kpnut

The media, parliament etc etc don't seem to to have made any connection between the loss of 0% duty on diesel fuel for propulsion for hauliers and agriculture with the rise in prices in shops. Am I wrong in thinking they now have to pay duty on red diesel?

Many thanks for those. I really enjoyed them, even though I know nothing about ‘going to sea’ -it looks scary! Loved the info about Woodbridge. My friend’s brother-in-law is vicar there, not sure if that was his church as there are two separate ones, both c of e, for some odd reason. I’ll show my friend when I next see her. And the rest of the historical info in the videos was very interesting too. You’re right to say the area is well worth a visit, by car for me though!

Sending get well thoughts xx

You’re being generous! Not rocket science.

A one man dog then! Assuming she’s not actually off colour, she won’t know what to do with herself when you get back. Beautiful dog.

I forgot to mention I saw an absolutely gleaming ‘Ruby’ woodie at Irstead staithe on my way past. I waved to them and Delilah.

Yes, you could turn with a bit of toing and froing. There's some private moorings there too, which I don't think are ever really used so space enough. Helen, Im picking mum up from the railway station on eleventh, and she's here a week. I'll be down a couple of days before to check things are ready for her. So we might well see you on your way down south.

Give it a go Helen, says me who was too scared to do so! Last day for me on the rivers, home in the morning. So a slow start at How Hill, although I had been roused from my slumber by an engine running from 7am. I expect the occupants didn’t realise how much noise the engine made as it was out the back and it was a long HW boat. To be honest, it didn’t wake me but it did disturb the peace and quiet of a few minutes in bed watching the river. The boat didn’t actually leave till 9.30. Being in no hurry whatsoever and determined to enjoy my last journey, I ambled up the Ant for a pump out at Richardsons. And a jolly good job they did too. Highly recommended. I had been assured that one of the lads at the yard would get me the fault code for the non-functioning diesel heater. Code said no fuel getting to the heater, which I had sort of suspected without knowing the reason why, as when it was turned in it got as far in the operation as ‘ignites flame’ and then switched itself back off again. It turned out to be a split in the pipe between the pump and the heater, where it had been installed with a right angle turn. Duly fixed with a proper elbow joint put in and away it went, pumping copious amounts of heat into the already hot cabin. I am so very grateful to the yard for helping out and I’m sure the bill will be affordable too as I’ve always found Richardsons to be very fair. I’m not sure whether they take on private work to be honest, but being an ex Richardsons hire boat, there is a wealth of experience to ask. Very happy and very hot, as I’d been told to give it a good 20 mins or so, I made a sandwich before setting off for diesel at Sutton Staithe. Again, very helpful and friendly, even if it had gone up another 15p a litre since last there only a week or so ago. Now £1.87. Back to my mooring for the usual clean up. I had thought I was the next one on the boat again, so wasn’t going to do such a thorough job, but my daughter and husband (that takes some getting used to, they only got married in April) are here next, as of a plan they hatched last night, so a full clean needed. At least then, I should expect the same from them! So if you see Springers Retreat out and about in early July, with a spaniel that seems to have changed colour, from black and white to liver and white, it’s those two with Finlay’s older brother Charlie. My next trip is with my 90 year old mum later in July. Home tomorrow to see if Tony has fed himself properly and to catch up on the allotments.

Very quiet at Ludham Bridge this afternoon. Loads of mooring spaces at 4.30 and I only watched one boat go through while I was eating my ice cream and contemplating life. It’s a non handover day tomorrow at Richardson’s and it makes a big difference on the river Ant. Tuesday pm to Thursday am are usually much quieter.

I managed to go under PH bridge in March and went past the entrance to the dyke but didn’t dare go down there. As you say, narrow and shallow. There were plenty of smaller boats at the moorings at the end. I’ll tell him! Anything to keep him fit over the summer is good. He’s had two good swims today and I’ve done nearly 9 miles so he’s done at least double, probably 3 times that. He had a good bit of fuss from the lads at Ludham Bridge Boatyard when I called in to say hello on my walk. Fed and watered now, checked for ticks and de-stickybudded, now asleep again. What a life! Just keep a map with you and explore. Norfolk is absolutely riddled with footpaths, just like the Sussex of my childhood. Now in Sussex you walk the footpaths from one housing estate to the next!

