Redhill Marina / Scarborough

Lemsips all round this morning! Oh well. No sitting about feeling sorry for ourselves there was more packing to do. Whilst we emptied the galley cupboards and drawers Tilly just took it easy on the sofa by the stove, the cosiest place on the boat. Breakables were taken out of cupboards and put in drawers, cupboards taped shut just incase they open when Oleanna comes out of the water. Yellow water was delt with once we’d found out where the elsan was. We were directed to a skip for our rubbish, no separating things out here!

We’d just about finished packing when Mark arrived in a van from Scarborough. Mark is an old school friend of Micks. After Mick’s stroke Mark had said if there was anything he could do to help…..well he could drive a van for us to move back to the house. He’d picked the van up yesterday and set off early to drive down to meet us.

A cuppa was turned down, loading of the van started immediately. Mick and Mark relayed items to the van, once the stern was clear I then passed more items out to be loaded. Mark had arrived at about 11am, the van was loaded in under an hour.

There were two things left for us to do. Pack Tilly’s possessions and clean her pooh box, then pack Tilly herself. But first we needed to wind Oleanna, her last move under power. It was a good job we’d not been ready to do this earlier as there was a new section of pontoon that had been put into the river from the slipway this morning, attached to a small tug. This had drifted with no one on board across towards the boom where there is a loop round of the river which is used as moorings. Two chaps headed off and returned with a narrowboat to perform a rescue mission for the tug and pontoon section. Lots of swinging round until they caught it and got it all headed up stream.

We were now clear to wind, the river just wide enough for us to get round, we were soon tied back up, we didn’t want to risk drifting away!

Last jobs done. I ran through the check list of heading to Scarborough things. Water pump off, the tap from the water pump turned off, all taps left on, shower lying in the shower tray. Gas turned off at the bottles. Everything that has caused a return journey to Oleanna in previous years was ticked off. One last thing, put Tilly in the cat caravan.

Have to say she’d been expecting it, after all her life afloat had been packed before her eyes. Not too much of a kerfuffle into the caravan. Then it was time for her to say goodbye to Oleanna, next time the two of them see each other Oleanna will be a different colour and very shiny.

We crowbarred ourselves into the van, a larger one might have been a better idea, but we had what we had. Tilly wouldn’t agree, but she most probably had the most space for her body size out of all of us. Mick and I squashed up with the cat caravan on my knee.

At 12:30 we were saying goodbye to the cooling towers. Well Driver Tom turned the outside with us in it the wrong way! He blamed it on Tom!! Soon corrected we were heading for the M1 and the north. First service station we had a pause to sort Tilly out. Then she lasted really quite well all the way to the Wolds. I was about to start praising her, she’d been quite quiet and had managed to lie down for much of the way, when she obviously wasn’t happy. A second pit stop was required. It’s that bloomin wiggly Wolds outside, up and down, side to side! I’m surprised no-one else was ill. Just think of those poor Shes and Toms who live in it all the time!!

There was space outside the house for the van. Tilly and I headed inside to sort her out first whilst Mick and Mark emptied the van. At 3:30 they headed off to return the van and leave Tilly and myself to check the house over.

Our last lodgers had left the house nice and tidy and clean, just the showers really to give the once over. No need to head to the theatre with any of their possessions either. The last couple of years we’ve come back to a LOT of malt vinegar. This year it’s toilet roll and green peas. We’ve 2 part opened bags of peas, 1 brand new bag and another which is a selection of veg, including peas. When checking our supermarket delivery this evening frozen peas were deleted, I think it’ll be a while before we run out.

Our bed was made up, our dirty washing added to bed linen filling the utility room. Bags moved to relevant parts of the house, some even managed to be unpacked. Without a vehicle we couldn’t get ourselves some fish and chips this evening. We looked at another chippy closer to home, but they weren’t open tonight. In the end we opted for a curry which with delivery worked out to be 11p cheaper than if we’d gone into the restaurant for a meal.

So that’s us back at the house for winter, Oleanna will come out of the water tomorrow, to await her repaint. So as seems now to be the norm, the blog will be quiet unless there is something boaty related to relay to you. There will be Panto postcards though, they’ll start in just over a couple of weeks, but I suspect there will be a post before then after all we’ve not fully winterised Oleanna yet.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 full boat, 2, 1 half empty boat, 1 full van, 1 winded boat, 1 wrong way, 1 meowing Tilly, 2 comfort breaks, 1 full dinning room, 1 take away, 2 glasses of wine each, 1 boat collar swapped for a house collar, 1 Tilly back in town, 1 big Thank You to Mark.