Wonderful weather, well laid out site with excellent facilities --- but.....
Very poor attendance, little to attract the non boater fraternity, very expensive food, drink, exhibitor stall prices - I remember when shows were loss leaders/promo budget for firms.
I bet most of the punters on site were IWA members probably getting in free or with heavy discounts.
Very few activities promoting the wider usage of canals/accessibility
My conclusion from visiting the festival is an elitist Jolly, which is a great shame, because you can see the effort that has been made by the armies of volunteers at the site and very professional layout and facilities.
IWA needs to look at itself - it has created a monster and lost its soul - the network is dying and it needs to re focus on revenue raising and promotion for all users
I bet the festival lost a packet this year
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Saturday, 30 July 2011
IWA Festival Burton on trent 29 - 31 July 2011
Biked past the moored boats yesterday to check out the possibility of getting a mooring tomorrow for a planned visit - looks like it will have to be about a mile away near the Football ground.
Saw the famous boat President
- Timothy West and Prunella Scales were standing next to the boat on the towpath.
- Timothy West and Prunella Scales were standing next to the boat on the towpath.
Some enterprising locals had converted their back gardens into stalls for charity, etc
The bunting was out in force.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Derby canal news 5/7/11
Canal restoration scheme wins backing of planning experts
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Derby Telegraph
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A CANAL for Derby has been recommended for the go-ahead by city council planning officers.
Plans for the restoration of the 12-and-a-half-mile Derby and Sandiacre Canal have been developed by the waterway's trust over four years.
Rob Hartley projects director for Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust at the site off Hopwell Road in Draycott where new plans have been made to restore the canal and land around it
Council officers have now recommended its planning board give permission for its new route and alignment which is largely the same as when it shut in the 1960s.
It would run from Sandiacre to Swarkestone through Pride Park.
Officers from South Derbyshire District Council and Erewash Borough Council have also recommended the green light ahead of planning board meetings later this month.
Chris Madge, chairman of Derby and Sandiacre Canal Society – the heritage arm of the trust – says that, if planning permission is granted, the canal could be fully restored in between 10 and 15 years.
He said: "It only took three years for men with pick axes to build it in the first place.
"It is a very straightforward project in terms of engineering – there are few technical challenges on the route, no tunnels for example.
"The largest challenge we face is going under the railway line at Pride Park.
"We believe a major part of the development will be complete within 10 years."
Mr Madge says restoring the canal – which has not seen a boat since 1962 – is still set to cost about £45m.
He says about £5m is set to come from developers who want the canal to form part of their housing schemes, including developments in Spondon where the first part of the refurbishment would be likely to take place.
The trust also hopes to get about £7m from selling the spoil dug up from the line of the old canal.
And it plans to make a bid for Heritage Lottery funds "in due course".
Mr Madge cited this month's reopening of the Droitwich Canal as proof that waterways could be brought back into use.
The work cost £12m and was completed using £4.6m of Heritage Lottery cash, as well as money from local councils, the Inland Waterways Association, and Emda. Labour costs were reduced through the use of volunteers.
Mr Madge said: "We are convinced we can raise the money we need for this over a 10-year period.
"The challenge is getting through the first stage because once building work gets going it's easier to find funding."
A Heritage Lottery spokesman said the organisation had, in the last 17 years, awarded £91.4m to more than 215 river and canal projects.
He said: "We invest in every part of our diverse heritage."
The city council's final decision on the Derby and Sandiacre Canal will be made by its planning control committee on Thursday.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Derby Telegraph
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A CANAL for Derby has been recommended for the go-ahead by city council planning officers.
Plans for the restoration of the 12-and-a-half-mile Derby and Sandiacre Canal have been developed by the waterway's trust over four years.
Rob Hartley projects director for Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust at the site off Hopwell Road in Draycott where new plans have been made to restore the canal and land around it
Council officers have now recommended its planning board give permission for its new route and alignment which is largely the same as when it shut in the 1960s.
