Malanka

Griff is correct. Gavin is the new custodian of Zephyr with Cesar and Max the lab. His handle here is thasarummun and we look forward to seeing Zephyr out and about after some TLC from Phil and the boys. After the sale of the boatyard Phil stayed and is the General Manager there and silll doing a great job. Gavin will soon get used to everyone knowing what Zephyr is doing..LOL The price of fame ....he he... only kidding, although a shock at first it is incredibly nice that folks take such an interest and in a community like this one you're never far from a friendly bit of advice or even practical help. We consider everyone here to be friends we just haven't met yet. Martin / Fiona and Boris and Monty the airedales

Tim Tim Tim, Chanel Bleu is a bit passe now mate, Christian Dior Sauvage is now the new "in"one. For the younger ladies Carolina Herrera Good Girl and for more mature tastes the new Chanel fragrance is nice too. Old Spice / Pacco Rabanne / Brut 33/ and anything by Lynx / Insignia just remind me of over anxious teenage years and applying talk where talk should not be applied.

Alcohol and hypothermia don't mix or rather they do all too frequently. For anyone who doesn't know what a pain of ten feels like should maybe try 15 ft of two inch gauze stuffed into a packed wound without the pre-requisite parafin lubricant so it all stuck. Said gauze is then pulled out of the gaping wound inch by firmly stuck inch by a nurse with tears dripping down her face onto the patient. Her (the nurse) pain was defo a vicarious ten. Mine I don't know or care as 150 mg pethidine and an indomethacin suppository placed in situe by said nurse half an hour beforehand was not touching it at all. I don't know what scale to apply all I know is I do not want ever to have that much discomfort ever again. Note to self: Go to the docs before it gets serious you loon.....Or as the doc said pre-admission you Bl**dy Idiot.

Done the Ant in the dark, done the Bure in the dark, Ludham bridge with Guest Charlie Dolphin at the helm in the pitch black (no moonlight) was fun as it was cold we didn't take the lid down and had to spy the bridge clearance with me perched in the pulpit leaning over the rail to see it. We have two lights in the wheelhouse ceiling, one white light, one red light for night naving. I must say I don't use the red one when moving just in preparation as someone earlier said with the light on you can't see anything. Great night vision but can't actually see out. Last trip out in October we left Ranworth Staithe at 05:45 pitch black and headed back to Stalham to catch our onward journeys. Full crew that time so bridges not a worry with canopies etc. Was magical leaving at that time and slowly cruising along was very enjoyable. Sun came up half way up the Ant so it was magical to see that too. We quite often night nav to Salhouse or Ranworth to drop the mudweight as it doesn't matter what time we arrive, not to be done with dog on board but fun when no animals are with us. The twitchy boat curtains as we smoothly float past moored boats always makes me smile and yes before you pervs all ask I have seen things I would rather not have seen moving at night. My retinas have been burned by bottoms, boobs and other stuff I'd rather not remember. Having my night vision ruined by a pair of glaringly white orbs wobbling in the window is a mind picture I wish to forget. Not seen spanking either though Jenny thank god for that I say too. When we have been out for Halloweeen we have decorated the boat with lights, scary carved pumpkins and other spooky stuff and cruised up and down from Salhouse to Wroxham a few times that was fun too, loads of waving and happiness, spooky music is essential so folks can hear you coming and get the kids out to say hi. Just another way to enjoy the rivers and have shared fun really.

Hopefully Malanka, Martin and Fiona, plus who knows. Saturday only. We would be up for a CinC Doug ....

Hi Steve, docs think it could be as a result of pneumonia which I have had three times . Once really badly with lungs filled with fluid 80%. Not good and it damages the lungs, had gluteraldehyde too ( tegodore) and exposure to asbestos when I was a child . So everything crossed it’s just calcified lumps. M

It's me again getting technical. Technically the controlling factor in tree growth is water availability not temperature per se. In hot climes if no water da tree no growin.... In cooler places da tree growed at max for temp if lot water ...lol Dats why dem treenometers for temps is BS ooops. They made big assumption lots of da water..... and we all know that's standard every year isnt it....Oh dear facts getting in the way again.... never mind ...lol

Once had to do that with a Fiesta XR2 the fiesta unit was a fortune. Went to the factors supplying ford garage and the transit unit was cheap as chips . Guess which one I bought M

Round our way that's called a tea tray..LOL

Tim me old mucka don't forget five cuts is five slices the thickness of the blade to be subtracted from the length. Otherwise your last bit will be short..LOL And oh high panjandrum and font of wisdom... This aint America hunny its maths.......... Let's leave "bustin some moves" and that's a "ballin" car and stop "flossing" to our cousins across the water please. FYI Flossing does not refer to teeth... Drives me nuts ...lol Going there in another 15 then 36 days... grrr. The department of no sense of humour knows me by name in San Diego.... M

