The arrival of some sunny and warm weather provided the opportunity at short notice for a day trip on Lady Martina along the River Bure with my new friend Arabella and her daughter Harriet.
Lunch beckoned at the New Inn as we sat by the river to start with and the nearby maggot dispenser proved useful, as we needed the best bait for some fishing. However, the wasps made poor company, (despite some quickly-improvised wasp bottle wasp traps that killed a dozen of them) and we soon moved on to "The Galley" for an excellent coffee and provisions for our meal later.
Lunch beckoned at the New Inn as we sat by the river to start with and the nearby maggot dispenser proved useful, as we needed the best bait for some fishing. However, the wasps made poor company, (despite some quickly-improvised wasp bottle wasp traps that killed a dozen of them) and we soon moved on to "The Galley" for an excellent coffee and provisions for our meal later.
We then left Horning and cruised upstream to Salhouse Broad where we first picked up some ice creams from the Ice Cream Boat and then moored up to try some fishing and sunbathing.
The sunnier spells created the odd bikini opportunity but this August summer month has been a mixture of cool breezes and showers and we were lucky to get some warm sun before the inevitable rain arrived.With the covers up, we cruised back in good spirits despite the unfortunate acquisition of some unwelcome substances, which were a product of a short shore excursion. Once the source of the unfortunate smell had been tracked down, the combination of a bucket of river water and the convenience of "gel" sandals soon remedied that whilst we were underway!I did not think that my guests noticed too much that I was making way slowly to time our arrival back at Ropes Hill Dyke to coincide with the return of the warm sun.Later on, as the weather cleared again, the most successful fishing was to be had right off my own moorings and a succession of roach sacrificed themselves to Harriet's rod and float-fished midwater maggots as a fitting climax to the sporting side of the day. It was my task to act as fishing coach as a nice barbeque and salad was prepared for us on the balcony courtesy of my honoured guest chef.
It was sad to have to finish a splendid day, but an evening Salsa dancing class beckoned for me and my guests had plans for the weekend, but the rods were put away with the promise of further opportunity before too long.Being on extended shore leave and hosting regular visits from friends here in Norfolk has been a very pleasant change to the non-stop cruising around Europe in recent years. This has easily become a pleasure rather than a frustration as the house, boat and barbeque set had been sadly under-utilised until this summer.
