Author Archives: Pip

The Thing About Islands. 5th July

Dolphin EA Mooring to Houghton EA Mooring

Wisteria just past its best

The Norris Museum opened in 1933, purpose built to house the collection of Herbert Ellis Norris who left it and money to establish a museum and library in St Ives, a museum for the people of Huntingdonshire. A recreation of his study stands at one end of the museum.

Local finds

The museum traces the history of St Ives from the Romans, through to Medieval times when the great fair was held every Easter, one of four main wool fairs in England, traders flocked from right across the country and others came from abroad. Mick recited the following rhyme to me the other day, although it could just as easily be relating to the other St Ives.

As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, Each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were there going to St Ives?

Ammonite, a big one!

By the end of the 13th Century fairs were loosing their popularity in favour of places where goods were traded all year round, Flemish weavers out-competed the areas cloth making industry. Then followed poor harvests and the Black Death which killed half the population.

The Anglo Saxons settled in the area and founded the village of Slepe which became St Ives. Ramsey Abbey was one of the richest in the country and with a wooden bridge across the Great Ouse the town prospered. Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon and for a time was a tenant farmer in St Ives.

Skates

There were freezes (good for skating), floods, a great fire which burnt down a large proportion of the town. Mechanical methods in farming brought about unemployment of farm labourers, the landowners grew richer whilst the workers rioted.

Lavender

Outside in the courtyard a wonderful wisteria covers the building and lavender bushes line the paths. The museum may be small but it is looked after by very enthusiastic people, we nearly spent as long chatting to one chap as we did looking at the displays.

Push Mick!

Time to move the boat, Mick umphed the stern out and we were soon reversing out of the arm. We winded and then headed over the other side of the river and up another arm alongside the Norris Museum to fill with water. Here were NB Casper and NB Mosi-y-Tunya. Brian and Ann on Casper invited us to breast up so that we could fill with water, the pressure not the best so there was plenty of time to have a chat with them. We seem to have a lot in common with them, Yorkshire and theatre. It was good to actually have chance to talk to you today and our paths will cross again upstream somewhere.

Bye bye Ann

Backwards down the arm as there’s nowhere to wind, we then turned and headed upstream making note of the nice GOBA mooring on the outskirts of town. Up Hemingford Lock, another D shaped lock and past Hemingford Grey. Heather had mentioned the other day about the Manor House. Not quite so easy to just turn up as you need to book to go round the house and this is done either by email or phone. We’ll think about it on our way back.

We aimed for the Houghton EA Moorings. I’d spotted that they were really quite close to Houghton Mill a National Trust property. Last night I had booked us onto a tour round the mill for first thing on Wednesday morning, it’s only open weekends and Wednesdays. With a long stretch of moorings we tucked ourselves at the end and let Tilly out, four hours of shore leave.

During the afternoon we discovered that the blog had reached it’s maximum size! I’d been having difficulty uploading photos, so left it with Mick to see what had happened and see if he could sort things. We really can’t have used 20 GB this year!

Busy making hay

I decided to head off for a walk, see where we needed to go in the morning and have a nosy around some of the islands that make up the area. The one we were moored opposite was being mown and the hay was rapidly being bailed up.

I walked with purpose to the other end of the island where the path petered out. Hang on!

I checked my map.

Another lovely GOBA mooring, so long as you don’t want to get off it!

We were on an island, with no means of getting off it without a boat. We have a boat, but there is nowhere else to moor Oleanna close to the mill. Oh B**er! I walked back and chatted to a lovely couple on a cruiser who knew the area very well. We could maybe go up the lock and pull in where a boat used to moor, they pointed out roughly where they meant as boats went past. Or we could tie up on the lock landing for our visit. Or we could go back and moor at Hemingford Grey Meadow and walk from there in the morning. Hmmm, what to do?

A whole island to explore!

During the afternoon I’d had a much awaited for email. My Panto script has arrived! It is now printed out and awaiting a first read, all very exciting!

1 lock, 2.55 miles, 2 reverses, 2 winds, 3 familiar boats, 1 museum, 1 full water tank, 1 island mooring, 0 way off, 2 tours booked, 1 change of plan required, 1 ecstatic cat, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval, 1 panto script, 1 boater about to change into a designer.

https://goo.gl/maps/BgBk2uEpw2jZ3yT79

Peter Geraghty. 3rd June 1922 – 13th September 2002

Hello all. Mick here today writing this one.

My father Peter Geraghty was born 100 years ago. Today would have been his 100th birthday, I think we would have had a party!

