160 - Four Navigations in one Day on our Narrowboat.

[@andypatt1971]

Great video thank you

[@MinimalList]

Thanks for watching!

[@davepark3151]

I know this is a bit late for you now, but when you were stopped in Brownhills by the canoe club, the entire other side of the canal, for 3/4 of a mile by the towpath, is Clayhanger Common. If you continued 1,350 feet, there's an opening in the trees to a HUGE grassland to play ball with puppers.

[@MinimalList]

Ahh, yes a bit late, wish we’d know about that at the time! M

[@llessibm]

Some 45 years ago and in the days before Google my Dad finally passed his driving test. To celebrate we were taken to somewhere exotic, or exotic sounding, and that was to the land of the Brown Hills - we arrived, my sister and I played on the grass verge of a housing estate, ate crisps and drank a bottle of pop and then we returned to sunny Birmingham. We knew how to live back then ...

[@MinimalList]

Haha! Sounds like good times!

[@ASCIITerminal]

George is such an amazing dog! He must be so pleased to have found his forever home.

[@MinimalList]

He certainly seems to appreciate it! We’re even more pleased to have him! M

[@JohnBCN]

Hi. You mentioned Black Cock Bridge, just north of your final stop. This is notable for having been raised (many runs of new bricks) as the canal dropped due to subsidence from coal mining which affected much of the area towards Cannock to the north. Andy Tidy “Life at 2.3 miles an hour” explains this at 13m16s into his first vlog Canal Hunter 1.1. Its a fascinating bridge.

[@MinimalList]

Yes! I saw that video. How the raised the bridge was fascinating. I’m loving that series of videos!

[@scottfw7169]

Have to wonder whether Catshill Junction got its name from the cats hill or the cat shill. And Ogley Junction has me thinking, why not an Ogee Junction which has that shape.That bit at 7:43 with using pallets for floats and apparent waterfowl rests was interesting. Now that was cool at 8:15 with the ducks taking off from the water, went and replayed that at 1/2 speed.

[@MinimalList]

Well I haven’t wondered about the name but now I am! Haha. Yep we thought the little duck island was cool. I love watching ducks fly, they always look so awkward and laboured!

[@janecox4173]

Lovely to see you so happy.

[@MinimalList]

👍🏻 😊

[@narrowboatlongpod4176]

The Lichfield & Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust (LHCRT) are doing great work. They desperately need money to complete a tunnel at the same time as other works are taking place, so time is critical. So, if anyone's got any spare cash...

[@MinimalList]

They really are doing an amazing job! It seems like such a mammoth task!

[@ianofsjkartwork]

A very enjoyable video.....thanks for sharing

[@MinimalList]

Thanks for watching! 😊

[@MrRoyboy55]

Some of the canal bridges around birmingham have little Red doors or windows for the firetruck to dangle water hoses into the canal for water info courtesy of pigsandpinapple utube videos-- there is also a birmingham area 24hrs race for distance and number of canal to travel on in which a toy stuffed monkey is passes from boat to boat to see where it ends up on , and of course the birmingham to london canal path foot race for cancer , birmingham is a busy place and a maze of canal so the question from the pub bystander Where are you going l was likly more a check to see if you were lost in birmingham canals - thanks for sharing

[@MinimalList]

We never got lost, though we never knew where we were either! M

[@Tinhare]

Lovely day for cruising. Nice sections of cannal too. Love Georges ballancing trick. Boatswain can do that too but for some reason he doesn't like it. He'll do it once then go and sulk and looks at me as if to say don't make me do that again. Consiquently as he doesn't enjoy it we don't do it anymore.

[@MinimalList]

I’m not sure George enjoys it but he is greedy so he’ll keep going until the treats stop arriving!

[@grhmsmth]

My wife comes from the Daw End part of Rushall and myself from nearby Aldridge, (we now live Coventry). Many people think of Rushall and Aldridge as part of Walsall but I think you understand why we disagree! George's treat balancing tricks are very impressive.

