just had a renewal note from our insurers, since it is now a year since we bought our boat. When we bought the boat, I phoned the existing insurers and was able to take over the cover with a simple phone call and a couple of e-mails. When I paid the river toll in March I made the usual insurance declaration and sent an e-mail copy of my insurance certificate to the BA. As I have not heard back from the BA (except with a receipt and with thanks for my payment) I assume my insurance must be satisfactory. Surely this is all it needs? What is the secret about it? Anyone can copy a document by e-mail these days, even during "lockdown"! Why do we have to make a fuss about it when simple clarity, would remove any doubt?

Where he made the famous "Bourne" hulls that so many Broads cruisers were built from.

It has occurred to me that it very probably means that your father was involved in the creation of the State of Israel.

Exactly!

Thank you for sharing these. I notice you have not attempted to clean or refurbish them, so they remain as they were when your father last wore them. I have been advised that this is what we should do, with collectable medals. The first one is the 1939-45 Star and the colours of the ribbon are dark blue for the Navy, red for the Army and light blue for the Air Force. The Navy on the right as they are the "Senior Service". The diffused colours of the Atlantic Star represent the rough weather of the north Atlantic. This medal included service in the Channel, and in the North Sea. The Pacific Star has two red stripes as well as the dark and light blue, as the Army had a greater role there than the other services. The other colours are green for the jungles and pale yellow for the beaches on which they landed. The "Burma" clasp means that he also qualified for the Burma Star but the rules said that you could not win both medals, and the Pacific Star was the one he got first. The Palestine Medal reminds us that service in the Middle East went on for quite a while after the War ended.

His campaign service medal appears to be the Burma Star but that does not necessarily mean he was a prisoner of war. I have looked up his regiment's battle honours and they include North Arakan in 1944. If that was where he served, then he was on the same campaign as my father.

I am watching BBC at the moment and have just seen the flypast by a Hurricane and Spitfire. The Colonel's comment was that now, they are flying in peace but he is one of the few people left who has seen them flying in anger. It is a very significant gesture that the Queen has awarded him the wartime Defence Medal. The colours on the ribbon are green, for "Our green and pleasant land", orange for the flames of the blitz and the two black stripes represent the blackout. His wartime service was abroad, so he did not qualify for "Defence of the Homeland". He certainly does now!

I have been reading back over yesterday's animated, intelligent and very interesting discussion and this is one of the "hidden gems" that was lurking un-noticed among it! The Broads were closed for most of the War and my parents, who holidayed there in 1946, had to cut their way into places such as Womack and Rockland as the navigations had grown over. But that is beside my point! Some boats were requisitioned as patrol launches, others were moored on broads to stop planes landing and others just had to rot on the bank. Boatbuilding staff were sent off to other big yards such as Vospers, Fairmile, or the British Powerboat Co. But after the War (and this is the point) the boatyards were able to claim full compensation for the war damage to boats and premises and this allowed them to re-build their fleets. Boatbuilders and engineers came back to jobs which were kept open for them as they had been in "reserved occupations". So the Government made full reparation on that occasion. Let us hope they will bear that in mind this time!

Having just watched the local TV news about tourism in the area, they were saying that this situation could be known in law as the "frustration" of a contract.

The Rover Yare (sic) at Postwick empty of boats. Is that part of the Whitlingham Gravel Pits? These photos simply show me the Yare as it normally looks, in between Easter and Whitsun. BBC East did a piece this evening which told us very little but involved Silverline at Brundall. Presumably this "journalist" took these photos during the same "necessary journey" from the office?

Again, I agree but does that mean (in court) that either side is in breach of the contract? Surely the customer, of his own volition, would happily turn up on the due date and enjoy his holiday? But, just like the boatyard, he is being prevented (to use your own word) by circumstances beyond his control? I suppose what I am asking is : if government prevention is the cause of the breach of contract, then should government pick up the cost of it, since neither side of the contract itself, is actually at fault? "Kirk to Enterprise : one to beam up!"

Exactly. They would simply find themselves a long way down the queue of those scrabbling to try and recover a few "pence in the pound". Much better for customers (who were already loyal to their boatyard) to stay loyal and ride out the crisis. That way they can help the yard to stay in business and welcome them again, for a future holiday!

I agree with you but I would still not like to predict the outcome of that in court.

