Category Archives: A Regular Little Houdini

Into The Jungle. 14th August

Beale Park to Wallingford Jungle

At last, chance to read Saturdays newspapers in bed with a cuppa, well there was no point in getting up early as we knew it would be raining. Tilly had an damp explore outside but returned after an hour as nobody was out to play in the rain. The morning and the occasional wet boat drifted by.

Plenty of spaces, just a shame they are only 24 hrs

We had an early lunch and then decided that we should move on, the big sign right outside our bedroom window reminding us that we’d been here for 24 hours. The rain now was drizzle, but I still put my padded waterproof trousers on as it felt so much like autumn.

On our way back to the Kennet and Avon we’ll plan to stop here, there is a church and a National Trust house to visit, hopefully it’ll be drier then. We passed plenty of mooring possibilities where you could nestle into the bank, one was occupied by a boat we knew we’d see sooner or later.

WB Still Rockin, Carol and George’s boat, except they wouldn’t be there as they have done a boat swap with Lisa and David from NB What A Lark for a few weeks. Nobody was obviously on board, so we just waved and continued in the drizzle.

We were hoping for a mooring below Goring Lock but our hearts sank when there was only one space and lady was standing guard waiting for her boat to reverse from the lock landing to take it. Never mind, we’d go up the lock and try a bit further on.

Cleeve Lock came into view and the mooring below was empty, Hooray we could go back into the dry and I could get some work done. This is a mooring you pay for so after tying up Mick walked up to the Lockie (even though the lock said Self Service) to see if we were okay mooring there. Apparently it had been booked by someone, but he’d check if they were still coming. A couple of phone calls were made and the news came back that the mooring was still required, the rain hadn’t put whomever off. The Lockie said there was plenty of mooring all along the field above, it being deeper past the sailing club.

So once he’d emptied out the boats coming down we rose up and started to look for a space. Nobody was moored there. We spotted a couple of possibilities and after the sailing club tried one. I managed to hop off at the bow, gave Mick plenty of slack to be able to pull the stern in. He eventually managed to get off the stern, but as we both pulled our ropes we realised that there was something somewhere stopping both ends from coming in. Neither of us could get back on!

After quite a bit of pulling back and forth, shouting through the rain at each other and not appreciating that neither of us had extendable legs to cross the large gaps we faced, it was decided that Mick should get back on. This worked, then he tried to get the bow back in with help from the engine. Yes, it had come right into the side when I got off, but now there was at least three foot of water. Only thing for it throw the rope back on board and climb on the stern. Done, phew!

We tried a bit further along, still no luck. There was a boat at the end of a suitable stretch, but nowhere near enough room for us as well. On we carried catching up with a French family on a hire boat who were going quite slowly. As we reached Sheridan Marina we had just overtaken them when I spotted a sign Free 24hr mooring, so we carried on a short distance and then winded to return to give it a try, winding again to face upstream.

I hopped off into the undergrowth and Mick then tried to get close enough for him to get off safely. This might have happened but then getting back on board would have been harder, the bow now having disappeared from my view. No we’d carry on!

A long reach of river in the wind and rain with everyone trying to find a mooring. We pootled onwards and onwards no moorings marked on our maps until we reached Wallingford. Here the location for many midsummer Murders the town moorings were full, boats breasted up.

We’d carry on. The French family decided to try pulling into a gap ahead, Mrs not too keen on trying to step off the very front of the bow with the boat at 90 degrees to the bank. A distance on there were numerous boats pulled into the side under trees, Mick spotted a gap possibly big enough for us. We waited for a couple of boats to go by, a chap shouting that there was a mooring a few boats ahead, but we’d try this one first.

Into the side, well almost. I held the bow in and Mick brought the stern in all the time the timer going off in the galley telling me that some Quinoa was just about to burn on the stove. Tilly is useless at galley duties so there was no point hoping she’d turn the gas off, I’d only planned to be outside for a minute!

Pins put in at the stern and we seemed to be staying put ish, so the gas could be turned off. The bow rope got wrapped round a tree and we could settle for the night. Tilly was allowed out into the jungle. The hatch would only partially open due to the amount of undergrowth, not being able to see the hatch from the shore Tilly was uneasy.

I headed up the bank, I checked this way and that. Not enough view from our mooring to know I was safe. This always makes me feel uneasy. Then my feeling was backed up as a woofer appeared from nowhere! Luckily a handy tree came to my aid, the woofer having to jump over the jungle outside to get near. It soon got bored and went. I decided to call it a day and go home for a snooze.