It would run from Sandiacre to Swarkestone through Pride Park.
Officers from South Derbyshire District Council and Erewash Borough Council have also recommended the green light ahead of planning board meetings later this month.
Chris Madge, chairman of Derby and Sandiacre Canal Society – the heritage arm of the trust – says that, if planning permission is granted, the canal could be fully restored in between 10 and 15 years.
He said: "It only took three years for men with pick axes to build it in the first place.
"It is a very straightforward project in terms of engineering – there are few technical challenges on the route, no tunnels for example.
"The largest challenge we face is going under the railway line at Pride Park.
"We believe a major part of the development will be complete within 10 years."
Mr Madge says restoring the canal – which has not seen a boat since 1962 – is still set to cost about £45m.
He says about £5m is set to come from developers who want the canal to form part of their housing schemes, including developments in Spondon where the first part of the refurbishment would be likely to take place.
The trust also hopes to get about £7m from selling the spoil dug up from the line of the old canal.
And it plans to make a bid for Heritage Lottery funds "in due course".
Mr Madge cited this month's reopening of the Droitwich Canal as proof that waterways could be brought back into use.
The work cost £12m and was completed using £4.6m of Heritage Lottery cash, as well as money from local councils, the Inland Waterways Association, and Emda. Labour costs were reduced through the use of volunteers.
Mr Madge said: "We are convinced we can raise the money we need for this over a 10-year period.
"The challenge is getting through the first stage because once building work gets going it's easier to find funding."
A Heritage Lottery spokesman said the organisation had, in the last 17 years, awarded £91.4m to more than 215 river and canal projects.
He said: "We invest in every part of our diverse heritage."
The city council's final decision on the Derby and Sandiacre Canal will be made by its planning control committee on Thursday.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
the narrowboat formerly known as pearl
just had a quick look at the boat register and noted that my old narrowboat Pearl is now called Lizzie
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Ongoing boat issues
Took the boat out to Branston Bridge 34 for Sat/Sun 18/19 June 2011. Boat ran ok, but, obviously lacks power due to the small two cyclinder 600cc engine and its age/hours - 22 yrs.
Checked the water cap again and noted there was still a leak around the heat exchanger - the fitting appears to be distorted - a temporary solution was to straighten the fitting with a pair of pliers and added a bit of rubber to the cap - the leak is more of a sweat now - still annaoyed that this was not picked up on the service - looking at the engine calcification/loss of paint - this leak has been around for years.
At the weekend I noted that the kitchen window was leaking badly - water ingress into the wood lining. The problem appears to be a small gap in the window, which has obviously worstened as the retaining screws have rotted away. I filled the gap with filler and added some primer to seal.
Must buy some green matt paint to touch up a few areas on the boat.
The rotten window screw problem has prompted me to replace all the window screws on the boat - not a quick job as there are 131 over the 7 windows. On inspection a lot of the screws have rotted away requiring a pair of pliers to remove the old ones. I have gone for a slightly larger size to make a better fit (they have been in for 22 years!). The new screws should last well as they are zinc coated - couldn't afford stainless in that quantity!
Also noted that the rubbing strips have split away from the hull in several areas - problem hidden by the new blacking when I bought it and they have obviously opened up as we have clouted the towpath and lock walls - will monitor the situation - probably due to the very thin rubbing strips used.
No further problems noted at this stage - the batteries appear to hold a good charge - although we don't used the lights and tv much and I have a small solar trickle charger. The winter will be the time to test them! I must buy a charger to run off the hook up power - I have a good generator on standby (and a bad one - machine mart saw me coming).
Checked the water cap again and noted there was still a leak around the heat exchanger - the fitting appears to be distorted - a temporary solution was to straighten the fitting with a pair of pliers and added a bit of rubber to the cap - the leak is more of a sweat now - still annaoyed that this was not picked up on the service - looking at the engine calcification/loss of paint - this leak has been around for years.
