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The Virtual BCN Challenge 2020


cheshire~rose

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On 07/05/2020 at 20:06, cheshire~rose said:

  Styxl for  cleaning up someone else’s weed hatch rubbish.

·       (Note: I noticed that when they cleaned the burrs of the horse, it went from brown to white. Did they use bleach? Is this a case of animal cruelty?) 

@cheshire~rose Mac did say in our post #64 that as we hadn't sorted the hos we had left it at a canal stables and swapped it for a white one

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8 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

I have dyscalcula so reading a number may be a problem!

 

Yup the entire lot please

If you are dyscalculic (?) Could I point out that whisky galore would definitely win if only you could add up.our points correctly? Just sayin. 

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7 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

I've found our old Monopoly set, the one that we were given as a gift when we collected our Chinese take-away meal. I still can't work out how to play the game, and it doesn't seem to be much help with the quiz either.

 

beijingmonopoly.jpg.ea9b4758f45d1515af9e981c1cb04b2f.jpg

 

 

chinese.jpg.640c77ca93660a631f6e7fe4c43aad05.jpg

 

We can produce an original, a French version, a Nottingham version, a Pokémon one and an electronic one (don't ask). The grandchildren love them all. I loathe the game but trackman loves playing with the children. 

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Well Team Whisky Galore got to the finish with no major hiccups. Shergar our horse has been returned to where ever the IRA buried or disposed of him. We've drunk the contents of the drinks cabinet so are set for a peaceful evening.

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As a mere onlooker to this event, my thanks to those who organised it and to those who took part and really entered into the spirit of virtually cruising. I must admit to not having read every word of all the cruise diaries but I did read a lot and I was so impressed with the knowledge and facts and figures which the teams came up with. 

I don't know who had the original idea - Cheshire Rose? - but it was inspired and the organising team put on their thinking caps and came up with a superb event.

 

Thank you everyone!

 

haggis

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1 hour ago, Mrs Trackman said:

If you are dyscalculic (?) Could I point out that whisky galore would definitely win if only you could add up.our points correctly? Just sayin. 

Adding up points (from score sheets) is @Capt Ahab's role. creating a decent spreadsheet that will add up the numbers I put in it is @Postcode's role

 

My role is just keeping you lot in some semblence of order which is going to be impossible tonight because a certain contender called me to query something while @Postcode kept filling up my wine glass and -

 

ah well! I will join you all in the beer tent tonight and do the calculations in the morning!

 

Life is too short!

 

I have got one more lovely photo to show you though:

 

It is a shame this wasn't taken on The BCN or one of you might have spotted him during your time travels is you had dialed up 1955 or maybe 1956? It was taken on the derelict Stourbridge Canal, Fens Branch at Cressett Lane Bridge (At least that’s what we called it – it’s called Haywood Bridge in one of the books I have.) on a 120 Kodak Box Brownie. This is one of the panel who have been judging your ramblings cruise logs and the chap who wonders if he knows @trackman - do you recognise him?

 

I know there w

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Now is when I can play catch up with the news from the Judging Panel.

 

These notes were from Friday's cruise logs, as usual, the panel had decided which logs were their favourite and bonus points have been awarded to those but remain a secret for the time being.

Bonus points have been awarded as follows:

 

 

Quote

 

Indigo dreams: bonus points for the poignant comments on VE day in the opening. Maybe bonus points for the roof poem

Steaming Behind must get bonus points for taking a large plastic cruiser through Dudley tunnel with no reports of getting stuck. Low water levels?

Urban Moorings get bonus points for helping CRT with their lock open day

Anado Solo gets bonus points for considerately not picturing a bacon sandwich when I’m a bit queasy for last night’s celebrations

Urban Moorings for the getting out of bed scenario and jolting the Time Machine by clouting a wharf. I relate to that sort of accident!!

 

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Here are the comments from the final round of judging from our esteemed (and knackered) panel for your cruise logs on Saturday

 

Quote

 

Bonus points for Food:

Firefly – I really enjoyed the chocolate cake

Urban moorings – a breakfast to die of for!

