Deepest Darkest Frank Country, Bulkington Bridge 14

It turns out that we are moored in the middle of where our friend Frank grew up. In the past he has pointed to the maps in Nicholsons, his sisters school, where he used to go and watch the trains, where he and his friends used to play alongside the cut. We took notice but never really clocked where these places were. Well just around the bend in front of us is Avril’s school and the Co-Op in Nuneaton is where Frank got his first football boots from, his parents lived near our current mooring and he would cross the bridge behind us to go watch the trains. We are in deepest darkest Frank Country

A couple of days of work for me. In the mornings the drawing board has come out from it’s slot so that I can draw up the set for a couple of scenes, then it’s put away to make space for me to make the model of those scenes in the afternoons. Sunday morning Mick managed to keep himself enough space to sit at one end of the sofa and watch The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery which just happened to be on. It’s still rather funny even if you are only listening to it.

In the afternoon Mick had to relocate himself to the towpath for some space. He’s even opened up a book to read, we’ll see if he gets further than page 30 before it joins the other part read books onboard!

During the morning  plenty of boats came past, nothing unusual in that, it’s very busy along here. However one was strange. As it came past I waved at a lady inside the cabin, she waved back. I then looked up to see that there was nobody at the helm. Maybe they’d just bobbed inside to grab something? No the back doors were shut. It must have had remote control as the tiller was moving and the boat was in full control as it passed us and the other boats moored up. Early last year we shared Calcutt Locks with a chap who steered his boat from the lock top with a remote control. It’s just weird seeing a boat steering itself, like a ghost boat.

Late morning a boat pulled into the gap behind us. As he moored he spotted Tilly on the towpath, he’d keep his dog on a lead. The pram cover comes in handy for such moments. If I lie close to it, I can spy woofers along the towpath, but they find it hard to see me, only my head visible, even then most don’t see me.

A catch up with my family in London on the phone informed us that there was quite a lot of post. Some of it important for Mick’s pensions. So instead of us finding somewhere for it to be posted to, Mick decided to have a day trip to London to pick it up. After helping me get the drawing board out Monday morning he headed off to Bedworth Station to catch a train to Nuneaton and then into London. There was quite a bundle of post, some reminding him that he hadn’t filled a form in, other envelopes included items that needed to be included with the form, so the trip was worth it.

I made use of his visit by giving him a shopping list of items I could do with for my model. 4D is a great model shop in the East End, they sell just about any variety of tree so long as it’s to scale along with plenty of other scale things. I was after some lengths of wood and dowel and they were just the place to get them from.

Tilly and I kept ourselves busy, she came and went having a drink on every visit, whilst I got on designing some boats. Two in fact, one for our romantic lead to woo his lovely princess in and the other more brash the Dame’s gin palace cruiser. Whilst I toyed with angles to create a suitably sized tuperware, numerous boats cruised past. I was surrounded by boats. Today has been one of the hottest so far, yet this didn’t deter the masses from cruising. Only about a third hire boats making the most of their holiday. There were several who pulled in for lunch taking advantage of the overhanging trees. One stayed for several hours, their big black poodle shouting as they moored up followed by smelly smoke every now and then.

Our mooring did well. Only about an hour of direct sunlight mid afternoon, which did heat up the cabin somewhat and necessitate me closing the hatch so that I could see what I was doing. But the rest of the day was nearly pleasant.

Once Mick was home and my model stowed away again we sat out on the towpath and enjoyed the burgers and kebabs we’d bought in Nuneaton. A suitable way to celebrate living onboard full time for four years. I so hope the bears are still alright guarding our possessions in the attic in Scarborough.

0 locks, 0 miles, 214 boats, 2 at 1:25, 2 days work, 5 trains, 2 tubes, 2 buses, 5 pension letters, 2 birth certificates, 1 pyramid that isn’t there, 1 papyrus ground row, 1 sarcophagus, 1 nice woofer, 1 good vantage point, 1 smelly noisy woofer, 2 hole days of work, 2 burgers, 2 kebabs, 1 very slow cooking bbq, 2 corn, 4th home grown salad, 4 years of floating along full time.

Cat Junkie Mooring to Hawkesbury Junction to Bulkington Bridge 14, Coventry Canal

I like work. It is great!

It means that I get to spend all day everyday out doing what I want to do. But having said that after four days and a couple of previous visits to this outside I had just about used it all up. Being outside all day everyday is exhausting. It would be stupid to come back inside when still allowed outside, so for the odd little snooze I decided to make myself comfy in the pram cover.

There were still friends to be found and I brought them back to be near to Oleanna, not inside as I’d have had to introduce them then and that would shorten play time! So a rustley area in amongst the trees was a great place to play, not too much friendly cover so I tended to win at hide and seek.