My hope to get some work done today had vanished along with any vacant moorings. Some Houdini emails got some attention, but now it was too late to get stuck into things. The Chinese Water Torture Cabinet will have to wait for tomorrow.

In Henley, 4 bedrooms and on an island. This is one house. How much?

2 locks, 9 miles, 1 lock and 6.5 miles further than planned, 1 wet day, 2 teas in bed, 4th mooring lucky, 2 damp boaters, 42″ screen, £200?! 1 jungle mooring, 1 machete required, 6 eggs and perfect.

https://goo.gl/maps/bBBk5Sq7SBZ5u4b48

https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbhershes180308

£995,000 for two bedrooms on the first floor, you get a mooring for a small boat and parking for a small car at the rear. Bargain!

Pretty close with £840k Joa, but it is Henley!

Hopping Friends. 11th August

Marlow to Upper Thames Rowing Club

Boats were on the move this morning, we pushed off and joined in with them. Ear wigging the trip boat yesterday when it came past with three passengers, I learnt that the three big houses before All Saint’s Church in Bisham were all owned by the same man. The first he bought for £8 million, the second for £12 million, which he gave to his brother. Sadly he was out of ear shot by the time he said how much the third house was. Wonder who the chap gave it too?

Temple Lock was on Self Service and a cruiser had arrived ahead of us and a small narrowboat. We all squeezed in the small lock and rose up.

Half a mile on was Hurley Lock, Lockies were on duty here and after admiring the slipper launches at Freebody Peter and Co (most of which were under wraps) the three of us slotted into the lock again. The volunteer noted that between us there were two visitors and an EA licence holder.

Everyone was wanting water so we pulled in and waited our turn to use the giant hose. We took longer than the others to fill as we’d taken the opportunity of putting a load of washing in the machine as we’d left Marlow. Other boats came up the lock including a large blue wide beam and a narrowboat.

We gradually caught these chaps up as they cruised side by side having a good chat to one another. The river was wide enough as we passed the lovely moorings at Medmenham.

The tone of Oleanna’s engine changed, now what was that. A burst of reverse didn’t do anything to stop it, was there something around the prop? Well this was a different noise, we could pull in at the next possible place or carry on to the lock. Then Mick had an idea as to what it might be, the weedhatch cover might have worked a touch loose. This was worth checking.

Now before everybody goes checking their weedhatches please note our weedhatch is totally separate to our engine bay as we have a Tyler Wilson shell. A loose weedhatch on most boats can result in water making it’s way into the engine bay as the prop turns, this can lead to boats sinking. Ours being separate means that we can never flood the engine bay. Mick took Oleanna out of gear and lifted the lid on the stern deck. Nothing obviously loose. A tap with the lump hammer to tighten things up, he put her into gear, the noise was gone.

Up ahead was Hambleden Lock and a very long queue waiting to go up. The boats we’d shared with earlier filled the lock landing, so we trod water until they moved up. The wind caught the narrowboat ahead of us pushing him right over into the bushes on the off side, he eventually regained control and pulled in to the lock landing. Here we could now see that the lock was on Self Service. With two single handers in front I wandered up to push the buttons.

The lock emptied and I could see a couple of boats heading down stream so left the gates open for them to come into the lock. Now I’m not sure whether the Self Service sign was on the lock gate at the top, but nobody offered to assist with the buttons. This may of course have had something to do with what I was wearing!

EA Lockies either wear white shirts or dark polo shirts, the volunteers wear a pale blue polo shirt with a red life jacket. Now this morning I had inadvertently put on the costume of a volunteer lockie!

Boats came into the lock slotting in nicely, then a narrowboat indicated where I’d like him to be, well I didn’t really care, that’s when the penny dropped. I did my best to stand away from the buttons and to not act like a Lockie. One lady asked if I was on duty, ‘NO, just waiting to come up myself. I’m quite happy to push buttons for everyone but I take no responsibility for anything!’ She laughed, the others on their boats still could only see my pale blue t-shirt.

I pressed the buttons and down they all went.

