Mike Todd

But with locks that size no-one would be able to use it!

That was the basis of the Generation Game.

Have you found data from CaRT to back up that claim regarding non display?

Ask in store? I have generally found them helpful - after all the geeks there get tired of dealing with the very simple needs of most of their customers and they enjoy a bit of a challenge - just so long as they know how to fix it!

Or, like me, just take their hearing aids out when the engine is running . . . (I think we have the quietest conventional engine on the system!) In any case, depending on the mountings etc, sometimes the sound of the engine is less inside than out.

The notice lifting the Birmingham-Wolverhampton restrictions did not - I think - specify but when we came past a few weeks back it was an all day restriction rather than overnight.

Depending on time of day and moth of the year, day of week etc, you are more likely to find other boaters around as the Iron Lock is restricted to single boat use whilst others are double so more likely to have someone waiting wither up or down. Or at least that is my recollection - two years since our last visit.

GDPR may not prevent that but it will not stop people trying to hide behind it, as with H&S, Food Hygience etc. Has the liability of hire companies ever been tested in court? I did not think it applied with car hire - or does it?

Of course that is true but try to claim from a set of hirers cannot be the easiest task. Unless they volunteer their detailss you first have to persude the hire company to tell you and watch them hide behind GDPR.

Carborondum just ain't wot it used to be. Not up to scratch.

But presumably that was because the river overtopped the gates and defences. Bit harsh to blame the lock keeper (or lack thereof) for that!

And not how a number of pronunciation web sites give it - although most are fairly poor quality sound.

Whilst there is no general prohibition on night time cruising, it is pretty much universally forbidden by hire companies - probably acting in response to insurers conditions. The ones you saw wer5e, in all probability, uninsured so glad they did not hit you!

Given that CaRT now have much more comprehensive water models which enable them to calculate ahead the likely situation months away, I wonder whether we are beginning to see a more cautious approach that does not just simply react to the current situation, waiting until the reservoirs are bone dry before doing anything. It is preferable (if the choice has to be made) to ensure that passage is possible right through the season even if at restricted times rather than having longer periods when the route is shut completely. Boaters may need a new mind set in terms of planning routes and daily schedules, looking at the various notices much more frequently (assuming that they are properly maintained!)

I.m a bit puzzled - how did the old lock keeper affect the river levels? Or are you saying that the flood gates are not shut soon enough now?