dom

I'm the same. Any business not taking cards is likely to be evading tax, money laundering - or has had so many customers disputing transactions due to poor product/service that they're no longer able to obtain card services. There used to be a time when getting a card terminal could prove difficult, and fees were excessive - but that's long gone and literally anyone can now get one for around £50 or so, with fees not much more than 1%. The only exception to the rule is gun shops. You can't discriminate against age, race, gender or disability these days, but apparently it's fine to do so against law abiding, fully licensed gun dealers because guns offend some people - even when being used for pest control in food production, or control of invasive species. Many struggle to get card services, or even business bank accounts of late.

Unsurprisingly, Duncan Baker is now involved, trying to get the Post Office to pass the franchise(?) over to Tidings. I'd be very surprised if they raised any objections. Seems a logical outcome, retaining services in the village.

That sounds like a clear cut "priority need" case which would get allocated social housing. A family would normally get self-contained emergency/temporary housing?

That's fairly closely aligned with my view. The subject of the news article marked himself out as someone who either needs to curb his behaviour, or to be moved on when he started verbally attacking holiday boaters and making overt physical threats against both them and BA staff. For anyone who grew up in Broadland, that type of behaviour is tantamount to treason, as everyone recognises the importance of tourism to the local economy.

All of the housing along that side is really the bit I find most offensive, as it has ruined the outlook from the staithe and Kings Head area - which make up a sizeable chunk of the publicly accessible space in Hoveton. It never should have been allowed and particularly not to the height that it is. As bucket says though, the image quality isn't great and the scaffolding is deceptive, making it look like newer development up towards the railway bridge. It's actually just maintenance on an established property. The whole area needs Hoveton Parish Council, sorry Hoveton Community Council to step up and decide a proper plan for its future. BA are responsible for the riverside park, but are pleading poverty regarding their obligations to maintain the area, the Three Horseshoes site needs a long term solution and P&H's yard is just running to ruin. It needs a clear vision so planning follows suit but they seem more wrapped up in petty squabbles than anything of late. It also doesn't help that they employed a Parish Warden to tackle some of the lesser issues, but the person concerned went off long term sick within months of employment.

Nothing I've said is in any way aimed at, or intended to offend you MM. Hopefully you're adhering to the rules wherever possible, I doubt you've ever painted swastikas all over your boat or made death threats, hopefully you don't steal and any involvement in drugs doesn't extend beyond what's likely to be legalised in the near future. I do have a bit of a grievance with the statement that "they''ve got to be somewhere". If they're there by choice, they should be self sustaining and playing by the rules wherever possible. If they're not there by choice, that's the bit which really annoys me. Don't capitulate to the pressure to just go away and buy a boat as a supposed solution. Go and sit on the DWP's doorstep until you get housed properly. The DWP are obligated to support anyone with less than £16k in assets. If you have more than £16k, the rules say you have to use that to support yourself until it's no longer the case. I don't like the fact, as it doesn't take into account age and that the money might be set aside for retirement, but that's the rules. My main issue is with the one individual in this case, who I suspect may have fled issues on his home patch (which is obviously the opposite end of the island) and seems to be leaving a trail of junk and destruction in his path. It now seems to be escalating into unlawful encampment on, and damage to our precious Broadland environment. If he's going to start a squat, go do it on a bit of brownfield site somewhere, not a unique and irreplaceable natural habitat. I don't know what he thinks he's going to achieve taking the matter to Crown Court. Seems like all it'll result in is more adverse publicity, a full list of charges appearing in the public domain and quite possibly harsher sentencing.

I'm assuming you're referring to the housing right against the river on the left. I think most of that is over what used to be a Broads Tours wet shed. There may have been a little bit of P&H before the bridge over the dyke (there was a historic yard there at one time), but the majority of the yard beyond is all just sat there at the moment (unless anything's changed in the last few months). Hopefully, the fact the road bridge is over the access to the broad, the close proximity to the railway and the fact it regularly floods might be enough to stop it being redeveloped into yet more expensive housing.

If I'm not busy at the time, I like to ask them "when you're on your deathbed looking back at your life, how will you feel when you realise all you've done is scam the old and vulnerable?". Probably hasn't caused any existential crises, but you never know and it definitely makes them stop and think.

Meanwhile, they've allowed the subject of this thread to register a cruiser as a houseboat, seemingly because it's in a poor state of repair and lacks an engine - and despite the fact it moves regularly. I'm not sure if it's still around but, if so, it may well be one of the eyesores up the Ant on a wild mooring which was mentioned earlier in this thread. It has also spent time blocking valuable space on public BA moorings in the past.

