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[tikay]

That was a great reply, I understand it much better now, thanks.

I can imagine it gets a little chilly in the winter though.

[bergeroo]

I once went on a date with a lady that lived on a boat. I was about to go travelling and I said I wanted to send her a postcard and she said that I couldn't as she didn't actually have an address.

Was she giving me the swerve or is it genuinely difficult to receive post if you live on the water and you don't have a permanent mooring?!?

[moustache]

I once went on a date with a lady that lived on a boat. I was about to go travelling and I said I wanted to send her a postcard and she said that I couldn't as she didn't actually have an address.

Was she giving me the swerve or is it genuinely difficult to receive post if you live on the water and you don't have a permanent mooring?!?

Receiving post and having address proofs for stuff is difficult, a lot of people use a relative or friends house if they know someone trustworthy local to them.

Your lady friend was probably telling the truth, although if you never saw her again...

[moustache]

That was a great reply, I understand it much better now, thanks.

I can imagine it gets a little chilly in the winter though.

While the fire is going it's too warm if anything, we have windows thrown open, I shudder to think what it's like when the fire goes out, the water will bring the temp down very fast!

[RED-DOG]

That was a great reply, I understand it much better now, thanks.

I can imagine it gets a little chilly in the winter though.

Everyone says that to me about living in a caravan. Is there any logic behind it?

[RED-DOG]

Hi Tashy.

My dad used to have a little trailable canal boat. it was about the size of a caravan and he used to go off for a month or so at a time in it. He and my Mam did most of the canal network over the years.

I too have seriously considered living on a narrowboat. It wouldn't be much of a culture shock to me having lived in a caravan all my life.

Typical mooring costs?

What do you do with your car?

[tikay]

That was a great reply, I understand it much better now, thanks.

I can imagine it gets a little chilly in the winter though.

Everyone says that to me about living in a caravan. Is there any logic behind it?

In a narrow boat, I would think there is, yes, as the water presumably affects the temperature to a considerable degree.

[RED-DOG]

That was a great reply, I understand it much better now, thanks.

I can imagine it gets a little chilly in the winter though.

Everyone says that to me about living in a caravan. Is there any logic behind it?

In a narrow boat, I would think there is, yes, as the water presumably affects the temperature to a considerable degree.

Oh I see what you mean. Easy to insulate against though.

[moustache]

Hi Tashy.

My dad used to have a little trailable canal boat. it was about the size of a caravan and he used to go off for a month or so at a time in it. He and my Mam did most of the canal network over the years.

I too have seriously considered living on a narrowboat. It wouldn't be much of a culture shock to me having lived in a caravan all my life.

Typical mooring costs?

What do you do with your car?

As you already know but many others don't it's only cold if you are unprepared, it takes a little more thought than turning on a boiler but you get to enjoy the warmth rather than take it for granted. Also correct on the insulation, our boat is older so we have added plenty but new boats are insulated with a spray foam covering 100% of the steel from the inside before it is fitted. Moorings vary dramatically place to place, in the Midlands 150-200 per month + electric is normal. Our electric has been less than 10 per month so far because we have a couple of solar panels. This includes water, showers, sanitation, laundry (sometimes) and a parking space. People without a home mooring are often known as bridge hoppers because they park their car near a bridge over the canal close to their mooring point and then a fortnight later when they have to move they walk or cycle to move it to a bridge near their next mooring. When cruising is at a max speed of 4mph you can quite comfortably cycle as far as you would want to go in a day unless you are really travelling purposefully.

We also considered a caravan but thought that canals and marinas would be a bit nicer than lay-bys and caravan sites and we also think that boaters get treated a bit better, people who live in caravans get treated very poorly far too often.

[RED-DOG]

Hi Tashy.

My dad used to have a little trailable canal boat. it was about the size of a caravan and he used to go off for a month or so at a time in it. He and my Mam did most of the canal network over the years.

I too have seriously considered living on a narrowboat. It wouldn't be much of a culture shock to me having lived in a caravan all my life.

Typical mooring costs?

What do you do with your car?

As you already know but many others don't it's only cold if you are unprepared, it takes a little more thought than turning on a boiler but you get to enjoy the warmth rather than take it for granted. Also correct on the insulation, our boat is older so we have added plenty but new boats are insulated with a spray foam covering 100% of the steel from the inside before it is fitted. Moorings vary dramatically place to place, in the Midlands 150-200 per month + electric is normal. Our electric has been less than 10 per month so far because we have a couple of solar panels. This includes water, showers, sanitation, laundry (sometimes) and a parking space. People without a home mooring are often known as bridge hoppers because they park their car near a bridge over the canal close to their mooring point and then a fortnight later when they have to move they walk or cycle to move it to a bridge near their next mooring. When cruising is at a max speed of 4mph you can quite comfortably cycle as far as you would want to go in a day unless you are really travelling purposefully.

We also considered a caravan but thought that canals and marinas would be a bit nicer than lay-bys and caravan sites and we also think that boaters get treated a bit better, people who live in caravans get treated very poorly far too often.