Styxl – the black pudding looks great (unlike that on another boat).

Biscuits:  Con yo ask Biscuits wer does yo get Yam Yam from cos ar’d like to try et?

 

Random Bonus points:

 Indigo Dreams: bonus points for the excellent summary log and daily mapping put up front where I can see it.

Whisky Galore – The railway engine at Wednesbury Oak Loop is not a class 37 despite the bonnets – it’s a class 45 (Peak). Count the wheels. Minus points?

Someone (Sally?) descended to the Wolverhampton level from the Birmingham level but they’ve escaped as I forgot to write

Special mention to Styxl particularly for pointing out that canals are now tree lined compared to their industrial past. It really made me think.

 

 

Please note - the panel member who picked up on the incorrect identification of the train initially identified it as a class 40 but then corrected himself so I will not be taking points off, he is such a geek!

I think I might know which team has a Sally in it BUT I am not of a mind to go through all the logs to try and cross reference then to find the mention of the descent from Wolverhampton Level to Birmingham Level but if said team recognise this as them please quote the post and tag me in and I will ensure the point is awarded

 

 

Edited by cheshire~rose
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Possibly time to introduce you to our panel. There have been two individuals who have been tirelessly reading through all your logs and scoring, adding comments as applicable. I had originally hoped to have a few more people judging but it wasn't to be so I overcame this by awarding additional points where their choices did not coincide and some days they would struggle to choose a top 3 or to put them in any order so on those occasions all those mentioned got the top points available.  Our two judges were actually swayed by some completely different criteria though which is good, one enjoyed the factual, industrial griminess while the other was swayed by the poetry, food and dogs while they both appreciated the creativity of the challenges and a lot of teams gave them real headaches on that aspect.

 

Meet Angie: Until very recently a Waterways Chaplain and live-aboard boater:

36479920_2055358151391137_36465655322509

 

Angie says:

I've loved judging the logs. I'm surprised that any of the boats were able to float today with all the food that was prepared and consumed - on that note, I'd be happy to crew for any of them next year!!!
Thank you so much for including me in this challenge -  Please congratulate all the teams from me - they were great

 

And John who many of you will know for the talks his gives about The Chesterfield Canal and the many publications he has created through the years with Christine Richardson as "Richlow Publications" He is pictured here (in the orange helmet) with Richard Parry inspecting the Norwood Tunnel

TUN9.JPG

Nobody recognised him from the photo of him n his pushchair did they?

 

John said "I’m shattered after all this virtual boating but it has made me think I should scan all my Black Country slides. So I think I might need a non-virtual single malt"

 

He also left you all with a question "a 1969 slide I took and unusually it isn’t captioned. I believe it’s a rally at a former GWR interchange basin at Netherton but I’m sure you lot can give me chapter and verse!"

 

1969-0098.jpg

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After more than three hours of sound sleep I am now refreshed and invigorated. I anyone still standing at Bradley? I am still hovering around the BCN before setting the dial for present-day Auckland.

 

A boon I crave. When the judging, rewarding and sentencing is done please spare a moment's thought for the solo supplicant isolated and alone, separated from friends and family. 

 

My father was Austrian-born but fled Austria after graduation as a doctor in Vienna. He ended up in London and met my Kiwi mother and they had a wild time until Dunkirk when he was invited to join a mystery cruise (ref 'Dunera' by the UK authorities. The cruise ended up in barbed-wire-Butlins in Australia leaving my mother and my elder brother trapped in London. His holiday in Australia was relatively short but not sweet and mother and son joined him in Australia and produced me in 1943. Eventually the family , now with three boys, returned to the bosom of my mother's New Zealand family. I rattle on maybe.

