After Tom’s plan last week, we’ve heard very little this week, infact nothing. School holidays now delay progress on Oleanna’s repaint.
A new feline landing net
We plan on making a visit early next week, so we can see if things are where they should be and get a more accurate estimate of Oleanna going back in the water.
In other news, we’ve managed to finally watch all episodes of the latest series of Narrow Escapes. We quite enjoyed the first series, plodded on with the second and the third, well … As we suspected, about this time last year, we managed to get in shot! The sections with Kate who makes fused glass sculptures and windows, whilst they are on their home mooring there is Oleanna in the background, waiting for our assisted passage through some locks on the Chesterfield Canal. Have to say theglass for me was the most interesting part of the latest series.
Practicing for her return to cat walking on the gunnels
We watch the numerous daily notices appearing in our inbox from CRT. Mostly stoppages due to low water, a few trees down, lock restrictions and sadly a failed culvert at Swanley on the Llangollen Canal which will take some fixing, thankfully it’s not as big as the Whitchurch breach.
Party in our local park with jousting, snakes and karate!
When we are back onboard, where should we go? Or try to go? We know where we wanted to head, plus where we’d like to be for panto, but will we be able to get there?! If we continue to have hot dry summers, will the boating calendar switch? Winter moorings become summer moorings, winter stoppages for maintenance become jobs to be organised for the summer months before water levels make things tricksy. Spring and Autumn cruising chosen over the summer months.
Trying to keep Tilly’s mind off our latest house guest
Do we abandon plans to head south? Loiter with intent to head south? Do more maintenance jobs onboard, move Oleanna closer to Scarborough? All things we need to think about. On a boat you can never have a definite plan, having some alternatives up your sleeve has been a good plan in the past, now even more so.
Woofer possessions!
So life goes on in Scarborough. I go for walks watching the huge holes being dug on the beach, the donkey rides, the tides come and go along with the tourists. Mick attended the 50 over cricket match this week at North Marine Road when Yorkshire won. Rehearsals have started for the next new Alan Ayckbourn play and Handbagged continues it’s run at the theatre.
Evolution of part of panto
This week Tilly and Polly have both coped incredibly well sharing the house. Polly is a woofer belonging to Alex who is staying with us (playing the older Margaret Thatcher in Handbagged). A barrier on the first floor landing along with keeping the kitchen doors closed has kept noses from being out of joint or twitching too much. Polly will return for a few days next week, here’s hoping that goes just as well, that’s if we’re still here.
We will be.
Alterations for panto have continued and one day this last week myself and Gemma the Production Manager managed to get us closer to the budget. One set piece has now had a new model made for it and next week I’ll rescan the technical drawings. If anyone knows of a life size, narrow Santa Sledge or a cement mixer going cheap please let me know.
Today Mick and I have enjoyed being able to go to the Filey Food Festival for the first time. It is held four times a year and has a LOT of food stalls, sadly only one I can definitely eat from. Today lunch was a samosa and sausage roll for Mick, a gf sausage roll followed by a vanilla slice for me, The slice wasn’t quite as good as a glutenous one, but a nice reminder of one of my favourite things. We also came away with four cheeses, these will have to be rationed and two very large onion bhajis which smell amazing.
Hopefully there will be more to update on next week. Fingers, toes and paws crossed.
Us enjoying the festival
0 locks, 0 miles, 0 photos of Oleanna, 4th carousel design, 3ft not 4ft a hard concept, £4k less, 1 feline 1 canine living in harmonyish, 1 more veg box, 1 replacement landing net, 1 food festival, 2 chilled medications, 1 cobble landing full of memories.
Living on land now involves creaky staircases, encouraging Tilly to sleep in a different room, making a list of things that need to be done before leaving Scarborough, starting to tick them off, unpacking boxes to find that thing or bag of sugar you didn’t think you’d need again until returned to the boat. It’s fine, but I’m glad we’re not having to do it for too long though. This weekend we may well have eight people in the house as one company of actors perform their last shows in Scarborough and have family to stay, good job we’ve got four toilets!
Anyhow, Monday morning we hired a van again, cheaper than a car for the day, sadly they didn’t give us a car, but the van did have aircon, so that was a bonus. Should we take a load of things down to the boat? We decided not to. When we do get to move back on board, I suspect even though the boat will have been cleaned through (we hope) there will be places that didn’t get done. All the cupboards that have crockery in will need a clean and tidy etc. Anything that we take down to the boat and put in the stores will need to be onboard before Oleanna goes in the water, so we’ve already got more than enough to move around as we get ourselves sorted. When we do move the next load can stay in the van until we’re ready for it.
Choo Choo
At the paint shed our neighbouring boat had been prepped, blacked, and had it’s high build coats sprayed, the yellow layer quite obvious but nowhere near as yellow as Nb Lillyanne was. Also sat out the front of the workshop were four little engines for a fairground ride. They also had a coat of yellow highbuild waiting to be sanded back.
After spotting things other than Oleanna, our attention was grabbed by her bow flash.
Bow
Now here I now have a dilemma. Do I reveal Oleannas finished bits as they happen, or give you ambiguous photos for a while to then do a big reveal when she’s out of the paintshed? Hmm, not sure. Maybe we’ll stay ambiguous for a while!
Well her bow flash is wonderful, a lovely Mackintosh inspired nod to Oleanna’s previous livery. Claire has done a lovely job. The red sings on the dark blue, we’re very happy.
The sign writing at the stern is lovely, but at the moment under the lights in the shed and no natural daylight hitting her cabin side it looks a touch dark, but this may also be just the way colours sit against each other.
Have to say we’d hoped to see another colour sprayed, but other than the bow she looked pretty much as when Mick had been down last week. I’m aware of drying/curing times of paint and I suspect they also had to fit in with times Claire could work, plus having another boat to work on whilst the paint goes off on Oleanna.
Lots of colours of tape
Tom was busy marking out the long coachlines along the cabin side. Purple, blue and yellow tape were being applied in straight lines. When a cabin side isn’t actually just straight, it curves and kicks up at the rear, you can’t just do a few measurements and join the dots. Sometimes things need adjusting to look right.
Brown paper being added to protect the cream
Did we want the shadow to cut off at an angle, as it should or be square as it had been on her original paint job? We’re all for improvements so chose an angled shadow which would match the sign writing. As the day went on more lines of tape were added for both the blue and red lines on the cabin sides. Then once everything was in place a layer of brown paper was added over the sides to protect it from over spray.
