Jennifer McM

Apologies if you've already seen this, I only saw it yesterday. It's an amazing video.

Saw in your signature you don't do plans anymore! Rotten luck! Hope all is soon mended

John's a Coventry kid, and with having 40 years in the motor industry under his belt..... these are great suggestions! Thanks Charging to go into the Cathedral is a bit much.... The streat you mean is Spon End, which is the only medieval part of Coventry left standing after the blitz. Sad that it's been commercialised, though I'd like to have a wander.

Well hellooooooo We just managed to get moored at the Limekilns before the heavens opened, we were soggy, but at least we were saved being drowned! A 'Scania Hubcap' breakfast soon got us sorted. We've not turned left at the start of the Ashby either.... we cruised the lovely T&M when we picked up Cyan, passing Great Hayward. It's on our agenda to do the T&M again, perhaps in the spring this time, it was so beautiful in August! Athy and Topcat - thanks for your suggestion re Springhaven - completely agree. We did get 3 solar panels installed by them a couple of weeks ago, and we're very satisfied. We know the batteries are well overdue for replacement as they are probably the original ones and must be about 10 years old. So that's done, we're turning right onto the Coventry and hitting Springhaven. All suggestions are being considered... thanks all. There's something really exciting about preparing for a trip - hope this excitement never fades!

Well we're all prepared, diesel, water, food/drink provisions, logs/coal all topped up, and we're ready to go. We're about to leave the Ashby on a month long journey to Wigrams Turn. Canalplan suggests it will take us 4 days to get to WT; traveling 3 hours a day. But we want to do it in 28 days! Therefore we need a few diversions! We're looking to change our (nacked) bank of batteries for new ones while we're out and about. Wondering if the kind people here have any diversion suggestions, picking up a good deal on batteries as we go? Our boat is NB Cyan, so if you see us..... please give us a wave

We've just changed our 'L' shaped diner into a pullman. We found a joiner who did the work when he was moored up on the cut, he had painted an advert on the side of his boat. We stopped to speak to him, and he took a look at what we wanted there and then. A couple of days later he started the job. For three days we had to clear off (from 9 till 5) from our boat while the joiner did the work - this was so painful and expensive for us. Think in future, even if it took us 5 times as long, we'll do the job ourselves, as it would have been better for us, and of course cheaper. Just giving you another angle. Wish you well with whatever you choose to do.

I'm cheered up thinking that the winter might not be brutal! Still, best to be prepared like all good scouts/boaters. Chatting to a fellow marina resident, she was telling me that if we decide to stay at the marina over winter, it would be a good idea (as we've retired) to stay 'in the boat' until the 'workers' have left in the morning as they normally spread salt and sand (provided by the marina) around the icy areas. (Sounds a bit selfish on our part though.) This made me think about the 'salt'! Don't think I'd like to have salt within twenty paces of our boat. So I guess people would use sand for treacherous areas? Sometimes though sand contains salt?

Wow..... I'll never believe a word they say, never ever ever again! lol

Read that flies could be a problem if you use sphagnum moss collected by yourself, and therefore untreated. Bug eggs would be in the untreated moss.

Well through the 'wood wide web' of course lol https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network

My thoughts too But.... what if they are right, don't want to get caught short!

Just wondering what CC's are planning to prepare for winter? Not sure if the media is scouring crystal balls, or are listening to weather experts, it's being said to prepare for a 2016 winter big freeze. http://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/714262/UK-snow-long-range-weather-forecast-cold-winter-2016-Britain-freeze

After reading enthusiastic posts re compost loos, I'm now very interested and I wondered about http://www.simploo.co.uk. It's made by a boater and looks good. It's also got a good price. Does anyone have experience if them? Thanks for any help

You might think this isn't a lot - but ecosystems can be very sensitive. Imagine suntan lotion washing off bathers and causing problems in the Med https://www.mysciencework.com/omniscience/sunscreen-while-protecting-skin-pollutes-water

Just wanted to share a couple of items we've found that are handy. Having got some pictures I wanted to hang, and not wanting to punch hooks into the wood panelling, I've discovered 3M Damage Free Picture Hanging Strips. They can be removed without causing any damage too. Package says 4 strips (one for each corner of a picture) can hold 7.5kg - so I guess if you use just one to hang an item, it could hold the equivalent to 2 packs of sugar. Handy I thought! It works a bit like velcro, so the strips can be detached from each other. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Picture-Hanging-17206-contains/dp/B00404YKZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474197633&sr=8-1&keywords=damage%2Bfree%2C%2B3m%2C%2Bheavy%2Bduty&th=1 These work great as it holds the bottom of frames in on sloping narrowboat walls. The other handy 'bob' is a portable charger, which can be keep on charge while cruising. In the event of your mobile or tablet running out of charge, you can quickly recharge it. It's a backup of 'charger juice'. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-5200mAh-Portable-External-Technology/dp/B00P8SY7HQ/ref=pd_vtph_107_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3TDMV6C0TR0M3HWHV31Q I'm sure there's other handy 'stuff' others will know about.

We're going to do the opposite, changing venetian and roller blinds with curtains (we inherited them with the boat). The bottom of the blinds are held into the side, just above the gunnel, by a plastic clip on either side. If you want to draw up the blinds, just pull the base out of the clip. See image. At the base of the roller blinds, about an inch diameter of velcro has been attached to hold the bottom against the side, as in the image (pic not very sharp sorry). Reason I want to change is because I don't think they are private enough, we're forever bending the slats as we brush past them (see eg on image), and I can't see how they can be as warm as curtains. But it's each to their own

Yes I've heard the term 'doughnut' it's more of a 'silly billy' than a 'blithering idiot'. Could be a term of endearment when calling out a friend. Getting back to the OP being amused - sorry I get humour failure when teasing animals.

Know this might be off topic as we've got Thetford Cassettes, I'm just giving another vote for the oxi-powder, tho' I'm using Morrison's own brand. A scoopful has broken everything down, inc paper, so it's just like tipping dirty water down the 'hole' at the elsan point. There's absolutely no smell at all, especially that horrid elsan smell. Thank you forum members for this recommendation!

Now that's a thought lol - though I think my husband would rather get rid of me than the dog!

What a great post, thank you LM Many fantastic ideas! The link to bemorewithless.com is a find! Thanks very much for the link. We're still struggling, but I think we're getting there... wherever 'there' is (in this CC life we've chosen). Shedding off materialism does twinge a bit, but this is something we've got to do, as possessions are now definitely making us unhappy. Last night husband had moan, he's realised that he doesn't need the various boxes and bags of wiring for so called 'systems' he's been collecting, such as chargers for long-gone tecky things. The Wii exercise board will have to go, it's not been used for a several years, and I've got to face the fact that it probably won't be used again. Technics music system will have to go the same way! I'm going to start on the dog soon, he's got a bag of toys that he ignores, he only wants to play with tennis balls - so he's not going to be immune to being down-sized! it's great to hear other's experiences. I'm constantly learning.

OK, so we're newbies. Today on the shallow Ashby we passed several moored boats, passing on tick-over. A canoeist was in front coming towards us, and was sandwiched between us and the moored boats. He could have nipped in between two moored boats while we passed, but he didn't, he kept on canoeing, clowting moored boats and us with his paddles as he passed. We couldn't get out of the way, as already we were well over to the right and scraping the bottom of the canal. Common sense needs to reign, but common sense from who's perspective?