Peter X

Thanks, yes I see they've updated the notice; I guessed right, well done CRT. By the way, that part of the Kennet is still on red boards, as is much of the Thames including Oxford and downstream of it, so my trip is still delayed.

I'd echo that, doing the 21 has always been fun for me. I've only done it as one of the crew on the NBT pair, loaded with cargo, going up, but several times. The problems it presents can be awkward: Lock 20, the second one up from the bottom, always seems to have some debris and silt behind the bottom gate on the towpath side, making it difficult to open. It helps that the NBT carry a keb and we know how to use it. Due to cobblestones and low headroom under some bridges, be careful if cycling on the towpath. It's not unknown for one or more pounds to get drained, either due to vandalism or to boaters making mistakes and leaving paddles open. But CRT are aware of this and come to the rescue. I remember one night when, moored between locks 15 and 16 I think we were (not sure), I woke up in the morning on the butty cross bed with my weight pressing my head against the hull. Sleeping had become impossible due to the boat listing as the pound drained. A CRT man appeared and explained they were running water down the flight to help us. So while the rest of the crew got up and ready, I cooked breakfast for everyone on a hob sloping down towards me, very carefully holding on to the frying pan handles. We ate, got out and did the locks, and on we went. Happy days. Wolverhampton seems to have a bad reputation, but it's not so awful, I've found the people to be generally OK., and it's hard to dislike the town which gave us the excellent TV series "Raised by Wolves"! But there is often litter in the canal. Serious litter; I once saw one of those big steel pedestrian barriers lying flat in the mud. Mooring at the top is not too difficult or unwise. And it's handy for the shops. I too have Latin O level; grade 4, my exam board used numbers. I never found it useful for doing lock flights, and when I met nicknorman once in 2018 we had a nice brief chat but none of it was in Latin. I am...X

Last I heard, the NBT boats, i.e. the pair Nutfield (borrowed) and Brighton (our butty) are at Osney awaiting decisions; fresh crew (probably including me), maybe some shopping and then the decision to proceed down river, subject to the flow. I won't be steering the motor anywhere on this trip except in an emergency, because (a) we have a very experienced captain to do that, and (b) my doctors would rather I didn't. They know a lot about neuro-oncology but less about narrow boats, however they do know my condition means I'm legally barred from driving a road vehicle. The NBT might have struggled going up the upper Thames last week because quite heavily loaded. Having unloaded some cargo up there, then more on our way down to Reading, I would anticipate that if CRT can get this boat and tree cleared at Fobney Lock by then, and the Kennet's flow is not too much, we can proceed up the Kennet. I heard in my time at Oxford (1973-76) that Port Meadow regularly gets flooded, it has done for centuries, but no doubt the EA will have their lock keepers letting as much water down river at each weir as is safe, hence the portion from Sunbury to Teddington being down to yellow boards.

For that, I just started a new topic called: Fobney Lock, Reading; nb stranded below it tangled in fallen tree

I first posted this in the South Oxford topic, but I think it needs its own topic? Of definite interest to me because I'm scheduled to join the NBT boats at Osney on Thu 8/10/20, then we go hope to proceed down to Reading and into the K&A the Kennet is on red boards and there's a nb stuck below Fobney Lock entangled with a fallen tree... https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/18484-river-kennet-between-fobney-lock-105-and-county-lock-106 I guess CRT will have that open again within days. but has anyone got the latest info on it?

It gets worse; the Kennet is on red boards and there's a nb stuck below Fobney Lock entangled with a fallen tree... https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/18484-river-kennet-between-fobney-lock-105-and-county-lock-106 I guess CRT will have that open again within days.

Having heard that the NBT boats are now waiting a while at Osney due to high water levels, I looked at the EA website earlier today and saw that the whole non-tidal Thames was on red boards. Just checked, still that. I was scheduled to join the boats on Thursday 8th at Reading, but the location for that is now Osney and I guess we might have to alter plans again! Life could be worse; it's sunny in Croydon.

