Irob

I crossed an Amsterdam oneway street looking the oneway to be sure no vehicles coming only to be hit very forcibly by a local cyclist from the rear. As a Brit I apologised but stated I believed it was a one way street. The Gloggy dusted himself off, picked up his fallen machine and announced very gruffly " NOT FOR CYCLISTS !!! ". stupid eh ! Another point for Brexit.

Maybe the cats died of starvation after the birds demise. Natural cycle. Remember that old classic song " there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, i dont know why" ? They dont make songs like that anymore, too frightening for modern kids.

Cats. Why do cat owners let their cats out at night to destroy birds sleeping in their nests ? Australia identified the problem years ago and many cities have pussy curfews.

I find this topic on frogs quite rivet riveting. I think i,ll jump to the next topic, its about a kangeroot. You know, the scotsman who got stuck in the lavatory ! Ha, the oldies are best. Like i went into the chinese restaurant and asked the waiter if he had chicken feet. He said no, he was just wearing new shoes ! Bum bum !

Haha ! Doesnt it sink when you pull the plug out of the shower basin ? How fast can it go if you could change gear ? Gongoozlers make me proud I didnt pass my A levels.

I get the distinct impression of widebeamophobia. Its a bit like folks in winnebagos trying to tour through the cotswold lanes isnt it ? Jeremy Clarkson would have something to say if he was a boater. Probably good job he,s not ! Live n let live I say, just dont moor on bends or opposite overhanging trees.

I,m on Barby Moorings near Rugby last 3 years, a no frills, still developing, non residential site, with nice folks around and close to all amenities. Its full i believe, but at less than £2000/yr for my 60', i,m more than satisfied. I dont think i,ll be cruising near the toffs at tewekesbury in a hurry, they probably have handles on their teacups ! Ha !

Thanks chaps for your response. The access into that region of the bilge is very restricted. I,ll have tie my specs on and to get a mirror on a stick and go lookabouts. Cheers.

Having recently returned from years overseas, a failed marriage, no job, and financially pared to the bone, my only real choice for home was a canal boat in my 60th year. I see Britain has become a very much more selfish community and yet easy to see the rich getting richer and could not give a fig to those struggling, whilst a bigger portion of the population is falling downwards with not much hope of renewed growth. Nothing hurts those earning above £50,000 / year. I am amazed living aboard a canal boat in a marina at tewekesbury could be that expensive. Theres no way in hell i could afford that on my £8500/yr budget. Maybe they want the poor off the canals so the rich can play boaters, I could see me living in a tent outside grimsby by the time i,m 70. Still, i wont be alone !

Interesting topic. By the way does anyone know if theres an overboard expansion bleed into the port engine room bilge from either the webasto or calorifier ? I get a small amount of water in the pocket there after heating water but only in cold weather.

I went away from the boat in the marina for a week. My neighbour phoned me to say my gas alarm has been squealing last 24 hours and can be heard far and wide. He poked his head through my pidgeon box, the alarm is in the bedroom, and could smell no gas or smoke. The squealing took 2 days to stop, plenty of annoyed neighbours. I returned, it was the low battery alarm on the gas detector !!! Be warned.

I just put this in a different post. i used baby pampers to soak up inaccessible water under my engine. 4 out of a £3 packet of 10 soaked up one heck of a lot of water. It was a handy tip from my boating neighbour clive.

I had a sudden water ingress overnight from a leaky sterngland and it overflowed into the under engine section of the bilge, not a lot but enough. My bilge pump is not automatic and only serves the sterngland pocket. How to get the inch of water out? My neighbour clive had the brilliant suggestion to use baby pampers. I dutifully bought a pack of 10 for about £3, and promptly threw 4 under the engine. Within 30 minutes the bilge was all but dry. I fished out the heavily laden pampers and dropped them in the bin. I,ve got 6 left for another wet day, pun intended. Brilliant idea, thanks clive.

Last year coming into napton folly from braunston, i winded just up from the folly to moor up before heading back when i remembered i needed water. The water point is round the bend close to the folly inn. Nothing for it but to reverse down the long row of moored boats with a bit of a side breeze too. I tend to face rearwards with tiller in my stomache and firm in both hands and look over my shoulder at the bow drift. Above idle engine speed and get a good headway on before going into fwd to straighten the bow. Doing the 75 yards straight wasnt too bad but the bend in the wind was darned ugly even with no spectators, but an oncoming boat from braunston didnt seem to understand what i was about until i firmly raised my hand to stop him and shouted loudly what i was up too. By then we were almost bow to bow. I managed it finally. Lessons learned that i will probably forget next time ! What fun.

I,ve just finished my 3rd season of single handed operation of 60' Alchemy my first boat. I started from the outset single locking after the previous owner and guru dave mills of braunston showed me the ropes through hillmorton locks at rugby. He advised me dead slow is best, walk her in with the centre rope, and walk her out again. Cabin roof is not a deck in our opinion. Mines totally uncluttered and always 2 centre ropes. I,ve only had two issues both at buckby locks, one when i doubled up going down with a speedy single locker in a hurry that left me slimed in green stuff, and the other when returning up and walking her in suddenly found the slim aluminium footbridge that i hadnt noticed before. I just dropped the rope back on the roof, climbed down the ladder picked it up and up the ladder again. She was just drifting slowly so no probs. I,m 63 yrs old and scared of heights, so slimy ladders are not my thing. Still i feel good when i get it smooth and right.

In addition i,ve just spent last 20 years in an Islamic country where dogs are considered ' haram' , dirty, animals and so dog poo is non existant. When that culture reaches voting majority in the UK we may see an end to the dog poo debate. In the meantime lets work together to keep our towpaths clean. Woof !

Having been away from uk for 30 years i return to find a totally different culture. Selfishness seems to pervade. The population of dog lovers and dogs has increased many fold. The selfish mentality of dog lovers is much the same as smokers, they think everyone loves dogs and dogshit. Their mentality is questionable when it needs laws to stop 'intelligent' dog owners from poluting the pathways, byways and countryside. If dogs are so smart, train them to pick up their own poo or use a doggy litter like the cat does. Oh England, my England, what have they done to you?