YnysMon

You are a chilled guy Peter. Interviews get me completely wound up, not that I’ve had one for about 4 years. I’ve just decided that now I’m winding down to retirement it’s not worth the stress. I’m surprised to find myself in a 12 month secondment at present that I got without an interview. HR tried to insist on a proper recruitment process, but somehow my current line manager got around that. She’s a force to be reckoned with, but very supportive when you are working for her. I must admit that I was in two minds about accepting it, having worked in one Faculty since 1996, and so wary of change. The change has done me good though. It’s good to feel valued in contributing knowledge and experience but to be learning a wealth of new things at the same time.

Have a great time everyone. Wish we could join you!

Got to agree there!

Ooo, wish we could make it. It’s just too close to our recent break on Moonlight Shadow and besides, younger son wants to come home for the we. Can’t argue with that.

Warren (Tempest) has now uploaded an abridged version of the blog of trip 10 on the Moonlight Shadow syndicate website. https://moonlightshadow.net/syndicate-member-blogs?blog=y Thanks Warren!

Oooo, he's so cute. The photo taken at Ranworth didn't convey how diddy he is. By the way, that's a very comfy looking helm seat.

Have you tried resizing them? I used to have problems uploading photos until I took to resizing them. I usually reduce them to 20% of the originals.

Seven loves car journeys, so is always happy to get in the car. Graham put a sun shield on the windscreen, so hopefully she didn’t notice us sailing off to Boulter’s without her. The previous evening we’d heard a lot of plaintive whining come from another boat moored nearby. Presumably the owner had gone off to somewhere that doesn’t allow dogs in. It can’t have been a pub as I think all the Horning ones are dog friendly. We have taken Seren with us to the secret gardens in the past, it was just that Graham wanted to stay with the boat this time around.

Actually the carpet cleaning was a good distraction, as it was such a long cruise. I love taking the helm, but wanted to give son Harry his fair share of helming. I get a bit bored normally if I’m not helming. Harry is with us for our next jaunt in July, so we’ll be be watching more of the IT Crowd then I’m sure!

Brilliant. That’s the best Broads pubs review I’ve ever seen. Danni Dog looks in seventh heaven in the fourth photo. Not surprised with owners like you. I take it that you, as well as Danni Dog had a good time?

Back in June last year Peter (Grendel) posted here a suggestion to look out for ‘The Death or Glory’ outside the Belaugh boatyard (ref to Arthur Ransome’s Coot Club). This year as we passed we noticed a boat called ‘Come Along’. (A tug referenced in the same book.)

Friday 13th We needed to vacate the boat by 2pm today, so we got up at 7 and started packing and cleaning. Seren stayed in the car whilst we were cleaning. I had phoned Boulter’s yesterday to book a re-fuel and pump-out but the earliest slot they could offer was 12 noon. With Harry’s help, we were done with cleaning by 10.30, so we popped into Horning village by car and went to the Staithe and Willow for breakfast. During our first three years of hiring, we used to gravitate to the Staithe and Willow for a later breakfast on our final day. We found the food excellent and loved how dog friendly it was. Then it changed hands, and we weren’t so impressed. The menu stayed similar to what it had been, but the quality of the ingredients didn’t match what they had been, despite the prices staying the same. We had heard that it changed hands again recently, so thought we would try it out again, and we are very pleased that we did. The quality of the sausages and bacon alone showed how well it’s been turned around to its former good standard. Graham liked the vegetarian sausages he had with his breakfast too. We got back to the boat in good time for our appointment at Boulter’s and ventured up the dyke where they are situated for the first time. We started off a bit too early though, so I had a little pootle downriver and turned below Cockshoot Dyke. I stupidly hadn’t checked out the dyke on Google maps beforehand and wasn’t sure if I would be able to turn around anywhere further up the tyke, which made the job of reversing into Boulter’s doubly difficult. The strong breeze blowing across the dyke didn’t help either. We got in safely anyway, with a bit of guiding the boat on her ropes in places. Next time, I’ll go up the dyke and turn before attempting to reverse in. Boulter’s fuel was very reasonable, especially in comparison with Brooms, £1.55 per litre and we picked up a loyalty card for the pump-outs. Boulter's resident ducks. We returned to Horning Pleasurecraft (HPC) and put our last few bits and pieces into the car. We didn’t quite say farewell to the boat as yet though as we had decided to return to Latham’s to get another set of placemats, as there had only been 4 placemats in the pack that I’d bought earlier in the week. Whilst I was there, I also got tempted by a matching tray as the price was so reasonable, so that has replaced the tray that was on board. So we had another stop-off at HPC to drop off those purchases before making our way home to MK. Harry took a few final photos of MS before we left. We got home by 5pm, and it was lovely to have a relaxing evening instead of driving home in the evening. We watched Sewing Bee on catch-up this evening, as we had been unable to get a signal Wednesday evening.

