Lulu

The water coming down the lock was a bit intimidating!

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23899114.potter-heigham-faced-floods-storm-ciaran-aftermath/ Also on lunchtime news on Look East earlier.

Sad face is because of that lovely old cottage. I hate seeing them being demolished. Think because I grew up in a thatched cottage which my parents still live in, and my grandparents also lived in one, I’m very attached to these type of buildings 😟

Lovely videos Jean. Was just notified they were uploaded :)

Im interested to know what Ludham Bridge is showing after all that rain last night. Kate sent me pictures of How Hill yesterday and that looked ok so that’s another spot we will have in mind if this continues

27th October to 29th October 2023 Maintenance weekend and a lot of grumbling and whinging! Last time we had left the boat it was warm and dry. We shouldn’t have left it so long before going again as we had left Luna in summer mode and beautifully clean. We are kicking ourselves as we arrived to find mould in a lot of places despite the hopper windows being open. I’d had a really hard week at work and wasnt in the best of moods as it was. I could have cried but we both set to work cleaning. The water levels were really high and I struggled getting on and off the boat which kicked off my back pain. Desmond slipped and fell, thankfully not in the water but it had rattled his confidence so we had to start lifting him on and off the boat as it was too high even for him. By this time I just wanted to go home and sell the boat I was so stressed! Once the boat was clean we had dinner and early night. On Saturday morning we woke early to a beautiful day.Graham disappeared into the engine bay to do whatever he had to do, fixed other bits and pieces on the list and everything was done by about 9.30. I was all for going home but we needed a pumpout so we went off to Simpsons. That done, the sun was shining so we made the decision not to go home but see if Irstead was free and if not, would go to Paddy’s Lane. Result, Irstead was free, and 96p left on the meter! The sun was shining and we had a lovely day and restored my love of boating after all the drama of the day before. We were hoping Kate could drop by but unfortunately a boat took the space behind us so we had a very brief chat and a wave as she went by. I bought some painted stones from the little stall for my granddaughter who is currently obsessed with insects. The rain forecast duly arrived when we went to bed and was torrential but I love going to sleep with the sound of rain so slept well, waking at 5.30am new time. There wasnt much point in hanging about so once it was properly light and Desmond had had his walk, we set off back to the marina. We knew the levels had risen even more over night as even at Irstead it was a clamber to get on this morning. We went back via Paddys Lane to see what it was like there for next time in case the levels remain high. Never seen Paddys Lane like that! We got back to the marina, happy the boat was nice and dry and clean inside and immediately set up the dehumidifier so hopefully that will resolve the mould issue from now on. Also left the taps open in case theres a sudden plunge in temperature. Driving out of the marina along the lane was interesting. Ive done a comparison re Irstead. First pic was some time ago, second was from this morning.

Dad has said they are aviation calculator and altitude plotter

So sorry Smoggy about your loss. I’m asking my dad about the first photo. He use to fly and I seem to recall seeing the wheel thing or something similar at home when he did flight planning. (definitely not showing him the other picture 😂)

Congratulations Biker! Will look forward to hearing about your adventures

Great write up Helen. Certainly covered a fair few miles.

Doesn’t take a lot to confuse me to be fair 😂

Great to see the flotilla going past at Stokesby including Moonlight Shadow

Just love those boats. Many happy childhood holidays spent on them. Can always tell a Connoisseur is in the vicinity without even looking!

courtesy of Broadland Memories :) https://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/blog/2010/10/dutch-tutch-a-phoenix-from-the-ashes/

Looks like its going to be ok next week so hopefully you can get out and about. Its incredibly humid here in Suffolk right now.

And you need to make a bowl and Werthers Originals 😁

Sunday 17th September A particularly early start and we were soon back in the marina and home by 10 to tackle a mammoth amount of washing. I’ve basically stripped the boat of soft furnishings which is now all packed and ready for the next trip. We can only do probably one more long weekend now as Graham has used up most of his holiday but our new holiday allowance starts in January with a view to another week in March depending on weather. We will see!

Saturday 16th September We were going home today but the weather was so good we both decided to have another night on board. Instead of packing and going back to the marina the destination was to be Paddy’s Lane. A nice long cruise today. We had thoroughly enjoyed the mix of longer cruise and short hops. Absolutely stunning cruise up the Ant. We passed How Hill and saw a glorious sight of three wherries together. I sat on the bow taking lots of river footage to send to dad. I forget how quiet Luna is from there, just hearing the water lapping against the hull. We arrived at Paddy’s Lane and got our favourite end spot looking towards the statihe. Some lovely woodies came and went filling up with water then a stunning wherry a bit later on. It got quite hot later on and the bugs came out but I didn’t get bitten. We have learnt to shut windows sooner rather than later! For some reason Desmond thought it was winter at one point.

Thank you Carole. After each trip I think I wont do a write up as they can be very samey (the weekend ones so I don’t record all those) but then I really enjoy looking back on them as they are like a personal diary especially when we have had a week away.

Friday 15th September Woke up at 6.30 to a very misty morning. We were in no rush to get going as we decided we didn’t want to go far and would go back to Acle and be even more lazy. The mist eventually lifted and I dried Luna off. We made our way back down to Acle and got the end spot by the cafe. Graham went and got a breakfast and I may just have got another fruit pastry. Desmond decided he did want to walk a decent way so we went down along the river towards Boundary farm direction. We popped into the Bridge Inn for a drink at lunchtime before watching all the activity on the rivers again. The weather was perfect. Just the right temperature and another stunning sunset.

