It’s been a couple of days for lurking inside the boat. The only significant boating activity has been an oil change yesterday afternoon. We change the oil and filter every 200 engine hours, so just a bit more frequently than once every two months at this time of year, and more often in the summer when we are boating about.
I’m going to use the rest of this post to outline the challenges of coping with the sort of weather we’re getting just now, and then I’ll mention a broader issue at the end. It’s a matter of concern to us always that people inspired by the Waterworld programme or by reading the classic book Narrow Boat by Tom Rolt may get a romantic, not to say rose tinted view of the lifestyle.
I hope that this blog gives a better picture of the joys and tribulations of living on board; as I’ve said before, November is the toughest month, especially when dirty weather keeps us “cabin’d, cribb’d, confined”.
To start with the oil change, the great strength of the traditional stern is that we were able to do it with the back end all closed up. I hate to think what it would have been like in a semi trad or even worse a cruiser sterned boat.
The bad weather means that we can’t put the perspex in the side hatch, and the cabin lights are on almost all day. This is adequate for most purposes but things like needlework just have to wait for better weather.
We’re also glad of the cratch which gives us a porch area in the bow, protecting the coal box and the stack of cut wood and kindling from the elements. The coal box was pretty empty this morning, so we picked our moment just after lunch to nip out, open up the tarpaulin on the roof and lift down another bag of coal to fill it up again. We’re down to just two big bags left up there, so the next time we see Stewart Hooper we must ask him to deliver us some more. No sooner were we back in the cabin than the wind howled once more and a fusillade of rain beat upon the roof.
Apart from all this, Sheila has finished the side fender she was working on. I am quite pleased because I made a grommet to be worked into the end as the hanging loop. To do this I found a piece of rope three times longer than the circumference of the loop I wanted to make, unlaid it into its three component strands and then laid up one of the strands round itself twice thus creating an endless loop in the manner of a deck quoit.
Sheila then incorporated this into one of the final rounds of half hitching just before she did the decreases to finish the end of the fender.
The rest of the time, we mostly read and surf the net, and of course Sheila always has her proof reading.
Finally the IWA has circulated the following appeal concerning a petition against the Treasury requiring British Waterways to sell of its property portfolio. The text is self explanatory and I hope readers in the UK who haven’t already done so will feel able to sign the petition. Its already got more than 2000 signatures and is in the top fifty petitions on the site. The aim is to get it in the top twenty five. Clive Henderson, National Chairman of the IWA, says:
You may know about the media speculation that the Government intends to
include the British Waterways property portfolio as a component of the
£16bn asset sale.
The Government has made no announcements and is steadfastly refusing to
be drawn on the subject.
We have been using this period of silence as a window of opportunity to
lobby Ministers. We have orchestrated a political lobby in both the
Commons and latterly the Lords to pressurise government, and briefed
radio and national TV, using an array of reasons to support the argument
that a sale would be in no-one’s interest.
We stand the best chance of preventing this sale if the government can
be persuaded not to do this during this period of Ministerial silence.
Whilst no announcements have been made, it is easy for government to
back away as it involves no public reversal of policy.
However, an e-petition has appeared on the 10 Downing Street website;
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/protectourcanals/
IWA supports the statements in the petition. The worst outcome now that
this is in the public domain, would be if this petition receives scant
support. That might give Ministers the impression that there are few
waterways supporters who care very much about the issue. On the other
hand, if it well supported, the Government, this close to an election,
is very sensitive to actions it might take which lose votes and would
probably take notice .
I am therefore urging you to sign up to this petition -if you agree
with it, and ask that you encourage everyone that you know, to also sign
up.
We need more signatures than the total number of boaters in the UK – So
please ask all of your colleagues, friends and family and e-mailable
contacts to help us today! – and ask them to pass this message on as
well- we need all of the UK to know about this and to respond on line .
The future of the waterways could depend on your actions today – please
act, and pass this message on.
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