"The other reason is simply hydraulic. The principle of hydraulics is that you can't compress water. A volume of water will always be the same volume, wherever you shift it to" Unfortunately this whilst totally true is not totally accurate. Almost but not quite the full banana. Water has a density coefficient which changes with temperature and salinity. So water of one temperature profile of a particular salinity will have one density whilst water of a different temperature and salinity will have another. This profile is the reason that life exists on our planet pure and simple. Water is at peak density at 4 degrees centigrade, all water of the same salinity of different temperature profiles will be less dense. Thus complete mixing which is where the compressability issue sits is not 100% in play. Water of different salinity and temperature is stratified not fully mixed at all so allowing diffent layers to flow over and arround or under water of higher or lower density. That's how submarines hide using thermoclines in the oceans. (sonar will not penetrate between layers too well) Sorry to be a pedant. M

Super. Silver next for us...

Big BMW Big AUDI big VOLVO drivers who pull out in front of you forcing you to break then travel 60 m up the road to turn either left or right... Grrr. People who forget that the answer to every situation on the road is not always to BREAK..... Unrestrained children in cars Badly packed cars going on holiday (we play spot the badly packed volvo..) Speeders on residential streets. Anyone without a sense of humour The fact I can't float on my boat 300 days a year yet... (note the yet) Folks who forget that communication is not just words and that some of us are trained to read the other 93 %. (met some with Boris and Monty at the Holiday Inn Express, their body language, facial expressions and tone of voice to me although "spoken" at their 6 yr old little girl was a study in prejudice. If you don't like dogs don't communicate that to your children and don't pick a dog friendly hotel....) Imagine the scenario. Boris and Monty surrounded by one vet, two other adults and four children all cuddling them with tails a go go. Three other dogs within 10 feet all getting along swimmingly and all calmly sat being cuddled petted and otherwise being doggies. Angry (with whom) aggressive (why) father comes into reception and loudly shouts "come away" to their little six year old princess, (she hadn't actually moved from his side one cm as she was hiding behind his legs) chocolate all over her face, filthy dress, socks half down and teddy clutched protectively to her chest. The pastoral little scene descended into chaos as the kids jumped back, the adults backed off and Boris and Monty stood up. Other dogs barked (they were very small) and the rest joined in (even a service dog gave one small woofle). The one who didn't move was the vet. The stare he gave the father was epic... Made me smile. One wonders at whom was the little demonstration aimed.... I hoped it was me as I didn't care....Boris standing up is quite a sight.

To continue, a large amount of people. grrrrrrrr Anyone other than my mother who calls me dear. Mobile phone users or music listeners in the quiet coach on trains. Arrogant "I'm important" business men walking about the first class lounge at Heathrow conducting their conversation loud enough and with a cut glass accent aimed at intimidating the unwashed. I so want to buy a signal interrupter (available in the US) but illegal to use. People who in the middle seat in an airliner who insist both armrests belong to them. Children kicking the back of my seat, loud children who scream all the time whilst playing. Parents who ignore their errant offspring whilst said future intellectual giant pull up plants, break branches off trees, shout, scream, swear, the list is endless. People who invade my personal space, people who don't wash themselves or their underwear frequently enough to prevent the inevitable odours from reaching my olfactory receptors. Finally one for the oldies amongst us. MILLENIALS. i.e the ones with the entitlement outlook, the ones we owe a living to, the ones who take but don't give, the ones who think anything before 1999 was rubbish. The ones who talk about rights without mentioning the associated responsibilities. Holier than thou people who deign to tell me what I should or should not do... Geddit?? He he ... This is so much fun.....another lie down required...

Hi Wyndham, I hope you liked the nifty reversing mooring evolution then. Was fun to show off a little the capabilities of the old lady. Last week I moored up single handed as Nanny and Helena were occupied, the second visit we just reversed round the corner spun on the spot and moored up great fun...Griff would have appreciated it. When we passed through the bridge Sunday week it was 6.6 on the guage and we sailed through no worries. I may have heard some bum squeeking noises from my fellow crew but I was fully confident she could make it. (we had about 5 cm to spare). At Coltishall there was the grand total of TWO boats. We were one of them... The questions are . 1.When was she built, 2. how long have you owned her and 3. I bet she's a lot of work / cost. Babs name is Eliza Annie and Helena and baby are doing fine and thriving now they are with us in Switzerland for a while. A no notice arrival is what she was as Helena had a concealed pregnancy and didn't look pregnant at all until a slight rounding at 35 weeks. (she delivered at 36) Same clothes and minimal weight gain. The midwives knew about this as a theory but had never seen one and were quite fascinated. That isn't the word that first came to my mind but hey we are making the best of our little bonus. Unfortunately BF has decided to do a runner and Helena is dealing with that additional burden too. We don't mind members from here asking questions at all as we are used to it now. It's quite funny I get BA mentioned to me quite a bit as a famous Broads woodie. As she is our next door neighbour in the shed and we are proud to call Charlie and Laureen friends it's rather fun when people find out we actually know each other rather well and they tell me all about what they've read about BA and I say yes that's nice and smile. For some reason people like to talk about wooden boats and it doesn't really matter if it's your own one or not... The folks who annoy us are the ones who hang about for ages at the stern and peer inside when we are having something to eat. M