Born in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire. His mother was Olive Geraghty (nee Wright) and his father Tom Geraghty. His father, after serving as an officer in the East Riding Regiment during WWI, was a journalist for the Hull Daily Mail and he ended up as Editor. Olive, as was the norm for the time, looked after the family and home. Peter had an older sister Joan and a younger brother Mark.

Joan, Peter, Mark

Peter went to school in Hull at the St Charles Borromeo School and often told us stories from his childhood of him turning up to school without any shoes or socks! I’m not sure of the accuracy of this and think it was probably his sense of humour coming through.

Teenager

Before WWII the family moved from Hull to the village of Hessle just to the west of the city. They lived on Boothferry Road next door to the Darley’s Arms. At 17, Peter started work in the office of the Hull firm Spillers, known to all as Spillers the Millers (now part of the Rank Hovis group whose logo is “Rank Hovis the Millers” which doesn’t have quite the same ring to it!). He was working here when war broke out in 1939. The office was moved out to Ferriby where it was considered a safer place to be than in the city centre.

Joan, Tom, Peter, Olive and Mark at the back door of 314 Boothferry Road

At age 18 in 1940, he volunteered for service in the RAF. He had to go to Lords cricket ground in London to sign up and so his flying career started. He did some of his training in North America and on completion was assigned to Bomber Command. After various roles he became a Flight Lieutenant at RAF Pocklington in East Yorkshire flying Halifax bombers. After a tour of 40 operations from Pocklington, he carried out further flying duties training pilots on Lancasters.

The aeroplane Peter first flew solo on
On the back. The sensor must have let it through.
Captain and crew at RAF Pocklington. PG in the centre

When the war ended he was demobbed and went back to Hessle. A company was obliged to employ people that had worked for them before the war but Peter was very sure that an office life with Spillers in Hull was not for him and he declined the guaranteed offer of employment.  Instead he applied for a job as a pilot with the fledgling British European Airways (BEA). This would mean being based at Northolt airport on the outskirts of London.

For a long time he had been “seeing” Ruth Chignell, also from Hessle and when the war finished he proposed, the proposal was accepted. They were married in May 1947 and with his new job they moved to a house near Northolt Airport.

Peter and Ruth
Ruth and Peter

His flying job meant irregular hours and sometimes being away from home overnight. However BEA only flew to Europe so he was never away long. I suspect this is why he chose BEA rather than the long-haul BOAC. Their first child Christine was born in 1948 followed by Marion in 1950 and Anne in 1952.

Proud Dad

They needed a bigger house so moved to Ealing in 1952. Ealing was chosen as a new primary school St Gregory’s was being built there which was thought to be a “very good school”. It also coincided with BEA moving their operation to London Airport, now known as Heathrow.

I came along in 1958 and my younger sister Kathryn in 1966. All us children went to St Gregory’s and my mother ended up being a Governor. Peter was always a family man, every Saturday morning, if he wasn’t working, he would take all of us children to the local library in Ealing to swap books, followed by hot chocolate and a biscuit in a café on the High Street. And if his flying roster allowed every Sunday morning after church we would go to Kew Gardens (I remember it costing 1d) and back home in time for Sunday Lunch. There were often visits to the museums in South Kensington, my favourite being the Science Museum but sometimes my sisters made us go to one of the others!

Another favourite outing of mine was a visit to the cricket. Often he would take me up to Lords to watch the final session of a Middlesex game, as an MCC member there was free entry. We would sometimes go to a Saturday of the Lords Test Match which was a great day out. He also used to play cricket for Northolt Cricket Club.

Tea Interval

We lived a couple of miles from the Hanwell flight on the Grand Union. A regular walk was to visit what we called “The Six Locks”. Working narrowboats were still in operation (mid 1960s) some of them towed by little towpath tractors. I vividly remember one occasion when we had gongoozled a pair of boats down the flight. At the bottom one of the boaters asked if we wanted a ride to Brentford? Well you can imagine a 7 year old’s excitement at this prospect. But my dad came over all practical and said we had to get home in time for tea! But the seed of interest in canals and boating had been planted. It was about 50 years later that we first took our own boat down the flight and carried on to Brentford.

As I grew older Dad would sometimes, during school holidays, take me to work. We would drive into Heathrow and go into the BEA crew room office. I’d be shown the preparations for flying off somewhere, weather charts, route maps, loading weights, how much fuel to have on board etc.

At the controls

I would then head off on my own to the spectator viewing area (a thing of the past now) and with my VHF air band radio tuned to the ground or tower frequencies I’d watch him take off. If he wasn’t going far (maybe a return trip to Paris) I would wait 2 or 3 hours for him to return then meet him at the car park and get a lift home. If he was going further afield (perhaps a “night stop” Nicosia) I would stay watching aeroplanes all day and then get the bus home.

