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Presumably it's to find out what those with composters do with their product, and what they think they could do in future , so not a lot of point in getting the rest of us to, er, muddy the water. The selection criteria would therefore be correct. (Dead heat with haggis below!)

Babbage is an old girl now, has been a boat cat all her life and regularly plops in the cut when trying to turn round on the gunnels. She never gets her head wet, but always comes in and demands a towel rub in front of the stove.....then spends an hour licking herself dry. We dangle a hessian sack or long cloth off the rear fender for her, most of the time she gets out on the bank though. When out cruising, she will go 50 yards either side of the boat, along with through the hedge. The only place she ever wanders off and leaves us is at Sileby Mill on the Soar, where she goes back to her old kingdom of the abandoned cafe and we have to entice her back before we leave with treats and carrying her away!!

Cats love walking gunwales. Despite their reputation for agility, they are not very good at turning round in place on a narrow ledge, or walking backwards. Most slips from gunwales seem to be the result of them changing their minds part way along and attempting one of the above difficult tricks. When I've had cats on board, I've had a fisherman's landing net on the roof of the boat, ready to scoop a soggy cat out of the drink. As you've found, although they hate water, they can swim really well. The problem is not being able to climb out. Carpet tiles are cheap and can be used as a boarding net that claws work well on. Either hung off the boat, or on to the mooring. Each end and each side. When they get too manky, they can be replaced. When they fall in it is, of course, your fault and they will use you as a towel to get dry. Aside from the water risk, I'd say boat living is safer for a cat than a normal house, as there isn't the road traffic hazard. Road safety, being another cat blind spot. Sometimes a falling cat can seem to bounce off the water, barely getting wet at all. How they manage this I've no idea! Jen

It all depends on the purpose of the survey. If the aim is to find out how many waterless toilets there are on boats and how people dispose of the solids then it is OK to exclude boaters who don't not have a waterless toilet. If on the other hand, the survey is to find out boaters views on how solids should be dealt with the survey is seriously flawed. She does say she is "counting toilets" so I assume the purpose is the former. Haggis Arthur can type faster than me ? (most people can!)

The LNER planned to use the 1500 VDC overhead electrification as used in the Netherlands. Manchester - Sheffield was regarded as a good first step. The plan was to stick with steam for main line services and gradually expand electrification of the network rather than use main line diesel traction which was reliant on imported fuel. The war and subsequent nationalization did not initially bring any great changes and electrification of the Woodhead Route together with the new tunnel went ahead after the war. The change of direction came with the first 'modernisation plan' of 1955 and the subsequent changes to the regional boundaries which placed most of the former GCR network under the the control of its powerful political enemies at Derby. Regarding the question of the nature of the GCR's London Extension and its "Continental Loading Gauge" this was, most definitely, part of the original plan and, although it is true that the 'Berne Gauge' did not exist when the GCR extension was constructed, Watkin's vision was of of a "Continental Loading Gauge" sufficient to enable an exchange of traffic between England and France via a channel tunnel. Also, during planning and construction of the extension, ambitious provision was made for the eventual widening of the formation to quadruple tracks - this is one of the reasons for the island platform design. Additional freight or slow lines could have been added without demolishing the stations. Two world wars and intense opposition thwarted Watkins plans which were well ahead of their time. Unlike the far-sighted Watkin, who planned to do so much by provided Britain's industrial heartland with a direct rail link to Europe, the government that made the transport decisions in the 1950s and 1960s went too far in decimating our essential infrastructure. In my opinion many decisions were driven by the personal bias and greed of Ernest Marples, then Minister of Transport who increased his personal fortune by building motorways and then exiled himself in Monaco to avoid prosecution for tax fraud. Undoubtedly, Marples was a complete rotter but subsequent governments, who could have reversed his decisions, similarly failed to see the way forward. For those who oppose HS2 on environmental grounds just look at satellite image maps and compare the concrete motorways championed by Marples with railways and canals that blend into the environment.