What I really meant by that was : is there an actual breach of contract that requires a refund and if so, who is breaching it? I have studied Richardsons conditions of hire as published on their website this morning. In other words, right up to date. I have not looked at others as it is safe to assume they will be almost exactly the same. They are the industry's conditions which have not changed in 50 odd years, apart from the odd comma or full stop. The things which matter here are cancellation of the holiday, either by the boatyard or by the customer. When you book you are responsible for the full hire terms even if you cannot take your holiday as planned. We have on your instructions reserved the boat exclusively for you. Unfortunately events beyond our control occasionally affect bookings . . . . . this means any event(s) or circumstance(s) which we could not, even with all due care, forsee or avoid. They then list the events, which mainly involve flooding of a river, or lack of water in a canal. It is very important to remember that the Norfolk Broads are not closed to navigation and this has been confirmed by the BA on this forum. In these cases, they will offer a different boat, date or cruising area, or all three, but the next clause needs reading carefully : Providing the cancellation is not due to events beyond our control, we will also offer you a full refund. So they are saying that as this situation is beyond their control it qualifies for a modification of the booking, but not for a refund. Whilst we might have our own opinion on the ethics of that statement it remains a fact that it is one of the conditions under which the contract was made. And now as to cancellation by the customer : They say that you can only demand a refund of your balance payment for a "qualifying reason", one of which is - Compulsory quarantine of you or any member of your party or your travel being prevented by Government restriction following an epidemic. That would seem clear enough until you consider what is a Government "restriction"? Is it a law enforcement, or a recommended guideline? And please, before some members climb back into their pulpits and shout "stay at home and save lives!" at me, we have to consider what these words might mean in a court of law. I think it is safe to assume that an insurance company would not pay out on a "guideline"! As I see it, the boat you have hired is still there, ready to go and the Broads are still open. The boatyard is closed by the simple fact that there are no customers. The customers have stayed away because the Government has told them to. But does that constitute a reason for the refund of a legal contract and have either side actually breached it? There are some very grey areas here and I hope that common sense will prevail, rather than having to test it in court, as I really could not guess what the outcome of that might be. A very good day for lawyers, no doubt, but probably not for anyone else!

Exactly. Boatyards are a seasonal business, so at this time of year they are already owed a VAT refund on all the money they have spent on maintenance in the winter.

I think you are thinking what some of us would love to think, but I think the Thought Police might not allow us to think like that!

I think he would at least have made sure his phone got answered and this seems to be the basis of the complaints we have seen. Lack of customer communication, which gives the impression that the agency is just "circling the wagons".

In fairness, this is what we have all been advised, for years now.

Short answer - the boatyard, since the boatyard are paying their commission. The price of the holiday to the customer was the same, whether booked direct or through the agent. Having said that, the agent will only maintain its reputation by looking after its booking customers.

I remember when Thomas Cook went bust, some of their customers were held hostage in foreign hotels because the hotel had not been paid by Cooks. This may be ominous, in the case of Hoseasons. There is also the question : do the yards need Hoseasons any more, in these modern times? NBD, for instance, is exactly what the name implies. You book direct with them by internet and not through an agent. I also know a couple of other yards who have been considering abandoning Hoseasons for several years now. Whether they ever made the break, I don't know. There is also another objective question : Is it the boatyard who are failing to provide the holiday, or is it the customer, who is failing to arrive for the holiday? I am having a close read of conditions of hire at the moment and will post about it shortly.

I believe it's on date of departure or the last day of the holiday, but probably plus 30 days too. I have never been a member of Hoseasons but Blakes yards had a monthly account, where hire monies less commission, were transferred to the yards. But Blakes were a non profit making co-operative of their member boatyards, whereas Hoseasons is, and always has been, a travel agent. They also used to have exclusivity, which allowed them to charge commission even though the yard had made a direct booking. I don't know if this is still the case but probably not for all yards.

Until Pat Simpson gets around to dredging his mooring basin, then my boat will only sink about 4 inches into the lilies!

I too, knew Jimmy Hoseason personally, over the space of many years. He was a close friend and colleague of my father, as Blakes and Hoseasons always worked closely with each other, despite what some may have thought. I will quote what David Court, the M.D. of Blakes, once said to the board of directors during the big recession of the late 70s : In this business, it takes 10 years to build a good reputation; and 10 minutes to lose it.