Thursday 12th Our final full day of this trip, as we were intending to return to Horning Pleasurecraft at the end of our cruising day. Our handover day has changed to Friday now. Although I say changed, in effect our weeks always ended on a Friday as it was impossible to get a re-fuel and pump-out at Brooms on a Saturday morning, so the new arrangement will be of benefit as we’ll be able to start our week Friday evening rather than Saturday afternoon. The morning dawned fair and bright again and compared to the rest of the week we had a lie in, not waking until after 7. We didn’t get up until almost 9 either, but then got on our way before having breakfast as we wanted to get to How Hill mid-morning in hopes of mooring there for a while. Just about all the moorings had been taken yesterday when we cruised past late morning. Starting off down Limekiln Dyke. Barton Broad. There were several spaces at How Hill, but we moored down the further end with a lovely view of Turf Fen Drainage Mill. Harry and I went off to the Secret Gardens, leaving Graham and Seren on board. The Secret Gardens were in full bloom. May is definitely the best time to visit them. At other times of the year they are pleasant and green, but not exceptional. The approach to the gardens through the woods was also lovely, due to the masses of bluebells. We must have been in the gardens for at least an hour or so. On the way out we took the wrong turn (we turned left), and ended up passing through a nature trail for children. Back on the boat I made us a brunch, sausages (vegan for Graham), new potatoes fried with spring onions (something that always reminds me of my Grandad (Taid) who loved that combination), mushrooms, tomatoes and fried eggs. After our brunch we went for a walk, heading south from How Hill. There's a lot more water beyond the riverbank than I'd realised. Quite large ponds as well as extra dykes. And we were quite a distance from the actual river (this pic was taken on zoom). We went as far as Ludham Bridge, where Graham and Harry and ice-creams. Weyford Café was closed, we assume because the site is to be re-developed. It was after 4pm by the time we got back to the boat, so we got on our way back down the Ant and up the Bure to Horning. Seren must have been tired after her walk. We spent a very pleasant and quiet evening on our temporary ‘home mooring’. We all felt very tired this evening, but I still had quite a lot of food in the fridge, so I tried to use as much of the salad ingredients as possible which we had with cheese and crusty rolls. I also made a potato salad with the rest of the potatoes I’d cooked this morning and the remaining spring onions. It was quite a filling meal (understatement). Evening in Horning Pleasurecraft.

