Down the Plug?
Regular readers will be familiar (fed up ?)with my views of the current fashion for local authorities to create water features in place of functioning waterways. On our previous visit to Paddington Basin we were impressed with the redevelopment but upset that again appearance seemed to be the mantra. Mooring rings are difficult to trip over but equally difficult to use and too sparse to be particularly convenient. At the end of the basin surrounded by new apartments was an small basin equipped with mooring rings and staging but boats were prevented from using this area by a tubular bridge.



It seems someone has
misunderstood the term basin
in this context as it now
has no water or staging
but does have a plug!





If you agree that this is getting ridiculous then consider the following:
- Daventry council are planning a canal basis to attract visitors to the town
but they have no canal and never have had!
- It is rumoured that one of the architects involved in the redevelopment of the canal area in Stourbridge has complained about the colour of the water it isn't blue enough!

Whilst I am in this mood I feel you should be advised that the police in Burnley have asked British Waterways to close the towpath along the canal embankment because yobs are throwing stones at the cars on the road below . As a reciprocal measure I shall be asking BW to request that Middlesex constabulary close the road bridge in Harefield whence two youths threw stones at us last August, hitting a friend of ours from Germany and also the boat.Sauce for the Gander?

Oysters for OAPs
One of the benefits of being 60 is the bus pass with which we could travel from Land's End to the Scottish border for nothing so long as we use local buses.
A further benefit we discovered when in London is that if you have a Senior Railcard and an Oyster card then you are eligible for a discount of 30% on the maximum daily charge on the Oyster. It is necessary to take both cards to an Underground ticket office (not a BR one) for the discount to be loaded. You will also have to register the Oyster if this has not been done.

Where is the River Ux?
For both my readers I would like to explain that Cowroast almost certainly originates from the days when cattle drovers would stop outside a major town to bring their stock up to condition before taking them i to market. Hence the COW REST was corrupted easily into its present form.
The Tring Summit of the Grand Union Canal has always been dogged by water supply problems hence the reservoirs around Tring and the Wendover Arm which served as an important water feed.s On the southern descent to Uxbridge there are rivers everywhere. First the Bulborne flows in and out on the way down to Boxmoor. At Two Waters the Gade joins in and just by Batchworth locks at *Ricky the Chess comes steaming in. From here on they unite to form the Colne and just as we reach Denham the Misbourne adds its pennyworth. However none of these rivers give any clue to where the River Ux (as in Uxbridge) is, was, or has been. I am afraid there is more corruption to report. This time the origin is Saxon - the Wuxen apparently bridged the River Colne here and that's why I can't find the River Ux.
Another event which should be appended to the Official History of Uxbridge is that we overstayed the 24 hour mooring limit and received our first parking ticket.
*Apparently Ricky is not widely understood as the diminutive of Rickmansworth

Whilst you were away......
Before attending Marcus and Olga's wedding we spent a couple of days in Panama where they also have a canal. Vessels on this canal are somewhat larger than those on the GU. However they do have one concern in common. The Grand Junction Canal which linked London to the Oxford canal was built with 14' wide locks to accommodate boats capable of carrying 70tons. This was not adopted by the Coventry, Oxford ant Trent & Mersey canals with which it linked and so was unsuccessful in this quest. In Panama they have found that locks 1000' long and 110' wide are too small for the latest ships and so they are building additional larger locks and widening the canal cutting. As the canal operates round the clock and there is always a queue this seems to be a guaranteed success.



From our hotel bedroom
we had a glorious view of the ships
waiting to enter the
Mirraflores Locks at the
Pacific end of the canal

Another Tax Year Over!
All the pundits have been exhorting us to put our money into ISAs before it's too late. We found it very easy to resist the temptation to move our millions from under the bed where we can sit and count it every night.
Yesterday we spent the morning painting and blacking where the rust had taken hold on the starboard. In the afternoon we tried to knock as much of it off as possible on our way to Cowroast. I wonder where that name originated - probably nothing to do with roasting cows.
Down to 34F last night but a bright morning so we are off to *Berko perhaps to see a film at the Rex Cinema. This has been wonderfully restored and refurbished. Seats are individual armchairs grouped around tables for your refreshments. Last time we visited The Rex they had a special showing of two silent films with live piano accompaniment. What a great outing that was.
*I have been instructed by the editor in chief (Margaret) to explain that Berko is Berkhamsted.

While you were away......
On Dec 28 Marcus married Olga in Barranquilla, Colombia. We spent about two weeks in Colombia preceded by two days in Panama and succeeded by a week in Peru. (of which more later) The best way I can describe the wedding celebrations is that they were relaxed formal and great fun. The wedding was definitely celebrated.




How do we play these things?

Marcus and Olga at the reception.

