YnysMon

Some charity shops do, others don’t. Depends whether they have PAT trained staff. The ones I found that do seem to be in the centre of Norwich, so not ideal. However, I think we have a solution. A lovely forum member based in the area has offered to help out.

Sounds like you had a good start to your holiday. Looking forward to reading the rest of your adventures. Have a great time!

Oops, no. I try not to get political!

Does anyone know of any charity shops anywhere near Norwich that accepts electrical goods and has parking close by? We’ve replaced our vacuum cleaner on MS and need to dispose of the previous model, which still works.

I’ve liked your post Mr NN, but I was in half a mind to post a sorry reaction. I think that planning has mostly been done with the SE in mind, forgetting that some areas hadn’t yet felt the full impact of the spread.

Well, I have a piece of news! Graham and I have unexpectedly secured an extra week on Moonlight Shadow for next week. Although we are pleased about this, I do feel slightly guilty that we are benefitting from someone else's misfortune. The couple whose allocation it was have had to give up their week due to the new restrictions that have been placed on certain areas. At least with the pervious lockdown we were all in the same boat. (Um...maybe that's an unfortunate choice of phrase when we weren't allowed on our boats!) This time it feels so unfair, with some people able to travel and others not. I shall post the usual holiday tale, unless cases in Milton Keynes start to rise this week and we unexpectedly end down in a higher tier. Helen

Seren wanted to chew everything in sight when she was little, including a skirting board and some of the plaster of the wall above it in our kitchen. A couple of our our best ‘buys’ in those days were an antler and a chunk of hard wood (both from the pet shop).

We’ve never had a trial run, not even on our first hire. I wonder if the Yards have got less vigilant about insisting on a trial run in recent years? When asked about our experience on our first cruiser hire we said we’d hired a Hunter’s Yard boat the previous year and that Graham had worked for his Dad in a Yard in Trearddur Bay when he was younger, including manning the rescue launch for races in the bay. We’ve messed up now and again. Sea and tidal river are very different environments, and every boat handles differently. I’m not sure that a trial run would have helped. We knew the ‘theory’, just needed practice.

How lovely that you are exploring the area from a 'different perspective' Jean. Getting to know your new 'backyard'?

I've just done a post in the Members Out and About section (A Dawdle through Dovedale) explaining how my son recovered some videos I'd accidentally deleted. It probably won't help if changes have been made to the hard disk though.

That’s another thing I thought was addressed in the reports. There is a concern expressed about raising the toll and the hardship it will cause and the difficulty of balancing that concern with their spending obligations. I didn’t get the impression that the BA is awash with money.

Including whinging that other people are whinging too much!

I wish a few more people had time in their busy lives to be able to read the reports that were submitted to the Nav Committee, as they do answer a lot of the questions/address many of the comments that have been raised here and on other threads. There was a lot of comment a while ago on the forum demanding that the BA take concrete steps to address safety concerns, rather than just express concern about it. In reading the Nav C'ttee reports I got the impression that the BA are attempting to do so in the proposals to provide extra training for hire yard staff responsible for handovers and the additional rangers posts. Contrary to some comments here about the additional post for dealing with paperwork, the reports suggest this as a means of ensuring that other rangers' time is freed up from said paperwork so that they can spend more time on the rivers. It's not about following up cases that otherwise wouldn't be dealth with. The way I read the reports, it seemed that the rangers' launches were not being fully utilised due to staff having to do desk work, amongst other things. None of these things are cost neutral, so I don't see how we can complain if the additional costs are passed on if we have demanded action in the first place. It also seems that the full costs are not being passed on to tolls, and that a compromise has been reached. I'm only commenting here about this year's hike in tolls, not Griff's observations about % increase over a period of time. I think we can all agree that this year isn't your typical year.

Thanks for your post Grace. I've also seen both, and am still convinced that the majority of people fall into the 'respect' category. It's just that those who behave with complete disregard to others tend to be more noticeable!

Glad to hear you are through it Ian. A speedy recovery to you. Hope you get on with Jim (LOL) even though you haven’t met ‘him’ yet.I can see that even having an op today can’t take away your sense of humour. all the best Helen

There’s a list of boatyards that are part of the Federation and which you can moor at on this NBD webpage. Doesn’t mention WRC. It could be just an omission though, as the page also lists Maffett Cruisers, so it’s clearly out of date. https://www.broads.co.uk/guide-to-the-broads/broads-hire-boat-federation-moorings/ There’s a similar list on a Herbert Woods page, again listing Maffett but not WRC. https://www.herbertwoods.co.uk/boating-holidays/boating-guide/boat-handling/mooring-on-the-broads/where-to-moor-on-the-broads/ interesting that the lists include Eastwood Whelpton. I’ve moored there on a Hunter’s Yard sailey, but didn’t realise you could moor a hire cruiser there.

Like the Hardley Drainage Mill ones. We love that mooring.

What takeaway was it from?

I had a look at the Navigation Committee papers through a link on another thread. Interesting reading. I note that they are reporting a reduction in the numbers of both hire fleets and privately owned boats. There are some interesting reflections there on wanting to spend extra on safety (training and additional ranger posts), as well as other planned expenditure, whilst facing a reduction in toll income.

I can open the video on my iPad, but not my laptop for some reason. It was the same with the video of his puppy that Griff posted recently. Helen

On Water Rail?

Southwold is on our list too, the only downside being that we only tend to visit other places in Norfolk and Suffolk when the weather is too bad for cruising. Churros sounds a better idea than ice cream...in October anyway.

Thanks very much Peter. I so appreciate seeing these old photos, and tales of the old Broads. I was wondering where this location is.

That’s puppies for you. Seren just wanted to chew and chew when she was little. Good thing Graham was home with her, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have much of a home left! Lots of chew toys, chewey treats, antler chew, and a chunk of hard wood to chew. Although she’s now well over the chewing stage, we still can’t give her a soft doggy toy without her ripping it apart.

I loved your tale too. We first discovered the Norfolk Broads relatively recently (about 5 years ago), so its really interesting to hear the perspectives of those who have childhood memories of the area.