Corona Virus

[SwanR]

Incidentally, I unreservedly apologise to @princess and @JennyMorgan as only two to three weeks ago on this thread we were talking about whether or not holiday companies like Haven should be starting to allow people to cancel or rebook holidays. And at the time I took the view that as businesses they couldn't afford to.

Well look where we are only a relatively short time later. So much of the leisure industry shut down and a lot of our day to day normality on hold. 

All I can say is that your crystal balls must have been working better than mine and I didn't quite see this coming!! 

Ooops ... not allowed to do that any more. 

[Vaughan]

From Blakes catalogue of 1968.

[Steve2604]

See this is my other issue.... My employer doesn’t want people cancelling annual leave. I work food can manufacturing with approx 200 employees. Like you said they don’t want everyone being off later in the year and people cramming their holidays in.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, SwanR said:

Ooops ... not allowed to do that any more. 

Do what Mrs SR?

[grendel]

if the government imposes total lockdown, then it wont (cant ) last forever, i do a 124 mile round trip daily to work, only about half our team can work from home as we dont have that many laptops, my work assists every one of the designers. we work in the electricity supply industry, which could be described as a critical industry, but if no new build work is happening then our work will eventually stop too, but there again our outside staff could be critical to keep electricity supplies running by fixing faults, and they would need designers to do the designs for that, to make sure the construction teams were working safely.

I would imagine that lockdown imposed by the government would mean the boat hirers would have to work out a deal with their customers for either a refund or rebooking (as i would imagine that my booking fee has already paid for some of the winter maintenance of the fleet.)

i am willing to wait until closer to the time i am due away to find out, and will take my break as long as i can do so with good conscience that i am not going to cause any issues by doing so.

[vanessan]

9 minutes ago, grendel said:

i am willing to wait until closer to the time i am due away to find out, and will take my break as long as i can do so with good conscience that i am not going to cause any issues by doing so.

That sounds like a good plan to me. As SwanR said earlier, look how things have changed in just a short period of time. We haven’t reached the ‘critical’ time yet from what the scientists tell us so we have no idea of how things will look next week let alone next month. I know it’s making everything uncertain but we are all in this together and we will all suffer in one way or another. Sadly, some more so. 

[grendel]

the big issue is the amount of disinformation and alarmist posts going around social media, we have had to delete several posts quoting absolute rubbish as fact, we have decided there to only allow posts quoting figures from the nhs or .gov.uk on the facebook group.

[Vaughan]

27 minutes ago, grendel said:

I would imagine that lockdown imposed by the government would mean the boat hirers would have to work out a deal with their customers for either a refund or rebooking (as i would imagine that my booking fee has already paid for some of the winter maintenance of the fleet.)

I am sorry Peter, but I don't think you can say that, especially in view of a moderation post that you have just made on the facebook page.

In addition I don't think you are right in what you say. The boatyards are totally correct to stay with their conditions of hire until Government says otherwise.

[grendel]

1 minute ago, Vaughan said:

I am sorry Peter, but I don't think you can say that, especially in view of a moderation post that you have just made on the facebook page.

In addition I don't think you are right in what you say. The boatyards are totally correct to stay with their conditions of hire until Government says otherwise.

thats why i said in case of a lockdown imposed by the government, at that point i would have thought their conditions would change, as the government would have said otherwise.

[Vaughan]

12 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

the boat hirers would have to work out a deal with their customers for either a refund or rebooking

That is where I disagree. The customers would have to work out a deal with the Government and also with their own insurers. The boatyards haven taken the booking in good faith and in accordance with legal business practice. They are not at fault.

By the way, of course your advance booking has contributed to the maintenance of your boat. It is a seasonal business, which has to plan for the fact that most of its expenditure is on winter maintenance. Perhaps you have never seen the figures, for a boatyard's winter overdraft!

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

The boatyards haven taken the booking in good faith and in accordance with legal business practice. They are not at fault.

In deed they are not but these are exceptional times. My understanding of English law is that 'it should be seen to be reasonable' and perhaps some give and take can be construed as being reasonable. 

As things are the 'product' is changing, if only because both pubs and restaurants are closed. Once again, no fault of the yards, but is the holiday that is now on offer either fit for purpose or likely to meet expectations? 

As it is I doubt that it will be possible to squeeze 16 or so weeks of holidays into the last 8 weeks of the season. I'm afraid that there will be lost holidays all round. 2020 will be a memorable year, but not for holidays. In practical terms I suspect the best that we can reasonably expect is that our 2020 bookings will be postponed until 2021.