[@MinimalList]

Haha, yes, we enjoyed that section much more than we enjoyed Walsall! Totally different area! 😊

[@billwalton75]

Glad to see you are weathering the winter and still in good humor, I wonder and you maybe touched on this early on but I am curious what your endgame (No Marvel pun intended) is ? I know the objective is to travel on every canal but when you have done that, do you just stick the last pin in the map, put the boat up for sale and move on to the next adventure...... or have you decided the canal life is for you and you will be on the canals until they drag you off drooling to the closest nursing home. All the Best Bill

[@MinimalList]

Hi, we are not really sure what we will do if we complete the network. It will probably take us another couple of years to get all the way round and the funds are sure to run out before then anyway. We don’t think we will easily be able to live somewhere static after this. Hopefully there will be a few options to keep travelling one way or another.

[@davidcox8961]

This is a nice relaxing watch after viewing a couple of the Volvo around the world race episodes. There is a world of difference between sailing in the southern ocean and canal boating.

[@MinimalList]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@malcolmelliott1876]

Another gem.. welcome to the "golf club belt" of the West Midlands

[@MinimalList]

Ha! I that where we are now? Good to know!

[@MartyLJ57]

Who spends more time on the boat?

[@MinimalList]

Me, since she does so much of the waking George! M

[@marianillingworth4403]

I was considering who was cleverest, Michael for his seamless quick changes or George for catching his biscuits. It was George as his trick didn’t involve any editing. As for the trip it was as interesting as usual. Found myself reading the subtitles even though my hearing is fine. Well done all.

[@MinimalList]

Oops, you can turn the subtitles off. I added them to this vlog because we forgot to turn the mic on for the first part and I thought people might struggle with the sound. They take so long to do though! George is pretty good at the biscuit catching trick. He can keep us entertained like that for hours!

[@tiger175]

Found your Vlogs last week. Now can’t put them down. Great records of your journeys.

[@MinimalList]

😊 thanks for watching!

[@richardclark148]

Grew up in the area and canal then still in commercial use. The reservoir was known as Norton pool a and the old chap next door remembered driving a horse and trap across it when frozen during a bitter winter ....

[@MOLYN867]

Just fabulous to see you guys. Enjoy and take care.x

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! 😊

[@jamesfagan8474]

Hello guys great video all the best from Ireland

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! 😊

[@suetaylor5186]

The boat house is lovely it's done out like a canal boat inside. Cob and coffee for just over a fiver xxx

[@MinimalList]

It’s a shame we didn’t stop!

[@peteon4wheels627]

Another great chill out morning watching you guys on the cut, can't wait for September so I can travel the cut for a week's hollyday, have fun guy's.

[@MinimalList]

This one was fairly chilled.... lots of cruising footage! Glad you enjoyed it! Where are you cruising when you hire a boat!

[@DaveHenry-mort8088]

George is a very good boy, my lab can't do that trick and if I'm not careful I can lose a finger, they are motivated by food to the detriment of everything else, sometimes you can see her doing an impersonation with her eyes of the seagull from finding Nemo. Also had a good laugh at Jo's prompting at the end :-)

[@MinimalList]

Haha. Sometimes Michael needs a little prompt! Your lab sounds like good fun too!

[@hw476]

🤣🤣 007 🍸💎 and George bringing you back to earth with a pretty hefty thump! I’m pretty sure James Bond wouldn’t have covered Miss Money Penny with mayonnaise 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 Poor Jo. Another great one guys.

[@MinimalList]

Haha! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@mickbroadbent6750]

great vlog guys ,, love George n his circus act lol

[@MinimalList]

He can perform them better than that.... he just doesn’t like performing in front of the camera! Haha

[@ronbearman6783]

Hi guys Enjoyed vlog looked lot better cruising on canal than previous 2 Loved George catching his snacks

[@MinimalList]

It’s nice to be getting away from quite so much rubbish!

[@suetaylor5186]

Pelsall common lovely sometimes see deer over there. Fingerpost pub is dog friendly. .. scenic vlog great as ever.

[@MinimalList]

Oh really! We didn’t explore too much but it was a lovely place to moor after all the urban moorings!

[@cherylburton3430]

Ok you got me, forgot you're behind!

[@MinimalList]

Always behind!

[@annie2950]

Great vlog with the sun shinning. What more could you want Mr Bond.

[@MinimalList]

Haha, a bit of sunshine makes such a difference doesn’t it!

[@ianmason8713]

A lovely vlog on a lovely day, thank you. Those places where the canals narrowed might once have been locks. I cannot be 100 percent sure but I know that Thomas Telford renovated some of the canals, that already existed, in that area and removed a lot of locks. I always assumed that the narrowings, that you get on a lot of canals in the West Midlands area, are the remains of the defunct locks. I might be wrong about that, I'll have to investigate it.

