A good turnout in these difficult times. 12 Boats turned up.  24 members sat down in the sunshine, on the picnic tables, for the superb pub lunch served late afternoon by Sonia’s helpful young staff. All members had to adhere to the Covid-19 social distancing rules but this did not detract from a welcome start to the new season.

The weather was lovely and sunny for most of the weekend, but cool in the North Easterly winds, even frosty at night!

7 boats had moored overnight on the Friday, with the remainder following on around noon on Saturday. I issued copies of the new Yearbook and the “Green” book to each boat. Most of us had takeaway fish ‘n chips from the pub on the Friday afternoon, ate on our individual boats due to the cold wind.

Saturday

We sat out in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon, the men sorting out 4 or so of the pub tables into a wide circle, adjacent to the moorings, and we sat in socially-distanced small groups enjoying a good chat, whilst drinking beer & wine – as usual!

Bob and Norma popped over by car, to say hello and join members in the general chat. (Bob’s boat still having a bit of work done on it). Ian (Swallowtail) also popped in by car. Angela had circulated earlier to get the food orders from a small menu that Sonia had offered, and the food was served outside at 4.30. Very nice meals considering the circumstances, enjoyed by all. It was a lovely afternoon but it had turned cold by early evening and we each returned to the warmth of our boats well before dark.

Sunday

Weather had turned by Sunday morning, cool and overcast until late afternoon, when a bit of sunshine broke through. Most boats left before midday, leaving 4 to remain one more night. Barbara and Arthur popped over late morning by car to have a chat before most had left. Peter and Sandra had company over, and ate outside the pub at 1pm, whereas the others who stayed enjoyed a gorgeous roast dinner, served around 3pm, but eaten on our individual boats due to the poor weather. Peter and Sandra walked all the way to the “Water’s Edge” pub after lunch, about a 3 mile round trip, and even Dave and I had a short stroll along the riverside toward Bramerton. Early evening, Paul came over by car to see us, he had been busy all weekend cleaning his boat “Swordfish”, and he sat for an hour or so having a beer with Dave and I.

Monday

It was cloudy again to start with, but sunshine reappeared later to make it quite a pleasant day.

Time for the rest of us to depart back to our bases, except Dave who left early to grab a mooring at Bramerton. Peter followed him a little later, before Malcolm and I left in company just before noon.

It had been a wonderful weekend and a promising start to the new season.

The club thanked Sonia for the nice meals and the hospitality that she had provided throughout the weekend.

See you at the Loddon BBQ 22nd. May, when hopefully many of the restrictions will have been eased, allowing us to erect the gazebos for the first time in nearly 2 years.

Ken  

April 2021