floydraser

Plenty of vacant allotment plots available round here...... Plenty of time on my hands due to lockdown..... I wonder????? Actually, not my subject at all but I thought it needed heat and humidity?

Is that even possible? I was told that the best pubs are so busy at peak times that you can't always guarantee getting a mooring?

And that has encouraged a more relaxed approach to social distance for the VE street parties from what I have seen. I wouldn't be surprised to see the infection rate to climb as a result.

I can fully see how these boats would have been fashionable in the 80s. They look like Gerry Anderson designed them for Ed Straker in the series "UFO"! I imagine that fitted with clear windows, that saloon would have been like an oven in the summer.

Not sure if this has been mentioned on here (and I'm not about to check!) but as an added precaution we always wipe over everything with anti bacterial wipes. that includes all shopping, parcels and post.

As Chameleon says, that's essential travel. We do that for my parents in law, not 15 miles but they can't get out and since the nearest sister caught the virus it's down to us. We use the front porch like a submarine air lock.

Thank you for the idea! Until you suggested it, I wouldn't have thought she ever had a previous number because I thought the Denham Owl name came after she left the Broads. I'll add it to the "to do" list.

It gets better... I'll have a look for the traces of that sign writing and if possible restore it. The one thing I hate about the Owl is those sloping name signs on the bow! I think I understand the wind break thing but that is where the top of the handrail lifts for access.

Ah if only they had the internet back then. I used an online Norfolk dialect tool for my book but can't find it just now. The film was made by Godfrey Davies of Birmingham so he probably didn't understand how passionate East Anglians are about their way of life. Jimmy Hoseason would have sounded a whole lot better!

Had a look and it seems a German family hired one and claimed they didn't realise they couldn't go to sea; ended up in Brightlingsea, Essex. Found this link and stole it: http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/451 This film shows a typical 1971 sunshine family hiring a Santa Caterina. I'm not qualified to comment fully on the continuity but I think it may be a bit out. It's supposed to go under PH bridge but the actual shot changes to a different boat. Warning: the film contains images of female women in mini skirts!

Wow! Thanks again Toby. That info would all fit in with what I have so far: someone has already suggested that one of the Santa Caterinas was built to special order and there is more evidence that this could be it. The handrail goes all around the boat which I think would make it less practical as a hire boat; making mooring up a bit more involved as there is only one place either side to jump off. She also had quite substantial davits fitted across the stern making stern-on mooring nigh on impossible. That's another mod on my list as there is still a hefty great stainless bar in the way. Wouldn't it be great to uncover some early photos, there must be some somewhere.... There was a mystery over who fitted self-steering gear, an echo sounder and a compass. The echo sounder alone wouldn't be a mystery but I wondered who would want to take her onto the open sea from the Thames. So from Oulton Broad Len would have had easy access but surely with only the calmest of seas with Fergy tractor engine? A neighbour in the marina used to work for Brooms and tells me hull is an Ocean 37 "and good for about 35 knots"(?). "Er, not with this engine and not me aboard!" was my reply. I did do a brief Google search for an EW link just after I bought the boat but the only thing I could find was a reference in the biography of actor Robin Askwith who recalls dining on EW's boat in St Katherine's dock at a time when EW was going through an unpleasant divorce from his first wife. So that all lines up. Stand by for a thread drift towards confession films as I think most members here will have seen them all several times over! Thanks again and fingers crossed the letter is found. I'm off to chase up the theft issue..

We tried it for the first time a while ago. First the Grandkids were on the beach, then they were in space, then somewhere else. But my son refuses to tell me how to change the background for fear of me crashing the technology!

Sorry Peter but no I don't, but hopefully someone may come along and educate us both. Arnott Fowler is a great name though! One of these days I'll try again to chase up Eastwood's records.

It's got to be mentioned: Judi Dench used to call him Ewar Woowar after the D's failed in a theatre illuminated sign. Or it's a Joe Pasquale joke, take your pick.

Just for the record: this isn't the Denham Owl and looks like an earlier wooden hulled version. Nice all the same.

Brilliant Toby, thanks again. The plot thickens though: I have the names of two other previous owners, one in Edgware and one in Burnham, Bucks. I always assumed the name came after the boat moved to the Thames, changed by someone with an affinity to Denham, Buckinghamshire. I have a wiring diagram with "Santa Caterina Mk IV" and "Gipsy III" marked but can't be certain they refer to my boat. Hope some of that jogs a memory or two.

Just looked at the opening of Callan: Cranes near Tower Bridge!??? Now I feel old!

Toby, that is the best post on this forum ever! I used to love tracing the owners of my beloved TR7 restoration a few years back but never knew where to start with the Owl. The lady who sold it to me told me of the rumour that Edward Woodward was a previous owner but as she had been seriously stitched up when she bought it, we thought it was all part of the BS. I have mentioned the large, full length mirror on the inside of the heads door which enables one to observe one's self in action as it were. I had my suspicion that it was a pointer towards EW as someone to whom appearance would have been very important. I never bothered to chase it up to find out for two reasons: I thought it may look like I am just trying to boost the value for a sale, and secondly, knowing my luck I would have discovered he sold it to Rolf Harris or Jimmy Saville! Thanks for the information and I would love to know more about Len Frampton if anyone has any more memories. I guess W.G. Stratford would have been acting as a broker and never actually owned the boat? Kind regards Pete

Well we all think as we please. Friendly is not the issue. I didn't say vindictive wind up. I think it may be that the fisherman is dangling a bit of bait and some big ones are being reeled in!

This thread is surely a wind up?

Every organisation wants to be seen to be ticking the box that says that is was supporting it's members during this time. They all appear to be saying the same thing: "We are doing our best for you. We understand your frustration. We will ask the government for to consider our case." They just want to be seen to be doing something. We are losing around half the number of victims of the Titanic EVERY DAY.

I've just read the reviews and some people seem to have got a result by contacting their bank. Maybe worth a try? I would hurry though as Hoseasons maybe ready to go under.

Any well run marina or other business for that matter should be aware of modern communications in the form of online reviews and should making the effort to provide a good service at this time. And as we can all pick up emails by mobile phone etc. there are very few excuses for a lack of response, even if it's only an "out of office" reply.

Absolutely. I noticed the same over here in Leicestershire; nearly everyone says "Hello" and "Thank you" when moving aside to pass each other. Very pleasant indeed and something I hope stays for a long time after the crisis is over.

I agree with the above. But maybe there are a lot of people out there who have ignored the vast amount of advice on the need to look after their own health BEFORE this crisis, who would be in a far better state to resist, if they had headed it? How many people have treatment for blood circulation problems then carry on smoking for instance? I know several.