magpie patrick

I think this thread has been running too long, despite making several contributions myself, I was just about to make a spirited defence of Blind Faith and the Spencer Davies Group... Haywood, not Winwood.... [MP wonders off muttering to himself about new glasses and short term memory...]

I suspect that without the activity that the blue digger was engaged in the wall might not have collapsed in the first place.

Stephen Moore who was the voice of Marvin the paranoid android in hitch hikers guide to the galaxy

A bird was sitting in a pine tree when it realised an elephant was trying to climb up. “Hey! What are you doing?” the bird asked. “I’m trying to climb up so I can eat some pears!” the elephant replied. “But this is a pine tree,” the bird said. The elephant replied, . . . . . . “I know! I brought my own pears!”

Trim, Kells and Athboy make sense for a level canal, they skirt the watershed of the Boyne drainage basin. It's also likely any branch from the Royal to Trim would have been level looking at the maps

Level Canal? That's interesting Navan is 42m AODD and Trim 61m, I guess there could be a compromise level that would serve both in much the dsame way as other level canals were proposed, but I'm not quite familiar enough with the area (something tells me this may be about to change!) Impressive ground paddles, especially given how little traffic was carried!

I think we can probably agree that heading for a spot that has just been occupied by another boat and proceeding into the mooring regardless is not the right way to do it though

Thank you, no I didn't know. That said, I'm not a lot the wiser having read the article! I shall amend my opening post

More information has come to light, so I'm answering my own question - For the very few of you who might be interested but don't know, apparently the Royal Canal was authorised to build a branch to Trim - if the legal experts wish to join in with a debate as to whether they were obliged to build it (not that I'm stirring!) then this power was granted under English Law in the House of Commons, mainly by means of a grant to build the canal as far as I can see- Ireland wasn't a separate country then. Statute 29 Geo III c. 33, £66,000 in 4 percent debentures, plus £134,000 by subscribers to the Royal Canal fund I suspect the extension to the Boyne being for the purpose of connecting to the Royal is a quasi-fact. The works on the Boyne were authorised some years earlier, before the Rpyal Canal received assent or indeed was even properly conceived. Unlike the branch of the Royal Canal some work was done on the Boyne between Navan and Trim. Nevertheless, Trim had two separate proposals for an inland waterway connection and neither came to fruition.

I do!!! Thank you, that's very interesting. I don't own a copy of Thackery, but am aware of it. I might have to search one out (I haven't enough books....)

I've just been reading up quite a lot on the Boyne Navigation in Ireland (Republic), linking Drogheda to Slane and Navan. Fascinating and with an active restoration group. The navigation was about 20 miles long with up to 20 locks depending on how you count (6 were guard locks or flood locks, one was a two-rise and one was a side lock leading back into the river at Navan) Several sources report on a planned extension to Trim - the original navigation re-entered the Boyne just above Navan after a long canal cut so going further upstream wouldn't have been difficult - and report that this would have connected to the Royal Canal. The extension was never built and the Boyne remained isolated from the system. But Trim isn't on the Royal Canal... it's about ten miles north of it at the nearest point, and thus only abouthalf way from Navan to the Royal Canal... Can anyone cast light on this? It doesn't add up at face value...

If I was doing it, vinyl! I can see where me and a paint pot would lead if I used a stencil... you may be more competent in such matters

It's well worth exploring - so far I've only done so from the bank, but I'm hoping to lay my hands on a kayak and have a look at least at the river bits

We are in danger of leaving the Galaxy and venturing into the first two series of Death in Paradise! But I would concur - perfect tea is divine