Cold Showers.

I am not as young as I was, and my stamina is slipping. Boating becomes very un-tranquil when the rope on the stove door needs replacing AGAIN. My top tip for such a job is to make sure you have the right size rope in the first place. Having finally done it properly I pushed and prodded the fire into submission and as it began to roar, the warmth gently chased the sub-zero air away. The clock chimed indicating the end of the ‘engine running time’ and thus the indicator of hot water. I had been grimy for quite some time, so I jumped into the shower enthusiastically, turned on the tap and lept straight back out again. Cold showering is something I always used to do. Bracing myself with thoughts of palm beaches in the rain I climbed back in, and 5 minutes later emerged wet, cold, but clean. Next time when I am at work, and tanned from coal dust and mud I won’t decide to ‘wait until I get home for that long awaited shower’ but will spend 10p and shower. 10p is my favourite currency and that will teach me for not embracing it.

Taking Billy to the Vet

Miss T is recuperating. I am not jealous. The great thing is that during this time she is invincible and the world is her oyster and, having not seen her a week (and it took that long to recover!), I thought this evening would provide an ideal time to sit on a sofa in a tranquil village wrapped on Oxfordshire countryside drinking tea. Miss T agreed and I spent the day dreaming, until I learnt that 'Billy had to go to the vet' at the time I was going to arrive and could I help. I am not so keen on live things, but I wondered whether Billy was going to the vet to go to cat heaven. This, I thought, would be an ideal opportunity to be the 'friend in waiting' catch the weeping Traves and whip the body of the deceased into my pocket and depart.

It didn't quite work out like that. I was shuffled into the kitchen and instructed to hold the 'cat basket like this, this bit like this and then I'll shovel him in and we do this'. Right you are I thought and as I gathered my composure trying to work out which bit was which Miss T disappeared, rapidly reappearing with Billy in a strong hold. He was promptly shoveled into the receptacle and I did well to stop it spinning out of control and got the bars on despite the binary fission going on with his claws and paws.

The Vet was a jolly chap, tall and spindly with an impeccable sense of fashion (he admired my jumper in-between gasping breaths about his wife) and most impressed that I was there for moral support. I assured him I was only there because I hoped Billy would peg it. The door closed and they were gone. 15minutes later the door opened to reveal a calm Billy and bedraggled Miss T mouthing 'help'. Only too willing to assist I went into the room as the Vet exited announcing the need for an amputation. Sadly he was joking. Miss T now knowing all about the Vets family pets was relieved to make it back home after all the chatter.

The diagnosis - stress, whether that was for the feline, the human or society at large I do not know, but I do know that I didn't get any tea.

Boating

On saturday I, Hannah and Maffi went boating. This was primarily to sort out the deer in a remote location where the smells and offcuts wouldn't upset the locals. It was a glorious morning, so Maffi and I took to the tiller while Hannah pretended to be asleep:

I love the paws on this boat Roanoake:

but was sorry to see the vandelism on this boat:

and spotted this sign when I went to turn around at Dukes Cut:

Neither Hannah OR Maffi were terribly interested in learning about the Deer, although Maffi did manage to peep a look at the oesophagus.

Sheep

If you haven't done it, you simply MUST... click here.

Pav has Marmaduke

Good news for Marmaduke. They have their boat and are now sorting everything else out. Not the ideal solution, but they haven't lost everything. Good News indeed.

Bad Mood

This morning I am in the foulest mood possible in the world. Sadly I cannot take the boat out, but am trapped in my laboratory trying to program - and actually getting somewhere (phew).

Grump.

Still no Licence...

...so I have emailed BW and received a prompt reply

"Thank you for your email. I cannot see a gold licence for BONES index 75632 on your account as yet however these do take 15 working days for processing. Please can you advise when this was posted so that I can determine if this is still within the processing time?"

I posted it at the beginning of December, so I wonder what has happened there. Hrmph

AMENDED: I have just received an email

"Thank you for your reply. I can advise that the paperwork is in our processing offices and your discs should be with you shortly"

Hurrah

Horror Horror Horror

marmaduke

I just wish I could help or knew what to say.

I can't and I don't.

Granny Buttons

If you haven't visited Granny Buttons today - go and visit.... FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

NABO RBOA and membership

Sometime ago I wrote a post about NABO and forming a new group - the scruffy boaters brigade (I can't work out how to link it here without linking the whole of November 2007's posts). I have been keeping an eye on NABO and RBOA over the last few months, and I really think I should join something.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find my cheque book, which means I still haven't done anything about it - what a shame we can't join on line; I expect that this is an indication that the members are too busy doing active work than keeping ahead of technological payment advances.