Hopefully but it feels like September is summer now

Thursday 14th Sept What a wonderfully peaceful night we had. I thought there would be noise or too much light but not at all so that just confirmed we would come here again. Next destination was to be Boundary farm or entrance of Upton Dyke. We slowly cruised along and got overtaken by the beautiful Kingfisher as we approached Horning. As we got to the Thurne corner we were incredibly polite allowing a boat to cut across us even though we had right of way. We saw there was space at Boundary Farm but the boat we had waved to go past us went in it! Argggggh! but as we went past we realised there was space in the middle for us so went in too. As we were all mooring up we had a laugh with our new neighbours about being too nice! Like us, they were staying there the rest of the day. I had the intention of a long walk with Desmond but he just wasn’t interested. Not sure if he was a bit off colour or just being lazy (more likely) . Graham had a go at fishing with no luck. The boat at the end moved off and we moved Luna to the end by the reeds but still no fish activity. The river had been very busy all day but once the light faded all was so wonderfully quiet. I spent a long time sitting on the bow, watching the river and wildlife. Just love it there.

Wednesday 13th Sept A new adventure for us today. We woke up to the delightful sight of an otter hunting for breakfast and swans getting angry. After a walk up the very steep steps to the park and back we set off for Wroxham. This was the only day sort of planned. We wanted to moor at Barnes. We used to moor our previous boat at Barnes many years ago but havent been to Wroxham in Luna because there are no free moorings this side of the bridge. The bridge height was no way near to us having a go to getting under for the first time so decision was made to moor in the basin at Barnes. We knew it was a first come first served scenario as I’d enquired the week before, hence why we picked Wednesday and not a handover day. Had a lovely cruise to Wroxham. It was perfect weather after all the heat and rain. We got to the old Royalls marina. Its very, very tight making the turn once in. We picked one berth and I got off but I didn’t realise it was a floating pontoon and stood bent knees struggling to stand upright. I dont know if there is something wrong with my balance but I just couldn’t cope with it at all. Graham couldn’t see what the problem was and had no issues. I thought I cant get Desmond on and off with all that wobble so we moved into the corner berth so I could get off onto the tarmac. I went to the office and paid £20 which included electric. Think its £15 without electric. We decided this was a treat for us as we don’t usually go to fee paying moorings. Once settled I went off to Roys for a look around (avoiding the C displays) then when back took Desmond for a walk beyond the bridge. It was a sad sight to see the old Porter & Haylett yard. I stood there for quite some time reminiscing about childhood holidays starting from there and the excitement of dad driving up and over that bridge in his old wallowy Cortina automatic. It also brought back memories of the night we spent in the broad next door by the railway line. There was a fire on the line in the night and sparks were falling all around us. I remember us having to move the boat in the dark. Huge excitement as a kid but I realise now after talking about it with dad recently how serious the situation was at the time as he explained the sheds on the other side had boats being built right by the line. That then triggered memories of the place always smelling of fibreglass. I was glad I was on my own as just remembering all these things was quite emotional. Dad is now 90 and we have offered to be crew and hire a boat so he and mum can just relax while we do the work but he said those days are gone now. Just writing this up has made me all emotional again! Spent the rest of the day boat and people watching deciding we would make this an annual event unless we get our nerve to go under the bridge……

Tuesday 12th Sept We were in a real quandary of where to go today. Beyond Horning is very limited for us. We need side moorings for Desmond and we dont like sardine mooring anyway. Salhouse spit is no good for a walk. We decided on the church moorings at Horning. There was one boat moored but space for another but we couldnt see any posts so carried on (since found out from Kate there are mooring rings). We decided to keep going through Horning with a view to going back to cockshoot dyke or St Benets but as we went past the Swan there was space at the end of the free moorings. I took Desmond for a long walk around the village as I knew rain was forecast for later. I then went into the hall to have a look at the craft fair then popped into the shop to get the obligatory wordsearch book. (Always had one on the go as a kid on our boating holidays ). A little while later the Pipedreams crew arrived and managed to get into a space at the other end. Had a great catch up. Bramble is just adorable. Graham then went to the shop and discovered they stock meat from Ludham butchers so purchases were obviously made! The forecast rain duly arrived. It was pretty torrential and once stopped I was straight outside to take the opportunity of cleaning Luna. Once stopped, the rain started again but at least the green patina was gone. Not many photos because of the rain.

Monday 11th Sept After another great night’s sleep, it was lovely waking up at the dyke. Its always so peaceful. Knowing it wasn’t going to be quite so hot we decided on a short cruise to Acle. Graham wanted to charge the new batteries so wanted electric. The rivers had been very busy, busier than the rest of the summer but we kept to our usual thing of leaving early to time it when people start to move off. A very slow pootle to Acle and a nice Luna size space was available at the first post by the cafe. Infront of us were friends from our marina so we had a nice catch up with them before Graham went off to get a breakfast from Dunes and I got a pastry which I classified as a fruit holding vessel and therefore part of my five a day …. We love Acle as there’s always so much to look at, Bridgecraft is always busy and this is the second time Ive seen a boat on the bridge. Another stunning sunset finished of a perfect boating day.