Lulu

Reading this rattled me as we were only at Neatishead a few days ago. I can only begin to imagine what the owners must be going through :( We had no problems at all last weekend. There were quite a few fishing and as we reversed in we just said we wanted to be near the electric point and everyone was friendly, pulled in their rods while we manoeuvred into the dyke and chatted with them over the time we were there. Its only the second time we have been there as we avoid it in busy season. We purchased a takeaway from the White Horse for the first time and will be doing so again. I was initially reluctant going back there after reading about this dreadful incident but we intend to use it regularly and will try not to be put off, but admit once there I personally might not be totally relaxed

Happy New Year to you too Mr Boat Hook. May you have many more happy years hooking out things your owner has dropped into the rivers 😊

The other useful thing is if you hear a bow thruster in the vicinity, you know something is going on near your boat and you can go into meerkat mode!

We wouldn’t want to be without the bow thruster now. We dont regard it as cheating. It’s been a valuable tool for us especially when its windy as it was over the Christmas weekend. It was a challenge getting out of the marina and it just kept things in check. When we were leaving a mooring I used it a little bit just to keep the boat alongside while Selsie got on. We have a bow thruster and not embarrassed to use it!

So sorry to hear your sad news Monica. My condolences to you and your family

I took Desmond for a long walk around the village lanes and he anticipated the takeaway as we went past The White Horse. Three more private boats have since arrived. Our takeaway arrived bang on time and piping hot. When we did the online order we had to put an address in so put “Luna Aurora, Neatishead Staithe, on the left hand side as you look from the road” . Brilliant service and the food was excellent. Selsie had haddock and chips and I had the small Mexicano box. Desmond may have had a couple of chips… Will definitely be doing this again. Thank you Ray for the recommendation!

Thank you Ray. We have just placed an order for tonight, being delivered 😁

A very, very slow cruise and we didn’t meet any other boats. It was idyllic. If we hadn’t got Desmond on board it would have been tempting to mudweight on Barton today as it’s so still. So glad we didn’t go home!

Monday 27th December We had a very peaceful night at Irstead apart from some early morning splooshing and commotion under the hull. We can only assume it was the otters messing about underneath. We slept in very late for us, 7.45. I had a leisurely walk with Desmond while Selsie made the breakfast and logged out of my NBN account!!! The sun really tried to make an effort to say hello but disappeared again. We set off at 9.30 and very slowly made our way to Neatishead. The water was like a mill pond and the light across Barton was lovely. Arrived at Neatishead to one other private boat and two Ferry Marina boats who have now left. It’s really muddy here so we’ve moved up to the end. Ive just taken Desmond on a hunt for fudge but sadly there was none at The Fudge Lady’s stall. I may try again later…

I have to say, my beautiful lady (Lulu) has a bit of a flare for this writing thing!!! it’s all pretty wonderful being on the rivers at any time, but at Christmas due to circumstances beyond our control it’s been awesome

Forgot to ask, what is the round thing with the chain fence around it?

Boxing Day We woke up quite chilly as we don’t have the diesel heater in overnight. Desmond had taken the blanket for himself sneakily so he was toasty warm and didn’t want to get out of bed until he smelt the toast. Having not had very much sleep with the squally weather again we talked about going home. We made our way slowly back, drizzly but milder and the wind had really died down. We saw Irstead was free and made a beeline. We’ve had a lovely day. So much wildlife watching. A kingfisher was flying around for most of the day. The cormorants (think that’s what they are?) were diving (to the right of the cormorant photo , the kingfisher is there honest). Had a lovely walk with Desmond. He loves Shoals Road. So much to investigate, squirrels and pheasants everywhere. Selsie washed the green off Luna so a good day all in all despite the dull weather.

We nearly decided to go home this morning. The gusty wind and cold hasn’t made it particularly pleasant but we are still out and about and it’s lovely and calm where we are now so very glad we didn’t go back. Forgot to put in my original post, quite a few Ferry Marina boats out and about once we got onto the Bure yesterday. I don’t know what it’s usually like at Christmas or whether others made the same decision as us to not have family gatherings and to spend the festive season afloat due to covid.

Christmas Eve After a virtual family meeting we had all decided not to get together again this year with one member only just out of hospital from having Covid and our elderly parents felt happier after making the decision. Selsie and I both finished work at lunchtime and set off for Norfolk expecting a lot of traffic but it was quite quiet and soon got to the marina before dark. We decorated inside but with the terrible weather decided not to do the outside. I had had big plans but the wind, cold and rain put me off. Christmas Day We left in the marina about 8.00am. The wind was very gusty which made leaving the marina a bit of a challenge but all was well. We didn’t meet any boats at all down the Ant. The sun made brief appearances now and then. A fellow NBN member had asked if I could let them know the bridge height at Ludham so I took some photos of each marker. Our plan was Ranworth assuming it would be empty so we could side in moor to enable us to get Desmond off. It was a bit of a surprise to find it busy so rather disappointed we went to try Horning. There was one space but decided against it as it wasn’t near the electric and would rather go somewhere quieter if we couldn’t have electric , so headed back up the Ant where we settled on the empty moorings at Ludham Bridge. We were properly off grid in miserable weather for the first time. For our Christmas lunch we had ordered a boxed meal from Parsley Box. It really was quite nice with no effort and just added some of our own ham and stuffing. Pudding was ginger sponge and custard. Desmond got his Christmas lunch too and we watched tv for the rest of the day.

Merry Christmas everyone! Currently on Barton Broad making our way to Ranworth

Pm sent

Back in the olden days when I was a kid and my parents hired either on the Broads or the canals, dad always packed a few basic tools but the essentials not to forget were black tape and a wire coat hanger. Dad could fix a multitude of issues with those two items. Even now if they are going away to an expensive hotel or somewhere, we still joke, “dont forget the black tape and wire coat hanger dad” Fond memories :)

I used to be a massive F1 fan but my interest had definitely waned in recent years with the team orders stuff a while back. I decided to watch today’s race to give it another chance but no more after the changing the rules as they went along. Glad we cancelled our Sky Sports subscription as F1 was the only reason we had it.

I just keep saying ‘I cant hear you, whats your name, sorry I didnt get that, who are you?” and so on. Usually ends quite quickly with the person on the other end swearing and slamming the phone down.

Same with Desmond. He spent ages picking off the blackberries in the garden and I struggle at the best of times to keep his weight down. He loves bananas, raw carrots , raw broccoli and cauliflower. Another no no for hounds are raisins and grapes

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolks-precious-character-doesnt-need-further-wrecking-8535758

Absolutely fantastic and looked like perfect conditions. Not sure it would be on my bucket list as I’d certainly need a bucket for other reasons… What’s next on the list? 😁

Just loving this thread 😂

I don’t understand why mask wearing couldn’t have come into immediate effect. Why delay until Tuesday? I never stopped wearing them when going into shops. I’ve just been to the post office and apart from one elderly gentleman and myself no one else were wearing masks ☹️ A member of the family is currently in ICU with Covid and had been double jabbed.

Glad everyone was ok. Now you can relax and have a fantastic time. We find the same, the minute we are onboard, all the stress melts away. What is the temperature like there?