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Numpties out in force


cuthound

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As DQ is booked in for a hull inspection and, if necessary, blacking tomorrow, I decided to turn her around so she is pointing in the correct direction. The nearest winding hole is 10 minutes and two bridges away.

I waited for a shareboat to pass before letting go. As the boat passed I exchanged pleasantries,  including telling the guy I was only going to the next winding hole to turn.

As we approached said winding hole the shareboat pulled in and the steerer held the boat on the centre rope. Thinking he was going to wind, I pulled in too, and held the boat on the centre rope.  After a couple of minutes some people passed me on the towpath, so I asked them to ask the guy in front if he was turning.

They returned to say he was waiting for me to pass so he could moor opposite the winding hole... I asked them to tell him he shouldn't moor there because it will make turning for longer boats difficult, and fortunately he moved on, allowing me to turn easily.

On the return journey I pass through a blind bridge with a boat moored on an EoG mooring.

As I was passing slowly through the bridge I saw the bow of a speeding boat ,  so sounded my horn and stopped.

The boat made no attempt to slow down, but tried to steer into the gap between the moored boat (privately owned) and the bridge abutment. He bounced off the bank where it anglad towards the bridge and  into my boat. "There's only room in these bridges for one" I quipped. He avoided all eye contact and didn't even offer an apology.

Then as I was clearing the bridge, he hit me again,  pushing my stern into the Armco,  simply because he couldn't  wait for me to clear the bridge.

With a numpty ever 10 minutes, I was glad I was only out for a 20 minutes trip! 

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21 minutes ago, Meanderingviking said:

They're out there and the season has only just begun. I hope you didn't sustain any damage? 

Only a couple of scrapes to the blacking, which is probably going to get done this week anyway.

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28 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Only a couple of scrapes to the blacking, which is probably going to get done this week anyway.

That's a relief :D

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We had quite an exciting day to i admit am only a novice myself with only 18 odd months experience i give way as much as possible but if your actually in a bride or exiting it is down the other traffic to hold off! Which a boat didn't and nearly hit me head on as would not slow down to let me get clear of the bridge this was near Hopwas traffic seemed very busy today the most i have seen am i glad i am back home now think i may give Bank Holidays a second thought next time :blink:   

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1 hour ago, Chas78 said:

We had quite an exciting day to i admit am only a novice myself with only 18 odd months experience i give way as much as possible but if your actually in a bride or exiting it is down the other traffic to hold off! Which a boat didn't and nearly hit me head on as would not slow down to let me get clear of the bridge this was near Hopwas traffic seemed very busy today the most i have seen am i glad i am back home now think i may give Bank Holidays a second thought next time :blink:   

You will find there are a list of times not to boat in a certain order with the absolutely never done to the best time to do it sliding scale with number one being the never ever ever take your boat out with number two next etc etc............list is as follows

1. Any Bank holiday

2. School hoildays

3. Friday afternoon to sunday evening

they are the top three with others in diminishing numbers. The best boating is weekdays november to march.

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1 hour ago, howardang said:

I think we need a clear definition of what constitutes a numpty. Only those who are definately not numpties allowed to contribute I suggest.!

 

Howard

It's odd, I never heard the word used South of the Border until a few years ago, it's been a common admonishment in Scotland for a long time but seems to have migrated South somehow.  No doubt when Nicola takes us out of the Union she'll want it back. 

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Well I know I'm a numpty, but I can handle my boat reasonable well. Tell you what though, flippin eck, I struggled turning round yesterday in that wind. 

I must admit, it didn't help with the T&M being like the M6 all day

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14 hours ago, howardang said:

I think we need a clear definition of what constitutes a numpty. Only those who are definately not numpties allowed to contribute I suggest.!

 

Howard

My definition of a numpty is anyone whose lack of imagination causes difficulties for others :D

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15 hours ago, howardang said:

I think we need a clear definition of what constitutes a numpty. Only those who are definately not numpties allowed to contribute I suggest.!

 

Howard

It's not listed in Partridge's Dictionary Of Slang etc. To my surprise, "nump" is listed in the S.O.D., defined as a silly or stupid person; I would guess that "numpty" has arisen from that word. Or perhaps it is a diminutive or derivative of "numskull", which has pretty much the same meaning. (I was also surprised to find that there's no "b" in that word. I wonder if it was once "numpskull").

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2 hours ago, cuthound said:

My definition of a numpty is anyone whose lack of imagination causes difficulties for others :D

With apologies to Mr William Shakespeare

Malvalio:
"In my stars I am above thee; but be not afraid of numptiness: some are born numpties, some achieve numptiness, and some have numptiness thrust upon 'em."

Edited by Ray T
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14 hours ago, gigoguy said:

Well I know I'm a numpty, but I can handle my boat reasonable well. Tell you what though, flippin eck, I struggled turning round yesterday in that wind. 

I must admit, it didn't help with the T&M being like the M6 all day

Me too.

Pleasant little Bank Holiday jaunt to Bollington. Little bit of wind, but not anything to write home about.

Came in to moor opposite Bollington Wharf, and the wind had other ideas (it was determined that I would moor AT Bollington Wharf).

Setting off back yesterday morning, the plan was to reverse back and wind in the newly re-opened winding hole, but the wind had me so firmly the instant I let go of the ropes that I decided to run to Macc and wind there.

Fortunately it wasn't like the M6 (because the Macclesfield Canal is a dreadful place that you should avoid at all times)

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Fr

1 hour ago, Athy said:

It's not listed in Partridge's Dictionary Of Slang etc. To my surprise, "nump" is listed in the S.O.D., defined as a silly or stupid person; I would guess that "numpty" has arisen from that word. Or perhaps it is a diminutive or derivative of "numskull", which has pretty much the same meaning. (I was also surprised to find that there's no "b" in that word. I wonder if it was once "numpskull").

In my (Chambers) dictionary:  Numpty (Scot., derog.) An idiot.

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8 minutes ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

Fr

In my (Chambers) dictionary:  Numpty (Scot., derog.) An idiot.

That could explain its absence from the pages of Partridge, whose lexicographer specifically tried to exclude dialect words - though where "regional usage" ends and "dialect" begins is a grey area.

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3 hours ago, Athy said:

That could explain its absence from the pages of Partridge, whose lexicographer specifically tried to exclude dialect words - though where "regional usage" ends and "dialect" begins is a grey area.

I think that "regional usage" is using a standard English word in a locally specific way, whereas dialect is using a local and alternative word in place of a standard English word. 

Patois is spoken around here and that is definitely dialect, not just regional usage of standard French.

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