Proper Charlie

Most straplines have a shelf life of just a few years, so expect all these Making Life Better etc signs to be replaced, at great expense, when a new management team decides a new message is required.

Closed on Saturday I believe. We're on the Thames and had been travelling downstream on the Thames Ring. We turned round on Sunday due to the closure. Glad we did too.

It’s fixed. Just had the email.

Thanks for the responses. Will see how we go, but you’ve given us some options to Bulls Bridge.

We're doing the Thames Ring anti-clockwise, so down the GU. Setting off in about a week but struggling to find any info on overnight mooring between Uxbridge and Brentford. Last time we did this we tied up at Bulls Bridge. Is this still the recommended stop? Anywhere decent before the Thames? Thanks in advance.

Thanks - do you know if the visitor moorings near the basin are open?

Has anybody tried mooring in Harborough recently? Any update on whether it's possible or whether all moorings are actually closed would be appreciated. Thanks.

We came through Braunston a few years back, and accidently joined the parade in our boring 57ft cruiser stern because it was the only way from one end to the other. I believe we were directly behind President, and our boat name was announced as we went past. Great fun but quite scary as we were novices and the traffic was very slow and required much careful manoeuvring.

Those pesky Europeans again! It’s time to take back control of our storms. British storms for British people!

This guy, together with Fergal Sharkey and Paul Whitehouse, is doing a good job in raising this to a national issue. I hope it’s something that plays a big role in the next election.

Latest stoppage email from CaRT looks to me as if it means there's no towpath mooring within 2kms of MH for 15 weeks from 22 May, due to the towpath being resurfaced with tarmac/chips. In other words, a cycle lane, I suppose. So paying to overnight on one of the hire company pontoons looks the only way anybody can visit MH this summer.

We got to Harborough late one day a couploe of years ago to find all the moorings taken, so we phoned the boat hire people and booked a space on one of their pontoons inside the basin. That could be a fallback option for you.

Others have said lots of sensible things on my behalf but the truth is... I have no idea. There wasn't much flow so I might have been OK. But the lack of flow would have been luck and not part of a cunning plan of mine. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't have an anchor. But I'm 100% glad I didn't have to find out.

I used our anchor on the Trent this summer. Leaving the lock at Holme and heading upriver to Nottingham, the engine coughed and died in the middle of the river, about 200 yards above the weir. There wasn't a great deal of flow on at the time but I went into a cold sweat. Tried to restart but it wouldn't fire up. I left my wife at the stern, rushed through the boat and dropped the anchor. As the boat slowly drifted downriver and the rope began to tighten, my wife yelled that she'd got the engine started. Back through the boat, gave the engine a few revs in neutral and it spluttered a bit but stayed alive. Back through the boat again and hauled the anchor back in, realising that 25kg is quite a lot to pull vertically from the water. But I did it. Back to the stern and continued on our way, very nervous and tuned in to every pulse and hiccup of the engine. We got into Nottingham and I called RCR out. The engineer couldn't find anything but agreed with me that the choppy waters on the Trent (it was very windy and we were heading into both the current and the wind) had probably stirred up some gunk in the fuel tank which caused a blockage before clearing. Looking back, I feel enormously relieved and lucky, but also pleased that I could deploy the anchor without mishap. It's not the sort of thing any/many of us practise, certainly not me. So, I reckon you should always carry an anchor on a river. On another day, if the engine hadn't restarted and especially if there was more flow on the river, we would have been on the boom above the lock in three or four minutes.

I know others won't agree but I'm glad the money has been spent this way. Migration is a truly astonishing thing, whether of fish or birds, and our world will be poorer without it.

One other thing that we do (and in fact have just done) is to remove our centre ropes, bring them home and give them a 30 degree quick wash in the washing machine. This means that they're clean for next Spring and also that they're not sitting damp and mouldy on the boat roof for four months, which can cause staining.

We leave the water tank about half full, drain the pipes, leave the taps and the fridge door open, remove the shower head and put a couple of rads on a frost setting (on shoreline). We also remove all bedding, towels etc. The last couple of years, we've also taken down our blinds and taken them home because the last lot went mouldy. Tempting fate here but this has worked for us for the last 11 years.

John Barnard, who works out of Debdale and North Kilworth Marina, is excellent. Not cheap though!

I’ve shown the pic to my wife. She thinks it’s the boat but can’t be 100% so we won’t report it. We would both recognise the bloke who threatened us though. The boat is certainly in the right location, having (allegedly) moved pretty slowly from Crick via North Kilworth to Debdale in the last few weeks. As Frangar says, be careful if you come across them.

It does look right, but I’d be nervous of making an official complaint without knowing for certain. At the time, I was too concerned with accelerating away from them to get a clear look. Just make sure you don’t cross these guys. If they can threaten people like us with violence, they’re probably capable of other acts too.

We returned home after a fantastic six week cruise early afternoon today. A couple of hundred yards short of our home marina at North Kilworth we experienced the most aggressive behaviour we’ve encountered in 30 years of boating, the last 12 as owners who are regularly on the cut. Heading north, just past the Welford turn, we passed a small 35 ft ish grey narrowboat which was being held on a centre rope. We weren’t quite on tickover (our boat barely moves on tickover) but were making absolutely zero wash. My wife heard the bloke holding the rope tell his mate that we were dickheads and were going way too fast. My wife doesn’t take being insulted well and gave him a piece of her mind, perhaps foolishly but there you go. Anyway, he picked up his pole and came marching down the towpath saying he wanted a word with us (not sure if he meant me or my wife). I accelerated and managed to get through the bridge hole just before he got there. He stopped and shouted that they’d be following us and would see us later. We continued at pace the last hundred yards to our marina, thankfully they didn’t appear and either didn’t bother chasing because they’re all mouth and trousers, or maybe we got home just in time and they’re currently approaching Foxton looking for us. They may also have been about to tie up, not set off, so may still be there. It was a very frightening experience, so if you see them please be careful. We didn’t catch the boat’s name so can’t notify the police but it was short and grey. Both men in their 40s (we’re in our 60s). The one who chased us was about 5’ 6”, dark hair and either unshaven or with a moustache.

Clear now. Credit to the girl from CaRT East Midlands who promised to phone me as soon as she had news and actually did so.