In filed the boats from below, whilst they’d waited they had all sorted out what order they’d come in to make the most of the space, Hambledon Lock is far bigger than the other two we’d been through this morning. The narrowboat and widebeam pulled in at the front side by side, Oleanna next with a cruiser alongside, then a smaller cruiser. There was most probably enough space for another bigger cruiser but I wasn’t going to make that call, so I left it to the captain. He dithered so I closed the gates.

Hambledon is the last of the sideways filling locks, so the bow rope was passed round a bollard several times before I was going to push buttons again. Ah , but wait there was a Lock Keeper in a white shirt, I could step down. I held my rope. He tinkered with something at the back of the button cabinet, checked that the two single handers knew the lock filled sideways and then headed into his cabin.

We held our ropes, we all watched as he came out, watered his hanging baskets and disappeared again. ‘I think we’re still on Self Service then!’ Time to step back up and push those buttons. The sideways filling seemed to be a lot gentler on self service and my four times round the bollard held well when I wasn’t in attendance. The Lock Keeper chipped in with ‘It won’t open until it’s ready to’. Nice that he acknowledged me.

Mental note, leave the pale blue t-shirt in the wardrobe whilst on the Thames.

Around the bend and past Temple Island which marks the start of the Henley Royal Regatta. This happens every year in early July and the whole of Henley and it’s surrounding area get taken over by it for months.

Today large bells tents stood all in lines stretching almost as far as you could see. Today these were being erected for the Rewind Festival which takes place next weekend with music and all sorts. This looked like seriously posh camping, you can of course slum it by bringing your own tent!

Now on the straight we had a trip boat, the widebeam and narrowboat still wanting to chat to each other, us a cruiser and a small cruiser all heading in the same direction and a day boat heading towards us. Everyone adopted their chosen cruising speed. The widebeam and narrowboat ahead were of course the slowest and sat bang in the middle of the river, not pulling over to let people overtake. The trip boat just went for it on their port side, we were trying to get out of the way of the smaller cruiser, it was mayhem! In the end all the upstream boats managed to over take, be overtaken whilst the on coming day boat really didn’t know which way to turn. In the end they were guided to a gap left for them.

As soon as the moorings on the offside showed themselves we pulled over and brought Oleanna to a stop right by a gantry that it turns out was still left from the regatta. We’d just finished tying up when a four by four arrived for his mooring fee.

A chat with the director for Vienna was accompanied by a torrential down pour, but then the afternoon brightened up so we went for a walk to see what Henley had to offer.

A pretty place with a wide main street. Independent shops along with a few chain stores, not that much was open so late on a Sunday afternoon. There was the same bunting that had been up in Marlow, the church has a tower rather than a spire and there isn’t much on street parking.

George Harrison lived here at one time, but did you know that in 1722 the mayor of Henley was also called George Harrison. In 1930 Norman Wisdom applied for a job in a pub in the town but he was told he was too small and sent packing. Other interesting things about Henley look here.

We looked at the local theatre and then went down to the river by the bridge. Launches tried to pull in to visit the pubs. A small section available for such things, mooring up to plant tubs and railings. We watched and then went to look at the pretty boats.

How come there are so many pretty wooden boats on the Thames and so few on other rivers that we’ve noticed? Money has to be the reason. The finish on the boats is just beautiful and their rope fenders wrapped around their bows so pretty, just a shame there is so much dog pooh on the pavements!

My favourite boat was Tiddley Pom Pom, mainly because my Mums Dad was known to everyone as PomPom, the man with Pontefract Cakes and Nuttall’s Mintos in his pockets. For a few minutes we did consider changing Oleanna’s name, but that wouldn’t be right.

The sun was back out when we got back to the boat, so we sat out to keep Tilly company for a while. Not enough trees for my liking, but I could scoot around on my side amongst the interesting smelling grass. There were two trees that I checked out, but they were boring, in fact it was all quite boring until…… BUNNIES!!!!

Shhhh, got to keep that bloomin bell quiet

Loads and loads of BUNNIES!!!

Tudor style with 6 bedrooms.

3 locks, 7.18 miles, 2 little locks, 3 dragons, 1 chilled medication boat, 1 big lock, 1 wrong choice of clothes, 5 down, 5 up, 1 Lockie occupied elsewhere, £10 in ten minutes, 2 much pooh, 2 pints milk, 1 pink chewbacca, hour playing with Tilly, 2 bottles of botanics, 31 hopping friends! O brought home, 1 theatre in definite need of Puss in Boots next year.

https://goo.gl/maps/U859x26T82LTeBgc9

£400,000, very pretty too, so it should be

https://www.andrewmilsom.co.uk/properties-for-sale/property/4967368-riverside-bourne-end

£3,250,000 a glittertastic house with cinema but no fitted kitchen.

https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbmwrsmls190053

Well Ade, only 10k out on the little house, but miles away on the bigger one.