Doors, hatches, and locker lids ready to be painted
Normally when spraying the main cabin colour, Tom would work his way round the sides of the boat and roof. Then have a little break as the paint goes off before following round with a second coat on all sides. However, the high temperatures on the day he was spraying the cream meant that by the time he’d worked his way round both cabin sides back to where he’d started, it was ready for it’s second coat, no time to spray the roof as any overspray would be noticable. So it had been left for another time. By the end of the day the roof was being sanded back ready for the top coats.
Lunchtime view
Lunch at the cafe, a cheese and salad cob and a tuna mayo sandwich with a cuppa each, sat watching the occasional boat on the River Soar. Maybe today was the day NB Bonjour would pass the marina? Maybe they’d already passed this morning? Another near miss with a blogging boat.
New bow and stern protection
We loitered, trying to stay out of the sunshine, waiting to meet with Matt regarding our new solar panels. Our new bow and stern fenders had arrived, now our thoughts turned to new ropes. Oleanna has so far had two sets, we soon replaced the original thin weedy lines she came with, 16mm much better for my reduced grip bought from Tradline in Braunston. These showed their age a bit quicker than we’d expected and we replaced them 2 years later, also with ropes from Tradline. With a new paint job we’d like her to look smart and her current lines are now in need of replacement, not bad after about 7 years. Not being near a chandlery means we may have to purchase without being able to feel them. A choice, should we go for multifilament or polyester? A look back on the blog to see what we’d had previously, this only gave me the lengths not the type of rope. I think our current one’s float.
CRT number with the logo from when she was launched
Matt arrived and chat started about the size of solar panels for Oleanna. We’d originally wanted to up how much solar we can get, but panels need to fit on the roof between mushroom vents. The location of the old ones would be best then we’d not need to either rewire the boat or have numerous wires across the roof. Two manufacturers were looked at, one panel a touch tight, the other would only give us a bit more power. Matt would be in touch tomorrow with a quote. Time is now pressing as he and his colleague go on holiday soon for two weeks, we’d like them fitted before then, plus Tom needs the panels so he knows where to anti-slip the roof, avoiding where the panels will be stuck.
Tuesday. Matt got in touch. The panels we’d opted for were out of stock, but he’d found some others, 290 watts each, which would give us a bit more power and would fit the original spaces. A quote was sent through, we checked it over and approved it. Hopefully now the panels will arrive this week so as not to hold anything up.
Later in the afternoon photos came through from Tom. The roof had been sprayed plus the doors that are going cream along with all the mushroom vents. The mushrooms were originally chrome, in the hope that they’d stay shiny and not require polishing. However within a few months they started to tarnish and we could never get them to be shiny, so just gave up. Hopefully now being painted they will stay looking good far far longer. This now leaves red and blue to be done, followed by the gunnels going matt black, anti-slip, and the base plate getting sprayed, which apparently is the last thing to happen almost as she is wheeled out of the paint shed. However there is now a day to wait before they can cover up the roof with paper to protect it from over spray.
Mushroom coloured mushrooms
Wednesday. An expensive day! Claire sent through photos and an invoice for her work. This was soon followed by Tom asking for his next payment. He also sent ideas for the T studs for the bow. Two options which were okay, but Mick found one that would have a similar feel to the T studs already on Oleanna. The new ones however are stainless steel, so no painting required and will bolt on to the top of the gunnel, meaning should they ever need to be removed it would be an easier job. I doubt we’d ever remove them as they will be useful for river locks and give us an extra option when mooring at oddly spaced rings.
By the end of the day Oleanna was just about ready for the red to go on and money had been moved across from accounts leaving our pockets emptier than they were at the start of the day.
Thursday. Tom seemed to have changed his mind as to which colour should follow. Photos started to come through mid-morning. The mushroom vents were now very much mushroom coloured and waiting to go back on the roof. Then in the afternoon photos of all the doors and hatches came through all shiny and blue. Maybe Tom changed his mind about the red as things like the gas locker lid hinges and dollies will be going red and it’s far easier to spray a big area and then mask out the for the finer details.
In Pantoland I had a go at scanning the cloths. Laptops have changed since I got good results last year and my old laptop has been defaulted. The scans weren’t going quite as large as I need and try as I did, I really couldn’t remember how I’d persuaded the scanner to go large last year. Of course the IT department was busy sitting around in Derby Hospital at the time so he has no recollection as to what I did either! Work in progress. I turned my attention to some visuals for a props maker instead.
Design Assistant Tilly hard at work
Conversations have turned to our cruising plans. Firstly will we be able to go anywhere due to low water levels, CRT are filling up our inbox with lock flight restrictions. Should we move Oleanna back northwards where levels may be better? Or should we carry on with our hoped for destination and a canal we’ve not visited for quite some time?
We have two routes southwards we can choose from, both had restrictions imposed on them last summer. Both would give us somewhere an hours bus ride from Chippy for panto. Stoppage lists were studied, there’s still a few weeks before these are confirmed so they could still change. We also have to take into consideration whether Mick should be single handing this winter or not, this could well steer our cruising plans.
Friday morning, more photos from Tom. Lots more blue had been sprayed, the bow and stern and the cabin coach lines. Next will come the red. We wait for the next photos to arrive, nothing had arrived by the end of the day, so that is likely to happen on Monday now as the blue needs a day to go off before it can be masked out.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 van hired, 1 bow looking stunning, 2 panels on order, 9 doors and hatches, 4 choochoos, 3 coloured masking, 150 ft brown paper, 1 imp, 8 mushroom mushrooms, 1 visit to Sir and Lady A, 1 solicitor, 2 Eat Me burgers, 7 scans not big enough, 2 alternative plans, 1 Blackbird back to the nest? 1 assistant working hard, only 2 more shows of Calendar Girls, 2 boaters now at least 9 weeks behind the original plan for this year.
We’d been in touch with Tom last week hoping that we’d be able to take a load of things down to the boat, a hire van was booked and first thing Monday morning Mick headed off on a bus to pick up a hire van. We then spent an hour loading it with definite boaty items that had been sat in the boat cupboard or on our dining room floor awaiting their return.
Finishing things off
Unfortunately I had a panto deadline looming so needed to spend the day taking photos of my model box, checking over drawings and making a list of paints I’ll be needing in a few months time. Mick headed off on his own hoping to arrive before Claire the sign writer had finished for the day. His journey down wasn’t too bad and he arrived around lunchtime. Claire was busy giving Oleanna her name back.
