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Hi everyone. I have just dropped on this thread having not been on the forum since December. Thanks to you all for your well wishes, even you with strange politics, I am sure you are ok really 🤪 It was a combination of events. I did take my bat and ball home and not acknowledge a warning and a couple of days later at 0230 got the call for an immediate kidney transplant as some poor sod had died and I was recipient. The brilliant NHS sent taxi and whizzed me off to Cardiff. Anyway that was ten days in hospital. I don't count the tablets anymore I weigh them by the kilo 🤣 Started slow recovery then Bang, kidney rejection, back I hospital massive steroids IV got another week and out again. I was out a week and became in agony. Blue lighted all the way back to Cardiff, CT and blood tests and diagnosed immediately with a perforated bowel, a previous problem unrelated to the kidney. This was the closest yet to the grim reaper getting the better of me lol. So another ten days in hospital. I am on the mend but weak as a kitten now at home and getting out and about. Things to note, you don't bounce back as easily when you are knocking on a bit!! Thanks again to well wishes 👍

CAT IS HOME tx to all concerned. He had made his way back to the place where the idiot let him out of his basket, I don't know where has been all day. Hungry, so not indoors.

The dominant group will always feel victimised by minorities doing things that don’t include them. Being pro gay isn’t anti straight. Just like being pro Black isn’t anti white. They feel left out. I call this a taste of their own medicine. A group of gays is seen as a slight to them in some way hence the need to say “why can’t you just do what the rest of us do” (aka conform and submit). We aren’t the rest of you. It is types like this who make us make a point of our differences. I recall once someone saying to me, as though I should take it as a compliment that “you’re not really super gay” as though being gay were a bad thing. I’d be happy never to mention who I sleep with or what I do behind closed doors ever again. I agree, I don’t think we are special. I have heterosexual friends and mix with them and never does who we sleep with come up in discussion (probably how many heterosexuals prefer it). But they understand and empathise with why I need to find others who are gay. Because guess what? Most people aren’t. I could misinterpret a situation with a man and end up in hospital or worse, dead. Attacks on gays are on the rise. I don’t attend Pride or get involved in the politics of the LGBT. But I don’t, continually, proclaim my lack of understanding of such things as though it contributes any value to the discussion which is being done in this very thread. Calls of “I don’t understand X, Y or Z” just highlights your ignorance. It is 2023. You have all the information at your finger tips. How about we drop the “I don’t understand why they congregate” façade and say what you really mean? Gays want to meet other gays and have sex, surprise surprise. Clutch your pearls elsewhere. It’s so bloody tiring. I hope OP does find other boat folk who are gay and gets a chance to connect with them. I know I’ve thought about it on my travels as a solo gay vagabond boater. Seeing a rainbow flag sticker in a boat window makes me relaxed because it signals to me they’re my sort. I know this may be novel to other people who dONt UnDeRstANd but it’s small gestures and signs like this that make me feel comfortable in a world that wants to shut me up, hide me away or, worse, blend in.

That was her! Let me be absolutely clear that I will stop participating in this thread if it's going to be hijacked into yet another RCR discussion.

If you are travelling down to Uxbridge, I would recommend that you forget about using marinas to refuel and instead make use of the excellent fuel boats. These are operated by real enthusiasts, the majority of them on that stretch trading under the umbrella of "Jules Fuels" after Julia Cooke who started the business but is herself I gather Semi-retired, (not that that stopped Jules from refuelling our two boats at Braunston recently!) Different boats ply different stretches, but whether you encounter Ryan, Nick, Andrew or anybody else you wll get first rate service, and a decent price. Keep them trading - they can often get to you in poor conditions, when you would not ant to be venturing out yourself. They deserve our support!

Ange - all Got into a care home, just 400 yards from my real home so very much in my community, after two weeks back in hospital with a lung infection! 😱 Herein lies the biggest risk, for 24 hours it was a bit touch and go, but then the antibiotics started to do their stuff, now back at care home. Have spent most of this week asleep. Further and hopefully final assessment in QEH Birmingham at the beginning of March. So still hangin in there! Thanks all

I never got that far! For quite a while, three of us handled moddy duties - self, Magpie Patrick and the former Buccaneer. The arrival of two new ones, Jen and Ade, was succour indeed [as in, only a succour would do this job]/ Midway through last year I was, as Nicj Noeman says, beset by a truly exciting cocktail of eye conditions which made long spells of reading irksome. These are mow controlled by medicayion, and my eyes are not deteria...er, daterior...er, getting worse. I'm still taking part in moddy duties, but more in behind the scenes discussions than dront of house. Thanks!

