DAVIDH

Clearly Vaughan, this was a very turbulent time in your life, and one which i guess you would not want to go back to. I can now quite understand your reaction to the images that were posted by Nigel. Please don't hold it against him. I'm sure had he been aware of the sensitivities, we would not have been as thoughtless with the post. Us non-boatyard owners (non-living in Norfolk people in fact), find the history of Broads yards fascinating, and thirst for more and more information, without registering that each boatyard closure is not just a business decision, it's often a personal tragedy in someone's life. Nigel's history of Ludham site, is really to just a means of satisfying that curiousity, but presented in an abstract way. In this case, egg shells were not just walked on, they were broken.

Well, as I'm a floating voter, I don't allegiances. The point I would like to make is that those who think of themselves as the political elite in this country, also have the mind that the rules are not made for the likes of them. Boris's dad, Dominic Cummings, Catherine Calderwood, the Scottish medical officer, Prof. Neil Ferguson, on the Sage Committee, and now Nigel Farage. Sure there will be more.

Farage's claim that he flew back the same day, and as such, was able to do the 14 day quarantine is just tosh. Because of the time difference between the UK and that part of the USA, all flights back arrive early the next morning, the 21st. And that's quite apart from the fact he would have had to change flights at one of the gateway airports within New York, Chicago, Washington etc. This means his 14 day quarantine would not end until today. The police say they are going to investigate. Let's hope they do, because this man is clearly trying to take us for fools.

A full refund according to Hoseasons! Book with confidence You will be able to choose any one of the following three options if your accommodation is not being provided for any reason, or if you cancel your booking because UK government public health measures mean you are not allowed to travel: ✓ Full refund We will refund you the full amount you have paid for your booking.

My guess is they will hire out anything they've got. They will need to to rescue their businesses. A good way to tell will be to see how many boats are left on the moorings at Herbert Woods and Barnes, at the start of the school holidays, using the webcams. Barnes have only 5 boats not due out this Saturday, at the time of writing.

Looks like the Broads will be a sell out for the school holidays. Not much left. My unscientific logs of availability show 134 boats still available to book for 7 nights as of the 1st July (mostly from the 22nd August), compared to 572 boats still available this time last year. Just houseboats available in the first three weeks of August now. There are still 3 night weekends throughout, which implies many people have booked Mon to Fri or Tue to Sat.

I would guess the later start time is to account for deeper cleaning between hires, (Silverline normally allow takeover from 2pm) and with the loss of so much business this year, I wouldn't think the thought of rotating hire-craft was even an option. Much of the bookings, perhaps up to half, will have been transferred from earlier in the season, which is why it's become difficult to find space before October.

Just had this emailed to me.

I've just looked at stats which show the level of bookings for Hoseasons for the Broads, over the summer school holidays. According to these rough and ready figures, bookings have now caught up and exceeded the level booked at this time last year. That's some tunraround in two weeks. Some of that will be people who have transferred from earlier cancelled dates of course. Definitely a staycation year.

Just in case you haven't seen it, Cerise Lady is on this video someone took today at Ludham Bridge...about 4 mins in.

Mmm, Boris is supposed to be taking the briefing this evening.

Yes Chris, I agree. Quite apart from the capacity, fewer people will be able to afford to fly if, as has been forecast, up to 3.5 million people in the UK become unemployed as a result of the virus. I do think however, that it will recover eventually. If there is a market, someone will come along and fill it.

It's also the best way to ensure your wings are clipped, and the prices go up.

To be fair, the offer of full refunds has been on their website for around 2 weeks now, so not sure why it's only hit the news today. I'm sure the prospect of litigation has sharpened their minds though.

Well that's a pleasant surprise. They are hiring from the 4th July this year and through 2021. All their boats were removed from Hoseasons, so these have been added back in again.

More importantly, it seems there was a fine for setting fire to a vessel on the waterways, which implies there was no penalty if the boat was laid up on dry land!

I agree, but it's no different to knowing whether the groups of people on a beach/in a park are from the same household. If HW do open for day boats on the 4th June, I guess they will expect people to have maintained their isolation within household groups? Can see it being difficult to give instructions on how to pilot the boat without getting up close and personal though.

Interestingly, looking at their website, you are able to book a dayboat from the 4th June. I wonder if the day cruisers have been taken away for a spruce up? I'v been wondering when the day boat operators would restart. If done properly, I can't see that there would be anything to stop it now.

She's a beautiful lady Chris. It hurts more on these special days, but that's because you found the one that perfectly matched you. When you've had such a close relationship, you tend to think that all couples are like that. But there are many who are not. Many couples break up, and never find their true match. I know it's not much of a consolation, but you really bathed in that stream of happiness denied to so many.

Agree with all of that. It's just there is currently no effective (it seems) treatment for Covid 19, where there is with HIV, so you can see the necessity to move fast on this. If HIV sufferers are in effect stabilised, the big med companies are going to see less of a return on their investment in finding a vaccine.

Either I have misunderstood you, or you have misunderstood me. I wasn't saying there was no need to search for a vaccine for Covid 19. I was saying it was not required for SARS. The country/company which discovers this vaccine, is in line to make a lot of money. Who will pay for the research? Depends on whether an agreement comes forward that it will be offered on a not for profit basis or not. If agreement is reached, then the governments of the world will fund the research, and lets face it, when you see how much this has cost the world so far, I'm sure all countries will contribute. It is after all, an investment. If agreement is not reached, then companies across the world will race to find a viable vaccine, as the one that discovers it will make a lot of money with direct manufacture and with licensing agreements across the world.

But isn't HIV successfully treated by other medication, so a vaccine isn't necessary in the same way that it is for Covid 19. And for that matter, there has been no deaths from SARS for 20 years, which makes the race for a vaccine for it, a little less urgent?

From https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2020/04/whats-the-difference-between-a-pandemic-an-epidemic-endemic-and-an-outbreak/ Let’s start with basic definitions: AN EPIDEMIC is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region. A PANDEMIC is an epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents. ENDEMIC is something that belongs to a particular people or country. AN OUTBREAK is a greater-than-anticipated increase in the number of endemic cases. It can also be a single case in a new area. If it’s not quickly controlled, an outbreak can become an epidemic.

i heard Chris Whitty say this in the briefing a couple of days ago, and thought his description a breath of fresh air in a cloud of fog. We hear every day of the numbers dying, which is a tragedy for everyone who is now grieving. However, his words did put into perspective, the chances of actually succumbing to the virus, and in my opinion, is welcome as we now have to adjust to living with Covid for many months until a vaccine is available. Most people will return to work, and life will continue in a manner that keeps the economy going, while still taking care (as much as possible) to social distance and keep safe. I am not in agreement with the view that this was all some sort of political stich-up however.

I agree with all that Marshman. The government messaging and the media attention has put everyone into a state of fear. Eventually, the government will stop the furlough payments, and at that time, people will have to reassess their own personal risk versus what will happen if they don't return to work. Clearly, guidance and regulations need to be in place to protect people from unscrupulous employers, before that can happen. I can quite understand why the messaging was so hard, but the preoccupation with what could happen, now needs to be put alongside stories of the many thousands of people who have contacted the virus, and at worst, were laid low for a few days. Waiting for the government to come out with a ruling for every scenario in life, is just not going to happen.