NBW tracks down the miscreants on restricted moorings

I just got a namecheck and photo from Tom Crossley of Narrowboat World.  Thanks, Tom!  That's kind of you.

But I don't understand; you say that Granny is 'going nowhere on restricted moorings', but I thought I'd been pretty good about following the BW guidelines for continuous cruising, moving on every 7-10 days on a genuine voyage, and not just hovering in the area. 

I'm not bridge-hopping; I'm England-hopping.

And I wasn't on restricted moorings - certainly not where he pictured me, near Weston, near Stone, a couple of weeks back.

CCers that were moored at Weston when I arrived were still there when I left, so perhaps you think I need to keep better company.  Except, one of them went out of his way to help me extraordinarily when I had my flat battery, and I'm really grateful.  The waterways need more kind people like him.

Last month BW issued a draft document on proposals to tackle (alleged) miscreants like me.  Sally Ash, BW's boating czar, suggests a £25-a-day surcharge. 

I really like that.  It would be a 'charge', and not a 'fine'.  There's too much law around these days and not enough commerce.

Charging £25/day works out about about £9,125 a year, which I think is quite a reasonable fee for the privilege of mooring where the hell you like.  It's effectively a Club Class.

But as usual, Narrowboat World misses the real story - my licence is still out of date!  I haven't sorted out with BW about my lost boat safety certificate, and they won't direct debit the licence fee until I've got a replacement.

(Sorry for the formatting of the NBW screengrab above, but NBW doesn't like my hi-res screen and I can't link directly to the article concerned.  Tom, your website design really is antedeluvian - sack your webmaster!  Also, please feel free to ask if you want a decent photo of Granny Buttons.  I'll be sure to moor alongside a 24hr mooring sign next time)