Hello. I'm a lurker. I'm not very old (relatively speaking; I'm not particularly young either), and I don't own a boat. I'd very much like to, one day, but in the meantime I'm busy quietly absorbing information about canal (and boat) history, and reading threads on people performing miracles rebuilding or replicating historic boats, learning different techniques for safely navigating different locks with ground paddles vs those with gates paddles, figuring out how the licensing works, how to find out whether a canal is actually likely to be navigable this week or not, where I'm most likely to get stuck on a trolley in the Rochdale, all that good stuff. A lot of this hopefully one day useful knowledge has been provided by the core group of regular posters on here, who may or may not number approximately 30, I've not counted because I don't in any way care. Precisely none of it has come from one motormouth with about the same level of canal experience as me but about 600 more posts. Just sayin'... Do carry on 😁

This thread has been locked while the moderators sort through the wreckage looking for survivors.

Corrected that for you! 😁

I'm still here!:And stilll modding ... This is a long haul - I have pulmonary fibrosis and the only viable treatment is a lung transplant. Whilst we work towards thst various efforts are made to keeo me alive and comfortable - those concerns led tonmy admission by ambulance. The doctor visiting home felt rhe latest wobble was beyond home management. It has also been decided, with significant input freim me, that I cannot return home, so a care or hospice place is being sorted. This will give me the care I need to focus on being fit for a transplant. Until sucu a place is found I'm in hospital... I will endeavour to keep you all postted!

Hi! I happened to be driving the boat when the gates fell off. From the other end of the boat nothing looked amiss, the collars were left in place. I don't think the gates hit the boat at all when they fell off, they were pretty damn close though. one of them might have knocked, but I didn't feel or hear anything. We were initially told we could wait on the boat while the CRT assessed the situation, so we got to spend the night in the lock! It was pretty miserable down there, we were told we had to leave the boat around 10am the next day. We had a dog on board, but luckily she wasn't too hard to get out. Pretty miserable situation, but at least no one was hurt.

Yesterday we handed over our beautiful boat to her new owners. A very sad day as I am not ready to accept that I am no longer a boater. Regretfully, busy jobs and increasingly frail, unwell and dependent parents meant that we were not going to be able to get away on the boat much (or for long periods as we have been), and we could not justify hanging on to such an expensive luxury if we weren't going to be able to make use of it. It is not an exaggeration to say that I have had the happiest times of my life on the boat and it has renewed my love and appreciation for the UK. I know the network is not perfect, and is in need of quite a bit of TLC, but I have enjoyed every single day of my boating life - have seen the most extraordinarily beautiful scenery and made some wonderful friends. Boating has enriched my soul like nothing else ever could and I am so grateful that I had the chance to experience it. Last month I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my bowel cancer diagnosis and I hope the next decade will see me back in my true home on the water. Hubby is giving the new owners a day of cruising/helming training today and if you see NB Aventine out and about with her new owners please make them feel welcome. I just wanted to say a big thank you to all on here for everything I have learnt about boats and boating.

UPDATE Magpie hasn't posted in nearly a week, very unlike him, although he was logged on late last night. Patrick is very tired, so tired that he can't be bothered to eat sometimes. The care home kitchen are on the case preparing soup (that he can sip), soft deserts (high in sugar/energy) and ice cream. I'll keep the group posted; in the meantime, fingers crossed for him...

I am thrilled to say that as of today I am the very proud owner (next custodian really) of Tycho! A boat that I have very fond memories of from the late 80s and 90s. The first boatman's cabin i ever stayed in aged 10 and then lucky enough to do bits of towing wirh her as a teenager. More to come... but so as to allay any fears or rumours, the ram stays, as do the blue tops, certainly for now. And of course the reinstatement of the back cabin. Bear with me, I've not had a boat with rivets for 16 years! Thank you @Derek R. for your recent help in filling in the gaps of the last 20 years.

