Vlog 120: Quizmas Time

9 thoughts on “Vlog 120: Quizmas Time”

1. As always entertaining and informative>
   I was particularly interested int the question re qualifications.
   In the past 30 mo we have apprenticed so to speak on a hotel boat on the Thames, the west half of the K &A and the GUC from Stoke Bruerne to Kingston. In the spring of 2020 we will finish the K & A east end at which time including the powered locks of the Thames I will have turned in excess of 200 locks including of course Caen Hill. While boat handling of a wide beam 69.5 ft boat of 50 tonnes is different and not something I have as much experience on in comparison to my lockie work we are going to jump in on our own in 2021 and do the Warwickshire ring counter clockwise over 4 weeks . This will give us time to acquire boat handling skills since ours are rusty with minimal locking in the early days of the trip and safe the Hatton locks until the end of the trip.

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2. Hello David, (I hope it is OK to be so informal)

   I have thoroughly enjoyed all of your vlogs to date.

   I may have missed your reply to my question, but what I am curious about is whether you are still happy with your decision to sell your house, quit your job and live on a narrow boat?

   It holds great appeal to me and since you are still at it I’m assuming you are happy with the decision, but one can never really know unless one asks ;-)

   Presumably the positives outweigh the negatives still.

   Cheers, Greg

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   1. Hello. I am still quite happy on the boat, yes. Cheers!

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3. David – my wife and I saw your latest “Cruising the cut” while visiting Gangtok, the capital of the State of Sikkim in India. It is in the eastern Himalayas and has no flat land. However your vlog reminded us of Home! Best wishes.

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   1. I think you win the award for the most extraordinary place to be watching a canal video!! Cheers

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4. David
   If you want a really useful bit of kit then I strongly recommend the Boruit Headtorch. Brilliant, excuse the pun, in numerous situations. Used it lots when on boating holidays and being rechargeable with a great time between charges I would never be without it.

   All the best

   John

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   1. Never heard of it but will have a Google! Cheers

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5. Dear Mr. Johns,
   I got into viewing Youtube narrowboat videos whilst laid up with a nasty virus at my wife’s village house here in the beautiful volcanic hillscape countryside of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. I am a retired academic and expat Brit. living most of the time in Canada but we are here for three months of each year so as to keep in touch with my wife’s family and to work on the ‘project’ old house . We would like to be able to visit the UK for similar extended stays as my mother , sister, brother, etc are still there. However, we do not have our own UK accommodation, essential for our culinary needs, as is the case here in Japan. A light went on when watching your vlogs. Why not acquire a share in a UK narrowboat? As it is we are canoeists and sea kayakers and so we are familiar with watery experiences and places, especially around the Great Lakes. Also we have a small, well-equipped trailer (transl. “caravan”), which we tow great distances and live in for weeks at a time. A narrowboat, therefore, would seem to combine our fondness for water with the familiarity of living in a caravan, in a package which is affordable, for a visit of a few weeks.
   I notice that you, Jono, country house gent ,and Robbie go it alone. The rapport between the two ladies, the Minimalists, the Nutshellies, and especially Tim. and Pru. is a central and entertaining part of their respective vlogs. Given that you soloists all seem to be personable, healthy, virile males, my question is: “do you like being alone all the time and, if not, what do you do for companionship, intimate or otherwise?”.

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   1. We do exactly the same as anyone else – go out or not go out as appropriate.

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