Just our usual weekend jaunt to Watford (Cassiobury Park/Ironbridge Lock). Summer ended the day before yesterday. From shorts & T shirts in mild weather to frosts, clear blue high pressure skies and sudden concerns that the frost would affect the boat, as yet unwinterised. Arriving at the marina at 7.am there was a heavy hoar frost, but the water in the canal was steaming. So the boat sitting in this warm water would not have come to any harm. Interior temperature was 2 degrees C and the stove was fired up in short order. Some time was spent on chores, like refitting the front button fender which I had taken home for water proofing treatment, and returning the new pole and gang plank after painting. Then we set off going north.
The lock gates were covered in frost to start with and I am unhappy about crossing them in this situation, so confined only to towpath side paddles progress was slow. However, from Batchworth, locks were in our favour and our speed increased to get us to Watford at 12:15. Lots of folk out walking on what had turned out a beautiful day in clear sunshine. At Batchworth we came across a notice from the "Save our Waterways" group advertising a blockade at Batchworth on 25th November, protesting about the shameful act of the government in cutting back funding to both BW and the Environment agency in year. Plans for maintenance have had to be scaled back and BW are making 180 staff redundant. This spells doom & gloom for the future, and threatens the very existence of the Waterways as we know them. All this seemingly for the personal ambitions of some Ministers, to cover up incompetance and mismanagement on a grand scale involving farmers subsidies and European Union Grants.
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