Lumpy River. 10th August

Marlow

By the time we went to bed last night the wind had already picked up. When Mick went out to actually ‘check the ropes’ there were a couple of branches down back towards town, there was a couple on a cruiser very close by, under trees , not bothered by it in the slightest. Mick noted that their mooring spikes were only just in the ground too, he gave ours another bang and deployed a tyre fender by the bow to try to alleviate the buffeting we were already experiencing.

Branches down and plenty more creaking away next to that cruiser

We had a good nights sleep, the height of the storm due between 11am and midday, we were not going to be going anywhere by boat today even if we were on a 24hr mooring. This of course meant we could enjoy a nice cuppa in bed and take our time looking at the view across the way of the rather big house.

Seagulls are too common round here to steal your food

Mick did a check on our ropes before breakfast, we were still fine. The cruiser directly behind us was facing the opposite direction to how it had been last night. He’d woken this morning and wondered why his view was moving, one end of the boat was drifting, so he’s re-moored facing the other way. As Mick chatted to him they noticed that the cruiser that was moored under the trees was very much adrift at one end. The occupants only just up and pottering in their dressing gowns hadn’t noticed anything. Once their attention was caught the engines were started up and as ropes were pulled and the boat turned one of the ropes got round a prop. This is when Mick decided that there were enough people helping so he came back for breakfast leaving them to it.

We stayed in, all three of us, shore leave not granted at the height of the winds. Windy days is when Tilly tends to not find her way home, we’re also concerned that she might get blown away.

Some boats were moving, with enough umph they could hold a line on the river, the only thing was it added to the waves the wind was already creating. Oleanna rocked up and down so much I started to feel a touch queezy. By the time we decided that things were calming down a touch outside I really needed to be off the boat, I felt as if I was turning a touch green. We still hadn’t got our newspaper so we walked into town.

Our blustery walk along the river involved a limbo under the fallen branches. The trip boats were still tied up, nobody wanting to go anywhere. At the bridge we turned towards the town. Marlow Suspension Bridge was built in 1829-32, designed by William Tierney Clark. In the 1960’s it was fully restored and is restricted to foot and local traffic with a weight limit of 3 tonnes. However in 2016 a 37 tonne Lithuanian lorry attempted to cross it, the potential for damage was great. The bridge was closed for two months whilst stress tests were carried out, thankfully no significant damage was found.

A look inside All Saints Church was aborted when we realised that we were about to walk in just at the wrong moment on a wedding ceremony. So hope the photographer managed to find a sheltered spot for photos and that the brides hairdo had enough lacquer in it to keep it looking good.

Bunting and phone boxes, shame about all the cars

The main street has a lot of independent shops and we moseyed along refraining from joining in with the Hare Krishna as we made our way along to Waitrose. Marlow has one of the stores that will be closing soon. We have to say we were disappointed with it as our choice of Saturday newspaper had run out, so our small shop was put back on the shelves and we headed to Sainsburys for the bits we actually needed along with a paper.

Another of Tom’s pubs, he has three of them around Marlow, this one also sells meat.

Another thing to add to our Next Time list is a visit to The Hand and Flowers, Tom Kerridge’s pub. I was told the other day that they have four bar stools which on a weekday are on a first come first served basis. Next time we’ll try to be here on a weekday and put some none boaty clothes on and see if we can be first to arrive. The set menu apparently is quite a reasonable price for a two star Michelin.

Normally seen near Red Bull on the Trent and Mersey

Back at Oleanna the boat under the trees had managed to get the rope off it’s prop, they’d had to get in the water to do so and had now braved the wind.

The afternoon was spent doing a few chores and I got out the card I’d bought in Staines and put together a model box for the show in Vienna. I’d been given so much information and the plans I’d been sent were copies of copies of copies, which always means that things aren’t quite as they should be. But once I’d put the information together with the plans I was able to make a model of it. Quite a shallow stage with a letterbox proscenium. The theatre was originally a Ballroom which was converted into a theatre, wonderful mouldings on the walls and ceiling, all really rather apt for my show, just a shame that the proscenium is just a black opening slotted into the room. I may have to create a proscenium to match the rest of the room!

