The iconic Thrupp Lift Bridge : Maffi

Monday, 6 February 2012

What?

Who signed this off?  Are they f*****g mad?

LTLtE

Sunday, 5 February 2012

Cowards comments

I always think allowing people to use the anonymous option, for comments, encourages cowards to try to be offensive. I am currently moored outside the Jolly Boatman surrounded by a couple of inches of ice. Only small minded people would expect me to move. I would much rather be on my way to Stratford, but here I am. I must admit if I must be iced in then here is better than in the middle of nowhere. Only an idiot would not stop somewhere with  'facilities' if getting stuck is highly likely! I will not comment on this moron's verbal trash again. If he wants to talk he knows where I am.

Friday, 3 February 2012

Comfort and Joy

When a girl finally gets COMFORTable she has to ensure she is basted all over to enJOY the experience

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Oxford clogs

It seems young ladies in Oxford are unable to keep their foot wear on even in this cold weather.DSCF2930

Modern Tecchnology

I was asked at Christmas if I was au fait with modern Technology.

The main comment I made was the need for a ‘competence button’. I do have a problem with my computer or mobile phone when I keep getting asked “Do you really want to do that?” “Yes of course I really want to do that or I wouldn’t have pressed close/delete/don’t save. I find it most annoying.

Apparently that is the main function that ‘people’ want on their gadgets according to market research. I wont argue with that, but I don't want it and should be able to switch off. To satisfy those that cannot decide what button to press they can have an idiot button.

I say this because the times I have lost anything important was because of program glitches and not because I have shut down erroneously.


I do find it odd that while you can block a contact or spammer on the computer, you have to contact your SP to block a phone number. I have often wondered why this is. Can we not be trusted to decide which numbers we feel the need to block.  We should be asking to be able to block numbers we consider to be annoying or bad people.

And what is it with private numbers? The phone rings and the screen says  Private Number. Me being me I usually cancel the call'. I don’t want to talk to anyone that wont tell me who they are (a lot of engineering has gone into giving that facility to me, and I don’t want to hear ‘privacy‘ crap). A minute or so later I get a voice message from who ever telling me what their number is and can I call back. Well no I can’t. You want to call me why should I pay? If you displayed your number I would have seen who it was calling and answered. Why is it that every council/government dept have this facility. Why are they hiding? What is the point?

Only cold callers should have this facility then you could pick up the voice mail and block the b*st*rds.

Thursday, 2 February 2012

Hang ‘em High

I found these chairs dumped along the canal by the railway really too far away form houses to be anything other than from a boats. If you should recognise them let me know I will let you have them back so you can dispose of them properly.27012012985These three bags of rubbish are almost certainly not boaters rubbish. I found them 500 yards from the canal across the railway down a track and into the woods. Sort of in the middle of nowhere. Far to far for a lazy assed boater to dump them off don’t you think.

29012012986How they got to where I found them I do not know. It is a lot of rubbish to be be walkers.

 

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I don’t think education is going to prevent this sort of fly tipping

Execution is the only answer.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Scabby B****rd

This picture is not a good one. It is not a good one for many reasons.

1. Because I decided to take the picture too late. This is most annoying because 2. the driver is on the phone. 3. I should have been ready to take the picture as soon as I saw a woman with a phone to her ear release the hand brake on her parked car. Being hurried in taking the picture 4. the number plate is also unreadable.

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Over £1 billion investment secures future of new waterways charity

This was posted on the DEFRA web site earlier today. I am sure we are all very happy. I have three Questions. 1. What is different to that which was originally offered? 2. Where does this mention the 'B' word? 3. Who is funding the Scottish 200 miles

A new charity to look after England and Wales’ network of 200-year old canals and rivers will be given over £1 billion of Government help to give it the best possible start, Environment Minister Richard Benyon, announced today.

This unprecedented funding for a new charity paves the way for the launch of the new Canal & River Trust later this year – a new “national trust for the waterways” that will harness the support of thousands of supporters and volunteers to help look after the canals and rivers in England and Wales for the benefit of future generations.

This is a good deal for the taxpayer, the waterways and for the millions of people that enjoy them. Releasing the nation’s waterways from Government control gives more certainty than ever to their financial future. The Canal & River Trust’s charitable status will mean new opportunities for revenue through donations, charitable grants and legacies, increased borrowing powers, efficiencies and volunteering activity.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:

“The Canal & River Trust will be a national trust for the waterways, maintaining and restoring 2,000 miles of heritage sites, wildlife habitats and open spaces so that we can all enjoy them for generations to come.

“Bringing our waterways into the Big Society puts decision-making into the hands of the thousands of people who cherish the waterways near their homes. Our £1 billion investment will get this new charity off to the strongest start possible, and let local communities and volunteers shape the future of our world-famous waterways.”