Tom must be getting bored, he even did some more washing of Oleanna! That’s three days running he’s had the buckets out. She’s hoping that he gets very bored and washes the pram and cratch cover soon.

Out of the four days we’ve been here I managed to get nearly three days work done on my model. A rough plan of what to make each day means I know when I’m falling behind, modelmaking always takes longer than you think. Luckily my plan has six spare days worked into it. By the end of Friday I’d almost got to where I wanted to be and managed to have a chat with Gemma the Production Manager, there is a lot to catch up with as we worked together twenty years ago in Scarborough, I suspect we won’t run out of conversation before the show opens.

Saturday morning arrived and the need for some fresh veg, a newspaper, some water, a rubbish bin and a different outside for all of us meant we had a boating day. It also meant that Tilly wouldn’t get chance to make acquaintances with a Water Vole we’d spotted a couple of times. This morning it obliged us by sitting munching on grass opposite our bedroom picture window. Tilly was the one who spotted it first.

We let the morning rush hour pass before we ourselves pushed off and pootled to the winding hole just ahead of us. Here we winded and headed back past Springwood Haven heading for Nuneaton. The canal skirts around the town and other than visiting supermarkets we’ve not really had a look round. Today we moored up by Tuttle Hill Bridge and walked into town.

It being Saturday there was a market which was busy and far bigger than I’d imagined. We managed to buy quite a bit of the fruit and veg we wanted on the stalls but a few bits meant we’d still need to visit a supermarket to fill the gaps. My supply of tracing paper was running low, WHSmiths only sold A4 pads so we hunted round for Staples which luckily came up trumps with a pad of A3. I should be able to fit most of my drawings onto these sheets. It means more sheets of drawings, but they are a lot easier to get copied at this size. I also won’t have a huge roll of drawings knocking around the boat for weeks.

Amongst the none descript buildings of Nuneaton we spotted quite a few rather nice Deco buildings. The Co-op, sadly no longer a Co-op looked very fine with it’s name boldly displayed on the fin.

The Ritz Cinema also looks like it was once a gem. Frank did you ever visit it on a Saturday morning? (Our friend Frank comes from these parts and his Father is possibly the only person to have ever be sent away from Coventry). Sadly now closed the cinema is Grade 2  and was designed by Verity and Beverley for the Union Cinema Circuit in 1937. According to the Historic England website, you would enter the building on the curved corner into a foyer with a grand staircase, which led to a single large auditorium with a balcony.

The decor is highly coloured incorporating Art Deco, Neo-Egyptian and Chinoiserie. A link to some very colourful photos here. Large fretwork panels of lotus leaf motifs and coffered ceilings suggest it was once a wonderful magical place to visit. Sadly the building is boarded up awaiting a new life, whether that involves being converted into a theatre (I know of one of those in Scarborough) or the owners are just waiting for it to fall down and the site then to be redeveloped, who knows. But certainly some of the locals loved this place. A mural on the doors reminds you of kids Saturday mornings at the flicks and pictures of film stars below the canopy conjure up the atmosphere. Not seen a picture of Johnny Weismuller in decades.

Last port of call on the way back to Oleanna was at Frank Parkers Butchers. I’d spotted it from the car the other day and on our walk into town the queue meant it was definitely worth a look inside to see if their boasting of being a Butchers of Distinction was correct. It was, so a pork and stilton pie along with a couple of burgers and steak and haloumi kebabs made their way into our shopping bags for a barbecue tomorrow.

After lunch we pushed onwards Southwards. We needed water if nothing else today and the nearest tap was at Hawkesbury Junction a few miles away. On our route we made note of possible moorings again. If the forecast for the next few days is correct we’ll be wanting tree cover again. Today we noticed for the first time the amount of very plump ripe Blackberries, the best were around allotments in Nuneaton. Frank would have insisted on us stopping so that he could do his mountain goat impression to pick plenty. Maybe I’ll make some jam this year. At the junction with the Ashby we carried straight on, we may head back up there later in the week for a change of scenery, but we hoped today we’d find somewhere to moor ahead of us.

Any boater who has passed this way will have seen Charity Dock. Here there is a boat yard which has scrap piled up behind all the cruiser boats which block the entrance to the dock. Then along the linear moorings the residents have been creative with shop mannequins and all sorts. I was ready with my camera to play ‘Where is The Stig?’ The display changes quite frequently, around Halloween cobwebs and witches hats are added. Plenty to look at and today was the first time we’ve really noticed the tree covered in wooden masks.

