Fly bridges

Last year I saw an English narrowboat on the river Saone that that had a fly bridge added. Sounds incredible but there it was. The fly bridge was placed halfway along the roof and looked to all intents and purposes like a fly bridge from any other white plastic Mediterranean cruiser. It looked a bit daft but thinking about it would have been perfect for summers in France, the high bridges and the giant locks. I'll take a trip up to St Jean de Losne where there is the largest inland port in France and try to find it to take a photo of it although I don't know if it's moored there this year or not.

The outlaws have now arrived and have taken over toilet cleaning duties. They're much better at it than me and anyway, it keeps them busy and out of trouble. I ensure that they have an adequate supply of menial physical work to be getting on with otherwise they'd become senile. Whoever said that we Brits don't look after our old folk. They have to work for their pitch and food as there are still very few customers.

I finished 'Ramlin Rose: The boatwoman's story' by Sheila Stewart and found it a surprisingly good read and very well researched. Highly recommended. Back to Tolstoy now.

I've just read Pav's latest blog entry for nb Mamaduke. Brilliant. It's a perfect summing up of the Daily Mail's view of Britain in the 21st century in a single blog entry. Whatever your political persuasion it's well worth a read.