TSB = The Stupid Bank

Whilst we were away in China we received  an email from TSB where we had a small savings account. As all Google activities are blocked in China we could not read the email but it  was followed fairly swiftly by an SMS. This we could read and learned that there appeared to be a problem with out account. As no activity was anticipated on the account other than the receipt of interest we were a little concerned. The SMS was not specific about the nature of the problem and, as it came from a NO-REPLY address we could not enquire. Unable to contact TSB by email or SMS and with mobile calls costing £1 a minute I eventually made a quick call ensuring that from the outset they had their tape running. I gave them our details and asked them to sort out the problem and let us know the outcome by SMS. Two months later, when we returned to UK, I logged on to our account  to find that TSB had been trying to make a payment from an account with 26p in it. Each time they tried they charged us £10. (They never  responded to my call) After reading the message from TSB I attempted to respond but the function for this process was greyed out.
So I called TSB and asked why the Respond now function was not available and was informed that this was because it was not available.
So why is it there?    I asked
Because it is not available.   They responded
So why is it there?    I asked again
Because it is not available.   They responded again
So where is the  Order Coffee button then?    I asked

 

The account is closed now  and the £30 in charges have been cancelled. 

I think we will stick to banks where bi-lateral communication is possible.

10th Anniversary of Gecko's Progress

Ten years ago today I started publishing this blog.
It was never intended to be just another canal travelogue but more a  sharing of our musings. Over these years our life has seen many changes culminating in our decision, after my latest (3rd) hip replacement, not to live aboard Gecko in the winter in future. This decision has little to do with the weather: any liveaboard  knows that there are few places as cosy as a narrowboat with the fire on. Our practice of mooring up in a marina for five months we have found a little stifling with unchanging views of moored boats, hatches all battened down, and little opportunity for social intercourse. Also a realisation that as we get older we become less mobile and ultimately we will migrate to a home ashore has prompted us to take pre-emptive action. We have  bought a bungalow in  Lancashire and found a great  mooring in Scarisbrick Marina for Gecko. And so we arrive at this anniversary with a decision to make about the future of Gecko's Progress.: to call it a day or to resume with perhaps less canal content.

Accentuate the Positive

If you like pork scratchings I can recommend these for a snack.

They are also healthy - according to the packaging

• Glutten Free
• High in Protein (48.9%)
• No MSG

 Based on these criteria I am surprised they do not mention

• High in Fat (46.6%)

Cruising Plans Scuppered !

Peel Holdings, who own the Bridgewater Canal and thus our link with the canals of the Midlands and south, have announced that they will be closing the canal for four months from mid February to repair a bridge.  So we will not be heading down to Stratford very early in the season. We should, however, be able to get into Liverpool so all is not lost.
In the meantime we are going away for a while and will try to keep you informed of our progress through the blog.

Season's Greetings

I am sorry the posting have been rather thin for a while due to circumstances beyond my control.

Thank you for returning to read my meagre output which I will try to improve next year.

Whitechapel Bell Foundry to close

We learned this morning that Whitechapel Bell Foundry is to close. This I find very sad and hope that as much of the foundry as possible can be preserved as a historic monument. If you are unfamiliar with the oldest manufacturing  company in the country I urge you to spend some time reading their website whilst it exists. Below is my post from June 2007
Loughborough boasts the largest bell foundry in the world - Taylors - where Great Paul, the 17ton bell at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, was cast. Local residents may also tell you that Big Ben was cast here but this is another of the many stories which surround this bell. It was actually cast in Stockton-on-Tees and weighed 16tons. As the tower was unready Big Ben was first hung in Palace Yard but it cracked in use. The metal was recast at the only other bell foundry now existing in England - Whitechapel Bell Foundry in the east end of London. In this process it appears to have lost 2.5 tons. Along with most natives of this country and all tourists - I have never seen Big Ben but I am very familiar with its sound and with The Elizabeth Tower which houses it.

 

Boat Accidents - I blame TV

Since our enforced (but temporary) absence from the canals we have been sampling the novelty call Television. This is amazing! I did not realise until I watched John Sargeant that it never rains on the canals. Nor did I understand that bashing every bridge and boat in sight was the main aim of canal boating. It took Timothy West and wife Pru to show me this. When we get back on the cut next year I shall have to modify my cruising mode from Dodg'm to Bumper.. 
Last time we cruised down into London we shared a couple of locks with a bridge-hopper relocating for his next 14 days half a mile further up the Regent's Canal. He employed a novel method of stopping his boat which did not involve reversing the engine. What  a great fuel saving we have been missing: I must try jumping off with a rope in future. Stopping 18tons of steel can't be all that hard, can it?
So, with all these educational canal programmes   on the TV (that's the short name for television apparently) why have boating accidents more than doubled in the last year? River and Canal Rescue (the AA of the waterways) reported that within the 4331 call-outs they attended in the 12 months to 1st November 2016 there were 179 major and 31 minor accidents compared with 65 major and 16 minor ones the year before. It can't be lack of instruction, can it?

 

Top of the list for major accidents is still boats getting caught on lock cills or gates

This happens every year

There are other accidents too.....

 

 

 But most are down to human error

Like not fastening the weed hatch properly...

Sometimes accidents are just waiting to happen...

Safer blogging

You can now access my blog over an encrypted connection. Save this link:

https://nbgecko.blogspot.com

Earthquake in New Zealand

If you are following the news of the earthquakes in New Zealand here are a couple of links you may find interesting


TV footage

Maps and aerial photos

Boat Fires

Our roving photographer, Erica, who usually covers stories further afield, was on hand to snap this spectacular fire at Barton Turns Marina recently.

 

No cause has been identified to date

  

C&RT closed the Trent & Mersey Canal to avoid pollution

 

Apparently four cruisers were destroyed 

The fire service was well represented

Although Air Ambulance attended there were no injuries