A view I saw many times.

As a family we would sometimes, but not very often, fly off on foreign holidays. I remember one time we all flew to Germany for a family holiday. When the plane was sitting on the runway preparing for take off our Dad (a Captain with the airline who had indeed captained this very aircraft many times) leant across the aisle and shook all his children by the hand and said “Well, it’s been nice knowing you all”. His sense of humour.

Me and my Dad circa 1968

His career with BEA lasted from 1946 until his retirement in 1977, by which time BEA and BOAC had merged to form British Airways. It was policy then that pilots had to retire at 55, it may still be the case. He started off flying DC3s and Vickers Vikings for BEA, then the Airspeed Ambassador (known in BEA as the Elizabethan because the Queen had just come to the throne!), followed by Vickers Viscounts and Vanguards and ending up as a senior training Captain on the Hawker Siddeley Trident.

His family back in Hull had always been staunch Catholics and Peter was the same. He played a big part in the local parish community at Ealing Abbey, always organising things, on various parish committees and for a while was chairman of the Parish Centre. He also played a big part in the running of the parish Youth Club. His religion didn’t get passed on to me though. I think I rebelled at all the religion in my childhood.

In retirement he had more time for his beloved golf, at one time getting his handicap down to single figures. He played at West Middlesex Golf Club then Ealing Golf Club.  He left Ealing GC when they introduced a rule that you had to spend a certain amount of money in the bar per year and if you didn’t they would take the money anyway! He wanted to play golf not drink in the bar.

Teeing off on a golfing holiday
Outside the family home in Ealing 1996

My mother finally persuaded him that they could make use of the concessionary travel that British Airways allowed him. But he never travelled extensively for leisure. He was a big worrier and there would have been too much worry that as staff passengers they would be the first to be off loaded should the flight become full.

One trip away

There was also football to be watched and supported. Hull City as a youngster but on moving to West London it was Queens Park Rangers, holding a season ticket there once he retired.

Peter and Christine on their way to Wembley to watch QPR

In his later life he fell ill with Parkinson’s disease, a disease which was also to affect my mother. He accepted his illness stoically for a number of years but eventually in September 2002 he suffered a stroke and passed away. A big funeral was held at Ealing Abbey with many old family friends there. British Airways sent a representative to his funeral which I thought was a lovely thing for them to do.

Peter on his 80th birthday

Happy 100th birthday Dad. Shame we are not celebrating it with you but you can be sure that we are definitely celebrating!

Thank you to John and Kath for helping collect together all the photographs.

Poorly Cat and Computer. 2nd April

From there to a couple of miles further on, through 2 bridges

This is likely to be short as the laptop is not letting me get past the opening page! So for the moment, until the IT department can do something about it I am tapping this out on my phone with my thumb. Not the best way to write a blog post!

This morning Tilly was a touch too keen to use her pooh box, twice she visited it within an hour. Then she shouted and shouted to be let out, so we obliged. Sometimes when one is not feeling so good just siting out in the fresh air improves things. Sitting under the pram cover on the hatch was all she wanted to do.

Not quite right!

Her food was removed, fresh water put down and try as she might when she came in during the Geraghty zoom I was not going to give her dreamies, a system reset was needed along with a day of cat napping.

We moved on through two more swing bridges to the next loop away from the railway. The mooring here isn’t as nice, but it’s that bit closer to Keadby and a bike ride away for a newspaper.

Sleeping it off

Tilly was kept in for the remainder of the day, a few biscuits were introduced later in the day which seemed to go down well and seem to have been given time to be digested.

Yes that is a jacket potato with extra carbon!

A pork, apple and cider stew was put on the stove top to slowly cook away the afternoon. 3 jacket potatoes were added into the stove. The fire wasn’t being overly enthusiastic, possibly due to having the shorter chimney on, or maybe a sweep is needed. The chimney was swapped over, then Mick decided to put the potatoes on the coals to help with the cooking. Of course this did mean two of the spuds had a charred side to them, they were however fluffy inside.

0 locks, 2 miles ish, 2 swing bridges, 1 cockerel held up, 1 post box and signal man, 1 off colour cat, 3 cauliflowers needing to get a move on for the potatoes, 3rd time of covid, 1 annoying printer, now 1 defunct computer! (possibly mended?!)

https://goo.gl/maps/fjyH2sjTbvApp2Xk6

Suds. 22nd March

Pollington Visitor Moorings

Mick decided to turn Oleanna around first thing, so as to make the most of todays sunshine on the solar. This would mean no shadow cast across the panels from our chimney. The big wide Aire and Calder is handy for such manoeuvres, no need to cruise to the next winding hole here, just untie and turn round.

