Lulu

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?

Happy Birthday, have a fantastic day! A very nice set of gifts 🎁 Is there any frost? Ive got to go and de-ice the car in a bit.

For goodness sake stop all this teasing all of you. I want to know the story!

Have a fantastic few days both of you.

I loved the last question. Totally chaotic! Brilliant fun, thank you Bern

Exactly what we do too

I know, It’s AndyTBoater’s new project. He must have finished it already!

Just copy and paste the link then type in your name and it takes you into the chat box thing where we chat about all sorts of things as well as trying to answer questions correctly 😁

A lovely and really interesting write up. I dont think I will ever get used to how close places are by road in comparison with travelling by river. My map of Norfolk in my head is the river one, not the road version! I don’t think we will get the opportunity for a two week break until we retire unfortunately. This year is going to be even worse for holiday as my new job doesnt give much and we really want to use some to see my daughter and granddaughter in Scotland.

13th Nov cont & 14th Nov Just got home and downloaded a few photos I took on my camera from Horning, Irstead and our cruise back to the marina this morning. The Broads are an absolute delight for watching how the seasons change. Shame about the almost constant drizzle over the last few days but at least it has been fairly mild. I managed to dodge the showers to take Desmond for walks around the pretty lanes at Irstead. Mini break went way too quickly. Back to work tomorrow :(

Me neither. It’s raining on and off and there are fireworks going off in the distance.

Mum knits them for us. Need to get a couple of pairs for Desmond 😁

It’s raining (love the sound of rain on the boat when not cruising), and we are all cosy watching Strictly

Fantastic photos Helen. What a treat seeing the owl. We have always found Acle surprisingly quiet. The bridge markers at Ludham certainly are different from each other and made us question if we needed to lower our screens this morning for the first time.