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London especially River Lee inhabitants


Gaby Koppel

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

That is one of the main issues - (not all) people living on boats are simply looking for affordable accomodation, they would be happy if it was shed in someones garden, a caravan in HydePark or a boat.

 

They are not boaters and in many cases would rather they were not living in a boat and the problems that gives them.

 

You will get a very, very different response from boaters who are living in a boat from choice, than from someone living in a boat because it is all they can afford - in many cases the boats used as cheap housing  are at the end of their life and that again means that the facilities may not be ideal.

 

It maybe intersting to actually interview 'both ends' of the scale and make the comparison between living on a boat from choice as compared to living on a boat because they 'have no other options left'.

One end of the scale:  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/23/london-houseboat-slum-rents-barge

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55 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

That's a different angle from people's usual perception, yes. On the other hand, it was published in the Graun, which is a paper to which Gaby has often contributed, so they might not be interested in her going over the same ground.

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On 04/03/2021 at 18:12, Sir Nibble said:

I think that the problem you will encounter is finding someone sufficiently in love with boating that they wouldn't move ashore if they could afford it. In London the boat tends to be a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

 

Don't be ridiculous - there are plenty of people boating in London because they actually appreciate living afloat. Their reasons, their circumstances and their priorities may not exactly align with yours - but they are still boaters, living on boats and enjoying the benefits that come with living on boats.

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1 hour ago, tehmarks said:

 

Don't be ridiculous - there are plenty of people boating in London because they actually appreciate living afloat. Their reasons, their circumstances and their priorities may not exactly align with yours - but they are still boaters, living on boats and enjoying the benefits that come with living on boats.

.. absolutely, when I had to work down there, I couldn't have lived in London itself, I had to be able to escape to the boat, and breathe...wherever the commute was from didnt matter, it was having the bolt hole to make it bearable for me and my daughter.

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Yawn. It's been done to death. What an earth the chances of yet another reporter is going to find of new interest is zero. If I was any sort of decent editor and you pitched in with this idea you would be filed as "follower of the herd". Find something original!  :)

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On 05/03/2021 at 13:59, Gaby Koppel said:

That in itself is an interesting story, I'd say.  It's not exactly the watery idyll that I was hoping to find, but it might be an interesting way into the story.  I

Noticed my user name was mentioned here. 

 

(Edit to add I now realise perhaps this a was a reference to the huge amounts of scrap left on towpaths. My username was created long before the magnet craze and I have not dropped a magnet in the water for quite a few years now so am not remotely related to or interested in the current crop of awful idiots dragging rubbish out and littering the towpaths with hazardous objects.)

 

My original post before I realised what was being commented on :

 

What is it that is "an interesting story". Do you know something I don't? 

 

I'd quite like to know why it is not a "watery idyll" as that is news to me and I believe the Guardian is all about news. 

 

I'm intrigued now ;)

 

Having been approached by journos about the boat thing on too many occasions I am wary and worn down. 

 

However the biscuits was correct to flag me as someone who chooses to live on a boat for the single reason that I like living on a boat and nothing to do with finances. No property ownership will ever happen in my lifetime regardless of money. And yes I can afford to buy property but not interested. 

 

27 years living on boats in 3 weeks time and it's been that good it feels like  it's been a July weekend. 

 

 

ETA maybe for the "watery idyll" part you need to get on the GWR fast trains out of the smoke and have a look around Berks Bucks and Oxon where you will find people living lives of untold abundant pleasure and leisure on the wonderful river Thames rather than those of us cooped up in tin boxes on ditches in E9 and E14 type postcodes ?

 

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