Wednesday 11th I woke up at very silly-o’clock this morning (2.15) and couldn’t get back to sleep. Just before 5.30 I got up quietly and sat in the lounge. Although it was a cloudy morning, it wasn’t cold, so I was okay without any heating. I checked the weather forecast and was rather alarmed to find that a heavy band of rain was due to pass over East Anglia in the afternoon. The plan had been to take Seren for a walk in the morning, go down to Wroxham lunchtime and see how soon before low water the pilot could take us through (low water being forecast for late afternoon). I got worried about getting the saloon soaked – the downside of having a centre cockpit boat when you need to get under low bridges. I had promised Graham that he could have a lie in this morning, but just after 6 decided to wake him. Actually, he was already awake, and agreed with me that it was worth trying to get through this morning, high tide not being forecast until around 11. We quickly got ourselves ready, did the engine checks and got on our way pronto. It was pretty gloomy and trying to drizzle this morning, so not the glorious journey that we’d had coming upriver. We did see a kingfisher though, and lots of terns successfully fishing. It was a lovely cruise, despite being overcast. Seren decided to join me on the helm. Although I’d planned to phone the pilot when the service starts at 8.30am, we got to Wroxham at 8 and could see there was just over 7¼ ‘, so we decided to go through. On reflection, although we had plenty of clearance and got safely through, I think I would take the pilot doing downstream in future. That bend in the river and the small boats moored on the bend don’t make it easy to ensure that you have the boat on a straight course, even if you think you have centred yourself properly. I was having to correct my steering whilst going under the bridge, which was a bit unnerving. My conclusion is that it’s more difficult coming back downstream than going through upstream, even though some people (mentioning no names) can do it backwards! Having reflected on our experience, we and the rest of the syndicate have decided on a policy to use the pilot in future. Not worth the risk of things going pear shaped! Approaching the bridge... Harry took the helm just below Wroxham and took us for a spin around Wroxham Broad, including around this Wherry. We had some 11’ses as we travelled down the Bure. Just below Horning we picked up a passenger. The Bure was fairly quiet again today, as was the Ant when we eventually turned up it. It continued drizzling on and off. We headed toward Neatishead, thinking a visit to The White Horse (yes, another one) for lunch would be a good plan. There was plenty of room at Neatishead when we got there, with about three boats all moored on one side. We turned around and fitted into a gap on the same side. It wasn’t long before midday, so we made our way to the pub, where we had a lovely meal. Harry had sea bass with sautéed new potatoes, spinach, sundried tomatoes, red onion and a cream and garlic sauce, Graham had gnocchi with beetroot, mushrooms and the same sauce as Harry, whilst I had mac’n’cheese with extra bacon (small portion). Graham also had a frangipane tart for pud. I was too stuffed for pud, despite having opted for a small portion. Harry tried the whisky cask cider that the Admiral is always going on about in his recent YouTube vlogs. I had a sip and must say that it tastes delightful. By the time we left The White Horse the rain was really starting to come down. We hunkered down in the boat for the afternoon, though the rain did let up a bit mid-afternoon. It was then that Kate (forum member kpnut) called around to say hello, with her spaniel in tow (lovely dog). We had a lovely chat, before it started raining again. It was great to meet you, Kate. Unfortunately, the heavens opened shortly after Kate left us, so I’m sure that Kate and her dog were pretty soggy by the time they got back to Gaye’s Staithe. Other than Kate's visit there wasn't much going on this afternoon. Seren got a bit bored, though she did have plenty of fuss made of her. Early evening the rain dried up and the sun came out again. We had an easy pasta with pesto dinner and then played some card games and dominoes before another early night. Not that we had any intention of getting up early the following day.

Tuesday 10th May I woke just after 6 this morning, which was about the time I wanted to get up, despite not having set the alarm. It had been a fairly peaceful first night in our new yard, despite some rain in the middle of the night. Their lighting is more moderate than Brooms, which was so bright I would wake in the night thinking it was dawning. We set off before 7am and pootled gently downriver, having a detour around Ranworth, just to be nosy and check out how busy it was. Naturally, the staithe was full, but there were only two boats moored on The Island. We continued on our way, heading for Potter Heigham. It was a quite gloomy looking, especially compared to yesterday's fine weather. Only half of the BA moorings at Potter were taken, and we had only passed a couple of boats on the Thurne, so not very busy. It had started to rain as we passed St Benet’s, so once we were moored up at Potter Harry and I waited a while for the rain to ease before making our way to Latham’s. On our way there we had a look around Herbert Woods. There were quite a lot of boats in the Yard, though some of them appeared to be newly arrived back. We had a nosy around and waved at the Webcam. We didn’t get much in Latham’s, some more salad leaves, bottled water etc. but also got some new table mats and coasters for MS, as the old ones are looking rather tatty. Naturally the new ones are mainly blue, to fit with the boat’s colour scheme. Returning over the bridge we spotted these ducklings huddling on the bank close to the bridge. Even now I feel quite worried about them, as there was no sign of mummy duck anywhere near. We left Potter at around 11, on our way to Wroxham. It started raining more heavily as we were making our way down the Thurne. It also got very busy all of a sudden and continued so until we passed Ant Mouth, and then got quiet again, so I can’t work out if it’s generally quiet this week or not. Are people just being like lemmings and all deciding to go to the same place at the same time? This next photo is taken at Ant Mouth. That looks an unfortunate place to break down and mud-weight...but at least the wind wasn't blowing them across the entrance. On route to Wroxham Graham started to strip the varnish off some of the wood trim around our kitchen worktops (another job offered up at the AGM which Graham is tackling little by little). We reached Wroxham around 2pm and it looked like there was almost 8’ under the bridge. As mentioned on my live blog, Graham persuaded me to take MS through the bridge without the pilot. My heart was in my mouth rather, but I tried to remember what the pilot had done the times we’ve previously gone through on hire boats. I stood in the middle of the boat to have a better idea of ensuring the boat was heading for the middle of the arch and made sure we were lined up properly, and then the obvious (or maybe not so) thing of continuing straight until the roof had cleared the bridge, despite the looming bend in the river. It went fine, and I was so chuffed with myself afterwards. We moored up just beyond the railway bridge. Graham stayed on board whilst Harry and I popped to Roy’s to get a few more food and drink items (yes, more wine). We then continued up river to Coltishall Locks. A few shots taken on the way up the Bure above the bridge. Just before we got to the locks a Jay flew across the river. We were the only ones at the locks, so it was lovely and quiet, though it is a popular spot with walkers. Graham set up the BBQ near the picnic bench that’s near the lock. Harry and I enjoyed Ludham butcher’s burgers and minted lamb kebabs (now I understand why Cambridge Cabby keeps waxing lyrical about them) whilst Graham had a couple of vegan burgers. We tried to position the BBQ in a sheltered spot, with the result that Graham got a bit smoked out. Whilst we were preparing the BBQ, a lady turned up to do some wild swimming. Good for her for choosing a quiet stretch of river. We were so tired this evening we didn’t watch any telly or play any games. We took Seren for a short walk along the river bank above the locks before turning in to bed by 9.30pm.