[@MinimalList]

Oh interesting! Yes, more research needed. The one we stopped at was right at Catshill Junction so could very well have been to collect tolls!

[@NarrowboatFirefly]

The ones being referred to like at Catshill, are the gauging stops where you were going from one canal company to another, so the boat was gauged and tolls paid. The only place I can think of on the BCN that there is a narrows that was a lock is Worcester Bar, which was a stop lock. The improvement the Telford did on the BCN is the creation of the New Main Line, which cut out a lot of the distance of Brindley’s Old Main Line.

[@MinimalList]

Thank you Firefly! I knew you would know the answer!

[@cherylburton3430]

Wow, are you following us, we came down from the anglesey arm/ogley junction yesterday back towards pelsall to have some work done at the boat yard.

[@MinimalList]

In that case huh are following us... this was filmed at the end of Feb!

[@guyliezelharrison5757]

Great vlog guy's 😁😁😁

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! 😀

[@dimitriostheologitis7154]

Hi Jo and Michael, greetings from Carine and Dimitrios on NB Galene (we were sop pleased to meet you in person last year at the Crick Boat Show). We thoroughly enjoy your "BCN Series", this is very close to where we are moored and we are grateful for all the information you give, since we've only done a very small part of it -- but it's in our cruising plans for the near future. And we have been admiring your map, makes things much clearer! From our limited knowledge, just one comment on it: We're not sure that the Worcester Bar Junction at the very end of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal is called that. In our knowledge it's Salvage Turn by The Mailbox. There is a Worcester Bar though which is between Proof House Junction and Bordesley Junction at the top of the Grand Union. And one more thing: Should you in a future version of the map add the names of the lock flights, then... we'll ditch our Nicholsons and just use your map! :-) Cheers and keep up your great filming!

[@MinimalList]

Hmm, I’ll let Jo know, though she did quite a bit of work to try and get the names of the junctions and what not right, so she’ll be pissed if one’s wrong! M

[@dimitriostheologitis7154]

Hi Michael, thank you for your kind reply, which sent me back to my maps. Indeed, right to the west of Salvage Turn and half-way towards the Deep Curring Junction (the well-known roundabout :-) you have the Worcester Bar. The one I described between Proof House and Bordesley is the *Warwick* Bar :-) Again congrats for your thorough work!

[@dimitriostheologitis7154]

Deep Cutting :-)

[@robertkosinski2105]

Here in the USA people, businesses or groups can 'adopt' areas of highway in which they keep them clean. You need that for your canals. Where volunteers 'adopt' stretches of the canals and are responsible for keeping them clean.

[@MinimalList]

This is a scheme that is already run by the Canal and River Trust! canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer/volunteer-in-partnership/adoptions-more-information

[@morgidvmw0mdv]

Loved the bit where you were placing biscuits on George's nose. I had a mate who had a little Jack Russel called Mutley. I was with my mate one day and he started to show me a trick that Mutly could do. My mate said " watch this now. I'll place a biscuit on his nose and he wont touch it until I count to three". Ken started counting "One, Two" and before Ken got to Three, Mutly had flicked the biscuit into the air and swallowed it. Ken said "No he can do it, honestly he can do it, but each time Ken got to the count of two, the biscuit disappeared. It was hilarious I'm convinced Mutely was doing it just to wind up Ken.

[@MinimalList]

Haha! Mutely knew. George only gets it right half the time as you saw from the outtakes.

[@catherinelong4511]

I love Quorn products. Have you tried their fish free fingers? Yum.

[@MinimalList]

Not yet! Will look out for them!

[@maryhowton2103]

Hi Michael and Jo, love your videos, have been following you from the start .Just wondering why you don't shower on the boat and also what are your long term plans are you going to live aboard,Best wishes to you and George xx

[@MinimalList]

We do, it’s just if there are CRT shower facilities we use them instead. Just to save on water and condensation on the boat!

[@oldtimers6460]

Homer /buddha was looking after you , Arrh Michael did you buy a few of those tee shirts as they seem to last well . Another laid back ( well for me anyway ) Vlog thanks Joy Michael ,and Cheers from Oz .

