tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64451654154579888262011-09-26T23:41:29.908+01:00Martinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-17494931524955048222010-10-31T15:49:00.004Z2010-10-31T16:12:18.794Z

tweetmeme_url = 'http://ben-9.blogspot.com/2010/10/deja-vu-all-over-again.html';It is always a tragedy when someone drowns in a canal.Unfortunately, in today's culture, it is fashionable to look for something or someone else to blame. It is almost unspeakable to suggest that, in some cases, the person may have brought about their demise through their own unwise actions. In other words, in the

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-76662800812926054742010-10-09T12:24:00.006+01:002010-10-09T13:15:12.945+01:00

tweetmeme_url = 'http://ben-9.blogspot.com/2010/10/building-bridges.html';Just when boaters on the Leeds and Liverpool thought it was safe to go back to their boats, there came news this week that Moss Swing Bridge on the edge of Leeds was being closed for a week for repairs. [details here]Before we start firing vitriol towards BW, it should be pointed out that the bridge does not belong to them

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-77774916212454869572010-09-30T23:53:00.004+01:002010-10-04T23:27:47.436+01:00

Up north we have so far been spared the worst excesses of towpath cycling. Yes, I know that there have been a few cases of cyclists trying to ride the whole Leeds and Liverpool Canal in record time. And there have been occasional unfortunate incidents involving over-keen cyclists, including one I heard of recently where a cyclist travelling at speed hit a rut on the towpath and ended up taking a

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-58651428317119120232010-08-31T08:46:00.012+01:002010-10-23T12:06:28.285+01:00

Canals are potentially dangerous places. Especially at locks. People drown in locks, boats sink in locks, people get injured by helicoptering windlasses at locks, and so on. This is something that all boaters are fully aware of. Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you?When you've done a few locks it all starts getting easy, so you can while away the time as the lock is filling or emptying by chatting

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-18948732058684108182010-08-06T14:41:00.003+01:002010-08-31T09:12:13.580+01:00

I for one am not impressed by David Cameron's so-called "Big Society". The magic word seems to be "empowerment" which, roughly speaking, means the Government is going to stop doing lots of things that it has done for years and is going to let us volunteer to do them ourselves without payment. If you think I am being cynical, take a look at what British Waterways is starting to do, as a step in

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-48537284347301760322010-06-10T18:44:00.003+01:002010-10-23T12:08:30.524+01:00

I never quite know who reads my ramblings but I know that people do. I wonder whether any of those readers are members of the Labour Party or know someone who is? Labour Party members will be having a chance shortly to choose a new leader who might one day become Prime Minister.I wouldn't normally consider this a topic worth having a rant about, except that it would seem that the current front

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-71597602622210695752010-05-23T17:57:00.005+01:002010-05-23T22:58:36.190+01:00

I was talking to Mr PW on Friday night and he told me about an email exchange he'd recently had.He had received an email from some sort of travel company asking if he had any photos of a particular canal that they could use in their advertising and website. I won't name the company but neither Mr PW or I have ever heard of it. (I wouldn't want to give them to benefit of any extra publicity,

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-63100435571488297952010-05-10T12:08:00.003+01:002010-05-10T12:19:30.521+01:00

Well - they should be. Guillotine gates on locks, that is. They seem to be nothing but trouble!I see that the the guillotine gate at Salterhebble has thrown another wobbly and is having to be operated manually by a man in blue. Trouble is that he is only there for three two-hour sessions each day.This is not the first time, either. There were similar restrictions there for a whole year, along

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-86012890108329322962010-04-18T15:54:00.003+01:002010-04-18T16:10:59.728+01:00

A few weeks ago there was great dismay in the Wigan area when the canal ran out of water. The main lock flight was closed for repairs, so there wasn't the usual water coming down with boat movements. A local feeder was turned off because it was flooding a local estate. Then "vandals" came along and emptied the main pound through the town.Then a mysterious thing was noted. Some blokes were seen

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-6019014226704175462010-03-25T22:26:00.005Z2010-04-18T16:11:35.636+01:00

Dog owners, like their pets, come in a number of different sorts.Most dog owners, of course, are thoughtful and considerate people who care about other people and about their environment. Some, unfortunately, are not. A small number, it would seem have smaller brains than their pets.Most dog owners, enjoying a walk along the canal towpath, will take plastic bags with them. Then, when their pets