2000% Inflation
No this is not Zimbabwe but good old blighty. We are in Marsworth tonight having completed the Aylesbury Arm. We shall stay here for about 24 hours in order to carry out some painting to the port (left) side of Gecko. We were so tightly packed in Aylesbury basin that we could only work on the starboard (yes, you've guessed that' the right side). Having earned an evening pass (I'm not telling you how) I decided to redeem it immediately in a true reflection of our times and went to the pub with Paul from Too Sassy. With elbow room at the bar in close contention we ventured further into the bowels of the pub and lo! we discovered a bar billiards table. However it is no longer a tanner a game but a quid! I wonder who we can blame that on.

Frog Voyeur
Yesterday we left Aylesbury late morning and negotiated half the lock of the Arm in order to spend the night near Wilstone. This was so we could visit our friends Margo and John who live in this small but expanding village. On our way back to Gecko we had to pick our way very carefully as the towpath was the venue for a frog orgy. And they are not silent while they are at it. So we went to sleep to the sound of this frog chorus which was marginally more musical than Sir Paul's version.

While you were away.....
As the London Boat Show got under way it was announced that Challenger Syndicateships had failed. Do you remember Black Prince Hire Boats going bust in the 1980's? That was also owned by Ed and Gill Rimmer. By the way, Ed was a founder member of Aylesbury Canal Society. This time there are all kinds of worrying rumours about the activities oft he company. Let's hope this mess is sorted out without harming too many customers.

Welcome back
The start of a new boating year!
First, the apologies. After the arrival of Dominic last August I am afraid my efforts with the blog deteriorated significantly. He is such a lovely and amenable chap that's all the apology your're getting.
More to come........

The Windsor Castle Shuffle
When I was younger (much younger!) I had a puzzle which comprised a picture of Windsor Castle printed on 15 plastic tiles arranged in a 4 x 4 frame. By sliding them around the picture could be jumbled up and, hopefully, reconstituted. This morning we tried the same thing with narrow boats. To extract Gecko from its winter mooring in the extreme corner of Aylesbury canal basin required more than two thumbs though.
Our departure from this friendly and convenient mooring is the more poignant as it will not exist much longer. As I have written before, BW have sold the site to Aylesbury Vale District Council who intend to develop the area with a new theatre, departments store and flats. The canal basin will then become a sterile water feature with the boats being moved a mile out of town. Only a mile and to a new purpose built marina? I hear you ask. That's an hour by boat and equivalent to 30 miles by car. How many people want to be forcible moved 30 miles from their current home on the whim of some lame-brain in the Council? Some people have lived here for 30 years. One couple are aged 93 and 87. If they were Crested Newts they would be protected!

While you were away.....
Severn Valley Boat Centre which built Gecko capsized on Jan 25 (Gecko's second birthday). According to the Administrator's report there is a shortfall of about £1.2m which means only a few secured creditors will be paid. SVBC was set up about 30 years ago initially hiring boats but abandoning that in favour of building and fitting out narrowboats. As usual in this kind of situation there are many people with part completed boats on which they have made stage payments for work which has not been carried out. One couple have sold their house and made a payment of 25% two days before the collapse of the Company.

West Side Story
In the early nineteenth century burials in London were getting out of hand with overcrowding etc and so the government authorised the building of seven private cemeteries around the metropolis. One of the most famous today is Highgate Cemetery which we visited in August. Many visitors are attracted by the grave of Karl Marx which, by the way, supporters of Marxism paid to be moved from its original position to accommodate the crowds. Other notable graves include the parents of Rod Stewart.
However, Highgate Cemetery has a Jekyll and Hyde personality. The first cemetery was built to the west of the lane in 1839 but when this became crowded the East Cemetery was built in 1854. Marx rests in the latter. For a couple of pounds each the public can wander around this area which resembles an open park. But for real Hammer House of Horrors atmosphere you need to join a guided walk around the West Cemetery. This is really spooky and a lot more interesting than the East side. Walks are not frequent - probably only two per day but are extremely good value.
In uncharacteristic August fashion, the day was sunny and hot so we went for a walk in Kensington Gardens and were drawn to the Diana memorial. Despite all the bad press it received when first completed it is a relaxing area which is very popular with children and an appropriate monument to the sad life of the princess.
From there we gravitated to The Serpentine where we joined the tourists by renting a pedallo for an hour. This is a bit like propelling a tandem - it is obvious that your partner is not pushing their weight.

Where did August go?
On our way into London we picked up a stray Maggie at Alperton and transported her to Paddington Basin where we found L'Attitude Adjustment keeping a berth warm for us.
During the three weeks we spent in the region of Little Venice we took in a few plays, did some sight seeing and caught up with a few friends.
Absurdia at the Donmar Warehouse was brilliantly zany
Spamalot was not Pythonesque enough for me
Merchant of Venice at the Globe was a fantastic afternoon's entertainment




The big event of the month was the arrival of our first Grandchild





Dominic weighed in at 8lb 8oz on Aug 14 just 360 days after Doug and Gem's marriage.