Ange

Excellent pics Mike - thank you We had our first bit of river experience on the Ribble Link and Dave's chomping at the bit for more - it does scare me a bit - everything's a lot bigger on the rivers isn't it! But then I'm a bit of a big girl's blouse

And the boating ... was that good? Glad you enjoyed it Any pics to share?

I'm not sure - I don't think they're blazers. They're called firewood briquettes on Andy's website http://www.greenfires.co.uk/ which gives a detailed description of them One briquette kept the boat toasty all evening yesterday.

Same as Martin (MJG) - we inherited the fan with the boat and have no idea whether it makes a difference. It's a lovely toy - we take great joy in watching in start to spin just through the heat from the stove. I love having it but wouldn't dream of spending that sort of money on something so unproved. I'm glad we inherited it though.

... your dongle is clearly working well too which is always the icing on the cake. Chill winds have descended on us in the north west but all is good here too

Look at Cheshire Rose & Postcode Jill - it still happens, even for middle aged folk eek - will Jan kill me for calling her middle aged!

Thank you Brian for putting us in touch with Andy. Even though he doesn't operate a boat it's great to do business with someone who has the boaty ethos. Within half hour of our phone call we received not coal but wood brickettes (I'm hoping Andy will step in here with technical descriptions - it went over my head when we were chatting!) The brickettes stack very nicely and take up very little space. I've been waiting until we truly sample the wares before I posted - well it got a bit chilly tonight so we've fired up the Squirrel. With the help of the complementary (thank you) kindling one brickette has got our boat toasty - I'm thinking our small volume of fuel is going to last us a while!

Tis indeed a brave thing to do! We've considered it occasionally for local shopping trips but haven't plucked up the courage to date Yep that's the one. It was strange seeing the paddle gear suspended in mid air - a bit sad as well. Good to see the canal still had water in it. Thanks Carl - I'll see if I can find a copy - hopefully one that doesn't smell of fish! Who's Kipperman? Spot on Graham - top of our shopping list when I get my winter job (fingers crossed) ETA I'm contentedly watching TV and running my laptop now after spending most of today charging the batteries - we've bought a new picnic lunch and are heading back to that area tomorrow - all is good

Luctor - you're obviously in a bad place right now - you have my commiserations. But Wriggly was just pointing out that all us ladies aren't scheming witches - you've been very unlucky in your choices but please don't brand us as nasty because of that. I've heard equally unpleasant tales from ladies with unreasonably, sometimes violent exes - I have a cousin who is a very forthright independent woman but ended up believing she deserved the regular beatings she received from her husband. Some women are nasty, some men are nasty - we're all people.

We had a great day today. Left our boat, moored at Carnforth, and drove over to Ulverston with packed lunch and flask of coffee. We had a lovely day, drove down to Canal Point (Edit Canal Foot!) where we looked at what remains of the lock gates there (just the paddle gear - the wood has all gone). We found a stone circle, visited a water mill, couldn't find the enclosures on the map because of the bracken and the castle we rather fancied exploring turned out to be now part of a working farm. All in all a damn good day, with terrific views over Morcambe Bay thrown in regularly, and I can't describe the roller coaster drive through the narrow country lanes - at times it really felt like the car was going to drop into oblivion when we mounted the crest! There were so many other things to visit in that area (it really is a hidden gem) that we decided to go back tomorrow and spend another day there. Provisioned up with picnic food at Tesco then got back to the boat at 6.30. Hmm - oops best we run the engine. Engine runs for 1.5 hours - yes Mr Mayall it was turned off at 8pm sharp. Turn TV on at 10pm to watch Mock the Week and the invertor lets out one short sharp shriek of protest and dies instantly. Netbook comes out as back up and TV dongle plugged in we do watch said program but plans for tomorrow are well and truly buggered. No way can we spend another whole day away from the boat. So tomorrow is battery charging day with picnic lunch on the boat. Never mind, we'll go back on Saturday. Sorry, just felt a bit waffly and Dave's gone to bed so you peeps are all that's left

OMG we've been round that roundabout! Several times - discussing whether there's a law about how many times you can go round a roundabout. And then arguing about which exit fits the route on the map! And then the discussion about me being the navigator and him the driver so it's my job to know. Followed by "so would you like to drive then!" Then the sulks. I can't remember the the roundabout apologising though

my understanding of whether that's an endorsement of Dell depends on whether "do dah's" is poo or bollix! Being silly of course, in business Dell has always been a lot of my employers' preference, but as a private buyer I've moved away from them as they tend to have a protectionism over their product that doesn't fit with a limited purse. Our Acer laptop and Samsung netbook have amply covered our needs since we've lived aboard.

I've just dug up this thread for you to look at Rose - there's a lot of good information about laptop batteries, power conservation etc. It certainly resolved my problem at the time (though our invertor is only 150 watt!) http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=25867&st=0

I've just looked on Maplins website and can't find it! I says on the unit "Auto DC power regulator adaptor, input 11-14v 15a max", and has a sliding button that allows you to choose output of between 15 and 24v. I'll keep on looking and will post a linky if I find it

We bought a lead from Maplins that converts 12v to the 19v the laptop needs and it works like a dream. I only used to be able to use the lappy for a couple of hours per evening, now I can have it running from 6pm until 1am if I wish. We had to buy a separate set of adaptors to get one that fitted my lappy. Hope this helps

I'll just comment on the suggestion that has been made that this may be some sort of scam. I know Ally (the OP) personally and can assure you all that she is one of the most honest people I've had the pleasure to become acquainted with, and this thread was an honest attempt to help out a friend.

Hi Colin Just a quick word about Whilton - and purely my opinion. We did look at boats for sale there when we were boathunting, mainly because of the sheer volume and diversity of boats in stock, but I'd never sell through them. This is mainly because they allow unescorted viewings - they give away three sets of keys at a time and send you on your way with a map of the marina. I'd not be happy about any Tom, Dick or Harry walking in off the street and being given my boat keys! I'd second (or third is it?) the Rugby Boat Sales recommendation. Another broker who particularly impressed us was ABNB - their brochures are very detailed and the sales team are very knowledgeable. Best of luck

Noooo - the image of Alan Fincher wearing white stilettos is seared into my brain now I'll have nightmares tonight!!