The future of our canals - do they have one?

I want you all to know that I am generally an optimist, a happy man who likes to look on the bright side of life. That said, I have to confess that a number of my posts over the past twelve years have borne negative elements, particularly when things have gone wrong for us. (I did say that I am generally an optimist. I didn't say always) Current events have taken me over the edge of optimism, however.

First of all, so-called sticky diesel, which I've already written about here on the blog. The number of victims is rising, and it seems that no-one has a solution to the problem yet.

Secondly, we've learned that the Canal and River Trust's financial support from DEFRA  (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs) has been slashed, and our canals need considerable work to be done to satisfy the daily demands of the boats, bicycles. anglers and walkers who use them.

Most recently, I've read warnings about Japanese knotweed. Quoting CRT, "It has no natural predators, enabling it to grow rapidly, up to 2cm a day and three metres high overall. It can grow through tarmac and concrete, breaking the surface open, so it can cause serious damage to our structures. The plant is common throughout Britain but cannot be cut or manually removed because of its ability to grow from tiny fragments, smaller than a one penny piece. We have to spray it with a herbicide, which is a slow, expensive process. We spend nearly £100,000 per year controlling giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed" (another invasive species).

£100,000 a year, just to keep the canal network free of these plants!

Fortunately, there are hundreds thousands of volunteers across the country who work to keep the canals clear for boats and other users, but there aren't enough of them to replace those companies who charge huge sums of money to do work on the canals. And our dear government is cutting their funding..

 To quote CRT again, "We are issuing a stark warning that government funding cuts mean our much-loved canal network is at risk of closures."

They could, of course, raise the cost of boat licenses, but that won't go down well with the vociferous boaters who complain that CRT's failing to do its job as it is, and are already charging too much. It might even drive some off the canals; those who already find the costs too high.

Is there a future for our beloved canals? I'm beginning to think not.

"Annoyed" of Yelvertoft

I've just edited my last post because I forgot to tell you that my friend's book, "Beggars' Dust", is available for Kindle Readers, and mobile phones, tablet computers and PCs/Macs using the free Kindle app. And the book only costs £3.99! It's not available in paperback.  Have you looked at it yet? Read a sample first, then treat yourself to a really good read!

As for us, we've just spent a few days on Kantara. It was with some anxiety that we checked the diesel again, and we were chuffed to find it looking very clean, and smelling as it should, so we think we can safely say that there's no sticky diesel in the tank. We bought a bottle of Marine 16 to condition the diesel anyway, and wiped the sweat from our foreheads. Phew! All that we have to do now is actually cruise for a few weeks, and put it to the test. We had planned to do a short jolly this time, but a very strong wind, joined a little later by torrential rain, stopped us. Getting out of the marina would have been quite a challenge, believe me, and a very wet one, too. Another day, then. How annoying. Back to the calendar...

Oh, the paintwork wasn't green this time. We washed all that off the last time we visited. No, it's black now, as if dirty rain has deposited soot on it, which has then been glued down with the sap of nearby trees. I was most annoyed. That's on the "to do" list for next time.

To add to that grottiness, myriad spiders had spun their thickest, stickiest webs in every nook and cranny, inside and out, and deposited egg sacs in similar fashion. On the outside, the webs are covered with leaves, dead flies, struggling live flies and the floating seeds of trees and grasses. Not easy to remove. Very annoying!

I think the way forward is to pretend it's simply not there. The result of washing just doesn't last long enough. Boats are built for... well, boating!

Another annoyance is that I tore a ligament in a finger on my left hand last week - pulling a sock off! (a habit my dad used to have). I heard it rip but - unusually, I have discovered - there's no pain, numbness or swelling. After a read on the NHS website and a chat with the local pharmacist, I strapped the drooping finger between two pieces of lolly stick, and now wait for six to eight weeks for it to heal. I'm so glad I'm not left-handed! I'm only mildly annoyed about that.

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At last!

Well, we've finally got around to it! We actually have plans to cruise! We've been bogged down for weeks with all sorts of issues in the house and garden, been to a family wedding, helped out the "kids" in various ways, and are planning to go to a gig in a new local music venue - Jess and a friend performing under the Icelandic name "Vik". We've had a new oven fitted, and are currently awaiting the delivery of a new garden shed which we will have to erect but, after that, Kantara here we come!

We'll need to check our engine diesel for signs of stickiness. Smelling it is a good test. Sticky diesel smells of turpentine. If all is well, we'll be off. The cruise won't be long. It may well involve a stop of a couple of days while we deal with a few rust spots on the hull. Otherwise it'll simply be a lovely break. And not a day too soon!

On a different note, I told you on a previous post that an old friend of mine was publishing a novel. I'm delighted to say that it's now available on Kindle for just £3.99. It's called 'Beggars' Dust: A Spiritual Fantasy, by C G Maskell' and you can find it here. I thoroughly recommend it. Please go and take a look! Read a free sample there!

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A story of gods and their people. Or of people and their gods.

When history is suppressed or rewritten, when the stories of how-things-came-to-be are twisted or forgotten, then the people have no defence when events begin to repeat themselves.

A thousand years ago, a being of ancient evil was trapped, bound, and buried by the Elders of the Nerehin, the ruling class of that age.

Now, in a new era, where history has become the stuff of myth, the Nerehin forgotten, tales of good and evil consigned to children's stories; now, that old evil is stirring, waking, ready to begin spreading corruption and discord once more.

Driven by dreams and premonitions, one man, the last remaining scholar of long hidden Nerehin writings, conceives a desperate plan. Using the mystical 'amhrazine', stones that once were said to encapsulate the spirits of the Elders, he will recreate those heroes in children yet to be born, and when they are grown, they will come to him to learn of their task - their destiny.

But he is old, and the evil one is already moving to infiltrate and control the highest in the land, to thwart any who would oppose him, to wipe out any last vestige of the Nerehin race...

The scholar's death comes too soon; he is still unknown to his chosen children. Without him, can they ever discover what has been done to them? Or will the evil one succeed in crushing and vanquishing them before they have the chance to realize their true purpose and fulfil the task for which they were created?