Supervising the pram hood coming down

Once we were moored back up Tilly sniffed the air. A new outside! It smelt similar to the last one they’d tied up. When the back doors were opened up she skipped up the stern steps and then realised, Tom only span it round!!!!

Two phone calls this morning. The first one from the Keadby Lock Keeper Mark. At one time there were three Marks who worked there. He apologised that nobody had called back sooner, but he’d been off with Covid and today was his first day back. Mick checked tide times with him for the days we were considering. Spring tides early in the day, so if we wanted to we could do Keadby to Cromwell in one go. We’ll make our minds up about that nearer the time, possibly on the day. I popped a notice on the Trent-link group offering to be a ‘Buddy’ boat as we’ve done the trip several times before.

Next came a phone call from the opticians. My glasses had arrived! Hooray!! An appointment was made to have them fitted in a couple of days time, I’ll go to Doncaster on the train.

Time to make use of our location and the sun. The washing machine was put to work, three loads in total. The whirligig was popped up and filled, then the airer was popped out on the towpath for our socks.

The pram cover was unpoppered and laid out on the picnic bench by the water point. Mick attached the spray to the end of the hose and I filled a bucket with soapy water. The covers were going to get a good scrub.

In the first lockdown we gave the covers a spray of Wet and Forget which with the assistance of sunshine and rain gradually cleans your covers, or helps to keep them clean. We found it to be quite good and still have at least another two sprays worth left. Our covers though after two winters being stationary had gone very green especially where they are horizontal and meet the the cabin roof, so I’d decided that we’d give them a scrub first before a spray was applied.

Got to make sure he does it right!

The picnic bench here is handy to be able to work at a good height and before lunchtime the pram hood and sides had all been scrubbed both inside and out and given a good rinsing. I got to the scrubbing, Mick the rinsing and Tilly the supervision, when not looking for friends.

The cratch cover followed in the afternoon. As soon as they were just about dry they went back on the boat. Much better than they were and now we just need to find a suitable spray bottle, to avoid RSI, a couple of days of sunshine and they will get a spray of Wet and Forget to improve them more.

Clean new ropes

Mick then set about swapping Oleanna’s ropes for new ones. The ones being replaced we bought when Oleanna was new, the ropes she came with were too thin for the reduced grip on my right hand, so thicker 16mm ones were needed. They have served us well being used for over 5000 miles, but they were looking a touch tatty.

Old centre lines, worn soft shackle and a nice new one

We’ve had the new ropes for maybe a couple of years, just never felt the need to swap them over until now. A new soft shackle replaced the old one on the roof for the centre lines too. The old ropes will be kept and possibly used should we end up mooring up for winter again.

A spin round in the tumble dryer for our socks and pants meant that Tilly ended up with a nice cosy bag to snooze away the evening in. She’d had a very busy day despite there being few trees to climb within paws reach.

Next pair

By the end of the evening the next sock had had it’s heel turned, what a productive day.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 wind, 0 shadow, 3 hours scrubbing, 1 hour rinsing, 3 loads washing, 8 hours! 2 friends counted, 2 hours reading, 1 lock booked, 1 pair glasses waiting.

Boat Conference. 21st March

Bramwith Junction to Pollington Lock, Aire and Calder

A very chilly start

Time to put a plan together. Sitting around waiting for my glasses to arrive doesn’t get the water tank filled or other boat jobs done. So after breakfast and updating the blog we had a boat conference. These are actually quite rare, most discussions of our plans are held as we stand on the back of Oleanna, but today we needed to concentrate.

Our original plan had been to make use of the weeks whilst Thorne Lock was shut. The London Leckenby’s have a few days in York so we’d planned to join them, maybe even a boat trip into our home city as Jac and Josh have never done this and the tour guides on Oleanna know exactly where to stop to see our family home from the river. Various boat jobs to get done and do. Friends to catch up with around the area etc. Also being in the area for a change over of lodgers at the house would be handy. It all had fitted together quite nicely. Then after Easter we would head southwards on the Trent, the quick way south.

The Don Doors again!

But since the dates for the stoppage at Thorne Lock have changed we’ve been in a quandary. Spending time in York is very appealing especially since Andrew and I haven’t been in the city together for at least 6 years and that was for a funeral. Catching up with friends is something we’d wanted to do summer before last, but floods and the pandemic put paid to that as we were rafted up with other boats at Naburn for several days.

Should we stay and do all those things?

Should we leave before the lock closes in a couple of weeks?

We’ve spent a lot of time mulling this over and every day for the last week we’ve discussed it further, but still not come up with a plan. Today we needed a plan.

Our discussion actually was relatively short.

