Hastings

Peter from Audlem Mill here ... Just ring us on 01270 811059 if you would like to book on the fender course this coming weekend. The two nearest B&Bs are Little Heath Farm in Audlem (01270 811324), half a mile away, or Coole Hall Farm (01270 811232), about 3 miles away. The nearest pub doing B&B is the Swan at Wybunbury (01270 841280), about four miles away. Hope to hear from you! Peter

One quick question for the experts, there were a couple of brief shots of firstly a woman then a man spinning a long pole horizontally on the end of which looked like a large chimney brush, anybody know what it was, and what it was used for ? To confirm, it's simply an effective way of getting excess water out of a mop (there wasn't room in a back cabin for a mop bucket!). I saw it being done yesterday by a former working boatwoman on Cactus, Malcolm Braine's superb Bolinder engined FMC motor, in the town pound at Audlem. Cactus had just arrived for the Festival of Transport on 31 July, and she was cleaning up after the journey here. There will be over 20 historic boats at Audlem, dating from 1897 to 1938, plus over 300 old cars, lorries and motorbikes. And it's completely free! Why not come along.

This isn't a direct reply, but is from a trader who has had a stand at the National for countless years until last year. The IWA then changed the date to July this year, but without any consultation with smaller exhibitors. Surprise surprise, a lot found the date inconvenient, so are not exhibiting this year. Talking to several, we'd hoped that the IWA would see sense and revert in 2012 to the traditional dates at the end of August, then we could all go again. If they don't hold the event in 2012, most exhibitors (including the big boys such as boat builders, engine suppliers etc.) will probably look for other outlets. And that will be the end of the National. A pity after 61 years!

We have a retail shop by the canal, with book website, and customers often say that when they try to buy some canal books from Amazon, they're "out of stock". We do know of quite a few canal books listed on the Amazon website that just aren't available, and never will be (e.g. published by the author, and only available from him or selected outlets). Amazon seem to list just about all books, even if they can't possibly obtain them. So, unless you know that you can get the book from Amazon, please treat their listings with extreme caution. As a retailer, I am of course annoyed that Amazon can buy books for far less than we have to pay the wholesaler or publisher. They typically get a 60% discount on the marked price, whereas we get perhaps half that. But we CAN supply the book you want, when Amazon may not be able to, and most retailers sell a far larger selection of canal books than Amazon. We have around 450 titles at www.canalbookshop.co.uk, and you can talk to us and discuss your needs. Please come and see us in the Kingfisher marquee at Crick, or ring us! Audlem Mill

I guess my point is we spend a lot of time debating this issue on here, but boaters that do not come on this forum do not care. Actually if you look at the total membership on this forum most members on here do not care. I still remain to be convinced that a lot of the anti stuff does not have something to do with "I pay for moorings therefore everyone else should." You're probably right, but a couple of points .... 1) Why shouldn't people who pay for moorings be rightly annoyed when others use moorings free (whether time limited or not), but live in one spot or just move up and down a bit, to fit in with work/school/social needs. The Davies decision seems clear - such people must have a proper mooring. Many boaters might not care about the CMer/CCer discussion, but a lot more might! I think that BW figures say around 34,000 licences are issued, but only about 2000 boats declare CC status (I might be wrong re the exact figures, but the proportion is about right). So there's in theory 32,000 boats that will have a permanent/home mooring and in most cases be paying for it. 2) Overstaying on 24 hr, 48 hr moorings etc. isn't on - most of these are in towns, villages etc., and a quick turnround of different boats is essential to keep the local shops and pubs going. Employment in many canalside villages depends largely on the trade from the canal, so BW are doing their bit to help local economies by restricting mooring in popular places.

That was me! we do hope you can come; please phone when you know. Many thanks

Historic boats at Audlem Festival of Transport, 31 July. This year's festival will have nearly 300 old cars, lorries and motorbikes, plus perhaps 15+ historic narrow boats at Audlem Wharf on the Shropshire Union. These include Saturn, the last Shroppie fly-boat, and four ex-FMC steamers (rare to see so many in one place). Come and enjoy the day (it's all free), and if you'd like to bring your historic boat, contact Audlem Mill, who are organising the 'impromptu' boat gathering, on 01270 811059 to reserve a space. A great option if you're not going to the IWA festival at Burton upon Trent!

