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His enthusiasm is infectious, tempered by his partner Nicole's qualifying her praise with the problems she discovered as a new boater.

Indeed, considering where the young chap has visited in the past its lovely he's so complementary about our little country! he's very impressed with how green it is...

Its quite interesting to see a foreigner being so enthusiastic about stuff we kinda take for granted - cows, sheep, pigs, greenery, canals and rain! But he is right, we are lucky. Even finding all the food outlets closed and surviving on a ham sandwich didn't seem to dampen his mood.

And that’s everything that’s wrong with some people!! Definitely needs saving

Having just watched the video, got to say, it was one of the most enjoyable I've seen for a very long time. For those who don't like youtube, their enthusiasm may get to you, but it is worth watching.

A program this evening on radio 3 at 23:30. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001fdw8 From the description: Someone living on a canal boat on temporary moorings must move their boat every two weeks. This feature captures the journey of Gus who is moving his boat on a Sunday afternoon in Autumn from the Camden Eco moorings to bustling Hoxton. During this recording, you can hear binaurally captured sound of towpath life, moorhens nesting on the banks and the movement through the 800-metre-long Islington Tunnel. You also hear Gus manoeuvring through the city road lock. The piece ends with Gus’ new neighbour reading a traditional canal song called ‘The First Cargo,’ compiled in Folk Tales from the Canal Side by Ian Douglas.

Keeping us lot bemused for a couple of hours springs to mind.

Now I know where it is it's not hard to find - I think you may find that a large number on the forum just use the "Activity" "New Posts" so that whenever they log on it automatically lists all new posts. I don't think I have used the home page for 'years'.

Sorry, didn't realize the home button was hard to find, and I went off to view the video. Thanks to others. Enjoyed the video, but my mistake, “anywhere on the towpath,” not, “wherever you like.” It might be anywhere on the towpath on the Monty, though.

It's here: https://www.canalworld.net/forums/ Look on the right hand side of the page to see the 'featured video'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGcGMcj2dWM&t=1s&ab_channel=DownieLive

Depends what you are viewing the forum with. On my mobile phone I have to scroll quite a way down the home page to see the featured video.

If you are in Chester and want a tow anywhere, why would you ask on a London Facebook group. They never move more then 100 yards.

Google is your friend. Apparently it is a pizza parlour.

And range finding as well. In the original demonstration of binaural sound there was a guy talking whilst walking around you. Then he came up behind and very close. I swear I could actually feel his hot breath on my neck, so powerful was the illusion. Made me flinch!

The way just two fixed ears, one each side, can tell if a noise is in front of you, or behind amazes me. Obviously a strong evolutionary pressure to have this (where is the sabre toothed tiger?!).

No, stereo is just 2 channels picked up by 2 microphones slightly apart. Binaural mimics the head and ears giving a much more 3 dimensional sound experience. It’s been around for decades but it is pretty impressive. All to do with the way the sound wave propagation is modified by the presence of the head and the complex shape of the ears. And of course the way the brain interprets those slight phase shifts etc. Your brain is cleverer than you think!

Is that an African pigeon or a European pigeon? It may alter the lifting capacity ...

Some very good points made by others. This is not a new proposal it was publicised back in 2020 when it produced an extremely concerning knee-jerk negative reaction from an RSPB officer who just opposed it and any other proposal on principal alone. I have been looking into Ofwat North-South Water Transfer (NSWT) program for some time and no question that this Barrage proposal should be looked at in conjunction with the NSWT and its proposed reservoir land take of extremely valuable agricultural land adjacent to the Black Sluice. You can bet your bottom dollar that the RSPB would also object to that, but then so would I. All the flood control & water supply agency’s claim to be coordinating constructively but it don’t take much to see most of it is lip service and as the EA seems to be an extension of the RSPB & the Angling Trust this is not difficult to understand. Rather than produce a great long diatribe I will pick up on some of the comments by others 1). Roland, Jen-in Wellies, MtB, Dav &Pen, LadyG, Jerra Spot on. The rate of tidal excretion in the Great Ouse below Denver is lifting the river bed level to a point where seasonal flushing is not allowing a combination of a King Tide & high fluvial flows to clear the river channel so that sufficient water held in the upstream Washlands can not be discharged in what should be low tide discharge time. In great part this has been found to be due to Washland water taken into the RGO Cut Off Channel being diverted from 1971 into the R Store for Essex water supply. Ironically as I understand it, several coastal IDBs have had to extend coastal discharge pump facilities out into the Wash to combat tidal not fluvial excretion. Note: Excretion levels are said to be less than sea level rise. In addition both the Great Ouse & Welney Wash lands (which are connected) are now in a situation where they are becoming compromised by Tide Lock and the additional fluvial flows resulting from global warming and £40 million has just been spent on lifting the Middle Level Barrier Bank of the Ouse Washes. A barrage could also have made that unnecessary. 2). Athy, Mike Tee The only way for the Wash remaining essentially as is, would be to construct a tidal defence barrier. Yes it will be expensive, yes it will create disruption & yes it will effect past NHM (habitat) challenges. However the cost of protecting the miles & miles of existing coat line will be considerably more costly. It’s just that you and others will not see it. It will be hidden in Environmental, Social, Heritage, and any number of Feel-good Grants distributed via the RSPB, LA’s, IDB’s Harbour Trusts and a myriad of others. It has already started. In 2018, 4IDB spent over £2 million on lifting Wrangle Wash Sea Bank all paid for by small grants and public donations. The Boston Barrier White Elephant cost over £100 million between 2019-21. Few will know the cost of other Sea Defence works in process. Or alternatively and more significantly how much coastal defence abandonment do the EA have in mind! The availability of cash is only a political tool, not reality. Remember the thousands of unemployed the UK would have post Brexit. From a Natural Heritage Management (NHM) Standpoint. Anybody who doubts this must look at the destruction of the Thames riverside marshlands downstream the Thames Barrier where in a nutshell numerus small creeks have been replaced by engineering solutions; upstream Chelsea Creek (Kensington Canal) is no more. I could go on. From a local Cultural Heritage (CHM) Standpoint. Just look at the CHM Vandalism which Kings Lynn as been subject too (Mill Fleet, Purfleet, South Quay and the R Nar) and it has more to come unless some positive as opposed to passive action is taken. Wisbech has also benefited from some lovely new concrete & brick work along what was open riverside, not to mention the recent Welney Rd flood prevention works partly due to Tide Lock. 3). robtheplod, Lodden I think you have probably seen the artist impression with a great highway, which the RSPB have made much off, the promoters say a great highway is not proposed. When I looked at this some time back a rail link did seem the way to go and it could link in with the Kings Lynn Docks-Hunstanton rail proposal. However I do have some difficulty with the port proposal. My own feeling is that such a Barrier would permit a total rethink of East Coast (including Hull) flood prevention & water supply. It should not be looked at in isolation or dismissed out of hand because a particular charity puts its donation list before the national interest or the interest of local inhabitants who stand to be deprived of a home.

How come that hasnt rolled over, I thought they all did that on the booms.....

My boat has a hinged section above the weed hatch, it's basically the width of the back doors and the cill the doors close against are part of the hinged section, it has never leaked and gives full access to the weed hatch, no acrobatics for me, tbh I've never understood why builders make access so difficult.