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-3433840615115319262010-03-18T19:56:00.002Z2010-03-19T13:45:05.322Z

"Joined-up thinking" is one of those irritating buzz-phrases that sometimes get bandied about by those pursuing their pro-active critical missions of client-focused deliverables. Sad, really, because real joined-up thinking can be a positive advantage in so many situations.To those of us who have spent time on the waterways over the years, "joined-up thinking" is not something that we would

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-30082898060007417012010-03-05T21:02:00.007Z2010-03-05T22:47:47.795Z

Mr PW keeps asking me to write a piece for this blog. I keep telling him that nobody reads it but he assures me that someone called Andrew Denny does, so - just for you, Andrew - here are a few thoughts about Record Breaking on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towing path.Now, just in case you are wondering, I am not talking about violent protests involving piles of Des O'Connnor albums, but of

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-24603462547772155042010-02-16T21:44:00.007Z2010-02-16T22:31:41.013Z

Is the Rochdale Canal's towpath to become the country's latest cycling super-highway?Already much of the length of the towpath in the urban areas of Greater Manchester has been improved by being given a hard surface. Now Rochdale Council is about to give the stretch through Littleborough and up over the Summit the same treatment. [link] Not only that but Calderdale Council is planning an even

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-30322676753038801732010-02-01T14:15:00.007Z2010-02-01T15:11:12.498Z

Those of you with nothing better to do with your time than listen to the radio might have heard an item on today's You and Yours programme about boat moorings.The report says that BW has put up prices because of the shortage of residential moorings with planning permission. BW says that the number of people living on boats has doubled in the last five years. Some "houseboaters" claim,

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-20869192654620655772010-01-14T23:45:00.000Z2010-01-15T10:42:31.273Z

At last there is something of a thaw coming along, with a lot of the snow turning to slush. Of course, it's not that simple, as a lot of the melted snow is freezing at night and turning to black ice! But, at least, the canals are less frozen than they were, if anyone wants to get on their way.Last week I commented on the noble efforts of Brian McGuigan breaking ice along the Macclesfield Canal to

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-4033237537750489732010-01-03T13:41:00.006Z2010-02-01T15:10:44.966Z

With my doddery old legs, I've hardly dared to step outside in this wintry weather, so it is great to hear that the intrepid Brian McGuigan of NB Alton is attempting to reach all his customers along the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals to keep them supplied with Coal and Diesel.Before Christmas the ice was so thick that he had to make deliveries by road, which can't be easy if some boats are

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-59012944600474217552009-12-17T10:41:00.005Z2009-12-17T11:18:42.626Z

The Grantham Canal Society is appealing for our help to fight an instance of planning lunacy!The Grantham Canal is gradually being restored. It's a long canal and there are plenty of obstacles but the restoration is making progress.Then along comes the Highways Agency, currently planning to build a new line for a section of the A46 trunk road. The new road will cross the line of the canal near

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-23025990372660381152009-12-15T19:51:00.000Z2009-12-15T20:08:21.130Z

So, yet another stoppage caused by equipment failure.I notice that Lock 14 on the Rochdale Canal has had to be closed because of a broken paddle. I can see how a broken top paddle can make it harder to empty a lock to get a boat through, but it is not impossible. What I can't understand is how a broken top paddle can cause "a substantial loss of water" from the pounds higher up. Could it be that

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-58385352817802301262009-12-13T18:16:00.000Z2009-12-15T20:07:07.886Z

And another thing that I would have made a comment on is this re-organisation that BW has just imposed upon itself.Yes - yet another re-organisation! How many in that in the last decade or so?As far as the Pennine Waterways website area is concerned, most of Yorkshire is one area, Merseyside and most of Lancashire is another, while most of the South Pennine and Cheshire Rings make up a third -

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445165415457988826.post-39990021993796525262009-12-12T15:38:00.001Z2010-01-12T17:21:17.406Z

Well, it's nice of Mr PW to let me have a little blog linked into his enormous website to share a few thoughts. It's a pity that he didn't let me in sooner, as there was plenty to comment about over the last few weeks. There was a bit of a kerfuffle about that online petition to 10 Downing Street. It was started by a fellow in South Wales, who enjoyed walking by the Neath Canal and who was

Ben9http://www.blogger.com/profile/07898756591410929938noreply@blogger.com0