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Even a mini-tornado could not dampen the spirits of club members attending this year's BOC Norfolk weekend. The wet forecast for Friday proved to be unfounded and over 50 members turned up in the afternoon for the optional early arrival cruise, enjoying the generous hospitality of Eastern region members. A convivial dinner at the Oaklands Hotel welcomed the rest of the early arrivals and then on Saturday morning there was a record 77 members who arrived at Brundall for the factory visit. A victim of our own success, we have now outgrown Broom's reception area, but the ever-resourceful team decorated one of the sheds and turned it into a spacious reception area.
Many people commented on the particularly interesting factory tour - the incorporation of Aquafibre into the main Broom yard gave a chance for those who missed it first time round to have a peep at this fascinating part of the process. A large stainless workshop is also now part of the site as well as Tony Burford's window refurbishment shop, and Custom Craft who provide the canopies and interior furnishings. For five years we have been lucky with the weather and enjoyed fine, dry weather for our Norfolk visit, but this year our luck broke, along with the heavens, and torrential showers accompanied our tour of the yard. The bad weather continued for the afternoon's cruise on board the Southern Belle from Oulton Broad, and some of the more sensible members of the party opted instead for an afternoon in the pub. Those of us who braved the River Waveney were treated to some horizontal rain and ended up drifting sideways down the river as the skipper fought valiantly to turn the boat into the wind. We eventually returned safely to the dock a little earlier than scheduled and enjoyed an extra hour's R&R at the Oaklands before getting dressed up for our evening dinner dance. After dinner, guest speaker Paul Thomas (also a long-term Broom owner) reminded us of some of the joys of boating, before the Ugly Dog Skiffle Combo got the party swinging with their unusual blend of music - traditional, rock and some I can't describe. On Sunday, our AGM got off on a light-hearted note with chairman Tim Turner leading a rendition of Happy Birthday to the Broom Owners Club - in honour of the club's 5th anniversary. There was birthday cake for all the attendees at the coffee break. A carvery lunch rounded off events, with everyone agreeing that it had been another highly enjoyable event.
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