Jo_

I use bottles of frozen water in the cooler. The gel freezer packs are really rather useless but if you freeze the 1.5l pastic bottles filled (and refilled when necessary) with tap water, they will last a couple of days. So I have a large insulated cooler box and just pack all the drinks stuff, particularly, in there which frees up fridge space for general items. I changed the fridge for a larder fridge and bought a small table top square freezer with front opening door and that gets packed up and it's where the water bottles go to refreeze of course!

I'll DM you my mobile Chris, so you can keep in touch. As far as I know there is no Heron Owners' Group. Jo

Nice one, Chris. If your long way round brings you up the Soar and along the T&M to Mercia Marina, come and see us! Our boats could do a recognition donut in the middle of the Marina waters!

Notice Alert Trent & Mersey Canal Starts At: Lock 14, Common Lock Ends At: Lock 14, Common Lock Up Stream Winding Hole: Junction Coventry Canal Down Stream Winding Hole: Below Bagnall Lock Tuesday 9 April 2019 16:00 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Repair Update on 10/04/2019: We have tried to reinstall the gate manually but unfortunately this has not been possible. A gantry will be on site tomorrow morning for us to refit the gate. We will update again tomorrow. We apologise for the delay in resolving. Original message: The top end gate has come out of it's cup, it will need a gantry to reposition. We will provide an update by lunch time tomorrow.

My apologies. I meant Shaun Williamson. Shows how passionately I follow this stuff! Shaun is/was Barry from Eastenders and seems to appear in lots of TV things.

I assume that's what Shaun Edwards was on about this morning. He's on a narrowboat 'around the Potteries' and sworn to secrecy but is with an 'eminent politician, journalist and two show business legends'. He was chatting with our morning presenter on local radio. So if you're out and about on the T&M, keep your eyes open because I guess they're filming it at the moment.

I'm more worried about the air draft ... but it does look lovely!!

This was done in 2010 I remember ... that was A Slice of Yorkshire or something. It was gorgeous - no leaking lock gate, no broken paddle taped up in yellow and black ....

Having 'lily-padded' with toilet tissue for years, I found these and they are excellent!! Been using them for the last couple of years. And with 50 in a box you can pretty well predict the annual cost 🤣 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grove-Happy-Bowl/dp/B007EBW970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551214183&sr=8-1&keywords=happy+bowl+toilet+liner

How about using the time to look at the owned boats you pass, moor up with, share locks with, queue at locks with. Talk to people. Keep notes. If people know you're wanting to settle on a spec that will suit you and your needs, they'll be only too happy to tell you why their's is exactly the right sort of boat - and if you're pleasant and interested and let them talk - probably invite you on board for a look! Looking at boats for sale is what you do when you've a pretty good idea what it is you're after. Good luck!!

More Coltishall stuff to enjoy http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/coltishallpostcards1.html Looks like there was a little waterway behind the lock keeper's cottage which was good for the wherries. Thank you for all your plaudits. There isn't a curtesying gif but take it that I have done so in acknowledgement! How did I find it? I'm an academic and all the research I did and learned to do now translates into finding things. With the internet anything is possible - if you use it well. The original picture had too much 'stuff' - the elegant lady, the mast of the wherry - so I cropped the photograph back to the roof with the gable end features and the chimney and fed that image into google with canal and lock and cottage as supporting words. And up it popped - well, amongst other images. So it was just then a question of finding the chimney! Simples 😀

Coltishall Lock, Norfolk Broads? I don't know it but this looks exactly like it

There's a song too - I remember it from my childhood (assuming I'm right of course). But I did think this immediately and then the photograph seemed to confirm my thought 😀

I watched it and really enjoyed it. It was anything other than CRT taking the credit - it focused on volunteers, IWA and WRG and the graft over decades. AND it was all about boats and boating. Not a cycle in sight!! And it was lovely to see Harry Arnold chatting away about the history.

The compassionate and factual account includes the bit where the hire company themselves brought the boats back, apologising and saying they had turned the hirers off the boats. That is surely an admission of liability and the insurance that is part of the hire agreement is there for damage caused by hirers, isn't it?