Tony Hales, the chairman of the Trustees of the Canal & River Trust said:

”We congratulate the minister on this settlement which creates a bedrock on which to build the future prosperity of our precious waterways. In the 20th century the network was saved from destruction by committed waterway campaigners, volunteers and staff. In the last decade alone British Waterways has made an enormous contribution to securing the network’s future. In the 21st century they will be held in trust for the nation as a national treasure and a haven for people and wildlife.

“With greater certainty of funding than ever before, we now have the opportunity to attract new investment and new supporters and give a greater role to the millions of people who live alongside and on the waterways.”

In order to help the Canal & River Trust get off to the best possible start, Defra has committed a property endowment worth £460 million and funding of £800 million over the next 15 years to help put the nation’s historic network on a firm footing for the future. In addition the new Trust will give local communities and stakeholders a greater role in caring for their waterways.

Notes

The funding deal has the following components:

  • Core grant of £39m per year (index linked to inflation from 2015/16 onwards)
  • From 2015/16, an additional grant of 10m per year (reduced gradually over the last five years of the grant agreement, tied to three performance measures):
    - satisfactory condition of principal assets
    - satisfactory condition of towpaths
    - satisfactory flood risk management measures 
  • A £25m one-off grant  to be spread across the next few months, and a capped ‘last resort’ Government guarantee in relation to the historic public sector pension liability; 
  • The government has already announced that the £460m commercial property endowment used by British Waterways to fund the infrastructure network will be transferred to the CRT for the same purposes.

Subject to satisfactory conclusion of outstanding issues, the Government plans to lay the Transfer Order in Parliament in February. Subject to Parliament’s approval, we hope to see the new charity launched in June. Following scrutiny by Parliament, the new charity will be launched in June.

The inland waterways managed by the Environment Agency will transfer to the new waterways charity from 2015/16, subject to the next spending review and the agreement of the charity’s trustees.

The Scottish Government have decided not to change the status of British Waterways in Scotland and the Scottish canals will therefore remain in public ownership. 

A record 13 million people now visit British Waterways’ canals and rivers – and that is only half of the waterways network.

Over half of the population lives within about 10 minutes of a waterway.

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Here come the Crocus

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I felt the need to share

Apparently Americans go Shopping like this, WHY!!!

image33OK bud that comb-over isn’t fooling any one.

image1Hey lady ya momma said showing a ‘little’ cleavage is sexy.

image5Have you been wearing that since you wus ten?

image9Hookers have to shop!

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Hey Co-Co I wondered where you had got to

image14Each to his own

image16Lady I am sure you are a very nice person, but Hot Buns you ain’t got.

image18An aging Batman takes a vacation.

image19Does your wife know you are wearing them?

image20Aw c’mon wear ya kids wardrobe when she is older and more like your size.

image23And at what point in getting dressed this morning did you think “Damn I’m looking hot in this outfit.”

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Mum is that a good example to be setting your child.image28

 

Have a nice day Sir?

 

 

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Ma’am ya puppies are getting away

 

 

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Please tell me you have ya underwear in there lady

image37Sir to wear this style properly ya should hitch up ya underwear. Y’all aint got none? Shit!

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You is kiddin’ me right?

 

 

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Somewhere there has got to be a Sylvester puddy tat!

 

October

No not the month of October but the wooden cruiser October owned by Edward Surrige.DSCF2624Unfortunately October has now sunk at the Sheepwash end of the Mill Stream. Edward has made a valiant effort to keep this boat afloat in the last year or so. It has been continually been taking on water as long  as I have known the boat and one would have thought  the battle was lost, but no, when I spoke to Edward yesterday he said, “Its not over yet.”

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Friday, 27 January 2012

Where is the Justice?

This world is F***ed up. I know this chap should be locked up because he looks guilty of being just ugly.

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This chap’s crime is far more heinous and yet he only gets 20 years.

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I kind of wanted to say only in America, but  unfortunately this could have almost as easily happened here.

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Trust BW

Ruth Ruderham was appointed last year to the role of fund raising manager, by British Waterways for the new CRT. She will be on an salary of £70,300 pa. So before the CRT is even a legally constituted charity it is already £70k+ in the red. I get the idea she will be swimming through treacle. She had better be good.

As of yet BW have not released the salary details of Daniel Charles the Individual Giving Manager (yeah I asked that).

How much hard work are these two going to have to do just to stand still?

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Oops!

So I click on the tweet button and Twitter says:-

Sorry! we did something wrong. Try sending your tweet again in a minute.

So in a minute I click on it again and Twitter says:-

Oops! you have tweeted that already.

This is a simple bug that they should be able to fix.

Today . . .

. . . I found Snowdrops.

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