Windfola

Metronidazole is indeed very nasty with alcohol. Recovering alcoholics are often prescribed it to dissuade them from drinking, because with it even a mouthful of booze can produce extreme hangover symptoms within half an hour.

Yes well, be sure and check your facts first.

I cannot believe you have just had the audacity to say that when you are a policeman, with a very limited exposure to what constitutes mental disorder. I would put it to you that you necessarily have experience of a tiny proportion of those with mental illness. I would ask you for evidence of how many people you stopped on a 136 who turned out to have a mental illness requiring detention in hospital? And how many were discharged from their assessment without further action? I have discharged endless numbers of 136s and detained a tiny number by comparison. So I suspect your view is skewed by your prejudice. You have no knowledge (why would you?) of the hundreds of thousands of people who receive treatment and support from mental health services every year. They are no more likely to commit an offence than anyone else. They are instead vulnerable to the kind of discrimination that puts them at risk of suffering violence and aggression from the prejudices of those who are taken in by the myths that are peddled by parties who are not in full possession of the facts.

Well I would say that I have been a professional with the authority to detain people under the Mental Health Act, though obviously I am in no position to comment in this individual case. And, importantly, neither is anyone else here, hence the point I am making is I get rather tired of people assuming that if a person is behaving badly then they must be mentally ill, or are even likely to be mentally ill. Such an assumption is not only insulting to those who are victims of bad or criminal behaviour, but also, and more damagingly, to the overwhelming majority of people with a mental illness who are not violent or aggressive in any way. It serves to perpetuate the myth that aggression and mental illness are related, which they assuredly are not. If this man is arrested then he may (or may not) be subject to MHA section 136, whereupon a mental health assessment could then be carried out. But the issue here appears to be that he is behaving in a possibly unlawful way and complaints about his activities appear not to be being taken seriously.

Sorry but I still don't see any evidence that he needs assessing for anything other than to be charged with threatening behaviour. Anger and intimidation do not a mental illness make.

A lot of folk are out there trying to reduce the stigma of mental illness. I am usually open about my own experiences. I am highly educated and from the professional classes. In my professional capacity I worked with patients who were doctors, teachers, academics, successful business people as well as homeless young drug users who made the mistake of dabbling in substances that triggered psychosis. People with mental health problems are as diverse as people in general. In 15 odd years of working in the system I met maybe 3 people whom I considered dangerous, and the danger came from their personalities and was not illness related in any way. Many become ill because they experience major life events - bereavement, relationship breakdown, loss of work or income, abuse of some kind. Most can and do recover and sort their lives out so they can move on. Even those with the most serious psychotic illnesses can live and work and enjoy their families for years in between acute illness episodes. It is the psychopaths we occasionally need to watch out for. You know, the politicians and the estate agents and the bankers....

Sorry, Alan, I wasn't intending to have a dig at you. It's just that the misuse of the term mental illness is a bete noir of mine (I used to be a CMHT clinician as well), so I have a high reaction threshold to discussions on the subject! Depressions are nothing if not a subjective business and are rarely purely biological, most often being triggered by personal circumstances/stress/up-bringing and the like. I know where you are coming from anyway and accept that psychological disorders can be very disabling (I have a few myself on top of the biological stuff). So pax anyway. I missed you at Braunston, having planned to stop and chat (you were, I think deep in conversation with friends when I passed your lovely boat). I think that living on board, where money is short and personal support structures are low, can be a very isolating experience for some, and possibly a lifestyle of last resort, rather than choice, which is not conducive to good mental health for anyone. Throw in poor motivation, low or no income and a 'grumpy' personality and you have a recipe for unhappiness and rejection.

I could be interested in doing a bit of cruising while I wait to sell my house and buy a liveaboard. So that could be until next week or next year, depending how long it takes to sell. My qualifications are; I am female (well I was last time I looked anyway). I am not working at the moment. I am in my forties. I am not an axe murderer (yet). I am an over-educated underachiever. I was well brought up, but am no domestic goddess. I am not looking for romance. I would however need to bring my two dogs on board.

Alan, the stat of one in a hundred applies to the most serious biological mental illnesses, ie Schizophrenia, Bi-polar disorder (which I have), Schizoaffective disorder and other forms of psychosis and severe (ie life threatening) clinical depression. The other much more widely experienced psychological disorders are very common, yes, but on the whole do not seriously impact on day to day functioning. Many people suffer from mild to moderate depression, but carry on roughly as normal. Many people suffer anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, but on the whole they get on with life more or less as usual. Many people have aspects of their personality which get in the way of maximising their performance, but they are not ill. Most people who commit suicide in our country are not ill, merely deeply unhappy. There is simply no comparison between the two groups, and it is dismissive of the severity of the symptoms suffered by the seriously mentally ill during acute episodes to try to lump them all into one.

Why are people assuming that if he is potentially violent then he must be mentally ill? The subset of the general population (ie everyone) made up of potentially violent people is relatively large. People with a serious mental illness comprise about one percent of the population of this country. The overlap between the two groups is vanishingly small. Most people who commit violent acts have either poor impulse control or are plain nasty. They are not ill.

Just a quick thought - you mention being disabled, though not how. If your mobility is impaired, it's worth bearing in mind that steps/ladders into boat cabins vary enormously. Some steps are boxed in and relatively shallow and easy. Others are more like ladders, steep, narrow and difficult, especially if you're carrying stuff. Just something I have noticed in my search (still searching) that might have an impact on your decision, particularly if you find you have to make adaptations. For me is has been working out what my elderly dog can manage!

As a former Scottie owner, I can vouch that the not so humble Scot has no need of any human protectors - they are more than capable of barging their own way down the towpath and beware anyone who tries to prevent them. As for peeing on ropes - their willies are so near the ground that it is rare for the content to reach anything more than an inch above it!

My experience of keeping ducks has taught me that they are themselves arseholes. Or rather I should say it is the drakes that are arseholes towards the ducks.

Great day had by me. Lovely village fete atmosphere.

That's where my plan for aloof femaledom goes awry. I may of course decide to accept help from kind people at locks...

er, the annoying part is that that is going to be me as well!

I wrote quite a long response to this thread an hour or so ago, but then my internet connection crashed before I could post it. That is possibly just as well. Put it this way, when I get my boat there'll only be one Helmsperson and that will be me.

Tis Avon, naturally. Well spotted... Fanks

What date is it please?

Ok, so if I bring my greyhound boy he'll be wandering around with me then... Be warned, he is getting to like climbing on to boats.

A BMW soft-top. WHICH I LOVE, thank you very much! But my first car was a 1985 Mini City in red with brown vinyl (lovely)

Ooh I'll come...

A practical and sensible question: Does anyone know if there is much decent shade in the car park (thinking of taking the dog and would help to know the options)?

I would, but the Mini isn't very keen on water sports!

I rather like the folding electric trike. Best of both worlds!