It is sad that a thread about one of our elder statesmen' members health is being derailed in such an insensitive way. For common decency the culprit should delete his posts . Those of us who have " known ™ Tim for many years are saddened by the news that he is not well and we have our collective fingers crossed for his recovery.

This is a model I built a few years ago of (you guessed it) Shad. Its 7ft long making it 1/10th scale, metal bottom, wooden top, its not perfect, but I thought I`d show you. I can`t seem to upload anymore than 1 photo..

I am here reading and I'm mortified to be honest, I didn't realise I was doing anything wrong so I am fixing the issues. Sorry to everyone. 😳

Apologies to everyone for the delay in responding: I haven't had access to the internet for the past couple of days. Thanks also to everyone for the support and showing that newbie boaters are welcome: it is much appreciated.

An app that allows simple reporting of issues makes sense - exact location provided, probably a pick list of standard options (broken paddle, jammed gate, whatever) and hopefully more people reporting problems rather than just moaning. If that's being made available, it might as well also provide up to date stoppages and restrictions. If more people can and do report issues then CRT get a better idea of which problems are having the biggest effect on boaters. Don't forget that it's obvious to us boaters but not necessarily to whoever collects the reports.

To close the important part of this topic. I have been conversing with LadyG by PM over the last few days and I think that we have a solution. It seems that she and far too many others I have come across, did not differentiate between charging voltage, rested voltage and surface charge voltage, so seeing 13V plus on the meter when charging was taking place, in their minds, meant a well charged battery. I think that she has got it now and after two longish engines charging she has found the ammeter at +2 A which I don't think she has ever seen before and 14.1V on the stern batteries, with a bit less on the bow batteries. She seems to accept that the bow batteries will always be compromised charge wise, but is happy that they are servable. I also think that she will send more time engine charging than has been her habit and understand just how long it takes to charge LA batteries. It seems like a result.

Yes I read it - non-story the Daily Mail of the canal world. I'm also fed up with the CRT baiters in this forum. We're soon going to have a fight for the survival of the canal system and all some people want to do is pick holes whilst the whole edifice (the canals,not those running them) collapses. There you go, battle line drawn.

Just to make you aware that starting in October there will be a joint IWA & CRT offside vegetation cutting programme (all volunteers) on the T&M between Fradley Junction and Great Haywood, then down the S&W as far as Gailey. There will be another operation starting in Coventry and heading north to Hawkesbury, then to Fazeley then on the B&F to Curdworth. Obviously neither will require a stoppage (although there is one at the Great Haywood end of the S&W in January for weir maintenance), nor will there be any formal navigation restrictions in place. However if any of you are moored in those sections and hear the cutting being carried out approaching your boat, it would help a great deal if you would move forward or back briefly if asked to do so. Many of the spots with encroaching vegetation are opposite popular moorings so it’s in everyone’s interest if we can pay particular attention to dealing with those. As you all know, the encroaching vegetation on many parts of the system has been neglected and is probably the worst it’s been for years. Unfortunately in order to help catch up we need to make enough progress to complete the whole of those sections if possible, before we have to stop in early March when the wildlife begins nesting. We will be working Monday to Friday. We will therefore have to just concentrate on the significant places such as on bends, sightlines, opposite popular moorings, bridge and lock approaches, narrow sections etc, and on the straighter sections we will have to leave sporadic tree encroachments on the basis that if two boats meet, one will have to hold back briefly, and on some sections just create passing places. I also ask for you patience if you come across us and we are unable to move out of your way straight away. We are usually pretty good at doing this, but occasionally it may take a few minutes for us to tuck in out of your way. Afterwards you will no doubt see some places and wonder why we haven’t addressed them, but I’m afraid that in the circumstances this will be the best we can hope for, at least in the short term anyway. And it will certainly be much better than it is at the moment!

Great, the more exposure boating and the canals get on mainstream TV, and the more people it brings to the canals, the better. Those of us not over 60 would really like the canals and associated lifestyle to still be around in 20 years, so the more people getting interested in canals, buying boats, and keeping waterways businesses going, to replace the old miserable sods, the better.

