Jaq has metal legs

Jaq has just attended her second physiotherapy session. After watching closely as Jaq walked up and down the physio room it was decided she needed crutches to take the pressure off her left knee.
Although having completed the exercises they asked her to do at home walking has become more painful. I have now promoted her to captain at the helm while I do all the lock work. Personally I thought she could cross the locks on the crutches but..........ok ok I`m joking. I spent many years single handing the boat so have no qualms about doing all the locks while Jaq sits and steers.
While Jaq has another appointment next week the better news is they had already referred her to a Orthopedic surgeon and an appointment has come through for the 17th November.

 At the moment we are moored with our stern alongside a 48hour visitor mooring. This morning two CRT chaps ambled along did some measuring and erected a winter mooring sign. The section indicated as winter mooring is about 50% of the visitor mooring but there is plenty of 14 day mooring further along so no problem there.
I noticed the winter period this year ends 29th February so seeing as it always was till end of March in previous years CRT obviously know something about the coming winter we don`t. Perhaps I should stop collecting logs.
Anyway sitting here the temptation was to phone and find out how much CRT would require from us to sit here bored out of our brains for 4 months.
£706.80 ($1059). That is remember on top of the year long license we already pay.
Four months of our license equates to £285. Yes I know as Jaq points out hard to compare the two, cruising license and mooring license, Apples and Pears.

In the winter of 2013/14 CRT had a 5 month roving winter permit that worked out at around £88 per month. I know inflation would increase this but surely not double. Plus the beauty of this roving permit was in it`s name. You could pick a different mooring each month if you wished or stay put, if you found a good place, all winter. Link to CRT 2013/14 permit. My thanks to Alan on canal forum for digging this out.

 Now just look at the above picture Nb Valerie fully licensed sits there not costing CRT anything and all we have to do is move after the permitted time which happens to be 48hrs here although it might have been 14 days. If I move the boat up past the sign and pay the cash I can stay for four months and still not cost CRT a brass nickel. Just what do they offer for my money; I will not be hounded to move on after 14 days. It will still be cold and we still need to generate electricity and hot water the same as any other mooring.

Lapworth village has little to offer the boater over four months of winter neither for that matter has CRT. Remember CRT no longer offer the roving permit so your mooring is in the one place. If you want services you will have to move a very short distance to the junction of the Stratford canal just say half a mile so no problem there unless the canal freezes but walking would be easy to dispose of cassettes and fetch water.

The village has one small shop so perhaps  a Tesco delivery could be arranged although this location is not suitable so a small cruise would be needed. No regular bus service runs through the village and the trains are every two hours.
Anyone mooring up on the towpath now has to think carefully about the location because you can`t move when you want.

Jaq and I love winter almost as good as summer. Fourteen days is plenty for anyone and a few miles movement on a journey keeps CRT happy and besides it`s good exercise.

Best wishes to everyone be they on land or water for the coming winter. Jaq`s prediction is a hard winter as the Oak trees are overburdened with acorns.
My prediction, it will be what it will be so i will spend this weekend cutting all that wood we just found.