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I will be blowing my horn for HM the Queen, not for any political party, any merchant sailors, nor for any minister or company CEO. It is the Queen's Jubilee, no one else's.

A proud maritime nation? Haven't we just colluded in the sacking of nearly a thousand sailor chappies? My horn shall remain, sadly, resolutely unblown...

As above another painting by my Daughter 😀

This isn't hijacking a thread. This is discussing why some of us think suggesting blowing our horns to celebrate something we dislike intensely is simply cretinous, especially when done by someone who happily watched hundreds of seamen dumped out of their jobs and did bugger all about it. Suggesting we should regard Britain currently as a proud maritime nation is just insulting our intelligence. The only thing we ever produced in any quantity during the "golden age of British shipping" was pirates and slavers. You be proud of it. I'm not. There were incredibly brave sailors in the merchant navy who kept this country going during the 2nd world war. Their reward was, well, show me our current merchant navy and who mans it. Proud if it? No. Pure hypocrisy.

FFS! isn't this meant to be about respecting the Queen in her Jubilee year? Blow your horn if you think she has been a credit to the nation. Post in the politics thread if you wish to demonstrate how anti-royal you are. It's a free country! (or for you Arthur it's better than Russia!)

I assume that those who are still in employment and are not in favour of the Jubilee celebrations will not be accepting the extra holidays this weekend. 😊

I'm not sure what country or century you're living in, but it doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to reality. The point is, if you want a job, any job you have to accept the contract you are ultimately offered. You can't accept one bit and reject another. The contract is a "top down" process and you're underneath. I'll tell you what, next time you licence your boat, write a note to say you refuse to accept some of the t&cs that come with it, but you're willing to negotiate your own terms. I believe one or two have tried this already. Or park your car in a private car park and tell them you'll negotiate your own parking arrangements. Right wing posturing is all very well, but it doesn't actually lead to sensible discussions. Oh, and by the way, if you've ever had dealings with the Employment Agency, yes, you are forced to take the job, unless you want to starve if there's no local foodbank. You really do show a remarkable level of ignorance about the country you live in. And I'll go back on topic too. Enjoy the party, it's what it's for, and let the bunting flutter.

Exactly!! Some just want to make everything political….well those sad b’stards can do as they please…won’t be able to hear their bleating over the blast of horns anyhow.

Paraffin lamps! Luxury! We had to collect wax from wasps, steal string for wicks off BW ropes, spend all night rolling the wax on the floor to make a candle. Then rub 2 sticks together to light the candles. And you tell the boaters of today this and they don't believe you!

As soon as you talk about safety, you have lost me. You want to go walking in the countryside, but you expect the countryside to be manicured for your safety. No, that is not how the world is. If you need manicured well cut grass to ensure your safety then please stick to walking in urban parks. The real, natural world outside the city is very dangerous, there are dragons. And long grass.

Then don't blow your horn, simple. Unlike many countries we have no compulsion to do such things or be treated as a political prisoner.

It would not be a good thing to do in a country that has been oppressed by the English for hundreds of years, Yes most are free of the British but not all of them, there are still areas where its better not to admit you are English

There's a difference between political & party political. A monarchy is a political concept.

That's quite funny, pretending being a monarchist is not political.

