A post in two parts

First off, the routine stuff, including something I forgot yesterday. On my way through the village to go to the dentist, as I came over Wharf Bridge towards Post Office Road, this dog-like animal ran out of a garden to the right, shot across the road, and disappeared into a garden on Church Road.

It took me a moment to realise that it was a fox, a rangy great dog fox, probably the biggest I've ever seen. I know that we tend to have more foxes in urban areas these days, but this was really quite special.

Today has been a repeat of last Thursday, really, except that we had to start with going up to the winding hole and turning round. The weather has been great, and we arrived at the marina at around one. We've been into Aqua and had a discussion with Justin about putting a Crowther prop on. He came back to us to say that Crowthers can't have one ready for a week on Thursday, but can for the week following, so we've put the docking back to the 5th July.

We then called into Midland Chandlers and bought a boarding ladder, a folding one that can live in the engine room until it's needed if someone falls in. Lastly, we popped into the Marina Office, where Robert gave us a free pump out token because we'd had a problem with the pump out on the way out last Sunday. Mercia really is a good marina to deal with.

And now…

I had an upsetting comment on one of the earlier posts this morning. It's not often that happens, but of course it's always a risk unless you confine yourself to unexceptional stuff about how nice the world is (nothing wrong with doing that, but it's not quite me…)

Anyway, this was with reference to my moan about the way the Favourite Boat competition was run at Crick this year. I've already posted the response I had from Waterways World, and thought that the matter was pretty well dealt with, but someone who preferred not to identify themselves said this:

Excuse me, but do you own Braidbar boats?

What comes across in this post (& others) is a regimented disregard for any other manufacturer. Along with an air of superiority.

As for saying the "best boat" on show votes were "rigged" that's just sour grapes!
MGM deserved to win, so give them some credit without any resentment. 

Let's take these three bits in turn. First off, just to make the situation clear to anyone who doesn't already know, no, I don't own Braidbar Boats, that's Peter Mason, who bought the company from Iain and Luisa Bryceland four years ago. But Sanity Again is our second Braidbar, because we were so pleased with Sanity that when we wanted a longer boat it never occurred to us to go anywhere else. And I've written an entire book about that second build, in the course of which I give my reasons for liking Braidbars, and also try to be honest about stuff that didn't go exactly right first time and which needed adjusting or tweaking.

In addition, I organise (in so far as it can be said to be organised) the Braidbar Owners' Group, which is a slightly anarchic mob of owners and potential owners who keep in touch via a Yahoo Group, and who have two meetings a year, at Crick and at Poynton in September. As a result of all that, we think of Peter and Susan Mason as two of our best friends.

Secondly, whilst obviously I think that Braidbar boats are very good indeed, I'm very happy to admit that there are other very good boat builders, and when chatting to people thinking of getting a new boat, I try to stress that it's important to find a builder whose boats are in the style you want, at a price you think is fair and with whom you get on well.

I'm not sure what is meant by a "regimented disregard" but whatever it is, it's not intentional if I show it. Similarly, any air of superiority is accidental, and I try in this blog to show myself as I am, warts and all.

Finally, that last paragraph is simply untrue. I thought long and hard about the way I wrote about my anxieties about the future of the competition, and quite explicitly said that I thought that MGM were worthy winners, and that I had congratulated the owners of Snail's Pace on their good fortune. My worries were about what happens next year, and they've been adequately addressed by Peter Jones yesterday.

And just to finish; I say in the bit of text above the comments entry box that I dislike anonymous comments, and ask that commenters give their names. A blog is a bit like a personal newspaper, and the comments are like letters to the editor. No reputable paper publishes unsigned letters, and I reserve the right to delete completely anonymous comments.

I would have deleted this one, but thought that the issues raised were too important to ignore.

Do feel free to comment on any of the above, folks, but if you do, please do put your names to it!