Darn it, I can’t think of a title for this post!
Moored Widmead Lock, Kennet & Avon Canal
I was disappointed for sure at not being chosen for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. I wasn’t the only disappointed one I know, but when I looked at the list of 40 narrowboats lucky enough to take part I noticed that all of them came from Societies/Boatclubs etc. In some cases many boats from the same Society. St Pancras Cruising Club have managed to get 4 boats in.
I just wish they had said that before asking me and other non Society/Boatclub boaters to apply. I took a long time over my application, and now I feel it wasn’t even read and probably binned after the first few words. 
There are some obscure entries too.. Two from London Studio Orchestra (share boats?), another from Worshipful Company of Innholders, but alas none from The Continuous Cruiser Brigade.
Some of the boats on the list I doubt have even seen a river, let alone the tidal river Thames.. it makes me wonder just how safe that is going to be.. 40 narrowboats, a few inexperienced, in among 960 others!
I said I had run out of something to take a picture of, but I revisited Greenham Common yesterday..
It is fantastic over there, but unfortunately I didn’t see any of the Exmoor ponies that roam the common. The little calf that was born last week was not in the field either, heh, probably nice and warm in a barn somewhere after being born in -1 degrees!
I have updated the British Waterways and Canal & River Trust page (scroll down to the bottom) with developments up to today..
Another bit of news in today is the report of prosecutions of boaters on the Thames with no licences.. EA seem to deal with these evaders far better than BW does. Now if EA are also going to join this CRT, are they going to bring the way they deal with evading licences holders with them? 
Ah ha, nearly forgot… Wassat?.. Well I gotcha!
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I know you are going to kill me, it wasn’t recent, it was when the ice was on the cut!… I am sorry, but you are getting far too good at this! 
Well that is it for us at Widmead Lock, our 14 days come to an end tomorrow and we must move on. We have so enjoyed being here, loved it in fact. We have also enjoyed some visitors, Paul on his bike and Shelia and Alan, local blog readers we met last year, on foot.
Tomorrow we have two appointments. One with a rather large and nice piece of ash to top up our stash on the roof and with Mr Tesco for some well needed heavy stuff!
Sue
Updated 23rd January 2012
January 26th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Hi Sue nice to read your blog from an internet cafe in New Orleans. sorry you didnt get in the pageant typical that those who spend a life on the cut dont get a chance
January 26th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Norwyn,
Well done you. I have been following your posts on the P&O website. You really are having a wonderful time. Yes shame that some boaters outside of a Society or Boatclub didn’t get in..
January 26th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Hey Sue – Whasthis? You complain that we – well some of us- are getting too good at Wassat. So now you don’t give your posts a title – is this a lead up to the next test – a Whasname?
You really are too hard on us 
Graham
January 26th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
We didn’t get into the pageant either – the chances were very small but we’d hoped that our tideway experience might sway it a bit!
We didn’t get any feedback on why we weren’t chosen but maybe the press embargo from 31st December to 19th January would have challenged us chatty bloggers!!
Sue, nb Indigo Dream
January 26th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Graham,
Now there is an idea!
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Sue,
Well I am surprised. I guessed that you didn’t apply for some reason! You of all should have gone for all the help you have given people in cruising the Thames and for the number of guests you take. Let alone your wonderful blogs and scenes. What better than to have a boat with big dogs hanging out the sides. You must have been gutted!
January 26th, 2012 at 11:34 pm
It’s a fair cop guv… I think that any photos that you’ve taken during your travels on NP are valid for the ‘Winter Wassat’.
BTW you’ve not given yourself the 3 points for winning, 2 points for 2nd place and 1 point for 3rd place…
New total makes us even now on 12 points each… LOL
And finally, how’s Lucy after her tumble & early bath?
January 26th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Well thankyou Sprocky, how kind!
I didn’t dare type that it was me had trois points, I thought that was going a bit far!
Heh, I will quietly add them in a minute though..
Lucy is just fine, she had forgotten about it 1 minute after I hauled her out!
January 27th, 2012 at 11:32 am
That was a trip photo.
Sorry your not in the river pageant. Yes I hope the narrow boaters who are in it know how to steer too.
Gas bottles are same price up north too.
I am not off to Madeira next week, Dr says it’s too risky. But have someone to take my place so my friend will have company.. Will be so glad when I am back to normal.
So plenty of photos please to cheer me up.
I sold my tandem to a couple who live in Reading, he cycles to work, solo bike of course to Hungerford via canal path.
January 27th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Sue
we applied too and also joined the “binned” ones. I think you are harsh complaining they are all club/society boats , as 10% (ie 4 boats) do not have any listed association and one just mentions RYA, though I do know he is actually a member of several clubs. They haven’t entirely binned the applications as we keep getting communications from them, the last one inviting us to a special viewing area along the route.
It’s been interesting reading your trials and tribulations on the K&A. Doesn’t look good for water levels this year anywhere in the south though at the moment we have plenty on the Basingstoke – which ought to be open from end to end by early summer this year!!! Whoopee.
If you are interested in navigating the Basy sometime this year could you let us know so we can add you to the list and increase the pressure on the team to get it open!
Phil & Carol
nb Winter Lilly
January 27th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Well Sue, sorry about the pagent – just goes to show in this life (country) it’s who you know not what you know!!
Loved the wassat? Brilliant, thought I was right on that one.
Hope the coming cold spell is only short for you and movement is easy!
