Aire and Calder Navigation
The wrong type of rain, moving kitchens, the one perfect rose, 4 clicks and it being a 2 slice Sunday were all subjects discussed this morning. I’d already had two slices of toast with my breakfast, bacon a serious treat this year nestled next to them.
The Geraghty zoom had also been a try out to check if online meetings this week would be any good. Well I think we got away with it, but that wasn’t really good enough, especially when the IT department would be over an hour away by train! The other factor for moving was the large hole in the bank close by our stern and an inquisitive cat! We most probably moor close to such things all the time, but just knowing of its existence made us want to move up some.
Mick checked the EE coverage, not too far away it improved, he went for a bike ride, there was space, we’d move up.
I was about to push off when Mick reminded me we needed to deal with the yellow water tank today. Once that was done we waited for an ex-hire boat to come past, we’d be sharing the next lock with them. As we pootled along Oleanna’s engine hours clicked over to 6000!
The lady hopped off with windlass in hand, she won’t be needing that until they get to Leeds, she came back for a Key of Power. I chatted to the chap, the usual things, where have you come from, where you going?
They’d been in Sheffield for 18 months, been to York and got stuck in the floods (that must have been a few months ago) and were now aiming for Manchester. They weren’t aware of the immanent closure of the Leeds Liverpool Canal, currently planned to close on the 27th May, lock flights padlocked and locks ashed up. He thought if they were already on the canal then CRT would let them off the other end. Well, no, closed, means closed!
In the lock he was asking Mick how long it would take to get to the bottom of Wigan, 50 hours to my reckoning. So it’s doable if you don’t get stuck on the bottom or have to go to work four days a week as the chap does! We suggested he signs up for CRT stoppage notices.
We topped up the water tank and pootled on a little further before winding and mooring up. Plenty to keep Tilly occupied here so long as there’s not too many woofers and humans wanting to give me a stroke. Sorry to the passers-by who instead of a head nudge got a very aggressive HISS!
Summer clothes were dug out from under the bed, serious winter jumpers and jeans that no longer fit me got tucked away. The drawing board came out from it’s slot, not sure I’ll get to use it in the next few days, but you never know and it’s hard for one person to get out.
Some more reference pictures were put together. Art Nouveau, roses, tents.
Mick headed off mid afternoon to catch the train back to Scarborough, roofing works starting in the morning.
To use up some butter beans left over from a warm chicken salad we had the other day I put together a Yaxni. I’d not heard of it before, a Greek potato stew. My version will definitely be made again and I’ve got enough left over for another day. Click the photo for the recipe.
1 lock, 6000 engine hours, 1 boat now on a mission, 1 boat settling down for a while to work, 1 cat, 82 trees, 288 pictures, 1 improved internet, 1 worse TV signal, 1 PA check in, 1 teams meeting to Scarborough, 1000 paces hobbled, 0 brisk minutes, 2 legs having a rest, pair 67 cast on.