Andrew Denny

My point was not the use the put the building to, but the local history. Most spoons honour local history.

One thing I won't accuse Wetherspoons of is neglecting tradition. They make a huge effort to research local history. Indeed, I wonder what Rolt would have made of Tim Martin taking over that pub, when you compare it with the average bigscreen TV sports bar.

In Narrow Boat Tom Rolt mentioned a huge pub by the canal on the Grand Union Leicester Line, south of Leicester and in the Blaby/Glen Parva/Wigston area. He hated it, the sort of place that people came to by motor car, and he made it sound like a proto-Wetherspoons. This would have been in the summer of 1939. Does anyone know where this pub was, and if the building still exists? Thanks Andrew

I've been approached by a gentleman saying that his mother was born on an FMC boat, nb Spade in 1933, at Broad Street, Wolverhampton, and her family worked the Shropshire Union. His mum is still alive, and for her 86th birthday this year he was hoping he could get a chance to take her to see Spade again. The boat isn't listed on the HNBC website, but they say she still exists and has been extensively modernised as a full liveaboard, and they last heard of her in 2015 at Sharpness. HNBC says it was originally a Midlands & Coast boat, sold to FMC in 1938. Anyone know how to get in contact with the current owner? He/she obviously is keen on the history of the boat, because the 2015 picture of it now shows a Midlands & Coast livery. Thanks

By Dukes Lock, do you mean above Lock 92? I'm a bit nervous of leaving it unattended on the towpath, is that a popular mooring?

Thanks, dmr, but I'll be short of time when I arrive on Sunday and need to leave the boat and catch a train back, so I was hoping I could stay my allotted 7 Bridgewater days there rather than race up the Rochdale. Also, are the locks closed after dark, or is that just the towpath?

Thanks. I'll be arriving there on Sunday from the T&M on my CRT licence (7 days on the Bridgewater Canal gratis), and rather hoped I could leave the boat there a few days, instead of having to tackle the Rochdale 9 and Ashton straight away, hence my question. Unfortunately the Bridgewater office isn't open to call until 2-4pm and I'm in meetings this afternoon, hence my question.

How long can you moor in Castlefield Basin in Manchester when you arrive? And is there a difference between visiting CRT and native Bridgewater Canal boats? Thanks

Actually, stop press, I just discovered that I wrote about it myself, in March 2009! It's milepost no. 79, just south of Harefield. http://www.grannybuttons.com/granny_buttons/2009/03/in-memoriam-rodney-furze.html My apologies, I'd forgotten. The reason I asked is that tomorrow (Saturday), Kate Saffin & Heather Wastie's Idle Women tour on nb Tench is going past the plaque, and I wanted to alert them. http://alarumtheatre.8ch.co.uk/?page_id=314

I seem to recall a Grand Union milepost dedicated to Eily (Kit) Gayford, the legendary trainer of the Idle Women. Anyone know where it is? (Am I imagining it?) Thanks.

Thanks!

This strange curly 'boathook' head was offered for sale at a recent HNBC auction. What is it? Someone said it might be a railway tool, used possibly for reaching under carriages to retrieve dangling chains without the worker having to risk his neck going under the carriage himself. But can anyone identify it definitively? Where can I buy one?

I'm sorry I've not been able to read or reply to all the answers in this thread in the last week. I was having problems understanding how to reply to individual comments. While ten years ago I thought I knew how to do it, after several years ago I seem to have forgotten. For reference, someone I know (and whose opinion I respect) mentioned the issue. I'm not 'trying to start a rumour', I heard their comment, and I wondered if it was true or more widely known. Clearly not, not on CWF anyway. But for reference, some marinas now have arrangements with local authorities where the boats have to move their mooring within the marina regularly (a couple of times a year perhaps), to ensure they don't 'put down roots' and to take advantage of low council tax rates among other things. The 'rumour' was that the marina had been hit with a heavy surcharge or fine or something. I'm not going to go into legal terminology like hereditaments etc.