Claire busy giving Oleanna her name back
Photos came through from Mick whilst I worked away back in Scarborough. Oleanna’s newly painted cream cabin sides had been marked up with tape where her lines and shadows will be, Tom will mask these out and spray them another day. But their positioning was important to get her name in the right place. My emailed instructions to Claire had requested the shadow on the letters to be towards the stern of Oleanna on both sides. Usually the shadow on lettering is either to the left or the right and is a constant side no matter which side of the boat you are on. However, because I’m me, I want the shadows to be constant as if the sun was in front of Oleanna. When originally sign written nobody had passed this information on to Andy Russell who ended up wiping off the paint thankfully before it had dried. Mick checked and the shadows were in the right place today.
Tom was found elsewhere working on hatch doors. These are taken off the boat and popped in a different room for spraying. Colours were checked for the rear sliding hatch. On my original model this had been red, but it had ended up being painted blue in Sheffield. Today the decision was should it be red, blue or cream? Red would only fade in time. Cream would be boring, so back to blue it would go. Only downside is that it will get hot in the sun.
A top shelf was cleared in the paint shed stores so that our possessions could be unloaded. Mick had taken some dust sheets to lay over them as even in a separate room from the paint shed they may well get dusty. By the end of the day Tom sent a photo of everything covered up, all our bedding ready to go back on board. Mick was back in Scarborough at a reasonable time. Our first load of possessions now back close to the boat, but most importantly, not in the house!
Scarborough Station
Tuesday was a very early start. Mick gave me a lift to catch the 5:44 train to York, model box and technical drawings packed away in my blue Ikea bag. I had time to scour the shelves of Sainsburys at York Station for things I could eat for breakfast/lunch. Some fruit, a nut bar and a quinoa salad.
Next train was direct to Banbury, I was so very glad I had a seat booked all the way, close to the luggage rack and didn’t have to stand like SO many others did. A lift from Helen who worked on props last year over to Chippy where I set up the model, requested a cuppa and was ready for our meeting at 11:30.
Chippy Theatre and Holly Hocks
Helen (Props), Paul (Technician), John (Artistic Director), Caroline (Director) and Gemma (Production Manager were all in attendance. On Monday Gemma and I had met with Jamie the set builder and talked through the builds, we already knew the design was over budget. The build cost came in from Jamie, we’d need to prune some items and simplify others to get the price down. I never like doing this without the Director present as they may have different ideas as to what is really important, especially when a new section of script hadn’t come my way yet.
A good meeting, a few items cut, some discussed to be simpler and thankfully Caroline had the same opinion as me on other cuts that shouldn’t happen. Stocks of paint were checked. Props and staffing were chatted about, quite a full on few hours.
The theatre was full of small people doing a dress rehearsal for an end of term show. Astronauts, pumpkins, superheros and slices of cake amongst others were rounded up through the narrow corridors of backstage, if you wanted to reach front of house it was far Far simpler to walk around the outside of the building.
The River Ouse
A lift back to the station where thankfully I had another reserved seat all the way to York, avoiding having to stand most of the way as so many others had to! Three quarters of an hour wait in York meant I could walk to Scarborough Bridge to count the number of boats on the River Ouse moored at Museum Gardens. The Minster was busy donging, celebrating it being Tuesday, the sixth since Mick and I became Civil Partners. Back to Scarborough for a well earned glass of wine before bed.
Early Wednesday morning we listened to two pixies delivering camp beds to our front door. The rest of the day was spent packing more of our possessions away in the house. The boat cupboard that had almost been emptied on Monday, now became groaningly full. Tilly got totally confused as wardrobes were emptied, spices and herbs packed into boxes, everything rationalised, our existence in the house moved into the room we call the Shed and the boat cupboard. Thursday followed with a visit from our cleaners who made our bedroom look very inviting for our next lodger, Tilly inspected everything before extra covers were added to protect the freshly made bed. Mick and I would now be sleeping in the Shed and my work room. Tilly persevered sitting on our bed overnight, not quite able to relax as for her our move back to Oleanna was imminent, to us it’s still at least a couple of weeks away.
I spent time working on alternative versions for one scene of panto, drawing them up and sending them on to Jamie to price up. A visit to Oleanna was hoped for, but during Friday they would be spraying paint, so it wouldn’t be a good day to visit. Instead we arranged to go down next Monday, hoping we’d be able to catch Claire finishing off the bow. No photos came through from Tom, maybe not much had changed, maybe they were masking things off.
On Saturday and Sunday Scarborough was celebrating Seafest and 400 years of being the first seaside resort. Seafest (an annual event) is normally held on one of the piers, but major works are happening there this year, so celebrations were held at The Spa instead. The community stage was in the Suncourt and the main acts/bands were inside in the Grand Hall. The Ocean Room was taken over with stalls from historical groups and Animated Objects.
A cardboard recreation of the Pump Room had been made, people were invited to colour in paper tiles to help decorate it. Lee gave a very good talk on the history of the spa waters in Scarborough and how their discovery led to the town becoming a tourist destination. Games stickers and a LOT of old work colleagues who turn up to work for Animated Objects at such big events. Lovely to see everyone, hear some of them sing and then enjoy some chilled medication before heading home (well the words on the steps told us we had too!).
Seafest fireworks viewed from the Esplinade
Sunday evening Alex, our third lodger arrived. Alex was one of our original lodgers back in 2021 when we first put our names on the theatre digs list, it’s lovely to have her back and we look forward to her performance as Margaret Thatcher in Handbagged at the SJT in a couple of weeks time.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire van filled, 1 visit, 1 boat with her name again, 1 confused cat, 1 full cupboard, 1 empty wardrobe, 1 pantry reduced, 1 Tom at the very top, 1 She squashed in the Shed, 1 Tilly uncertain where to go! 2 days of Seafest, 1 firework display, 6 in Raven, 20 ? Manhattan Voices, 100kg Lego Spa, 2 many old friends to mention, 1 CD required Duncan with the song about traveling to see someone a long way away please!
We were busy returning from the Dales on Monday, so having no news about Oleanna didn’t bother us.
But when Tuesday arrived we started to jump to look at our phones as photos started to come through from Tom.
All back to bare steel and everything else masked off
All the prep work was complete. She’d been stripped, filled where needed. Anodes, doors, cratch etc were all masked out, they were ready to start spraying on the blacking.