Monday 9th May The day of The Big Move, from our old mooring at Brooms, Brundall to our new mooring at Horning Pleasurecraft. I got up at 5am again. The night had been much milder than the previous one, positively balmy. I woke Graham and Harry at 6am and we got the boat ready for a 7am departure. It was an absolutely glorious morning, but it felt very strange to leave Graham and Seren on the quay. They were travelling to Horning by car with, no doubt, some stops on the way. Graham had also agreed to transport some items that one of our syndicate member families had stored at Brooms. One of our shares is owned by an American family, so they had an arrangement with Brooms (and now Horning Pleasurecraft) to store some bulky items like linens that are impractical to bring with them each time. I think it shows real dedication to the Broads and the syndicate that they have kept their share all this time during Covid. Same with Malcolm, we have some share holders who have missed out due to lockdowns and travel restrictions more than others. Another shot from our departure from Brundall. Harry and I soon decided we had started off far too early for getting to Gt Yarmouth at 11.30’ish (about half an hour after slack), but it had been well worth it getting out on the river so early on such a magical morning. We decided to ‘waste’ some time having a gentle pootle through Rockland Broad, though in truth it was a very good use of our time. There were lots of reed buntings calling from the reeds along Fleet Dyke, and the Broad itself was like a mirror. We then continued down the Yare at a steady 4mph or so. Bacon butties were consumed for brekkie before I knuckled down to Vax the carpets with our mini Vax machine, something I had offered to do at our last AGM, but had put off until the weather warmed up. Today was the ideal day, lovely and warm, so the carpets dried off really quickly. Our mini-Vax is really designed for dealing with spills and so on, but the carpeting on board isn’t that extensive. Passing Hardley Mill. Reedham Ferry. Through Reedham. We hardly passed any boats on our way down the Yare. Shortly after passing under Reedham Bridge and before the New Cut we spotted a small deer on the bank. Unfortunately, the two photos I took of it were too blurry to post. The lower Yare below Reedham. By travelling slowly we managed to get to Berney Arms by about 11am, which meant we could travel a bit more quickly across Breydon to reach Yarmouth by our 11.30 goal. We had Breydon to ourselves for almost the whole crossing, not seeing another boat until we were nearing the lift bridge. Finally, under the bridges with masses of clearance. Shortly after passing through Yarmouth I made us some brie and cranberry sandwiches and then had another go at some remaining stubborn carpet stains. The journey up the Bure was very quiet, pleasant and warm, even though it had started to cloud over. Apparently, we only missed Graham by a few minutes at Acle. He had been sitting outside the Dunes Café until about 1.30, and we passed through a few minutes later. We caught some swans being super lovey-dovey. She seems to forgiven him for half-drowning her. Passing St Benet's. Whilst we had been cruising, Graham had a fairly busy time. Once he’d sorted things out with Brooms (handed our electric meter in etc.) he went for a MaccyD’s breakfast, visited Thorpe Sainsbury’s, as he fancied buying himself some 0% Guinness (a new discovery), before making his way to Latham’s. That was followed by Acle Dunes Café for lunch followed by a riverside walk for Seren (during which she got quite muddy), followed by a second visit to Dunes to have tea and cake. Whilst he was there I phoned asking him to visit the butcher’s in Ludham to get some bacon and BBQ meats, so he had a detour before making his way to Horning. I’ve already commented how quiet the Yare was, that’s not unusual for the southern broads, but our journey up the Bure was pretty quiet too. Harry and I finally made it to Horning just after 3pm. I had phoned the Marina in the morning and had received very clear instructions on where to moor. This was a temporary mooring on the eastern side of the basin, the opposite side to where the syndicate boats are moored. The intention is to move us alongside other syndicate boats once a bit of shuffling has taken place, which will be more convenient for the engineers doing turnaround checks and nicer for us in giving us opportunities to meet members of other syndicates. Once I’d visited the office and got details of where to plug into electric and passcodes for Wifi and the Ladies and Gents facilities we returned to the boat and sat with the canopy down for quite a while. It was still warm despite having clouded over. This evening we had a Red Thai Curry (sauce from a jar) made with Quorn pieces supplemented by onions, aubergine and courgette that I roasted in the oven (I was too lazy to stand there frying them). Not surprisingly, we were too tired to watch TV or DVD this evening, so had another early night.

