floydraser

I think I would be rescued by the time I got to Cantley; that would be sweet. The filter has been changed and the engine hardly run since. I also have a spare filter on standby, along with the kit to change it!

Yep, mudweight will be on standby as well as the two hefty anchors that came with it in the forward locker. I don't think it will drift far!

Crikey, the offers are coming in quicker than I can reply on here! Thank you to all so far. I'll post on here the timing but at the moment the weather looks favourable towards the end of next week. I now have offers of a support boat and a taxi to collect the car so that'll be me sorted then if all goes well. This may seem a fuss to some, just moving a boat round the corner, but I have a minor doubt about the diesel filter as it has blocked before and the boat hasn't moved in 5 years (that long!??).

Well the time has come as they say, to move to pastures new and I have until the end of March to move the Owl round to Cove Marina, Brundall, from Brundall Gardens Marina. I'm planning to do it during a decent weather window of a couple of days so I can give it a good clean first. Not far but why mention it here? Because what crew I had will be in Florida! I will notify people when I do it but if anyone is around and fancies a ride or just keep an eye out for me I would be grateful.

You've let me down. I really thought someone was going to explain from an experienced point of view, what this is and why they were hated. I'll do my best: Dom's correct, it's a bubble sextant. This is a 1943 version and they were used mainly in bombers. They weren't allocated to any particular bomber so this one could have been on famous raids or none at all. For me it still represents the RAF in WW2. Referring to pictures 3 and 4 – there's an elongated oval hole in the front where the mirror is. There's a hole in the top with a sliding cover, and there's a lens on the rear. The lens you see is one of two on a bracket and the other one is in use as you see it; you swing the bracket to use the one seen here. The hole in the top allows light in to illuminate the bubble which you have to get within a circle to get it level. In the dark you slide the cover shut and a 4v lamp illuminates it, batteries in the handle. On the right hand side you see a **** for setting the degrees and a thumb wheel for the minutes, shown at the bottom. So you ask the pilot to maintain a steady altitude for the next few minutes, preferably a number to aid calculations? Then try and get a fix on your selected celestial body while keeping the bubble in the circle. Do it a few times to get an average then consult your reference books, taking into account the altitude. Then ask a policeman. Those who used them may say the latter would have been more accurate. This posh version from 1943 has a drum on the front containing a clockwork averaging mechanism. You pulled the trigger and it somehow took a reading every second or so and after minute gave you an average. Then you asked a policeman. Navigators hated them apparently. I get my kids to have a go and they first complain it's heavy. Then when they get the hang of it I shake them and make engine noises in their ear. *** Guess what you have to use to set the degrees?? I could edit it but I can't for laughing!

Bang on! Your great great great grandaughter says hello.

So does anyone fancy trying to use one of these? I didn't know such a thing existed until relatively recently so I'll assume someone here has more knowledge and experience than me, and can explain what it is?

Merlin engines occasionally come up for sale on Facebook Marketplace along with other interesting and divers stuff, but that's another thread. I haven't been to Duxford for donkey's years so there's somewhere else... Old Warden is another place. I took the kids there when they were young, to the final show of the season. I'll never forget seeing the guy flying a collection of sticks and bedsheets while sitting on a plank! We visited Hendon in 2015 the day after watching England get their a*ses kicked out of the World Cup at Twickenham. It was on the way home and I thought it was a chance to check it out as we were passing, sort of. I was enraged when the person behind the reception desk answered "How much is it to come in?" with "The guide book is £5 and the entry is just there". "So entry is free?" They repeated what they said before. "Tell you what, I'll have a look round and if it's any good I'll give you something on the way out". It was very good apart from the downright cheek of that person.

One of the benefits of being retired is being able to clear off where you like, when you like and this is what I did last Friday 23rd. Mrs Raser had a couple of things to do so I took the opportunity to clear off to Cosford, Shropshire, to what is now called the RAF Museum Midlands. This is because a group of thirty year olds probably got together in a room and decided they needed to change something; fix something was never broke. It used to be RAF Museum Cosford and is still referred to as such on most websites and by most aircraft enthusiasts. Hendon is now RAF Museum London. I would have thought any foreign tourist who made it this far would have the wherewithal to find Hendon. Now they'll go to Tower Bridge and ask a policeman. Best of luck with that one. It's any excuse to go by train for me these days so I did. Cosford station is ½ mile from the museum even though the railway line dissects the actual RAF Cosford; the barracks and training facilities one side, the airfield and museum the other. I arrived at 13.15 so first thing was lunch in the “Airfield Kitchen” in the entrance hall. Tea was reasonable, in a good sized mug but although the place didn't seem that busy, my panini took 20 minutes to appear by which time the tea was lukewarm. And it was just that, a panini and nothing else for £6.50. I didn't mind that but the receipt said “Levy Restaurants” so not all the profit went to the museum. I also noted that the car park was within the museum grounds and therefore access to the car is very convenient. Next time I'll take the car and a packed lunch, and make a donation direct to the museum. On Google Streetview the car park shows two charges but now there's just the one - £7.50 for 7 hours. The museum is free but timed entry, like a lot places now; a legacy of Covid I guess. I don't think it's strictly enforced though. The displays are very well laid out and presented. Some aircraft have modern lighting inside to illuminate the detail. I never knew of the existence of the Avro Lincoln, a huge thing. They have one at Cosford, think Lancaster on steroids. I recommend a visit but budget a lot of time. I was there for just over two hours and got to see most of what was inside but not all outside. Next time I'll go by car, take my own food and allow about 4 hours to take it all in. I did notice some of the outside planes had steps which were blocked off so I would guess these may be open during weekends in the summer when volunteers are available. Some of you here would have enjoyed the conversations I overheard on the station platform while waiting to come home. About 50 apprentices discussing discipline, inspections, where they want to go – Waddington for the Red Arrows, Brize Norton for bigger aircraft – and the price of Jager bombs. Ahem, yes I know, the latter was NOT something they learned about in armaments training! Positive, intelligent youngsters who want to get on and work. There are some.

