Their holiday lodges and penthouses are great for a short break or holiday at any time of year, featuring fabulous views across Carlton marshes, and with unlimited use of the pool and spa included in the price. The Park also has a friendly pub, large shop and day cruiser hire.

If you're planning your 2012 holidays and fancy a few days on the water, why not base yourself at Waveney River Centre's marina and enjoy a series of day trips with a guaranteed mooring at night, complete with use of the swimming pool and luxury showers? Or for a Broads holiday with a unique twist, combine your boating journey with a few days camping or a break in one of their lodges.

Waveney River Centre holds the David Bellamy Gold Conservation Award and last year was a triple winner at the EDP Norfolk Tourism Awards - winning Best Holiday Park, Best Broads Experience and the Customer Care Award. This year they are finalists in the EDP Business Awards (Environment and Sustainability).

Check out their website at http://www.waveneyrivercentre.co.uk for full information and a video tour.

Or make friends with A Fish Called Eddie and get all the latest news - http://www.facebook.com/afishcallededdie

James Knight
Waveney River Centre

Wavian Jerrycans, Jerry Cans, Gas Cans, Fuel Cans, Petrol Cans, Diesel Cans . . .
Welcome to our range of top quality Jerrycans. Using the original design and then improving it, our cans are manufactured to a high standard and we are proud that they have been referred to as the ‘best Jerrycans in the world!’
Please compare the quality of build, the extra features and fine paintwork - more than adequate to meet our guarantee of 5 years under normal use. Examine the large breather pipe, essential for easy splash-proof pouring.

Our jerrycans are available in a range of colours, 5 litre, 10 litre and 20 litre, with optional Spouts, and including 20 litre WATER CANS.
Check out the internal lining created by special process and with a formulation which ensures adhesion and protection even with rough handling. This means no flaking paint or rust contaminating the fuel.
Every can is tested before it leaves the factory. Beware of cheaper/lesser options!Wavian Associates was formed in 1996 by the founder Barry Webster and has grown to be one of the largest suppliers of Jerrycans and associated products in the UK.

We operate from offices and large warehouse in East Anglia and distribute our goods mostly within the UK but also Europe, the United States and other countries around the world.

Our customers benefit from high quality products designed to be practical, easy to use and built to give many years of service.

Whether you are looking for one item for use at home or work or are resellers looking to purchase larger quantities we are able to help with a friendly, efficient service.

You can now buy cans direct from our online shop at

At least half of the entries each year are new and, as teamwork and timing are more likely to win the day than physical prowess, everyone has an even chance. Companies from around the region that have so far entered teams include ATP, Barchester Healthcare, BBC Radio Suffolk, Elite Interiors, Howes Percival LLP, IDM Electrical, Marriott Sprowston Manor, Morgan Sindall, Orwell Motorcycles Ltd, Ransome Mobility, Seajacks, Snelling Business Systems, STL Technologies and St Elizabeth Hospice. All will be seeking to topple the returning Great Yarmouth-based team from Expro North Sea off their pedestal as reigning champions.

But, with more than one prize on offer there really is something for every team to aim for. Trophies will be presented to the winning crew, the top mixed crew (minimum 5 ladies), the ‘best dressed’ crew and the crew raising the most money for St Elizabeth Hospice who will also receive a full day of spa, gym use and lunch at the Marriott Sprowston Manor.

Exciting, colourful and great fun, no previous experience is required to enter a team of up to 11 people into the event, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. The Festival promises a fantastic day for competitors and spectators alike with street entertainment, funfair, inflatable activities and plenty of food and drink for all the family on the bankside. There will even be a flypast by a Battle of Britain Dakota! The Festival is supported by The Lowestoft Journal, Waveney District Council and BBC Radio Suffolk.

Teams entering the Dragon Boat Festival are encouraged to raise sponsorship for official Festival charity, St Elizabeth Hospice, who are dedicated to helping people living with a progressive illness and supporting their families free of charge in the region.