Swing

If the London Leckenby’s hadn’t been coming up to York then we doubt we’d have been considering heading that way at this time of year. We’ve upgraded to a Gold Licence this year and if we stayed on this side of Thorne Lock and then exited via the Pennines it would mean us loosing about a months worth of Goldness. Decision made, we will be heading south on the Trent as soon as the tides look suitable.

A list of things we need to do was drawn up. Approximate dates worked out and ,most importantly a phone call made to Keadby Lock to book our passage. Sadly there was only an answerphone to talk to, but we knew someone would call us back.

With water needed we pushed off along the New Junction Canal again. If my glasses arrive in the next few days we’ll aim to be near a station to get back to Doncaster to collect them.

Lift bridge ahead

We made our way back swinging and lifting bridges. Before Sykehouse Lock three narrowboats that passed us yesterday were moored up, they looked like they were settled for a few days of company, jobs and possibly even a barbeque.

As we came through the last narrowing where a swing bridge used to be the light at the lock changed to red, shortly followed by green. There were plenty of people around. The volunteer who must live there in the tower, another C&RT chap by the bridge and a couple of boaters, so there was plenty of help to move the bridge out of our way and then back once we were below it.

Water water everywhere!

At the end of the New Junction we turned left and headed towards Pollington Lock.

A couple of bank slippages are marked with yellow buoys. These were there when we walked the stretch shortly after the breach happened Christmas 2020. Short red posts and some spray paint mark the worst bits.

Blackthorn blossom

The visitor moorings below Pollington Lock were empty so we pulled up to the space closest to the water point and got the tap going. We very quickly remembered that the pressure is appalling at this tap, no sitting and waiting for the tank to fill, best to get on with other things and forget about it. Thankfully we can check our water gauge every now and then to know when the tank was full, the pressure so low that there’d be no boom from our tank and no major gushing of water coming out of the over flow, just a gentle trickle. It took longer than two hours to fill us up!

Handy picnic bench!

Tilly checked out the picnic table, but wasn’t overly impressed with the mooring. She’s managed to get on the other side of the ditch here before which makes for an interesting rescue. Mick however looked at the picnic table and realised what we’d be doing tomorrow!

1 lock, 7.32 miles, 3 swing bridges, 3 held up, 3 lift bridges, 6 held up, 2 outsides, 6%, 6th pair knitted, 2 plus hours to fill, 2 pairs of odd socks, 1 conference, 1 plan at last, 1 call booked, 1 useful picnic table and tap.

https://goo.gl/maps/CSMReDdA7iSvRyML8

Heading For Shelter. 20th March

Bramwith Junction to only just on the New junction Canal

A very sunny day, but the wind where we were moored seemed relentless. Looking up and down the canal we could see that it was a lot calmer just across the way at the beginning of the New Junction so before we did anything else we released ropes, let the wind push the bow round (well we had no choice in this) whilst the stern was still tied and then finished our turn, just as a cruiser was heading our way. Luckily the South Yorkshire Navigations are very wide. There was a little bit of confusion as to which side we were heading for due to the wind and our wind, but we both passed with ease.

Wind pushing us round to the junction

This was to be the only boat we saw for quite sometime today.

We pootled a short way up the New Junction to where there was a horizontal bar to put chains round, the bank here a touch lower than elsewhere. Tilly was given eight hours shore leave, she headed straight off into the friendly cover and started eying up the local trees. Despite her presence the Chiff Chaffs sang their hearts out for us.

A cooked breakfast, another round of when and which way should we go. Still no decision, it would help if my glasses arrived!

Time for some boat jobs. Mick climbed into the engine bay and set about doing a gearbox oil change. Fuel filters will follow another day and the reason for an engine oil change (leave it with nice fresh oil whilst idle over the winter) has passed, so that can wait until the engine hours reach the next 250 hours.

I got out the wood polish. Time to give the interior wood a touch of tlc. I don’t polish the wood that often, in fact it is quite a rarity, possibly only the third time since Oleanna was new. Life has far too many interesting things to do which doesn’t include polishing wood or boats in general. But occasionally I just feel the need and have to act very quickly before the feeling passes.

My dodgy right hand isn’t too keen on certain jobs and a dodgy left shoulder now too, meant I did a very good job of our bedroom but then stopped for the day. Maybe next weekend I’ll tackle half of the living area, leaving the galley for the following weekend.

Happy tail in the sunshine

Over the last week Mick and I have been trying to wean ourselves off closing drawers as we enter backwards down the stern steps. Ever since Frank added the magnets to the ring leader drawer we have had no problems with it at all. After four nearly five years of always having to close drawers as you enter it is now hard to get out of the habit.

