Derek R.

I'm the other side of Barrow from you, don't think you'll be doing anything next week!! Tried to dig the car out this morning and got seriously stuck. Then spent twice as long trying to dig it back in!!!!! Forecast is for more and cold all week. But you'll already know that.

Was the Jubilee clip stainless? The cadmium plated ones should work.

Tati made some memorable classics; L'ecole de Facteurs, Jour de Fete, M. Hulot's Holiday, Traffic and Mon Oncle though the last began to veer away. But for me he blew it with Playtime, and it broke him. I read a biography on the man, and it is quite sad reading. Hulot's Holiday has to be tops, with Jour de Fete second.

I remember sitting aboard in DUKE's hold when it plied as "The Narrowboat Cinema", We sat on bus seats and watched Jacques Tati in 'Traffic'. Sitting down, the gunnel was way above our heads. Or perhaps I was smaller then . . .

I think not, horses were horses, Donkeys and Mules were oft referred to as 'animals. The best remembered by some might be the Skinner's 'Dolly'. A Mule or Donkey I don't know, but she died from pneumonia I believe, after 'taking a look' (falling in the cut). I was being a bit too 'general' there!

Part of canal history - them, and so called 'Tommy Notes'. Payment to workers building the canals was often done with tokens such as shown, in lieu of real money, as the tokens could only be exchanged for goods in the 'company' shops or Tommy houses - often pubs - and for which the main contractor got a cut. Their real value was less than real money. You got paid in 'Tommy' or you had no job. There are many good books available on the development and history of canals, one I would recommend you seeking out is by D. D. Gladwin 'The Waterways of Britain, a social panorama' ISBN 0-7134-3159-8 Amazon have it. Edited to add: "A Horse On The Cut" by Donald Smith is also very good, more than just about horses, or 'animals as some boat people called them. Available from Amazon and Abe books. Here we go! Even a song written about them: The Tommy Note!

You are very welcome. Sometimes the truth can quash romance, and the romantic become offended. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you can think of. Most 'old' plaques are cast in iron and relate to lock and bridge numbers, most still in place, any relating to companies are of a contemporary origin for the souvenir/tourist market.

Yes indeed, I have that on VHS along with the BTF 'There Go The Boats' and 'Inland Waterways', but before Huntley put them on You Tube. Can't remember the producer of the set, and I know they are buried in the shed at the moment. Edited to add: British Transport Films were a company within the British Transport Commission and set up to promote all manner of transport services. Some excellent DVD's have been made available from them HERE.

Amongst the additional videos linked to at the end is one called . I had not seen this before, and whilst it is predominately orientated to the American market, and much of the narration is by an American, there are some good shots of boats as they were being used in 1982. Some of the music is excruciatingly cringe-worthy - electronic in its infancy - there are some half decent voice-overs from canal people. A fair effort, and a reminder how awful some clothing styles were in that 1980's period. Was my wife really that thin back then? How things change. Many thanks to Ray for spotting the original video.

Except it's not 'There Go The Boats'. However, it does show a lot of footage I have not seen before. Yes, I could name most of the locations and some of the people, as I am sure many others could too. This is the 18 minute Available from Beulah as an mp4 file for £1.95 (so it says).

Don't you just love that phrase - "contact your administrator". Basically meaning; 'contact yourself'. Then what? Dropbox: I found a need for it in sharing large files, basically a car workshop manual which would not send through conventional email due to size. I seldom use it, as whatever you put in there can be accessed by others, thought there are parameters that can be set.

Dropbox is a free download and which I have installed, that maybe why I can click the link and the images appear. https://www.dropbox.com/register?signup_tag=shmodel About the painter - no knowledge, but look like contemporary artist. Dare I say a bit lifeless, but cleanly executed.

Thought you said Belgium was in between?

Just as derelict railway sidings and platforms attract the intrepid explorer of industrial ghosts. All the more so with water, as it is such a natural element that one feels it ought to be there still, even if the origins of its course are man made. There are some interesting images in Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies. Select 'canals', and click on the 'gallery'. Many images.

Check out some asking prices here: http://www.psvbadges.co.uk/ Not selling mine though!

That shape will be far nicer to use than the carbon fibre one for the reasons stated (clumsily) in post 34. And the weight difference will actually aid turning, rather like flywheels smooth out engine impulses.

My sister did just the same, only mine was a four pint enameled water can, the sort milk might be carried in from dairy to kitchen. The flowers soon flaked off, which improved its appearance.

In certain agricultural catalogues sometimes known as 'manure scoops'. It always amazes me, with the amount of information available through a keypad, that so many people run away with superficial information combined with guesswork. I call the latter 'ignorance': baling; watering. As in bales of hay? Can be spelt without the 'i' but not in this context. That's architectural salvagers for you. Edited to add: To Ray's question; I guess you'd get from it whatever you put in it. What would you get for it? - Sympathy? No offence meant.

Ooooh! That'll be £285 then . . . Antiques road show here I come . . . .

Nasty aluminium things. These aren't: If you have the socket on a spindle and the handle is not parallel to the spindle but getting closer to the line of the spindle in an imagined line as you get nearer the end of the handle (on a converging course if you like), you will find it quite a lot more comfortable to wind, and likely quicker too. Length of shaft will of course have an effect, as will how stiff the gear is. Part of it is due to one hand being closer to the crank in the windlass and that hand will be further from the spindle thereby giving a little extra leverage, and the other hand nearer the end of the handle and slightly closer to the line of spindle which allows a bit of speed. Not enough or too much, and ease of operation is harder. It's hard to describe in words, you have to use them to feel the difference. Why bronze ones seem more bent than steel is largely down to how often they get dropped I would think.

Now look what you've done . . . !

Sad to hear Jeannette. But I hope they'll have a good chin wag and knees up now they're together again.

Audrey looks well. Mrs. Jean Peters has also written of her experiences and is readable through Narrow Boat magazine website: http://www.narrowboatmagazine.com/links.html Scroll down to 'Idle Women' parts 1 through 8.

Getting a bit off topic, but whilst CROW upset some, what it became embodied in in 2006 with the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act has upset more. Though the upshot was (and is) that the Countryside Landowners Alliance and various parliamentarians supporting GLEAM were hand in glove in assuring their stakeholders benefited most. The general public least. There's a pdf available using the search facility and putting 'David sees Goliath' in the search box HERE. Nothing to do with bridges though.

Not American are you?