Category Archives: Cats

Vampire Not Required. 22nd March

Sykehouse Junction to the Site of Smallhedge Swing Bridge

An early alarm, well we were both awake before it went off. Tea in bed and hopefully awake enough to have a telephone consultation with a GP anytime between 07:30 and 09:30. My phone rang from a Hull phone number at 08:20. This year I seem to have been giving the NHS a lot of my blood and this was a follow up appointment to discus the latest results. The previous results had prompted questions about iron levels and was there any history of iron overload in my family! Thankfully today various levels had returned to normal so I must have had what they call a ‘sub-clinical infection’. I had the choice of another blood test in 2 weeks or 8 weeks to check on one enzyme that was still a bit wonky. I was praised on my walking and loosing of weight and to keep it up. He also said he could only tell me with certainty what I didn’t have. Have to say this GP was good, it didn’t feel like he was in a rush and was happy for me to ask questions.

My biggest worry had been that if I did have iron overload then the usual treatment involves donating blood. If you normally donate blood I believe you can only do this around every three months, well this treatment would have involved giving blood at least once a fortnight, maybe once a week! So I’m very relieved that I don’t need to cruise with a vampire close to hand! Reading back on the notes the GP made, I have been noted as living on a longboat, therefore we are Vikings!

Tilly was allowed morning shore leave. It’s amazing how different she is on the boat compared to the house. When she came in she requested this mooring should be given a stamp of approval, friends had been found.

Only a short distance to cruise today. I opted to walk to operate the bridges whilst Mick brought Oleanna behind, got to keep walking to fend off the need for vampires!

The first bridge is a lift bridge, only one vehicle held up. The second a swing bridge, another car and a cyclist held up here. I’d already spotted that the light at the lock was on red not amber, there was a lock keeper on duty, so once Oleanna was through the bridge I hopped back on board.

The traffic light was now showing red and green, the lock was being prepared for us. On closer inspection it also contained two downhill boats. We trod water waiting for the red light to go out leaving just green. Today the Lockie had a helper. He took our rope wrapped it round a bollard three times and then couldn’t take up the slack. Once this was sorted he then passed the rope around a railing by the car park, totally unnecessary but it made him feel useful.

**Very helpful if not so good with ropes**

The Lockie checked which way we’d be going and if we knew about certain stoppages. There’s a pontoon near Long Sandal Lock which is being used whilst the flood defences are being worked on, then at Eastward Lock up towards Sheffield there is an electrical problem. Neither of these would affect us, we also mentioned the stoppage at Thorne Lock, he didn’t know about that one.

Up the lock and on to where we’ve moored before, just short of where there used to be another swing bridge. My long handled mini roller pole came in handy for passing chains round the bar on the armco, saving getting soggy knees. Once tied up Tilly the thug was let loose. The bank down from the canal is an ideal friendly spot. She was kept busy for much of the afternoon.

Thankfully I managed to find a gap in weather for a walk to top up my minutes and steps. Back to the lock, over the bridge and on through fields to Sykehouse village. Here I came across a campsite at the back of the pub, tried to have a look in the church but the door was locked, checked the village sign and in all only walked about 100 yards of the longest village in Yorkshire before returning to the canal on a different footpath.

**It may be deep and wide, but you still leave a wake**

As I’d set out there had been a dutch barge approaching the low side of the lock, on my return I could hear gates or the bridge being closed. it had taken them around half an hour if not more to get through the lock. I crossed over the bridge and walked back to Oleanna only just being overtaken by the none slowing down barge before I got back. I think the chap needs a touch more practice at the wheel to save his crew from having to stand around waiting for twenty minutes to be picked up.

Inside Oleanna the big box needed getting rid of. It was useful for transporting another box, but really it was far FAR too big for it’s purpose, it would be handy to have a more suitably sized box. I spent the next hour tailoring it for both it’s contents and the space I could allow it. Job done it fitted snuggly in my clothes cupboard.

So what’s in the box? I might leave that for another time.

