magpie patrick

How do you get a postal vote BTW? we'll be on holiday Voting for Don Foster, Lib Dem, not least because it's them or Tories in Bath, and also Don Foster has backed CAMRA's community pubs plan Bath has, in the last millenium been represented by five different parties, Whig, Tory, Liberal, Royalist and Parliamentarian, but never the labour party, it just seems to be a south west thing

I know, and I have explored most of it on foot (and was paid for so doing!) Also did the canal bashers three hour trip a few years ago I will say Hamsterfan, there is canal bashing and there is canal bashing, It's one thing to do a canal for the first time, it's quite another to be the first to navigate it for heaven knows how long! Gives me hope for the Somerset Coal...

TBH Kiki, that's probably better value for money. I considered auctioning a short break in Ripple at our local folk club, when we had a benefit gig in aid of a couple who's boat/home had been lost in an arson attack, but when I found they were going to raffle it I dropped the idea, as they had the usual crowd (100 or so) who bought the usual amount of tickets (a strip or two each) but a glut of prizes

Not unless Kiki is going to take more than twelve passengers she doesn't. In the guidance it says the operator must satisfy themselves of the competency of the steerer and that one way of doing this would be to have a boatmaster's certificate... Kiki, I'd say that while they could sue you, assuming you are a member of the congregation at the church and sales of tickets are restricted to members of the church, it is highly unlikely that they will.

Interesting. Has the new company got any particular plans?

I use it as well, mainly because Ripple only has three points at which a rope can be attached to the boat, front, back and roof mounted centre, so it's the closest we can get to Phylis's middle cleat and it holds the boat well when the Naval Vessels go past, which strikes me as a reasonable test.

Last of the winter talks on Thursday evening this week. Subject the Glamorganshire Canal, Radstock Working Mens Club, 7:30pm.

Depends on your tastes, my preference is for the Nicholson's guides as they have OS map backgrounds and also cover all the system (except the fenland rivers) in seven guides.

Hi Laurence, where was the fourth (the one I don't know about)

It's from the Glamorgan Canal in Cardiff, and while it wasn't unique, it is the only survivor. The Somersetshire Coal Canal had oneat Midford as did the Thames and Severn at Brimscombe Port. The Weigh House for the SCC one survives as a private residence. The Cardiff site has been built over and the Brimscombe Site is being revealed as part of the restoration The Cardiff one was probably more effective than the other two because the Glamorgan Canal was effectively a closed system and they could weigh all the boats on it when unladen and therefore also weigh them laden to calculate tolls All three machines used a system of levers so that comparatively small weights could be used to measure the weight of a boat, the weigh clerk didn't have to lugg 25 one tonne weights on and off the scales! The gates next to it were snaffled from Welshpool lock on the Monty

I must admit I thought predictive text would see off txt spk, certainly I use predictive and find it easier than txt both to write and to read. However some clearly don't agree judging by the texts I get

While we may like to think that narrow boat dollies should be strong (and Ripples are stronger than the ropes, we've tested) David Blagrove managed to pull the front stud off a butty on the Stratford Canal (I think). It cracked oevre his head and hit the bridge, suffice to day if it had hit is head he wouldn't have survived the experience

Erm ten feet beam almost certainly won't go through Preston Brook Stop Lock, so I'm afraid it's probably down the ship canal for you... We've taken Ripple through thatn lock, and while the top gate is "wide", I'd venture it wasn't three feet wider than Ripple