Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers

[kpnut]

5 minutes ago, NeilB said:

Spot on.  You need to save some for the alcohol !!  

In our case as 16yr olds in the Pyrenees red wine in green 1L plastic bottles with black plastic stoppers at about 50p/L. Put me off red wine for life!

[NorfolkNog]

7 minutes ago, NeilB said:

Spot on.  You need to save some for the alcohol !!  

Couldn't agree more  

[kpnut]

I decided not to go far today, just up to Womack dyke. I stayed on the PH moorings long enough to heat the hot water with the immersion heater after my shower and hair wash this morning, and turn on the electric heater to dry the towel. What I forgot to do was to dry the insides of my wellies which I had presumed got wet yesterday from my feet overheating. So on arrival at Womack dyke I had to turn the diesel heater on for that job.
It was only then that I discovered both wellie soles have splits right across. That explains the wet feet! I’ll just have to grin and bear it till my next trip as I don’t want to muck up my trainers. My wellies are ancient and have done me proud having a new role helping me to walk the Broads after being retired from allotment work. I expect the soles split in just the place where I used to push the spade into the heavy clay during 7 years of my kitchen garden job. 

Soon after mooring up, Amber Gem 5 came along, so there we were, 2 orange boats being the only boats on the mooring. We had a bit of a catch up as I hadn’t seen them since packing my boat up for the paint job.

The walk I chose was by far the cleanest, driest walk so far this trip. I went down the riverbank and along towards Potter Heigham, turning onto the causeway at the first cottage on the left. After having big issues with flooding over the winter months (in fact, the caravan parked on-site as accommodation while the house is being gutted was an island at one point) the owners have surface dressed the causeway and it was completely clean of mud - wonderful. 

Then up Fritton Road/Lane and we turned left onto the footpath that heads towards Ludham. 
With a lack of much else to take photos of, I did a little video of Finlay exercising himself. I really don’t have to do these long walks. I reckon I could just leave him to it while sitting and watching. 

 

(Not sure it’s working correctly, sorry)

He got his reward a few minutes later, ferreting about in a thicket and flushing a pheasant. He is a good boy though as he doesn’t chase after flushing, just carries on looking for more. 

We stopped in at the Kings Arms for what I thought would be a quick half (of Wherry), but I met the crew of Amber Gem 5 again, including their gorgeous husky, and didn’t leave till gone 6pm. What a joy to walk back down to the boat in the evening sun.
Two things of note at Womack staithe

- there were only 5 boats moored up, and the public WCs are closed at the moment due to the high water levels. 
 

[Lulu]

Finlay is so adorable. I do envy the obedience!  Desmond definitely has selective hearing 

[kpnut]

Did the video work Sam. It won’t work on my phone in the post. Does work in my photo album. 

[Lulu]

1 minute ago, kpnut said:

Did the video work Sam. It won’t work on my phone in the post. Does work in my photo album. 

It does on my ipad and iphone :)

[grendel]

movies you click the link and it downloads, then you can play it.

 

[grendel]

the dog whistle made me wince though.

 

[kpnut]

5 minutes ago, grendel said:

the dog whistle made me wince though.

Sorry! 

[LizG]

Eager beaver 

[Broads01]

Have I understood correctly, the folks on Amber Gem 5 have bought the boat and kept its hire fleet name (which seems to be a common choice)?

[dom]

2 hours ago, kpnut said:

My wellies are ancient and have done me proud having a new role helping me to walk the Broads after being retired from allotment work.

I've got a pair of dirt cheap Dunlop wellies and they flatly refuse to die. They've now done something like 12 years on the allotment, plus a LOT of miles trekking round fields whilst out rough shooting. In the same period of time, I've had friends complain numerous times about Le Chameau or Hunters failing prematurely. Not sure if Dunlop's quality has gone down in recent years, but they still look the same so I know what I'll be trying when the current ones finally give up.

Love the video of Finlay. Definitely 100% typical spanner behaviour. I'm a huge spaniel fan and it's a constant annoyance that I just haven't got the right home for one. I think if I do ever manage to get to a better position, I'd probably opt for a cocker. They're just that little bit calmer, and I'm not sure I've got the energy to keep up with a springer!

