Tiny

Pru Scales, David Suchet, Tim West and son Samuel who is always doing voice overs on documentaries. A perfect TV voice to do a Dimbleby.

To true. Doing the cenotaph David is cut to non-march bits all the time when we want to see tha marchers. And they know to the minute when it fisihs yet every year cut that finish off by doing a stiring music BBC film bit then go straight to the all important snooker or whatever - BBC just hate not being in control of what we see and then not showing what we want. After all they have our money so tough lets dumb it down to a level we consider you should be at with an iq of about 30 or so.

Queenie had a good laugh at something on/near Gort as it went by with Phil pointing at it and saying something. Fame

On my non BBC feed from the daily telegraph the Philo boat turned in front of the queen and the choir belted out Rule Britannia and God Save the Queen - bless them. And bless dear old queen - ever more wrapped against the wind - standing there for hours though near the end she did lean on some bit of furniture. Phil and Charles even danced a jig to the Philos hornpipe as they turned but the army and airforce didn't I noted.

Which year?

By this time from previous nickings the boat would have been repainted and maybe renamed And relicensed. (It might be an idea to check what new licenses have been issued in the last 6 months or so.) Do we know if the owners (who had it nicked owned ant boats before this one?

I used to know an RAF boat who seemed a right lot. Each week another load of clueless would be fighter pilots. One occasion we were on a mooring near a Llangollen lock and wondered why a boat in the lock (not the forst one they would have come to) was so long in the lock. A look through the bins showed all paddles both ends up with the lock half full. Due to the flow on the canal even with all the paddles up water still poured over the bywash so we left them to it - one to each paddle. And it was 20 minutes before one of them had a lightbulb moment. Once up they charged past us - they being complete with baby in pram left on the roof - we presume they got the pram off the top before the next bridge round the corner.

I used to know a family with an 8 year old like that. He was a natural steerer. He controlled the boat from Ponty to Llangollen with no help from me next to him having never steered before. Later he steered us on rivers and seemed to know where the deep water was and how to compensate for weirs, cross currents etc. He loved it! Not so his dad who would tell him off for doing it wrong while complaing about the elsan the smell of the fuel and who you gave the tillar to only to be ready to grab it off him - and when you did he didn't like you doing that too. With this attitude and that of his domiatix wife who hated anything that stopped her shopping we were not surprised when they started making excuses rather than come boating and we lost touch with them.

In general we find this true but moored at one spot no less than three hire boats scraped along the side of us - in spite of the canal being wide and deep. In the same spot a dozen privates passed - many going fast but all missing us. This sort of thing is rare enough to be noted however one new base here sent out its 'trainers' - first time on a boat - to figure out how you did it. We came across this lot who lacked even basic sense as they rammed their first (closed) lock gate. At that time there was a keeper there who gave them instruction for three locks but they were last seen still seeming not to have a clue as reported by various crews who had 'seen this hire boat with a real pair of clowns on it'. With the man being the trainer and he the real dim one there is little hope for that bases new boaters getting a good grounding.

While I have found some connected up with end in filler but turned off or on trickle. In which case I assumethey forgot and help them out.

A chairlift a few feet above the river would be more fun but nowadays everything must have disabled access, unless they could fit a hook on to take chairs.

On many locks standardisation of gear fitted means the offside top ground paddle winds towards the lock, the nearside winds away.

I make it 5 windows and 2 portholes on one side. That's more than most 60 footers have and an easy thing to spot. Anyone looked in Atherstone where the last one went?

Why blush. Those locks are restricted to make sure BW don't 'waste' water on mere boats when it is contracted for sale via Hurleston to be used as drinking water. This means supplies to the Monty are rationed - a very unusual thing on the cut. So they make it difficult by making you book to go. In fact the contract for 11 million to Hueleston was signed after BW did test runs in the 80s on how much extra water (over the 6 million then sent to Hurleston) could go down the Llangollen to feed a future restored for full use Monty. Back then. with the Monty not open the test runs sent all the water down to Hurlestonand into the reservoir. Crewe noted this and told BW they would contract to buy it. (Price a commercial secret.) BW said OK and sold the Monty water and hence the restrictions. Back then they did use back-pumps but we understand when this was proposed for the Monty that, according to BW the eco lobby objected. This means no matter how much of the Monty is restored the restrictions will stay on. To get round this a level canal from Adderley bottom to Hurleston, Frankton branch has been muted but don't hold your breath.

We had one Norbury boat pass so fast we phoned the yard. Next time seen the boat was slower. (It seems they had his mobile number). In contrast we saw another of their boats crawling with the steerer enclosed behind his semi-trad doors barerly in control. As he passed one door opened to reveal his girl-friend laid along the seat servicing him with the old blow job. The door closed again as he continued on his way. Now you don't see that very often! Having passed through Wardle since Maureen vacated the house we have already hads one arguement with a local private who demanded we do not do it the Maureen way as they knew it was rubbish compared to their right way. In this case their right way involved us slamming the paddles up and crashing about while when they did it it was with paddles mostly down. We awaited the thunderbolt but none came - shame.

Above Tardebigge with all mooring around the one for services rented out, Willington, Stone on the lock mooring half way up the 4 locks, Etruria, Fradley if the hire base is playing up using moorings by the point or if obne of the other local clowns are moored in mid-point - as theres no-where to wait, Fradley - services being down the T&M with no-where to wait but on the Coventry Water points if you wish to empty your elsan etc.

I know one hire company near Audlem which gives detailed instruction before letting their hirers loose. Maybe this makes them late as they rarely make an effort to slow passing moored boats. Obviously if boaters want to ignore instructions in a blow you jack way they will. The two water points at Audlem are a case in point with boats often left blocking them. Mind you they are in B-silly places! At points where a boat is filling and crew are inside/ not there I often check the tap is on full and if it isn't make it so. Often this fills the tank in no time.

But what are they doing. At one flight they are 'Lock rangers' - there to chat about how wonderful BW is, to pick up litter and not much else. Yet one I met informed me he was 'the lock keeper' although he had no windlass or made any effort to help boaters (or even pick up litter) while making some amazing claims about BW checking every inch of the whole cut for leaks daily and lots more in a very expert way.

Given time certain places where boats chain to the metal have the metal pulled out of shape by said passing boats. How true. Even what the banks are made of changes the wash amount. A soft offside absorbs, a metal edge reflects, for example. The latest trick on the Llangollen involves arriving at speed and flicking out of gear for the length the steerer is alongside the moored boat then power back on as they are in a rush to get to ?.

Unlike you my boat creates little wash but will still suck your pins out if I don't slow to fast tickover (900 on my Beta). As to the Shroppie it is a bit of a racetrack - especially to locals and those still an hour from a pub at 5pm. Mind you manners are getting worse everywhere from my observations.

I think this thread and anything where we spend time discussing CART committee members, trustees and all the rest are just what Robin and the fat cats who ran BW and will run CART want. Until its proved otherwise I have always thought that nothing will change at the top in BW/CART with those who ran one smoothly moving over to run the other. And while they carry on as normal behind closed doors they know that a smokescreen of Trustees, Committees and so on will hide them from us. Let's face it - the Trust was Robins and his mates idea and they created it and its internal structures. Never think of them as stupid - they are very good at that sort of thing - years back they created TWAT in the same way by taking the name of what people wanted - then applying it to their model which meant the TWAT simply funded bits of BW - a BW still run by them. So we chat while they SNAFU the canals as they have always done - while bullshitting the mostly disinterested government and anyone else willing to believe them - which takes in all who could do something about them.