The waterways are changing, and I don't think this is just because I am getting older and more aware of my environment. As boaters we need to make sure we are doing something to ensure that we can continue to boat without being priced off the system, and that we don't find ourselves immersed in a rich mans game and subsequently sinking in the bureaucracy surrounding that. The more active we are, the louder our voice, and as long as we are heard and do our best we can sit and say que sera sera, but the only people who will speak out for us are us. Boating is about community and with the mooring tender system I see communities being destroyed.

fury wiggly thing

this morning Bones looked out of the window and saw a fury wiggly thing swimming across the canal... a water vole?!

Bones loves small fury wiggly things swimming. So cute.

I did a survey of them when I was chairman of the wildlife society in Sheffield once, never saw one, but I did see evidence of their presence so I am rather pleased to see they are so cute.

Hmm... I shall have to investigate to see whether it was one of those!

Still no Licence

My licence still hasn't arrived. I wonder if BW staff are too busy reviewing licence fee's to actually issue any or take our money?

Moving On

Once upon a time Bones had a Beloved but as with all things Bones and that Beloved came to pass. With this I have been clearing out my possessions. A thankless task as I am once again reminded that I am not a minimalist but a maximalist.

I was rather thrust into living on a boat, and although I moved on with very few possessions, everything else I owned gradually caught me up. Sadly there was no room at the Inn, and several friends and family were sweet enough to accommodate my boxes. I am sure my parents love sharing their bedroom with a long case clock and carcasses in cases! Eventually I managed to condense most things at friends' houses and what was left was kindly housed by the Beloved. As you can imagine it is high time I removed my debris; not least because each time I go back to visit, it is rather like I never left.

This weekend, amongst other things, I packed everything up in boxes, and I can only marvel at the sheer amount of clutter I accumulate. The recycling bin received several meals from my store, and my car became full of buckets, tripods, cameras tinfoil, screws, ink, wool, books and other random essentials that I seem to have been able to live without since I last saw them. (I left everything else in boxes piled neatly behind the wardrobe)

The problem with boating, and particularly my sort of boating is that there isn't enough storage for things 'you might need'. My cornet and top hat (for best) take up valuable space in their cases/boxes, and even my gas mask is in the way crumpled up under the bed for a rainy day.

I think it might be time to bite the bullet and sort out some more storage for the great ship. As yet I don't have any seats with storage for my dining room table, so that may be good place to start. Oh how I wish I was good at woodwork, or at least design!

Botherit! I have just remembered the paintings and the crockery!!! Bones is going need an extension.

Guilty as charged.

Blackbird has posted a comment about Dog Excrement and having ranted, I thought I should link it in here. I agree with much of what Carrie says, indeed there is waste all around us, I suppose the thing that drives me potty is that I am trying to do my best for the environment, and I KNOW I can do better, but how can one respect the world we live in and not respect the people we share it with? Too often we live in our own little bubbles and rant and rave, or disregard people's privacy or freedom (in this case to walk to their own front door without having to traipse through dog sh&t), yet we don't respect each other.

I lost all respect for animal rights activists when I was in Cambridge. They blew up Edinburgh woollen mill, boots and a leather shop. Above these properties was student accommodation - the students *happened* to be out at a party.

There is a new building being put up in Oxford and people who are not involved with it are having their property sabotaged because they worked in a nearby department.

The problem is that we all have our wishes and wants, our desires and campaigns, yet we cannot respect each other or help each other have a better understanding of the world around us.

I am not an eco warrior, but I do want to look after my planet and I want people around me to look after it. I am however a people warrior, I want people to respect each other, and I am a community warrior - I think with community, care and compassion the world can be a better place. I also know that I don't fit.

I don't want to spend my time using cleaning products throughout my boat because I have trampled through dog Sh*te. Nor do I want to use electricity to have to see where it is. Nor do I want to spend precious time clearing up after dogs mess that should have been cleared up by their owners. This time of mine can be spent in a better way.

So - did I rant - yes, but I think that I have something to rant about, my time is precious. If I wanted to clear up after other people I would. Indeed, if there was a map indicating where all the dog sh&t was along the path I would go during daylight hours and clear it up so that I didn't have to clean my boat up with cleaning materials that poison the environment, but I would rather be thinking about how I can make this world a better place and doing something about it. It is bad enough clearing up after ourselves without having to clear up after other people.