Because I enjoy canal boating and own a narrowboat! Seriously though, I think this deserves a slightly more detailed answer, and maybe that will help you see this forum in a slightly different way. From my perspective, I see canal boating as a completely different activity to sailing, in the same way as hillwalking (which I also love) is a completely different activity. Sure, there's the odd common element (for example sailing and hillwalking both require precise navigation at times), but many of the things I get out of canal boating are completely different to the things I used to get out of sailing. Very few of the skills I take from sailing are any use at all in a narrowboat, especially on a canal, and it's fun to learn new stuff in a pretty benign environment. I don't go to the boat because I need a challenge or to prove something; I go (in part) because there are fewer challenges than elsewhere in my life and nothing to prove. If I want excitement and challenge, I'm lucky enough to have other pastimes that will oblige. From the way you worded your post (and other posts) I wonder whether you regard canal boating as a "lesser" activity than sailing, and maybe even that your sailing experience should accord you a level of respect from others. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone on this forum is skilled at something that isn't canal boating; that might be their job, a different hobby, a sport, doing something for their community, cooking amazing food, being a great parent, or whatever. None of those skills is worth more than any other. We are here as equals with a common interest in inland boating. Our roles should be to contribute what we can and to enjoy each other's (virtual) company, not to compete against each other in some imaginary pecking order. If there is a pecking order, it's more likely based on whether you can wind a loaded pair at the Braunston turn than anything you or I bring to the party. Our sailing skills are worth nothing here, and that's as it should be; like many sports and hobbies it's ultimately a pointless activity that we do for our own benefit. If we want to earn respect we do it by being nice to each other and helping make this forum a pleasant place for people to spend time.

As an retired employee of both BW and CRT with 40 years plus service, I can now say how I feel about the moaners and boaters. I for one found Richard Parry one of the best CEO that the company has ever had, he was open and honest and had the time to talk and listen to everyone. He has bought the Waterways to front in every thing that they do. I only hope that his replacement is as good as he was.

I now own a boat 🙃 Big thank you to everyone that gave me advice, thoughts, assurance (and occasionally instilled fear 😂) during this journey. It wasn't as plain sailing as I'd hoped for, and though some lingering things remain (to join the never-ending list) it'll be nice to get on board and be able to finally enjoy the boat. …and I cannot wait to give the inside a deep clean, change the curtains, remove some of the previous (hah, weird saying that) owners decor additions, and make the boat look and feel less like a brochure pic I've stared at since October and more like a boat I own.

I've just been down to check and I have picked them up to stop them being nicked/thrown in the cut, I will PM you

It’s worth pointing out that not even 60 years ago—in my parents’ lifetime, in my lesbian aunts’ lifetime, maybe even in some of your lifetimes—heterosexuals put laws in place that would make me illegal. I could be punished, beaten and imprisoned. That isn’t ancient history. This still happens in some parts of the world. The reverberation of this regressive practice is still felt by people like me. It was your heterosexual police force who would entrap us like we were wild savages, they would raid our gathering spots, unable to leave us alone, veritably foaming at the mouth to oppress and subjugate. They would pretend to be like us so they could hurt us. Alan Turing helped Britain to win the Second World War and his reward from the heterosexual majority was castration. Truly and utterly shameful. It was this society where even popular homosexuals feared being themselves. Kenneth Williams, who the British public adored for his role in the Carry On films and Just a Minute, could never feel truly comfortable with himself because of the society he was born in, despite the deep public adoration for him and his talent. I posit his profound self-loathing was created by a society that hated who he really was and loved his created persona on stage and film. When we are told to just integrate, I dare say why don’t you lot make a society that is welcoming and caring for people like me so that this so-called integration is possible? Why is it incumbent upon me to do that? You create laws to criminalise me, you castrate me, you threaten and hurt me. What are you doing to help me integrate? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Well that's the end of an era, 15 yrs living on and the boat has finally been sold and i'm officially living in a stone built Welsh cottage. Not enough actual boating unfortunately but I loved what I did and enjoyed the rest. I will still be hanging around because I am very fond of the place and have met many lovely people through here.

