scrumpylurcher

C/O IWA ????

I cannot say I am impressed with the way that the IWA put up so many candidates and I have seen little since that tells me the boaters reps are actually doing anything or in fact feeding anything back to us boaters. However over the years I have had several cases of stalemate with BW that in the end were impossible to sort out. I had a similar problem this summer which I in the end referred to the trust through John Dodwell. Unlike previously this provided a speedy solution to the problem and I got a quick positive result. I dont think we should have to refer to the Trust on everything but it was good to see someone prepared to get things sorted

A picture for you Mike, Taken a couple of weeks ago when we cleared the island at Braunston Junction. It was great to be able to use Vesta on this project. Doesnt really constitute much of a load, 10 Bags total,

The picture of Sunny Valley reminded me of a picture I was given by Aubrey Berriman, Aubrey was the boat builder responsible for the museum mock up and as has been said Ron did all the painting. This was in Blue Line times and Aubrey says that at one stage he was making and Ron was painting cabin stools that Michael was selling to the big London stores. He says they were made with a drawer. the pic shows Sunny Valley being towed out of Braunston yard.

I would agree with others, assuming you are in her area Susie Mercer was extremely helpful when we sorted out our application forms.

When I applied for my licence I could not make the verbal quote they gave me fit the paperwork I had to fill in. I filled in what I could, left all the references to discounts etc blank and let them sort that out. By some miracle the figures came out the same as the quote. Good luck with your venture.

THe trading licence is a supplement on top of your cruising licence, the final changes have yet to take place so the rates have not recentley changed apart from the annual inflation increases. As it stands from what you describe you could get a trading licence at a relatively low cost. You do however have to put your case to CRT and also provide evidence of suitable insurance cover for trading. This again should not be too costly but you need to spell it out to the insurance company or else they will want you to pay a full traders insurance. I have heard thaat CRT are being rather more selective but I have no evidence of this. Your first port of call is their Boating Trade Team - boatingtrade.enquiries@canalrivertrust.org.uk The paperwork they send you, if it has not changed, is very hard to follow, as rellates to what you will have to pay but I have found them to be helpful over the phone. It looks rather like we will have to pay somewhere in the region of £80/90 for the minimal impact trading in the near future.

At the times during the winter when they are unmanned there are signs top and bottom warning you to check the other end of the staircase section before entering.

Sounds like it is one of Danny Williamsons rebuilds, if so there should be records of it that he supplied at the time. It does not do an engine any good to run cold, I have a 2L2 rebuilt by Danny 13 years ago, you cant really bare your hands on the rocker cover after it has got up to temperature. I cant give you an actual figure, just it always runs in the middle of the gauge. It sounds possible that your thermostat is missing or stuck open. I have heard stories of possible problems with reversed engines but never an actual instance.

Would this be similar to the argument put forward for bigger and better supermarkets and out of town shopping.

AS Carl says there is nothing locally to compare with the proposals for Olney, which is bordering on being double the size of Braunston. Assuming it goes ahead I am prepared to gamble a small ammount that the promised shop and pub remain a pipe dream for many years to come. There is recent history of all sorts of fancy add ons at proposed marinas that dont actually appear. I think the local residents who are backing the application on the basis of pubs/shops/jobs etc maay well be disappointed.

There was a meeting the previous week at Crick (originally planned for Barby) which was a duplicate of the Tring meeting. It was brought up by the Oxford IWA present that the felt there should be a meeting for that area as well as the two organised

The third basin which backs up to UCC was purchased by Tim from the people who used to own the bottom lock shop and continue to farm a lot of the land on both sides of the canal. I believe it was smaller but in water and was linked to the pump house that UCC now occupy. I cant remeber the dates but I understand there were replacement electric pumps in that building before it was decommisioned.

I have been assured that all the funding for the poetry on the lock beams has come from the Arts Coucil. Them who funded the plastic cones at Braunston a while ago. I still think it could have been better spent, but in the long term I suppose it will be argued that it is attracting a different visitos to the canals.

I was quite surprised to find how low the reserves are for Tring at the moment (67% I think) with all the rain we have had recentley I had expected it to be higher than that. All the other reservoirs covered by the South East are good and above average, hardly surprising really.

I have found most craftsmen or women on the cut to be very helpful with tips and advice about their particular skills. Dave is very high on that list, he has given me all sorts of tips and advice on painting and is always available on the end of a phone.

I assume it was Jeff Whyatt using the term as he did at the Crick User meeting. Having been asked to explain it he said it was all growth on the edge of the canal that would not easily be cleared by a conventional strimmer ie saplings etc that required specific attention. It does make you wonder why they come up with these new uses for words, it isnt very helpful to normal people.

WE have a fairly even mix in our group, we do however seem to favour weekdays. That I have to conceed is very unfair on those still working for a living.

I think he will struggle to get it back to Braunston whilst the repairs are being done on the 2 bridges. If it is still moored where it was last weekend he proves my point about making himself unpopular with other boaters. He is on a slight bend with a bridge on it, which ever way you approach it your view ahead is compromised, made worse since it is a WB.

I am sure there were only 3 boats left Braunston, Nutfield, Corona and a hire boat. I dont know of any others joining on route. I know we are not really into the cold weather yet but I was surprised to find that they have no stove in the back cabin on Nutfield, there was already a queue forming to share Trevors on Corona. They breed these boaters tough round here, or is that mad.

If you intend mooring on the Oxford Canal at Rugby you will find just going out for a spin rather difficult and rather frustrating. As has been said your boat will have to be craned in and out, it is a narrow canal with 7 ft wide locks. You are unlikely to be popular unless you are very selective with an online mooring. In simple terms if you want to cruise regularly withy freedom you need a NB. Ifr it is a live on boat that doesnt often move the extra space will be a bonus. But if you go widebeam do not go for mooring on the Oxford canal either North or South

Having got rather frustrated with responses to various things we as CRT Volunteers were getting I finally contacted the Trustees direct. I had a response from John Dodwell saying he would investigate, and quite quickly that was followed by a email from Vince Moran including detailed explanations of our problems, the internal discussions, and a satisfactory solution to our original request. This compared with the "NO" from nameless, faceless management members recieved previously I strongly believe there is a new mind set within CRT, and I think this is filtering down withing their management structure. It is very early days and things are far from perfect but the signs are good. Lets at least continue to offer encouragement and patience.

It is good to see that CRT has acknowledged the forum and that we have a response that answers many of the questions raised by those who considered the appeal to be wrong. If we are to have this sort of open comment in the future there could be hope yet.

This will be the first year we have missed for a long time. We usually trade there but a long awaited hospital appointment for my better half has meant we cant do it this year. We have always found this to be a really enjoyable event and a pleasant end to our trading season.