ranworthbreeze

Hi Neil, Same here, I guess as you said it is a case of waiting to see how the group develops. Regards Alan

Hi Siddy, My guess is a perished hose and pump failure/batteries, but as you say it would have taken some time. Weed hatches a great item especially when you have 30 or 40 foot of rope round the prop, we encountered this on our last visit on the canals in October, in the past we have picked up carpets and a lot of other stuff we didn't want to remove. All the joys of boating however. Regards Alan

Hi Alan, A new year and your project is almost done. Are you making the table top and will this be dropped to make up a double berth? Being as you have the use of a table saw you could make up a table top in strips of light and darker hardwood to match the style of the flooring, just a thought. Regards Alan

We are just staying in tonight maybe a glass o two of the sparkling stuff and then go upstairs to watch all the fireworks, from our bedroom windows we can see for about 5 miles towards Bawtry. Happy New Year everyone Regards Alan

A good read Paul, much in the style of Clive Cussler. Regards Alan

Hi Jon, Have you done any work on the classic woody you brought back from Brundall yet? Sorry I can't remember the name of the boat but I always liked the boat whenever we passed her. Regards Alan

Hi Alan, I have to agree with Iain it is all looking good especially the tight fitting of the joints. If you do not have one it is worth investing in a small luthiers plane (finger plane), these can have a flat or curved base and are great for finishing off work (better than a chisel on the wooden plugs). Regards Alan

In our case it would have to be "Changeover Tuesday" Regards Alan

Hi MM, Maybe I should have said turkey & chicken. Regards Alan

Tan and I set up the mincer yesterday to use up the beef & turkey. Both had to be minced up separately because I do not like turkey. We added a couple of beaten eggs to each bowl of minced meat and also added some grated white stilton cheese, salt & pepper. The above made a couple of burgers for our evening meal and the rest were frozen. The turkey could of course have been cut into pieces and frozen to add to stir fries or soup etc. Regards Alan

A good day was had by all on Boxing day, after it started snowing my mate Chris decided to take his car home and walk back, it was a wise idea Stuart left his car at the top of the drive (I had to move it this morning) in order to take Michael to work this morning his car can not cope in the snow. We had a pleasant day, sadly two of our guests could not get to us and I over catered, the best received items were the cheese scones, Mary Berry's white chocolate & ginger cheesecake, here's a link to the recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_white_chocolate_55940 Best of all were the cheese tartlets that I made of puff pastry, this recipe is one of mine. Puff pastry rolled thin (about 2 to 3mm) cut out like mince pie cases into a well greased tin, Grated cheese Salt Pepper Mustard Egg Beat up a egg adding 1/2 teaspoon of mustard (I use dried) add salt & pepper, add grated cheese (I used Sage Derby for some of the tarts and a combination of Cheddar, Edam & Cheshire for the others) .mix well. Place the cheese/egg mixture (a good teaspoon) into each the bases and place into the middle of a oven at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes or the bases have risen and are golden brown. Try the above you will not be disappointed. Regards Alan

Dug the car out this morning, ice on our road and the next, only slush on the main road. Over 9 inches of snow on the cars roof. I took our Michael to work this morning (I fitted my winter tyres on before I came down to the Broads at the beginning of December) and I needed to call into work to invoice a couple of items we had sold and take them to the post office. They are tipping -5 degrees this evening so the thaw we have been having during the day will only cause more trouble in the night and early morning. Regards Alan

Last night was utter bedlam in Sheffield, cars abandoned all over the place, no trams, no buses and no gritter's out until about 9 o'clock, reports of people in there cars for over two hours traveling less than a mile. By 10 o'clock it was still snowing and we had around 6 inch of snow, it takes less than an inch to bring Sheffield to a standstill because of our seven hills. The snow and the Christmas lights made a lovely scene, great when you are indoors. Regards Alan

Our Christmas Day was a quiet family day. Tan & I were up not too early, Christmas Dinner was going to be late afternoon so no need for turning the oven on at the crack of dawn. Tan was hungry so we had breakfast by eight o clock, Michael managed to get up before ten because Stuart & Joanne were calling in to open presents. Several packets of toffees later and everyone doing well with silly toys, puzzles and chocolate pennies in their stockings and tales of Christmases past it was back to the three of us. Apron on and into the kitchen, pots washed and prep with the meat and veg, made homemade bread sauce for Tan. After the Christmas fair it was down to relaxing watching one of the new DVD's and a glass of the sparkling stuff. Today is going to be a buffet for family & friends so it is back in kitchen again this morning to finish off cakes and savouries ready for this afternoon. So how was your Christmas? Regards Alan

Hello Marina, Glad to hear your Christmas Day celebrations went well. Did Alan like his fenders? Regards Alan

Merry Christmas Everyone xmas6 Regards Alan

Hi Mandy, I would assume that you may have the staithe to yourself. Merry Christmas. Regards Alan

The Monte Python Four Yorkshire Men sketch has a lot to answer for and other than the Parrot sketch is still one of my favourites. Buses when I last went to work on them were 10P for a 3.5 to 4 mile journey into Sheffield. Yep so full we would walk up to 3 stops before ours so there was more chance to get on the bus. The bus I tried to get was a number 3 from Mansfield (a slightly lower double decker to get under lower bridges had 5 seats per row on the upper deck and a narrow walkway at a lower level from the seats so you had to crouch down to step up to the seats or you hit your head on the roof, Regards Alan

Hi Monica, Sadly we have too many coming around where we live, it is big business. One of the neighbours was fitting new radiators earlier in year when the scrap man can around, not only were the old radiators taken but also a couple of the new ones as well. It pays to leave nothing around that they can see outside of the house. Regards Alan

Tan will always give a small donation to the Salvation Army if nothing else at this time of the year. They provide many front line services for the less fortunate in life especially at this time of the year. Regards Alan

Going down to the boat in late February to get the boat ready for the first weeks allocation onthe first Tuesday in March. Return the curtains, bedding or replace with new duvets etc, top up all cleaning materials. Check out toilets maybe fit new pumps or fit service kits. Regards Alan

I have still to do most of my Christmas shopping, its not even Christmas Eve yet, plenty of time yet. Regards Alan

Hi Bonzo, I bet you also made rafts with those lolly stick, we used to. Also the pieces of cigarette packets mounted into the bike wheels. Yes the milkman calls 4 days a week, we still have it, yes it is a lot dearer rather than the supermarkets, but it does employ someone and I tend to think of some of the older people on the estate who would really miss a milkman. Regards Alan

Hello Akmanxman18, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. I have just searched on the boat listing searches we have on our Useful Links pages sadly these have not come up with any results, was your families boat registered on the Norfolk Broads or another waterway? If you have the old registration number this might help. Regards Alan