Matters Various

So what shall we talk about today?

Boatwise the major thing has been the ongoing saga of tidying the moorings. Canal and River Trust, our landlords, want to do an inspection of all their moorings to establish what is there in terms of tenants' bits and pieces. This is quite reasonable as when a mooring becomes vacant the landlord needs to know what should and shouldn't be left for the next moorer. It is also part of the rules and regs that the moorings be kept in a safe and tidy condition so all in all we knew that we had to bite the bullet and get shot of years of accumulated junk. When I say "we" it infers we are all in the same state of shambles but of course that isn't the case. Some moorings are pristine and manicured with no piles of "that'll come in useful" stuff lying around. And then there's mine!
Needless to say mine was one of the worst having been moored here over 20 years ( and I inherited some junk anyway) , fitted out Independence-which generated more stuff-and run the annual charity auction thereby inheriting some totally unsellable crap. The last is my fault for not  dumping it the day after the auction but keeping it in the vain hope it might sell the next year.

Anyway having fiddled and faffed around putting off the evil day and then finding the sick leg saga prohibited any action I cried "ENUFF"!

The result is that last week I had two big piles....oooh nasty....one of stuff for the Council Tip and t'other was lots of scrap for the scrap metal man.

The Battery Commander

Helpfully the Council Tip in Berko closes on a Thursday and Friday (it's a rubbish tip hee hee) and I was in Kent over much of the weekend so that had to wait pile but this week it was dispersed. The scrap man, an amiable fellow named Chay, collected the scrap pile and we soon had a second scrap pile for him plus 12 batteries from various moorers which apparently will be worth money. I was very grateful to neighbour, Roy,  who despite just getting over manflu in its most virulent form, helped lug the batteries to the gate. They were ****ing heavy causing the trolley to sink and stick in the mud reminiscent of scenes from the retreat from Moscow when the same thing happened to the French Cannons.
I got rid of FIVE lawnmowers! Now I've never owned a complete lawnmower, only shared one with a neighbour so how I finished up with five, all buggered, I do not know but they've gone- along with one from Mac and Carrie's mooring. Four bikes, two of which never made it to Chay, the Scrap Man, but were "recycled" in the truest sense of the word.

So real and satisfying progress.  I just need to clear my plants from the successful (nearly-came 2nd) entry for the CRT Boats in Bloom Competition and I'm done. Trouble is a lot of the flowers are still trying, confused by the weather and I can't bring myself to dump them whilst they still display.
It will be good to get it finished and concentrate on jobs at home.

Sadly we will still have the same path along the mooring which is now quite dangerous when wet/flooded especially at night. CRT argue they do not have the dosh to fix it which means either it doesn't get done or, as before, we the moorers do it. Trouble is when we last did it we were all younger and  I would say more willing. I for one was both these things and certainly more prosperous, Now the attitude is very much more along the lines of "we pay handsomely for the mooring so spend some of it on us". I was told that because Cow Roast is a Leisure Mooring that CRT felt they had no duty of care as to the path and the safety thereof. However since then the CRT department that sends us the bill have imposed, on those that did not argue counterwise, an above average  increase in fees because of "residential use". If they believe that then it seems to me that they do have a duty of care so the path should be repaired. The s will hit the f if the Emergency Services are called one Winter's evening and a paramedic goes a over t. Tonight as I write listening to the rain pouring down the path is unusable for large lengths. It can only get worse....but at least the mooring will be tidy.



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Friend Ady was looking for a boat. It's been an idea floating in his mind for a couple of years now and this time it's happened.

A stonking great 65 foot ex hire boat (Willow Wren) complete with 12 bunks and a recent hull survey. The job was done in half an hour. Very exciting. I'm quite jealous. A real project.

More on Moorhen next time. For now -Good Luck Ady! =============================================================



Having been a Fulham FC supporter for as long as I can remember and suffering as usual at their appalling present  form I was much gladdened by this picture which shows something only Liverpool fans can also claim. Do you know what it is?

