Mike Todd

I thought that Winter Moorings were for those who wanted to stay put rather than those who, because of circumstance, had to stay.

But they are harder to avoid than the trip and rubbish boats! Even worse are coxless ones . . . Looks like you were coming in upstream. The problem we found is coming down from Brentford on an ebbing tide - the flow 'bounces' off the downstream entrance wall and pushes the boat sharply to the left ie the upstream wall - not what you would expect.

Yup!

What are your timescales? (remember Worcester and Birmimgham Canal is effectively cut off until mid March on current plans)

I don't find the last phrase particularly true - but then a fifty year sample span may not be thought to be long enough to judge! I am always amazed by the number of well-meaning and helpful people there are on the canals - and alongside - often from a wide variety of circumstance. Always best to judge a book from its pages rather the cover.

I would certainly concur that entering Brentford is a whole lot easier than Limehouse.

Do you still have/use the tall thin shaped versions?

They were a great idea but sadly no longer updated.

I don't see how your comment follows from the quote . . .

This why better designed input systems try to define all of the acceptable answers in a list but, if there is any chance that there may be others than a free form entry box called Other is also provided. This means that the human both entering and checking normally has very little to do and they only have to concentrate on the relatively small number of Other cases. This approach also means that it can be introduced even when the full list is not yet determined (and also allows for the option of new ones coming along under the radar) and gradually extended as the info is available and validated. Overall, this should mean that what often happens with totally free form entry, the same place is not given several different names, perhaps based on local history and practice. Of course it does benefit from on-the-ground intelligence that can combine together two or more related locations - such as marina and on-line moorings just outside and jointly administered. All of this will be beneficial as the IT schemes, such as the Mooring Validation Scheme are trolled out, most of which will be motivated by a reduction in staff time rather than some ulterior and covert purpose. IT that neither reduces staff time nor offers an extended service is a waste of time!

The only objection I can see with that letter is that it does not specify what their query is in respect of the boat. It could be anything although the rest implies it is about mooring. But such approaches are notorious in questioning as they can lead someone to offer information about an entirely different matter from that which sparked of the query and in so doing initiate a whole new line of issues. To me, the proper response - especially in these days of precautionary advice regarding unsolicited communications - would be to respond by asking for specific details of their query. That is not being awkward, just playing safe.

But that statement only refers to an established contractual debt. Increasingly, businesses, especially internet based ones, are specifying what means of payment they will accept and if you proceed to buy from them then you have to accept those conditions. As it happens, because of fraud via ebay, people are sometimes being advised only to handover a valuable item in person and in exchange for an immediately usable payment (either cash or a verified bank draft/transfer) that cannot be reversed once the recipient is around the corner and in possession of said item. Although there is some snobbishness about developments like bitcoin, saying that they are not 'real' money, in fact most of us, most of the time, only operate with a set of digits stored on a computer systems somewhere out there in the ether. Before long, it seems to me highly likely that money = cash will cease to even be a dream. Talk to very young people (like the Listening Project did yesterday) and see how they view the world without smartphones etc etc etc.

But you cannot insist that the creditor accepts cash - and, in any case, there are limits on what cash represents legal tender, as I recall. ie you cannot deliver a sackful of pennies and require someone to accept them. Cash is, for a business, one of the more expensive ways of obtaining payment.

Do we know whether the pump house is listed? If it is - and I'd be surprised if not - then some of the fears are diminished, if not eliminated.

Is/was it a requirement for feisty lock keepers to be called Maureen? Just thinking of Wardle Lock as well! Life on the canal is duller without her (Shaw, that is), alas.

In some instances, cheques are counted as cash (almost).

The change in the law is not to say that no charge be made for a credit card, only that such a charge must apply to all payment methods. We have already seen some internet based businesses applying the charge for cash and debit cards. But at least the scam is transparent . . .

I suspect that the application of auto renew to most accounts was probably something done at a low level in IT rather than a Board level decision. It's the sort of thing that many companies have tried to do in order to boost their cash flow. Perhaps a boater rep could take this up officially, but I don't actually know any personally. I'm less sympathetic to the point about the start date for a licence. The T&C are quite clear that licences start from the first of a month - not unlike most similar situations. Similarly, licences are not (now) transferable. When we were on the verge of licencing our new build boat last spring it was clear that it was slipping towards the turn from March to April but we needed a registration number so that it could be painted on, along with the name. This can be done as a separate transaction. I calculated that it was better to do this and take the hit of the small extra cost rather than 'waste' a whole month's licence. In the end, the handover was after office closing time on 31st and we took ownership from midnight! You just have to be a bit savvy about these matters and not ignore the info that is available. Of course, we all make mistakes (including 'blinking' at the wrong moment) from time to time . . .

I must admit that my recollection from passing it several times was that the main pumphouse building was owned or rented by a trust - maybe the Dudley Canal Trust (Wikipedia say that they operate it) know more but I cannot find anything via Google. I did find a photo from 1984 which showed the site rather downbeat and boarded up, it previous industrial user presumably having left. I'd be surprised if the building is not listed. The document in the OP does not feel genuine, however. All such official notices I have ever seen have a header that tells a lot more and I'm suspicious that we have not seen all of the document.

It is pretty much standard on new ones - only those interested in matching historical experiences will think to ask! My point remains for all such phones.

Why is it so different from a mobile phone? Especially as the phone is usually left on all the time whilst a camera is not.

I haven't checked recently but when I was buying a replacement last spring I found that almost all cameras in the pocket-size range have dropped the GPS function which was a bit of a disappointment. I found it very useful to be able to locate a photo (of a canal feature such as a milestone) that is hard to find via Google Maps etc. Given that mobile phones have it almost by default these days (and when the market is feature-driven) it was not easy to understand this trend.

That's fine when on board, steering or not, but not really when off, working locks. Or perhaps you have crew to do that? . . .

Whilst I have long coveted a 'proper'camera (last one was long ago back in the days of film) on a boat I really do need a pocket sized one, together with a neck strap. I have only actually lost one - that was climbing up a lock ladder - but I don't want to do so again. I lost a number of pix of canal features that took several years to replace as we did not go back there for that length of time. The problem with a larger non-pocket camera is when working locks. When I get off I want to take pix of the lock itself and special features eg an unusual weir. I find that having something swinging around is all but impossible to cope with not to mention endangering the camera itself. Sadly I find that my smartphone take better pix than the separate higher end pocket camera but does not come with a tethering point and I do not intend to risk losing it into the murky depths.

Kevin Walsh's website: http://www.kevinwalshoriginals.com/index.html seems he specialises in images meant for licensing o products such as jigsaws and other items.