Spooky Blogs and THAT Waterways Licence Hike!

Moored Great Haywood, Trent & Mersey Canal

I don’t know if the writer of CanalCam Blog actually owns a narrowboat, but looking around for clues, maybe not.  But it is a very interesting blog with some great pictures.  The writer has a webcam set up on the side of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.. He must have it well hidden surely! There is a link to it on the blog itself.

There are some lovely pictures on his blog, and I liked the black background with the white text on the layout.  It sets the pictures off beautifully too.. here is one I like..

Took the dogs out for a walk in the dark tonight.Had some fun taking long time exposure pictures and painting in the light with a torch.Here are some of the better ones. Flicking the torch around as both dogs run makes it look like a ghostly pack.The cloud cover across the moon behind the tree adds to the spooky effect (just in time for Halloween!)

Anyway, I have put it under ‘Boaters Blogs’ on the left for now.. although maybe that isn’t quite right for this one.

I was interested to read the article in the Guardian Unlimited (thanks Andrew) about the Proposed Licence Fee Increase.  Still the arguements go on, and there is more to read on the various waterways newsgroups and forums.  However, I was amused at this in the Guardian article…

Britain's canals have long been a home for a free-spirited band of "wild rovers"

If I am a spose to be a ‘wild rover’ then I think I am a bit of a fraud … so I will stick with the next bit..

These "continuous cruisers" - who inhabit 1,360 boats, according to British Waterways (BW), the custodian of Britain's canals - include many pensioned retirees..

That’s more like me!  

Towpath Telegraph have it on their front page at the moment, a good article too.  Towpath Telegraph is a smashing little newspaper that we pick up from time to time from boatyards and the like.  It’s a free publication and has got better and better the longer it has been running.

Well the report is due out from British Waterways on what changes they are going to make in November.. but I have heard from Braunston, that a person, who shall remain nameless, has said that BW has thrown out this proposal for us ‘wild rover pensioners’, although he would not name his source of information… It remains to be seen then