Sunday 8th May I woke ridiculously early this morning and gave up trying to get back to sleep at 5, so I got up and drew back the curtains on the starboard side, hoping to catch the newly risen sun. It kept disappearing between the clouds though, so that wasn’t much help. At least we had the dimplex heater with us, and we had hardly used any of the £1 credit we put on the post yesterday, so I was able to switch that on to warm the saloon somewhat. Once Graham and Harry had got up and we’d had breakfast, we set off for a walk. First, we had a nice chat with the gentleman who is the current custodian of Chameleon, who is also from Wales. Nice to see Chameleon is still being loved and cared for. Our walk was in the direction of Chedgrave along the river as far the upper outfall of Hardley Flood. I had thought that we’d be able to get as far as the bird hide, but it looks like it’s been a long time since that’s been possible, as the BA have been using that bank to dump dredged material for some time. Never mind, it was a delightful walk, with cuckoos calling both sides of the river and a glimpse of otters near the outfall. It wasn't long before Seren lost her ball in a nettle patch. She wasn't helping find it either. The Chet was very quiet this morning. I've taken up sewing recently, and have concentrated on making things I will wear on the boat - like this set of hoodie and joggers. They were a bit too cosy for this morning though, as it was turning out to be fairly warm. During our walk most of the boats that had been on the staithe made their way down the Chet. We thought we'd check out Cannel's Farm Shop (located opposite The White Horse) as we had been very impressed with their Reedham shop, but the Chedgrave branch is closed on Sundays. We did discover where a lot of the empty Calor cylinder's seem to have ended up though! We returned to the boat for a while before making our way to The White Horse for our Sunday lunch. It was turning out to be such a lovely day, much warmer than forecast, that we decided to sit outside. (By the way, the flowery top is another 'me-made' item. Graham had their cranberry, spinach and walnut nut roast, I had the beef roast and Harry had duck with redcurrant jus with the same veg as us. It was all nicely cooked, and we have no complaints at all, but it didn’t quite come up to the standard of the roast we had at the Upton White Horse last November. The latter won out on having veg served in a dish, rather than on the plate, a bigger portion, new potatoes as well as roasties, gravy served in a jug (Chedgrave’s one had lots of gravy, but all on the plate) and a larger yorkshire pud. The Upton version was super-excellent, so perhaps it's an unfair comparison. Graham ordered a pudding, so while he ate that I popped to Co-op to get him some buns – no teacakes, so it had to be Hot Cross Buns. (Why are HXBuns still being sold in May?) Once we were all back at the boat we set off and had a very pleasant cruise back to Brundall. We noticed that the wooden horse that had appeared on the bank of the lower Chet last year has had a 'makeover' this year and acquired a mane. Chameleon had followed us down the Chet. Once on the main river they passed us (we were going rather slowly). Once we'd arrived at Brundall we sat in the sun with the canopy down for a while. We took some final photos of MS on her old mooring. This evening’s dinner was fajitas - an easy option. I roasted some onions and mixed peppers in the oven with fajita seasoning. I divided up that mixture into a 1/3 and 2/3 portion and mixed the smaller portion with ‘pretend’ chicken pieces for Graham and chunks of ‘real’ chicken for Harry and I, and both were served with sour cream and salsa. Before sunset Harry and I had a wander around Brooms, had a gawp at Independence (out of the water) and at the trains. We were amused that our walking pace was picked up by Brooms' speedometer. We watched the second episode of ‘The IT Crowd’ and had another early night, intending to get up early tomorrow.

