floating in the city

government plans to sell UK's canal system

Chancellor Alistair Darling is planning to sell off the M25 Dartford Crossing and the complete UK canal network (above) as part of a £16bn-plus privatisation programme reports the New Civil Engineer.

Speaking at the James Callaghan Memorial lecture Alistair Darling said:

“We need to look at what non-essential public sector assets we can sell, so that we can free up capital for key projects.”

Up for Sale

• British Waterways
• QE II Conference centre
• Ordnance Survey
• Land Registry
• Dartford Crossing
• Royal Mint
• Met Office
• Oil and Pipelines Agency
• Defence Storage and Distribution Agency

This sounds bad, in fact awful, but then we are 'old school' here at Floating in the City. We could easily end up with 'Virgin Waterways' (Sir Richard Branson owns a large barge moored at Little Venice, London). Perhaps this is the only way forward, but why are they saying British Waterways is a "non-essential" asset? Apart from not being true, this is just talking down it's value, so it will sell for even less. They even think the British Weather (the Met Office) is non-essential; we are obviously entering desperate times.

Can we sell Winter and keep Spring?

high noon for stourport basins & brockwell lido

There are two chances to 'vote to float'  in this years National Lottery Awards for the best Heritage Project, but the deadline is 12 noon tomorrow Friday 14th.

The historic Stourport Basins on the Severn Canal and the beautiful Brockwell Lido in Brockwell Park, Brixton, London are two of the three choices in the final shortlist for the best restoration project.

Even the third choice, the International Slavery Museum has a floating connection, as it is based in Liverpool's historic Albert Dock, and of course slavery involved one of the sickest ways ever devised to use a boat and commit crimes against humanity.

cycle powered narrowboat shows way forward

Electric boats get a 25% discount for the annual British Waterways Cruising License if the boat has an electric motor as its sole means of propulsion. Presumably the same applies to cycle powered narrowboats? This video of how to cycle up a canal (above) is by Rinky Dink inventors of an amazing alternative energy powered mobile bicycle sound system. Hopefully no one of any influence will have a brain wave and suggest canal cycle lanes.

high speed youtube canal trip round london

The speed limit on London's canals is 4 mph, and everyone knows the canals are slow. But now, even if it is raining outside, you can go on a high speed trip round the 'London Loop' in less than an hour on a souped up narrowboat, with no chance of a speeding ticket thanks to this video by PaulandtheBear. The trip includes the Regents Canal, some great views from the middle of the River Thames at top speed and back to point zero via the Grand Union. They even catch the 'floating in the city' mooring as they zoom past on the fastest narrowboat in London, yet somehow they manage to leave no wake at all. This video is a bit how a 'Waterways View' version of Google's 'Street View' might be. On the other hand at those speeds the 'London Loop' could become the waterways equilivent of CERN.

water level down a bit, bandwidth ok

Despite all the rain over the last few days the water level is down a bit on this stretch of the Regent's Canal, but I've seen a lot worse. The wire in the top left of the photograph is my broadband connection which I have to remember to disconnect before setting sail. Then it is Three on my mobile for £5 a month, which works ok floating in the city, even for blogging, but could be a problem in some country parts of the waterway-net.

• Pocketsurfer3 by Datawind sounds like a mobile internet solution that is better than a mobile. 30 hours usage a month for the first year is included in the £199 price, and you can get lifetime unlimited use for a one off fee of £59.99. The only problem is that the stockists listed on the site do not have any Pocketsurfers; Ideal World is out of stock, and Maplin is only selling the Datawind UbiSurfer Netbook for £149.99 with a similar 30 hours a month deal. A big plus for those with a sub-primer credit rating in these harsh credit crunch times is no credit check is required for this interesting mobile Internet deal, but don't blame me if it is all too good to be true, because I have not tried it, yet.

coming soon: electric power from canals

An "in-stream hydrokinetic turbine" for harvesting electric power from canals, irrigation networks, wastewater systems and the streams in and around industrial sites could be available by 2011. "Think of it as the love child between a steamboat paddle wheel and a small hydroelectric dam" reports Greentechmedia.

Developed by Hydrovolts, the device will cost about £300, and can be placed in relatively slow moving water courses. A six-foot by four-foot turbine in an irrigation canal flowing at two meters a second might produce 1.5 kilowatts. The same turbine in a four-meter-per-second stream might produce 6 kilowatts to 8 kilowatts.

Above: Lab test at Washington University.

floating tv: bbc rivers with griff ryhs jones

Several years ago my boat featured in the back ground of a Crime Watch reenactment of a brutal tow path murder in Kings Cross. Since then the Floating TV genre looks like it might getting out of the crime/horror rut and going main stream. At the moment there is BBC Scotland's 'River City' drama series based in Glasgow. The main river content is in the intro sequence, but never mind. However a new five part series starting this Sunday, called 'Rivers with Griff Rhys Jones' (BBC One, 21.00), could do for Britain's rivers and waterways what the excellent 'Coast' did for cliffs, and amazing beach views filmed from a helicopter.