I'm not sure if somebody has linked this on here before, but I've come across this nice little BBC feature from 1970

A few unstructured comments - unfortunately I've ended up knowing quite a lot about theses issues than I ever would have wished: There's a large cohort of young people who were impacted quite profoundly by Covid. The lockdowns took them away from their friends and support groups and isolated them for what seemed like a significant proportion of their lives. Not only did they not have the perspective and coping skills that we all take for granted, they also lost a significant proportion of the period during which most people develop those skills. Being a teenager is hard for many, and Covid made it immeasurably harder. Mental health support for young people was creaking at the seams before Covid, and is now dramatically under-resourced. Multi-year waits for neurodiversity assessments are widespread. There are lots of great people working in these services, but they're struggling to cope. Widespread use of agency staff to fill gaps causes further issues. Support for young people with neurodiversity is even worse; a lot of mental health support is unhelpful for people with neurodiversity, but alternative provision is scarce. Many schools are not set up to provide young people with additional support that they need. I have direct experience of a vulnerable young person being excluded for terms at a time, just because the school didn't want anything bad to happen on their watch. Amidst this, there are a lot of young people trying very hard to figure things out; at times it all gets too much, and they end up in a crisis situation which might be triggered by something we'd regard as trivial. Without the perspective and coping skills most of us take for granted, they don't know what to do, think there's nothing they can do, and panic. I can't speak for every person or situation, but a lot of people who end up in dangerous situations don't feel that way most of the time. There are a lot of young people out there who are terrified that they might do something harmful next time they're in a crisis, because that's not something they want when they're feeling well. In most cases they're just as bright and ambitious as anyone else, they just need a bit of extra help getting through a difficult time. If you see someone in a dangerous situation, or someone you think may be considering putting themselves in a dangerous situation, dial 999, the Police are very responsive to these situations and would rather follow up a false alarm than risk missing an opportunity to help someone. If you're in a position to influence Government spending, whether at the ballot box or elsewhere, mental health support for young people is woefully underprovisioned, and support for neurodiverse young people with mental health issues is almost non-existent.

A chance to lighten the mood and report on any good moving the boat experience 😃 where you been and what you done? I just had a lovely ramble from the Black Country Museum to Hawne Basin and then into Brum, the last hour or so in the dark, old line to Brades locks, through Netherton and a slog to the basin, is it because that bit of canal’s been out of use over the winter? then back through the tunnels and onto mainline and then Town, 8.30amish start and 10pmish finish, 3hrs at Hawne Basin, the washing machine takes awhile, Canadian Geese are nesting in their usual places on the toll islands and the coots (or moor hens, always get them mixed up) have built their floating nest from twigs and litter, noticed the new towpath mainline has nice little lights to stop the cyclists from riding into the cut, great to enter the town in the dark, quite a different world and experience in the dark BCN’s ace! Top day boating 👍

Our boat has been at Glascote Basin since last November where it is being repainted to a very high standard by the team at Norton Canes Boatbuilders with experienced supervision provided by Sarah Edgson. There is more information on our website here. We did start repainting 'Alnwick' in 2005 but for many reasons, progress slowed when we had completed the outside of the back cabin. By 2016, we decided that the paint we had purchased more than ten years earlier was by then too old to use!

every picture tells a story. this is a good story.

painting is practically finished now in the cabin, the stove still needs fitting and all soft goods and brassware but we're very happy with the outcome!

more wood... as its cold outside....may as well work inside!! oh. and we got a new stove too..... woodwork is about 80% complete, we're now looking at painting in the next couple of weeks.....

Hi. Just as a footnote to this thread, I’d like to give honourable mentions to a few fabulous organisations who have helped restore my faith in the good people of the planet, ie the majority. The extraordinary Stacey and Penny at Barby Moorings who are not just fabulous people who go the extra mile, but Penny is also a truly excellent engineer. Noble Insurance, who I only swapped to after years of GJW. They’ve been caring and astoundingly fast with very low levels of bureaucracy and high levels of actually being bothered about the customer. I recommend them totally. The CRT, Patrick McGinty and his team have been helpful, supportive and interested, which is an attitude that goes a long way. Finally, Warwickshire Police. I didn’t think they’d be remotely bothered but they’ve been terrific and diligent, from forensics through to their crime support team. Being robbed feels hideous but these lovely folk have gone a long way to making things a little better. Merry Christmas to all who were kind enough to offer support on this forum too. Thankyou.