Stormy and Dark

Claremont Gardens

This afternoon I headed south of the river to visit a chum. We took a stroll around Claremont Gardens imagine my excitement when I noticed the Grotto on the map.



Unfortunately you couldn't walk around the Grotto, so we stopped in the bushes and tried to take a picture, but it was pretty hard to stretch out to get a good view. My chum then spotted a bit of the ground that stretched out into the lake that would give him a good view... Unfortunately it wasn't a piece of land, Oh how I giggled!

but rather amusingly just around the corner was a beautiful flat piece of ground to stand on.. the point marking A is where we were when James encountered a 'splash' and B is the far more sensible area.

and here is my chum on that lovely grass bit!

there were some lovely places around the gardens a tower on the island which we couldn't access. When I am 80 or so I will be able to swim across without getting arrested.

I think I might apply to be a hermit and live here:

but I loved this - it looks rather like a brain:

Bones' Revamp

I have been accused of being a man on repeated occasions, and I have also been ID'd for buying ciggies for a friend (I won't do that again!), and alcohol. I also have the amazing talent of wearing girls clothes and making it look like I have shopped in the mans department. I am rather more like an excitable puppy than a human being, and thus this year Bones has decided to a) act her age (ho ho ho), and be more elegant and feminine. I am not entirely sure how to go about this, but at least it is the thought that counts.

Despite this new era of moving towards my life time goal of being elegant, gentle and composed I still have a passion for moustaches, engine oil and ear hair. My problem in the past is that I just haven't managed to get the balance right; from now on I shall remember to do the former in public, and the latter in private (rather than the usual stratergy of the opposite!).

Watch this space! (grin)

Emptying ones Dog on the Towpath

This week I have been strolling past Maffi's boat and wondering what on earth possesses dog walkers to empty their dogs alongside boats. Maffi's boat has numerous piles of canine offerings along his boat and just a narrow corridor of clean grass between the towpath and the door of his boat. One has to walk tentatively one foot in the other through the stench.

The most amazing, and almost amusing, element of the distribution of this waste product is that there is a dog waste bin thingy right by his boat on the other side of the towpath!! I realise some people just don't like to handle digested dog food, but why empty their dog between the towpath and the boat rather than between the path and the hedge, and WHY do it by someones front and back door (and along the boat in this case)?

I don't think it takes an anatomical specialist to work out that a crouching dog is not pretending to sit on an imaginary chair to exercise its muscles, or playing a 'I am sitting on an arm chair in the middle of no-where to be funny' game, but rather partaking of the lavatory. When a dog is in this position,it is entering discharge mode and surely any owner can quite easily and gently (but urgently) steer the offending end into a bush?

Perhaps I should hand out some flags to stick into the mountainous piles for the irresponsible dog owner? At least then we won't be strolling through it all the time.

Tower

Weeping Cross has been exploring the countryside again, and stumbled across this tower; perhaps I shall write a story about a trapped princess and the ghost of the white knight who meet when time goes wrong and the past and present merge.

Unlicenced Boats

If you were to pass nb Bones you would notice the lack of licence. This is not for want of trying. I still haven't received my new Gold Licence. yawn.

Lady of Burma

I went to the theatre yesterday to see The Lady of Burma. This is the first monologue that I have seen in the flesh and I found it gripping, moving and disturbing. It was during my time south of the river that I first heard of the plight of Burma and the terrible things that are going on there, yet I still don't really know what is happening, so I was pleased to be able to go and hear more. I find it crippling that I am in the West and do nothing to help those suffering overseas, yet find that despite my inactivity I am wrapped up in riches and battles for oil, once again I am reminded that sitting on the fence equates burying ones head in the sand. It is hard to know exactly what to do. What I do know is that I need to increase my awareness of foreign affairs and support for the suffering.
This play really is worth seeing. Not only does it provide 80 minutes of education, the combination of wit and terror is not only challenging, but inspiring.

Bones approves of Yorkshire Biscuits - YUMMY

When I visited Miss T earlier in the week we were lucky enough to have biscuits with our tea, and I was given the ones we didn't eat to bring home. YUM

Yorkshire Tea Biscuits. A delicious combination of shortbread, Cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of heaven. YUM. They are even shaped as a T.

Hurrah! Skip

Bones is now a happy Skeleton.

Thank you to all on CanalWorldForum who aided me in my fury. My program now delivers what is meant to to the thing it is meant to speak to.