The freezer seems to be cooler too now in it’s perforated drawer. We just need it to go back on drawer runners, have an area underneath cut out for extra ventilation and maybe it needs a new handle as the old one fell off the day after Frank had put it back on for us, I think the thread has gone.

Look at that wake!

Considering it was a calmer sunnier day than yesterday we were surprised at how few boats came past. One rib zoomed up the cut creating a similar wash to Exol Pride. Then mid afternoon a narrowboat appeared, followed by three more boats. They’d all fit in Sykehouse Lock together and be able to leapfrog each other through the bridges.

You wait for ages, then three/four come at once

I normally avoid mentioning politics and world events here, but today I need to record news regarding my cousin Tim. Today we received news that he and his wife are in Ukraine. The fact that he has a new wife was news in itself! News on the social media grapevine, at least fourth hand, is that they moved out from their home in Chernihiv (north east of Kyiv) due to the fighting and were now in the countryside about 2 hours away with no electricity and an earth toilet. This was three to four days ago. I so hope they have made it to somewhere safer and that better news filters through the grapevine soon.

0 locks, 0.18 miles, 1 windy wind, 8 hours, 2 many woofers for a Mrs Tilly stamp, 1 polished bedroom, 1.5 litres oil, 1 inch short of a sock, 1 missing cousin.

https://goo.gl/maps/1s8FgPBsQUzhs7en6

Too Windy For Much. 19th March

Bramwith Junction

Too sunny for a view this morning

Exactly as the title suggests today was far too windy to go anywhere, even Tilly wasn’t too enamoured with the constant blowiness. Yet other people were on the move. Adams Ark a local widebeam was busy taking groups of cubs from Barnby Dun up to Bramwith Lock and then along the New Junction for a short distance. There was usually a very short person stood at the helm guessing which way to point the bow, they were accompanied by two adults who could see over the roof. Other boats came past struggling in the wind, one getting stuck on the bank opposite us as they hadn’t had enough umph to keep going.

A lonely daffodil

After the Saturday morning Geraghty Zoom (amongst the topics, missing glasses, avoiding Labour and Swedes) we headed out to walk back to Barnby Dun to post off my socks and find a newspaper.

The ladies at the Post Office/Spar shop were very busy chatting away. The lady at the Post Office counter did interact with me briefly, but the lady I bought our newspaper from didn’t even look in my direction. Everything was purchased using contactless and nobody even mentioned how much things were. I checked my receipt a few hundred yards away, well it seems that I got some postage for free because they were all too busy gassing!

The Church of St Peter and St Paul

We walked through the village, which has been subject to new house building through the ages. Originally the village was an agricultural one, when the canal was built in 1732 produce was moved from Hull to Doncaster and Sheffield. In 1860 George Frederick Milnthorpe brought prosperity to the area by opening a malt kiln, this meant those who worked in the fields could now work through the winter. History Link. Land was sold off to Pilkingtons. Stainforth and Bentley pits were sunk at the beginning of the 20thC pulling people into the area. In 1959 Thorpe Marsh Power Station was built bringing more jobs to the area. The power station still appears on quite a few satellite images of the area even though the last two cooling towers were demolished in 2014 using no explosives, just a wire! They also appear in our Nicholsons guide in the Aire and Calder Section. A Gas fired power station was planned for the site, but has never been built.

We headed for the Farm Shop that I visited a few years ago. Set back from the road there is plenty of parking and a couple of picnic tables to enjoy a slice of cake and a coffee outside.

When last I visited there didn’t seem to be much fresh produce, although I think I’d only come for a carrot and a cooking apple which I managed to get. Today the place has changed.

A full rack of fruit and veg, fresh eggs, a butchers counter, plenty of the posh preserves and some frozen items. Little was priced! This always puts us off.

We picked up some spring cabbage and a leek for next week. Ogled at the 31 day dry aged beef in it’s climate controlled fridge, blimey those ribs looked good! At £31 a kg they weren’t the most expensive item, fillet steak was at least another £10. With no price on the boxes of eggs we refrained from buying any.

The people in front spent over £75, the chap behind had a shoulder of lamb and some pork fillet along with a box of eggs, his bill would be big too. In between them we stood with our cabbage and leek, £1.96! Well we are on an economy drive.

On our walk back be passed the Co-op, Mick popped in and bought the last dozen free range eggs. I wonder how long it will be before you can buy free range eggs again, or are hens destined to be barn dwellers forever due to avian flu?

Good, but not as good as mine

Lunch today consisted of sad git’s Hot Cross Buns (M&S gluten free, very tasty) followed by our treat cheese. Ribblesdale Blue Goats and some Wookey Hole Cheddar, plenty left for another day.

