To roughly a quarter of the world’s population this is the year of the Dog, our Chinese takeaway annual calendar says so. Alongside on the Boatshed wall is the other definitive calendar, which regulates our life at Riverside. It’s the year’s tidal predictions and moon phases. In the autumn and spring months we highlight the big tides and plan out yard schedules and holidays around these events.

The Boatshed is below high tide level, it used to flood most every high tide, but automatic pumps and temporary floodwalls have kept us dry most days this last five years. We still get caught out, strong Northerly’s off Iceland and Scotland does strange things to Tides in the North Sea. I can safely bet if its past midnight, below zero outside and half a gale blowing, the high water alarm will sound. Then its dash to the yard, on with lifejackets and waders, crank up the big diesel pumps to lift away the water that seeps up through the land. If we are late and the rising tide wins then the boatshed can flood to three or four feet and we stay wet for weeks.

For some years the Environment Agency and its predecessors have been discussing flood defence in the Riverside area of Brundall. Various options have been considered, even the favourite of collectively chanting ‘Global Warming’ and abandoning the area to its fate. Thank goodness that option was not pursued.

Since late May our peaceful Marina has sprung into life 07:30 with a small army of men arriving with huge digging machines, chainsaws spluttering and the reassuring clunk of sledgehammers on oak joining in with the noise of the wildlife. Stout floodwalls lined with blue clay have sprung from the ground and very fine they look, much better than the puny efforts we built. Without a doubt, our ground will still seep as the water levels rise but that is planned for and can easily be removed with small pumps. The chaps from the E.A. and Nuttalls have done a grand job and for the first time we are confident we can have a dry boatshed and decent working conditions this winter.

So I think 2006/7 will hopefully be the year of dry, warm feet for us, not the Chinese dog. Who knows we may even be confident to move over the tidal calendar for something more traditional and interesting?