Hawthorn

Our favourite was over-hearing a dad requesting/pleading with his teenage daughter as he walked with her along the tow-path to another lock ... ' if you'll just give me the next three days of your life......' Teenage daughter would presumably have been happier at the dentist!

Why are you sending thanks to the wine in the fridge?......

The curve of normal distribution will show that some of the target audience will have mental age of seven. Although I do not know if boaters fit a normal demographic, or whether there is a greater or fewer number who have cognitive difficulties, there is no reason at all to try and snipe at CRT if they are trying to be inclusive and make sure they communicate with all their stakeholders. Actually it would be better if you were critical of them because they do not make their written material accessible. As matter of fact, readability is key factor in good communication, the Sun newspaper has a reading age of 8-9 years and the Guardian 13-14. The piece you mention has a reading age of 16-17. I suggest that if the letter were written personally to you, then you would be justified in feeling patronised, but to suggest that CRT should only address those of average to above average cognitive ability when they publish open letters, is discriminatory. The Campaign for Plain English would prefer that shorter words and shorter sentences were used in all official documents. However - good communication is best served when there is nothing that gets in the way - and incorrect spelling does get in the way. With word processing there is no excuse for that.

There we go! its the reason Im not rich, .... by the time I have a good idea, some-one else has already had it, patented it, spent a bloody fortune on r&d and then found it doesn't work, put the company in the wife's name and then gone bankrupt!

If you are compliant then the question of whether you are using the boat 'bona fide' for navigation will never arise. I suspect everyone knows exactly what 'bona fide' means, the big question they want answered, and which never will be, I hope, is 'how far must I travel in order to make sure no-one ever questions whether I am using the boat 'bona fide for navigation' Here's a suggestion, its the boat that needs to move, not the people, so why don't all you peeps who just want to stay within a 5 mile range of where you are, form a network, cruise to your cruising limit and then swop your boat with someone else. Before you know where you are the boats can have travelled hundreds of miles and you have stayed put. Unless of course this wouldn't work because your boat is actually your home and you want your home to stay on the same small length of canal.

Have you tried Vicarage farm near sea brook locks - that would be closest to Dunstable, or Welton Haven? its on the Leicester arm just north of Whilton, very basic, with two basins - no further than Ventnor

Public bodies do not have to answer FOI requests if the answer is available elsewhere.

Perhaps it's a deterrent, and becomes neither a penalty nor a charge unless someone overstays. CRT does not want people to overstay. If someone chooses to overstay, then that behaviour has consequences. The consequences involve administrative activity which would not otherwise be required. Additional administrative activities incur an additional financial cost. I am happier that CRT recover that cost from the person whose selfish behaviour has resulted in that cost, rather than ignore it.

You have to search through it, but eventually on p 40 of the CRT Annual report and Accounts published annually, last one either June or July last year you will find these figures 'As at 31 March 2015 there were 32,773 (2014: 32,440) boats with a licence issued to use the Trust’s waterways (excluding boat licences for one month or less). This represents a small increase of 0.9% compared with the equivalent figure as at 31 March 2014. Boating and mooring statistics for the years ended 31 March:'

if you search really hard you can find some docs from CRT. I'm just looking at one called Re-pricing of 12 month mooring permits 2015 Moorings area report for Bucks and Herts. It names all the CRT and private providers in order to justify their own prices. There are no contact details but with the names of the providers you might be able to find those by other means. I assume (could be foolish) that CRT has produced similar reports for other areas. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/8793-buckinghamshire-and-hertfordshire-market-area-report-2015.pdf

Very succinctly put. ....'reasonable in the circumstances...' depends on the circumstances. Not moving in the direction of your choice, because the direction of your choice is not available may be considered reasonable by some, it may be considered unreasonable by others. WV decided that he would alert CRT. This is an acid test. If it was thought that overstaying was not reasonable, he would have received a pretty clear piece of advice. As was stated they cannot give permission, but if they disagree with you as to the definition of what is 'reasonable' in a given set of 'circumstances', they can refer this to a higher authority for determination.

Had a walk along the canal there a couple of weeks ago. The pontoon moorings in the small basin are visitor moorings. The 6 linear ones that have newly come on stream are long term leisure, but with the possibility of 3 becoming residential, if there is sufficient interest! Love this idea, only one person wants a residential mooring, so will that not be 'sufficient interest'?. Perhaps they are thinking security and want three boats for safety. Ironic that they evicted the residential boats that were there! No car-parking offered though.

Mmmm.... good point! I'll change that to being a 'boater without a home mooring'.