Well of course if you're not a football person you will have nodded off already but the two Fulham players above are Steve Sessegnon and George Cohen. Steve just won an Under 17s World Cup Winners Medal for England and George (who should be Sir George) was in the England Team in 1966-the last time we won anything.

Two English World Cup winners. Only Liverpool with the 16 year old Rhian Brewster  and Roger Hunt (79-who should also be knighted) have the same claim  to fame.

Oooooooh there's only one F in Fulham

Anyway my reason for introducing Fulham Football Club into the conversation is that I found a new word and it has some relevance to the club, I think.

Once upon a time when Al Fayed of Harrods and Dodi fame owned the club he inexplicably had a statue of Michael Jackson installed outside the ground at Craven Cottage.

The new (comparatively ) owner had it removed. Subsequently and some would say consequently we got relegated and are struggling with internal squabbles affecting the performance on the field. So there is a light-hearted campaign to have the statue reinstated. 

The new word?

"apotropaic" 

meaning : having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck.

Reinstate Michael Jackson now!

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“To understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty.”

Recent news and my reaction thereto has reminded me of the above quote by Napoleon Bonaparte which I think isn't far from the truth no matter how we might think we have evolved and matured since those heady days.
50 years ago I would not have thought a man (Tory/English MP) touching a woman's knee to be unusual. I would have known that if it was unwelcome it was out of order but before the days of speed dating, tinder and all the modern stuff a chap might chance his luck to find out.  
What I would have found unusual in 1967 would be that a Lesbian Leader of the chap's (Conservative)  party in Scotland  would give the chap a public telling-off some 20 years after the knee-touching event. The idea of a Lesbian heading the Tories anywhere would have been unthinkable (the Daily Fail never mentioned the L word) and whilst the world has moved on in that department it doesn't seem to acknowledge that we are all a mixture of good and bad and misjudgement in sexual matters is not new, nor is it a male preserve If I had a pound for every time I was told by a woman that I should have been more pro-active in "chatting-up" as we called it I would have at least three quid.

Now I know I'm walking on eggs here but over the last 50 years the world has changed in many ways and I do get confused-but was Napoleon right or have I failed to evolve.I'm with Nappy on this one.

Or maybe Muhammed Ali was right when he said-

"The Man Who Views the World at 50 the Same as He Did at 20 Has Wasted 30 Years of His Life"

Then again when I was 20 he was called Cassius Clay-a perfectly good name.

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I went to Kent (no it's not a Limerick) to collect Caz, Florence and Mathilda and bring them back for a small fireworks party at Pam's. It was a lovely party with a few neighbours who matter and most importantly their children. Pam did flapjacks and hot dogs. Great fun. Anyway here's Mathilda with Grandma and me.

Florence and Joseph

 Natalie with Florence

Pat,  Caz and Florence

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The saga of the Cow Roast Inn continues and it's take pot luck as to whether it's open or closed, has beer or doesn't. After nearly 40 years I've more or less given up on the place, taking myself and my crossword off on the bus to other pubs.
The last bus home is 8 p m. Another wonderful example of the stupidity of HS2 where the money for that King's Suit of Clothes could support/subsidise comprehensive bus services throughout the land and be of much greater value. As it is if I find good company and such company detains me I have to lash out 8 quid on a cab! 
As to the pub I fear the Last Rites are imminent but with the greed of Punch Taverns over the last ten years the place hasn't had a chance to turn itself into a sound business.

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We did another health walk last week (we being Ady and I) The walk was led by Pam and was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Dacorum. It was well attended which is good news all round but especially for Pam who, with others, has put a lot of effort into this.

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/recycling-waste-and-environment/countryside-management/hertfordshire-health-walks/hertfordshire-health-walks.aspx

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Following the cremation in October Geoff's family have kindly consulted the boating fraternity regarding the disposal of his ashes. I've suggested the canal at Marsworth on the morning of Sunday 3rd December being the day after the Boaters' Christmas Do at the Red Lion Marsworth which was always attended by Geoff. The Raffle this year will be for the RNIB one of the charities he supported.
It seems appropriate. I hope Geoff would have agreed.
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Cheers for now.