Hawkesbury Junction seemed busy but the water points were free. The pressure on the tap was tiresome so we made use of the time to chat to NB Timewarp who sell tillerpins and very tasty fudge. We’re hoping to get our old tillerpin of a cat chromed so enquired if they knew anyone. Limekiln chandlery at Stourport was our best bet, shame we didn’t know that when we were stuck there earlier in the year!

Once the tank was full we headed to the junction, winded and reversed to the loading mooring. We were going to off load but we didn’t think it would be a problem. Once all the packaging from the solar panel along with our waste was in the bins we were ready to find a shady mooring. A couple of miles back we’d noted a tree covered cutting with armco where there was space with another boat and we were soon tied up ready for whatever the next few days brings us.

0 locks, 9.73 miles, 5 stalls, 1 stretch limo, 2 water voles, 15 minutes of proper rain, 1 cat tucked up inside, 2 straights, 2 winds, 2 burgers, 2 kebabs, 1 pomegranate, 1 pork pie, 2 colours of cherry tomatoes, A3 tracing, 2 bags fudge, 1 shady mooring, 3 whole days, 2 hours stretched into 4, 1 exciting new outside.

https://goo.gl/maps/oK5Kfp2ZqT92

Cat Junkie Mooring

With breakfast and the morning rush hour over I sat out to read Act 2 of panto before setting up the dinette for another day of work.

Mick gave the roof another quick wash and we waited for it to dry. Where better to store the solar panel other than on the roof. We laid it roughly in position.

Our original panel sits above the bathroom, just fitting between mushroom vents, the second one fits just behind it nestling between more mushrooms and the chimney. The box that connects the panels to the boat electrics was positioned so that we could add a second panel, so this now sits between the two of them.

Before anything else could be done Mick wanted to check that the panel worked. Nothing worse than sticking it down to discover it was faulty. The volt meter came up with the right answer and we could proceed.

The panel was positioned centrally between mushroom vents and between the grabrail and chimney, leaving what we hope is a suitable gap for water to drain along the grabrail. Then we drew round it so as the know where to put the silicone sealant to fix it down.

A wide band of masking tape was put down with the hope of containing any excessive silicone and giving us a neat clean edge once we’d finished. My concern was would the first bits of silicone start to skin over by the time we were ready to lay the panel on top. We’d avoided buying instant grab products so that we would have the chance to give the panel a bit of a squidge around before final positioning. A test was needed, not totally scientific, but worth doing. Some of the packaging was put on the roof in the sun and a bead of silicone applied to it and left for the length of time I thought it may take us to apply it to the whole area. Mick watched a stop watch and I made us wait, every few minutes checking on the sample to see if it had skinned over. After ten minutes I deemed that we’d waited long enough and there was no sign of a skin forming, so unless applying it to the roof rather than cardboard made a difference I thought we’d be safe and not end up with a lumpy bumpy panel. The panel we have is a flexible one, but that only really means that it is not rigid, there is only so much flex it is capable of, sitting on a curved roof is fine, but pulling it off when half stuck would not be good.

Silicone applied with a constant bead around the outside (hopefully to keep any water from creeping underneath, then a wiggle to help hold it in position and a few more across the centre for good measure. We lifted the panel onto the roof. Once in position we worked any air out from the centre before rubbing down the outside edge. Happy with position and adheardness (not a word until now) I tidied up the excess that had squidged out and then removed the masking tape. All very nice and neat.

During the afternoon I got on with making my model whilst Mick decided to connect the panel. The box that covers the connecting wires was unscrewed from the roof. The panels come with connectors on the ends of their wires, but these are bulky. Finesse when installing our first panel had removed the connectors and joined the cables with chocolate blocks which were then protected by the box from weather. A quick call to Photonic Universe to check that this wouldn’t affect a warranty on the panel and all was okay. However the cables were thick, too thick for two to go into each block. Springwood Haven provided Mick with some spade connectors which he then crimped onto the cables which fitted better. Bigger chocolate blocks may be needed, but for now this would do.

All of the fittings that are attached to Oleanna’s shell have a layer of what I call Black Tack. We used to use it every now and again at the theatre (can’t remember what for now, Ali would know though) and I believe it is a product that is used to hold car windscreens in. It’s black sticky and never dries out. Mick tried to save what had been under the box, but deemed it wasn’t suitable anymore. So with some of the silicone he made sure that the cables into the box wouldn’t allow water in and gave around the base a good amount to help seal this too.

