kfurbank

Wonder if its related to the following story? Could it be some enterprising individual trying to keep people on the footpath? Now who manages the park? And I wonder if they know about the signs? Normally you have to be very careful about what chemicals get sprayed in a National Park. http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/durex-wrappers-and-dog-mess-not-what-you-expect-at-a-county-park-1-5111093

Playing devils advocate for a while, should you be subjected to obscene or lewd behaviour whilst sat in a pub garden mid afternoon? Now imagine you were with a family gathering and there were young children present, should they be subjected to it? Such behaviour shouldn't be witnessed anywhere, but you probably wouldn't be surprised to encounter it down The Prince of Wales road late at night at the weekend, but then young children are probably, or should be, tucked up in bed by then. However a pub garden next to a river mid afternoon? time and place for everything and all that. Lot of fuss about nothing? I'm not so sure.

Grace, This is Norfolk, I'll be lucky to get a signal, let alone find my phone after a few beers. Sheringham still has a lot of Victorian charm, I'll see if I can send a telegram from The Post Office. Weather forecast is looking reasonable so I expect the turnout to be good. Was difficult trying to find somewhere to stay when I booked five weeks ago. This time of year the B+Bs don't like single night stays at the weekend, so I have been forced into staying two nights. Oh well, better make the most of it then Still should give a little time for some shopping at that well known Gentlemans store Blyth & Wright. I visit each year with no idea what I want, and always leave with more than I can carry.

Its easy to forget there is more to Norfolk than just its "National Park" Starting tomorrow and running until Sunday is the 16th Annual Beer Festival organised by the North Norfolk Railway, known as "The Poppy Line" With over 120 Beers and Ciders, I'm unlikely to test them all, but I'll see what I can do I attach the beer list for Howard's approval. http://www.nnrailway.co.uk/page.php?pid=14 THE BEER LIST 2017.pdf

I wonder if the stag party lectured Broads Beat on the perils of playing in the mud? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-36019751 Just to add a little balance and all that.

Hardly the image you want for a National Park!

I posted this back on the 3rd May regarding Upton Dyke. I don't suppose a few red buoys will stop it. I saw one of Richo's 44ft finest turn about halfway down the dyke two weeks ago. The method seemed to involve reversing till the fenders made the boat bounce of the quayheading and forward until the bow rode up the profiled bank and dropped back down again. 20 attempts later they made it round and promptly departed.

The one thing that really gets my goat, is people moaning about people moaning.

The point being that if the boat cannot be moved, the trouble makers will have to stay where they are until dealt with by the authorities, rather than moving on and creating havoc elsewhere.

Why not? If no one is sober then the boat stays where it is. They do it with cars in America.

Perhaps the answer is not to ban such parties, but too make one member of the party fully responsible for the party. Perhaps by fitting a breathalyser ignition interlock and making it a condition of hire that at least one member of the party has to remain sober and responsible. If they get drunk as well then no one will be able to start the boat engine and at least the trouble is restricted to one spot until they are sober. Heavy penalties for late return of the boat.

Great Railway Journeys Yesterday afternoon Bill (Housden) our Collector of Tolls and Head of IT took the afternoon off to helm Olive, one of the wherry yachts, owned by Wherry Yacht Charter. This was for a special event, the filming of an episode of Great Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo. One of our launches helped the camera crew get the images they wanted. Our Communications team are also helping a TV production company prepare for the filming of an episode of Great Canal Journeys with Timothy West and Prunella Scales later in the year so some interesting TV programmes to look out for in due course.

It's only a short length, but the BA will probably allow Quadruple mooring to maximise it's usage.

Not had to make a claim so far, but the annual increases have always been very small. In the first few years whilst building up my no claims it often went down by a few pounds per year. As a bonus the BA have confirmed that they meet the requirements of The Broads Act with regards to the requirement for third party insurance

N+G for me as well.

Howard, The basin I'm referring to is the new one being dug next to the dyke off the River Bure where the closed moorings are that are now having the piling removed. Is that Oby Farm? I'm not actually sure if it will be a basin, or a second dyke and they have yet to break through to the main river?, but I would guess 30 odd new moorings with facilities which would reduce the attractiveness of being an annual moorer in a dyke where you would need around 50 fenders down the side of your boat. I know where I would be heading.

I don't think anyone has mentioned it thus far, but is the farmer who owns the other side being a bit opportunistic here? Suggesting he may let that bank as long term moorings to provoke Rickh into doing a deal for the moorings to save what are much needed moorings for the pub. The farmer gains as he only has to receive one cheque per year, compared to collecting daily or annual fees and all the rest of the hassle belongs to Rickh. However examine that a little closer. We all know how windy it gets down that dyke and if I'm honest I avoid mooring there on either side due to the real chance of being hit by another boat arriving or departing. Who would want to take an annual mooring there, and if they did, it would have to be bloody cheap. Then there's the other basin that is being dug out within spitting distance. If your keen for an annual mooring in that location, you would choose a basin off the river, than along that dyke every time. Again to chose that dyke there would have to be a significant financial advantage. I might be inclined to call his bluff, or at the very least point out the many shortcomings of the location as an annual mooring with the hope that any annual lease was priced accordingly. I'm guessing there will be water and possibly electric in the new basin once opened. Some on here have compared the proposed price of the mooring with others where there are no facilities, such as Salhouse. It is the lack of facilities that means the owner has to make money from the land as they are not making money from a supporting business. A pub should be making it's money from the moorings over the bar, not directly from the mooring. I don't know of any pubs that charge you to park a car in the car park. What makes this a slightly unusual situation is that The Lion benefits from half it's boating customers being able to use land that doesn't belong to the pub. Now those customers have to pay to moor on the farmers side and if Rickh doesn't charge on his side then the farmers side would be the last to fill up and the reduced income will force him to seek an alternative arrangement. Maybe the better idea would be to agree a common mooring price with the farmer that is charged on both sides, say £4 per night, with the mooring fees collected by Rick's staff. Two different receipt books could be used and then the money from the farmers side is given to him and Rick keeps the money from his side non refundable over the bar, otherwise the moment you make one side effectively free by refunding money you create more of a demand for that side at the expense of the farmer. The farmer wins by not having to go and collect. Rick wins by getting a modest fee from his side and by co-operating with the farmer and collecting the fees on his behalf retains the moorings for use by his customers. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours kind of thing. £4 seems a reasonable fee to pay whether you use the pub or not, if it helps to keep both sides fully open.