Folks who should know the difference between their and there but don't. Anyone who says I didn't do nothing. Chewing with the mouth open, loud chewing, elbows on tables at feeding time. People at arrivals in airports who block the exit while effusively greeting someone who has been away to Spain for a long weekend. American immigration officials. (otherwise named the department of no sense of humour) Eurotunnel in general, they say they can run up to 6 trains an hour then when they do oops we are delayed half an hour.... People who don't listen during debate but rant on as if you hadn't just refuted with facts everything they said or are about to say. The first few words out of the mouths of these people are YES BUT, look familiar ??? Disingenous people, dissonant people, politicians of all stripes who have both the previous traits. PC BS (may I say that here ?) People who don't know the difference between may and can. Tailgaters..... OMG I have just exploded, normal service will be resumed after I've had a lie down.

We wave we also keep a tally of how may other peoples holiday photos we feature in. Last week had one guy blow us a kiss and say magnificent as we burbled past him. We have folks saying they love the dog , they love the boat. When we moor we have the usual stock answers ready. 1953, 7 years and yes it is. You can figure out for a prize the questions those answer. (no answers from woodie owners as I know we all get the same questions.) Last week we even had some chap asking then telling us the builder of the boat. Despite me twice informing him it was CJ Broom and Sons. We had a lovely week. waving chatting and showing off our new grandchild....(2 weeks old) There "sneaked" that in at the last minute to see if any of you are paying attention.

Driving back from Slough to Maidenhead one day I saw three Concordes all flying behind one another it was a remarkable sight. There is still one parked at the BA maintenance sheds at the end of the runway at Heathrow, I saw it Saturday morning from the first class cabin of the BA 777 I was flying in. I had just finished my full english breakfast with tea in a porcelain tea pot and cup. Was a lovely experience..

I am afraid to say that some boatyards (I only actually know of one) actually did wait for something to break finally before fixing the issue. i.e. no engine oil or gear oil checks between hirers etc. Don't forget those lovely (sic) new fangled weed filters the new engines require. They were often not checked or emptied if checked. Quite a few times as a hirer I have ignored the advice to "not mess with them" and have emptied them and hey presto lovely engine temperature again. Havent hired for seven years now so maybe its all different. I certainly hope so. M

Coming from the losing side mate you can't have many ribs left...800 years of P taking...

He he Timmy, Just to take us completely off bottom coverings. I personally am off to San Diego (work) Saturday, back next Saturday, then Monday off to Vienna (Conference Speaking engagement) and back on Thursday, Friday off to the boat to float on Mals tarry bottom with Fiona, Boris, Monty (who will be 17 weeks old then) and Helena with Boyfriend who we have not actually met yet. There back on topic again... Tarry bottoms rule....And Pavlovs dogs drool......

Boris is our Anti Fowl, and Mals bottom is coated with Tar. Thick gloopy stuff that I leave the professionals to deal with. Every two or three years we take her out and scrape it off and power wash then re-apply, when I say we I mean I pay a man to do it...LOL I have seen the underside of the boat in a one time incident never to be repeated. Holding myself under the boat with my hand on Mals Tarry bottom and I can confirm that even two years old it's still horrible stuff. To go from coal tar to coaL tar soap takes a few chemical reactions (saponification for the technical) and is itself an horrible process involving sodium hydroxide and many bad smells. Practiced many times during ones studies into sciencey stuff. Coal tar soap (the pink smelly one) used to have sand or pummice added to it to make it abrasive too. My dad swore by it but it wrecks your hands. If I wreck my hands these days I just go rub the dog for five minutes and all is well again..no he doesnt smell like a dog, he's an Airedale. Gods own dog... Hi Timmy off piste ?? M

Jeeez, you have all the luck, fantastic beaches, fantastic place, fantastic people, fantastic job, and now you get a volcano too. Lucky devil. (Tongue in cheek STAY SAFE)

If anyone is interested it was in fact my Maternal Grandfather (H.V Andrew) with the then Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI Billingham) who pioneered the development and use of polymer based products way before a certain US based company managed without the fundamental research done by ICI, to miraculously engineer similar materials...All a matter of public record. My mum had plastic building bricks made by him at ICI in 1936. They were stolen in a house break in before the war .. This remains my only claim to vicarious fame ..lol If you don't count two episodes of "We Are The Champions" in the summer of 1974 with the Lovely Ron Pickering. We won (Beat Joseph Rowntree School) then lost in the final... Ahhh memories.

Excellent post smelly. The rise of the armchair warrior is currently unchecked although recent proposals and changes to legislation make "trolling" as abusive as face to face shouting of abuse. To me that's clearly a step too far. I better go hide now before the thought police come to take me away.