DAVIDH

I think it's pretty good that they give you £90 if you stay on it from Friday to Sunday! Almost as good as leaving your body to medical science...which you might end up doing looking at how stable it looks.

Stalham 3pm Saturday

Not mine. These are from someone's recent holiday. Features Stalham, Ludham Bridge, Ranwoth, Horning and Potter Heigham.

Just for balance, not just Hoseasons. Richardsons are "marginally" more compliant as they mention the two DW options in their booking conditions - which I say again, most people will not look at. However, they do not offer the option to change over to a cash deposit at the booking stage, so in the main, the customer will not know it exists. In fairness, Richardsons do show an all inclusive price on their availability listing page. I had a look at Barnes Brinkcraft, but couldn't make head not tail of it as the website doesn't seem to work very well (for me?) I'm confused by the obfuscation. What chance does a customer have?

No Vaughan, i specifically sought out the boating conditions - It just reads the same. Anyway, it's just my personal view that if each boatyard included an amount for DW in the hire charge - not listed separately, things would be much clearer for the customer. And for the record, you did explain it clearly. I had incorrectly thought that these £45 (n Richardson's case) were just put into a kitty for any repairs that were needed (which I suppose they are). But they are also protection against the excesses the insurance company would apply if a claim needed to be made.

Thanks for the expianation Vaughan. It all makes sense...... and I can see that it works for you with your background knowledge of the hire boat business. But I bet you can count on the fingers of two hands, the number of people who go on to do what you have proposed. I know you won't agree but I feel it better to include this "excess" in the overall hire cost and avoid the confusion that arises when the customer finds out there's more to pay than just the hire charge (it's more justifiable to say fuel needs to be added as nobody knows how much will be used). Plus. unless you read the booking conditions (which lets face it, most don't), you would be hard pressed to find that you can avoid the charge. Even then it's worded in such a way as to be as clear as mud. These are from Hoseasons, but i guess direct booking yards will have similar conditions.

It clearly isn't a universal insurance policy for anyone booking through Hoseasons, as it varies depending on which boatyard you book through. It also irks me that a "non refundable damage waiver" is not included in the overall hire cost, as you are unable to avoid paying it. Operators of overseas holiday were compelled by law to include all non-discretionary items in the overall cost many years ago, which stopped adverts for £xxx plus taxes etc. I know fuel is different, as it's dependent on how much you use, but not adding the Damage Waiver is just wrong. It confuses the customer, which I think is what NBD are actually trying to avoid, with their All Inclusive rates.

Oops yes they are. Well technically I'm right. Nothing is significantly less.

Good to know Andrew. Hope you're having a good time.

Does seem over the top Andy. Richardsons charge £120 for short breaks and £150 for weeks, on their larger boats. This is pretty standard across Hoseasons, though Faircaft charge significantly less, and Barnes levy up to £200 on their larger craft.

For those unable to see Facebook

I bet that was the only one they had in their "free" library.

There's also another consideration to this. When pay goes up to attract people into these many and varied vacancies, the net effect, as Mouldy says, will be that inflation will rise. It has to as the increased costs are passed on to the consumer. Inflation is controlled by increasing interest rates, to dampen down demand and promote saving. The UK has seen record low interest rates for over 10 years now, and many people have taken mortgages and business loans out to the level they can afford at today's rates. When those rates start to rise, it won't only be the pips that squeak! The Bank of England is tasked to keep inflation at or around 2%, and it's for this reason I don't believe for a minute, that despite all the talk from the government about how they are creating a high wage economy, that this was an intended consequence of Brexit.

As more people have trouble filling up, they will learn the lesson that it's not a good idea to wait until you're down to a few miles worth of petrol. I suspect people will fill up weekly where they can, so prolonging the shortages. Local BBC just reporting that out of 20 stations they called at random, 13 were out of both petrol and diesel today.

Well it looks like one of these for sale on the Norfolk Boat Sales site here: https://www.norfolkboatsales.co.uk/inventory/?post=6941 but the image has been compressed somehow, making it not look right. it doesn't seem to be on Richardson's own site yet.

And one final one from Norwich Yacht Station. I noticed the previous day that all the boats had moored at the far end of the Yacht Station, and guessed that was perhaps because it was quieter at that end. But I came across this gate, around three quaters away along. So beyond it, there weres still enough moorings for around another 10 boats. Just wondering if the Yacht Station jurisdiction ended at the gate, and beyond was come form of free moorings provided by the city?

Potter Heigham

Just the one for Ludham

Ludham Bridge

I was in Norfolk last weekend, attending the AGM of Goosander. I found some time to visit Wroxham, Ludham Bridge, Ludham, and Potter Heigham on the Sunday (by a hired electric bike from Bewilderwood). Here are some of the pictures of the day. There's a lot of them. Wroxham Wonder if Richardsons are selling these to convert to aircraft carriers. Could get a couple of Harriers on that roof!

The surprising thing, bearing in mind that the shortage of truck drivers, in part at least, has been attributed to Brexit, is that the Express, Mail Telegraph etc all "leave the EU" Supporters, are reporting it at all!

Can't disagree with you there Vaughan, other than to wonder why these effects weren't foreseen by those experts in their field, who advocated that we leave the EU. It is as a result of this, that we are short of the drivers in particular. I have a personal view that it was anticipated by those who pushed for it, but that it would be collateral damage, while those in the UK, particularly the unemployed, would retrain to take up those positions. This would have the effect of reducing the numbers claiming Universal Credit, whilst at the same time, attract more money to the Exchequer. This is apparent now, as even with the known shortages across many areas, the government refuses to do anything to open up the flow of EU workers into the UK. Of course, around half the numbers claiming Universal Credit are already working, so the pool to draw from and retrain, is that much smaller. The government is currently boasting about how (accidentally) they have laid the conditions for better pay in these jobs, but once again, this cost has to be passed on to the customer. I've just looked up that quote from Harold MacMillan, where he states "You've never had it so good". I think the last few years reflect this in terms of prices. I guess that time has now come to an end (for the foreseeable future).

It's undeniable that a large proportion of the 100,000 shortage of lorry drivers, is down to those people who returned to their homes in Europe following Brexit, not returning. Transport companies are having to pay substantially more to attract drivers, and this will need to be passed on to the end user. Instore prices will rise to cover it.

Bob often acts like a three year old in many things. He has such enthusiasm for anything he does. If you watch some of the compilation videos on Youtube, of his time on Would I Lie To You, you would see he's led a varied and surprising life, with times where he accidentally burned down his mother's house, does his own dentistry, performs as a barber to his mates, brews award winning beers, and many many other things. If you want to laugh until you're sides hurt, I recommend watching up some of these gems.