fender

Why dont you go and remonstrate these boaters with a twig, like John Cleese saying, "move you vicious bastards, you're not a CC'er! I'm gonna give you a damn good thrashing!"

That too. There are quite a few CC'ers on fairly 'extended' stop-overs if you would like to know. Would you think I'd miss a few genuine CC'ers trying to do a bit of continuous mooring?

If you come down to London, you'll be surprised at the large number of boats in places where there were previously none. Must be well over a hundred and fifty CC'ers between Kensal Green and Old Ford. This is why it is somewhat a tenacious issue and I'm sure it'll be very interesting to see how three very different philosophies (BW's, the CC'ers and the Government's) can be merged in order to provide on the waterways what the government can only deem as a useful overspill for housing people.

It could be a cynical ploy by the Govt to provide homes on the cheap. Therefore many questions are outstanding concerning the proposals. It might be quicker to house people on boats in specific areas, than to wait years for expensive land to be bought and flats to be planned and built. The large increase in CC'ers (or continuous moorers!) has clearly prompted government ministers to look towards boats as a cheap and speedy solution to housing

I saw the news anout residential moorings via Twitter, and thought this will be discussed no doubt on CWF. What do I find? Another CWF topic gone off on a long tangent irrelevant to what the Government had announced. At least on twitter people are keeping roughly in context within the subject. There's nothing more serious than a shortage of homes and what do we have here, people saying things and slagging each other off. Either you like the idea that more residential moorings can be provided and the Govt will assist in paying for these, or you dont. Those who come up with scurrilous assumptions regarding Africans should not seek to cast their net so wide and so carelessly in what is clearly an important discussion - because it has just completely spoilt what should be a very interesting debate on the residential moorings proposal. If they have concerns about race or any other matter concerning minority groups, please do so in another topic.

The one that was in Camden is known as The London Bookbarge. I was on it the week before last browsing through its pages. Its progress can be followed through @wordonthewater - dont know where it is now, might be back at Broadway Market then to Angel Canal Festival 1st w/e in Sept. Blog review of the book barge: http://yououghtabeinpictures.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/a-bookshop-to-float-your-boat/ Edited to add image.

I dont know the answer to that, however there are so many more miles of waterways open these days. I imagine if you compress those extra miles into something comparable to the system's size at the end of the sixties/early 70's, you'll find that infrastructure problems are actually quite bad per mile now compared to then.

I think everyone has forgotten Railtrack (NR's precessdor.) It had greedy directors with eyeballs rolling in profit signs and bonuses, and passenger safety was often a second or third best. It seems a bit unfair to bash Network Rail which, despite its shortcomings, is considerably more realistic in their aspirations than its precessdor, and it has achieved a network that has an exemplary safety record, perhaps the best so far in the entire history of Britian's railways. Network Rail has to put all its profits back into the rail network. So despite its apparent director bonuses, it is committed to improving and enhancing the rail network. There is a very difficult balancing act - it has a massive increase in passenger use, unprecedented pressure on track allocation, and an ageing infrastructure to cope with. In my view the same cannot be said for BW. It seems to want excessive director bonuses, excessive profits which do not go back into the waterways - and a historic waterways network that is totally trashed beyond recognition. It wastes money on schemes that are nothing to do with safety, or historical conservation, but everything to do with gaining brownie points. Its just not on.

Have you not heard about the October Revolution?

Well, the replies of those on another forum certainly indicate that the waterways do not have any problems - and therefore no-one should worry.

I dont see why anyone is worried, its all harmless, cant people have fun?

It might have been a bit of fun at Southcote Lock, with the police making their grand entrance, giving the kids a little shoo-off and saying "Not now kids." The waterways are pretty harmless places, so no-one should read too much in these things.

Forgot Camden lock, though nothing has happened at these locations since Monday and the decision to massively increase policing. Suppose people's silence is that they dont mind that the country is being trashed. I thought this thread would help people decide where it might not be currently appropriate to moor. Some threads do come up discussing dodgy spots, such as on the River Severn etc. Hasnt it come to people's realisations that towpaths could be used as getaway routes for these violent elements of society?

