BeckyJC

I'm a big fan of "unshopping" - save all the recyclable packaging, then take it back to the supermarket on the next trip and "unshop" it into their recycling bins. Who knows, might even encourage them to cut down on so much unnecessary packaging if enough people did it. Wishful thinking? Recently noticed that an increasing number of pubs seem to have (public) recycling facilities in their car parks too, a quick online search for "recycling near xxxxx" is generally all it takes to hunt them down.

Always worth phoning the lock keepers and asking their advice - they've been extremely helpful in my experience and are very familiar with the local conditions.

Hi, I got back to my narrowboat yesterday (Monday) evening, having left her at All Oaks Wood near Brinklow on the North Oxford, to find that several items had been stolen. Missing: 4x 110ah lead acid leisure batteries. Can't remember the make - they were black - might have been beta-something but not certain. 1x 85ah Optima yellow top battery. Very old/beaten-up looking. A load of diesel from the tank - it was almost full, guess about £100 worth missing Small white/pale blue rowing boat - they took the boat but not the oars Had anyone seen anything suspicious or been offered any of the above items in the last few days? I've reported it to the police but there is little they can do. The batteries/diesel would be difficult to spot now but it would have been pretty difficult to hide a rowing boat! Appreciate any information you might have. Thanks for reading, Becky

We have a Tracer too, and spent some time scratching our heads when initially installing it. Check the instructions, as if yours is the same as ours it is designed to run a street light system so will only charge the batteries during the daylight, and only supply power FROM the batteries during the darkness. We couldn't understand why everything appeared to be charging fine, but none of our electrics worked until night time! It is a setting that can be bypassed once you know about it.

Saw a Little Owl at Weston on Trent a few weeks ago.

Mine is Muddy Waters. Not sure if that is the blues singer or not as I didn't name her though!

I do normally keep my bike locked to the boat, but I left the new (2nd hand, not shiny!) one locked to the sign as we were moored about a mile from the road and my boyfriend was going to cycle back down to the boat on it.

Hi All, Just a friendly warning / request to keep your eyes open please: On Saturday (25th May 2013) I bought a black mountain bike with orange wheels (no brand name visible) from a shop in Beeston and locked it to a sign post right by the canal in Beeston (Rylands) - very visible, and locked with a decent, fat Oxford cable lock. It was a gift for my boyfriend but I rode it myself that day, went to buy new lights etc before locking it up at approx. 7:30pm. By the time he returned at 11pm the lock had been cut clean through and the bike stolen. We have already reported this to the police etc, but be careful to keep your things safe if you're in the area - and do let me know if you spot a black mens mountain bike with orange Michelin tyres (pretty distinctive!) and orange-covered brake/gear cables. Cheers, Becky

How about a side category for "Most creative boat signage"? On a more serious note... is there any restriction on HOW the 6 hours break must be taken? Can it be taken as 3x 2 hour breaks outside pubs, for instance, or must it be one 6 hour block? Just in case I might possibly happen to be crew for anyone, and fancy a bit of night cruising.

Thanks for all the replies! As the mooring sounds "interesting" for more than a few hours, I think I'm going to skip the Chesterfield afterall this time around. Tide times aren't looking too bad, so I'm going to head straight down the Trent to Nottingham - just a slight change to the plan, eh? Any recommendations for "safe" visitor moorings in/around Nottingham greatly received! Am I right in thinking that there are 14-day moorings somewhere near Sainsburys and the station in the centre? BW boaters guide says so, and I vaguely remember passing them before, but I no longer trust the guide - has let me down several times recently. On that note, if anyone knows of a good, reliable guide to visitor moorings (i.e. time limit, number of boats) it would be VERY gratefully received! I am trying to legitimately cruise the system, but do sometimes need to leave the boat for a few days and this is proving difficult in areas I don't know as a result of a complete lack of information. Nicholson guide doesn't usually give time limits / amount of space, BW boaters guides don't always reflect the actual situation. Cheers, Becky

Hi All, Looking at exploring the Chesterfield canal shortly, but a quick glance at the BW boaters' guide seems to show only 24hr visitor moorings! Presumably there are also places I can moor (i.e. not "official" moorings") for up to 14 days? Appreciate any tips on where to / where not to moor - was thinking of spending perhaps a month or so exploring at leisure - is this do-able? Cheers, Becky

Good news at last - BW are allowing some boats to pass through the Tinsley flight this weekend at last! Update on Waterscape says: UPDATE (23 October 2009): UPDATE 23RD October We now have sufficient water levels to re-open the canal. We will be penning customers through that have been unable to move during the stoppage over this weekend. We will re check the water levels on Monday morning and if they are sufficient, passage on this stretch will be allowed as usual.

More news: Associated Regional Office: BW Yorkshire UPDATE (16 October 2009): UPDATE 16TH OCTOBER We have now repaired the pumps and they are working correctly, however, due to a collapsed culvert we are unable to transfer sufficient volumes of water to re-open the navigation at this time. We are Investigating this collapse and will update on the 21st October . British Waterways apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers.

Just phoned BW again with hopes of being allowed up the flight this weekend, but sadly it isn't looking hopeful. The repair on the pump yesterday was unsuccessful - they hope to have more news on what is going to happen next later this afternoon. So that'll make it a full month that I haven't been able to get to my mooring! Anyone know what the deal is re: getting my (BW) mooring fee refunded? Seems unreasonable still paying for a mooring I can't use! Becky

Deja-vu! Just phoned BW for an update, apparently the stoppage has now been extended as the wrong parts were delivered for the pump. This is exactly the same as happened last October! Fingers crossed it gets sorted soon - I make that 3 weeks now. Becky