I requested that I should be the one to tidy up afterwards, it should be a boy job, but patience for such things doesn’t come too easily to my boy. I had an inkling that it was already too late for this part of the installation to be as neat as the first part. The problems with clear silicone is that it is hard to see, it gets everywhere, onto everything and then onto other things as well! Mick had applied it to his arms as well as his hands, he was pretty waterproof. I quickly discovered that whilst it was wet it would gradually work off with white spirit. Next time I’ll be masking out the whole roof and putting Mick in a paper disposable suit before he is let loose with silicone again!

0 locks, 0 miles, Act 2 read, 1 solar panel adhered neatly, 1 new strip chocolate blocks, 1 waterproof Mick, 0.4 litres of white spirit, 1 cleaner roof, 2 tormentors, 2 treads, 1 front cloth all not finished, 14 hours!!! Yes you heard correctly, 14 hours, 2 friends brought to the playground, 1 brilliant day all day, 2 showers, 1 barbecue, 1 thirsty conpooperatedly tired cat.

Cat Junkie Mooring

Nichola and Andy were up and off early, we were still in bed! As we are moored with our picture window overlooking the canal we could wave farewell to them from under the duvet. Our paths may cross again later in the summer depending on where we end up loitering.

Today work had to get serious and my 50th Birthday present of a drawing board came out from it’s purpose built slot between the dinette and galley. The stools that normally get stored in there will move for the time being making it easier to access my work things. Poor Mick was left with very little space in the main cabin. Two thirds of the dinette table was taken over with the drawing board, the rest covered in plans, laptop sat on the end of the sofa with a stool to perch on and most of the dinette seats ended up being covered. Once the solar panel is on the roof there will be a bit more space, still not enough for Mick though! Good job it’s still not raining.

Yesterday we’d discussed how the solar panel would be fitted and bought suitable adhesive. It will need two of us to stick it down, so a break from panto for me in the next couple of days. But first the roof needs a good wash down. Mick agreed that this was needed. The conversation went back and forth for a while until he conceded that he’d have to be the one to wash the roof, not me. Over the last few years Mick has managed to gradually extricate himself from the chore of washing boats. When we were on NB Winding Down he would turn into a seriously grumpy g*t on a Friday afternoon, boat washing time. Each time buckets and cloths came out he would have to ask how we do it, hoping that one day I’d just relent and let him avoid the job. Over the years he has succeeded, now he makes me feel guilty for wanting a clean boat!

So today once the process had been explained, again, he picked up buckets and cloths and gave one side of the roof a good wash down, I made sure I was inside so as not to hear any chuntering that might be going on. This is the first time he’s ever washed any part of Oleanna! I know it won’t become a regular thing.

By mid morning all the boats that had moored up around us yesterday had departed. Plenty of boats came past in the morning, then the lunchtime lull, followed by a few in the afternoon. These were mostly hire boats, we nearly had a full set go past us in an hour. A Black Prince boat came past, the people at the helm deciding to pull over to let another boat pass them. As their stern came level with our side hatch the reason was obvious, an Elite boat was tail gating them. Black Prince started to pull over behind us, all the time being assisted by the Elite boat that was almost pushing them across the cut, no safe stopping distance there!

A new draught of the panto script was emailed through in the afternoon, this needs reading in case I need to make any adjustments to what I’ve already got. I now have a proper scale groundplan that I drew up which I can work from and the basic dimensions of the set are worked out. A few more plans to do and then I can get the glue and card out.

All day! Bloomin brilliant!! There is still lots to do here, although I couldn’t find many friends today, no one seemed to want to come out and play! I made sure I came home for the odd comfort break, but kept off the roof! At dingding time I was quite hungry so came home and the doors were closed behind me. It had been such a brilliant day until she had to go and spoil it. As I snoozed my collar was taken off, quite nice but it does mean no shore leave, then as I was dozing she put that chilling stinky wet stuff on my neck. Eeurgh!! Yuck stop it! Make it go away!! You evil uncaring *dgfufe/**ch!!!!!

0 locks, 0 miles, 50th birthday present used for the first time, 1:25 groundplan at last, 8 sketch groundplans, 2nd draft, 1 sofa covered in holes, 0 space for Mick, 2 buckets, 1 reluctant boy, 0.5 clean roof, 11 hours, 0 friends, 1 flea and tick treatment for her own good! 1 rather tasty chicken and bean salad.

Springwood Haven to Cat Junkie Mooring

Before the hire car was returned we did a big fresh food shop at Sainsburys and visited Wicks to buy some suitable flexible adhesive to be able to attach the new solar panel to the roof.

Whilst Mick went to drop the car off I disposed of all the rubbish, including recycling (the marina has good recycling bins). But no matter how hard you try to collect everything together there is always something that manages to escape being thrown away, today it was packaging from some batteries!