**Suet crust with chicken, leek and mushrooms**

This evening we celebrated my good appointment with the GP by blowing my new diet and having homemade Teviot chicken and leek pies. The pastry crust made with gluten free vegetable suit. I’m going to have to do a lot of walking to work that one off!

1 lock, 1.7 miles, 3 bridges, 2 cars held up, 1 cyclist held up, 2 outsides, 1 cat grounded to save the wild life, 0 vampires, 1 box reduction for another box, 4.65 miles walked, 75 minutes brisky, 2 Mrs Tilly stamps of approval, 2 indulgent pies.

https://what3words.com/songs.talkative.reddish

New Bridge Buoys. 21st March

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Viking Marina to Sykehouse Junction, New Junction Canal

Maybe someone goes to work early, moving their car from beside our mooring, maybe it’s because Mother Nature is waking up extra early, maybe the docks were being that bit noisier, or maybe I’d just had enough sleep by 6am.

This morning I wanted to get quite a bit done, mostly to do with the aim of emptying the water tank. The immersion was switched on after boiling the kettle, cuppa enjoyed in bed with Tilly keeping my toes warm. Stretches done in front of the sofa and stove, almost enough room! Immersion turned off, shoes stowed in the shoe cupboard, boat hoovered through. Immersion back on.

A shower, dishwasher loaded and turned on. Ahh but I’d forgotten to make myself a cuppa to go with breakfast! It’s not recommended to have the electric kettle on at the same time as the dishwasher. Yes I could have boiled the water the old fashioned way on the hob, but I couldn’t be bothered.

Mick had finished jobs at the house, he’d returned the van and was on his way back on the train. ETA 11am. I was running out of time to do all I’d wanted to tick off this morning. I managed to get half the floor washed before Mick arrived wanting to be let in the gate. As I finished with the mop the kitchen tap was turned on to drain what was left in the tank.

On Mick’s last visit to Oleanna, he’d started the process of disinfecting the water tank. We don’t normally do this, but as the water had been left for five months we felt it best. The water currently in the tank still had traces of the disinfectant, we’ve been using water from the outside tap for drinking and cooking since we arrived. Once the tank was empty we set the hose filling it up again and headed over to the office to hand back in our fob for the gate and say goodbye.

We enquired if ABP still did a booklet of tide times. Now that it’s all available on line they sadly don’t. Mick had wanted a paper copy at hand as we’ll be on tidal waters quite a bit this year, but he’ll happily make do with them online.

Goodbyes said, the last rubbish disposed of we were finally ready for the off. It being Red Nose Day, Oleanna’s faded nose was attached to the bow fender.

The switch on the Nebolink went on, we’ve still not fitted a voltage sensitive switch. A plan of action was made to extricate ourselves from the mooring. Reverse back to the big boats behind, then with blasts from the bow thruster bring the bow round past the other boats, hoping the wind would then catch the bow to help rather than hinder our manoeuvres. Job done we were facing the right direction.

Mick gave a blast of Oleanna’s horns just as we peeked out onto the canal. Two tones, red lipstick and red nose, if anyone had been there to witness it she’d have turned heads!

The visitor moorings were full, a boat headed towards us. Sadly a grey overcast day, so not as picturesque as when we’d pulled away a couple of years ago, heading into the sunset. Yet it was good to be on the move again.

The little hut like boat seems to have made themselves at home, possibly pruning the trees on their mooring. Someone at the visitor moorings at Rawcliffe Bridge has added a 1 to the 2 day mooring sign. Our first update for Waterway Routes.

**Quite a hazy day. The water getting choppier by the minute**

A boat headed towards us from the other side of the M18 bridge. My new camera being tested out with it’s zoom. Wearing my reactive glasses outside, does mean it’s hard to actually see what’s on the screen of both my phone and camera. The phone I can adjust the brightness of the screen, I’ll have to see if I can do the same to the camera.

The log house looked to be in the same stage of completion as it was five months ago. It looks as though people are living there now and a big wave came from inside. Lots more Alpacas in the fields than I remembered.

Round the bend at the breach site. The breach here happened just before Christmas in 2020 and took until August or September to be open again. The breach on the Bridgewater is far bigger and could well take years before any boat traffic can navigate on the embankment again.