A 2.5 hour, 5 mile walk to Catfield Dyke, circular back through some different lanes, but not really recommended as quite a lot of road walking, even if mostly quiet lanes both ways. But a lovely permissive path down Catfield Dyke from the moorings. There is a BA 24 hr mooring there, the bit from the shed to the ladder on the photo and maybe down to where I was standing. The path probably goes just over halfway down the dyke (I was hoping maybe to get out to Hickling Broad but it turned before that) before turning at a little bench saying ‘enjoy kingfisher corner’ or something similar and making its way back along a shady track to the lane. Recommend a visit if you in the car sometime. I revisited Catfield Fen on the way back to the boat to see more swallowtail butterflies. I did spot a few but far too fast for my phone camera. I did manage 4 horsefly bites though -grrrh! Washed the Saharan sand back off the boat and moseyed on ti How Hill as the mooring spot I wanted on the river was taken. We’re going to take a walk down to Ludham Bridge when it cools down a bit, but gif now Finlay is having a snooze on the sofa.

Easy for Water Rail, you could spin her round in one move. Springer’s Retreat is 35ft and fits end to end. I’ve already turned her so I know it’s possible. Secluded, lots of birdsong, water lilies, excellent walk onto that Catfield Fen nature reserve, catches morning and evening sun, would be shadier during day I think, midgy, not much view, about sums it up.

Monday dawned bright and early - too much so for my liking, so head back under the covers for a while. When I did venture out, I realised we’d had another bout of Saharan dust That must have been what the beautiful sunset was all about last night. After a set-to on the interior of the boat, I decided my plan for the day was to get some spare keys cut for the back door, then head off somewhere remote enough to not have to socialise, after my hectic time lately. That makes me sound a right misery! I am very happy in company or with just my own company, nothing to do with getting older, always been like that. How difficult can that be? The keys wouldn’t fit, even though they looked identical and I think had been cut well. I did a little bit of filing to no avail, so took the lock to pieces to see if I could see what was rubbing. An interesting learning experience. I never knew they had a load of ‘leaves’ on springs that the key notches fit in between. Very ingenious! I am well versed with 1930’s rim locks having refurbished every door in my daughters house, but hadn’t seen inside other locks before. Sorry if I’m boring you with stuff you know! Eventually I took the keys back and was cut some more, with the same outcome. Frustrating, to waste about 3 hours getting precisely nowhere, apart from learning what’s inside of course. I oiled the mechanisms a bit and put everything back together. It can wait for another day. Shall I or shan’t I set off down the river, at 5.30pm? I have 2 more spare days before heading home so the answer was a resounding ‘yes’. Tried the nice stretch of mooring beyond Hunsett Mill on the way to Wayford Bridge but it was full of the workboats for the dredging being done in the area. So that’s out of action for a while. Every wild mooring between the Dilham turn and How Hill was taken, not really surprising given the time of day. It was so peaceful on the river, a few holidaymakers fishing from hire boats but I only saw one private fisherman. I made my way back up through Irstead which was alive with kingfishers, I saw at least 4 individuals. They must have small territories, maybe the fishing is so good they don’t each need a larger area. Resigned to returning to the yard and going out first thing, I popped into Woodsend staithe and was in luck, so in the end, I’m about as remote as I could get. Tomorrow morning I’m going to finish that epic walk and go find the head of Catfield Dyke. It’ll niggle in my head otherwise. What a peaceful end to the day, chirpy birdsong and a couple of swans to keep me company, along with Norfolk’s largest midges!

That phrase ‘oh how we danced’ got in my head, thinking it’s part of a song I used to know. Just remembered ‘oh how she laughed’. Part of ‘under the lilac’, old campfire song. Thanks for the memory. I hate ticks! The possibility of Lymes disease manifesting itself months later scares me, so I give him his monthly dose of pesticide, even though I really don’t like that idea either!

Just found the first tick of the season on Finlay, already dead due to his tick tablet. He picked it up on the walk to the beach from Horsey Windpump. This time last year he came back from there with 7. So a timely reminder to all dog owners to keep their tick treatments up to date.