Not as much as me! ? ? ?

Ignore the others, I'll tell you the truth and no mistake: - YES, yes you must. In case you haven't picked up the essentials from watching others, here are the basics ...... a) Don't bother with an external microphone, everyone loves straining their ears attempting to decipher your muffled, soft murmurings. B ) If you aren't just filming on your phone and have bought a rip-off Go-Pro'ish from Wish.com, don't waste money on a wind muff as everyone prefers to hear the reality of you boating in a gale. M) Use terminology like "Driving the barge" and "Parking" at every opportunity. Make sure you pronounce "Winding" as "Winding" and not "Winding" 3) After several months cruising astound everyone at how little you've learnt by needing to be rescued on the tideway when your engine stops. The call out engineer tells you the diesel tank is empty, and then does the same to your wallet. + When there's two of you being filmed, ensure one of you doesn't allow the other to finish what they're saying. Interruption to show up your partner is always popular. - No need to lock the camera off, just wave it around so everyone gets to see as much out off focus background as possible. Finally! Practice your dead flat intonation to match your blinkless stare, and remember there's no need to view it before up loading, It'll be fine!

Good evening all and i hope you are well. I haven't been on for a while. The fight i was having with the Bridgewater Canal Company and Peel Holdings, came to a stalemate. They knew that they were breaking the law. They knew their thieving staff were in the wrong and they knew there was no action they could take against me or any other boater. So they moved the bully off the water to a marina. They reprimanded the bin man and Parkinson. And they took all the nonsense about no return within 28 days off the website. So even though I had no written apology from them. I had at least made them adhere to the law. Although now Richard Parry has given in to their bullying. Or has he another agenda?You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment. The "New" agreement does nothing at all for CRT boaters. And allows Peel to break the law again. His new deal allows 10 days unfettered access, from 7 in the original 1960's agreement. But it restricts return within 28 days. There was no such restriction in the original agreement. And that is the cause of the argument in the first place. The Bridgewater Canal is an access canal. You need to use it to get from east to west and north to south through Manchester. So if you go to Liverpool from Northwich a 2-3 day cruise. You have to stay away for a month before you can go home. If you want to go to Marple from Leigh. Again 2-3 days. You have to stay a month. Not only is it ridiculous it's illegal. The law allows BCC to remove a vessel that has been moored for more than one callander month. But only after they have given 28 days notice. You don't have to book. They can't charge a toll and they can't impound your boat, without giving you 28 days written notice. They have absolutely no legal authority to restrict anyone's use of the waterway. Hence the original agreement. It was a voluntary concession on the part of British Waterways. That agreement in itself was just an agreement. It was not enforceable by either side. What is enforceable is. Bridgewater boats do not use crt water without a licence. And removing the 50% reduction. Did you know that Bridgewater licence holders get a 50% reduction on a CRT licence. So we give them 50% off. And they tell us when we can and when we can't use their waterway!? I'm not a great supporter of Donald Trump. But I can guess what he'd say to that deal! P I have had conversations with Cheshire police. And if you have any trouble with anyone from BCC or Peel Holdings. Phone the police and they will assist you. Do not fall for their lies and fraud. The law is on your side. So just don't book. And if you want to, you can stay up to a month. And you can go back as often as you like after 24 hours. Stay safe, and let's all get back to enjoying the waterways after the past annus horribilis. Hope to see some of you soon.

Ah, yes... https://tenor.com/RaHQ.gif

Another one for @TheBiscuits to cast his eye over and no it's not burned

Does that leave you unhinged?

Its optional but if you choose to do it then you must do it straight away before you have gained any knowledge or experience. Also remember that the blog is not really about boating, its about You and your desire to be a minor celebrity ?. ............Dave

Those that can, do. Those that cannot, teach. Those that cannot teach do Vlogs.

That wasnt one of the answers.

That is because I copied it from the TV schedule page. He has done several railway programs since his stroke but he doesn't look 100%

The other might be to do with making the engine insulated return once running and earth return when starting. It would not surprise me if it's not controlling the start battery negative to engine block. I have seen that configuration on some Lister engine photos.

