Djuwenda

back to the OP, thats an incredible sight! I am guessing the smaller hulls were craned on top of the transporter?

I once stole a lock, unwittnigly. My friend had started working it and by the time I realised someone else had walked over with a windlass, it was too late. I tried to make eye contact but the agrrieved party was having none of it. As I left the lock still unsure if I had effectively stolen the lock his other half launched in tirade which I thought unpleasant. I kept cool though and offered my sincereest apologies, adding that I hoped she would still make it in time to her weight watchers meeting. Not big not clever, just a knee jerk reaction to unpleasantnesss. I'd forgotten all about this (and grown a lovely moustache) until sometime later when sharing a lock going up a flight with another boat, I spotted someone coming down two or three locks away and suggested we save our efforts and wait here for them to set the locks for us... The gentleman steering the other boat congratulated me on such good manners and proceeded to tell me the story of that horrid man who once stole his lock and then insulted his wife. I very nearly wetted myself, but kept a straight face.

at the risk of coming accross a little slow... I understand the marina has reported a suspected theft to the police but has not yet been able to locate the owners of the grp boat that has been towed out of the marina. So we dont actually know whether the boat was effectively stolen or sold? or I have missed a post?

Very useful suggestions, thank you. I will get on the phone this morning. Dominic, going for a car allowance would be my preferred option. Hopefully my new employer and I can come to some agreement on that.

Hello I am in the process of a getting a new job as a field sales person working on the south of England. My new employer has suggested I move to the Oxford area. Annoyingly, I was hoping I would be allowed to make the most out of a CC status, but sadly they want me to be stuck in a marina (cruel irony for someone who has so far managed a good cruising pattern whilst working an office job) Questions: does anybody know of any marinas in the region with availability and an idea of the costs incurred? the employer's worry as I understand it is that they want to know where the company car will be parked at night, hopefully a few months down the line I may be able to convince them to give me a car allowance instead and I can get back out th'cut

I too have been waiting. Phylis, your thread has arrived!!

my 82 year old granddad still insists on getting drunk with me and my cousin He also used to smoke 40 a day for years. Gave the fags up easily, but still likes a tipple. Amazing that he made it this far after such a life of excess as he is still famous for his drinking and brawling past in his part of Brittany. When he drinks with us, he'll occasionally slip back in old ways and suggest we take pot shots at the neighbour with the airgun. Its quite emotional for us to see glimpses of the man he used to be. The neighbour does not share our sentimentalism despite the fact that we are very poor shots and complained to the police.

I cant help thinking this exactly the sort of problem that a more open approach to drugs would help. were kids not rummaging through vets supplies looking for alternatives to street dealers and safe but banned ecstasy, drugs like Ketamine would I suspect be a lot less popular. I once had an interview at Phillip Morris in Switzerland. The interviewer offered me a cigarette which I thought polite to accept before explaining he would not have one himself as he'd quit a few weeks before. That was a slightly surreal experience, looking over some snow covered mountains, selling myself to the devil with a cigarette in hand...

yes the chap whose brainchild it was wanted to connect the midlands to the continent via a tunnel under the channel, hence the continental gauge. Had this brilliant fool succeeded, Braunston would have effectively been ruined still its hard not to be impressed byt the guy's vision, especially as we now struggle to redo some of the work he set off to do such a long time ago.

you are right, re reading the start of this, its actually Costowldman's post n102 which I disagree with. Had the railways been built at a continental gauge, the infrastructure would have too. But as you said its a bit chicken and egg now. I think its interesting to try and look at the past when it comes to this sort of project. For example what would have happened if the land on which the GCR was built had not been sold to individuals (post beeching axe), it would prove invaluable today Its unlikely that land in England will ever become cheaper, or that the coutry will become less populated, or that the need for people to get around will decrease much. Bearing these factors in mind helps, I think, justifying the colossal investment.

I think what Athy means is that route builders scoured the country side looking for natural viaducts and tunnels and then decided what gauge the line could be based on their finds.

the fridge tends to be one of the friction points for cc-ing/working liveaboards. Work patterns means you only really move every other week end, and whats more, you are unlikely to move very far in one go. Like many others, despite a good sized battery bank and powerful alternator, I find the headache of dealing with the power requirements of the fridge is not worth the aggro. Instead, I used a coolbox kept in my un-insulated engine room. An 80w solar panel through an mppt controller meets most of my lights and pump comsumption, even in winter, provided I moor in open spaces. In the summer the panel, if angled correctly allows me to use the fridge, providing I do a little bit of engine charging, maybe 2/3 hours every week.. I dont regard home every night to run my engine as a viable option.

Same MO here, but with stoveglow and 48 hours is normally not a problem. Same stove, bottom vent only, about 1/2 a turn, less if windy will keep the stove going for 48 hours and leave enough lumps glowing so that I can restart it just by opening the bottom door when I come back.