Five months ago CRT had started work on bank repairs on the Aire and Calder. This is where when the breach happened the piling along the sides of the canal started to cave in in places due to the lack of water helping to keep it upright. Buoys have marked the areas for years. A small section by New Bridge has had piling added to it to aid the original piling to stay upright, this means the bank isn’t flat, so buoys mark the pieces jutting out.

**New animal escape ramps by new inviting piling**

But after the first true bend in the canal there is a length that has had new piling and an animal escape ram added. The piling round here is chunky stuff, chains required to moor to it. We considered pulling in to see if this would make a good mooring, but then spotted signs asking not to walk on the bank whilst the grass establishes itself. Maybe we’ll try later in the year.

**It doesn’t look as secure as windsurfing does**

Someone was zooming along the reservoir with an inflatable sail. Not sure what this sport is called as it’s not windsurfing. We’d spotted WB Yorkshire Pud up ahead, a boat we look out for and usually see somewhere around here. Time to turn towards the south for us onto the New Junction Canal. No-one was moored on the posts so we pulled in and tied up.

Tilly quickly got herself out from her hiding hole on the bed. Jumped onto the Houdini shelf to check the outside. STOP Phaffing! Let me out!!!! Don’t you know I’ve been waiting 10 tails, three paws and an ear for this moment!

But first things first, she’s never allowed straight out of the boat. We have to make a note of our location, using What3words and grid reference. Then the rules were recited, not that she was listening! Then and only then the doors were opened for our second mate to head off to explore. Time for a late lunch for us.

I’d hoped to get my walk in this morning before leaving Goole, but had run out of time. So instead I walked along the New Junction, swapping sides at the next two bridges and walked up to Sykehouse Lock. Waterway Routes has different colours for towpaths. Red is cyclable, purple walkable, dashed purple is walkable where there is no towpath. I did all three. Well I can add to this that brisk walking is fine on red paths, not so good on purple as it has the potential for ankle twisting, better to walk at a slower speed. My challenge this year is going to be keeping up my brisk walking, at least 40 minutes a day, I may have to venture off the canal to achieve this and there may be days on rivers that it is impossible, but we’ll see.

Back at Oleanna a chicken was popped in the oven to celebrate being back out on the cut and to make use of the freshly cleaned oven! We had the same chap as last year back to give it a good clean as neither of us fancy getting on our hands and knees.

***There’s a good view in both directions from here.***

Tilly made use of shore leave and was fascinated by a mole hill that kept on expanding with no friend in view!

Still a few more things to stow away and a big box to cut down to a specific size, maybe that’s a job for tomorrow.

0 locks, 6.5 miles, 1 wind, 1 right, 1 left, 4 hours! 4.6 miles walked, 57 minutes briskly, 1 lucky mole, 1 roast chicken, 2 happy boaters and 1 happy cat being on the move again.

https://what3words.com/reeling.parsnips.haystack

How Does It All Fit? 20th March

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Viking Marina, Goole

We all seem to have got a good nights sleep on the new mattress. Maybe it would have been better to get it made an inch thinner, giving Mick more head space under the gunnel. But he says he’ll adapt the way he sleeps, if anyone can he can!

The fire was stoked and the boat warmed up again. Tea in bed was enjoyed before I had a go at my morning stretches. I wondered if the bed would be good, but the width of the boat is a little restrictive, so tomorrow I’ll try the floor in front of the stove to see if there’s enough room there.

After breakfast it was time to empty the van. Useful empty boxes were popped back into it so they could head back to the house for the next time we move. Mick then headed to the marina office for a new gas bottle whilst I wove ends in on my latest pair of socks, these were to be hand delivered to Georgie back in Scarborough by Mick. I’d sneaked her in ahead of some boat women as they were taking their time in getting back to me, with Georgie it took her less than a minute to respond to what shoe size she was!

Mick returned having paid for our electric and the gas bottle along with a new wee tank connector. Laird was fine with us still being hooked up overnight until we leave, we are leaving a day or two before our mooring fees run out. Only the fob for the gate to return now.