[YnysMon]

Loved the video of Finlay. He was so quick to pick up on the whistle. What a good boy!

[kpnut]

8 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Have I understood correctly, the folks on Amber Gem 5 have bought the boat and kept its hire fleet name (which seems to be a common choice)?

Yes, I should have made that more clear. Another ex Richos boat that gets a lot of use. Being orange, with blue canopies we often get mistaken for each other, but they have 2ft more space than me. 

[kpnut]

6 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Loved the video of Finlay. He was so quick to pick up on the whistle. What a good boy!

Not so sure Helen. If you watch carefully, he took no notice of the first whistle, probably because his head was stuck underneath a tussock. I shouldn’t have had to blow twice. 

[kpnut]

7 hours ago, dom said:

think if I do ever manage to get to a better position, I'd probably opt for a cocker. They're just that little bit calmer, and I'm not sure I've got the energy to keep up with a springer!

I’ve met some pretty crazy cocker spaniels. ‘Pocket rockets’ they call the little ones that work like fury.
Cockers are maybe that little bit less independent though, desperate to please, whereas a springer can often have a slightly more ‘I know better’ attitude when working - and they usually do know better.

I’ve eventually learnt to let Finlay get on with his work, rather than trying to dictate to him where to go. It’s not so pleasing to watch as his quartering isn’t a windscreen wiper pattern, but it’s fruitful. 

[Mouldy]

49 minutes ago, kpnut said:

Not so sure Helen. If you watch carefully, he took no notice of the first whistle, probably because his head was stuck underneath a tussock. I shouldn’t have had to blow twice. 

I wouldn’t complain Kate.  If you blew your whistle at our belligerent, eleven year old staffie, I doubt if she’d even raise an eyebrow! 

[SwanR]

14 hours ago, kpnut said:

It was only then that I discovered both wellie soles have splits right across. That explains the wet feet! I’ll just have to grin and bear it till my next trip as I don’t want to muck up my trainers.

If you happen to be at Wayford Bridge, or want to drive from Stalham, you would find wellies in the garden centre there - we often visit because we like the coffee shop, but the garden centre and farm shop make a nice little wander as well. 

[grendel]

I am sure I have a pair of wellies somewhere- finding wellies in size 14 (49.5) is not so easy, but I did find some years ago, now where they got put- well thats a totally different story

 

[grendel]

well knock me down with a feather, they are available with steel toes on ebay for just £23

I suppose I should have known, as safety footwear normally has shoes and boots up to my size (though not a great selection, usually in just 1 style for shoes, 1 for boots, and 1 for wellies.

 

[dom]

18 minutes ago, grendel said:

finding wellies in size 14 (49.5) is not so easy

It's always worth checking Screwfix for stuff like this - although, in this case, it seems like their cheap wellies end at size 13. They seem to be making a point of covering every base with their ranges, including workwear and footwear. They're also really convenient, as they seem to be setting up stores everywhere. I've got about half a dozen stores within a 10 mile radius.

[kpnut]

The wellies I like, dickies landmaster, aren’t made any more.  I could buy the steel toe cap version but it’ll be too heavy for long walks. I’ll take my time to find others so comfy that I can walk miles in them. Most are either too narrow or too soft. 

[YnysMon]

I love the wellies I bought in a sale in Go Outdoors about 5 years ago. They have a label ‘Coldene’ on the front. They are warm (padded) and very snug on my feet, so comfortable for walking (I find walking in sloppy wellies can be very tiring). The only slight downside is they are quite difficult to take off. I have to use a special welly remover gadget. 

[kpnut]

I had a quick trip from Womack dyke to Fleet dyke this morning. The wind on the bend moorings was swirling around in all directions which made mooring up difficult.

We took a walk up the riverbank and inspected the wild mooring spots, which now look pretty good and ready for the season. Hope they get used well to keep the vegetation down. 

And then we walked to Ranworth to support the Maltsters with a glass of cider. It was lovely to have the company of the Amber Gem crew again, Finlay is MOST taken with their husky, who at 15 is well past giving out hormonal attractants. They were like lovebirds, nuzzling each other!

[kpnut]

Happy people on board