Onewheeler

I think I paid about £1 last time there: not stunningly cheap, but much better than most of the places on the Thames (other than Reading).

If you can get back on the Oxford Canal, College Cruisers are usually not too dear. Otherwise it's expensive all the way to Reading.

Sounds like it might be a job for a long screwdriver held against the ear. Keep hair, gold medallions, clothes and dangly bits away from the drive belts!

0.5" thread e.g. http://www.screwfix.com/p/swirl-bathroom-basin-tap-reviver-kit/32730 ? Measure twice, buy once....

It is a well known issue that hydrogen can trigger CO alarms (and other gases, including hydrogen sulphide, so don't fart near it and don't blame the dog). Google "carbon monoxide detector hydrogen interference". Martin/

As someone said, the moorings opposite Christchurch Meadows are full of long-term overstayers. It's usually possible to tie up a little further downstream of Folly Bridge. A fair bit further down and a long walk to town are nice moorings near Isis Farmhouse above Iffley Lock. The pub only opens Fri - Sun, and Thurs in the summer but the two pubs on the other side (the Tree Hotel and the other one) are very nice. There are limits near the lock, not sure if they apply further upstream towards the bridge. It's certainly feasible to tie up below Osney Lock on the towpath side (other than about the first 300 m below the lock), there's deep water in a lot of places and it's safer than it looks. Seldom see boats there. Someone mentioned the East Street moorings. They're good if you need to paint your gunwhales. There are longer term moorings on the canal if you go up a bit beyond the 48 h moorings, but they're often full and a lot of them are very shallow. Aristotle Lane rings a bell as being 7 or 14 day and it's handy for Jericho. I like to tie up on the towpath side above the entrance to the Sheepwash channel. There are 24 (or 48) h signs there but they're well-hidden and it's unlikely you'll be bothered. Plenty of people do overstay. You may need to clear some foliage, but then a machete is always a useful thing to have on the Thames. It's feasible intermittently all the way up to Bossom's boatyard. (Might be worth asking if you want to stay more than a few days and don't mind paying, and also trying Osney Mill marina - we moor there and there's currently a space next to us. Maybe also College Cruisers on the canal). Edit: sorry, just seen that you meant the canal. 48 h h at the bottom end of the canal and up past the first bridge, but it's very shallow the further up you go. Above that there are intermittent 48 h, 7 day and 14 day moorings. They was plenty of space when I walked up a week ago, but they'll get more busy as the summer approaches. Can't remember all of the locations. Shallowness at the edge is a general problem, largey due to bits of the bank having fallen in. Martin/

Is it good for the caps lock key?

Other favourite pubs include the White Rabbit (studenty pizza pub) and the White Horse (Broad Street ). Kings Arms is nice for drinking but we've had an awful meal there.

The Gardeners in Plantation Road is indeed a nice pub. Food is all veggie but fairly cheap. The landlord of the R&C (North Parade, about a mile south of South Parade) could have been the reason the French invented the word 'emmerdeur' but it's still worth the walk from town. So many excellent drinking places...

Only the town moorings. It's like tying to the prom at Bridlington. However the tvm payment system might well work better than the abysmal system using the car park pay points which basically didn't work a year ago (and with which the staff in the tourist information office were well dischuffed). The moorings below the bridge are much nicer and cheaper. Martin /

I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames, also pubs and restos in Oxford. Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday. Remind me if I forget! Martin I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames, also pubs and restos in Oxford. Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday. Remind me if I forget! Martin

How do you make the duck drink the gin or vodka?

As a general query, is the shore-side MCB considered OK for protection for the wiring which leads onboard to the isolation transformer (or galvanic isolator) and thence to the RCCB and consumer unit? Most "blue" mains connectors are not fused (although our shore outlet uses a 13A plug with fuse in a weatherproof bankside box so we're doubly protected). Martin/

You could gold plate it.

We've got a beer bilge lined with some big seed trays to stop stuff disappearing into the inaccessible depths

...other than at Easter when all the plastic boats come out to play

Buy a weeks licence, then at the first lock after it's run out buy another. You might need a cheque book as I doubt if all of the locks have card readers. The lockies will stop you if you licence has expired. Martin/

If you're still there, can you check if Boden has any glass left in the windows? About 50 m downstream of the explosion and opposite. Martin/

Tetrahydrocannabinol and afficionados of it respectively.

Exploding cylinders or cylinders going into orbit may be a red herring. The explosion could well be consistent with a flat filled with gas, possibly with a large leak being initiated by a small initial explosion. It has been scurrilously suggested that propane may have been in use for extraction of THC. There are certainly plenty of stoners in the area, mostly harmless. I believe that there is still no access to the area. I had been thinking of going to see if any flying masonry had caused damage to our boat that needs urgent fixing. F&R still searching the wreckage for bodies, still people unaccounted for. Martin /

Also at http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/15091709.Huge_explosion_and_fire_in_Oxford/ Our mooring is almost opposite, about 50 m downstream. Looks like a boat or two on hardstanding have gone up and probably some damage from flying debris to boats all around. We're at home so won't find out more until tomorrow. Martin/

Note that Samsung and LG may have been "doing a Volkswagen" with their energy consumption figures. http://www.economist.com/news/business/21716075-tvs-samsung-lg-and-vizio-consume-far-more-electricity-home-they-do I'd still use an inverter and a mains telly, in the most unlikely event that I ever felt the need for a telly on the boat.

Plenty of 24V gear for the lorry driver market, sometimes cheaper than consumer stuff. Look on Ebay - radios etc no problem. Some so-called 12V electronics (I'm thinking phone chargers) are fine on 24 V, but you might need to be careful if the outlets are the awful "cigarette lighter" type.

By coincidence, this just plopped up on facebook. The answer to ones dreams?

We have a steel tray (a lasagna dish for the technically minded) under the front of the stove to catch ash and stray coals that fall out when the door is open. Looks tidy and works. Martin/