We couldn’t spot the new T studs we’d asked for on the bow, Tom reminded us that these were to be stainless steel and they would be bolted on later. New vents in the gas locker had been cut above the rubbing strake above the old ones. Hannah or BSS examiner said that she’d be happy with this location and that the old lower one (that always sits under water) should be left.
New vent for gas locker
Oleanna was now ready to go black, all over! Yes cabin sides as well as below the gunnels. This is a 2 pack paint which is anti corrosive so should help protect the cabin sides. The base plate would also be sprayed. Oleanna sat on jacks so that she could be raised high enough for them to get underneath on a trolley to spray her bottom.
Three to four hours later she’d turned black.
Wednesday morning Oleanna’s bottom got skirted off with brown paper. We wonder how much brown paper they get through a year?
Areas that obviously needed filling got some attention and then were sanded back. The bedroom porthole being the main area needing this.
Then followed a coat of high build 2 pack, turning her grey. You can see this happening in the photo below. A chap stood in a protective suit with mask providing the wearer with fresh air as they worked their way along the cabin sides.
The bow lockers and well deck got coated too, the stern will have been done too.
Across the way from Oleanna sits the next boat, shot blasted ready to have the remaining paint stripped back around the windows. It’s covered in plastic whilst Oleanna is sprayed.
Thursday we had no photos sent. This was a day when a photo would have been one for the archive as the next coat of high build would be yellow! I wonder how yellow Oleanna went? I doubt she will have matched NB Lillyanne’s Rapeseed Yellow cabin sides.
Why yellow? Well this means that as they sand her back to get a smooth surface for the top coats they can see where they need to stop sanding when they reach grey.
Friday. It had been really good to see the progress being made this week, Oleanna changing colour just about every day. One thing we really needed to know though was when we’d be able to move on board and would Tilly be able to come with us?
Messages went back and forth between Tom and ourselves. We were pretty certain that we’d said when we would become homeless at the house, Tom had remembered a different date! Tilly living on board would add an extra complication to the final stages as we’d want her to be kept inside the boat whilst people would be coming and going all day long, putting Oleanna back together again. I’d also been thinking it would not be fair on Tilly to live in the paint shed, her preferred home the boat, surrounded by odd noises and fumes. She’s quite a jumpy cat normally and turning her home into a scary place would not be good. Tom was fine about us moving on board, but we’d have to find a different solution for Tilly.
Home improvements for panto
We needed to put our thinking caps on. She could go to a cattery. A stressful journey there, then to the boat and we don’t have a completion date for the repaint and the other jobs we’ve asked for. If Tilly could stay in the house that would be the preferred choice. However the house is about to become really quite full and if we’re not about the house would also be a scary place.
Not quite, but nearly finished
Should we be living in the paint shed whilst major works were being carried out? This was another question. Dust, fumes would not be good for us either. Vacating Oleanna every day would be helped if we had a car, but we don’t have one. Mick checked out local to us hotels. Our nearest option (not a choice!) but out of interest was a few hundred pounds more than the Grand which comes with a sea view!
One of us could sleep in the room we call the shed, the other stay with friends. This would mean Tilly at least would have a familiar face in the house. But if that was the case, maybe both of us could stay, we’d just need to find something to sleep on in my work room. As we deliberated solutions two more photos arrived. Oleanna had turned cream! This will be her final colour to hopefully help keep us a little cooler in the summer months than we used to be when she was dark blue.
We checked when Clair is booked to do the sign writing, that will be early next week. With the cream cabin sides done this can go ahead, there will still be the red and blue lines and grab rail to add along with the bow and stern going blue. We’d asked if Clair could paint Oleanna’s CRT number back on the grabrail and do the new bow flash, but I suspect these areas won’t be ready for her.
No quote as yet for our new solar panels from Matt, we hope to hear from him next week.
By the end of the day we’d contacted our next lodger and explained our situation and our solution. Poor Alex has been having to move each week she’s been in Scarborough so far and at the end of next week she’s due to move in with us. There will be a bottle neck in the house for a week, one slightly confused cat not knowing who’s toes to snuggling up to in the night, or why normal doors are closed to her, but we believe this will be the least stressful situation for all concerned. We just need to find something to sleep on and move a lot of our possessions down to Oleanna to make room for a fifth person in the house. At least the house will only be chock a block for a week, then we can spread out a bit again.
0 locks, 0 miles, 4 colours, 120 ft plus of brown paper, 2 boaters thinking out of the boat, 2 boaters thinking about moving without moving, 1 cat oblivious, 1 panto model just about completed, 15 sheets of drawings to update, 1 little Frank faux pas, 1 cool seaside town 2 be stayed in for a while longer, 0 surprises this week.
An update at the end of a week when the weather showed potential but then turned out to not be on our side!
Oleanna was moved out from her resting place of the last eight months on Tuesday. Yes this is now the longest we’ve been on dry land in twelve years. She was moved round to the hill ready for blasting on the next dry day. Her baseplate was blasted and then she was lowered ready for the cabin and hull to be done. Friday was ear marked as a possible day.
Blue skies in Scarborough
Friday came, Mick headed to watch Yorkshire play cricket and I headed to London for my white card model meeting for panto. Both of us had lovely dry days. Sadly a raft of showers were forecast to cross over Nottingham, Redhill Marina actually, so the blast was postponed till after the weekend.
Blue skies, with clouds in London
Whilst on my train heading south I had a phone call from Tom, our boat painter. He was removing all the fixtures and fittings before the blast could take place. They leave windows in to avoid ingress of the grit, but nav lights, aerials, cratch and pram, plank and pole rack amongst other things, all get removed. He was having severe difficulty in removing the cratch A frame. He could reach inside the gas locker and feel that there were three bolts, but none of these had nuts on them. Did I know anything that might help as they didn’t want to force the A frame and end up breaking it.
I recollected a conversation with Ricky at Finesse, when he told me that the cratch was there to stay, we’d never get it off! Handy when you want to repaint your boat. It appears to have been glued on so well that it will end up staying in situ. The blaster has been advised to give it a wide berth, then Tom will strip the paint right up to it by hand, protecting the woodwork. Oleanna will be given coats of rust-inhibiting paint and Tom will make the join between wood and paint work water tight.
Photos and measurements have been taken for a new hole in the gas locker, so that it actually vents to the outside. This will happen once Oleanna is stripped and moved into the paint shed. Tom said to expect to be inundated with photos early next week. I’m so hoping it’s very early next week as I’ve lots of work to do on Panto and could do with uncrossing my fingers!