Tonight Manchester hit by riots, properties in Canal Street was attacked as pic show http://lockerz.com/s/128169582 Boaters reporting that the centre of Manchester is worrying (http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=40278) Little Venice boaters attempting to lock towpath gates and keep marauders out. Now news coming in of Gloucester rioting, very near the docks, buildings on fire. We've already had the Sony warehouse blaze at Enfield Lock very near the Lee Navigation. Expect areas around the BCN in the centre of Birmingham are also affected, and the Mailbox where shops such as Armani's have been looted. As most people are invariably saying, WTF is going on? It seems nowhere is safe in the UK, not even near the waterways.

The boats on the Little Venice (Delamere terrace) moorings have been locking themselves in at night by shackling the old BW security gates. These gates have not been used for years. Dont think there would be problems in the locale but they are certainly trying to make sure that no trouble-makers get near the boats.

BW arent cutting corners, they're just not doing anything!

Seems BW have finally begun to make the bottom of their canals wheelchair accessible. It shows their sincere enthusiasm in complying with the DDA 1995/Equalities Act 2010! (Before long they'll realise wot the f*ck do they need the water for, and force all boats to have wheels!)

Hang the lot! I dont want any of the BW in the new waterways trust (and I do not want any of the IWA in it either) I want a fresh lot of persons who have genuine interests in the waterways and who can spend half their time knee deep in mud and filth - without pay.

As Laurence Hogg has reported today, BW stats actually reveal that only 3.8million visitors were procured. Its actually been losing visitors, the last proper figure was just 6.9 million, and BW has lost half that amount. BW procreate ridiculous stats as its claims of visitor counts show. Not 600 million, not 300 million, not 13 million, but a paltry 3.8 million! This organisation proffers falsity in its attempts to inflate the amount of grant and subsidy it hopes to get. Surely many of the grants awarded to BW should be clawed back?

Many years ago whilst boating past the Braunston Banks a very large tornado was seen crossing the fields near Wolfhampcote. It was so near, I could see stuff being sucked up its twisting funnel. I was very concerned at being so close to it as a narrowboat isnt exactly a means of getting away fast. Feared the twister might bisect the canal but it veered south west and faded. PS I was too nervous to even think about getting the camera out! (edited to correct mis-grammar)

Parking in the City of Venice itself is possible. The Ponte Delle Liberta (the bridge across the straits from Mestre to Venice itself) leads to the Tronchetto Parking Garage, a multi storey car park built on an artificial island right in the city itself. There is a travelator into the city or alternatively take a No. 2 vaporetto (water bus.) http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/tronchetto_parking_garage.htm The vehicle parking areas at Piazzale Roma (near the railway station) are limited and more expensive. Venice Lido (to the south east of the city) is the only one of the many islands that has a roads network, and there is a car ferry. The other alternative is to park in Mestre and take the train - or boat - to the city.

Duckweed was previously limited to the bottom end of the Lee Navigation, Limehouse etc. It has managed to find its way UP the Regents Canal and onto the Paddington Arm and this can only be by way of boats. The large picture in the Daily Mail may explain why it spreads in the manner it is doing: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2019135/London-2012-Olympics-Your-photo-guide-Olympic-Park-site.html The main pic shows the Olympic site in good detail. The Lee Navigation is clearly choked with duckweed. The Old River Lea (except the first two hundred yards or so from Old Ford Junction), City Mills and Waterworks Rivers are completely free of the stuff. Its quite strong evidence that it is where regular boating traffic occurs that the duckweed also occurs.

As this is a pretty poor British summer, I dont understand why all this duckweed is spreading. There must be some unseen process.

I agree, not seen this much all the years I've lived in London (both afloat and on land.) Limehouse, the lower parts of the Regents and Lee (and Brentford) are the usual places for the stuff. Not known it to spread so far up the Regents Canal and along the Paddington Arm.

Naturally I'm sure you dont get worried about oil and diesel floating on the canal as long as your boat floats. I like to take pics of the multi-coloured psychdelic schemes this stuff creates when one looks down directly upon the canal as it runs through the Regents Park cuttings and Camden approaches. Not forgetting the regular homefire, taybrite, or other wasted boaters' bags of coal that has taken desire to team up with other polluted canal surficants and plastics, and other rubbish, creating a medley of amazing artistic colours. For your information I did see the BCN in the 70's and early 80's. I have lots of pics of the BCN from the seventies, after all I did work with some of the canal pioneers such as David Hutchings, Bert Dunkley and Graham Palmer and some of their campaigns in and around the Midlands system.