DAVIDH

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.

The cathedral looks as though it's threatened by flooding

Can quite imagine it Matt, but in fairness, prices for overseas are artificially depressed because of the hoops you need to jump thorough to get there. If/when the need for PCR testing and traffic light notifications are abolished, watch the prices shoot up! (and maybe, see the UK prices fall as a result).

It's unfathomable to a mere mortal like me. The market is there. Nobody else is taking it up. Those boats must have paid for themselves many times over the years, so it's just upkeep expenses. Yes, many people who have holidayed on the Broads over the last two years, will likely be overseas next summer (variants allowed of course). But the overall number of boats for hire hasn't risen over that time, so assuming the number of hirers reverts back to 2019 levels, an opportunity to make money is being missed.

Hi Andrew, the prices for the NB fleet are already set and on sale. They don't seem to have dropped much from 2021 though. In terms of holidays abroad, Ryanair's O'Leary is obviously looking at the poor English summer and the fact that restrictions on overseas travel should be eased or eliminated for 2022, and forecasting a rush for holidays abroad as a result. You don't need a crystal ball to work that out, and it's the reverse of what's happened with UK holiday over the last two years. I'm still not convinced it's a free run down to holidays abroad next year though. While a large proportion of the world's population remains unvaccinated, there is still the possibility of a new variant emerging, which will turn all those forecasts upside down. Changes to the vaccines we are given should account for them, but there is, it appears, at least a six month lag for them to be changed and introduced. I can remember thinking this time last year, that next summer would see things get back to normal, in terms of holidays....then the Delta variant turned up!

Certainly, reservations are closed off for 2022 for these boats. Have they appeared on anyone's brokerage sites? (They're not on Richardsons own yet). Just wondering if someone has bought them already, and maybe planning to take up the stag and hen mantle.

Mmm, surprised at that. The Ideal 45's and Aquafibre 42's are popular with the stag and hen groups, and there's little competition outside Richardsons for that market. Perhaps they could still hold on to some of them for another season at least, if the chances of holidaying abroad get worse before they get better - new variants and all that.

Lovely photos Simon. The one looking down through the trees is outstanding. I see from the first image that you had to get in quick at Laggan to get a mooring!

I think in the sad case being referred to, they boat was turning mid-river so as to moor at the Yacht Station. It seems the boat hit the piling on the opposite side of the river (bow or stern - not sure), and that was when the poor lady fell in. So in this case, the afore warning did not work. Looking at just the blindingly obvious, it appears to me, with no experience in these matters, that this an area of design which needs to be looked at. Maybe the MAIB will enforce it.

I think the report mentioned the larger dual steer boats. When you look at some of the aft deck access some of them have, I'm wondering if one of the areas they may suggest needs looking at, is safety rails to stop anyone falling headlong into the water with so little protection. I'm thinking particularly about these type of cruisers. In view of the accident in question, they look frightening to me.

How does that happen please? What were the circumstances that caused Summercraft to no longer have the reciprocal arrangement? Is it that they need to be a member of the Broads Hire Boat Federation (if that's what it's called), and as they had stopped hiring, they weren't? I'm guessing the situation is different now, as they have started hiring again?

Not difficult to be doing well this year. Even Sandersons look to be selling out in their last year.

Looking at another thread, I was just considering what would be my favourite pubs - the places you would choose if you could only eat out once north and once south. I thought it might be interesting to nominate them here, followed by the pubs you've visited the most over your times on the Broads. They're not necessarily the same places! So for me, Favourite pubs: North: Sutton Staithe Hotel. South: The Yare Hotel, Brundall Most visited pubs: North: Bridge Inn, Acle. South: The Yare Hotel, Brundall Just a bit of whimsey on an overcast September Saturday morning.

And that strange looking house/cottage just beyond it!

You heard it here first!

Your guess is as good as any of ours - and the weather forecasters I suspect Andrew.

The same thing happened with Tranquilla (or Tresoro as it was originally called) from Richardsons. It was originally accompanied by an image of a Broadsman, and attracted a few bookings as such. They were all subsequently cancelled, so my guess is that someone at Hoseasons went through the bookings, and contacted the clients to tell them the discrepancy. That was over a period of a couple of weeks. It's OK, but it puts the customer out, and is extra unpaid work for Hoseasons. No photos of the boat exist on Silverline's website or their Facebook page, (it's for 2022 so probably isn't built yet) and I guess that's why the incorrect images have been used. As I said earlier, it would have been better to use blank placeholder or artist impression images for now.

Fair enough. I started in travel in 1970!

Vaughan, thank you for that insight, which is of particular interest to me. A couple of things struck me though. First, having an option for 72 hours while waiting for the deposit to arrive, worried the heck out of me as an agent, as not being on credit, or having credit cards for instant payment, there was always the prospect of the postal system delivering the cheque later than that 72 hour window. Also, I can recall on a few occasion how the res staff would offer alternatives, near to what you had asked for. As an example, in the first year of the Calypso's being available to hire at FW Wilds, I took my pile of coins up to the telephone box, to ascertain that the date I wanted was already taken. I remember, before I had time to be disappointed, the clerk offered the same boat with King Line. It was so new, it didn't feature in the brochure! I'm talking Hoseasons here, but i guess the methods of operating were similar. To have that level of knowledge across all the products Hoseasons sell now Including canals and holiday homes, is expecting a lot I suspect. I don't expect the Broads as an area, would warrant a department of specialists.

It's not available to hire until April 2022, but so many people are already booking for 2022, so you can see the haste to get it on sale.

I looked on Silverline's website and Facebook page, but there is no mention of the new boat, or any images.

Yes, wrong images all around..... unless Silverline have started building narrowboats for it's holidaymakers. The upper deck steering will certainly be innovative .

Hoseasons seem to have adopted a routine of advertising new boats before they receive the images from the boat's owners. I've seen it numerous times this year. I can't see how it's helpful, as anyone who goes on to book any of these holidays, will have to be contacted to tell them the boat does not match the one advertised. It makes more sense to have blank placeholder images until they arrive, which is common practice.

Could it not simply have been devised at a time when Covid was isolating many of the boatyard's staff, and as a result was causing out of the ordinary logistical problems in being able to deliver items away from the home location? If so, something to that effect added to the message would have made it softer and more acceptable to customers.