I get the impression a lot of this week's rain fell further east. The EA are still showing "no stream warnings" on the Thames down to Bell Weir lock i.e. a bit downstream of Windsor, but then yellow boards from there on to Teddington. And parts of the Wey are in flood. It rained quite a lot on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday here in Croydon. But I think there was enough rain further west that CRT will be able to supply the South Oxford with water from here on?

Both correct. It was Nutfield and the butty Brighton, carrying lots of bags of coal and smokeless because doing the NBT coal run, and with some wooden items aboard. Nuneaton is nearing the end of some serious repair work including a new bottom, so the NBT have arranged with Friends of Raymond to borrow Nutfield. I'll be one of the crew on the pair on the Thames and Wey for a chunk of October as we continue, in fact my first boating since I did the same trip last October, as I got very ill in December/January but am steadily recovering. Then Nuneaton and Brighton are due to be reunited in late October. Brighton does indeed have the name painted on a very nice water can but not on the stern, but who is Betty?

I'm hearing that there's not a lot of water available going down from the summit towards Oxford, so expect slow progress there in either direction for the time being. I guess CRT will be hoping that the rain which is forecast for this week, Wednesday onwards, will help matters. The EA website is showing "No stream warnings" for the whole of the non-tidal Thames, so again no-one's going to be swept away by a flood there soon.

Thank you, my recovery appears to be still going well and it looks as if my trip in October is still on; this one is on rivers not canals. I have another MRI scan on Monday, then I see one of my doctors (there's a team of them!) on Tue 29 Sep, so I'll see then what their latest thoughts about me moving coal bags are. I think I can do it, but they have their worries and I must respect that. They kept me alive through a serious illness (thank you NHS, nothing to do with COVID-19) and they know what they're talking about! I hope you found someone to help you with your boat move; if not, is anyone up north up for it?

I'm pretty sure matty40s is right, he moves boats for a living and is well respected on this forum for knowing what he's talking about. I try to be too!... Certainly I've always been under the impression that (a) any boat on CRT waters needs a CRT licence; other rules are applied elsewhere depending on the navigation authority. And (b) nobody needs a licence to help move someone's boat, whether taking overall responsibility like him, or just helping as crew as I sometimes do. There are several possible scenarios: 1. I think anyone getting paid needs their own insurance, and it's income which should be declared for tax by the person or company doing it, whereas... 2. Anyone like me doing it for just food and accommodation with no money changing hands (hence it's not of interest to HMRC), is just a guest on the boat and will be covered by any normal boat insurance policy. 3. If someone pays to use a boat, wherever they're going or for whatever reason, that makes it a hire boat and the owner needs to comply with extra regulations and declare the income. Hope all that helps clarify things.

Another useful link if you plan to go on the non-tidal Thames is http://riverconditions.environment-agency.gov.uk/ which tells you how much water is coming down river anywhere between Lechlade and Teddington; nice and tame at present.

The low bridge you are referring to is probably the Osney bridge over the Thames, carrying the main road west out of the city centre. A typical narrow boat will normally fit under it, provided that you clear the roof and take any chimney down as you approach. You might be approaching quickly if going downstream and the river has a bit of a flow on. Steer carefully and mind your head! As said, there are two connections from the canal into the river; the Sheepwash channel which connects from just upstream of Osney Bridge to near the end of the canal in the city centre (just down from its last lock), and Dukes' Cut about two miles up river. The latter is usual, being rather a faster way to do it whether you're going up river towards Lechlade, or down river towards Abingdon and Reading. But for the latter, you have to get under Osney Bridge either way.

The newts are all wondering too, they all want to find a mate and reproduce. But whenever they go looking for one, there's a building project in the way. Or when they do find the newt of their dreams, they get abducted by someone who wants to stop a building project. But that scenario could end well; they might get a dream home provided for them?... "Ooh look, there's a breeding pair! We really must look after them." Aren't they all "Great Crested Newts"? If so, my hypothetical lonely newt won't be fussy; any Crested Newt of the required sex will be Great.

