Desiree trip, Grand Pennine Ring.

Might catch up then. I'm committed to being in Skipton at Easter because my Mum is coming up by train and staying in a hotel for a few days, when are you there?

Market Harborough/Lutterworth. Well I just moved up north from there, turning down a rare offside mooring with a plot of land attached on the North Oxford. It was mediocre ( like me perhaps) I wasn't happy there so it's a crap test.

I've brought my trip forward for various reasons, one being that I was too ill to work for much of the Winter so I didn't manage to save as much money as I needed, so alas I may have to do a few months work in the Summer, when work is quite plentiful. I'm hoping not to, I want to do the tidal Thames again, but I need to keep my options open. Am at Fradley Junction tonight, didn't get as far as I wanted because it pissed down with rain all morning so I hid under the duvet.

If you have time and are going down the Huddersfield Broad, it is worth taking perhaps a couple of weeks and going via Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden to visit Jimbo. Just turn round at Littleborough, and carry on to Leeds via Mirfield. The 'handspike' is just a wooden stick, a bit like a cricket bat. You can use a mooring pin, I reckon, to achive the same effect. On the Calder & Hebble one of the ratchet-thingies doesn't 'hold' properly, watch that one.

The Handspike is just a nicely shaped bit of threebytwo. I've got 2 hardwood ones, one found floating, t'other paid for. As well as making for ease of handling, the tapered end is useful for lifting the pawl to drop the paddle.

Newbie! Those with a gear shaft or similar you can slow down with your hand as a brake. That's also possible on the tapered square. If down south use gloves for that.

What other little ruses do folks have, eg, pawl and ratchet broken, put windlass on backwards so handle rests on lock gear, or put a stone on a cog tooth on rack and pinion, so you can get a and do whatever else needs doing.