The last load of washing had been doing it’s thing whilst we shopped so a top up of the water tank was needed before the hose was coiled back up, hook up unplugged and we were ready for the off.

Not far today, just back out onto the cut where we’d come from on Saturday. Our shady spot was free so we pulled up to where we thought we’d get maximum tree cover. However today this was not needed as the sun was hiding behind a lot of cloud, the inside of Oleanna was a touch dark. All the curtains were pushed back for the first time in weeks as there was no need to try to keep the searing heat out.

At last! Freedom!!! The great outside awaited me. Oh! This outside is becoming quite familiar. They’ve put it on the other side of the boat, but it’s still the same one, they can’t fool me. Best make the most of it. And she did! Even being spotted by the chap on NB Tawney Owl as he passed.

Mick had a look at the solar panel to see if he’d need any more connectors before we move away from Springwood Haven as they have a stock of such things. I dug out my model making box and cutting mat and started to make alterations to the model box I’d been given. Sadly at some point dimensions on the plans had gone wrong and the model had been made from these. So first job was to shrink the proscenium, but is that really the only measurement that was wrong? From what datum were other measurements taken? Are the walls that will restrict entrances in the right places? Without being in the theatre with a tape measure myself and double checking various things, it’s impossible to know, but that will have to wait until my next meeting. Then once I’d decided to go with what I now had I noticed there was a mistake in the model which also needed altering.

Earlier in the day I’d sent a message with our location to our friends Nichola and Andy on NB On The Fiddle as they would be heading past us today or tomorrow on their way south. Mid afternoon I got a reply saying that they’d just come up Atherstone and if there was space to moor they would carry on to meet up with us. An hour and half later their bow came into view and they pulled in.

We spent three hours on the towpath catching up with each others news. I spent the three hours watching their woofers play with their balls and chews. I came close at one point which woke Chad up a little bit, but he is a bit slow and I’d have out run him without even trying. By 8pm it was a little chilly to be sat out any longer so we retired to our respective boats for food and to warm up. When I say we, Tilly didn’t!

I was far far too busy! All my friends had come out to play and were really enjoying running around the trees with me playing hide and seek. It was great. Well until she came and picked me up, it was time for tea. Well past her tea time! Limboing under a barbed wire fence, scrambling down the hill and then retracing my slipping sliding steps back up with a wriggling cat is just how I like to spend my evenings. At least Tilly still had an appetite.

0 locks, 0.21 miles, 1 bag onions, 1 chicken, 500 grams pork mince, 6 nectarines, 6 bananas, 2 lefts, 3rd time in this mooring, 1 panel not going back in it’s box, 1 passing Tilly fan, 1 model box rectified (I think), 1 floor cut to fit, 1 sofa full, 0 place for Mick, 2 boats meeting, 3 hours of boaters chat, 3 hours of ball chasing and chewing, 9 hours, 4 squeaking friends, 3 bare patches around trees, 1 scramble, 1 black and white thug locked away for the night.

Duncan and Jaye’s House, Scarborough to Springwood Haven

Scarborough seagulls always know when we are at home and go out of their way to welcome us back. They are especially good at this in the middle of the night! They started to serenade us at about 3:45am! There are lots of things we miss about Scarborough, but they are not one of them.

Jaye and Duncan were having to work today, so after a bleary eyed cuppa in their kitchen we waved our host, Duncan, goodbye and we headed out of town first to start on the list of jobs to do in Scarborough. A quick appointment at Mick’s doctors only gave me enough time to flatten the back seats of the car for our next task. Mick has treated Oleanna to a second flexible solar panel with some of his birthday money and had arranged for it to be delivered to the theatre last week so that we could pick it up. Knowing that it was likely to be of a size we’d booked the next sized car up from our norm, but would it fit? Jaye helped us out of the theatre, hoping that we wouldn’t be returning within minutes with the very large, yet flat box. We hoped the same as if it didn’t fit we’d be returning in a few days with a van!

Stopping next to the car the length of the box exceeded the space behind the front seats even with the back seats down. But we all know diagonals are longer, so we hoped that we could angle the box to gain more length. This was still about a foot too short! Eek!! Head rests lowered, was there enough width at roof height for the box to slide over the top of the seats? Just. Would the boot then close? Just. Would we be able to sit in the seats? Yes. Would Mick have to drive with his head bent down all the 150 miles back? No, luckily the seat lowered which gave him a touch more head space. Phew we’d managed it, good job it’s a flexible panel!

The poppies I’d been knitting a few weeks ago needed delivering to Dawn and Lee around the corner. We joined them, Lisa and Bill for a cuppa and a quick resume of yesterdays wedding. We were starting to pick up by now, but Dawn was lagging behind a bit in the feeling shabby stakes. Lifts were needed to pick up cars and everyone headed off.