Time to head to Tescos to collect our order. Six crates! Just where would I be putting everything? I really hoped it would all fit, having said that there was still quite a large gap in one of the food drawers, I can’t remember what used to occupy the space. With things squeezed into the fridge we then headed off to buy some coal. The marina doesn’t sell it, but Coopers does near East Cowick. Four 25kg bags of Excell got Mick very dusty moving them about, he should have brought his mucky coat!

Back to Oleanna, lunch and then Mick set off back to Scarborough to return the van in the morning, the final hoover round of the house, cut the grass and hide our things in the shed and enjoy a fully glutenised pizza from Pizza Tempo.

**I’ve opted for tuperware this year rather than plastic bags.**

I got on with sorting things for the freezer. A chicken to joint, sausages, mince and turkey steaks to portion up and then get freezing whilst we were still on hook up.

**Pedestrians are shorter and thicker in Goole than they are in Scarborough**

Tilly was left in charge as I headed out for my walk. Down Albert Street, right at the end, then left down towards Ocean Lock. I wonder if we’ll end up using Ocean Lock at all this year? Currently there is a problem with Thorne Lock on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, which hopefully will be sorted before the boats from Strawberry Island want to head that way along with us! Ocean Lock would give a different route to Gainsborough, round Trent Falls, but hopefully CRT will have Thorne Lock back in working order.

**Ocean Lock, see the size of that motorhome next to it**

Only two ships in the docks today. Down at the river the tide was neither in nor out, or so it seemed. Back through town, a pause at Boyes to see if they had a waste food container we can use when the new recycling takes affect across the canal network. I also stopped to say hello to 007 in a shop window, Sean was my favourite Bond.

I’d left the stove to dwindle as it was such a warm day, but it now needed encouraging so I could bake a jacket potato to have with left over chilli. Now it was time to find room for clothes. A shelf in my cupboard needed moving and what I thought would be an easy fit for my Sockathon yarn bag proved to be quite hard. How can that be? It came out of the drawer five months ago and I’ve knitted I don’t know how many more pairs of socks since then and only added a small amount of yarn to it. Some summer clothes needed to be added to the vaccum bags that go under the bed, I did wonder if it was a sensible thing as today had been so warm, maybe I should have put my big fat jumpers in there instead.

A quiet evening for us girls, still surrounded by bags, but nice and cosy in front of the stove casting on the next pair of socks.

0 locks, 0 miles, 100kg coal, 1 bag kindling, 6 crates, 1 ordered freezer with spare room, 5 miles walked, 2 office shelves sorted, 1 wardrobe stowed, 5 boxes of wine in the cellar, 1st jacket baked, 1 new mattress to wrestle with on my own later, I’ll help jump on it for you!

If Only She’d Stroke My Head! 19th March

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Scarboreugh and Goole

Yesterday She sat down after getting up and we had a chat. She does the getting up and sitting down thing quite a lot at the moment, but it’s rare for us to have a chat about something important. She said things that She thought I didn’t know, but blah blah blah blah blah! I know what’s happening and by Cat Nip Dreamies they’ve been taking their time about it! I’ve tried to help by emptying their socks and pants drawers. I purred a lot today to encourage She to go quicker as she changed the bed linen on my bed. I even tried sign language, if She strokes my head she’ll let me out. It didn’t work!

I started doing the idiot checks, checking every corner of every cupboard to make sure they’d not left anything. Then She started to stroke things, first wet, then dry, but not my head! Tom headed off early and came back in a very big boxer. He said it wasn’t a woofer and the one we were meant to have had a broken face so we got the big Boxer.

Tom then walked back and forth, back and forth carrying things whilst She did more stroking, still not my head! I watched from underneath my bed, the longer it went on the more worrying it got. Then they stopped. It always amazes me that we think we’ve nearly finished, there is a whole lot more cleaning to do! And that is so that other Toms and She’s can sleep in my bed and use my Wardle.