The cricket it going well, Yorkshire achieving lots of runs. It’s nice for Mick to be able to make good use of his Scarborough Cricket Club life membership for once.
My model meeting went well, a few notes which I expected, indeed even asked for. A new draft of the script now needs reading to check through in case I don’t know about something that’s been added or removed. Then I can get on with adding colour to the model and finalising the drawings. I just need to find someone in Scarborough with an A3 scanner as the printers and architects I used to use have both closed now.
Tom Tom, please get on with it, they keep taking me to the VETS!!!!
I hope to post again , once Oleanna is stripped and ready to paint. So tata for now.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 stripped bottom, 1 stubborn A frame, 2 boaters wondering if they’ll ever get their sea legs back, 1 cat whisperer beaten, 1 more notch in my tail! 1 design meeting at the National, 1 thumbs up, 3rd WC alteration, 1 more mention for Duncan, 1.5 pairs of socks knitted, 3 days of cricket in a row.
Mick picked up a hire car first thing, returning home for a quick breakfast, then we were on our way to Redhill. Tilly was miffed as she wasn’t allowed to come with us, but she’d not have enjoyed the car journey, best to leave that for another time when she wouldn’t have to come back again. Pah!
The drive took around two and a half hours, thankfully not too much traffic but the occasional rain shower. We pulled in towards the back of the marina (if you can class the land based boats being in a marina), away from the workshops and even further away from the river. Gosh things have grown since I was last here! The ground before was at least visibly uneven, but today it is hidden beneath an awful lot of friendly cover, Tilly would so love it. You can tell Oleanna has been sat here for around eight months, thistles, nettles, even an elder bush has grown alongside her, the flowers pickable from the side hatch.
The hill where Oleanna will be blasted
First thing was to open up Oleanna and find the sketches I’d done of her new colour scheme. The step ladder was brought down out of the welldeck and Mick climbed on board, the sketch book was soon found where it had been left ready for today’s meeting. Then it was over to meet Tom in the paint shed. It took a little while for us to realise he was inside and shouting that we should come in.
Inside was the 45ft boat that was ahead of us and another boat, more like 58ft which has been primed and is sat waiting the next stage. The 45fter was having its windows put back in, ready to be taken out of the shed tomorrow and refloated, she looked good.
The lower cream one
The three of us walked back over to Oleanna to take a look at her and discuss the jobs we are wanting doing on top of the repaint. Time to show Tom my sketch, cream cabin sides and roof, the bow and stern to be the dark blue, grab rail still red, lettering blue with a red shadow. I made sure Tom knew where I wanted the shadow to be and why, we don’t want another paintgate!
Paint tins for reference
RAL numbers were discussed, I still had the touch up pots of paint inside so would dig them out later for the numbers. We may go for a dark blue with a touch of purple in it, which was the original plan when she was first painted, but Finesse couldn’t match the colour.
Extra T studs at the bow to match the one by the gas locker, welded or bolted on, we opted for welded. The locker lid hinges have seized again due to lack of use this winter, they will get looked at. The Alde boiler flue on the cabin side will have new screws and a clean up. Mushroom vents will be painted to match the roof. The stern locker lids which have done serious damage to the paintwork will be adapted by a carpenter, leaving a wooden surround and then having a lift out section to keep the maximum opening rather than adding hinges to the lids. Our double-glazed windows arrived a few months ago and the internal window surrounds will need some alteration for the increased depth of the thermal break frames. The galley sliding windows will remain single glazed and get a good clean before going back in.
Poor Oleanna
We looked at the state of the hull with all the large rust patches. Tom gave them a wipe with his hands. Apparently 1mm of rust equates to a thou of steel having eroded. The large areas of the hull feel pretty smooth so he suspects once Oleanna is grit blasted we won’t be able to tell where she’d rusted with little if any pitting. We’re hoping he’s right about this and await the verdict once the paint has been stripped. Tom did say that the chap who does the grit blasting will love doing the hull as the paint will come off very quickly.
Can you spot the vent?
The vent from our gas locker has always been very low. It’s a wet locker meaning that water gets into it when we cruise, well if the water tank is full and the gas bottles are also full we rarely get to see the vent even when stationary. Hannah, who did our BSS last year, suggested we have the vent extended upwards. Tom will check inside the locker as to where the water lies and most probably put a new hole further forward so as not to cut through a rubbing strake. The amount left on the two sets of anodes is more than brand new ones, so we’ll not be needing to do that. Tom suggests that after four years we get Oleanna out of the water to inspect the blacking, and then we might require new anodes.
Hello!
He looked at the woodwork we want re-varnished. Moving the plank and pole rack towards the bow, so that the centre lines don’t catch. We talked about removing the solar panels, which we intend to replace with modern panels, a chat with Matt from Onboard Solar will be arranged for when Mick is next down.
Clare Norton the sign writer will be put in touch with us to discuss any art work we’re wanting.
We’ll be staying with the same type face
Next we got onto talking about windows of good weather. The forecast would be watched over the weekend, he’d chat to the grit blaster if there was any chance of a dry day on Monday. The marina was also aware of Oleanna needing to be moved to the hill and then into the paint shed. Then we chatted dates and how our house will be full with nowhere for us to sleep in a few weeks. Tom counted the weeks, we should be back onboard before we run out of time, but we can always move back onboard whilst Oleanna is still in the paint shed as the final jobs are done to her.
Lunch at the cafe
With everything discussed, Tom went back to putting the 45fter back together, and we walked down to the cafe for lunch. A tuna cob and a jacket potato were enjoyed with a refreshing cuppa before we headed back to Oleanna to do some jobs.
Really hope the sink can be cleaned once we’ve got water again
Mick ran the engine whilst I got a scraper out to see what I could do with the sticky mess we’ve got on the dinette. The new cushions and covers with flame proofing have reacted with the ten year old varnish and made it all sticky. This has stuck to the cushions over the last couple of years and left red sticky fluff everywhere. We’ve had the cushion covers dry cleaned, but now the stickyness on the woodwork needs to be solved.
I spent a good couple of hours with my scraper removing the failed varnish, it was a bit like chewing gum. Then I had a go at cleaning the remainder off with white spirit. This worked on the solid wood edges, but once dry on the faced ply areas they were still tacky! Further investigation was later done, so I may try meths, thinners, acetone, but I don’t want to sand the wood as it’s only faced with oak and it won’t take much before the surface has gone.