MOONLIGHT SHADOW - TRIP 10 - MAY 2022 Saturday 7th May We started from home just before 9am and took things gently. Seren during our journey...she's always hyped up watching all the other cars. Note how full the car was - and we had a top-box! We had a stop-off at the Barton Mills McD's for a drive-through brekkie before continuing our journey. To do our food shop we visited the new Lidl that’s near the Postwick interchange and then Thorpe Sainsbury’s to get the things we couldn’t get in Lidl. By the time we’d done all that it was getting on for 1.30 and we made our way to Brooms. Even though Malcolm (Mouldy) and his family had departed yesterday, we had been asked not to arrive before 1pm as the BCBM agent was showing some prospective share buyers around the boat. By the time we had loaded all our stuff on board (almost the proverbial kitchen sink) it was getting on for 2.30. We also changed the gas cylinder, as we had sourced one near home. Finding an available Calor cylinder on the southern broads or nearby was getting to be nigh on impossible. We had originally planned to go north on Sunday. However, on Friday it had been confirmed that the syndicate had secured a mooring at Horning Pleasurecraft and could take up the mooring immediately. Rather than arrive there on a Sunday, we thought it would be more convenient for the Marina if we arrived on Monday, hence the change of plan. So, today we wanted to have a decent cruise, but also go somewhere where we could have a decent Sunday lunch tomorrow and then easily return to Brooms Sunday afternoon, so we opted for Loddon. On our way to Loddon... The Yare and the Chet were very quiet, and there was hardly anything moored at Pye’s Mill, but even so there were only a couple of spaces left on the Staithe. We bagged our favourite spot furthest from the road and had a lovely quiet evening. It being May, this was the only fisher on the staithe this evening. The people on the old'ish Barnes boat next to us didn’t run their engine at all, despite not being on electric and they were very quiet returning from the pub. We were only moored near other boats a couple of nights on this trip, but they were very pleasant, quiet evenings and nights with everyone being considerate of others. For dinner we had a selection of cheeses with fresh Lidl's sourdough (I do like the Lidl fresh bakery selection) and salad. We then watched the first episode of The IT Crowd on DVD, which Harry had brought with him. An early night was had, as we were all tired, including Seren.

Normal service will resume on my main 'Carried Away' thread, with the long winded version of our travels.

Cornwall will help too, I’m sure. Sending our love to Debbie.

Hope Bramble takes to it like a duck to water….except perhaps not the water bit!

Wonderful photos as always Malcolm. I hope the Broads have provided as much solace for you and Debbie as they did to me and Graham when my Mam passed away. It might have seemed callous to some, but the evening after my Mam’s funeral we travelled back home to MK, and then to Norfolk the following morning to pick up our hire boat. Looking back, it was probably the best thing we could have done. I felt very close to my Mam that week. There is more time for reflection whilst being on the Broads.

Hope so!

We returned to our new home mooring late afternoon yesterday. Our turnaround day has switched to a Friday, which suits Graham and I as we always went home Friday anyway. Brooms fuel kiosk hours and their prioritisation of their hire fleet effectively meant that MS had to have a re-fuel and pump-out by 4pm on a Friday anyway, so making the handover day officially a Friday will give us a full day on Saturdays. We've had a lovely week with only one rainy day. Our best May week on the Broads so far, weather wise.

Sincere condolences Andy. So sorry to hear that you lost your buddy.