The season is got off to a good early start; the mild weather has encouraged many to get out on the water for early spring cruises. The high winds this winter have deposited a fair amount of rubbish in the rivers and the price is being paid with a considerable upsurge in fouled propellers and damaged sterngear. Plastic bags and rope are the usual culprits but even a car tyre was wound around one propeller.

The boat shed again is full of wooden boats, some very serious restoration work going on and the production of sawdust is now reaching epic proportions. Wooden boat building is such a rare sight these days and we are getting inundated with questioning visitors armed with cameras. We should sell viewing tickets and become a tourist venue.

Good quality moorings are getting difficult to find and most providers have “waiting lists”. The story is the same throughout the UK and the planning process has become a serious obstacle to any waterside or marina investment programme. The region is forecast to expand considerably over the next two decades with inward migration and new housing. Next to fishing I think boating is the next most popular participant sport and future growth in our leisure activity seems to have been overlooked by many in local and national Government. To the many disciples of the various ministries of misery the nation spawns, boats, marinas and riverside development would appear to be considered with the same odium as 4x4’s, mobile phones and air travel. The latest fashionable cult of global warming theory and consequential rising sea levels is now used as the latest excuse to stifle any development on or near a flood plain. The economic contribution to the region’s wealth and health, with boating and waterside activity is considerable. Our sport cannot afford to stand still; it needs constant improvement in facility and infrastructure. Tell your neighbour, lobby your M.P. , write to the Prime Minister , behave like a European and demand some action.

understand Reedham Swing Bridge has been playing up since new rails were laid. Scurrilous rumour suggests it is out of balance and the bearings have collapsed, serious restrictions on opening were mentioned. The Met. Office is forecasting a record hot summer, are we in for a season of expanded rails and jammed bridges? They never have this problem with bridges in Holland, why here?