At last I got shore leave. The blowyness outside meant I kept coming back to check that the outside hadn’t been blown away with me in it. Luckily She was still there and I got my ‘Thank you for coming home’ treats. She had run out of the pink Pocket Pillows so I chose a new pack, this one is orange. Adam, I don’t know why you were dubious about the flavour, Chicken and Cheese are better than the Salmon ones, much better. Thank you.

The wind gradually subsided along with my seasickness, heavy showers came over during the evening. Hopefully tomorrow will be brighter and calmer so we can continue upstream.

A compact one bedroom house right by the river. How much?

This one is that bit bigger and it comes with quite a bit of disco glitter!

Answers tomorrow

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 boating for us today, 1 lumpy river, 2 green gills, 2 mugs of tea in bed, £10 shop not needed, 0 sandles, 2 loose cruisers, 1 boozy boat, 1 swimmer, 2 big branches, 1 familair boat, 1 vat of bolognese, 0 courgette left, 10 rows until sleeves time, £8 million neighbour, £12 million the other neighbour.

£500,000

https://www.chancellors.co.uk/properties/staines-upon-thames-property/terraced-2-bedroom-house-for-sale/2992772/staines-upon-thames-surreytw18

Quite a few beams in this one, not of the Tudor variety though.

Joa only 40k off!

https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbwdrswds170314

£1,365,000

With a very pretty balcony to the rear. Just a shame for all that money it’s only a semi detached!

Ade you were so far away on this one, but Joa must be cheating somehow, only £235,000 away

The Queens Beans. 6th August

Hampton Court Palace

Yesterday in between our visits to the palace I had a go at a Buckwheat and Squash loaf. I’d got so far in making it when I realised I didn’t have any millet flour. In another recipe I could use either millet or maize flour so I gave that a go instead. I think it needed to be left to rise a touch longer, but it is very tasty, slightly cheesy in a way with the sour dough. If I can find some millet flour I’ll give it another go and see how it differs.

At Hampton Court Palace moorings you can stay for 24hrs for free, after which you can pay £8 for each additional 24hrs. As we were still in Zone 6 we decided to have an extra days mooring so that Mick could pop over to Hackney to pick up our post using his old gits oyster card. The post included plans that had been sent over from Vienna, so better to have them sooner. I stayed behind with Tilly to do some bits of work and try to get the grey cells thinking about the next show.

Yesterday when we’d been in the Kitchen Garden we’d noticed signs up advertising the sale of garden produce. As we were without any veg it was worth going to at least have a look. I decided to set off at around 1pm to walk the five minutes and see if there was a queue.

Just as I’d clambered up the steps from the moorings there was a pinging sound near my face. What on earth was that? Nothing seemed to be missing, until I noticed that a screw that should have been holding my glasses together had vanished, the right lense only being held into the frame by luck. Back to the boat to change glasses, this was taking up precious queuing time.

A lonely sign stood by the pavillion marking the start of the queue, nobody, brilliant! Except they’d all got here early enough to get a seat in the pavillion. Oh well, it looked like I’d be tenth or so in line, a courgette would do me. A lady arrived and asked if I was the end of the queue, she managed to find a seat, someone else arrived and made note of who was the end and so it continued in a very English way.

From the centre of the vegetable garden a laden trolley was pushed, the lady in purple obviously in charge. As the trolley got close the sitting queue stood up and everyone jostled into the correct order as the produce was put out on display and blackboards with prices were added.

This was a serious affair, we were on royal turf and nobody would barge in. The young lady in front of me was joined by a friend who quickly said that she wasn’t pushing in, just joining her friend to see what happened. I believed her, maybe others were too polite to challenge her from the now lengthening queue.

The first lady was invited up followed by the second and third. Cabbages, carrots were all being claimed, what was on the stall was what was on offer, once it was gone it was gone. At last it was my turn, I’d maybe been stood a little too close, too eager to get a courgette, but at least I’d let on to those behind me that this was my first time. An elderly chap accompanied me as I chose from the display and popped things into my bag, he was there to tot up my purchases as I went. Everything was good round numbers, not the cheapest, but with there being zero air miles and having only been picked a matter of minutes ago, oh and being from the palace gardens it was fine.