I am now celebrating! Hurrah!!!!!!!!!!

Programming, Jobs and Frustrations.

It is commonly believed (even by boaters) that boaters do not have jobs, or if they do they are only temporary. I am a boater, and I have a job. I am currently sitting in my office wishing I was on the boat enjoying the rain and muddy canals, but instead I am trying to program and oh how I hate programming. My brain is not full of programming language AT ALL. I can make the computer do all sorts of lovely wonderful things, but can I get it to send a bit to the parallel port NO! Surely it can't be that hard. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Bones is cross and frustrated.

Continuous Cruisers Should Pay

Continuous cruisers should pay more should they? Well, bravo for narrowboatworld for bringing our attention to the somewhat biased data of the “influential Association of Pleasure Craft Operators” survey APCO is the 'main trade body for Inland Waterway Businesses'. Isn’t that a surprise – I wonder what proportion of Pleasure Craft members are continuous cruisers themselves, or even live aboard? I don’t suppose we will ever know that. Didn't BW say themselves that the inland waterways are more about pleasure and leisure than business' these days?

Narrowboatworld also tell us that “during 2006 narrowboatworld ran a similar petition, which showed a high percentage believing that continuous cruisers owners should pay more, though wide beam boats were not included.” I wonder what else they didn’t include. Surely ANY survey should include all boats and boaters? I wonder how many people ticked the box that said ‘we should do more to promote our waterways in our area so local councils pitch in financially’ or wasn’t that question there?

What I am interested in is why British Waterways are constantly reviewing licenses, especially those of continuous cruisers, surely they should be looking at where their revenue is coming from. At this rate they will need to increase our license fee’s just to pay for the manpower to review our licenses.

Radio 4 and even the Church Times have run articles on the canals telling us they are more popular than they have ever been, not only with boaters but with cyclists, anglers and walkers, and indeed everyone. OF COURSE THEY ARE!!!!, as IWA say in their adverts every month in our boating magazines, Britain's inland waterways are thousands and thousands of miles of nature reserve. That is a lot of miles, and a lot of nature. Who pays the upkeep for this – boaters! Who is expected to pay for the upkeep – boaters. Who can’t afford to pay for the upkeep – boaters! Surely the math isn’t that hard?!

Why is there endless discussion about license increases, and which boaters should pay more, and which should pay less. How about making the government pay, and what about the council doing something to maintain the ‘up and coming’ leisure centers in their areas.

Come on British Waterways, surely you can’t expect boaters to pay for the running of a waterway system in the UK? Surely it is clear that 29,000 boaters cannot pay for the upkeep of waterways visited by Millions of people.

If our waterways are increasingly popular, then there should be revenue coming from all areas, not just boaters. At this rate there won’t be any waterways. Maintenance is increasingly difficult, and with the tendering system of moorings, and reduction of linear moorings there will be fewer liveaboard boaters along the towpaths and that means a decrease in safety and security. Our waterways may be becoming increasingly popular, but if the money doesn’t come from somewhere it will be an increasingly popular area for crime – murders, rapes and muggings.

Who's that then?

Quick sketch - marker pen on paper.

New Eyebrow

A couple of weeks ago weepingcross came to visit and noticed the hole in my delicious hat. He took the hat away for some surgery and installed a new eyebrow:



I must say, the darning is absolutely fabulous!




Many Many Thanks.

Cycle Helmets - How do you wear yours

I am increasingly astonished at how people wear their cycle helmets. Surely the most common way of falling off a bicycle is over the handlebars? If that is the case, surely it doesn't take a genius to realise it is the forehead that is going to come into contact with the tarmac first?

Apparently it does - there is an alarming number of people who wear their cycle helmet tipped back leaving the forehead exposed. Is this in order to maintain hat wearing etiquette at high speed, where one ought to have a permanent 'doff' in the event of being spotted by a chum?

Really - safety first please chaps. The cycle helmet should aways cover your forehead! Wear it level and NOT tilted.

I am sure any passer by will forgive you not doffing your hat if you are at least alive long enough for them to complain. You can always wear a hat on top of your cycle helmet should you need to.

Morning Light

Click on it and look through the bridge.

Skippity do dar skippity day

I won't advertise where and how (yet), but a very very kind person has promised to send me some Fertan to do my engine bay with.

Hurrah!

When I was mincing around the engine room at the weekend I noticed the need for another serious bout of time down there removing loose rust, treating it, and painting it. Fertan was recommended to me, and when I have tried it I will report back.