Covers off
Whilst this all happened, Mick busied himself removing the pram and cratch covers. These would be taken off by the painters anyway before the grit blasting. Our original plan had been to get new ones made either by SPL or All Seasons, keeping the same framework. However, due to the delay in our repaint we now won’t be going anywhere near either of these companies as we’ll be heading southwards not north once back in the water. So the new plan is to clean the current covers up as best we can back in Scarborough, re-waterproof them and continue to use them until we return northwards to have new ones made which will also take into account the new T studs in the bow.
The River Soar
As we were closing up a chap from the marina drove along the track infront of us, he was checking to see what would need moving to get Oleanna out from her resting place, a small dinghy was the only visible thing. He drove round the friendly cover opposite to check there wasn’t anything lurking there and then warned the boat across the way that we’d be moving next week. Tomorrow the jungle surrounding Oleanna is likely to be strimmed to make her extrication easier.
Still smiling
With jobs done it was time to say farewell to our dull rusty dark blue Oleanna. We climbed into the car and headed back northwards. Sadly the distance between Redhill and Scarborough means we’re unlikely to be able to watch her transformation in person as much as we’d like, but Tom will send us updates and hopefully we’ll be down to see her for ourselves at various stages.
Yum!
As we dropped back down from the Yorkshire Wolds, I put an order in for fish and chips from Capplemans. These were enjoyed with a glass of wine, it’s been one of those weeks where wine is allowed most days. The covers are folded up and in the dining room, we’ll have to hope for a dry day here to give them a good clean in the back garden at some point, then when dry, store them for a few weeks.
So at last things are progressing. We still need everyone to keep their fingers crossed for a fine dry day early next week for the blasting.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car, 0.75 of a sock knitted, 1 colour scheme, 1mm equals 1 thou, 1 jungle, 3 colours, 1 different blue, 1 jacket, 1 cob, 1 shiny boat, 1 rusty boat, 2 hours scraping, 1 hour white spirit, 2 sticky still! 1 jungle to be strimmed, 0 elderflower cordial, 1 rusty sink! 1 service station pit stop, 2 of each, 2 covers taking over the dining room, 1 busy week.
A bit of an update before we get going on what Oleanna news there is, as I’m conscious that some are missing out on the design of panto this year.
Chippy Panto. The Snow Queen model box has been stripped back. A storyboard was drawn up, ideas swapped with Caroline the Director. Then I’ve worked on the white card model, a couple of versions have been worked on and now I’m starting to work on the sketch working drawings so that quotes for the build can be worked out. I have a white card model meeting in London next week, so fingers crossed everyone likes what they see!
Bridget and Storm have been to stay. It was lovely to spend some time with them and show them around Scarborough. The tide was well and truly in, and they met up with Freddie. Hopefully they’ve had a great time on a hire boat with their grandkids and they’ve had more thoughts of being boat owners once again.
John Godber recently turned 70, so there was a big catch-up with lots of old Hull Truckers at The Little Wold Vineyard near Brough. The dress code was ‘A nod to the 70’s’, so with two charity shop shirts and half a metre of suitable fabrics, I adjusted the collars and made us each a kipper tie. It was great to see so many people from my Hull Truck days to celebrate John’s birthday.
Us
On the hottest day of the year so far we travelled over to York for a night with the London Leckenbys in their top floor flat. Gosh it was hot! Wonderful food as ever, time to catch up with them all, Josh currently in the middle of his second year exams.
At around 10pm we had a walk down to the River Ouse where the air was cooler. A sign on the Blue Bridge, where the Ouse meets the River Foss suggested that work was ongoing at Castle Mill Lock. So we wandered up to take a look in the nighttime gloom. New lock gates were sat on the bank, and the lock had a work boat in it and two cofferdams were doing their best to keep the lock water free for the works. We had been planning to come up to York this year and had hoped to be able to get onto the River Foss. But with the slipping of time on Oleanna’s repaint we’ve run out of time to visit as we want to be in the south by the end of August.
We now have two lodgers living with us, both rehearsing for Calendar Girls at the SJT. So we have a full house which will get fuller in just over a month’s time, so the clock is really ticking now until we become homeless.
Everyone with their heads down, cutting tiles and sticking
Mosaicing is having to take a bit of a back seat whilst panto needs my attention, but I try to go to a session every other week. Things are progressing very well and I suspect all the pieces will be finished soon. Sadly I don’t think I’ll get a chance to help with the installation, but hopefully that will be because we’ll be moving back onto Oleanna then.
I’ve had a break from knitting socks for a few weeks, making a cardie for myself. But now I’m back on with Felicity Edition Sockathon Socks in memory of my friends Mum, Felicity. I have several pairs to knit for children, so I’m concentrating on those before their feet grow too much!
I’ve also been doing some trial baking. Just which is the best GF cup cake recipe? The jury is still deliberating and wondering if a third version would be worth trying, however Spanish Buttercream has been deemed too much work for not enough flavour. Our alpine strawberries are doing very well this year after transplanting some into a urn at the house.
There have also been numerous walks around Scarborough, I’m quite enjoying seeing the town full of visitors and at a time of year I’ve not been here for in over a decade.
Tilly still waits in hope for an imminent return to Oleanna. Whenever a bag is brought out she makes sure she is the first thing to be packed. Well, I can’t have them leaving me here with all these singing Shes and annoying cats can I !!!
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trips away, 1 confused cat, 70, 2 kippers, 12 cupcakes, 2 ex boaters, 30C, 1 emergency cardie, 1 mosaic coming together, 2 new lock gates, 1 white card model ready, I think!
Well, where do I start? I believe I last signed off saying that hopefully next time I posted I’d be talking about Oleanna’s repaint. Well, I will be, but not in the way I thought I’d be talking about it.
We gave Tom a week after Easter for the dust to settle and kids to have gone back to school. I called him to have a chat and explain that we really could do with an approximate end date to the repaint as we have lodgers booked in, maybe more wanting to book and our thoughts had been turning to where we might end up living if there was a delay in the repaint. We really needed to be back onboard at the end of May. He reassured me that that would be the case, he’d look at the jobs required and let me have a better idea.
You’re not leaving me our of the packing!
With each week passing and no news, canal time was setting in. We started to think of contingency plans for when lodgers arrived. We could stow all our boaty belongings in the room we call the shed and sofa surf, but what would Tilly do? It would be very unfair to leave her with three lodgers, maybe a cattery would have to be the option! What CAT PRISON!!!!! I don’t believe you were even considering that! A better solution was for us to find another bed that we could put in my workroom, I had offers of futons and inflatable mattresses, but so far we’d not had any more enquiries from lodgers, maybe we’d be okay for a few more weeks.
Last Monday I sent an email to Tom. The days of April, our paint slot, were rapidly running out. Would he be starting the repaint later in the week, next week, in two weeks, or would the wait be longer! Would it be worth us popping down to talk over the jobs and colour scheme? We really wanted to know so that we could plan what to do with ourselves!
We got on with jobs. A couple of hours later we received an apologetic email reply from Tom.
‘I’ve had a few delays alongside some other things essentially dropped on me, which has jumbled up my running order. I have a 45ft Narrowboat in the shop which your boat will follow‘.’
It sounds like its not all his fault, but whatever the reason it’s not fair, but what can we do, other than be patient. At least we now have dates which we can work to, he’ll be in touch towards the end of May for us to go to chat things through. He has also said as a goodwill gesture that he will be giving us a discount.
There had been places we wanted to go to by boat, but now they will have disappointingly passed before we are back on board. This means, that to us, it doesn’t matter when Keadby Lock and the leaking culvert is mended, or worry if Vazon Rail bridge goes faulty again, as we won’t be heading northwards anymore. It does mean that Tilly will have the long journey back to life afloat, we’d planned on bringing Oleanna up to Goole before she joined us to make her journey about an hour shorter. I’ll cope, just so long as the outside can move again!
Swarkestone Pavillion painting ready to be hung
We could have decided to have Oleanna put back in the water and postpone her repaint, most probably a wait of another year, but the blacking desperately needs doing before she touches water again. So we may as well sit it out and have her back with all the other jobs done to our satisfaction.
The first of the Felicity Edition Sockathon socks
Now we could plan, we’d not want to sofa surf for a month. I emailed the SJT saying that we would be staying in the house so our third room was no longer available. They thought they were now sorted for the company of the Calendar Girls. However, within 30 minutes I got another enquiry! Over the next few days I’ve had three enquiries from actors from the next company which overlaps. Should you happen to live in Scarborough and have a comfortable spare room there are actors desperately looking for places to stay, get in touch with the theatre. After a bit of jiggery-pokery with a shoehorn we have managed to accommodate someone else, an old friend, with an extra buffer around Oleanna’s repaint. If we’re not back on the boat by then, well!
Anyhow. It’s disappointing, but it does have its advantages. Firstly we won’t be chomping at the bit to get onto the Leeds Liverpool Canal, possibly getting jobs rushed or even put off.
I can carry on helping on the community mosaic for a while longer. I’m really enjoying it and now know quite a handful of new people around Scarborough.
I also have access to my work room at the top of the house. Yes, I’m designing Chippy Panto again this year. The Snow Queen is a very VERY Christmassy panto. So I’m hoping to get as much work done designing it before we get back on Oleanna, meaning we can make the most of boating again when we hit the water.
In 2021 we were in Scarborough until mid May, escaping from Goole after the breach on the Air and Calder Navigation. This year we’ve already had chance to enjoy our bluebells. I’m loving seeing all that goes on at the seaside on sunny days. The spring tides have revealed sand banks that you can almost walk into the harbour. Then when the tide is in the sea covers most of the beach meaning ice cream, wind breaks and deckchairs are all squashed up against the railings. Daleks, Wookies and Storm Troopers took over the Spa for a weekend and there’s a new market once a month to peruse.
We’ve also been along to celebrate the SJT’s 30th Anniversary at the Odeon. The occasion was marked with a rehearsed reading/sing of HONK! which was produced for Christmas 1997. It was lovely to see some old work friends, especially Michael Holt the designer, I used to paint his sets at the theatre and a few years ago I made a model for him whilst we were on the Peak Forest Canal, the last time I saw him.
So with the news our repaint was delayed, Mick made plans to head down to check on Oleanna again. She’s been off shore power for a few weeks, and he wanted to run her engine and check her over as she’ll be sitting still for a few more weeks. He caught an earlyish train to East Midlands Parkway and walked down the long road to the marina, the cooling towers still keeping an eye on everything.
Oleanna was checked over, the engine run, lunch enjoyed at the cafe. Plenty of people were about doing jobs on their boats in the sunshine. I’d like to have a visit too, so that I can clean off the sticky varnish around the dinette before we move back on board and have to do it with ourselves and Tilly about. But that will have to wait a little while, maybe for when we visit to chat to Tom. The dinette cushion covers have been successfully dry-cleaned and forced back onto the cushions and new blinds for the bow doors have been sewn, they just need fitting to the poppers now.
Nearly walking into the harbour
All we can do is wait.
0 locks, 0 miles, 130 miles walked, 1870 brisk minutes walking in April, 1 repaint delayed, 1 hotel required? 1 contingency cottage to be used, 30th anniversary, 2 now 3 lodgers booked overlapping, 2 drafts of panto, 1 storyboard started, 1 very icy mood board, 1 mosaic paisley finished, 4 Felicity Edition pairs of socks, 3 life jackets tested and repacked, 1 painting finished and framed ready to be hung, 2 boaters and 1 cat resigned to life on dry land for a while longer.
Just before we got back from our holiday to Scotland we contacted Tom at Gibson and Kentwright to see if there was any news on Oleanna’s repaint and if it would be worth keeping the hire car any longer, should we need to do a trip down to Redhill to see him. His reply was that they were not far off finishing the painting of the boat just ahead of us, then there is the putting it back together again. So it’s getting closer, however so is Easter! Tom thought that realistically we’d be looking at after the Easter break, the chap who moves the boats (and most probably Tom too) will be having a break as it’s school holidays.
Easter visitors diverting nature
So we still need to be patient for a bit longer. Timings will be getting tight for us soon as we have bookings for lodgers in the house. At the moment we still have a buffer zone, and another week over lapping the first lodger if needs be!
New painting coming along
This time last year we were back on board and joining the flotilla on the Trent. Have to say when I left my community mosaic group on Monday after the clocks had sprung forward I really wanted to be back on the boat. Watching and reading about people’s cruises will have to do for now though.