Saturday 18th June Where did I leave off? Ah yes, Upton Dyke in the heat. Returning to the thread with much changed weather conditions. I gave Finlay a bit of a training session, as I often do on that nice grassy bank at Upton Dyke. We then pottered to Acle after breakfast as I wanted to see if I could jog Sue’s memory of the Acle Bridge Inn many, many years ago on a young farmers’ exchange weekend that our club had with Acle young farmers. No recollection, not surprising really as many of those weekends passed in a bit of a haze! A walk to stretch our legs to Acle Dyke and back was followed by a caffeine fix at the Dunes cafe. A shame that the forecast rain started just then so fearing the inevitable, we retreated to the kiosk, but it soon stopped again and actually stayed dry until we reached the boardwalk moorings for Hoveton Great Broad, opposite Salhouse Broad. On the way, Viv had had some rather sad and shocking news so we debated whether to continue our explorations or head straight back to Stalham. As an ex police officer, she very practically decided there was nothing she could do if she rushed home, and wanted to continue. The tern chicks pestering their parents for food on the broad cheered us up and we used Cheska’s many ID apps to identify various flora and fauna species. I would highly recommend this nature trail as a fantastic intro to the Norfolk Broads ecology, for newbies and old hands alike. Signboards are plentiful and informative, the boardwalk is in good condition and the bird hide provides binos. I may have already done this promotion earlier in the postings, apologies if so. Leaving here rather later than planned, we had to get straight back to Stalham with no stop at Gayes Staithe for fudge. All was not lost though, as we had a booking at the White Horse at Neatishead, so a quick detour by car found us buying up the fudge lady’s stocks! We were relieved to find the boxes still on display at 7.15pm. Another filling meal in the pub. Their menu is comprehensive and there was plenty of choice for one of the group who is not only gluten free but also diabetic. Even gluten free beer and she was so delighted by this that she gave the barman an a mighty kiss- he was most surprised, poor young man. We speculated that if the sexed had been reversed, the ‘culprit’ would have their day in court next week!!!! She apologised to him. I have noticed that most pubs, perhaps only on the Broads, but probably everywhere, seem to have morphed into mini restaurants. Gone are the days it seems of finding a table, ordering a drink at the bar and asking for the menus. You seem to need to book in advance, be shown to your table and waited on. I’m other words, restaurants in all but name. Little time for a social drink and then ‘shall we eat?’ I wonder if it’s to do with staffing issues in the kitchen, so table orders need timely planning. Back to the boat for homemade liqueurs and the last night of our little party. Maybe i shouldn’t post photos like that! but I reckon the illusion of being sensible is shot now anyway. Today, after 2 guests departed, Sue and I had a car trip to the seals at Horsey, walking across the fields to the beach from the national trust car park at Horsey wind pump. While there, we got a text from the others saying how surprised they were to get to Acle so quickly, seeing as it had taken ages by boat! And as a last sightseeing visit to round off this little intro holiday to the Norfolk Broads, we drove to Burgh Castle where I just knew that Sue would be wowed by the big skies and low horizons over the water and marshes from the viewpoint by the castle. All in all, a lovely few days spent with rather zany company, but I can report that all 3 are hooked on boating and the broads. Am I daft to invite them again ‘en masse’? Too late, I already have! Tomorrows job is to get the boat back together, everything back in its place and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet!

