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Coronavirus And The Broads


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6 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

Please excuse the slight "thread bomb" but it's nice, to talk about the spring.

A perfect spring morning right now, not even a slight breeze but the sky is blue, no haze, the sun is shining, it's wonderfully quiet. Two ducks have nested in our front garden this year and occasionally remind us that they need feeding. They either quack or repeatedly tap their beaks on the patio door, totally ignoring social distancing! 

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Nice one.  We seem to have been chosen by a pair of nesting blackbirds.  Each early morning they insist on chucking out moss / earth of two in particular pot plants all over the shop. If My local fishing tackle shop was open I would have been and bought them some worms before now

Griff

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Vaughan, do you know what these are?

Pic's a bit blurred as I snapped them on zoom as we cruised past.

It was on the section of canal heading towards Sète, coming out of Aigues Mortes, just before it rejoins the main Canal du Rhône à Sète.

Do they live in holes in the river bank like the one bottom right in pic?

DSC01007.JPG

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8 minutes ago, webntweb said:

Vaughan, do you know what these are?

Pic's a bit blurred as I snapped them on zoom as we cruised past.

It was on the section of canal heading towards Sète, coming out of Aigues Mortes, just before it rejoins the main Canal du Rhône à Sète.

Do they live in holes in the river bank like the one bottom right in pic?

DSC01007.JPG

They look like European Bee Eaters to me, and they do nest in colonies in burrows a bit lit Sand Martins

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Yes they are bee-eaters (actually they eat wasps!) and I know exactly where you took the photo!

They need a source of their food and a suitable bank of sandy soil to nest in, but are not necessarily river birds, like a kingfisher. In this case, they are in the alluvial sandy soil of the Rhone Delta, which also grows the famous Listel rosé wine. Sadly, the nesting site in your photo has now mostly been lost owing to the erosion caused by the squat effect of the much bigger 1200 ton barges which now use the canal.

I see quite a few of them flying around here, so there must be a suitable sandy bank somewhere near! They also eat the Asian hornets, which is a good thing!

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On 10/04/2020 at 11:41, JennyMorgan said:

I have just returned from my shed, after a good ponder and enjoying the sound of silence. Not absolute silence though, those blessed bees and cooing pigeons were quite noisy, plus the whistle of the boiling kettle!  

I'm not writing this seeking argument, although I don't doubt that the usual combatants will respond but hey-ho, that's forum life.

As one who can no longer walk any distance in reasonable comfort I am seeking an alternative form of exercise, considering either rowing or 'paddling my canoe/kayak'. Only I can't, the BA says so. I could go running, walking or get my bike out, the government says that I can, but physically I can't. Now, just in case anyone misunderstands me, I am totally supportive of social distancing. I have a daughter that is directly involved with treating Covid 19 patients thus I do have every sympathy with the NHS and the risks that we are all faced with. No, my issue isn't so much now, it's tomorrow and the days after.

So, why am I worried? In a nutshell it is the slowly changing face of the Authority. Make no mistake, I totally agree with & support the dissemination of advice and information but we are now being told that if we are naughty boys and girls the Rangers will report us to the Police. Some of you will probably think or say, why not? To be honest, I wouldn't blame them but I still feel uneasy about this change of roles. We have certainly witnessed a creeping and sometimes unwelcome change of ethos at BA Towers.

It is not the role of the Rangers for one thing although it's arguably reasonable. I've long regarded the Inspectorate/Rangers as my friends, having been on first name terms with many of them over the years. Decent people, generally fairly laid back but there if and when I have needed them. Directives have been issued in the past frowning on fraternisation but largely these have pretty quickly been forgotten, at least seemingly so, friendships have continued. The Rangers are the face of the Authority, and largely the friends of the boating community. Advise us, yes, perfectly reasonable but reporting us to the Police, not so sure. An unwelcome change of ethos, possibly? 

I well remember the debates at the time of the creation of the Authority, questions being asked about the title. Authority in name but how far should that role go? I don't know about you but I always feel a degree of unease/distrust when talking to police officers, don't know why, but I do. I should hate to feel that way when talking to a Ranger.

This is very much a personal response. Very clearly the present situation will change our country, I do have my concerns. I would like to see the Broads at least return to its old self as soon as possible. I just don't want to see the Ranger/Public relationship being damaged. 

Argue if you must, but that is NOT the purpose of this posting. I just hope that the Authority takes heed and questions its role, just how far should it go?

I would hate to witness the historical repore between the Rangers and stakeholders being damaged.  The Rangers themselves are a pretty wise bunch, not so sure about their boss though! At the moment it does seem that there is a determination by the Executive to further distance itself from us 'Little People'.  Got that off my chest, enjoy your Easter.

Vaughan, wonderful post, thank you. 

