Actually making a blog post to try and win a competition set by Andrew Denny (otherwise known as Granny Buttons). He has just posted about Steve Haywood's new book (One Man and a Narrowboat). Well not a new book but a revision of an old one.
Haven't read it yet but did read Steve's other book Narrowboat Dreams and also enjoy his column in the Canalboat magazine so the "new" book is probably quite good.
Well Granny Buttons, was I the first?
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Brimmed hats
Pete from nb Pickles 2 has a small sideswipe in his latest post at men wearing brimmed hats when driving boats to which I had to reply. If you look very closely at the picture at the top of this blog, you can see me steering the boat we used to own a share in and I am wearing a brimmed hat!
To be more precise I am wearing a Tilley hat which is less a hat and more a lifestyle. They are extremely durable and even designed to float if dropped in the water. The durability is exemplified by the story of a zoo-keeper whose Tilley has been stolen and eaten by an elephant... three times!
Now I know I don't look like like Indiana Jones when I wear it but I can dream can't I?
To be more precise I am wearing a Tilley hat which is less a hat and more a lifestyle. They are extremely durable and even designed to float if dropped in the water. The durability is exemplified by the story of a zoo-keeper whose Tilley has been stolen and eaten by an elephant... three times!
Now I know I don't look like like Indiana Jones when I wear it but I can dream can't I?
Monday, 3 March 2008
I laughed out loud...
when I read the press release from the IWA today welcoming the new regime for red diesel on narrowboats.
Apparently "Boaters may ... continue to use red diesel purchased at the lower commercial rates of duty for "domestic" purposes, e.g. heating and battery charging, even though it may go into the same tank as the fuel used for propulsion".
The italics are mine and mark the bit that made me laugh. How the hell is that supposed to work?
Apparently "boaters will now self certify at the point of purchase what proportion of the fuel purchased is for domestic purposes, and the vendor will charge and account for the duty due on the transaction accordingly. Vendors will have to keep accurate records, in order to declare the duty to HMRC.
HMRC maintain that vendors "will not be required to verify the validity of declarations made to them by users; they need only retain the declaration in their records to support their own duty return to HMRC".
So the vendors don't need to follow each boat with a video camera and stopwatch then?
Actually it's even funnier if you combine it with the other story about 25% of adults having trouble with mental arithmetic...
Apparently "Boaters may ... continue to use red diesel purchased at the lower commercial rates of duty for "domestic" purposes, e.g. heating and battery charging, even though it may go into the same tank as the fuel used for propulsion".
The italics are mine and mark the bit that made me laugh. How the hell is that supposed to work?
Apparently "boaters will now self certify at the point of purchase what proportion of the fuel purchased is for domestic purposes, and the vendor will charge and account for the duty due on the transaction accordingly. Vendors will have to keep accurate records, in order to declare the duty to HMRC.
HMRC maintain that vendors "will not be required to verify the validity of declarations made to them by users; they need only retain the declaration in their records to support their own duty return to HMRC".
So the vendors don't need to follow each boat with a video camera and stopwatch then?
Actually it's even funnier if you combine it with the other story about 25% of adults having trouble with mental arithmetic...
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Still on the canals
Well kind of...
As mentioned in the previous post, we sold our boat share in part because we were missing holidays in France. So virtually as soon as we decided to sell we booked a ferry crossing for the end of March. From one boat to another!
At that point we had not even decided which part of France to visit. After some thought, we decided on a gite near Strasbourg. And get this... It is right next to a canal! Our canal hating daughter still can't believe it.
While researching the small village where we are staying (Waltenheim sur Zorn) I was amazed to find this picture from this webpage from K and H which shows our gite. Not sure which of these buildings it is but it's one of them.
The canal goes right from outside the door to the centre of Strasbourg so I will be taking my bike! In fact the canal goes a good deal further than that as it is the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
There are some excellent photos on K and H's webpage of Strasbourg. Can't wait!
As mentioned in the previous post, we sold our boat share in part because we were missing holidays in France. So virtually as soon as we decided to sell we booked a ferry crossing for the end of March. From one boat to another!
At that point we had not even decided which part of France to visit. After some thought, we decided on a gite near Strasbourg. And get this... It is right next to a canal! Our canal hating daughter still can't believe it.