I was talking on the phone last night to a relative, an ex- Merchant Navy officer and senior member of the Institute of Seamanship, who was there as a guest on a police boat. Whilst he liked seeing the spectacle of all the narrow boats, he was amazed that some were't keeping to the correct side of the river, but were all over the place, in spite of some friendly "advice" from the police, thus putting themselves at some risk from the fast moving Clippers. Normal canal rules don't apply here!

I know you can buy some books cheaper at Amazon, but they are selling this book at less than the price canalside shops have to pay. If everyone buys from Amazon, canal shops (which generally sell a lot more and usually give good service) will eventually go out of business ..... Might be a pity!

Remember that there's an excellent book to accompany the series. We have it at www.canalbookshop.co.uk (£9.99 plus postage), or for callers at Audlem Mill on the Shroppie.

If Richard and WW can plug their maps, can we plug our website www.canalbookshop.co.uk, where you will find a very wide selection of canal maps and guides, including harder to find ones such as First Mate (not a canal guide as such, more a facilities guide), and Richlow (Lincolnshire and the north east Midlands/Yorkshire. We also have loads of canal books, probably the widest selection anywhere. Most are also available to callers at our shop, Audlem Mill on the Shroppie.

I understand that the house has now been emptied, more or less, and presumably will revert to BW to do what they will with.

Best of luck with selling your painted ware. Just a word of caution from a large canalside retailer ... there's not a very high demand for painted ware at the best of times, and we don't sell a great deal. You won't make a fortune, but you will certainly enjoy doing it. If you feel you are good enough, consider joining the Waterways Craft Guild, as that cachet certainly helps to sell pieces. Best wishes

Many of the recent posts are getting away from what this thread was about - paying your way. In this society, everyone has a duty to pay for all services, whether or not they use them. This is done through income tax, VAT, Council Tax etc. Whether you can afford to pay is completely irrelevant. If you can't afford it, you will be entitled to relevant concessions and/or state benefits, which will cover some or all of them. Boaters have to pay a licence fee, and (unless they move around all the time) must have a home mooring, which they pay for (unless they have a good friend). You can't legally opt out of these costs, and why should you? If you do, it's unfair on the majority (of everyone, not just boaters) who contribute to the British economy. They may not want to contribute, but democracy is like that. The majority determine the rules that apply to all of us. Back to boating - I have no problem with people who don't pay a mooring fee. All I ask is simple - they move round the canal system, or much of it, every few days. Moving up and down a short stretch of canal is bucking the system, and is patently unaccepatable. To quote the meerkat - simples!

I agree that for purposes of using state/community facilities such as police, health, rubbish disposal, etc., there is no real distinction between resident boaters who genuinely continuously cruise, and those who reside in one place or area. But no-one has invented an administrative way of charging CCers Council Tax, as they can be in one Council area one day, and three or four more within a week! Realistically, as estimates suggest that there's probably only a fairly small number of CCers who do continuously cruise all over the place, is it worth the bureaucratic effort of trying to get them to pay Council Tax. We'd need new laws, and it would have to be paid into Treasury funds, not local authority. Not worth the effort for the perhaps £2m to £3m involved.

The situation seems quite simple to me. In respect of the recent County Court case, there appear to be two main categories of boater: 1 Those who don't live on their boat 2 Those who do live on their boat. Re those who live on their boat, there seem to be these categories: 3 Those who have a paid for permanent mooring, either direct from BW or a marina/riparian owner, and stay on the mooring all or most of the time; 4 Those who continuously cruise; 5 Those who don't have a paid for permanent mooring, but stay in one place or small area all or most of the time. The judgment has nothing to do with the first three categories, as almost without exception, such people have a permanent paid for mooring. Categories 4 and 5 are similar only in that neither has a paid for mooring (though I accept that many CCers pay for a winter mooring for a few months). The main difference is that genuine CCers move round the system (all, or a substantial part of it) every year, and most, from discussions with many, move several times a week by a few miles each time. So they will only be on one particular canal for at most a week or two. Category 5 are people who have a reason that they have to be in a particular area, e.g. work, friends, school etc. If they want to stay there, the issue is simple. They obtain and pay for a permanent mooring, so contributing as a by-product to the provision of local canal amenities and canal maintenance. I can see no reason why people who live in one area on a boat should be noticeably different from those who live in a house. It's the lifestyle that they choose, not whether to opt in or out of society and their obligations to it. And of course, all liveaboards (except genuine CCers) should be paying Council Tax too. I'm not arguing that from a legal point of view, as the legal position here is somewhat obfuscated, but from a social obligation angle. If you use the services, you should pay for them.