I am thoroughly looking forward to the job - it is bound to be awkward, messy and take a while. Many Thanks indeed to Baldock for enlightening me to the approximate area I will need to tackle in my engine bay. Hurrah!

I can't wait. All offers of making me tea while I do it will be processed and successful applications will be allotted an interview time.

Hurrah! I am feeling most uplifted as a result.

nhs direct

Sometimes it is difficult explaining to people that you live on a boat, and that the boat is on a canal rather than in the garden of your house.

Sometimes, like most people, I need to make calls to NHS direct for some advice about something or the other. Unfortunately I didn’t have the number with me when I recently called, so I took my computer for a drive and parked in a nearby pub carpark where I knew there was wifi. I got the number and gave them a call. It turns out that NHS direct are very concerned about where you live:

NHS: Could you tell me the postcode of where you are calling from?

[Bones does a quick internet search and gives it to them]

NHS: Is that where you live?

Moi: No

NHS: Could you tell me the postcode of where you live

Moi: Erm.. No. I live on a boat, but I give them the postcode of the nearest place.

NHS: Could I have a house number please?

Moi: Erm.. no, it’s a boat. [I tell them the boat name to help out]

NHS: Do you get post delivered there

Moi: No. That gets delivered to one of two places: My friends house or my work address

NHS: Is that where you live?

Moi: NO! Why do you need this information?

NHS: So we know where to find you if our call gets terminated.

Moi: OK I am in my car with the windows steaming up in the pub carpark. Can I ask you my question now?

So – they tell me someone will phone me back

Then.

NHS: Hello, could you confirm that the post code we have is your home address?

Moi: NO, I still live on a boat but I was calling from a pub carpark, and I am now at home floating on a canal that isn't far from where I said I was in the first place. Can you help me with my query?

Some one will phone back in 2hours. And I am allowed to wait ‘at home’ for the call, as long as they can contact me on my mobile.

At home 2hours later I get a call.

NHS: I understand you live in the pub.

Moi: NO.

In the end they decided I should speak to the DR. The local Dr phone back within 5minutes, didn’t care where I lived, answered the question within 10seconds and the issue was resolved.

Hannah Gibbons Stain Glass

Sometime ago I wrote about Hannah Gibbons. Here is another example of her work:



I love the colours and shapes in this. Typically you can't see it in its full glory because I took the picture in the dark with only a white piece of paper behind it!

Water

We had great fun moving the boats up to the Wide to fill up with water. The one handed bandit did quite a good job reversing back, and managed to arrive as several other boaters decided to fill up with water as well. This worked out well for me, because it meant Maffi was available to give me a hand. You see I am storing something under the water at the moment, and I wasn’t too keen to untie it from the boat and just leave it there, so Maffi took charge of my floating treasure and we hung it on the off side of the towpath. Eventually we moored up with another boat, great fun!




Maffi had special hair for the occasion (and it wasn’t windy!).

I Hate You

I had friend once, but as with all things, friends come and go. Recently I lost a friend, not my first, and it always makes me sad. What is sadder is when one looses a good friend who is still alive. People are often all too willing to throw something away as they wait for life to happen to them. Perhaps I missed the olive branch, or perhaps I was too pig headed and stupid to notice! When I lose a friend who hasn't died, I often wonder whether they hate me, I often wonder whether I care.

I was recently told I didn't have a sense of humour. I always find this amusing, not least because it reminds me of a 3 year old girl with cute ginger curls storming out of the room saying 'you're not funny' (and then giggling in the privacy of their room).

Something else I find funny is when people say 'I hate you'. My parents always told me never to use the word 'hate', it is too strong. It is, but it can also be very funny. I often think people say I hate you, when they mean I hate me, I hate what you do to me; that isn't funny. How can anyone hate anyone else? People are beautiful. I looked on the Internet to see whether I could find a suitable poem about hate, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. First though, here is a poem about friends, about loss and about love:

Losing a Friend

You started as a stranger,
So careful and yet bold.
But then I got to know you,
And let myself unfold.
I told you all my secrets,
I shared with you my past.
This god given friendship,
It grew rather fast.
You were like my little brother,
So much more than just a friend. And when you needed comfort,
My heart I would lend.
At night we stayed up crying,
Wishing we were dead.
The memories I have of you,
They linger in my head.
Like that time when we both vowed,
To never be apart.
I took it very serious,
And locked it in my heart.
I miss the nights when we would laugh,
And say what's on our mind.
Act as if nothing was wrong,
And leave all worries behind.
But now at night I'm all alone,
My heart it cannot mend.
For when you took your life,
You also took my friend!

