Cheshire cat

Well all I can say is six years after the repaint we haven't got any scratches from trees. Plenty of abrasion on the gunnels from lock sides and the bank though.

Tree branch scratches are not inevitable. When you have paid 10K + you don't tangle with trees.

It's difficult to say. I will admit that I cycled in to a car two weeks ago. I was going uphill, head down in the rain, so quite slow. No harm to the qashqai but ended up with a bruised arm and ribs. Those cyclists in the Vid will have learned a lesson.

It's undoubtedly going to be the small print that puts the onus on the owners to keep the boat in a seaworthy condition. Not saying it is the case here but if you can't be bothered to pull your boat out of the water every two to three years to black the hull it's not surprising that the insurance company might feel reluctant to cough up. Buying your first boat from Facebook Marketplace has got to be a huge gamble.

Just this morning a friend was telling me he's got to have a bat survey before he can convert his loft. Apparently, it has recently become compulsory across the borough. Sound a bit expensive just to check for bat droppings.

Progress at last. Photograph shows the first of the bottom gates being lifted out. It gives some idea of how much stonework needs to be removed. Goodness knows where they will put it. The site hasn't enough room to swing a cat. Interestingly, it is Bentley who are doing the job rather than Kier who did the last one higher up the flight.

Towpath upgrades Details here

It's probably eighteen months ago now but we were delayed transiting the tunnel because a fire and rescue rehearsal was taking place. The rescue team came from Newcastle under Lyme and provided there own rescue vessel.

Brazier is poor with lots of cement ash. I shan't be buying any more.

You need Martyn King. sign writer He is part of the set up at Willow Boat Painting, at Swanley Marina, bottom of the Llangollen.

I see the baton twirler was voted in.

That looks like a lot of debris to come down a stream. What's its source? The local recycling centre?

Wasn't that a hydrogen boat that sat outside the Edgbaston campus for many years? Surely that was the first.

We did The Limekilns on the Ashby last Easter. Three real ales on in good condition. They also have half a dozen bagged ciders that they have to go down to the cellar for. It's no longer a Marston's establishment.

Thanks for the correction. Good that it isn't the Nomad (Torquay) but bad that it's Stonegate 🙄

Going back to the boat, I can't help wondering what the situation is. The boat and its pontoon set off down stream and smash against the bridge. Fair enough. What happens next? I'm sure RCR didn't just rock up because they were bored. If they were called out by the owners of the sunken boat you would have thought they would have asked the owners to sign a piece of paper absolving them from any comeback if they were unfortunate enough to sink it. You might also think that as they call themselves River and Canal Rescue they must know what they are doing. Has anyone heard anything from the owners yet?

There's a second one sunk on the soar. Looks like it is just up from the bridge. It's a widebeam moored to the bank https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=752048560285340&set=a.463931852430347

The owner of the Audlem chippy died suddenly last summer. No idea what the current situation is. The licencees of the Combermere moved on to face new challenges. Their replacements would have been facing a massive task to match their predecessors and satisfy the pub group owners. According to the locals the licencees were lacking in interpersonal skills and the plub closed again fairly quickly. The current licencees have only been going since November 2023. Interestingly the pub is owned by the Nomad pub company (based in Torquay) and their accounts are overdue at HMRC.

The lock next to the underpass was the one that had its lock gate beams cut off with a chainsaw on a regular basis. The cause was a grievance about land ownership so I think any cooperation regarding towpath diversions on a permanent basis is unlikely to be forthcoming.

I recieved a reminder to vote from Civica today

We had that in the nineties too. These days WE are all too busy on our playstations, Iphones et al.

Audis drivers used to have a decent reputation before Jeremy Clarkson started promoting them.