Peter,

If we weren't seen to be sharing and supporting the Government message then we would be equally criticised by those on the other end of the spectrum for not doing enough. Whether individuals like it or not we are a highly visible 'authority' to those interested in the Broads and so we have an important responsibility to help get the messaging out. We are aware that our messaging might sound a bit firm, but from a looking at national and regional examples its the most effective way of getting people to listen, which is of course the most important thing right now.

Our role, as it has been for other National Parks, AONBs, DMOs and other organisations is to assist the Government with getting the messaging out and making sure that those in their own little patch (in this case the Broads) are aware of the guidance, and to support the enforcing authorities (in this case the local police) with them taking action if required.

Our Rangers aren't going around ticketing people, but we are keeping an eye on things and helping the powers that be take action if needed. We have had many years working alongside the local police force, and this instance of us helping them to enforce Government restrictions to keep us all safe is no different.

We understand your concerns about kayaking/canoeing if you live next to the river (non-essential travel is clearly forbidden at the moment) in comparison to say cycling, but the guidance on paddlesports has been provided by British Canoeing and in our opinion seems sensible when you consider the risk factors of paddling on a river alone. Again, we hope that people can read the advice and make their own informed decisions.

Again, we'd like to express our thanks to everyone for their ongoing understanding and co-operation. Hopefully we will all be back out on the water soon.

Tom

 

 

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15 hours ago, BroadsAuthority said:

EDIT

We understand your concerns about kayaking/canoeing if you live next to the river (non-essential travel is clearly forbidden at the moment) in comparison to say cycling, but the guidance on paddlesports has been provided by British Canoeing and in our opinion seems sensible when you consider the risk factors of paddling on a river alone. Again, we hope that people can read the advice and make their own informed decisions.

Again, we'd like to express our thanks to everyone for their ongoing understanding and co-operation. Hopefully we will all be back out on the water soon.

Tom

 

 

Tom, 

I would hope that the BA has shared this stance with a certain Thorpe-based canoe hirer who was under the impression (at least in what he said to me in a Facebook rant) that the BA had endorsed his stance that canoeing was exercise and that he should be allowed to continue to hire boats during the lockdown.

 

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On 10/04/2020 at 11:41, JennyMorgan said:

As one who can no longer walk any distance in reasonable comfort I am seeking an alternative form of exercise, considering either rowing or 'paddling my canoe/kayak'.

Have you thought about a rowing machine or similar exercise equipment? I'm sure there's something out there that should be ideal.

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1 minute ago, floydraser said:

Have you thought about a rowing machine or similar exercise equipment? I'm sure there's something out there that should be ideal.

I have but it's a bit nonsensical when you consider  that I can do the real thing, and get fresh air. Those who wish to ride their bikes clearly do so, are you suggesting that they resort to a riding machine or that walkers resort to a treadmill rather than the real thing?

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8 minutes ago, floydraser said:

Have you thought about a rowing machine or similar exercise equipment? I'm sure there's something out there that should be ideal.

Or maybe in the months to come we will all find ourselves sitting in our living rooms doing our exercise - as well as our only social interaction - on Peloton rowing machines?

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 I suppose one argument could be that any casual onlooker may not be aware that JM is a riparian resident and might think he is breaking the rules or if he can do it why can't I?  

Great sympathy with JM of course but just playing devils advocate. 

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57 minutes ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

Tom, 

I would hope that the BA has shared this stance with a certain Thorpe-based canoe hirer who was under the impression (at least in what he said to me in a Facebook rant) that the BA had endorsed his stance that canoeing was exercise and that he should be allowed to continue to hire boats during the lockdown.

 

Are you able to PM me some more details please Andrew? I'm sure Control are already aware but I can pass it on anyway. Thank you.

If you take the Government info at face value, where exactly 'paddlesports from your back garden' fits in could be regarded as a bit ambiguous. However by the nature of the word 'hiring' it largely implies they are providing canoes to visitors, which is clearly against the restrictions (as there shouldn't be any visitors anyway).

Word from Lucy, our Head Ranger, is that the waterways were very quiet over the weekend and people did a great job of following advice - with a few exceptions as always. We kept an eye on some hotspots and passed information over to the police if needed.

The majority of calls/emails we received were apparently about people working on their boats and tending to mooring spots. Some of the footpaths were quite crowded in places too so I hear.

Tom

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At the end of last season, some of you may recall we made the difficult decision to give up boating as, age having caught up with us, the maintenance etc. had become too onerous. I'm so glad we made the decision at that time as  if,  on top of everything else,   I was champing at the bit to get down to the boat I'd have felt 100 times worse now than I do.

 

Carole

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Carole,yes it's very much a double edged.I as I said very much looking forward to getting  back on the boat when possible. Of course worried  about staying well,money is a concern,and its money sat in the river doing  nothing. The main thing is for us all to stay safe and get over this madness as soon as we can.

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