Dear New Member. This is a subject that comes up regularly on this forum. For living on a narrowboat/widebeam on the English canals, there are many things to take into account, not least the cost. True, for the most part you will not pay full Council tax, but against that there will be higher fuel costs, both for moving and heating. The purchase price of a boat can be attractive, compared to a small house, 2nd hand boats are similar to 2nd hand cars, too cheap and you are buying someone elses troubles. Like cars they go down in value the longer you keep them. Unlike house, that go up! (selling a house to buy a boat, may mean you will never be able to afford a house again.) All canals and rivers are controlled by Navigation Authority's who have their rules and regulations to abide by. These you need to be aware of , for the area you wish to boat in. Living on a boat, on a permanent mooring needs Planning Permission from the local council, so true residential moorings are both rare and expensive, especially in towns. Living on a boat has to be a life-style choice, that all members of the household are happy with. Everything that comes into a house, gas, water, electricity, post, all has to be taken to the boat or generated on-board, likewise all that leaves the house, rubbish, sewage, has to be carried away. In both cases by the boater. Not generally a problem in the summer, but very very different in the winter. There are many more details that you as a "new to boating" person need to be aware of, but for now I'll stop. Bod. P.s. This forum has a fantastic range of knowledge, that most members willingly share, if you are asked a question, it will be to clarify what they need to know, in order to give correct advice. Also please come back regularly, some members are very quick to join a topic, less tham 5 minutes is not unknown.

so after the dust has settled a bit. it's a bit of a blur to be honest but here you go. the culmination of 8 1/2 years work by me, Vikki, @tom_c and some amazing friends.. chuffed is an understatement!!

I want this posting to be a positive one so please no comments about how useless the Canal and River Trust are, wasting your money etc. Any posts like this then I may ask a mod to delete it and that would not be Paul Weller. Thank you. Apologies for this being a little long. I have been a continuous cruiser on my narrowboat for three years and during that time I have said things like look at all that rubbish along the towpath, I wish CRT would grease that lock paddle mechanism, look at the poor painting on that water tap post, I wish they would fix that leaking tap, why doesn't somebody trim/cut down that small bush on the wash wall and many more. So I decided to do something about it. I contacted CRT to see how I can help with these kind of things as I cruise along. Their response was that they would love to have me as a volunteer but their current processes do not allow for 'roaming volunteers' - only volunteers who work in a fixed area and thus report into a person in charge for it. Short storey even shorter, I am now part of the CRT National Volunteer Team looking (along with another CC'er) looking at how roaming volunteers can assist CRT in tasks. It is early days but I am on a fact finding mission with you guys 'n gals to get ideas of what can be done, skills that we have out there (plumbing, painting, tree surgeons etc.), whether you would be willing to help with the work and anything else you can think of. I'm not asking for people to sign up as volunteers yet as this point in time is way off. Initially, things like litter picking and small vegetation clearance you may be able to do yourselves without have to become a volunteer (I know some people do this anyway off their own back) but other things CRT would need to be made aware of (so they do not send somebody else out to do the same thing) meaning you would have to be a volunteer and have access to a website/app in order to record what you have done - this would probably be for things like greasing mechanisms, leaking tap fix/replacement, painting. Depending on the task, you may need to complete a quick online risk assessment before you start the work. CRT would have a duty of care and there are guides and videos being produced to aid you with this and you may need to sign these off as having read/viewed before you commence any work for the first time. Again, this is all in discussion. Health & Safety does come into it but that really just means using common sense. So, to cut to the chase. Can you think of any small tasks that could be completed as people cruise along? Is this something that you may be interested in volunteering for? What sort of canals/areas do you normally cruise around? What skills do you have? Would you prefer CRT to supply parts and equipment or would you rather you purchased and claimed back? This would require you to sign up as a volunteer and would be done online and require receipts. Any other suggestions? I thank you for reading this far and look forward to your responses. Thank you Joe

The above is a good reason why reporting it is the correct course of action. The boat is on a canal where passage of wide beam craft is only allowed for transit to or from marinas and online mooring is not permitted. All movements are subject to advice notices from CRT so it’s pretty easy to surmise that something is amiss, be it a wanton or unintended action. It’s also not really the point that the poster was able to pass. What about another wide beam making a legitimate booked passage or the loaded coal boat? Passing on the Oxford can be problematic if you are pushed toward the offside of the deep channel.