By andy, age 14, lil_sk8erboi_andy@hotmail.com
http://members.poemofquotes.com/broken-heart-poetry/i_hate_you-1561626817
 
Secondly, to lighten the mood, a poem about hate:

I Hate YouI hate you for giving me hope in life when all there is, is despair.
I hate you for giving me this strife and making the world seem so unfair.
I hate you for ever wanting me and letting me know such happiness.
I hate you for just leaving me to feel the worst loneliness.
I hate you for telling me lies when I believed all that you said.
I hate you for letting me die as I lay helpless in my bed.
I hate you for holding my hand when it swung content by my side.
I hate you for existing in this land where we must coincide.
I hate you for smiling on a dreary day when my frown is seen through the haze.
I hate you for letting come what may when you could've stopped it in so many ways.
I hate you for saying you loved me when I asked you not to say it back.
I hate you for letting me see our relationship crack.
I hate you for not letting me hear the cruel things you say when I'm not there.
I hate you for not letting me near when my soul I need to bare.
I hate you for giving me a glance when I think I look beautiful.
I hate you for the second chance that left me incredibly hopeful.
I hate you for not hearing me out when I want to beg and plead.
I hate you for making me doubt my opinion, to which I pay heed.
I hate you for all the things you said that made me most content.
I hate you for turning my head because I still think you're a god-send.
I hate you for this excruciating pain I barely endure every night.
I hate you for the constant rain my soul must fight.
I hate you for being there so now I'm doomed to miss and remember.
I hate you for giving me reason to care what happened back in September.
I hate you for saying goodbye and leaving me not knowing what to do,
But most of all,
I hate you for letting me cry 'cause I can't have you.

by amberdawn070706  http://members.poemofquotes.com/broken-heart-poetry/i_hate_you-1561626817

If you don't find the humour in this post, it is OK - it is my lack of it shining through!


Living on a boat is nothing short of delightful, but when you lose something the silence echo's. I am blessed with a complete lack of awareness of lonliness. I have only ever had a taster like fellow boater Carrie, but boating isn't all fun and wildlife.

Glorious Weekends

I do so love these dull misty mornings! I keep looking out of the office window wondering whether there will be snow tomorrow so I can build a snowman. The suspense is delicious.

As it is I will be spending a lovely day tomorrow sorting out my engine room. This winter has been quiet so far, and I have done very little on the boat other than tidy and clear out. Despite spending quite a lot of time on the latter, I am still a maximalist – it will take quite sometime before there is room to navigate around the boat without tripping over books, meccano and work tops

In an attempt to continue the clearing out, I am going to tidy my engine room this weekend – so, if you are passing the back of NB Bones, do not be alarmed by the sounds of frustration coming from the engine room as I mould myself into all sorts of shapes to fit into and extract myself from the spaces. Indeed, stop me for a coffee – I will be only too pleased to put the kettle on!

If I make good progress I will take my camera and new binoculars for a stroll across the fields.

Take Me to the Water

AGH!
The electrician is doing some re-wiring, how am I meant to work under these conditions?! I would go and 'work from home', but I am off to visit some Caledonian Crows this afternoon. I find their tool use absolutely facinating. We so often associated such behaviour to chimps, but the idea that Crows can do similar things goes against the grain of our conventional thinking. I am always pleased to see research making it into the media; two tools better than one.

P.S. We aren't going after all! todays viewing appointment has been postponed until next week.

Low Impact Life Onboard

For anyone looking to have a low impact lifestyle you will find this link useful.

Farting Toblerone

Take one huge bar of Toblerone, and eat half of the chocolate. Replace the foil wrapped chocolate into the cardboard packaging letting it drop to the bottom. Seat yourself comfortably and turn the tube upside down to a vertical position and listen carefully

Giggle hysterically at the results.

Re-gain composure and serious look. Re-insert the chocolate and repeat.

The process is less reliable when there are only two triangles left.

2008 canal holidays underthreat!

One of the great advantages of knowing continuous cruisers is that they are never in the same place when you visit them; particularly for people like me who are tied to one waterway due to work commitments.
Last summer I had a lovely time on the Kennett and Avon, and on the Grand Union, and was rather looking forward to a spree on the Llangollen Canal this year, or at least I was! It turns out that my most reliable ‘holiday on a different waterway’ boat may not be going anywhere in the short term - he met a girl. Tsk.