[Vaughan]

35 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

In deed they are not but these are exceptional times.

So what exception is a boatyard supposed to make, if it wishes to stay in business? It must wait for government decision, as we all must. We have seen that yards are already allowing customers to change their booking dates free of charge. That, in itself, is a gesture in addition to normal conditions of hire.

40 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

As it is I doubt that it will be possible to squeeze 16 or so weeks of holidays into the last 8 weeks of the season.

I rather doubt that anyone is looking at a 16 week season right now!

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

So what exception is a boatyard supposed to make, if it wishes to stay in business? It must wait for government decision, as we all must. We have seen that yards are already allowing customers to change their booking dates free of charge. That, in itself, is a gesture in addition to normal conditions of hire.

I rather doubt that anyone is looking at a 16 week season right now!

Re 16 weeks, I doubt it too! However, only so many people who had booked up at the beginning of the season will be able to exchange their dates for the back end, fair chance that there simply won't be the capacity available.

As for what exceptions can a yard make, exceptional times and I suspect that in typical, laid back Norfolk Broads style most yards will go the extra fathom or two but there has to be a reasonable limit as to what they can do. . 

At best I suspect that we can expect little more than an eight week season, probably not even enough to cover running costs let alone make a profit. 

I do wonder, and worry, as to how the small yards, forum member Andy at Freedom springs to mind, are going to cope. 

[Woodie]

Just received an email from the Caravan and Motorhome club stating all club sites and 5 van certified locations are to close with immediate effect until the end of June!

seems there will be increasing pressure on the leisure industry as a whole curtail activities.

[CambridgeCabby]

If , heaven forbid, a closure is made for pleasure craft on the Broads it poses a question for those who are constant cruisers and have no fixed mooring 

[Woodie]

Think the hire yards will find it increasingly difficult to continue operating within the Government guidelines, which could give them liability problems with staff or customers.

Difficult all round really.

Stay safe everyone, it will pass 

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, CambridgeCabby said:

If , heaven forbid, a closure is made for pleasure craft on the Broads it poses a question for those who are constant cruisers and have no fixed mooring 

I doubt that the Broads themselves will be closed, what with being tidal waters. However, travel restrictions might prevent people from getting here. Indeed, I suspect that will kick in before Easter.

[Meantime]

Unless off course the BA issue special directions, but lets not speculate on any measures and wait and see what transpires.

[YnysMon]

Well, I just glad I’m over here and not across the pond. Graham’s brother phoned him yesterday. His brother lives somewhere south of LA.  At the time he phoned he was in a queue (nicely spread out I gather) outside of Costco. There were a couple of cops keeping an eye on things. Apparently sales of guns and ammunition have gone through the roof, and they sell those things in Costco and Wallmart.

So, worry not about bog roll wars given we don’t have to contend with anything (potentially) worse!

[Turnoar]

JM highlights that we’re not fully locked down yet, albeit National Trust have seen sense given that Joe Public took the mick when offered the freebie, planes are still flying in and out, the minority is all it takes to keep feeding the fire 🔥 

Popped down to my local shop earlier for some milk, kept my distance, after a couple of bargers unwittingly queue jumping the shopkeeper politely told a chav to wait his turn. I expressed my disbelief that people cannot have seen the advice, he replied that he’d given up explaining to customers about giving him and everyone else space. At this rate it’ll be 18 months before it’s business as usual, I regret to say that I think enforcement is the only way forwards, the idiots of society will not accept advice.

[lakesailor]

Just received an email from waverney river centre as on there mailing list and they have decided to close to visitors from tomorrow ( Monday ) until end of April at earliest .
Sad to hear.

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, EastCoastIPA said:

Unless off course the BA issue special directions, but lets not speculate on any measures and wait and see what transpires.

I'm not convinced that they can, certainly not a blanket closure. I think that the BA would be on very thin ice if they tried it and anyway, what would be gained?

[Turnoar]

Attended petrol is back! At least in one garage at Wisbech. Wonder if it’ll catch on?

[JennyMorgan]

35 minutes ago, Turnoar said:

I regret to say that I think enforcement is the only way forwards, the idiots of society will not accept advice.

How right you are.

[CambridgeCabby]

Just now, Turnoar said:

Attended petrol is back! At least in one garage at Wisbech. Wonder if it’ll catch on?

Probably as , according to Addenbrookes hospital , there has been concern over petrol pumps being a common factor in the spread of Covid-19.

plus of course everyone is nicking the gloves