No need for any new rules or regulations, it's just a lively discussion on forum somewhere; just relax. Back to the main topic: it says there were 8 on board and some said they wouldn't have got in a car with him. So he must have been the dominant force and probably none of them were sober or strong enough to stand up to him.

Now don't shoot the messenger but I was over at the boat last Thursday and got talking to one of my new neighbours at BGM. He told me he wasn't new to the Broads but he was trying the south for the first time. When I asked why he said firmly, "Too many drunks!" Just his opinion of course but he was referring to mainly day boats and stag/hen parties.

Fire extinguishers: part of the bsc but you could remove them after inspection. But if the examiner found a boat short of them wouldn't he then suspect a general lack of attention to overall safety? But while he's onboard he could have a butchers for lifejackets and a simple count up would do it; he doesn't have to go on a specific course to learn how to count lifejackets. Although now some fool has mentioned it on a forum maybe they will, and charge more for the certificate! Me, cynical? Probably. Would you be happy on a boat with no fire extinguishers. Probably not.

He should be banned from boat ownership for life and have any qualifications for navigation taken off him.

When I think about it I'm surprised it's not part of the safety certificate, one for each berth for instance? Easy for me to say as mine came with 6 lifejackets.

My first reaction is: if you only have 2 how do explain to your guests why you have no lifejackets for them, wouldn't they feel awkward? Best to get 4 and hide 2 of them well. Then if you have to invite people you really don't like, explain that you only have 2.

Thank you. That reminds of something we would like to do, if it's not fully booked already. I saw reference to the Medway Queen which is open to the public (no Norfolk Nog, it's not a pub!) in Gillingham. Worth a trip I would think, along with a visit to the Chatham naval dockyard museum. Anyone interested in old paddle steamers, old boats and history and wanting a good cry, Google "PS Ryde 2023" for the latest drone footage of this very sad ship.

Worth a trip (car) from Brundall just to give it a try. Thanks. Oh, and the breakfast well get the trade from the Travelodge up the road.

Interesting, I just found this within the application: From the BA response to the plans - "Some appropriate planting within the constraints of the site would help soften the visual impact of the proposals on the local area and provide amenity for users and biodiversity benefits. The type and location of planting should have regard to limiting wind shadow on the river in the interests of sailing."

So if a company who specialise in land and property development are walking away from it then it appears someone may be putting a spanner in the works to prevent the development of housing there. Does anyone know if development plans were ever submitted?

I demand to know more about "Slippery Bottoms"!

Cynical suspicious me can't fathom out what it is with the modern obsession with apps; are they trying to get us to buy phones with more memory and processing power or trying to sell us more gigabytes a month? There are incentives to get us to have certain apps, competitions exclusive to apps and tricks to make us think the only way is app! I have recently got a travel money card from the Post Office and trying to find the information on how to go on without a smartphone took ages. I have a smartphone but I refuse to put any kind of payment system on it. Or are we just a different generation? What if they think that their market is mainly youngsters with their whole lives revolving around a smartphone?

And I wonder how it will be before those living in the remote districts of those countries will have access to practical electric vehicles? Never of course.

Long overdue a lick of paint on the outside I would say. Hopefully they'll tidy up the old house type building next door, assuming it's part of the pub.

Yep, I guess we're all thinking along roughly the same lines. For starters, which is going to be the cheapest to run in 5 years time.... apart from the technologies we have recently been reminded of the vulnerability of fuel prices affected by wars and political instability. They still seem to be saying the same thing about the daily costs of electrics - that it's only cheap when you charge at home, and then not by that much. Only good for short runs. The Volvo is the most comfortable car on the planet and any replacement will be a compromise - I know the car as I've had it from new - always returned 40mpg on a run and around 26mpg towing the caravan. Only unreliability would make me think about changing I think, and there's no sign of that. The insurance will be high I suppose and I'll have to pay higher road tax to cover the cost of climate change while people burn their patio heaters for pleasure, don't get me started. Oh, and there's the little matter of how much we'll actually use the car. Now retired and having bus passes we may be changing the car just to have it sitting on the drive. I don't think so.

My Volvo XC90 will be 11 years old in June and has racked up 77,000 miles without too much bother at all. Now retired and considering whether to keep the two cars, bin one of them, or bin both and go new, we've decided to hang on for another year and take a view then. So the Volvo is due a timing belt. The main dealer where I bought it is still there and they quoted “around £1,200” for the belt, water pump while you're down there, auxiliary belt and major service. About 5 years ago a new prestige car dealership with workshop opened up in new industrial estate at the top end of our village and started to develop a good reputation. They quoted me £785 for the same work. I dropped it off with them at 08.30 yesterday and got a call to collect it at 13.00, job done and avoiding me walking up there in the forecast heavy rain! Having always done my own work I'm always nervous when some else works on it but I needn't have worried. So it'll be good for another 77K now. All I need now are 4 new tyres as these are down to 3mm and 3 of them are slowly losing air, but then they have done 40K, only the second set it's had.