There was now a definite need for food. So there was only one thing to do, a visit to Eat Me. If you are ever in Scarborough it is definitely worth a visit. We didn’t opt for their full breakfast, but a half breakfast each sufficed. Now with fuel in our bellies I popped into my favourite model makers shop, chatted biplanes before we called in at the letting agents to pick up some post. Then a drive by of our house was required to see that Yorkshire Water had returned a front path to how it should be after they’d dug it up to mend a leek. All tasks now done we waved farewell to Scarborough and headed back to Nuneaton.

Tilly was pleased to see us, I was relieved that she hadn’t been overcome by the heat on the boat. I’d followed instructions, stayed low, avoided sitting in the windows, drank lots and found that the coolest place on the boat was actually sitting on the radiator. All was fine, just so long as I could go out now thank you!

Glad we’d decided to leave the fresh food shopping until tomorrow as we both needed a quiet evening.

0 locks, 0 miles, 150 miles by car, 3 more Duncan mentions (4 now, I think that’s enough for a while), 23 poppies, 6 more goodbyes, 1 tight squeeze for a box, 0.5 breakfasts, 2 extra sausages, 3 letters, 2 clean patches of concrete, 1 happy yet disappointed cat, 1 very big parcel to live with, 1 quiet evening on the sofa, 2 big Thank Yous to the Lewis family.

Cat Junkie to Springwood Haven Marina to Scarborough

On Saturday Mick waited patiently for a phone call from Enterprise Car Hire. They had said they would pick him up sometime before midday which is when they close, so as time ticked on he decided to walk up the hill behind Springwood Haven Marina to the main road. This walk takes seventeen minutes in the heat of the day and as he ascended the hill he got a call to say they were on their way. Once he was back, with a newspaper, he checked in at the marina as to which our allotted mooring would be for the weekend.

We were given a storage mooring, which means there is no pontoon alongside, so access is only over the stern of Oleanna. Mick expertly turned her into the marina and then reversed her into the narrow space. About eight inches either side. A thinner rope was needed so that we could tie the bow to a post using one of the fender rings on the side of the hull. Once happily moored we got ourselves hooked up and the washing machine went straight on. Unlike quite a few marinas they don’t have a problem with boats hanging out their washing so our whirligig was going to be busy.

Mick kept an eye on all the electrical data and how our batteries were charging on a land line. We were using the washing machine most of this time, despite this our batteries charged quickly. By late evening the panel was saying Float.

The marina requests that all dogs should be kept on a lead, but this does not apply to cats. Tilly would be allowed shore leave. So as the day got warmer and warmer and with a total lack of shade at our mooring we let her out a little nervous as she’s never encountered a marina before. What sort of rubbish place is this?! All the grass is super short, a few bits of friendly cover but they were too neat and tidy to have any friends loitering. After a while I decided to venture further, only to be told off for going on other peoples roofs. Tilly had the look in her eye that she’d roof hop all the way along the marina! A distance away behind a spiky fence there was plenty of friendly cover so I had a good look round there before she called me back. Well we wanted to do that big shop we’d missed out on a few days ago. Some big plastic tunnels looked interesting, but she wasn’t keen on me going in them. I was bundled back into the warm boat and left.

Big shop accomplished, apart from fresh things, we decided that we’d actually keep Tilly in. She may be welcome by the owners to wander around, but we weren’t too comfortable about it. Should she fall in between boats there wasn’t enough space for us to stand on gunnels to rescue her without boats touching, a crush incident waiting to happen. Also Cat Health and Safety didn’t like the thought of her hopping onto a dark coloured roof and discovering the science of how heat retention is affected by different colours. She was not impressed with our decision.

Sunday morning we were up very early for us. The car was packed with smart clothes on hangers, the magic food bowl primed, a very full bowl of water left in the shower and we were off just before 8:30am, heading to Scarborough for a wedding. A quick emergency hat purchase was needed, my boating cap, now sun bleached, not really suitable for a wedding so Sainsburys came up with something smarter and we headed to check in at our accommodation for the night.

Jaye and Duncan, who visited us in April, very kindly allowed us to persuade them to let us stay the night. As the wedding ceremony was to be held at the Stephen Joseph Theatre Jaye had been at work all morning helping to decorate front of house and the Round auditorium, whilst Duncan waited for us to arrive. Once we were all suited and booted we headed over to the theatre.

Mark (more commonly known as Tigger, he is ginger and quite bouncy!) and Becca met quite a few years ago whilst they both worked at the theatre. Tigger was a technician who now works freelance and Becca worked front of house as an usher, this is how they met. So the venue was very apt for them. Marrying on a Sunday is a common thing for theatre people as your thespian guests are more likely to be free and of course the theatre had no show on.