Cheeeeese!

Mick considered doing an engine service, the one he’s been meaning to do since November! But with the wind blowing straight across the canal he was worried he’d loose things like funnels, so this was put off again.

I got on with a new tension square with Lisa’s yarn on slightly bigger needles. This had meant pulling out the pouffe and revealing the secret passageway to Tilly, she’d so easily amused! I discussed sock knitting with lots of ladies on the March Knitting Challenge Group. I’d always been put off of knitting socks, never being able to get my head round four or five needles. But when I came across circular needles designed for socks and I gave it a go. I now love sock knitting and have my own pattern.

Cauliflower Cheese with extras, click on the photo for recipe

This evening I cut up the cauliflower we’d bought at Doncaster market. Blimey it was huge! I got half way through and decided I’d keep the other half for Monday evening, possibly a roast cauliflower korma that we’ve not tried before. Have to say size isn’t everything, we’ve been spoilt with our organic veg in Scarborough, Tree Top Press‘s caulis have so much more flavour.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6500 steps, 5 pairs posted, 1 newspaper, 2 chatty, 1 PO balance that won’t balance, £1.96, 12 eggs, 1/3rd of a sock, 0 service, 1 very blowy mooring.

Nose and Toes. 18th March

Doncaster Visitor Moorings to Bramwith Junction

This morning it was time to find Oleanna’s Red Nose. I made this three years ago when we were in Goole and it has been in storage under the bed since then. In the last three years we have had a new bow fender, and although they looked to be the same size would the nose still fit?!

Red Nose

Mick climbed out onto the bow to fit the red giant crochet cover, it fitted! No adjustments required. The colour had faded on the top last time, so Mick put it on inside out to make it as red as possible.

Another blue day

I made a phone call about my glasses to the Scarborough branch, the lady said she’d check things and call back. Thankfully she did, but unfortunately my glasses still have not arrived. They’d been sent between branches internally which could take between 7 and 10 days, they’d been sent out last Friday. I could have walked back to Scarborough and back by now! If they don’t arrive by next Friday then a new pair will be ordered for me. I explained about living on a boat and how no one had mentioned the 7-10 day delivery when I ordered them. All a bit frustrating, we won’t hang around them, if I need to come back by train so be it!

Look at all that fish!

Time to head out to do some shopping. We’d timed our visit perfectly as it was market day. First into the Fish Market to see what we fancied. We got a couple of Salmon steaks for the freezer and a large mackerel which was filleted for this evening. I did a quick google to see how I’d cook it and found what sounded like a tasty recipe with roast potato hash.

Some bacon and a chicken were bought from the inside market and Mick treated himself to a Diddy Pork Pie. Lots of tasty sausages on offer, but none gluten free sadly.

A lot of the fruit and veg stalls sell things in bulk, this was fine for Blueberries, £1 on the market for the equivalent of £7 in a supermarket, the majority of them went straight in the freezer. Then we found other stalls who did smaller quantities and topped up on veg for a roast and a big cauliflower to add some cheese to tomorrow.

Worth a trip to Doncaster alone

That was the market done. Time to visit Scicluna Deli, possibly my most favourite deli. A visit to Doncaster wouldn’t be right without walking in through the front doors. It is food heaven. They stock just about everything you could dream of, with one exception, chestnut flour.

Having Mick with me helped to keep my time in there to a minimum. Some banana shallots, a quick look round and then time to choose two treat cheeses! Our bill still came to over £10.

The Doncaster moorings

Back at Oleanna we had lunch and then decided to head back down stream, getting out of Doncaster and into the countryside.

Going down

The moorings at Long Sandall were still full so we descended the lock.

Kirk Sandall has a tarmac towpath which is popular with bikes and dog walkers, not ideal for Tilly, so we carried on.

Looking back to Barnby Dun

At Barnby Dun Lift Bridge a chap with a cruiser asked if he could go through with us. I went to press the buttons. A chap in a sporty number asked if the bridge was about to close, yes but only when you’ve gone over it! Then a gap in traffic, I pressed the button. Lights and sirens going just as a complete to**er in a white van drove along at speed, no intention of slowing or stopping. He looked straight at me with a stupid smug face and carried on across the bridge as I released my finger from the button.

I did stop the traffic. I stopped counting how many vehicles I’d stopped when I reached 60!

Back at Bramwith Junction we winded to have the hatch to the towpath and moored back up.

Red Toes

Ends were woven into the latest two pairs of socks. Then each pair was packed up ready for posting tomorrow. One of the skeins of yarn from Lisa was wound into a ball and a tension square knitted. I think however I need to use the next size up of circular needles as it was all a bit too compact. This will require some digging in the pouffe where I stash my crafty things.