Then they’d finally finished. All morning She’d been asking me to use my Pooh Box and all morning I’d not wanted to. She stopped asking me and gave it a wash out and handed it to Tom. This meant our departure was imminent. I hid on the bed between the two piles of soft towels, ears as low as they could be. This had to be easy, I really didn’t want them to get stressed and hiding under the bed really wouldn’t have been good for She’s knees, but at the same time I had to keep up the pretence of not wanting to go. Well I do want to go, it’s just the going bit I’m not keen on. I like it when we’ve got there.

I was bundled into the caravan and then into the front of the big Boxer. Time to go to the boat Tilly, isn’t that exciting! It would be if you’d just get on with it!!!

I remembered that sitting down was a good thing, lying down proved to be even better. At least Tom was doing his best to make the outside move fast, however it is a bit too fast for my liking.

***Maybe one day I’ll get to explore the Sledmere outside***

Two comfort breaks required, apparently my timing wasn’t so good this time, but we all got to enjoy Sledmere again.

***Hooray!!! When are you going to move the outside?***

Then finally we arrived, there Oleanna was waiting for me to move back onboard. She and Tom are meanies not letting me out in Goole. They kept going out, passing things in through the hatch busy busy, all whilst I could be exploring the outside, it looks to have good potential.

**Maybe a paw thinner would have been better**

Then there was hilarity as they tried out their new bed. It’s not as squishy as the last one so Tom might have to shrink his head to fit. I didn’t dare try it until it had been covered. I’ll let you know how we all sleep tonight.

The view is different than I remembered it, the next door boat has been moved elsewhere so I can see the sky and watch the ducks go by. Thank you Lairdy Tom.

Now I really hope they don’t spend ages and ages before they move the outside, she strokes my head and I can go out into it to find some friends. I’ll try to give them a paw with unpacking to make it happen quicker.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 big boxer, 1 clean kitchen, 2 clean bathrooms, 1 tidy house, 1 lodger confirmed, 1 inventory checked, 1 noisy journey, 1 cat who knows where she’s going, 2 comfort breaks, 1 new mattress, 2 many things to stow, 1 sunny view, 1 happy cat to be back afloat.

Packing Up. 18th March

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Scarborough

We are now into the run down for returning to Oleanna. We’re down to one ears wait!

**Our last Sunday walk on the Esplanade**

I had managed to find other things to do to help avoid cleaning things like the oven, but that avoidance didn’t go quite to plan. A day keeping a good friend company at a hospital appointment went too well and rather than being there most of the day it only took a few hours before positive results came flooding through. I had thought I’d be able to attend my last mosaic session which would have aided my avoidance, but the lady who runs the sessions had come down with a lurgy so an afternoon of sticking tiles to brown paper was called off. Only one thing for it, carry on with the packing and cleaning.

There are various items that go too and fro to the boat each time we move. Sometimes they are needed, other times they just stay in the boat cupboard waiting to return, then they get tucked away under the dinette.

A big light weight box was delivered, packing removed from inside and the space being taken up by a lot of air was used to pack light things including a bunch of bayleaf twigs, thank you Frank! The box will be reduced in size as soon as I have time and some space on the boat. Documents read and amended. An enquiry from an actor regarding digs later in the summer was replied to.

Gradually the dining room filled up with items to head to Oleanna. Tilly stayed calm, she was asleep for most of the time! The occasional sniff round things just to check we were packing in a sensible way. Overflow fridge moved inside as the lean to will be dismantled in a few weeks time and only one of us needs to be around for that. Beds made up, fresh bathroom linen put out, our next set of lodgers will see four actors take over the house for a few weeks.

**It’ll have to wait until next year to be finished**

Despite hoping to get my next big painting completed, I soon realised that this wasn’t ever going to happen, my paints needed to be packed up and the canvas put safely away from the bleaching rays of sun light that come through my work room window, the painting is now unlikely to be finished until next year.

Three paintings however have been put in frames and left in what is known as the fishtank until I can think of where they can be hung, another job for next year.

Monday night we had a very tasty chicken tray bake using up various items from the freezer, I’ll be making that version again. Tuesday involved packing up the kitchen and cleaning things down.