The Round auditorium was almost full on three of it’s four sides an audience of around 300!

Once all the legalities were done, we were invited to look under our seats. One person on each row found a brown paper package and whilst the signing of the register was happening we all played pass the parcel, some people taking a very long time to pass it on to the next person (Frank Matthews!).

After drinks in the bar we were all ferried out to a nearby village where the Village Fete reception was set up in Becca’s parents garden.

A very well stocked self service bar greeted us and a very large marquee stretched off down the garden.

A coconut shy, tin can alley, tombolla, bouncy castle, bat the rat, kept us all occupied. I even won a yoyo on the tombola!

People had been invited to provide a picnic platter towards the wedding breakfast and there were prizes for the best ones. Plenty to eat, plenty to drink and SO many people to talk to.

There was a lady with chilled medication who had a constant queue.

A ceilidh band which created a 200 person chain dancing around the fields.

Fresh pizzas were being cooked late in the evening. A great firework display and disco to follow. What an afternoon and evening, everything had been thought out so well.

Oli, Jaye and Duncan’s son gave us a lift back into Scarborough where we collapsed on sofas with mugs of tea and continued chatting with horse voices. We’d left plenty at the party which could well have continued into the early hours. A wonderful wedding for a lovely couple, whom I’m sure enjoyed the day twice as much as we did.

0 locks, 0.21 miles, 1 hire car, 1 hour of freedom, 3 roofs, £5 electric card, 2 loads washing, 150 miles, 3 hours, £10 emergency hat, 3 Duncan mentions, 0 Duncan photos, 1 Duncan hand, 6 now! 14 pairs Converse, 300 in the Round, 1 free bar, 2 lifts, 1 hot cat, 2 many friends to talk to, 200 seconds of fireworks, 350, 1 thirsty cat, 2 much to drink, 2 much to eat, 4 flavours, 1 lonely cat, 2 lovely people tying the knot.

https://goo.gl/maps/rx8LyPGd5Sx

Cat Junkie Mooring

We’ve had some rain! Remember, that stuff that used to fall from the sky. Water. The giver of life. That makes the countryside green. Enables things to grow. Fills the reservoirs to keep water flowing from our taps. That helps to keep us and our possessions clean. That fills the rivers and canals. Makes the towpaths quagmires in winter. Oh hang on a bit, we didn’t get that much!

This evening the sky was getting dark and a breeze picked up. We hoped we knew the signs. Mick put both sides back on the pram cover for the first time in ages and closed the cratch. It then rained, for about five to ten minutes. At least it was a start! With the ground being so hard now, if substantial rain fell it is likely to just run straight off, serious rainfall could cause flooding where the land is so dry and parched. What we need is a steady light rainfall that will give itself time to soak into the ground and feed the thirst of the plants and then gradually start to top up the reserves.

We have found ourselves in an area that back in 1976 during the summer drought was one place you could still cruise. Hillmorton Locks and Sutton Stop were open, but Braunston, Calcutt and Atherstone locks were all closed due to very low water reserves. So hopefully we’ll still be able to move even if the rain we had today is the last for a while.

Over the last few days we’ve had notices from C&RT informing us of restrictions to lock usage. Most Pennine routes already have these in place. Restricting the hours you can use the locks hopefully means more efficient use of the water, pairing up on broad locks etc. However from the end of the month, if no significant rain falls the Leeds Liverpool Canal will see flights of locks padlocked shut until water levels return to the reservoirs. The lock flights at Wigan, Barrowford, Greenberfield, Bank Newton and Gargrave will be padlocked closed and the gates will be ashed up to reduce leakage.  Also to prevent vandalism, measures will be taken by C&RT to make the locks inoperable. At the other end of the canal time restrictions on the use of the Bingley five and three rise locks have been implemented.

Restrictions are being brought in on the Rochdale, not much of a surprise as they always have difficulty in the summer due to the reservoirs having been sold off when the canal was closed. The Huddersfield Narrow is also affected and the narrowing lock on the Marple flight is restricting the use of the locks to only a few hours a day, which will be helping to keep the levels on the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal in better shape than they would be otherwise.

At the moment we are glad we moved to the Midlands away from the north. But this does mean we are on busier waterways, far more boats passing than we’re used to, we normally run away to the extremities of the network in the summer. With schools starting to breakup the traffic is likely to increase. Our cruising pattern is changing due to work anyway, so we shall stay put for longer periods than normal and most probably avoid moving at weekends.

Fingers crossed we get more rain soon.