[@MinimalList]

Glad you enjoyed it... these T’s have lasted pretty well. It might be time for some new ones!

[@Chuck59ish]

So Michael, have you ever got distracted with your texting and put the boat into the bank by accident? It would seem easy to with all the texting you have to do in a day.

[@MinimalList]

Haha, he wasn’t texting he was listening to podcasts or videos!

[@nyami-nyami]

I think it your channel should be titled "First woman to walk the entire network with her dog (followed by bloke on a boat) LOL

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Shaun Ternahan I wonder if Jo has been recording her daily walking mileage?

[@MinimalList]

It would be an appropriate name. Unfortunately I haven’t been tracking how much I walk but it must be at least half of the distance we have cruised!

[@moosabones]

Well, you do have to walk off the chocolate croissants. 😉

[@MinimalList]

Haha, this is true!

[@776281]

And yet George wants still more walks.

[@hugorune766]

16:30 onward... diamonds are forever... but you say that eventually over time, diamonds become graphite. Sorry, but this confuses me, the SUN starts as hydrogen and builds up to helium etc... diamonds become graphite, does that mean it is normal for elements to break down to smaller elements, and our sun would reverse???? Yes, I am joking, but....

[@MinimalList]

Diamond and graphite are the same element, the diamond is more organized while the graphite is more chaotic, so basic thermodynamics says that entropy and time will turn all diamond into graphite. Thee sun is fusion; pretty much the only thing in the broader universe that’s reversing entropy (it’s called enthalpy), and producing more ordered and complex forms from less. Now, if fusion could go on long enough then it would eventually create cesium, uranium, plutonium, and other fissile elements... which will, indeed, “run backwards” ... but not in your average G-type main sequence star... they never get that far, they keep fusing until they burn up the last of the core hydrogen and start making carbon and iron, they rapidly expand into a red giant before eventually becoming a nebula and a white dwarf, which slowly cools as its few fissile products decay. Things get much more interesting in supermassive stars... but that reversal you’re talking about is kind of what we call a supernova. M

[@scottfw7169]

Around the 9:29 point where y'all were talking weather and comment was made about tornadoes, dig this, "When you think of tornados you probably imagine twisters moving across dust-bowls in the United States, but in fact the UK gets an average of 30-50 tornadoes a year. That’s more tornadoes per land area than anywhere else in the world (except - weirdly - the Netherlands.) So have you been living in the UK ‘tornado alley’ without even knowing it?" www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3QTh1mRGDNg16cDYHgCNP0G/do-you-live-in-the-british-tornado-alley (as it happens I live in Missouri, on the edge of the US "Tornado alley"

[@mikegershon8528]

Is it the responsibility of the local communities or of the Canal and River Trust to remove the garbage from the canal? Some of the areas you have shown are beyond description.

[@MinimalList]

Ultimately I think it is the responsibility of the canal and River Trust to maintain the waterways. Lots of communities get involved to help there are volunteers groups in most areas. I think the problem here is just overwhelming at the moment. The CRT could spend thousands clearing the junk out and I’m sure it would be replaced within a few months. I think the best solution would involve tackling the source of the problem but I have now idea how you would go about doing that!

[@stevemusgrave2000]

Not that I'm suggesting it, but I wonder what would happen if the roles were reversed, in the sleep, repose, Miss Moneypenny moment, and what or who would be George's Miss Moneypenny?

[@MinimalList]

George’s isn’t interested in girls, or boys for that matter, or people! Give him a tennis ball to chase and he is happy.

[@MatthewHuntley1961]

Do you like the fungus nuggets?

[@MinimalList]

Quote is a pretty good meat substitute.

[@antipodeanadventures8423]

Better call Saul is the spin off to Breaking Bad.

[@MinimalList]

Yeah, we haven’t watched that yet!

[@320ifq]

People in brown hills must really hate their kids making them canoe in that water

[@MinimalList]

It wasn’t quite so bad in that area. And if the kids learn to love kayaking maybe they will be more invested in keeping the Canal rubbish free!

[@derekmills5394]

First!! - Nice vid - glad you found a nice part of Walsall

[@dudleyblokerave]

All the routes out of Walsall are nice. Like escape from New York!

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! That’s why we are trying to explore everywhere, we don’t want to miss any of the good bits. And if you don’t experience the bad you wouldn’t appreciate the good!