At the weekend I noted that the kitchen window was leaking badly - water ingress into the wood lining. The problem appears to be a small gap in the window, which has obviously worstened as the retaining screws have rotted away. I filled the gap with filler and added some primer to seal.
Must buy some green matt paint to touch up a few areas on the boat.
The rotten window screw problem has prompted me to replace all the window screws on the boat - not a quick job as there are 131 over the 7 windows. On inspection a lot of the screws have rotted away requiring a pair of pliers to remove the old ones. I have gone for a slightly larger size to make a better fit (they have been in for 22 years!). The new screws should last well as they are zinc coated - couldn't afford stainless in that quantity!
Also noted that the rubbing strips have split away from the hull in several areas - problem hidden by the new blacking when I bought it and they have obviously opened up as we have clouted the towpath and lock walls - will monitor the situation - probably due to the very thin rubbing strips used.
No further problems noted at this stage - the batteries appear to hold a good charge - although we don't used the lights and tv much and I have a small solar trickle charger. The winter will be the time to test them! I must buy a charger to run off the hook up power - I have a good generator on standby (and a bad one - machine mart saw me coming).
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Boat licence and mooring permit
Boat licence and revised mooring permit arrived on Monday 13/6/11.
The longest I have had to wait for licencing since owning a boat - application and cheque went in on 26/4/11 (licence expiry was 30/4/11).
Given the well publicised financial problems of BW, I can't understand why it takes them over 6 weeks to cash a cheque!
The longest I have had to wait for licencing since owning a boat - application and cheque went in on 26/4/11 (licence expiry was 30/4/11).
Given the well publicised financial problems of BW, I can't understand why it takes them over 6 weeks to cash a cheque!
Sunday, 5 June 2011
T T races
Guy Martin at the Bungalow, IOM superbike TT 4/6/11Guy Martin unlucky in first race. Had to retire on last lap when lying second.
A good week for guy in the end - three third places and one second to go with the dnf.
The Suzuki appears to be a reliable machine but not as quick as the Honda engine use by John McPint who won both superbike races.
Hope Guy gets his first win next year - a very popular rider with a very strong marketing team behind him (one pint tea mugs £18! - by 'eck)
Guy's take on the two week IOM TT - blogged 12/7/11
The TT, eh? I suppose I can’t complain about it, eh? I won the stationary show which was the main objective for the two weeks. Talking of stationary engines, as much as I love my early 1990s stuff, you’re only playing at it until you own a Rolls Royce Merlin 26 litre V12 engine. So, I’m knuckling down with the overtime to get my hands on one. Trouble is, they use about 4 gallons a minute so it’ll only be started on special occasions!
Talking of special occasions, this coming week should hopefully be a bit special. Got the Southern 100 motorbike race followed by the Saltzammergut Cup mountain bike race on Saturday. The Southern 100 is my favourite motorbike race of the year and the mountain bike race is the toughest one day race going – so this coming week won’t be easy.
Oh, I never mentioned about the competition winner from last time. Ta very much for all the replies – loads of good ‘uns! It wasn’t an easy choice but the one about the American soldier and the SAS bloke stood at the urinal had to take it. Good work. I’ll go through ‘em again and find out who wrote it.
A fair bit has been going on really. I’ve got a big restoration job on at work – a 1996 143 500 Scania. I’ll get some pictures stuck up but she will be a concourse winner when she’s done. I was at Goodwood last weekend with the future Mrs Martin, if that’s what we’ll call her? Loads of interesting stuff there as usual – and I reckon I’ve seen my new car. I’ll let you know. Oh, and I know I said that I wouldn’t do any more TV stuff but I’ve had a job put to me that I couldn’t turn down. It’ll fit in with work, so it was a no brainer – so that’s another one I’ll keep you posted on (World sheepdog trials in September).
Right – competition time. The question is – if Johnny Vegas sold his wedding photos to VIZ for £1.00, who should I sell Mr and Mrs Martin’s to?
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