 

The BCNS Time Machine works at long distances - NZ to UK

It works perfectly adjacent to BCN (and UK?) canals

It works well on Baltika beer

 

Would it be safe and permissible to pause my return to New Zealand in 1999 Austria? Is there a setting or a fix which would make its use possible there? But I do not want be trapped there for eternity. It could be a half-way meeting place with a now-deceased Uzbek colleague with whom I worked and knew in Tashkent for ten years. I helped him bury his mother in Tashkent but was not able to farewell him as I would have wished. It is an errand of mercy that I crave. To reminisce with an old friend and set the world to rights over beer, vodka and zakuski is all I want. Much like an End-of Challenge piss-up but with black borders. All I can offer you in return is a Baltika fuelled distillation of tales from the past. My direct family have been treated properly. Shukrat Akhmedovich Irgashev needs a wake. We went to Austria together in 1999 to buy 12,000t of rails for Uzbek Railways. Plus $25M of big yellow Austrian machines

 

Yours humbly

KiwiBill

 

Crikey. You have all been working late

 

Edited by KiwiBill
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Mahoosive kudos to all those involved. I'm sure I represent everyone else on the forum in saying it's been a very welcome diversion from the doom and gloom and general unhappiness.

A heartfelt thankyou from me to everyone who's organised and participated.

❤️

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15 minutes ago, KiwiBill said:

After more than three hours of sound sleep I am now refreshed and invigorated. I anyone still standing at Bradley? I am still hovering around the BCN before setting the dial for present-day Auckland.

 

A boon I crave. When the judging, rewarding and sentencing is done please spare a moment's thought for the solo supplicant isolated and alone, separated from friends and family. 

 

My father was Austrian-born but fled Austria after graduation as a doctor in Vienna. He ended up in London and met my Kiwi mother and they had a wild time until Dunkirk when he was invited to join a mystery cruise (ref 'Dunera' by the UK authorities. The cruise ended up in barbed-wire-Butlins in Australia leaving my mother and my elder brother trapped in London. His holiday in Australia was relatively short but not sweet and mother and son joined him in Australia and produced me in 1943. Eventually the family , now with three boys, returned to the bosom of my mother's New Zealand family. I rattle on maybe.

 

The BCNS Time Machine works at long distances - NZ to UK

It works perfectly adjacent to BCN (and UK?) canals

It works well on Baltika beer

 

Would it be safe and permissible to pause my return to New Zealand in 1999 Austria? Is there a setting or a fix which would make its use possible there? But I do not want be trapped there for eternity. It could be a half-way meeting place with a now-deceased Uzbek colleague with whom I worked and knew in Tashkent for ten years. I helped him bury his mother in Tashkent but was not able to farewell him as I would have wished. It is an errand of mercy that I crave. To reminisce with an old friend and set the world to rights over beer, vodka and zakuski is all I want. Much like an End-of Challenge piss-up but with black borders. All I can offer you in return is a Baltika fuelled distillation of tales from the past. My direct family have been treated properly. Shukrat Akhmedovich Irgashev needs a wake. We went to Austria together in 1999 to buy 12,000t of rails for Uzbek Railways. Plus $25M of big yellow Austrian machines

 

Yours humbly

KiwiBill

 

Crikey. You have all been working late

 

Oh Bill

 

Please keep on rambling.

 

Maybe you would like to continue your vitual cruise log and keep us posted on your virtaul travels "the long way round" via Austria. There is so much we all need to learn from people like you who have memories that go back further than ours and traverse different lands to those we know so well. Please take us all with you on your virtual journey, we want to share it with you so never, ever feel alone x

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1 hour ago, cheshire~rose said:

Here are the comments from the final round of judging from our esteemed (and knackered) panel for your cruise logs on Saturday

 

 

Please note - the panel member who picked up on the incorrect identification of the train initially identified it as a class 40 but then corrected himself so I will not be taking points off, he is such a geek!

I think I might know which team has a Sally in it BUT I am not of a mind to go through all the logs to try and cross reference then to find the mention of the descent from Wolverhampton Level to Birmingham Level but if said team recognise this as them please quote the post and tag me in and I will ensure the point is awarded

 

 

It was Sally!

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