2012 and All That

Saturday, 11 February 2012 14:36

Am I showing my age by remembering a book called "1066 and All That"? It has only come to mind because of the "landmarks" in this year 2012 AD. Musing on this whilst stuck in ice has produced this blog!

At Old Turn the ice is retreating, but not at Cambrian Wharf!

So why?... and what makes this a so called "landmark" year? ......

In "A Memorable History of England" - the tongue in cheek look at English history that is "1066 and All That"- there are good things, bad kings, and genuine dates. 2012 may not necessarily have the 103 "Good Things"; hopefully it will not have "5 bad Kings"; but there just might be  "2 genuine dates" - rather a lot to pack into one year! 

I can think of 3 landmarks that affect boaters. In chronological order, here we go .....

In April - no, now June - the launch of the Canal and River Trust

In June - the Queen's Golden Jubilee, the River pageant too.

One of these narrowboats in Gas St Basin will be in the pageant

In July - the Olympics

A view of the stadia from John Lewes at Stratford

So which of the above will be the "genuine dates"? The last two, I suspect! The former is causing some boaters real "grief". Is it me, or has the smell of diesel on the Cut changed to the smell of vitriol? Thanks mainly to facebook and twitter, there seems to be a lot of "talk", finger pointing and angst. Perhaps we need to be counting the 103 "good things" and make sure that those-that-can influence debate at the right level - once you have cast your vote in the elections for the boaters rep on the CRT Council, that is!

On to happier things, no, not the Jubilee or the Olympics, music! 

The free concert "Rush Hour Blues" last night at the Symphony Hall was worth the short walk in the freezing cold. The Big Band from the University of Birmingham were displaying their talents.

The Big Band in the swing of it

The Level 3 Bar is an interesting venue as it is what it says it is, but has another 3 levels above. We were on the 5th level. The 3rd level was packed and there were people above us on the 6th level too: such is the popularity of these events. 

So after one of the coldest nights, a noisy one too as The Flapper had live music till the wee small hours, I am now going to try and find my 103 "good things" - it may take a while!

The Flapper