Just what to get? Multi-coloured beetroot, some runner beans. Actually not runner I swapped and changed my mind to get a bag of purple green and white french beans. The chap didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting both. A Pattypaw squash and the courgette I’d come for in the first place. I could have got far more, but we’d not eat it in time to make the most of it’s freshness. The young lady in front was walking away with a bulging bag tufts of green sprouting from the top, she’d got a good haul.

I paid my £6 and had a look round. The veg was now half gone and the queue was still 20 deep, the lady behind me picking up three bunches of fantastic smelling herbs, maybe I’d like some, but my time was over.

The first lady had taken her time in packing away her veg on her bike. The front basket brimming and the basket at the back bulging, the smug grin on her face as she walked past those hoping that there would be one runner bean left. Then the lady from behind me came past, she’d been even more prepared a trailer on the back of her bike, the cover over it meant nobody could see how many bags she’d got. They take this all very seriously round here.

Now, what should I cook? There was still some roast chicken. Hmmm. As I re-read my script all I could think of was what to cook. In the end I opted to roast the pattypaw with some fennel seeds along with a white beetroot and a couple of red ones which I segregated behind some foil. Some basmati rice with a few of the multicoloured beans and chicken mixed into the equation and a good grating of Parmesan made for a tasty fresh meal. Now what to do with that courgette?

0 locks, 60ft backwards, 2 buses, 3 trains, 7 envelopes, 2 plans, 1 bumper catalogue, 3rd read, 4 emails, 1 weeks painting sorted, 1 lense hanging on for dear life, 11th in line, 3 coloured beans, 1 pattypaw, 2 coloured beetroot, 1 courgette, £8.80 to get lost!

https://www.waterview.co.uk/property-for-sale/house-for-sale-in-wheatleys-eyot-sunbury-on-thames-tw16/883?layout=printdetails

£945,000.

So Dog was doing pretty well with £700k, but then Ade got even closer with £1.1million. Sadly neither was close enough.

I’ve run out of properties for now, but there’ll be more tomorrow I’m sure.

Leafing Through History. 25th July

Still under our trees

It was warm when we woke and it was only going to get worse. Decision made we’d stay put for another day under our shady trees. We wouldn’t be moving for anyone.

Yesterday we’d not quite bought enough supplies to last us another day, so Mick hopped on a bike and returned to the shop with it’s aircon. I was quite jealous of this but then I didn’t have to endure the journey there in the sunshine.

Our mooring doesn’t totally miss out on the sun, for about an hour the sun bakes hard down on the cabin sides and roof before some shade creeps back over us. In that hour we all melted just a touch.

Tilly had an hour or so out first thing, but then retired to the shade for a morning snooze. Life in the shade still necessitated having the doors open for and aft so we kept our fingers crossed that Tilly’s friends would be adamant not to return home with her. We were fortunate.

I collated together information on the theatre in Vienna and then added up my expenses for Puss in Boots so far, printing off receipts I’d need from emails. I even considered doing our tax returns today, but quickly changed my mind.

A day for not doing very much. Mick watched the cycling, then listened to the cricket. Day boats headed out, most returning with their crews dangling their feet in the river. One such boat appeared from under the railway bridge behind us, we could hear them coming! As soon as the bridges had been cleared there were numerous people stood on the cabin roof, the person at the tiller zigzagging their way along.

A following day boat made a dash for it to overtake them. ‘RIGHT’ ‘No LEFT!!!’ more zigzagging as a collision was narrowly avoided. Would Oleanna end up being what stopped them? It was hard not to watch. Both of us realised that they appeared to be towing an inflatable boat, one not really big enough for the chaps in the river. The yellow inflatable and the two chaps were close to the stern, therefore very close to the turning prop!

We shouted and shouted to them. A couple walked past and said ‘We lived on one for two years, you can always tell the holiday makers!’ We weren’t bothered about that or getting biffed. We were far more concerned that we could be calling for an ambulance any minute if nobody turned the engine off!

Is that a chap right up against the stern!

It took what felt like ages for anyone to hear us. Eventually one chap in the water managed to get someone to stop the prop turning, we’re not sure if it was just in neutral or off OFF. They drifted into the offside bank. Far too many voices needing to be heard most likely fuelled by alcohol and the sun. One chap got back on board quite easily, the other finding it hard to hoik himself out all the time being very aware of the prop, thankfully not moving. I think he was the only one on board who had an inkling of what could have happened. Our phones stayed in our pockets and they managed to avoid us as they headed off into the distance our quiet, calm mafting mooring returning to just us.