Tilly revisited the vets and got the correct jab this time. They must alternate the vaccines and her card didn’t match her vet records. She got this one free, though, as it was their mistake. It had also been suggested that maybe she should have her blood pressure taken to check for various things now that she is over ten. As a few months ago Ziggy my brother’s cat, passed away I thought that maybe it would be worth having it done in case they come up with any early signs. Tilly was quite put out that an inch of her tail needed to be shaved. How is one meant to relax in such a situation? I reckon my pressure was through the roof! Green coat syndrome and all.I did check that the nurse wasn’t going to touch Tilly’s white tipped tail. It just looks like someone has taken a bite out of it now, but it’ll grow back Tilly! Apparently the vet will be in touch with the results, we’ve heard nothing as yet so I’m hoping no news is good news. Now her paperwork is correct she will be granted shore leave once we’re back on board.
Over the last few years it has been obvious that Tilly knows where she is when we move back onto Oleanna after a stint in the house. We do our best to moor up for her first shore leave with not too many other boats about and she comes home. This year we’ll see if she identifies Oleanna by colour, scent, as it will have been six months since she was last on board and Oleanna will be a different colour. Maybe we should keep her onboard for a few days so she finds her way back home?
Mikron van
In other news we can report that the first of this years Mikron shows is well worth a viewing. Top of the Wolds is about a mobile library in the East Riding, Yorkshire. True to form Mikron are touring the show around the East Riding, village halls and libraries before embarking on their usual tour on NB Tylseley. We got to see the show in Bempton a short train journey down the coast. Bempton is mostly known for its cliffs and puffins. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, a mixture of history, songs, modern dilemmas and a chance meeting with people I used to work with on the Yorkshire Moors made it even better.
Mikron’s second show this year is called Wensleydale Whey, about the cheese! Sadly I don’t think we’ll be in the right place at the right time to see it though. Whilst in Bempton we had time to look round Jose’s Antiques, a favourite for propping shows, it’s amazing what you can find there!
When we do get back onboard, we are wanting to head north, downstream on the River Trent to Yorkshire. Currently there is a failed culvert at Keadby Lock which connects the tidal river to the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. Because the culvert has failed the lock is hard to empty, so access to and from the lock is only possible when the river is either level with the canal or higher. Not too bad for cruisers who can push the tide, but not so helpful for narrowboats, as to reach the lock from the tidal river you’d have to push the tide as it came in. We have two other options, going round Trent Falls or the long way round, up the western side of the Pennines. CRT are suggesting the culvert may be mended sometime in May, I’m hoping that’s just before we want to use Keadby Lock.
Oleanna’s insurance has been renewed with Craft Insure. Mick double checked about our LiFePO4 batteries. These are fine so long as we have a lithium fire extinguisher on board. Mick did some research on the type of extinguisher and has purchased a 2 litre extinguisher (£51 including signs and delivery) which can be used on all types of fires. We now just need to find somewhere to store it on board! Of course should we have a battery fire on Oleanna, which is less likely than one from lead acid batteries, the extinguisher would only serve to validate our insurance as it would be too small for our batteries and anyhow we would grab Tilly and get off the boat rather than use the extinguisher!
New curtains have been made for the main cabin. They will need fitting once the new windows are in and the rails put back up. I’ve given them some tolerance to see if that makes any difference, a nicer vertical hammock for Tilly when she sits in the window. But they can be tightened up should they need be by adding another line of stitching. New bedroom curtains were made several years ago and have been kept in storage.
A section of the mosaic finished
Next job is to purchase an escape ladder, one we can attach to the stern somewhere that can be deployed should one end up in the water.
That is all for now, hopefully when I next post, things will be starting to happen on the repaint .
Yesterday I got exceedingly excited. She, was, packing!
Did this mean?! Could this mean?! We’d be heading back to the world where the outside moves? I climbed into the bag cringing at the thought of the cat caravan coming out, maybe She’d let me travel in this bag instead.
Sadly for Tilly it didn’t mean heading back to Oleanna, despite the high decibels of her purring.
Our little car for the week
For several years we’ve talked about doing a road trip up to Scotland. Anne, one of Mick’s sisters moved there 13 years ago, followed about 4 years ago by some other friends. Things started to align a few weeks ago. A lodger willing to look after Tilly, the boat repaint not happening yet, reasonable weather, longer hours of daylight. We put our long thought about plan into action, tweeked dates a touch to fit in with other peoples plans and hired a car for a week, insured for two drivers.
Our little thug
Early Friday morning Mick headed off to pick up our Fiat 500. No openable sunroof, but we weren’t aiming to have more than the two of us inside, unlike in Mick’s teenage years! By now the penny had dropped with Tilly, I’d not packed enough bags for a return to the boat, so her purring turned into sulking under the bed. Since adopting Tilly ten years ago, this would be the longest she’d be apart from the two of us. I just hoped she’d be polite to Vicky our lodger for the next week.
A charred landscape
Normally when we have a car we turn right at the bottom of the road, but this time it was left, we were heading northwards. A pause at Proudfoots to purchase some Easter eggs as gifts, then we were off along the winding roads up the North Yorkshire Moors. Here the fires that caused chaos and serious concern last summer have left black scars across the land.
Angel and ice cream
Up to Newcastle then a left to have a pause at the Angel of the North. I’d hoped there might be some shore based facilities here. Only one available, a chilled medication van, doing a pretty good trade. We had a walk around Anthony Gormley’s giant structure, but a wee break was really required so we pressed on to a nearby Sainsbury’s. After a comfort break we sat and had a lovely view to eat our butties that I’d prepared for us both.
We headed on westwards to Carlisle and started to see signs to Scotland. All this time sat in the car I managed to finish off the first of my Felicity Edition Sockathon socks. It’s quite baby pink and not really my kind of sock, but that’s not the point of the Felicity Edition, although I have added a band of darker pink to help count rows.
Crossing the border
Finally, we were into Scotland and carrying on heading northwards. In my late teens and early twenties I would drive friends up to Kirkcudbright for long weekends or weeks, but today we were bound for further north.
Canal!
The satnav suggested a slightly quicker route through Glasgow, but that meant we missed out on the Erskine Bridge and got slightly lost in the process. We also missed out on driving along the old runway at the now closed Renfrew Airport that Mick’s Dad would have landed and taken off from when he was a pilot. Nowadays the M8 follows the course of the old runway. Maybe we’d manage that on our way back home. We did however get our first view of the Forth and Clyde Canal at a bridge.
Heading west
Out the other side of Glasgow we headed for Helensburgh where Anne and Alasdair have lived for thirteen years. There was a very warm welcome and a very nice Shepherds Pie, thank you Anne.