Two days ago and a flypast Ullswater - a trip on the steamers

I CC around the south east, from the top of the Lea/Stort through to Rickmansworth and sometimes down the Thames…but that doesn’t count. So sort of London. Anyway. I spend more time in London than most here I think…here’s my takeaway on water. Avoid central London, from Angel to Hackney. It’s loud and congested. Less so than many think though. Get a boat with a big tank (800l+), or get really good at conserving water. You ideally want to only fill up when you cruise to a new spot so you can pass a water point. I generally move weekly, but my 1000 litre tank can last 2 weeks comfortably with running the washing twice. Allow an entire day for moving, you’ll need to fill water, empty toilets, empty rubbish etc. Only a few water points are congested - Old Ford by Victoria Park and Angel are the worst. Some are also so slow it’s not worth bothering…most taps average 10 litres/minute, Stonebridge is about 2 if the adjacent cafe is open. I filled up at Hackney Wick the other day on Saturday lunchtime, no queue, one boat arrived as I was just finishing. My longest wait in 2 years of CCing is about 2hrs, and that was at Angel - slow water point and two boats in front of me. Don’t run your washing machine or wash your boat on the water point if there’s a queue, it’ll take ages if the tank is empty and it’s bad manners. Lots of shiny mushroom marina types have been washing boats at water points on the way back from Cavalcade and Rickmansworth festivals recently...luckily that’s only once a year though. Speed of filling depends on the water point and your tank size. A slow one like Stonebridge takes literally hours with a big tank. My tank is around an hour to fill at a good fast point as I rarely run it almost dry. Have a 20 litre jerrycan of drinking water spare, just in case you run out. Change the water whenever you fill up to avoid it going stagnant. There are no boats which do a water filling service - zero. Only one boat does pump out, and that’s west of Paddington and it’s very sporadic and unreliable. Don’t count on it. Gas, diesel and coal is served by 5 boats on the system from the Stort to Denham, prices and frequency of service vary amongst them. I’m not sure what people are on about with the conspiracy theory of people swapping spots on a secret group is though. The London Boaters Facebook group discourages it, and no one I’ve spoken to in the London area knows about it either. Maintenance on your boat will take a large part of your time, especially if it’s an older one. Painting, cleaning, fixing stuff etc. There’s an inadequate number of pump out points in London, only 2 CRT ones. It’s not rare for one to be broken for a week too. Get a cassette with lots of spare ones, and get ok with handling and storing your poop. I have a compost toilet and a hotbox composter on the stern deck. Never have to use one of CRTs unreliable facilities but the composter is big and bulky. And heavy when it’s got a year of turds in there.

All those that dislike the monarchy can FO. You high jacked the other thread, too.

I've got an o level in cookery, my russian fish pie was a family legend! I just could not eat fish pie three days in a row. Don't you have to boil the eggs, peel them, boil potatoes and veg, mash them, cook the onions, make a roux for white sauce, poach the fish? No I've never made your fish pie. Birds Eye fish pie is excellent, and economical. I've yet to find a good fish n chip restaurant here, but there must be one, and that's my favourite meal. Nowadays I use ready made pastry, and make sausage rolls with real sausages. So that is one success, but that leaves me with half a packet of pastry and half a packet of sausages. Maybe I need to check out Ready Steady Cook recipes.

Cooking for one is tricky, but it's eating for two that's my downfall... (c:

I am 😎 and you’re right ☹️ 😃

So happy you live on the IoM.

Lodden seems to be right on the money.

I was thinking the £100k the OP has available would make a reasonable deposit on say a three bed terrace around Bath near a good skool like what I went to, and it would probably rise in value considerably over the next 25 years (unlike a boat), what with inflation looking likely to run at 10-15% for the next decade or two now. The days of low inflation are gone now, until our current crop of child politicians experience it directly and learn the pain like the politicians of the 70s did.

Yes, I've tried,: the fridge runs, but it runs nearly all the time, so everything gets too cold, in warm weather it heats the boat! Gin, tonic and white wine are fine. Essentially food needs to be kept at 5C rather than fluctuating, mostly i just go for suitable food, and frequent shopping.

77 was fantastic. The weather was bloody lovely and I and many many others rammed the pubs for the duration. We had a ball. Here in Wales now where I live, a Plaid Cymru county many parties are booked. All the pubs, shope, caffs etc etc here are joning in big time, kicking off tomorrow. The anti monarchists can stop at home with their little wet blankets, the majority, will be out in force having a great time.

Just been looking and agree, hard to find. Try giving Alvechurch or Black Prince a ring and asking their engineering manager what they use.

You don't get the option when offered a contract. That's why an employer can change the terms and conditions of your contract on a whim and you accept it or lose your job. Contract law, interestingly, is the last bit of feudal law still in existence. History is fascinating, as long as you look at it objectively and without prejudice.

