YnysMon

Our syndicate has some cleaners who are called in if any of our members opt to have a valet at the end of the week. I think that costs around £35 or so. I'm not sure because we always opt to clean the boat ourselves. I don't have the contact details of the cleaners we use, as our syndicate management agency handles the arrangements.

It’s amazing how local weather can be. There’s even a microclimate within Milton Keynes with certain areas more inclined to have rain than others.

Am I the only boater who has had the cheek to go and knock on the door of a neighbouring boat and point out that running the engine at past 10pm is not the done thing? (Not done recently though...I did that on the last night of a 2017 hire when we were moored at Womack Staithe.) It was a first nighter from guess which yard. Very apologetic, but said they’d been told to run their engine if using the heating.

Looks beautiful. I love doing that stretch on such mornings...the only slight snag being the reflection of the sun on the water. At least it's not constant though due to the bends in the river.

Pity you could take her with you. Hope you have a good time. Helen

Thanks for sorting. I tried to connect from my work laptop earlier (I know, naughty) and got the warning message.

Maybe there’s just a very wide boat on the foreground?

You know Jay’s postscript? I should learn from that and not ask him silly questions.

That’s a very reassuring post for those of us just nudging into our 60s.

So what’s with the Mordor looking avatar Jay? Bit of a change of mood? Thought your previous jogging Homer avatar looked quite jolly.

I’ve read that The Merchants of Spice in Thorpe St Andrew (within walking distance from the Commissioner’s Cut) has a very good reputation. Keep meaning to try them out. Reviews on Google and Trip Advisor have been good for the past few years. Closer to the centre of Norwich (Queens Road, just south of the centre), Nameste Village seems to be popular.

I don't see a problem with people choosing to live on a boat full time. Continuous cruisers, as they are known on the canal. Unfortunately, as with every lifestyle there are the minority that get noticed for creating a complete tip on the bank (then clearing off and leaving the bank like that). Also the few that flout the rules on how long to stay on moorings. As usual it’s the minority that spoil it for others.

That’s just beautiful! The embroidery must have taken you ages.

I enjoyed this.

I’m loving this You Tube video

I thought I'd heard it as 'Hof-tun'. No idea if that's correct though.

That's a lot of teddies Ian! I think you've got the right idea there Carole, I'm just not certain I would have the will power! Helen

I think not losing her would be my concern too, on the other hand, if she’s chipped you would have that reassurance. I used to watch The Narrowboat Experience on YouTube. They haven’t vlogged recently, but they did do a vlog a while back on how they cope with continuously cruising with cats. They also did a vlog with another couple who have a dog on how to keep your pets safe when canal cruising. Seren did fall in one evening last week when we were on MS. She tried to jump onto the bank, not realising that Graham had her on quite a short lead. Oops!

Hope you manage to see a Dr soon Ian. I dread trying to clear our loft.

Some of the ‘rules’ of modern English were imported from other languages. For instance, in Anglo Saxon if you wanted to emphasise a negative you could, just pile them on. Whereas in modern English negatives cancel each other out. Let’s face it, English is a very ‘mongrel’ language, and the key to its strength. It’s very adaptable.

The thing is, language isn’t a fixed, as much as the dictionary writers and language police would like us to think. I studied Early English ((Anglo Saxon) and Middle English (the stuff between 1066 and Shakespeare) in Uni. The wonderful thing about Middle English was the lack of standardised spelling, variations in dialect etc. I recall our tutor showed us a map of different variations of spellings of ‘church’. An incredible variety. I gather that the French are very concerned about the purity of their language. Big mistake in my opinion. The more open to different influences, the more vibrant the language..

Only just about...

Thanks Warren. We have overnighted at the Commissioner's Cut on a couple of occasions (2017 and last summer), and it's been fine, even on occasions when there are some people camping nearby. The Rushcutter's pub is just a short walk from there, as well as the Merchants of Spice takeaway. We've also stopped there several times for a just few hours, for Seren to have a walk, especially out of season when we sometimes stay in Brooms overnight but like to go somewhere each day. Our other favourite places to moor for dog walks on the Yare are Langley Dyke, Cantley, Hardley Drainage Mill Pontoon, Hardley Cross and Polkey's Mill. By car, Caister-on-Sea and Winterton-on-Sea.

Maybe it’s a case of can’t teach an old dog(s) new tricks? We do envy you owning your own boat. Very happy with having bought into the MS syndicate though, as owning a boat would be a step too far for us financially. We all have our ups and downs.

We do feel for you. It’s always a bit nerve wracking introducing a new dog to the Broads. We feel we are very lucky that Seren is generally very happy to be on board. She is a fairly nervous dog in temperament, but we think it helped that she was pretty young when we first took her on a boat. We are even luckier that she has no desire to swim! She is so fascinated by anything that moves, other boats, birds, especially canoes and rowing boats/skiffs, though it’s taken several years trying to teach her not to bark at everything.