Have asked the question and got a very quick response. Breydon is only closed to all vessels if there is an immediate hazard to vessels or persons, or an obstruction across the channel. Access is restricted for hire boats due to adverse weather conditions such as large swell, strong wind or poor visibility, whilst private craft are advised to exercise caution at this time. The decision is made at the discretion of the local rangers on duty at the time. The question regarding qualifications wasn't answered, but I guess is harder to answer as it depends on the local ranger at the time.

As a matter of interest, does anyone know what qualifications the rangers hold?

I suspect the reason it was closed during the week was due to the high water making it difficult to pass under the bridges. I've been approached in the past by the rangers when starting to cross Breydon and been asked do I know my air draft as the water is high. On that occasion they were turning all hire boats back. Also on that occasion I was just cruising over Breydon, doing the circuit of Breydon bridge and coming straight back so the Yarmouth bridge heights didn't concern me and the rangers didn't stop me.

The BA can use their powers under special directions to close sections of the waterway. Easter Monday 2016 they closed Breydon to hire craft and advised privateers not to cross. I guess it would make for an interesting discussion with your insurance company if you ignored the advice of the experts and crossed anyway and had a mishap. Then again we'd need to find some experts first!

Depends on whether the system changes, and whether you get hit by someone who is not insured or insured properly. Word reached me a little while back about someone being hit near The Pleasure Boat by another boat that was tolled but not insured!! I don't know the full details and can only go on information received, but if so, then it is time for change.

The whole point being off course, it is for them to decide, not me to self declare.

Now there's an interesting question :-) The situation is currently as follows; 1. No written or verbal self declaration has been provided to the BA about my insurance policy. 2. The BA have been in possession of a cheque for the full amount of the toll since early April. 3. A check of the BA toll checker website shows my boat as being listed as tolled. 4. A check on my bank account website this morning show no funds have left my account, so they have either not presented the cheque, or it is in the process of being presented. 5. Three complaints have been raised against the BA and have now all progressed through all three stages of the BA complaint process and are now being progressed to LGO Local Government Ombudsmen level. A fourth, new complaint has been raised and is at stage one, regarding damage to my boat by a ranger. 6. The BA decided to pursue the formal approach of issuing a section 21 notice, in which they requested written confirmation that my insurance met the requirements of the act, despite enclosing a copy of section 21 which plainly states they are only entitled to request such information, or document. Bill Harris the BA solicitor has already conceded in correspondence to me that the Acts and Byelaws make no reference to self declaration of insurance. I have reminded them of this and as a gesture of goodwill enclosed a copy of my insurance policy document for them to decide if it meets the requirements of their act. The last I heard, this was being forwarded to the tolls office. 7. Bill Harris the BA's solicitor is now making contact with the FCA for an up to date position on a certain insurance company, and John Packman has assured me that Broads boat owners will be notified if any insurance company made known to them, fails to meet the requirements of the act. I will be following this up at the appropriate time. 8. Central to the BA's insistence on self declaration was that the Vessel Registration Byelaws 1997 section 20 Application for a toll receipt said that such application should be made on a form prescribed by the Authority. This they claim to be the self declaration form, even though you only tick a box online and agree it verbally when renewing over the phone. The vessel registration byelaws predate the 2009 Act that actually made third party insurance mandatory, and whilst they were retrospectively included into the Act, it is debatable whether section 20 was written in 1997 with third party insurance self declarations in mind. Since the toll receipt no longer needs to be displayed on the boat, it's use is somewhat redundant, but the BA insist this has been replaced by some other form of receipt. I made it plain that as the toll receipt did not need to be displayed that I was merely looking to pay the toll, not making an application for a toll receipt, therefore countering their somewhat tenuous link to the need to provide a self declaration, which I repeat Bill Harris has confirmed there is no reference to in the Act or byelaws. In reply I was informed that by paying the toll I am "ipso facto" making an application for a toll receipt. 9. It is somewhat ironic that I have not yet received an email confirming processing of the toll, or a toll receipt which appeared to be so central to the BA's insistence on self declaration. So is my boat tolled? you decide All I know is that I have not made any written or verbal self declaration on whether my insurance meets the requirements of the act.

Strange you should mention Ronan Point. It was occupied up to 1986 when it was forensically demolished rather than use explosives. There were a lot of interested "experts" who wanted to see how the tower had fared during its existence who were shocked at how bad some of the joints were and how badly corroded they were. With the benefit of hindsight the same experts reckon that if the tower hadn't been demolished in 1986, the storms of 1987 would have done the job!!!! Food for thought.