The BBC explains:

"Actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones sets out on an adventure to explore how rivers have influenced, nurtured and powered our lives throughout history. From the raging torrents of Scotland to the reflective flatlands of East Anglia, Griff barges, canoes, swims and sails his way along a hidden network which has been the lifeblood of Britain."

I think I might earn £10 cash from Private Eye's Pseud's Corner for the above paragraph, but this new series could be interesting. and even funny, especially if he falls in.

how swimming pool shortage puts lives at risk on waterways

According to the Maldon and Burnham Standard, Essex, lives are being put at risk on waterways in the area:

YOUNG people are putting their lives in danger, risking disease, and breaking bye-laws on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.

Several incidents of antisocial behavior have been reported on the waterway, which connects the tidal estuary from the river Blackwater at Heybridge Basin with Chelmsford, and now police are warning this sort of behavior cannot continue.

Hidden currents and rubbish can trap swimmers, unexpected changes in depths can lead to difficulties and swimming or bathing is described as very dangerous.

Those jumping into the navigation are also at risk of disease such as Leptospirosis - also known as Weil’s disease - which can cause severe illness.

Under the bye-laws it is an offense to swim within 36 metres of a lock or to jump or dive from any lock or other structure.

I am wondering if this has anything to do with Maldon District Council ending free swimming in March. Free swimming was very popular, resulting in a 21% increase in people using the local swimming pool, but now it seems the local waterways are the only place some people can afford to go, even if it means risking their lives.

At least Maldon Council still has a swimming pool. Nationwide public swimming pools are being closed almost as fast as Maggie Thatcher sold off the school playing fields.  In London there were 96 public diving facilities in 1977, there are now just six, a 94 per cent loss. And then they wonder why kids are jumping in canals?

A government backed initiative costing £5.5 million was earmarked for top-up swimming lessons for 11-year-olds in 2006 after it was found that one in five children could not swim 25 metres due to obesity.  But another government plan is destroying school swimming pools as fast as it can. It has been estimated that 2,000 [out of 3,000] school pools will have closed by the end of the 'Building Schools for the Future' program. This has been systematically destroying school pools in favor of more class room blocks.

For adults as well as children, the main threat to the local swimming pool, and possibly their lives, is that councils are not required by law to provide swimming pools, so when they have to cut something, swimming pools are one of the first public amenities to be closed down, often forever.

The latest front line in the battle for Britain's swimming pools is in Birmingham where local people from Sparkhill and Balsall Heath recently staged a public protest against Birmingham City Council. The Council is about to spend £10 million, partly funded by the NHS, for free swimming, gym and exercise classes to all residents in the city. Trouble is they have closed most of the swimming pools in the city, and have been allowing the remaining ones to fall into disrepair.

Perhaps we should start converting parts of the canals and other waterways into Safe Swimming Zones. With fewer and fewer swimming pools available, kids and adults alike are going to continue risking their necks for a swim in the canals, lakes, rivers and waterways, and some will end up drowning for sure.

outside my window

Lots of boat traffic on this canal, mostly very smart looking narrow boats with paint work like mirrors. They all seem to be going towards the River Lee, which is a beautiful stretch. I want to go too, but my engine has swine flu and needs a doctor. This narrow boat is floating, but not moving. Does anyone know a decent boat engineer who will actually turn up? The brilliant guy I've known for years is away at the moment. Meanwhile the one recommended by the local boat club said he would come when I rang him, and then did not answer any further calls or messages. That's rude. Was it because I said I had a Perkins? I know two other boats currently desperate for mechanical help and ready to pay. A decent boat knowledgeable mechanic who can use a mobile phone could do very well in London; the market is wide open.

bring back the fleet river

All over the world major cities are digging up and renovating old lost waterways as they discover floating in the city is the way to go. The New York Times published an interesting feature about this recently; Peeling Back Pavement to Expose Watery Havens, which describes how "Cities from Singapore to San Antonio have been resuscitating rivers and turning storm drains into streams". Here in London the Thames Barrier is obviously not going to hold out against the rising waters forever. At some point London is going to have to let in the waters and go back to being a series of islands like it used to be. I can't wait! The obvious first step is to bring back the Fleet River from it's solitary confinement under ground. London Mayor Boris Johnson has supported the idea but some boring people say it is impossible. Obviously they are wrong.

Above: A picture of the Fleet River or rather the Fleet Sewer it is today from a great collection of photographs by Steve Duncan from www.undercity.org. More great Fleet Sewer photographs by stoop here and there are some more at Silent Uk.

Above: Where the Fleet River joined the Thames in 1750, large ships went as far as Kings Cross. The source was in Hampstead. 

Above: Where the Fleet Sewer empties into the Thames today (picture from Wikipedia). According to Wikipedia the Fleet River can still be heard "through a grating in Ray Street, Farringdon (EC1) in front of the Coach and Horses pub."

• Fleet River Walk:  Youtube video by squareyes of overground walk along course of the Fleet River from Kings Cross to BlackFriars.

• The Fleet River was once called the 'River of Wells'. Believe it or not, in the middle Ages London was more famous than Lourdes for the healing qualities of it's many natural springs, especially the 'Healing Springs of Islington'. The broken, but still beautiful Victorian drinking well at St Pancras Church, near Kings Cross, marks the site of one of the most famous.