Grand Union Canal...

I shot this pic on Saturday evening. I walk on most days through the Kensal Green cemetery, onto Scrubbs Lane, down to Mitre bridge and along the Grand Union Canal towards Ladbroke Grove. Its not much of a walk and its not even that interesting although with the cemetery on the far bank with its trees and undergrowth there is a lot of wildlife - I've seen foxes there and also a decent variety of birdlife.

On the right of the towpath asI head towards Ladbroke Grove is the beginning of Willesden Junction on the main line into Paddington - and the strangely named North Pole railway yards where the Eurostar trains are maintained. Its a busy place - constant trains to-ing and fro-ing and quite a contrast with the still waters of the canal. I like.

There's quite a community of narrowboats and houseboats. The boats in the picture above are permanently moored just by Mitre bridge and then towards Ladbroke Grove there are a number of narrowboats which seem to be semi permanently moored - just long enough to avoid the wrath of the Waterways dude.

I always thought of the people who live on narrowboats as funky alternative types - and there are those aplenty - but there is also a large part of the community whose main purpose in life seems to be avoiding work of any sort, avoiding paying for anything and avoiding at all costs anything to do with soap. That said, I wanna get a narrowboat (not nearly as much as I want to get a Dutch Barge) because it would be a great way to unwind, putt-putting along the canal through the countryside...

At the Ladbroke Grove end of the towpath there is Sainsbury's and another permanent mooring site on the far side...and there lies, for sale, a 22 metre LuxeMotor Dutch Barge (my favourite type) just waiting for me to win some cash on the Lotto. She is beautiful, with lovely classic lines, but definitely in need of a bit of TLC. The owner wants £250,000. The boat ain't worth that, but the location is. Apparently.

On the Sainsbury's side of the canal are some benches thoughtfully put there for the enjoyment of the local losers, boozers and other assorted ne'er-do-wells. Occasionally they attempt to engage me in converstaion which triggers off movies in my head that involves me forcing them to tidy up their discarded cider cans and other rubbish.

I'd better stop writing now because I feel myself slipping into rant mode...