Bacon sarnies for breakfast, we all agreed a real treat to smell that bacon. Although 2 of my friends had said ‘no meat’, when I’d mentioned the potential food list before the trip, they were suitably tempted. With the temperature already rising to the ‘hot’ end, at 9.15 we set off up to Womack. Spaces aplenty and no real queue for water. Not the best stern-on mooring to be honest, what with a bit of cross wind, slightly panicky instructions from my crew who were fending off and terrified as I went even near neighbouring boats which then also made me a bit jumpy. More practice needed between us is needed I reckon. But better that they are worried about other boats rather than thinking it doesn’t matter! A visit to the baking lady for those Portuguese tarts preceded a walk down the lane to Hunters Yard, down the shady track that leads off to the left, a right turn at the junction coming out at the drainage pump at the start of the Potter Heigham chalets. I was most relieved that the riverbank path had been cut. It snaked round to Womack Dyke end and up past the dyke moorings. Finlay borrowed a bit of space next to a yacht moored in the single mooring near the dyke end for a good swim. There’s a lot of wildlife and livestock out on those marshes which led us to speculate about the amount of shade the cattle can access. With 2 of us from a farming background, I suppose this was natural. Back at the boat for a quick pint of water or two before heading for a drink in the Kings Arms. Salad lunch followed and a most refreshing cruise to show the chalets of Potter Heigham, turning in good time before the bridge as I was cautious of the quite stiff breeze, with obligatory photoshoot. My guests were a bit perturbed by HW boats doing all sorts of odd things, both under instruction and afterwards when sent out on their own. Maybe the yard really tests handling skills by making them veer across the river and turn sharply to avoid oncoming boats! And then we retraced our steps down the Thurne, and down the Bure where there were plenty of sailey boats to think about, to Upton dyke where I was extremely delighted to find the end mooring free. It’s always fantastic to moor there when hot, as the breeze is just right. The bench at the end on the grass provided a good spot for 4 slightly more than middle aged ladies to relocate scenes from Last of the Summer Wine, put the world to tights and watch the boats go by with s glass of cider kindly provided by one of them who owns a cider orchard and bottles it commercially. With the sun going down over the marshes, we again speculated why the sunsets captured on our phones never look so good as some of very colourful Facebook photos of the Broads at sunset. And so to bed in our oven of a a boat. I had hoped my friends wouldn’t be cold on their visit - no chance today, even the fridge is struggling. Tomorrow look a lot different so they will at least not go home with a false impression! Their comments - love the birdsong why have I never been here before? Those fishing rods are very long i feel so sleepy -and on that note, having just dropped the phone through falling asleep myself while writing this, I’ll call it a night.

Just checking in to see how it went. Well done Bern, Grendel and Steve.

Settled for the night now at Upton dyke and boy, it’s warm in here!!!

Thurs 16th June. What a day, I’m washed out and ready for bed. Surely nothing to do with the raspberrry vodka and wine for tea! My 3 friends had all arrived by 12, so after coffee etc we set off, with an ‘on the hoof’ dinner. Going through Irstead the Jolly Richie passed us and lo and behold, 3 sets of fancy dress and a flag appeared - my friends all togged up - lots of ‘ahoy there’ etc entertained the occupants of their boat while I gestured a sincere apology to the boat moored up at the staithe!!!!!! A stop at How Hill for the obligatory touristy things and a good run for Finlay who’d spent most of yesterday and this morning dozing in his car crate and on to St Benets. It’s interesting seeing the rivers through new eyes with all the magic of the sparkle on the water, the swans etc. Too tired to write anything else!

No fault code as yet, but have been promised use of a diagnosis machine soon. Then I’ll know what I’m working with. Many thanks for the photos.

Now that will be in my head a while (unfortunately)!

Brilliant. The brass band movement is responsible for many of the finest brass players in the top orchestral seats around the world. Their training and development set up is one of true equality. The only differential between people is those who are keen and will practice and those not. Obviously natural talent comes into it too, but how many of the worlds greats would never have known they were any good without the chance to learn, with access to an instrument on loan? Saying that, Richard, my son, did not go through that route. When he was three he saw a trombonist on TV and said that’s what he would play. I think he thought everyone played an instrument ‘cos his big sister did, as did me, his mum and his grandma. So come primary school and school music service provision, he started on cornet as his arms were too short for the trombone, but age 8 he swopped over. He was fortunate enough to have a specialist trombonist as his cornet teacher and Pete then stayed as his trombone teacher all the way to conservatoire auditions. He chose Glasgow, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to be precise, after being offered scholarships there and at the RAM in London. And he’s still in Scotland, 11 years on from leaving home for college, still blowing down a piece of brass tubing for a living!! Covid threw a bit of a spanner in the works for a musician just establishing himself, but after delivering pizzas to the hungry folk of Cumbernauld for a while to pay the bills, he’s back on track. I go up there a few times a year, timing my visits with performances I particularly want to go to. You ought to go back to it, says me who lapsed from playing the bassoon many years ago! I sold it to pay for a new trombone for Richard when he went to college. Havd a listen to Ferdinand David trombone concerto and the Launy Grondhal, both played by Christian Lindberg. I’m sure they’ll both be on YouTube. He has the most amazing tone. You might be able to find Ole Olsen concerto as well but it’s not so well known. Richard played the UK premiere with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra a few years back. Wierd how as boating thread meanders around through many other topics. Sorry!

Ooh, thanks for that Karizma. I can feel my confidence growing that it might not end up being quite so costly as imagined.

What a lovely river. I always think of the Thames as being the bit through London, how mistaken am I?