Yes, boating is beautiful. My mam and dad loved it because the 4mph cruising speed reminded them of travelling country lanes with a horse and wagon when they were young.

Click to see full-size image.

[moustache]

Hi Tashy.

My dad used to have a little trailable canal boat. it was about the size of a caravan and he used to go off for a month or so at a time in it. He and my Mam did most of the canal network over the years.

I too have seriously considered living on a narrowboat. It wouldn't be much of a culture shock to me having lived in a caravan all my life.

Typical mooring costs?

What do you do with your car?

As you already know but many others don't it's only cold if you are unprepared, it takes a little more thought than turning on a boiler but you get to enjoy the warmth rather than take it for granted. Also correct on the insulation, our boat is older so we have added plenty but new boats are insulated with a spray foam covering 100% of the steel from the inside before it is fitted. Moorings vary dramatically place to place, in the Midlands 150-200 per month + electric is normal. Our electric has been less than 10 per month so far because we have a couple of solar panels. This includes water, showers, sanitation, laundry (sometimes) and a parking space. People without a home mooring are often known as bridge hoppers because they park their car near a bridge over the canal close to their mooring point and then a fortnight later when they have to move they walk or cycle to move it to a bridge near their next mooring. When cruising is at a max speed of 4mph you can quite comfortably cycle as far as you would want to go in a day unless you are really travelling purposefully.

We also considered a caravan but thought that canals and marinas would be a bit nicer than lay-bys and caravan sites and we also think that boaters get treated a bit better, people who live in caravans get treated very poorly far too often.

Yes, boating is beautiful. My mam and dad loved it because the 4mph cruising speed reminded them of travelling country lanes with a horse and wagon when they were young.

Click to see full-size image.

Wow what a picture!

Il say it again, Iv never been so happy or relaxed than living on a boat! It's the life!

[moustache]

I saw on the news today about the Ladbrokes and Coral merger, did someone say monopoly? I then read more and found out that this has been happening for a while but it concerned me anyway so I thought I'd share.

[tikay]

I saw on the news today about the Ladbrokes and Coral merger, did someone say monopoly? I then read more and found out that this has been happening for a while but it concerned me anyway so I thought I'd share.

The Gaming industry as a whole has grown rapidly in the last decade, & has now entered a period of consolidation.

Betfair & Paddy Power got together last year, Ladbrokes, who have been desperately seeking a partner for some years, are now engaged to Coral. Coral themselves arose from a series of merged Gaming businesses.

BWin merged with Party Poker 4 or 5 years ago, Wm Hill tried to cut a deal, failed, & then the whole thing was sold to GVC earlier this year.

Wm Hill have been in search of a partner for some time, recently floated a really odd plan to merge with AMAYA (Pokerstars), but that idea, unsurprisingly, was a non-starter, so Wm Hill will carry on flirting until they find a partner.

888 are on the prowl, & might make a move for someone soon.

SB&G (the Sky Bet family of businesses) were previously wholly owned by Sky plc, who sold 80% to CVC Capital in March of last year. CVC is a venture capital & private equity business, who own, or owned, lumps of numerous businesses, such as RAC, & F1. In the nature of things, it's not unreasonable to assume that SB&G will be the subject of an IPO at some point in time, though it'll be a while yet I fancy, but that'll be another chapter in the industry saga.

365 remain independent, though I guess at some stage a deal will be cut with someone.

It's the nature of business really, nobody can stop it. Those that own High St betting shop chains or B & M Bingo halls are the subject of scrutiny from the Monopolies police, but I'm not really sure if that applies to digital businesses who are often domiciled outside the UK.

The sector has seen explosive growth in the last 10 years, & that generally leads to consolidation as the market matures. 

[moustache]

Cheers Tikay, that's good info, Iv got a lot to catch up on!

[tikay]

Cheers Tikay, that's good info, Iv got a lot to catch up on!

Turn your back for 4 or 5 years in poker, & the whole landscape changes.

5 or 6 years ago Pleno was playing tenner SNG's & telling us he'd soon be The Best in The Business, rofl. Now it's only a matter of time before he ends up with all the money in poker. And so the nature of Online Poker has & will continue to change, to keep them wheels turning. The next few years will see the whole thing be more recreational focused, & then it will change again.

Amazing how things move so far these days. Smartphones & Tables never existed 10 years (?) ago, now they are omnipresent & we can't live without them.

20 (roughly) years ago there was no internet to speak of, then along came something perfectly fantastic called Dial Up.

30 years ago mobile phones never existed, & 40 years so we never imagined there'd be such a thing as colour TV.

And if you want to see a real story about how the world changes, read up on the history of oil discovery, exploration & exploitation. And in particular, a man named St John Philby, a British Government official, who double crossed the British Government & cut a deal with the Yanks. Years later his son became more famous, who was Kim Philby, the spy. From St John's treachery, more wars started than you can begin to imagine. 

Sorry about all that waffle, it just arrived unexpectedly. But so much better than watching the kids squabble on Fred.

We live in truly amazing times.