While researching the small village where we are staying (Waltenheim sur Zorn) I was amazed to find this picture from this webpage from K and H which shows our gite. Not sure which of these buildings it is but it's one of them.
The canal goes right from outside the door to the centre of Strasbourg so I will be taking my bike! In fact the canal goes a good deal further than that as it is the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
There are some excellent photos on K and H's webpage of Strasbourg. Can't wait!
Time for a rethink?
This is a slightly belated post but still relevant as will become clear...
The blog is called bowsnboats because of our share in a narrowboat and the fact that I am an archer. However at the beginning of the year we sold our boat share! Various reasons including the fact that being on the boat for three weeks a year precluded other holidays such as France which we were missing.
So the question was do I close the blog or rename it (bowsnoboat?)?
As the weeks have gone by, it has become clear that we are still interested in the canals and read the magazines etc with interest. So bowsnboats it will remain though from a different view point until we go back to boat ownership in some shape or form (as we undoubtedly will).
The blog is called bowsnboats because of our share in a narrowboat and the fact that I am an archer. However at the beginning of the year we sold our boat share! Various reasons including the fact that being on the boat for three weeks a year precluded other holidays such as France which we were missing.
So the question was do I close the blog or rename it (bowsnoboat?)?
As the weeks have gone by, it has become clear that we are still interested in the canals and read the magazines etc with interest. So bowsnboats it will remain though from a different view point until we go back to boat ownership in some shape or form (as we undoubtedly will).
Monday, 26 November 2007
Better view of Milton Keynes
Deborah Newbold in her "Little More" blog has a long rant against cars and Milton Keynes. I think that MK gets mentioned largely because of the perceived impact of cars on the town.
Now I probably agree on the overuse of cars bit. And the Milton Keynes roundabouts are a pain when you want to travel across the town. And, yes, I did fail to find the centre of the town the first time I visited. And it took me a few visits to work out that the V & H at the front of the road numbers in Milton Keynes stood for Vertical and Horizontal.
But I digress (again)... The main purpose of this post was to point out how pleasant it it to visit Milton Keynes by narrowboat. We did that in August last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.
We got to moor in the middle of a large park and had a nice walk through said park to the shopping centre. Now, admittedly, if you don't see a shopping centre as a suitable destination for a walk then you will be unpersuaded but we found it quite pleasant.
PS: I have actually been quite impressed with the way that different transport systems (roads, cycle paths, footpaths are interlaced within Milton Keynes. For example you can cycle or walk a long way without ever having to cross a road. Being a new town, the planners had the luxury of being able to design this in. Livingston in Scotland is similar.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Better mention bows...
Given that this blog is called bowsnboats, I suppose I should mention bows at some point.
This thought is triggered by a posting on the Granny Buttons blog about a new blog called Pickles No2. Pete is planning to kit out a sailaway in 30 days which should be interesting to watch. I am not sure whether he states that the 30 days will be consecutive? He has already reserved the right to not start the 30 days until he says so. And why not, it's his boat.
Anyway, I digress. Apparently Pete apart from being very brave is also a bowyer. This means that he makes bows and as far as I can gather he makes English longbows.
I am an archer which means I use a bow. But I use a type of bow called a compound bow which is about as far as you can get from a longbow. A longbow is an exquisitely crafted bendy stick which takes a good deal of skill to shoot accurately. A compound bow has sights and you use a trigger device to fire it. It's a lot easier and probably more suitable for a technology addict like me...
This thought is triggered by a posting on the Granny Buttons blog about a new blog called Pickles No2. Pete is planning to kit out a sailaway in 30 days which should be interesting to watch. I am not sure whether he states that the 30 days will be consecutive? He has already reserved the right to not start the 30 days until he says so. And why not, it's his boat.
Anyway, I digress. Apparently Pete apart from being very brave is also a bowyer. This means that he makes bows and as far as I can gather he makes English longbows.
I am an archer which means I use a bow. But I use a type of bow called a compound bow which is about as far as you can get from a longbow. A longbow is an exquisitely crafted bendy stick which takes a good deal of skill to shoot accurately. A compound bow has sights and you use a trigger device to fire it. It's a lot easier and probably more suitable for a technology addict like me...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