You could purchase some fender adjusters like https://www.boatfendersdirect.co.uk/products/clamcleat?variant=18350396735584&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnNyUBhCZARIsAI9AYlHwHxY_8GmztB4jPrhjbovToR2uX4UUb4y1abbggOnMaAxjfQyxRpgaAvi1EALw_wcB

I've also managed to aquire that esteemed boater status, took a while though. Being able to have a good old internal grump and also have no real ability to make sensible decisions is almost a definition of a long term cc liveaboard.

Why not just live on a boat in the Netherlands till your kids are old enough to make their own decisions? Do you need to uproot the family back to England to live on a boat to save money? It may also be stressful living on a boat around Bath as the canals are getting more congested and legit residential moorings are getting harder to find, lots of people are having the same idea as you.

Not sure where I read this recently I think it was on thus forum somewhere but the following suggestion, or similar, was made. Move all of your family into your kitchen and all live only in there for a month. That will give you some idea of the space you have. You you then have to remember that water is on short supply so no hot baths or long showers of you. Factor in the number of times you will need to empty the toilet and where you can empty it. It's a great life for the unencumbered or for those who have an escape route back to ' civilisation ' And remember that your £110,000 home will rapidly depreciate. Good luck with it, your doing the right thing researching in advance if you have any sense you won't even consider it however if you don't have any sense turn you will fit right in with all of us that were to dumb to take the sensible route. Good luck whatever you decide. A do heed the warning about London and the South east it seems that CRT have lost control of it now seens to be run by self appointed ............

I had a vauxhall cavalier once, they told me it was a 1.3, turned out it had the old 1256 OHV engine in it, I was scarred for life. Power to the people...

The 535 has a setting whereby it combines the 2.4ghz and 5ghz WiFi and lets the client connect to whichever one is the better signal with no user intervention needed.

Correct, the Monarchy are non political !!!

We also have no boat horn to blow but we will stand on the harbour wall in Southwold on Saturday and watch the boats there blowing their horns instead.

But when someone proposes a course of action that seems very ill-informed what should those who can foresee the likely problems do? Tell them everything will be fine and maybe snigger when it all goes wrong or try to point out the potential pitfalls. This particular OP seems intent on CCing (living aboard) in London and when you consider the 8pm to 8am engine running curfew, the time at work and the probably short cruising range once every two weeks and the recharging for even modest electrical use during winter, assuming adequate solar, looks all set for battery problems. I think the advice to look carefully at his electrical consumption and think about a 12/24V only boat is sound. Remember there has been no mention of a cocooned onboard generator. I could just as well respond to you that appearing to encourage people to think they can have all sorts of home type mains electrical gadgets without considering charging is grossly irresponsible. The fact remains that you do not NEED 240V AC to live a perfectly satisfactory and comfortable life on a boat. That is not judging, it is a statement of fact and many people have done it and proved it to be so.

They did bugger all about it, because it would have had consequences for thousands of businesses that also treat their staff that way. I don't agree with it, but you and others should wake up; it is as a consequence of the prevailing attitude of fawning over business and commerce. The EU mob. Rather than preside over a system that responds to social needs, they promoted the neoliberal, the total opposite, and have run employment contracts into the ground. And for all those that think republicanism is the way, think of Trump.

Surely that just means you're not in on the secret! And those that are won't tell you about it will they! 🙂

I wish you well, an admirable way to live. But a word of caution. If you think living aboard is cheaper and easier than on the land you are wrong. But compared with the Netherland it is possibly a little cheaper in the UK or it was till two months ago. You will be shocked at the price of boats now.

I will be blowing my horn for HM the Queen too. I'm a royalist cos the cavaliers dressed so much better that Cromwell's Parliamentarians.

That's why dark cars should wear high-viz vests. Alternatively, paint roads in reflective high viz paint and dark cars will show up.

just paint the roads a different colour to the cars

Probably like cars? I learnt many years ago to not buy a black car, they are absolutely atrocious looking unless washed daily.