Back to the quite hot afternoon for grumpy ears

I decided to look through a folder I’d brought from the house. This was full of things my Mum had kept in a ‘Happy memories folder’. 1948 exam results for her year at Leeds School of Architecture. A letter from her sister thanking her and Dad for the bridesmaid present and how wonderful their wedding had been. Menu’s (she was a cook in later life) from dinner dances, they always seemed to have Turtle soups for starters. 21st Birthday cards. A few letters from my Dad, he lived in York and she in Bradford.

There were programmes for Operas and plays in London collated in a ribbon. A note book listing things to do whilst in London. Then a letter from my Dad which predates her visit asking her if she’d like to see Carmen and visit the Tate when she is next in London. These all connected.

Then a small pocket sketchbook, another item passed from father to son. Granddads drawings, very boring architectural details, very Banister Fletcher. But every now and then there were sketches my Dad had done. One of Shibden Hall 1945, where Gentleman Jack was based.

The sketches coinciding with his second diary I’d scanned whilst in London.

My first illustrated connection to his diaries

16th September 1945, the day he and his mates took the train to Southampton where they boarded the ship that took them to India. This is the first connection in words and pictures, my Dad illustrating his own story.

The ship they sailed in to India (photo courtesy of the internet)

0 locks, 0 miles, 34 C in the pram cover (with the sides off today), 29.4 C inside, 20.1 C minimum inside, 1 very hot day, 1 shady spot saving us, 9 receipts, 12 pages of tech spec, 4 swimming woofers, 1 accident averted, 1 hot cat up in the canopy, 1 folder, 1948-51, 1 wonderful find of Fatso’s.

Staying Shady. 23rd July

Broadford Pipe Bridge ish

No intention of going anywhere today, we relaxed having a cuppa in bed. Our nights sleep had been a touch disturbed. The first train to cross the bridge behind us at around 5am, stirred us from our slumber, they move slowly across the rumbling clanking bridge. It’s not quite as noisy as Vazon Sliding Bridge on the Stainforth and Keadby and has far fewer trains. Then Tilly woke me as her body decided it didn’t want anymore to do with last nights Ding Ding! Unable to bend well I had to enlist Mick in the tidying up aspect. I just pointed and gave Tilly a chin rub before returning to bed.

Our mooring sits pointing north/southwards. So the morning sun sprinkled itself through the trees of the off side of the canal whilst we had breakfast. Day boats from up ahead started to come past mid morning, followed by NB Ella and one or two others brave enough to cruise in the midday sun. We however stayed inside at our shady spot.

Tilly spent all day out and about. Only one woofer to have a go at her today, the rest passed by without noticing her.

Mick caught up with cycling, I put scripts in a folder and then sat out under the canopy of trees in my office for the day. There was Act 2 to re-read of my next show before talking to the writer about it.

On our way down to London I was contacted by Joshua Richards an actor I’ve worked with in the past at Hull Truck, if you watch Emmerdale you may know him as wrestler Bear Wolf! A couple of years ago he directed ‘A Regular Little Houdini’ which won quite a few prizes. He and the actor/writer Daniel Llewelyn-Williams, were approached about remounting the show, expanding it a touch as it had been a one act play along with expanding it visually from a chair and a suitcase to something more.

I got chance to read the script before I decided to do it, which was a first for me. It is a great script, a wonderful story that as I read it conjured up an atmosphere of the docks in Newport Wales in the 1900s.

Houdini our first second mate five years ago today.

It has Houdini in the title, the name of our first second mate. So what was not to like, plenty of lead time too and it should fit around Chippy panto and our plans to cruise this summer. Oh and there was one more thing that swung it, it is being produced at the Vienna English Speaking Theatre, in Vienna, in January!

Tilly climbed trees, stuck her arm down holes whilst we prepared a barbecue, my office transforming itself into our leafy terrace for the evening. Only one problem, due to our wonky mooring our table top was being used as a plank to get on and off the boat. We managed in the end and enjoyed sitting out watching all the runners and cyclists sweating their way along the towpath.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 sickly cat, 31ish degrees C, act 2, 1 writer, 9 hours plus! 1 very exhausted cat, 4 veg kebabs, 2 chunky turkey steaks, 2 cobs of corn, 1 troublesome back, 5 years full time CCing.

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Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna