sigsegv

The poem was quite beautiful, and it was nice to hear the bridge ‘officially’ being renamed as Peter’s bridge. Plus the beer was very good

Will actual arrests be enough for you? https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/local-news/exploitation-victims-found-van-after-10197775?utm_source=app https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/35076451/old-time-sailors-arrested-slavery-probe/ I mean, the amount of first-hand alleged reports in the Reddit thread is pretty damning in and of itself, but obviously word of mouth.

We’re moored just by the lock landing below lock 3, very convenient for the admiral Nelson! There were a couple of other small spots free in the upper pounds, and a fair few above lock 5 when we came down (about 2 hours ago). Headed down the locks to braunston marina, there’s no more space iirc.

My experience with Watford and Foxton locks over the last couple of years is; you go to check in with the lock keeper, so they can plan passage based on other boats. You sit around for a bit and have a beer or two while waiting your turn, because you definitely arrived just as a set of 5 have started working the locks in the opposite direction. At your first lock they’ll ask if you’ve done it before, after which they’ll remind you ‘red before white’ regardless of your answer. After seeing you actually know what you’re doing, they generally leave you to your own devices, occasionally helping with a paddle or gate depending on how busy they are (we’re a crew of two, so obviously they prefer to help single handers). Never had an issue with lockies at either flight feeling ‘territorial’, all in all a very pleasant bunch Was very fortunate to get up the Watford flight the day or so before it failed

We’re moored above Foxton, just by bridge 59. Will be pottering down soon, after I’ve had a beer. The weathers turned out better than expected

Our worst foul (so far) was also a sari while cruising through Leicester! Agreed. When we’re cruising through bigger built-up areas I’ll pull out the bucket because I know I’m going to have to get into the weed hatch at some point

I’ve been very happy with Ecowitt’s ‘Wittboy’. https://shop.ecowitt.com/en-gb/products/wittboy No moving parts, used piezo magic for rain and wind. The web interface on the device you put inside your boat also allows you to upload the data to other places (like weather underground, etc).

Please let me know when 😅 2.5 years in and they’re still happening

Fascinating video, cheers. Very curious about the mechanism at Bradley for rotating boats - what was the purpose of this? Easier access for certain types of repairs?

Another great canal board game is ‘canal mania’ though it’s also tricky to find. And brass Birmingham also has a canal phase before switching to the rail phase - though brass isn’t to be taken lightly, it’s a fairly complex game

Tree came down a mere 10 or so meters away from the boat, by the old railway bridge at Kings Sutton. Surprised we didn’t hear it, had a lovely nights sleep. Contractors hopefully removing it very soon as we’re in need of a pump out.

I’m in agreement that their data should ideally be rid of their non-commercial clause, which would also allow for the data to be used in projects like openstreetmap. However, as I understand it, you *can* use their data in a monetised app provided the application doesn’t specifically monetise the use of that data. For example, the canal.uk iOS app uses crt data but their premium functions, for which you have to pay, does not. Or maybe they’ve just taken a very optimistic view of the license and aren’t strictly playing by the rules

yeah it's not *particularly* easy going down, but still fine. My wife and I are trying to determine when specifically it got installed. We've found some videos of people going past last May and the ladder isn't there. But it *was* there by January 2024

Just found this thread after mooring by the old (demolished) railway bridge and was curious. Some absolutely fantastic soul has actually built a wooden ladder that can be used to get up onto the bridge. From there, it's a shortish walk into either town or across the field to the train station. You can just about make out the ladder in this image

On the other hand, the aftermath of storm Bert has drastically improved the convenience of recycling south of Banbury

Yep and slowly started dropping at Banbury. I’ll be a lot more comfortable not hearing the water rushing past the boat and the lines creaking every few seconds. Must have checked my lines were secure a half dozen times today… I’m not usually a worrier 😅

Here’s a short clip of the water at Haynes lift bridge currently (well, early this afternoon)

They opened this during the last heavy rain and left it open expecting more rain, ended up draining the pound quite a bit 😅

We’re south of Banbury by Haynes lift bridge and it’s just about topping the towpath here. Poked my head out earlier to see what the situation was and the canal must have about 3mph flow! Managed to walk to the shops earlier for beer but it’s risen at least 4 inches since then. Loosened my mooring lines twice today. i can hear the water rushing past the boat and the creaking of my loose lines as the water pushes us away from the towpath

Aye but when you forage it yourself, it warms you three times over; when you gather it, when you chop it, and when you burn it

Wait, what happened with the shroppie fly?

I am always amazed and somewhat horrified when my parents told me they used their cracked stove for months until they replaced it (or maybe just sold the boat, not sure). Theirs was cracked at the back though, not the bottom. To answer OPs question, it’s a bit sporadic at the moment. Sometimes pop the eberspacher on in the mornings, but with the sun we’ve been having in Cropredy, the boats been getting plenty toasty during the day. We also have a thick duvet with a weighted blanket on top that ensures a very toasty sleep. Makes getting out of bed in the morning hard though, even if only to turn the heating on

Faster than the winds on Neptune, ‘hurricane’ is a bit of an understatement 😂

Ah my apologies, what was missing from ours wasn't a bubble tester (I guess they look different) but a test valve, which looks like the image below. It took Dave Freeman's son only a few minutes to fit, just by the flexible pipe going into the hob. Costs less than a fiver online apparently, and he never charged us for ours (or the work done).

Mine would have failed on that, as my BSS tester could not locate one - it looked like in the intervening four years since the last exam, someone replaced the gas hob and presumably removed the bubble tester valve. Thankfully he had one in his toolbox, and his (gas safe registered) son came over to fit it, then they passed me. So it's definitely something they check for.