The Last Post

Hi Folks.

Just dropped in to say that "Dogma" has been sold, and our aquatic adventures, have finally drawn to a conclusion.

I still absolutely love boating, the boat, the way of life and have never felt so free. The captain of my own vessel and the master of my own destiny. Wehey!! dreams can come true. But, the parasites who jump out of the bushes and demand 12 English pounds from you whenever you want to stop anywhere have sucked 9/10ths of the enjoyment out of it.

Rampant greed has increased it's weaseling for a few years now. 5..8..10..12 pounds.. for a field with no services. Add in the covid fiasco, and the situation will (no doubt) degenerate even further. When was the last time the river was dredged? 10 years... 20 years ? But the license fee never goes down, does it? Can't move for 8 months, because of the red boards and annual flooding? Tough. You must pay full price. "not their problem". There are no hoses on the waterpoints anymore. The pumpout machines are invariably "broken", when you need to use them. Lock houses sold off. Lock keepers made redundant, or stretched between three locks. It's all quite sad, really.

The places we used to stop, and enjoy for a night... Dorney lake, Wallingford meadows, Lady Lindsey's lawn... will be jammed with selfish pricks who choose to never move their boats at all. They'll dump all their sewage in the river, whilst simultaneously virtue signalling their 'green' credentials. pfft..

It was all Great Great fun.... for a while. And then it wasn't.
A good friend of ours, Kaye, said...

"It is time to move on, before it gets bitter."

In closing, we met some beautiful souls on our travels.... it was a great privilege to be able to live on, and navigate the heart of darkness. We have many precious memories that will last us a lifetime. So, thankyou to everybody, who ever wrote, smiled, waved, or just said "hello" on the towpath. Appreciated that. We leave the river Thames, knowing there are still a few decent human beings out there. And that makes us happy. Cheers....

Dogma is now home for a nice couple, with a young child and a dog. She'll be staying on the River Thames, for the most part. If you see her out and about, give her a honk and a wave. She's a good old girl... who did us proud. We'll never forget her.