**Daffodils in The Valley starting to come out, it will be a sea of yellow in a weeks time**

I managed to get my last full walk in round Scarborough in the sunshine. Down the Valley, the daffodils just starting to come out. Across the sands in front of the Spa, the tide out. Up through the gardens on the cliff to the Esplanade. I paused to pull up my big girls pants and register with a new dentist. We’re not likely to cruise through Birmingham this year and as Colin my dentist there has moved down to Cornwall, now seemed a good time to change to a more sensible location.

More cleaning and packing, including sparkling up the big shower after the last shower had been taken. Just time to put some reasonable clothes on and walk up into town to meet with Mick’s old friend Mark. A drink at The Stumble Inn, we’ve not been in there before, followed by what seems to be becoming a last night tradition in Scarborough a meal at The Taj, well it saves on the washing up back at the house.

**The boys tucking into their starters**

Tomorrow we move.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 full dining room, 3 wees, 1 oversized box, 1 signature, 1 enquiry, 1 resigned cat, 2 papadums each, 2 much food, 1 set of scales tucked away, 1 stone less until today, 1 empty kitchen, 2 troughs of strawberries repotted, 1 urn of strawberries for lodgers, 2 boaters and 1 boat cat ready for the water again.

Passing. 25th February

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Goole / Scarborough

Life continues onwards in Scarborough. Jobs in the house continue. The roof space needs clearing for when we get a new roof done in a few months time, so it’s time to go through things again. All the things that have been kept for posterity have been gone through several times and are gradually being worked through in case any can go on to have new lives elsewhere. There are also all my accounts since the turn of the century! Boxes and folders to go through, only the last few years needed which now all fit into one slim folder.

Old shows, technical drawings, reference, costume designs, sketch books, programmes, scripts. A lot of these have been hitting the recycling bin, two big boxes of venue plans, but there is still a lot I can’t throw away. I haven’t started on model boxes yet, but I did do a huge cull of those eleven years ago.

Then there are the more personal things, tins from my Mum’s sewing cupboard, round robins from 1999, Christmas cards and first night cards, newspapers etc. All these will be kept as I find them interesting and many are close to my heart. Mick has yet to look through the box of telephones, I know we’ll be keeping them.

Walks round Scarborough continue, tomorrow I’ll cross the line of walking 100 miles in February. Just thinking back to last summer when I struggled to walk from one lock to the next, what a difference.

Mick has started to do research for the main part of our cruise this year. We’d originally planned on making use of the longer days in June, but our friends who will be joining us, won’t be able to until later in the summer. So we may have to cruise some bits earlier on our own before we meet up as we want to be heading southwards come September.

I’ve been helping on a community mosaic project that will adorn the back wall of a community centre. I’ve never done mosaic before, it’s quite therapeutic unless you get mosaic dyslexia trimming down tiles to fit in with the andamento, this week I did a bit of crazy paving known as Opus Paladanium in the earth section. It’s a way to get to know new people in Scarborough, although sadly I won’t be able to attend many more sessions as the commute from Oleanna will be too much soon. Instead I’ll be doing mosaic knitting on a few pairs of socks, think I’m getting addicted to this method of colour changing.

Tuesday the 25th February arrived. Mick was on an early train down to Goole. Today was the day when Hannah would be giving Oleanna her Boat Safety Test which needs to be done every four years. The stove was lit, a touch more warmth to help dry things out and be a more pleasant place to work in.

Hannah pointed out that we should have a sign to indicate where the diesel cut off is. Handily she happened to have one in her bag, so that was a very quick fix.

She looked in the gas locker, noting that it gets wet in there. When Oleanna is out of the water for repainting next year, Hannah suggested we get the vent holes in the gas locker extended upwards. This is so that even when the water tank is full and we’ve got full bottles of gas on board any leaking gas would be able to escape through the vents as they would be guaranteed to be above water. Oleanna passed and is good to go for the next four years.

Hooray!!!

We now have medical appointments to attend, finish jobs at the house, finalise arrangements for workmen in the future, finish emptying the roof space, do some more painting and mosaicing, wait for a big box to arrive and then pack our lives away to move back on board.