Charlie
January 27th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
It was great having a chat and coffee ( and the smell of your roast dinner )
January 27th, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Bugger, I was relying on you needing some crew for that
Oh well I have to watch from the banks, or most probably the TV
Kev
January 27th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Kate,
I am so sorry you are not able to go to Maderia, you must be really disappointed. No doubt you will be better soon and more able to carry on your normal life.
I am surprised at the variable costs of gas. I think it should be regulated more strictly. There were a lot of people going to and from work along the towpath, it is a very direct route to the towns and villages that the canals go through.
More pictures coming up as we are on the move for a few days.
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Phil,
I certainly was not complaining. I am sorry if you read in my post that I was, but no, I am pleased for those 40 boaters who were lucky. As Sue said it was always going to be a long shot. I just noticed that all the boats going were part of some sort of organisation, and felt that it should have been pointed out that only those belonging to one should apply.
Which 4 boats are not connected to an organisation? I don’t know what the LL stands for in front of some of the counties mentioned, I presume that is some sort of club?
Water levels are very, very low and doesn’t bode well for the summer, but yes we would cruise the Bassy this summer if it was open for sure, put our names down.
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Charlie,
I don’t think it is going to be too cold down here in the south, the forecast for the week shows just 2 nights where temperatures are dropping to 0. That won’t cause ice to form, it has to be at least 3 below for a couple of nights followed by cold days for that to happen, so we should be OK for a bit!
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Shelia,
Hope the smell didn’t make you too hungry! Yes it was nice to see you both again..
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Kevin,
Now that would have been good!
January 28th, 2012 at 11:20 am
What a shame they didn’t choose the most interesting informative blogger to ever cruise the system!
I only hope that one of the chosen ones can match your blogging skills by posting about their experiences of the 2012 Olympic cruise.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:46 pm
The abbreviations are at the end of the official list (http://www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org/factsheets/vessel_factsheet.pdf):
LL – Lord Lieutenant
CC – Cruise Club
BC – Boat Club
YC – Yacht Club
At least 2 of the lucky 40 are bloggers so hopefully they will be allowed to keep us informed.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Wozie,
What can I say? I am so glad you enjoy the blog, sometimes I think they are boring, that was such a nice thing to say..
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Richard
Ah, thankyou for that, I had no idea what LL was. Wiki says “The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch’s personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county…”
So OK, those were chosen.
Which are the four boats that don’t belong to an organisation or belong to a Lord Lieutenant then?
January 29th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Rumour had it that there were 3 Lord Lieutenants applying and that they would have priority. I was surprised to see that 7 Lord Lieutenants have narrowboats.
Simon from nb Scholar Gypsy is one of the four boats that are down as not belonging to an organisation – he has been with us for the trip to the Royal Docks (he did bring his own life jacket in case we gave him a dud and threw him in). He has tideway experience and has been boating for years so knows what he is doing so hits the criteria that I think are important. He is a member of a Club now but may not have been when the application first went in.
One person close to the action but not on the selection panel thought that out of the 100+ boats that applied there were perhaps 60 who ticked all the boxes. Take out the LL boats, take out some historical boats with tideway experience (eg Tarporley and Fulbourne), take out the 2 boats of people on the steering committee, take out the obvious charity boats (eg Mountbatten Crusader) and it does not leave many places, it becomes a lottery. I am sure that originally there were to be a load more narrowboats, numbers seem to have been cut perhaps when they thought through awkward logistics.
Loads of SPCC members are in the list but a lot did apply so despite the club members having tideway experience proportionately they fared no better than others. I felt very sorry for one boat that was only one of two that did the trial run and then the rehearsal, they are SPCC members and capable boaters so that seems most unfair. As far as I know he does not have bad breath, does have a beard, is not a useless driver or any factor that would have disqualified them. Ah just thought, he is an Architect, if he put that on his form that may have counted against him
There are 1 or 2 boats on the list that shall we say I am surprised to see on the list. I suspect that once the QDJP panel went through their first sort then affiliation was a key factor, tideway experience was still a factor but less significant. The lack of tideway experience probably worked against some who applied but don’t seem to have that much tideway experience. That said judging from some posts on cwdf there is a at least boat on the list with no Thames tideway experience which really did surprise me. They have done well to get in and I wish them a successful trip.
January 30th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
By my reading the following are club free.
Blackjack, Gort, Mey Be Knot, Pirate Prince, Scholar Gypsy, Southern Cross. 6 in all.
Shropshire Lad (LL Shropshire) is a charity boat (Lyneal Trust), I suspect that the LL boats are carrying the Lord Lieutenant or his deputy and are based in the LL’s Lieutenancy not owned by him.
In which case the LL boats were only a priority case if there were no other suitable applicants from the area.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Thank you for that Richard! Thought it was only the Heir to the Throne that didn’t like Architects
I think in hind sight I should have beefed up the application – did originally think there were to be 100 narrow boats. Shame we wont be with HM again, as I sailed alongside HMS Britannia into Harwich when HM was on the Silver Jubilee tour and I was a seagoer.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Sue,
Have noticed the entry on your Diesel Splits for Hallingbury on the Stort. Have not filled up there since last summer but they definately did allow self-certification then.
Terry.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Thanks Richard very informative that was. Of the boats that Roger mentions, a couple are historical boats, Pirate Prince I think is a London Community boat, wide beam?, Meybe Not is a share boat so one of the sharers got lucky. Shropshire Lad, or Lass is taking war veterans I hear. There is a news article about that, but I can’t find it now.
It is very unfortunate that those who did the test run have not been included, unfair that.
Terry, Thanks I’ll change the page.