Interesting program on the box yesterday afternoon with Chris Tarrent on Ch5 Chris Tarrant examines how trains transformed the nation and shaped modern Britain, beginning with the invention of the steam locomotive and the work of the navvies who dug the tunnels and laid the tracks. Chris then explores the role of the railways during the two world wars and looks at the devastating impact of the Beeching report in the 1960s

On this day in 1998 Hawkesbury Junction CoventryC/OxfordC Compare #2135 (1953) #1651 (1989) #4021 #4670 (1996) #424 (2002) #2388 (2015) #2903 (2016) #2698 (2020) also #2905

Babbage is NOT sweet, she is an anti dog terrorist, attacking any dog that is being walked past the boat when we are moored on towpaths. Trying to keep her sway from them usually results in skin punctures and lots of red stuff. Some regular dog walkers have been known to pick their darling dogs up and carry them past as the poor pooches darent walk after their previous experience. All 4 dogs based in the marina are subservient and scared of her. Hessian sack draped over the rear fender is our best answer to her getting out. It is also VERY funny when she rolls around stretching on our table, and rolls off the edge.

Substitute SUV with an Audi then!

If the basin is empty, just tie across the end of three or four pontoons instead of inline with them.

That's because there is more than one numpty who thinks that shouting at people to 'Slow Down' because their boat is rocking is a proper way to behave. It's not! I can see the problem, you live in a house!

A small folded towel wedged between the rope and whatever bit of the boat it's rubbing on might help. Unfortunately in windy weather creaking noises are part of the experience, whether that's from ropes or the boat rubbing against wood, tyres, etc at the mooring.

what about those that do crap vlogs? I'm mainly referring to myself in this in case anyone ask!

A boom. That also happened in 1944, the last time the race was here (hence the name of the moorings on this stretch: Diamond 44, created 60 years later). The umpire followed on horseback.

If Alan's order doesn't come soon, he's going to tell them to stick it up their ... . . . . . . complaints procedure!

I don't know Maffi but I've been told to foook off many times during my lifetime. I don't carry the anger cos I know some people are just arrogant or bullies or stupid. If you are going to make veiled threats on a public forum I think you need to chill or sell your boat cos you're going to end up "reminding" a lot of people.

Thank you all, sorry about the delayed reply, not too well at the mo' and had a lay down. The thing about "bigger fleas have lesser" was because as I read it we have a key switch probably connected to the "black box" relay thing which then feeds the starter motor's own solenoid. Sadly the photos have turned out too dark to show much detail. I tried feeding the pictures via one of them stick things to my old XP desktop that has Photoshop on it, (this acursed Win.10 laptop has nothing remotely useful). Long story short by the time I pluged the stick thing back into the laptop something had killed the stick and all files on it are lost! I will see if I can get the kid to take brighter pictures and try again. I hate boats, I hate sprogs, I hate electrics, I hate finding another problem before I have fixed the last one, I hate getting old . . .

Personally Peterborough would be bottom of my list of reasons for visiting the Nene - don’t care much for the place. But the Nene is beautiful - lovely countryside, pretty villages, attractive river. Fotheringhay is a delightful spot to moor and the farmer’s fee goes to church funds. Quite a lot of locks but almost all guillotines are electric. And do join FOTRN.

I wouldn't . Half my boat has woodgrain vinyl 'planks' and half 18mm solid oak flooring. The oak has stood up to thew wear and tear of grit etc well. The vinyl badly. The imitation wood graining has worn through exposing the white vinyl underneth. Also over time the adhesive fails and edges lift. Dirt/ grip then gets stuck to the adhesive residue and re-sticking the tiles properly impossible. I would love to replace the vinyl with wood but there isn't enough clearance under work surfaces for fridge, freezer, washing machine etc .T & g solid wood is the way to go , expensive , time consuming but a proper job.