Watling Street

This morning we picked up a hire van. Well we’d semi hoped for a car, but they were almost £20 more for the day and quite often the Daventry depot doesn’t have enough vans, so you get a car instead. Sadly today they’d found us a van and unfortunately the van wasn’t big enough for us to fit a scaff plank in the back. So we missed out twice, but got what we’d booked.

Today was going to be a damp one, as we drove past Nottingham heading north the drizzle that we’d woken to got heavier and by the time we’d reached Scarborough it was a major downpour! Both of us should have known better heading to Scarborough without a coat, it was around 9C today! However we had taken a brolli. The drive over the top of the wolds brings you down Staxton Hill. Normally as you turn a bend you get to see the sea miles off, nestled between two hills tucked just under the horizon. But today we could only just make out the hills never mind the sea.

Our mission today was to visit our house. Our previous tenants had left the house in quite a state, their deposit has been spent on trying to correct things for our new tenants along with quite a bit of our money. The other day as the old stinky carpets were being taken up some damp floor boards were discovered, along with a rotten joist below. A couple of builders have been to look and have given their versions of what should happen, so we wanted to see for ourselves. We met with one of the builders and Mark the main man from the letting agents. Sadly the simple solution that had been put through was very obviously not going to solve our problems. But our knowledge of what was done when we knocked the houses together will save us money, so it was worth the trip.

It is very odd seeing other peoples things in your house. A back bedroom has been redecorated for their two year old son/grandson, who would have thought a nursery in our home! We just hope that the work that is needed won’t be a step too much for them.

We then had a visit to our possessions on the top floor. Just how much stuff! I hunted out some wallpaper for repairs and Mick found one of our old computers. Over the last few weeks we’ve been wanting various things that were stored on this computer so we have brought it back with us.

A hunt then to try to find a 100 amp fuse for our bow thruster. We reckon that this blew the day we picked Oleanna up in Sheffield as the bow thruster didn’t work that day, but it’s battery had been off and that at the time was thought to have been the problem. But Mick for the last few weeks has been wondering if the battery for it has been charging. After he tested allsorts with his volt meter, he discovered a blown fuse. We’ve been able to use the bow thruster so far, about 20 minutes worth before the battery would stop working by our reckoning, and it is getting quite flat now. We’ll be passing through Braunston very soon, but Mick wanted to get a new fuse to try and rectify the charging issue as soon as possible. So we tried various motor spares places around Scarborough. The third one we tried meant that we parked bang outside a familiar door, we rang the doorbell, but no-one was home.

Scarborough of course has chandlers so we drove round Marine Drive to see if they could help us, this meant that we got to see the sea which was quite rough. Scarborough is on flood alert this evening due to high tides and winds. The chandlers couldn’t help us, but sent us round the back streets near the harbour to a marine electrical engineer. Here the chaps hunted through boxes of fuses, eventually finding the right size which then had to be gone through one by one to find an 100amp one. He had just the one and at nearly half the price Midland Chandlers would have charged a bargain.

So, now soggy but with our missions accomplished it was time to drive back to Long Buckby. Tilly won’t tell us how many boats went by today, but we know of at least one as we have a new neighbour tonight. Here’s hopping tomorrow is a drier day as we need to move on for our next appointment.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 small van, 1 exceptionally wet day, 0 sea, 1 full Morrisons cafe, 0 coats, 9C, 3 year olds are big, 60cm deep hole, 1 membrane, 1 new joist, 1/2 price hopefully, 1 nursery, 2 sets new curtains, 0 carpets, 1 poorly  house, 2 half rolls, 1 kitchen computer, 0 kit bag obvious, 3 motor spares, 2 windswept yellow butterflies, 2 soggy boaters, 0 Carley, 1 chandlers, 1 full box, 100A fuse, 2 small van, 1 hungry lonely cat.