Scarboreugh / Redhill Marina

Well…..

After Tom’s plan last week, we’ve heard very little this week, infact nothing. School holidays now delay progress on Oleanna’s repaint.

We plan on making a visit early next week, so we can see if things are where they should be and get a more accurate estimate of Oleanna going back in the water.

In other news, we’ve managed to finally watch all episodes of the latest series of Narrow Escapes. We quite enjoyed the first series, plodded on with the second and the third, well … As we suspected, about this time last year, we managed to get in shot! The sections with Kate who makes fused glass sculptures and windows, whilst they are on their home mooring there is Oleanna in the background, waiting for our assisted passage through some locks on the Chesterfield Canal. Have to say the glass for me was the most interesting part of the latest series.

We watch the numerous daily notices appearing in our inbox from CRT. Mostly stoppages due to low water, a few trees down, lock restrictions and sadly a failed culvert at Swanley on the Llangollen Canal which will take some fixing, thankfully it’s not as big as the Whitchurch breach.

When we are back onboard, where should we go? Or try to go? We know where we wanted to head, plus where we’d like to be for panto, but will we be able to get there?! If we continue to have hot dry summers, will the boating calendar switch? Winter moorings become summer moorings, winter stoppages for maintenance become jobs to be organised for the summer months before water levels make things tricksy. Spring and Autumn cruising chosen over the summer months.

Do we abandon plans to head south? Loiter with intent to head south? Do more maintenance jobs onboard, move Oleanna closer to Scarborough? All things we need to think about. On a boat you can never have a definite plan, having some alternatives up your sleeve has been a good plan in the past, now even more so.

So life goes on in Scarborough. I go for walks watching the huge holes being dug on the beach, the donkey rides, the tides come and go along with the tourists. Mick attended the 50 over cricket match this week at North Marine Road when Yorkshire won. Rehearsals have started for the next new Alan Ayckbourn play and Handbagged continues it’s run at the theatre.

This week Tilly and Polly have both coped incredibly well sharing the house. Polly is a woofer belonging to Alex who is staying with us (playing the older Margaret Thatcher in Handbagged). A barrier on the first floor landing along with keeping the kitchen doors closed has kept noses from being out of joint or twitching too much. Polly will return for a few days next week, here’s hoping that goes just as well, that’s if we’re still here.

We will be.

Alterations for panto have continued and one day this last week myself and Gemma the Production Manager managed to get us closer to the budget. One set piece has now had a new model made for it and next week I’ll rescan the technical drawings. If anyone knows of a life size, narrow Santa Sledge or a cement mixer going cheap please let me know.

Today Mick and I have enjoyed being able to go to the Filey Food Festival for the first time. It is held four times a year and has a LOT of food stalls, sadly only one I can definitely eat from. Today lunch was a samosa and sausage roll for Mick, a gf sausage roll followed by a vanilla slice for me, The slice wasn’t quite as good as a glutenous one, but a nice reminder of one of my favourite things. We also came away with four cheeses, these will have to be rationed and two very large onion bhajis which smell amazing.

Hopefully there will be more to update on next week. Fingers, toes and paws crossed.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 photos of Oleanna, 4th carousel design, 3ft not 4ft a hard concept, £4k less, 1 feline 1 canine living in harmonyish, 1 more veg box, 1 replacement landing net, 1 food festival, 2 chilled medications, 1 cobble landing full of memories.