**Nine years with this little thug in our lives**

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 111.7 miles walked in February, 2 many boxes, 2 many plans, 6m diameter mosaic, 1 pile appearing in the dining room, 1 lazy cat, 1 boat safety passed, 1 boat ready for this year, 1 mattress still required, 9 years of Tillyness.

Decision Made, Deposit Paid. 13th February

The estimate for grit blasting and blacking came through last Saturday from Danny, I suspect Sally had given him a prod or two.

There wasn’t much need for discussion between the two of us. Tilly hadn’t met these people, so her opinion didn’t really count for much Well I wouldn’t have liked them anyway, unless they had Dreamies for me!

We’d already weighed up the pros and cons between painters. Quotes were pretty similar to each other, a couple of grand here or there different. The painters themselves were a main factor. Would they give us what we were after? Offer advice, but listen to us too? They are all skilled painters and very friendly souls.

Timing, a slot in winter preferable for us so we don’t miss out on summer cruising. A heated paintshop an important factor during winter. Also knowing when the house may be full of lodgers had an influence on dates, as we didn’t really want to be homeless or miss out on income. Which winter/year had they available slots? Not many painters we had contacted had slots available this year.

Then the Tilly factor. The shortest distance possible back to the house PLEEEEEASE!!!! Two journeys not an option, a stay in a cattery would be required PRISON!!!!

Would we be able to arrive early and over winter at the marina where they are based? Would we be able to come out of the water to wait for our slot, therefore saving money on our licence for a few months? Would this tie in with other things that may or may not happen?

I think it took us about five minutes to make our final decision. We’d be going with Tom from Gibson and Kentwright Boat Painters.

A couple of final questions were asked on Monday, a swift reply came back. A phone call from Tom on Tuesday checking on some of the extras that could be added into a formal quote. The quote was received on Wednesday, 10% deposit paid and received this morning, Thursday.

So Oleanna is booked in for a repaint in 2026!

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 painters down to 1, 10% deposit paid, 14 months, 1 winter mooring to sort, 1 sign writer to sort, 125.4 mile cat journey, 1 decision had nothing to do with cooling towers, honestly!

4th Painter. 5th February

Swanley Bridge Marina

Not a bad nights sleep, the cat kept quiet! Time for some breakfast. The Travelodge only offers a grab and go breakfast, not suitable for me, so we headed into Northwich, surely Waitrose cafe would have something I could eat, surely!

We stood in line then I asked if there was anything on their menu I could eat, did they have any gf bread? The lady serving said she was embarrassed to say that the only thing she had to offer me was flapjack. How disappointing. I ended up opting for some porridge, if I was coeliac I wouldn’t have touched that.

A sandwich for lunch maybe. One, just one gf sandwich and I didn’t like the filling so Waitrose were disappointing again. They tried to make up for it as we left as a lady thrust two bunches of flowers into my hand, sad gits flowers that had already been reduced a few times but now were free! Mick posed with them pretending he was being ever so loving getting me flowers.

Just after 10:30 we pulled up having followed google directions to Swanley Bridge Marina, at the wrong side of the marina! Round a big stinky block, a farmer was spreading muck, and we found the entrance along with big signs for Willow Boat Painting. Sally was here to meet us and show us what she had in her shed right now.

**Such an old romantic, when things are free!**

Sally and I had a long chat before Christmas and it was here that had a slot become available in the next couple of weeks time. This would have been really quite well timed meaning we’d be able to move back on board a freshly painted boat and sail away more or less when planned this year. However it would have meant dropping everything a couple of weeks ago and cruising long days, hoping the Trent didn’t go into flood and then waiting for C&RT stoppages to open ahead of us. It was all a bit too quick.

It would be possible to get Oleanna grit blasted by D and J Engineering next door, Danny would be able to weld the extra T studs on for us and do anything structural we wanted. He would also do the 2 pack blacking before Oleanna would move into Sally’s shed for painting.

Sally’s process is pretty much the same as other painters, the number of coats of primer, undercoat and top coat. Sign writing would either be done by Martin her partner or a lady who used to work for them, this would be at an extra cost (as it is with most painters). Wood working could be done by a carpenter who also works at Swanley Bridge, so everything close together. Getting your boat in and out of the water is charged for by the marina, so on top of Sally’s price. Other extras would be things like having the gas locker repainted, other lockers, woodwork varnishing, such as doors or hatch linings.

