Woodland Trust Campaign to save Englands ancient forests

This letter is currently being circulated in response to the Governments proposal to sell off the national forests.

There will be only one reason for a private company to buy a forest and that will be to make money from the sale of the timber. They'll pay lip service to other issues but in most instances the bottom line will be profit and shareholders. Likewise, the Government is only proposing a sell off to save money and have someone else to blame when something isn't right. I appreciate that the Government needs to reduce the national debt but, in my opinion, selling the nations forest estate is not the way to do it; and if you think there will be large enough funds made available to help support charitable ownership, you're away with the fairies. Use the link below to register your support for the Woodland Trusts campaign. Over the next few weeks of the Government's consultation the Woodland Trust will continue to bring you opportunities
to shape the long-term future of England's public estate...so please stick with us.

This petition is just the start of our public campaign.Our website will always have the latest news and ways you can get involved in saving England's ancient forests.

We always appreciate your time and support - what we really need now is your help to gather as many voices as possible
for this call to action. Please pass on the link below to your friends and ask them to make their voice heard too.

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protect


Thanks again,
Sue Holden
Chief Executive
The Woodland Trust

STREET ORGAN ON A NARROWBOAT

One of my future plans is to have a street organ on my narrowboat something like the one in the picture below.

This would enable me to raise money in donations for the waterways and be an attraction for another part of my plans which would hopefully enable me to make a small income to pay for diesel etc, more of that later.

A big thank you to Bernard for advising me on the suitability of street organs on a narrowboat.

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT ENERGY

The big deal is that we are drunk with energy lust. It has gone, like a good claret will go, to our heads. It has allowed us to sit and indulge our every whim without a care for the planet and its essential ecosystems we all depend upon. It has encouraged us to to fell forests and drain the swamps which were the very source of our good fortune in the first place. It has handed us chemical - dependant agricultural systems which expend ten calories of energy to grow and transport to the markets a single calorie of food. It has given us cheap intercontinental flights that are destroying the atmosphere. It has given us the technology to fish out whole oceans of fish stocks, pushing some of our very best food species to the verge of extinction. It has trained foresters to view trees only as crops of fibre, forgetting that a mature tree is giving back more to the soils and the environment around it than it takes. Their blinkered view of a forest as a harvestable commodity for quick profit over-looks the energy cycle we are talking about- the trees ability to transfer the combined energy of sun and rain into global maintenance and long-term stability.

The big deal is that for over two hundred years we have consumed our fossil energy bonanza without a thought for the side effects of air pollution,of carbon emissions, of heavy metals, of toxic chemicals or the impact they may be having on the ecosystems of the globe and all the wildlife we profess to love.

The big deal is that unless we wake up and pay attention to what we are doing, your children and your grandchildren are certain to inherit an appalling mess.

This is an extract from a book by Sir John Lister-Kaye..... At The Waters Edge.

Although not a boating subject I thought it pertinent to included in my blog as it reflects the same thoughts on the subject as mine.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hi to my followers.

I hope you have a great christmas and a happy new year.

As you can see I don't blog much as I am keeping this for the time I get my narrowboat, then I will be updating it  constantly giving you all the trials and tribulations of buying and living on a narrowboat. At the moment I read all the waterways mags and read about 70 narrowboaters blogs,I'm just glad they don't blog all at the same time.
Being a carer does not give me much time to get out and about but I can take about 2 hrs away,this gives me a chance to get to Leighton Buzzard or anywhere near so if you are there or passing I would love to pop over and meet you.
Take care all, spring is not too far away at least the longest day has passed.

Royal Wedding

I thought I would add this none narrowboat picture just for interest.

It is a copy of a print I took taken with a 2 1/4 square Rolliecord camera held above my head with me looking up at the view finder. I was trying to capture the excitement of the moment when Charles and Diana passed and I think the flag being blurred caught the moment.

The exposure was a bit tricky as most of the picture was in shade except for Diana which I guess sums up their marriage. I have not got any clever digital enhancement to adjust the picture otherwise I would have toned down Diana and her dress.

I won't be attending the latest royal wedding as I can't get away but I wish them better luck than these two. I think Kate is very photogenic and just hope they protect her more than they did Diana.



Narrowboat Visit

Today I went to see Bottle and Wozie on narrowboat Oakfield for my hour away from caring.I had wondered why they had not blogged for over a week and found that their laptop hard drive has stopped working so they are now without any means in finding out any stoppages that might happen, it's just as well Bottle had made a note of the stoppages just before the laptop went down.This just makes me think how important communications are on a narrowboat.I have added pictures at Leighton Buzzard just for the record.

Feeding the ducks at Leighton Buzzard

Narrowboat near Tesco at Leighton Buzzard

I hope to see Bottle and Wozie sometime next year.That's the great thing about living on a narrowboat,you have friends all over the canal system and may not see them for years but it's great to catch up with all the news when you do see each other again.

Narrowboat Visit

                                                          I had the pleasure of visiting Bottle and Wozie's narrowboat Oakfield today and had a good old chinwag about their travels over the past year.Thank you for the boat cake and the Inland Narrowboat Owners book, that was a lovely supprise.No I didn't wear my new boots as I knew the towpath was in good condition along that part of the canal.As you can see I would have trouble steering but at least I have been aboard and seen what a nice boat it is.One day I will have my own but I am sure it will be a red Tug with a green roof, and I will have a traders license.Yes I have plans for the future as life is too short to worry.See you both again sometime and have a safe winter.