The Trafford Estate own Wroxham broad by virtue of owning all the surrounding land (and a lot more besides). They lease it out to Norfolk Broads Yacht Club and have done since before WW2. The club have a Bosun (assuming they've now employed someone - the position was vacant recently). Not sure if they collect the fees these days, or whether they rely on honesty and people paying the club office. I suspect they may keep the process a bit unclear intentionally to deter non-members. Most people who mudweighted in the past tended to be people sailing, especially Wroxham Week (their annual regatta) or fishermen, who had a habit of getting in the way of the sailing. I've probably spent more time mudweighting on Salhouse than any other outside mooring. After completing turnaround at the yard, we'd take one or two boats to Ranworth saturday evening, have a meal in the Granary, then head back in the dark to Salhouse, mudweighing the two boats alongside one another. Next morning, we'd have to leave early to be back for a couple of boats we turned around on sundays. On a flat calm sunday morning, with the broad like a mirror, it was quite hard to drag yourself away. So much so that we'd quite often be back there for a late lunch if sunday customers turned up at sensible times. Hope you get a nice start to the day tomorrow and you'll see what I mean.

One of my greatest regrets is that I didn't spend more time with my paternal grandfather (although not entirely by choice). He was born in 1889 and lived until 1985. He grew up at a time when transport relied on horses and seeing a car would be an event. After doing an apprenticeship in carpentry he married, only for the country to go to war. After serving for the entirety of WW1, he returned to normal life. His first wife then died. Just as he found a new partner, war broke out again and he spent WW2 building aircraft. By the time he died, he'd witnessed the arrival of cars, aircraft, telephones, radio, cinema, TV, and home computers. I think those of us who are Baby Boomers or Generation X are experiencing some pretty amazing times, but The Greatest Generation really are deserving of the title. I suspect later generations growing up without first hand contact with that generation may well be the cause of many modern issues.

It used to be de rigeur for yard workers to always be fenders up, otherwise you'd get mocked off the river. My dad also had a Broom, so the same standards applied. I started out with the role of leading fender attendant, so favour the convention, but I think I'd bend the rules passing up the Ant on a saturday afternoon or similar. There's nothing worse than getting your rowlocks caught on something

There were two Golden Girls in my time (misleadingly named 1 and 2), but they were later GRP Horizon 35s bought in from another yard. I presume the one you're referring to is the old wooden aft cockpit boat, described as a Sabberton 27 on the broads database. The name suggests she was probably built by Dick Sabberton, who I worked for. I visited the yard regularly from around the age of 4, so she may well have been around at the same time I was, but I think she'd probably left by the time I actually worked at the yard. I love the colour picture on the broads database. Fairly sure it's Dick at the helm, dressed in a shirt as always, with the fenders all neatly up on deck. There was definitely a whole different level of pride in what they did back then.

I very nearly used the exact same phrase in my last message. You may well be right, but there's something I can't put my finger on which makes me think she's something else. Summercraft were real scavengers (in a good way), so I suspect it could just as easily be something odd they picked up cheaply somewhere down the line. One of their boats (non hire) was something like a harbour launch rumoured to have originally come from Hong Kong, which I remember them salvaging from the mouth of the Deben. She was powered by a Perkins 6354 scavenged from a combine harvester. It was that boat that got me and my dad involved with working at the yard.

Reading that triggered an old memory from around that time which I'd all but forgotten. Me and a few mates had been out clubbing in Norwich (I suspect probably Henry's on Rose Lane). I got talking to a stunning girl and we offered her a lift home. She was very vague about where she lived and only gave directions as we approached each junction. Turned out that "home" was actually the old mental hospital at Little Plumstead. As she got out of the car, she revealed the fact she'd been committed for stabbing her boyfriend and had slipped out for the evening

I think I've seen that (all in white?), but I'm not absolutely convinced at the accuracy of the info. It looks like Boatshed might have just taken the data from the broads.org.uk database. I'm fairly sure I can remember her being built and the year seems about right - but Bounty were churning out bathtubs around that time and I can't recall seeing another boat with that odd stepped deck (other than the smaller Freeman 32, which might have inspired it). There was a centre cockpit Bounty 35, but it was earlier and built on a Bourne 35 hull. I don't think it's a case tht Summercraft cut the lower section away, as the freeboard seems too high at the front.

