wandering snail

The latest news for ccers (NFA) is not good, in that the local authority has to verify your address before any payment is made so, unless you pay council tax, you won't be able to get any help....at the moment. NBTA are doing a Zoom meeting next week to try to find a way forward: https://www.bargee-traveller.org.uk/online-public-meeting-6th-december-include-off-grid-households-in-government-400-energy-bills-support-scheme/

Yep. We're still looking at lumpy water contingency planning, just in case!

Don't suppose there will be any new ideas here but you never know: https://waterways.org.uk/support/ways-to-get-involved/events/future-of-londons-waterways

The debate was announced following ITV Central News getting in touch with me at NABO about doing a feature in which Fabricant, Parry and a bod from Defra would also feature. I see he quoted me at the end of his speech. Autographs will be available.....I just hope it helps, otherwise we're looking at canals gradually closing apart from maybe 3 and CRT concentrating on paying off bonds and shoring up pension pots with what they'got left. The silly thing is, the grant is barely 1% of Defra's budget yet means so much to the survival of the canal system.

And that will continue while CRT don't monitor discharges but rely on the EA and the water companies to do it. A seasonal metaphor about turkeys and Christmas seems apt here. No point in telling CRT, they're not interested and don't monitor it. The EA or the water company are apparently responsible for checking what goes in to the canal system.

ITV are hoping to speak with a boater from the East Midlands tomorrow (we're in the West) about this. Please email Chris at christopher.hesketh@itv.com

NABO certainly is. Maybe become a member and then you would know.

Certainly they were given much time in this meeting, the presentation after Parry's was all about their latest publication.

I was there and both Sir Robert Atkins and Iain Duncan of IWA confirmed this. There did appear to be just two MP's sat at the table apart from Fabricant, (the chair), one of whom did contribute but the sound quality had been very poor throughout so Zoom participants could not hear what was said. There were 99 Zoom participants with more who tried to get in but the organisers hadn't paid Zoom for more than 100 to be able to take part! Minutes will be published.

This is what I was told that they would do with any 'unforeseen' changes and that the list published at the beginning of this month would not change so boaters should look out for those alerts. Neither of those things have happened.

Just to warn boaters who are planning their winter cruising, CRT are still periodically changing the stoppage list. The latest of several changes since that published as usual in August can be found on their stoppages page but there is no guarantee that it won't change again.

It is possible to turn by the pub at Goldstone.

Blue bins to match the dog poo bins.

If it's that little Sea Otter that was for sale, I'd go on the canals. That draught will be the best it could be! Maybe join RCR, just in case.