Douglas Flood, St Elizabeth Hospice’s Income Generation Manager, comments: “We are encouraging as many businesses, clubs and groups of friends as possible to take up the challenge and enter a team in this year’s Dragon Boat Festival and raise sponsorship for St Elizabeth Hospice. By entering a team in this fun event you will be helping us to raise awareness of the services we provide free of charge in the local area as well as raising funds which will help us to continue to provide these services in future.”

To make sure your company, club or group of friends is on the start line on Sunday 27th May please call Gable Events on 01780 470718 or visit the Festival website at www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/eastanglia

Galleon Storage & Mooring at Puddingmoor Beccles, has invested £500,000 in transforming a run down yard into one of the most state of the art and environmentally friendly yards on the Norfolk Broads.

Among its eco-friendly features is a unique decontamination facility, which removes toxic chemicals from hull wash water and bilge water. After the boats are washed down in a specially built bay the wash water is stored in a decontamination tank. It is then run though a WashTek filtration system and 98% of the pollutants are absorbed by cartridges before the clean water is returned to the river.

The American WashTek system is considered to be the most efficient equipment of its kind in the world and it can be mobilised to deal with oil and diesel spills.

The Broads Authority's Sustainable Development Fund has contributed £12,500 to the project.

Conservation Officer, Andrea Kelly, who has worked closely with the yard, said: "This is an innovative boatyard development which has adopted very good practice in protecting the Broads from pollutants, and we hope other boatyards will be inspired by it."


The yard is also the first on the Broads to offer a 'dry stack' system of boat storage which does away with the need to antifoul boats. The yard is able to store boats up to 33 ft long out of the water, launching them when owners wish to use them, saving the cost of antifouling and the cost to the environment.

The yard also offers three EZdock pontoons for storing small boats out of the water.

To add to the yard's environmental credentials the navigation lights marking the entrance from the River Waveney are solar powered.

Work to the yard has included dredging out and piling a yacht basin, building a slipway for the launch and recovery of 'trailer sailers' and secure facilities for storage of cars and trailers. There are also ten berths for boats either awaiting their owners or left ready for returning to the shore after use.

The man behind the venture, Mr William Bent, said: "We were concerned about a lot of antifouled boats being in a basin where there were no tides to sweep the pollutants away. Although I'm not obsessive about being green I think everyone should do their best to protect the environment.

I adopted the dry stack system because of the limited bankside moorings and slipways in the area. I wanted to provide a specialist facility which would enable people to bring their own boats to the Broads."

Getting away from it all doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to friends and family… the traditional house party gets a modern twist with our fantastic selection of large holiday cottages.

A big cottage holiday is perfect for large family gatherings and old-friends reunions, whether you’re planning a special celebration, summer holiday or seasonal break. Special-interest groups are catered for too… spend the day enjoying your favourite sport or hobby, then swap stories and advice all evening in the company of like-minded enthusiasts.

Going away in a group is a fantastic way to share the costs and chores of a self-catering holiday. And when the planning and fun are shared too, it all adds up to a wonderful holiday experience and a wealth of happy memories.

Our selection of properties will show you just how great your big cottage holiday could be. These properties all come highly recommended by the specialists who work in our network of local holiday cottage companies – these are people with unrivalled knowledge of the areas and the properties showcased here, and you will deal direct with them once you’ve chosen your big cottage holiday location.

We believe there’s no substitute for knowledge and experience, which is why we’ve chosen to think big but keep our offices small and local. It’s the attention to detail and personal touch which keeps customers coming back to us year after year… we look forward to helping you choose your big cottage holiday in the near future!

Local Tom

www.bigcottageholidays.co.uk

Getting away from it all doesn't have to mean saying goodbye to friends and family... go on holiday with a group and give the traditional house party a modern twist!

With its wide open spaces, beautiful beaches and fun attractions for all, Suffolk is the perfect setting for a self-catering holiday – and the county has a wealth of large cottages to accommodate groups of every size. Whether you're planning a family gathering, an old-friends reunion, a special celebration or a short seasonal break, Suffolk is big on choice where big cottages are concerned.

As the credit crunch continues to bite, sharing a large holiday cottage with a group of other people is a great way to keep costs down. It's also a fantastic way to reduce some of the workload usually associated with a self-catering break – shopping, cooking and even childcare are less of a chore when there are other people to help.