I was watching that again earlier to see if there as a coaster featured. The last chapter shows one, but heading downstream onto Breydon, so possibly not fully laden. I suspect on the way up they probably produced a fair bit more wash. There are loads of pictures on Broadland Memories - several on this page,* but lots more dotted around the various galleries. * also a picture of Grosvenor Girl, who I dread to think how many times I washed, pumped out and fuelled. She was a lovely boat, but I wonder now what hull she was based on.

Every cloud... At least you've got an excuse to come back again now If you happen to come back again a bit later in the year, it's worth trying to be at Oulton on a Thursday evening when they're racing. I suspect your lad would love it.

I think that's probably a very valid comment. I suspect another key factor was also that there was far more low skill manual work available in farming and manufacturing. Someone with little education or mild mental health issues could get a farm job, often with a tied cottage and live a happy and quiet life. There was also a lot more derelict property available. When I was a kid, we lived on Park Road in Wroxham. In the 70s, a chap lived opposite in what was effectively a scrap yard. I think it might have been an old tin Methodist church or something similar which had all but collapsed. I'm pretty sure he didn't own it and was squatting there quite happily. It has since had two fairly large detached houses built on it. Around the same time, an ex partner of mine was living with her mother in a commune in Crow Hall in Downham Market - now all cleared and modernised. Then there was Argyle Street in Norwich from the late 70s into the 80s - apparently Britain's largest and longest running squat. We used to drink in the Kingsway nearby towards the end of that time, as it used to be fun watching some of the characters who came in.

I think unfortunately politics has lost all sight of the interests of the people it serves. It's now just about the opposition destroying the incumbent party at all costs - even if that means throwing our health and welfare systems under a bus in the process. Things are bad now, but I'm genuinely scared of what'll come after a general election. I'm no fan of proportional representation, but I think we probably have no choice but to consider implementing it sooner or later, as the current system is now really far too much like mob rule.

I won't tell you who 3 (possibly 4) of the boats belong to. The same person also has a "farm", which I suspect may be the structures you're referring to. You might however be able to guess who it is. Actually, quite a lot - but they don't seem to have the spine to use the more serious powers. I think we can probably all guess why.

That just looks like fun to me It's also not as bad as it used to be meeting Golden Galleon doing 15 knots. It'd be interesting to see how bad it was in the days of peak freight shipping.

I love that. It's such a Norfolk statement. Just saving that bit for posterity, so we can tell JP to politely go away when he tries to use the incident as justification for increased ranger numbers. In reality, as has often been suggested, the ranger got there after the fact.

When you say sticking on, do you mean running indefinitely, or just longer than normal? If it eventually turns itself off, it could be low pressure or a leaking diaphragm in the accumulator. If it's intermittent, it's probably going to be the pump though. Not sure if you can service a modern diaphragm pump these days.

It's only going to get worse. Bits of the Cam/Great Ouse network are rammed with them due to the excessive cost of housing in the area (although it seems to be levelling out at insane everywhere now). Bits of London canal network have towpaths lined 2 or 3 deep with them. If you frequent cheap/free boat groups on Facebook, there's a steady trickle of people looking for free boats to live on. Invariably, they tend to have fake names on their Facebook profiles, so are clearly hiding from something - presumably either debt, the law, or both. I have every sympathy for someone facing homelessness, but find the whole "liveaboard as a solution to poverty" concept annoying and objectionable for a number of reasons. Firstly, I think these people are just going to go from being on the edge of society to well beyond it - and living on a boat without the means to sustain yourself is going to be utterly miserable, probably worse than squatting on land. Secondly, the Broads (and other waterways) shouldn't be a dumping ground for society's failings - and particularly not when £8m+ a day is being spent housing people we're supposedly providing asylum to. Third, it results in a trail of abandoned boats, falling apart and sinking, the cost of which ends up with legitimate boat owners - BA appear to have paid around £2k most months last year for related issues. Lastly, with no means of income, it's obvious a certain amount of petty crime and drug dealing is going to follow. Unfortunately, organised facilities would come with various ancillary requirements - BSS testing, insurance, paying council tax, etc. The people involved are often barely above vagrancy, so expecting them to pay is unrealistic. Lump a load of non-conforming people in a single place and you're also aggregating a load of social issues in a single district. If you try and spread it out, BA are already struggling to maintain a network of moorings for legitimate users. Just to add, none of the above is a reflection on legitimate, working liveaboards who make a conscious choice to live the lifestyle whilst remaining within the law. I suspect there's a good chance I might end up amongst them when I eventually retire - another growing trend which probably does need more consideration, especially around granting planning for residential moorings.