It's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do, the late winter / early spring sunny warm days are good for the mind and soul, and help to get out of the winter doldrums.... with this in mind we thought we'd have a break from welding for a bit and very much in earnest slap a bit of paint on. Psychologically this has massively helped, it very much spurs us on to push towards the October launch date........

First of all my apologies for the delay in responding: I don't always have access to the internet. When I was young I had a memory that was fantastic and I could remember word for word every conversation I had, even years old conversations, and every poem that I read, articles I read, etc.. I was intolerant of others that didn't have the same fantastic memory as me. Then I was involved in a road traffic accident and took a bang on the head. My fantastic memory disappeared. When Gybe Ho was mentioning facts I didn't for one minute assume stalking, I just assumed that they had a memory like the one that I used to have. I appreciate the help that everyone gives but I do think that there are better ways of communicating than going into slanging matches. Perhaps a more appropriate and less antagonistic way of responding would be along the lines of 'I see this issue different to 'insert name' and feel that this is the correct way that 'it' should be done'. The forum would then be a much more peaceful and welcoming place where people wouldn't be afraid of asking a question in case the said question started a full scale argument. Thanks everyone for your help.

I hope any replacement will turn up to boat gatherings and events just as Richard did….cant fault him for actually going places and chatting to people. I personally found him quite approachable and willing to listen….not always the case with CEO’s.

Yes. Scaffold boards hung over the side. Or another option is loads of half full 20 litre plastic containers roped around at the waterline. The ice breaking is I think one thing where attitudes have changed over the years. My first winter 94/95 was spent partly near Wolfhampcote. It froze over properly. Ernie Kendall used to take the restaurant Boat 'Bracken' out with people eating their lunch while crashing through the ice. It was brilliant. Everyone was enjoying it all including me in my little narrow Boat. These days people are moaning about it. The attitudes on the canal have changed enormously in the last 30 years and not for the better. If the Boat can't deal with ice then don't keep it on a canal in winter.

It's a breath of fresh air being somewhere online with no advertising. Long may it continue.

Please put your dogs on a damn lead. As everyone is I'm sure aware a specific breed in in the news at the moment for attacking people. I don't think it's just a breed thing. My small boy (corgi) has been attacked 4 times in the past few months on the towpath or in a marina. He was just picked up and shaken by the back of the neck by a much larger dog, like a rabbit. Owner not in sight. If your dog is not extremely well trained, has poor recall or shows ANY aggression ever. Keep them on a damn lead when there is a chance to meet other dogs. Keep them in line of sight at all times. I keep mine on a lead because he does not always like other dogs. I can't do much if yours comes running over out of your control. I do not want to have to harm your dog to save mine. I have already had to kick several dogs in the head. These were not the stereotypical "aggressive" breeds. "He's usually friendly!" is not an excuse. I can't bear the thought on my lovely boy being seriously hurt by another dog: Edit: sorry if the wrong place to post this. Move it if needed!

5. make it easier and cheaper for householders to dispose of their rubbish at the council "tips".

