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Howard

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  1. It's people like you that have caused me to cease posting on this forum .... Yeah , we're all idiots to you , we're just trying to do our job .... I've seen a whole lot of narrowboaters who don't know their arse from their elbow , and make the most incredible fuck ups , but you guys never post that do you , it's always someone elses fault . I only popped back today to see what has been going on , if anything has changed , but i guess it hasn't .. Will a moderator please delete my account. Thanks . Good luck to everyone who has been friendly and supportive. You're always welcome.
  2. Remember that the boatyards will charge a lot more than the Agency ... Our pump out cards are £6 , boatyards charge over a tenner ..... They are roughly every 9 to 10 locks apart , Molesey being the first you will encounter , the next would be Boveney ....
  3. The Environment Agency started just such a thing last year .... You should be able to pick up , at pretty much any lock , some A5 sized window stickers which say that you are happy to have others moored alongside you ... the idea is that everyone can look out for these stickers and then there is no risk of a confrontation with someone who may not be happy for you to moor alongside. If they have a sticker, its all good , if they don't , it probably isn't ... http://www.thamesboating.com/Publications/...20to%20moor.pdf The campaign , i don't think , was as successful as it could have been , as we haven't given many stickers away to be honest , but any of you who pass through Teddington Lock or any Thames lock , just ask and we can give you some.
  4. It won't be getting any of the nutrients it needs to survive from scrambled egg .... Year before last , i brought a duckling up from 1 day old to adulthood at the lock ( it was lost by it's mother in the barge lock at night , and would certainly have died , we tried to return it the next day but it was rejected ) following research and advice, i fed it on 'chick crumb' and iceberg lettuce .... the chick crumb is similar to what people feed partridges when they are raising them and can be bought from a good pet shop or animal food supplier .... We still see the duck from time to time around the lock , we ringed her initially but it has since come off , however she recognises myself and Danny , another one of the Teddington crew , and will fly directly out of the lock and walk around with us at times ....
  5. You could use the drydock at Sunbury EA yard ..... you would need a crew to do the work though .... Shepperton Marina is just down the road , they might be able to provide the manpower. The drydock is just that , Flood the dock , drive the boat in and pump it dry , no need for a crane ... Call 08708 506 506 and ask for the contact details . Good luck
  6. I know some of you will still bemoan the unfairness of the VHF rules, but if the PLA or Police come alongside , which they can do occasionally, and they found that you should have a VHF and didn't , I imagine it would end in a fine and probably escort to where you came from or the nearest safe point of mooring .... As you know , I work for the EA not the PLA , and while (personally) I couldn't care less whether you have a VHF or not, I suppose it all comes down to safety. The PLA don't make any money out of you having a VHF , the only people who would , would be the chandlerys and the RYA , so it's not down to them wanting to 'tax' you in some way . In some respects it will make more work for them. If you have a VHF , and you have a problem , you can be in direct contact with London Coastguard in seconds as opposed to having to ring them on a mobile , or even worse having to attract someones attention. London Coastguard can then despatch either a PLA launch or more likely a lifeboat to come and assist. Please don't think i'm a sourpuss .... The PLA are much stricter on enforcing their rules than other agencies for example .... There is quite a well known case of a chap driving his boat recklessly and speeding on the upper tideway (PLA not EA territory) , the PLA ended up taking him to court , and the chap hired a hot shot lawyer who quite dismissively stated in court that as no radar gun was used the prosecution was invalid .... The judge asked the PLA officer how fast he thought the boat was travelling at , and then asked him how many years experience he had first with the merchant navy and then with the PLA ( it was about 25 ) .... to which the judge replied that it was good enough for him , and fined the chap £1500 .... this was some years ago now , no doubt nowadays it would end up in the European Court of Human Rights !! Not really relevant to the VHF rules, but a nice story nonetheless. Please everyone take care and you are more than welcome to come for a picnic and a chat when you are at Teddington. Hope to see you all soon.
  7. Hi there, You can moor at Teddington while you are waiting for the tide , no problem . Security is fine. You can get a pump out at Molesey lock on the way down or on the way back up , you can buy a pump out card from any lock , they cost £6
  8. Anyone who wants to adapt this recipe for 'Teddington Lock-keeper scones' will be warmly welcomed !
  9. CPC services , Third Cross Road , Twickenham ....
  10. Ha Ha !! Teddington Skiff Lock is indeed 49 feet long ...... but its only 5 foot 8 wide !! So you wouldn't fit a narrowboat in it regardless of length! The Barge Lock is 650 feet long and you can see it full of narrowboats here :- http://www.teddington-lock.co.uk/custom/28...%20lock%20A.jpg And full of amphibious vehicles here :- http://www.teddington-lock.co.uk/custom/Dukw_Visit_1a.JPG See you soon ....
  11. Is it not out of season at the moment ? re-opens middle of June ....
  12. Hi Les, You aren't allowed to fish from the bank i took the photo from as it is the lockside. But if you had a long enough cast from the opposite bank (70m ish) you could fish there ... Alternatively you could rock up in a rowing boat and drop anchor, it is by the entrance to the skiff (very small) lock and as long as you were prepared to move if a boat was passing through , i wouldn't see it posing a problem. To be honest , the skiff lock is used so infrequently that i suspect you would have a days uninterrupted fishing easily ! The water is about 4 feet deep where the carp were , so warms quite quickly in the summer as it is also south facing , hence why they bask there. Good luck , maybe see you at the Lock ! H
  13. Here is a 13 pounder caught just downstream of the lock and tagged by the EA to monitor its progress upstream .... http://www.teddington-lock.co.uk/page_1149357544546.html
  14. We are off yellow boards at Teddington now , and the river is slowly subsiding ..... although there is still a fair quantity of water coming down. Couldn't comment on the flow on the upper reaches , but in the summer months we usually tell people that Teddington to Oxford could be done in 4 days. Shepperton is about 3 hours upstream of Teddington so you have a 3 lock head start . If you have a Thames User Guide ( can be picked up at any lock , ask the keeper ) it has all the phone numbers of all the locks in it, give them a buzz and ask them about the water levels and flow. Good luck , hope it goes well , nice to meet you when you came through Teddington the other day !!
  15. No more braided caps or epaulettes anywhere on the Thames now , as of a couple of days ago we have all been told that we are not allowed to wear that uniform any more ....
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