Ask everyone to bring along a favourite recipe that they'll cook one evening, let the children take charge of breakfast, or choose a theme for a special 'last night' supper – fun is never far away when there's a house full of people!

Local Tom

www.bigcottageholidays.co.uk

Please click on URL link below to view or purchase art images from local photographer Richard Osbourne

The 2012 Festival takes place on Sunday 27th May on Oulton Broad in Nicholas Everitt Park, Lowestoft with new charity partner, St Elizabeth Hospice on board, and is one of the largest and most eagerly anticipated team events in the region.

Over 30 crews representing companies, organisations, clubs and groups of friends from all over East Anglia are expected to battle it out over the 200m race course. They will all be seeking to knock Expro North Sea from Great Yarmouth off their pedestal as reigning champions whilst also aiming to add to the event’s impressive fund-raising total of more than £100,000 for charity over the years.

Dragon boat racing has an ancient Chinese history and the Festival is a re-enactment of a tragic event that took place more than 2,000 years ago in the kingdom of Chu. Legend has it that falsely accused of treason and exiled by jealous rivals in the government, despairing warrior poet, Qu Yuan, threw himself into the Mi Lo River.

Local fishermen rowed out to save the drowning poet and tried to rescue him from vicious fish by beating the water with their paddles. But their attempts failed and every year in Hong Kong a Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival is held as a mark of respect for the fishermen’s frantic efforts and to commemorate the tragic death of Qu Yuan.

The dragon boat’s fierce looking dragon’s heads were added later to ward off evil spirits and in Hong Kong special dumplings are eaten to represent the dumplings that were thrown in to the river to stop the fish eating the mighty Qu’s body.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon which may result in some interesting races as the dragon is said to be all powerful but completely unpredictable! It also symbolises great success and happiness, so the winning teams should be even more excited than usual in their victories!

No previous experience is required to take part in the dragon boat racing, just plenty of team spirit so why not take up the challenge? Thankfully, you don’t need the physical strength of a Steve Redgrave or the athleticism of a Jessica Ennis to be successful as teamwork and timing win the day.

The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. The Festival offers a full day of fun on land as well as water with plenty of activities on the bankside to entertain teams and spectators between races. The event is supported by Waveney District Council, BBC Radio Suffolk and The Lowestoft Journal.

St Elizabeth Hospice is delighted to be the new official Festival charity this year having seen the event’s unique potential for fundraising and fun. The charity is dedicated to helping people living with a progressive illness and supporting their families free of charge. This year it is expanding its services for patients in Waveney and Great Yarmouth. The Hospice relies on fundraising events such as the Dragon Boat Festival as well as individual and corporate donations and the income generated from its shops.

Sara White, St Elizabeth Hospice’s Corporate Fundraising Manager, said: “We are encouraging as many businesses as possible to take up the challenge and enter a team in this year’s Dragon Boat Festival and raise sponsorship for St Elizabeth Hospice. By entering a team in this fun event you will be helping us to raise awareness of the services we provide free of charge in the local area as well as raising funds which will help us to continue to provide these services in future.”

The top fundraisers for St Elizabeth Hospice will win the charity trophy plus a full day of spa and gym use and lunch kindly donated by the Marriott Sprowston Manor in Norwich.

Carol Lester, Director of Festival organisers, Gable Events, adds: “The Festival is a great chance for companies and organisations to try something completely different, promote themselves to a large local audience, network with local companies and potential clients and raise money for St Elizabeth Hospice. It is also a fantastic team building opportunity - what better way to get to know what makes your colleagues and competitors tick?! We expect the Festival to be as popular as ever this time around so we recommend teams get their entries in early to guarantee a place”.

For further information and an entry form visit www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/eastanglia or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. To find out more about St Elizabeth Hospice services in your area call 01493 690990 or visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk

Attached pictures of the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival, courtesy of Satalight Photography.

The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival is one of seven Dragon Boat Festivals Gable Events organise around the UK. They also offer a variety of other corporate events for motivation, team building and fun. For further information on the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival and Gable Events services, call Carol Lester on 01780 470718 or visit www.gable-events.co.uk