Grounding a punt is quite an achievement. Only did it once myself, while exploring a little side channel off the Cherwell in Oxford, some way up from the city centre. It took a little time and effort with the pole to get back out onto the river. My apologies for steering "Are you new to boating??" rather off topic into an in-depth (or not so much depth!) discussion of punting. There's probably a topic for that somewhere.

All parts of the GU are interesting in their own way! A big city at each end, Warwick and Milton Keynes and smaller towns along the way, lots of locks to do, and two rather long tunnels (Blisworth and Braunston). I've done it all (except some arms) in various chunks on various boats, often on the NBT coal runs where we take a pair of historic boats, loaded with up to 40 tonnes of cargo if we're going south. Great fun! In the 1930s those boats were designed for the canal, and the locks towards the Birmingham end were widened to take them. This year if you're on the GU in late October you may come across the NBT going north from Brentford to Braunston, with not much cargo left aboard. But not me, I'm on the crew earlier on the Thames and Wey. Remember that the whole GU has wide locks, so you'll often be sharing a lock with another boat, OK once you get used to it. How often will depend on where, and on which way most of the traffic is going on a given day, which varies according to the turn around days of the various hire fleet bases. Here's an interesting article about the GU's history: https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/grandjun.htm

That's where they really go wrong in Cambridge, they tend to stand on the raised end of the punt, which I think must make life harder and increase the risk of falling in. Never fell in myself anywhere, or saw anyone do so in my brief experience of Cambridge, but I saw people fall into the Cherwell in Oxford 3 times, each off a boat I was on. Two of them tried to blame me, but it was their own silly fault!

The one time I punted in Cambridge, one afternoon in September 1974 going a little way up river out of the centre, I don't remember the bed of the river feeling unusual. I hired a nice punt similar to what I'd got used to when I began punting earlier that year in Oxford, used it the Oxford way, and had no difficulty. The main difference between the rivers is that the Thames is relatively BIG; wide, and deep in the middle, and can have a lot of water going down it sometimes. And it gets more traffic. I found that bit of the Cam I did to be much like the Cherwell; tame. I think muddy patches, where twisting the pole to get it out becomes necessary, tend to be more common on canals than on rivers, but it varies.

It's September. it's not raining or windy, but I was too lazy to do any gardening this evening. My excuse is that it was getting too dark. At 9pm on 7th September it does.

I see that bedroom one is an "irregular shaped room". Actually the floor plan shows it's an L-shaped room. One of my favorite films, that.

But that Tamworth house has a dining hall! According to the Property details. At 9' wide I think that's rather a grand description, but it becomes a dining Room on the floor plan. It would be a tight squeeze to get my big dining table and its 8 chairs in there. But then it's rather tight in my existing house, and the most I've had to dinner here yet, since I got my table back (another off-topic story), is 5 including three small grandchildren. Whoever turns up last for dinner at that front door in Tamworth would have to be seated at that end. These topics about properties are the gift that keeps on giving; there's always something daft in a property ad to make fun of.

Techy-Ben, here are my thoughts on how to move your boat with no working engine, depending on available crew and what they know. A paddle could help if you have a big enough paddle. But: In a perfect world, go for option 1: borrow a horse (probably very difficult), plus someone who knows how to manage the beast; crucial I imagine! Or in the real world, option 2: get someone strong on the towpath to impersonate a horse, preferably pulling a long enough line attached in the best available place; that's towards but not at the bow, which is why old working boats have a mast there, but a centre line will do. While with either option, someone else steers carefully. Ideally also combine one of the above with option 3: have someone who knows what they're doing using a pole. Trust me, that means preferably someone who learned punting at Oxford. They'll stand at the stern and use their follow-through action to assist with the steering. But a Cambridge graduate would be better than someone who hasn't done punting.

Isn't the short dash the minus sign, normally the key to the right of the 0 on the top row? Shift with that gives you the underscore, quite often used too in email names.