Still more to knit

This evening we watched the moon rise across the fields. A real shame my camera didn’t do it justice.

1 locks, 5.69 miles, 2 winds, 1 lift bridge, 60 plus cars, 1 tag along cruiser, 0 glasses, 1 punnet blueberries, mushrooms, tomatoes, 6 bananas, 1 huge cauli, 2 salmon steaks, 2 mackerel fillets, 8 slices bacon, 1 chicken, 27 mini sprouts, 1 lemon, 2 treat cheeses, 4 sad gits hot cross buns, 1 worm moon.

Birmingham This Weekend 19th 20th March

This year Birmingham is hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Last night was the opening of Birmingham Festival 2022. Wonderous Stories is taking place in Centenary Square today and Sunday, show times are 18:30 and 20:30.

It is a spectacular open-air show. A mixture of dance and circus artists. People flying up the outside of the Library, Illuminated books, projections, dancing, so much to see. 322 costumes have been designed and realised by 20 local students in the last 6 months with 16 dance groups and 2 collaborative partners- OPUS and Motionhouse.

From what I’ve seen on a friends facebook page this is an event not to be missed. So if you are in Birmingham this weekend go and see it, we would if we were there.

Wonderous Stories

Blue All Around. 17th March

Bramwith Junction to Doncaster Visitor Moorings

Wonderful day

What a difference waking to bright sunshine!

We pushed off mid morning, the washing machine having nearly worked it’s way through a full cycle. A boat was just pulling back from the water point at Barnby Dun so we pulled up in front of them and took over the tap.

Happy strawberries

The plants in the cratch were given a water, thyme and two troughs of wild strawberries which have survived the winter well. I wonder if I should move a few into another trough to give them more space?

Buttons in reverse order

Time to hold up the traffic. For the first time at Barnby Dun a gap in vehicles happened almost instantaneously as I arrived at the panel. I had to have another look round before pressing the button on the panel, it wasn’t too long before a car arrived, thankfully the driver sat patiently as the barriers dropped.

I lifted the bridge enough for Oleanna to get through, then dropped it again, the road now open again to traffic. Thank goodness I hadn’t lifted it all the way up, as soon as I turned the key, turning the power off, an ambulance siren could be heard. It then came into view along the side road, blue lights flashing and whizzed across the bridge. So glad it hadn’t arrived a few minutes earlier when the bridge was up and Oleanna part way under it!

There was a keen head wind which pinned Oleanna against the side, a Reverse Andy with the stern rope was needed to get us going again.

More new houses have gone up around St Oswalds at Kirk Sandall. A couple of semis right up along side the church. Several properties have added fake greenery along their railings keeping prying eyes and the view of the canal out. One house has gone even further and built a large garden room right across the back of their property.

The light was on amber at Long Sandall lock, I hopped off with the key of power, Mick reversed Oleanna away from the bottom of the lock so that I could empty the water safely.

Back to big locks

Above the lock there are nice 48hour moorings, there was a space, but sadly only two thirds of Oleanna would have fitted. We decided to carry on to Doncaster, first of all dropping off our recycling at the bins by the lock. Then another Reverse Andy to get off the bank again, this one took a bit more umph, but worked to get the bow out from the side and we were off.

What a jolly blue van

The next pound is a touch mangy. Burnt out vehicles, rubbish, speeding cruisers! But then a high chirp, a flash of electric blue, a Kingfisher reached a perch and sat their chirping away. Sadly I couldn’t get it in shot before we were too far away.

Doncaster Minster came into view, followed by the visitor moorings, only one boat on them, we pulled in behind.

Doncaster

Sorry Tilly no shore leave here! I realised that we’d not finished unpacking since we moved back on board. All Tilly’s toys that had been taken to the house had been packed in her escape pod which was still collapsed in a cupboard. Time to unleash the toys. This was a very popular move and her two newest toys have not lost their pungency of cat nip.

TOYS!!!

An afternoon of knitting for me whilst Mick tinkered with the blog. He’s now discovered that we can add different links to reusable blocks on different posts. So from now on the blue and red arrows at the bottom of a post, if I can remember how to do it, will link to the page they are referring to, so just click on them.

1 lock, 5.74 miles, 1 lift bridge, 2 reverse Andys, 12 held up, 0 ambulances, 1 sunny day, 1 chirpy Kingfisher,0 drawer movements, 0 glasses news, 5th pair socks off the needles, 1 approach, 6 mice, 2 fish, 1 ball released, 1 happier cat.

https://goo.gl/maps/f9P4N7RZJ5CK95bA9