Victor: It can be done

THE Wolverhampton 21 flight is to be closed overnight during September to replace lock gates.

Yes, my friends, the replacement of the gates on lock 10 of the flight, will start at 4pm on Wednesday 12th September and be finished by Wednesday 13th September 2018 at 11pm. All done and dusted we are told in just over a day.

Wait a minute, we are also told in the same notice that the 'closure will commence at 4pm and continue until approximately 11pm, so that daytime navigation will remain unaffected by the works'. 

Make of that what you will.

Crazy

No matter which is correct, the longest it will take is 19 hours to replace the gates.

Yet to replace the gates on locks 84 and 85 on the Rochdale Nine we are told will take until the middle of March, with the waterway closed for six weeks!

But why when one set of lock gates takes just 19 hours to replace does it take six weeks to replace two others?

The blame game

So Cart has had its customers licensing data breached, but would have us believe it was 'not a breach of its security system'!

Well whose security system was it then?  it was its own licensing information that was breached, and though it would have us believe it was a sub-contractor responsible, it is still its own security system that failed—no one else’s.

Then it admits it doesn't really know what caused the data loss but it is 'urgently investigating the cause of this breach'.

You can understand boaters not wanting to sign-up to its marinas new system of paying over the internet for electricity, if it can't keep its information safe.

Not doing too well

It was during a visit to Crick Marina over the passing week that our illustrious editor Thomas had yet more culinary disasters.

Two were visiting friends who were former neighbours at Sawley Marina, who had joined the exodus a few years back and left for Crick.

Anyway, some of you will have read of his penchant for cappuccino coffee, so noticing a sign for such on the Wheatsheaf in Crick whilst Jan popped into the nearby Co-op, in they went, but alas, and alack, once again it was a cup full of rather suspect coffee with a thin skimming of  he was not sure what, but certainly no thirds of coffee, milk and froth, as a cappuccino should be.

And it seems that the boaters at Crick don't have such a good selection of eateries, as we were taken to the Pytchley Inn at West Haddon, and together with the lady he ordered a 'home made lasagne'.  I should image there are not many of you who have not tasted a lasagne, but to recap, it is layers of pasta containing meat and sauce topped with cheese.

Here it came, complete with a few trimmings, topped with cheese as required, but try as they both might, no pasta in sight! There was some kind of meat and even a few bits of carrots, but certainly no inkling of pasta, that of course is the famous Italian dish's mainstay.

To had insult to injury the fella taking the dishes away told that it was a lasagne! 

But, when we left the pub at 1pm there were just four cars in the car park—including ours, that rather tells the tale...

Not a good idea

I have always had respect for the writings of long time contributor T. Lang, but just cannot agree with his suggestion of avoiding all the canal stoppages by taking to the rivers in September.

We have been stuck twice on the Soar, both times in September, that he mentions, as it rises very quickly indeed, and as for the Trent, forget it—for as another long time contributor Helen Cripps tells, that river is fed by the Derwent that drains the Derbyshire Pennines. The picture below shows the Trent joining Sawley Cut.

Victor Swift