There are loads and loads and loads of places along the canal that boaters can pull in for the night too. I rather think this article was about the unfairness of being expected to move at all, once you have found somewhere you like. Actually I understand this, as in London, if you do risk moving, you might find it hard to find another spot that suits you so well, unless your friends save it for you. ( Based on my very limited experience of trying to do that two years ago. Gave up, moved out, back to my long term mooring. No pleasure being a wandering vagabond, so can only imagine how difficult it is to try and be a continuous cruiser in London now.

Just realised I was looking in the wrong place, its Dacorum Council. Still can't find it though, so presumable not actually gone to planning yet.

Who is signing up for the 10k challenge, running the Wendover and Aylesbury Arms this September? ( today's Boaters Update) Can't get my head round the risk assessment....... Where will the spectators stand? How will the runners 'share the space' with the cyclists? How will the runners negotiate all the red safety fencing? Ye gods I hope the public indemnity insurance covers it all! Will anyone be allowed to moor up and sit on the towpath during the event? Is this just to prove that the towpaths are more important than canals?

Regarding the OP, who 'fessed up to liking pointless discussions, does anyone know the answer to these questions: - are CRT work boats licensed? - do they have home moorings? - are they allowed to moor on the towpath for more than 14 days (or is this a case of being reasonable in the circumstances, if they are carrying out work)? And another angle on the boats with no home mooring: -does CRT publish the numbers of boats who do not have a home mooring - does anyone on here know what the current position is? Can some clever person do the sums and work out how much extra revenue would be raised if all these boats had a home mooring - either on CRT directly managed moorings or BWML. I realise there is no extra revenue to be had by them all going into Privately owned marinas, as they have to pay their 9% whether they are full or half empty. And finally, I know CRT report how much they spend on fundraising, and show that this is money well spent, do they do the same for enforcement, or does this simply lose/use money. If this is the case, is enforcement simply used as a deterrent, to ensure that more of us don't choose not to have a home mooring?

Brilliant! Another entry for the Uxbridge English Dictionary. ETA should have picked up Other quoted post too. " the old ' piston broke' defence"

Not sure I really believe that there is a direct link between towpath maintenance and dredging, but because I completely agree with Mr Finchers comment I just wonder whether more rigorous/vigorous dredging in some places might result in even more collapsing towpaths. Certainly the numbers of holes on GU south is quite frightening. As was said some of these are marked, but too often the tape has been there so long it simply vanishes and if the fault has been logged onto the system it also seems to vanish. I am surprised we don't hear about more broken ankles or cyclists going over the handle bars.

42

That is hardly the point. I accept that language is dynamic, and the use of archaic phrases can be just as much of a hindrance to understanding, but in the example you have given, the meaning would be even more clear without the redundant word 'key'. Regarding the use of 'signpost' as a verb, this is jargon, beginning in academic institutions as a device for directing the reader to salient points in an essay. It does not aid understanding.

You may have been ( out of it for too long) but you shouldn't apologise for drawing attention to this appalling tendency that organisations have towards 'corporate speak'. Jargon is a way of excluding a group from the discussion. It can make junior members of any organisation feel they don't know as much as those who 'speak the language' . And for those not even part of an organisation, it can have the effect of making you feel stupid. We should demand plain English. The most ludicrous example of this is the Tesco distribution centre at Fenny Lock (and for all I know others as well) that has been renamed Tesco Fulfilment Centre. However, to return to my first point, be grateful you are out of it, I am too, but just for fun, I read some job titles the other day. It was like doing the Telegraph Toughie crossword.

Excellent point!

So there is a difference of opinion about dog bowls, but how do folks respond to a TV aerial being planted in the tow-path for 8 months by a person given special dispensation to avail themselves of a winter mooring, which lasted from September to May, oh and for good measure, a bird feeder, also firmly planted, a pallet and door mat, to ensure they did not take muddy boots onto the polished stern of the wide-beam on which they lived? To be fair you could walk past, but it does kind of make you feel you are invading privacy,when all you are doing is using what may well be a public right of way. Remember that as landowners, CRT have a statutory duty to ensure that rights of way are not obstructed.

Every time someone does someone a favour, they are 'undercutting' someone who might offer the same service, but charge. Carers, grand parents providing childcare, giving a friend lift back from the station ....... the list could be endless. It's the way the world ought to work, exchange and barter, generosity or reciprocal arrangements. If the OP is re-read, you will see that they make it clear they WILL be getting rewarded, it sounds like they are not going to rush, but enjoy a 'short break'. A friend of mine moves boats, the most recent from Croatia to Majorca. He doesn't get paid, only expenses, but boy has he had some great trips that he could not otherwise afford.