0 locks, 0 miles, 12 sketches, 1 long storyboard complete, 17 minutes walk to the road, 26 24 Semi-final, 3 years of 9.75, 1 full bucket of kindling, 1 lose of grip, 2543 Dreamies on the floor, 1 cat eager to assist, 1 whole day, not hours, but a whole day!

Taveners Bridge to Worthington Farm Bridge 35

Before the lights went out last night we had another person loitering alongside Oleanna. Could it be another chap having received bad news? This one felt like someone was trying to sus out if a light had been left on to discourage intruders. At one point I thought they were trying to pear in through the curtains to see if anyone was inside. Mick turned the bathroom light on to see what would happen, they soon moved off. A minute or two later he then checked up and down the towpath with his torch and couldn’t see anyone. This made for an unsettled nights sleep.

An early start today for me to be on the 9:09am train to Euston. Believing London would be at least a couple of degrees warmer than Atherstone I dressed accordingly. The train was packed, standing room only,but after Milton Keynes it thinned out a touch so I could sit on the floor for a while. Most people seemed to be wearing cardigans one lady even had a padded coat on, was I actually  going to the Arctic?!

As the train came into London passing over the Regents Canal near to Camden I tried to see if I could see NB Blackbird who has been moored there for a couple of days. But sadly the walls to the bridge were too high so no view of the canal at all, I waved anyway. Off the train I wished I’d put long trousers on, it was a couple of degrees (if not more) cooler than at Atherstone.

Arriving early for my meeting meant I could stock up on a couple of bits I know I’ll need for making a model. There are plenty of shops I could have gone to, but London Graphics would have a good choice of gold paints. I used to know the area quite well around Covent Garden, but shops have changed, places been redeveloped and it is 22 years ago that I lived in London Town. So it was hardly surprising that I went a bit array on my directions. The handy maps on the street corners didn’t really help either as they seem to have followed suit with the Pearson’s guides for the waterways by not having north upwards! Once I’d sussed that they were to look pretty, rather than be helpful, I twisted my head through 30 degrees and found the streets I was looking for.

From the stage door of the Cambridge Theatre I knew where I was and walked to Piccadilly through Leicester Square. A new tea shop caught my eye on route so I popped in to see if they might have some loose leaf decaf tea. Very very quickly I realised that even if they had I wouldn’t be buying any tea. With boxes of 15 fabric tea bags selling for £16, and Haute Couture Teas £25 for 100g. On one table was a selection of their Grand Fine Harvest Teas, some were £75! The most expensive one Grand Golden Yin Zhen, a white tea which has been plated with 24ct Gold! For 45grams you will be forking out around £680, I can hear Frank right now ‘How MUCH!!!!’ You certainly wouldn’t be emptying the leaves into the bin at that price!

My meeting was at Fifth View a cafe/bar on the top floor of Waterstones in Piccadilly, the largest book shop in Europe. It is housed in a rather nice 1930’s building of which I only noticed the staircase and was spotted by the Director so forgot to take photos. My two hour meeting with Director, Producer and Costume Designer was very productive and I now have a lot of work to do, so if I don’t post for a couple of days it’s because I’m covered in card and glue trying to keep Tilly from playing with tiny things.

Meanwhile back on the boat. Tilly slept the whole day, not being interested in going out. Mick did some shopping, changed the 2nd fuel filter and cleaned out the in line fuel filter, changed the air filter, tightened the stern gland and topped up the grease. When the boat in front moved off be nudged Oleanna into their space where there was better shade.

I was back in Atherstone just after 4pm, so we decided to move back out into the countryside. Here Tilly would be happier, she woke up when I got in and wanted to go straight out. Well Tom doesn’t know the rules like she does, so I didn’t want to risk getting anything wrong! So we moved out back towards Nuneaton to find a shady spot. Just over a mile and we found a suitable place, tied up and let Tilly out.

Here the nearby train line will keep us company, but we were far enough away from civilisation not to be bothered by the match. Our move meant that we could get ITV and ITV 4, so after we’d eaten Mick watched the second half and extra time of the match followed by the Tour. There seem to be more crashes than normal this year.

0 locks, 1.26 miles, 2 trains, 2 tubes, 59ml heavy body Rich Gold, 2 part epoxy putty, £680! 2 hours of Egyptian conversation, 1 lamp, 2 tall hats, 1 strrrretch limo, 1 fuel filter changed, 1 fuel filter cleaned, 1 air filter changed, 1 stern gland tightened a little bit too much, 1 happier cat, 1 match lost, 30 more rows of crocheting, 1 peaceful mooring.

https://goo.gl/maps/FcvUAEBSA7q