It is October 1969. We had hired a motor boat from Canal PleasureCraft of Stourport for two weeks, for £50. To get to Llangollen and back. But when we got to Trevor, just across the aqueduct, we found the canal blocked. No doubt there had been closure notices pinned on British Waterways boards. So we decided to go back the long way round. Our boat was 'Water Rat', 26 feet long, two berth. 2 1/2hp Stuart Turner petrol engine, maximum speed 2 1/2 mph - measured, desperately, against a standard British Waterways mile. Pretty good in its day but not perhaps quite up to current day hirer expectations. We liked it a lot. I will attach a copy of the specification (with permission) if I can. The inventory is not complete because it misses out the spade. Absolutely vital to deal with the Elsan contents. No sanitary stations. Plenty of water points, railway stations, public telephones, public houses, letter boxes and other necessaries but no sanitary stations. To keep this short and less boring, it will be about one day and a bit. We arrived at Middlewich late in the afternoon and it did not look encouraging. We walked to the junction lock to see if the Trent & Mersey looked more promising and it did not. A woman came out of the lock house and eyed us. She wanted to know what we were doing. We told her we were in the boat up there and we were a bit worried. She told us to bring the boat right up to the lock, we would be all right there. We did as she told us. I expect most people did. The next morning at 8.30 we set off down the lock. She saw us out with a nod. Not too auspicious a start, with a polythene bag wrapped around the prop. A policeman kept us company while we freed ourselves, swinging around in the cut. The weather was grey and misty, the countryside was greyer but the water clear. We could see fishes. After a couple of locks a lump of wood jammed the propeller. Outside the Cerebos Salt factory. Things were getting a little bit challenging when we met the first of the doubles, the paired Wheelock Flight. Of the eight, two had only one of the pair operative. Which was shown on booklet 13 had we looked closely but we hadn't. Several times I made the wrong choice. 'This one. No not this one, that one!' Several times the steerer entered the lock and had to back out again. Then she placed the bows firmly between the two locks and refused to go further. The weather and things got ever gloomier and the wind got up as well. 'Water Rat' was a jolly little boat but got blown about a bit. Especially when stationary waiting for a decision as to which lock to aim for. It was a relief when we got to Thurlwood Steel Lock because here surely things would work. Have you been through Thurlwood Steel Lock? There are those of us who have and those who have not. We have. The instructions were detailed, the lock was very slow and I remember it being very hard work. Whether the gates had to be raised by hand winding or whether there was electricity I cannot now remember. It was laborious. We were glad to get out of it. 'Bloody useless!' I wrote in Booklet 13, although a bold attempt to overcome the subsidence problems. So on we went through more paired or not-paired locks in increasing gloom until we reached the northern portal of the Harecastle. Now Booklet 13 states clearly this: " Navigation in accordance with times exhibited on Notice Boards". On the 11th October 1969 there was no such notice board apparent at the northern portal. I will swear as to that, because we searched for information and there was nothing. The whole place looked neglected and despondent. Like we did. We wondered whether it was closed and whether we had enough time to get back to Stourport if we had to turn round. We rather thought not. The night did not get better than the day. But sharp on 8 am next morning a rap on the boat's roof and "Are you ready to go through?". And off we went, into the tunnel. It was grey to start with, with mist, but as the pumps at the other end started to shift the air, it became clear and black. Absolutely and completely black. We had a spotlight in the front bulkhead, perhaps from something like a Morris Minor and not very powerful. We had the cabin light on as well. Beside us reassuringly was the towpath, but as we went on the towpath began to sink, and the handrail followed as did the tunnel vault which gradually leaned down towards us until we could no longer see across the boat's roof but only round the sides and we lost control. The boat bumped and scraped from side to side, showering us and it in damp lumps of cold oxide sludge, bruising, denting and knocking off bits of the boat's hand rails. We stopped, gathered ourselves and set off again, creeping forward in this stygian gloom, on and on until after hours it seems, suddenly, as the noise of the pumps got louder and louder, the tunnel portal gate opened and there was a large half-moon of light. Out we surged, us and the boat dark red and filthy. The tunnel keeper lent us a big mop. He said he had not seen a CPL boat through the tunnel before. We were the only boat expected that day. There had been no boat through the day before. But it was end of season. On we went through Stoke and its then active industry until we reached Trentham and country again. And the massive and imposing five chimneys of Meaford Power Station, where we stopped. Not for the power station, but for 'MEA2', the CEGB steam locomotive, shoving its coal trucks around. Puffing and clanking and jostling about. I would add a picture of this engine but I cannot since I do not have permission. But you can find it on the internet if you choose. So there we were. In a day and a half, three things: two have gone and one completely changed. When we got back to Stourport we showed Mr Abbot what we had done to his boat. He told us that we weren't supposed to take the boat through the Harecastle but that he had not thought to tell us because he didn't think that we would get that far. 'Quite an adventure you have had!' he said. He didn't seem to mind at all. In fact he seemed quite pleased.