In the shed were two boats gleaming with their top coats. One was still taped and masked up for coachlines, the other nearing completion. Both looked lovely, we’ve seen a couple of her boats recently out and about NB Alchemy being one of them.

We went to meet Danny next door and remind him that we would rather like a price/estimate for grit blasting and blacking. I’d chatted to him before Christmas about this on the phone, but he’d not sent me one. He’s a man that does his work, emails and paperwork are not his specialty, however when you want to compare painters and their prices, even if you are looking into the future it would be handy to have a price. He said we’d have one before the weekend.

It had been good to meet Sally and see her work. As we pulled away we chatted over our impressions and what we thought. Willow Boats has a very good reputation, we liked Sally. It would be good to have a price from Danny, Sally would kick him if he didn’t get one to us soon. Downside is they are a long way from Scarborough for Tilly. We’d be realistically looking at October 2026 as we’d not really want a slot in the middle of summer when we could be cruising. There are also all the extras, like gas locker, woodwork, so it’s hard to put an overall price on the repaint. The jury is out until we get a price back from Danny, which will hopefully be soon.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 times round the inner ring road, 1 disappointing Waitrose, 2 bunches flowers, 4th painter, 1 chatty Sally, 1 even chattier Danny, 1 absent Martin, 1 chippy, 1 waited for price.

3rd Painter. 4th February

Uplands Marina

With a window between house jobs and appointments we booked ourselves a hire car for two days so that we could cross the Pennines to visit another couple of boat painters.

Mick headed off early to pick up the car and I got on with my exercises followed by my daily walk, today before breakfast. I’m doing my best to get fitter, loose some weight and get ready for boating again, so I’ve downloaded the NHS Active 10 app. This measures how many minutes of brisk walking you do in a day. I aim for 30 minutes, on some days I’m managing far more which just shows how much better my knees are now.

The magic food bowl was set for Tilly. I thought She was starting to pack to go back on the boat, exciting! But no, I’d be home alone with Thomas Tom and Singing She next door to keep an eye on. Our car journeys normally take us over the top of the Yorkshire Wolds, but today we were back on the A64 heading towards York, then the M62 across over the top of the Pennines in the rain.

**I’m helping put together a community mosaic**

We were headed for the top of the Trent and Mersey Canal. Once off the main roads place names started to become familiar, a few more wiggles and we were crossing the canal, Anderton Marina to our left and the boat lift to the right. A pit stop at the services was required, we pulled up by the rubbish skip a white van parked next to it. A chap inside asked if we were wanting to use the elsan, no just the loo. He was there to mend the elsan and it should be up and running again in half an hour.

Whoever cleans the service block manages to mop the floor, but the black mould around the sink and on the door frame was horrible, plus the smell was pretty bad too, maybe something to do with the elsan. I made sure I washed my hands knowing I’d be able to get out of the block without touching anything!

We had our lunch over looking the marina. Long pontoons stretching off into the distance, much bigger than we’d imagined it to be. There was one familiar boat moored up by the slipway. NB Firecrest, Eric and Cheryl whom we’d met shortly before the Thames flotilla and then afterwards whilst in Paddington Basin.

Time to see if we could find Nick from The Paint Shed. We’d been warned that the boat they’d be working on today was quite a rusty old boat and they would just be starting to strip it back. The covered dock was very noisy, but someone spotted us and Nick came over to say hello, he just needed to finish something so maybe we’d want to wait in the office.

As a scenic artist I’ve had several spray guns in my life, several giving up the ghost on me getting clogged, that’s when I yearned to have more than one. Here they had at least four and several spare needles for them too, I was jealous.

Nick came to chat, then we had a walk around the marina. As with most boat painters the nearest marina tends to have several boats that they’ve painted, so as we walked he pointed out boat after boat and told us roughly how long ago it was that he painted them. Of course today was a good day for him to show off his work, rain makes everything shiny and bright, he admitted they all looked top notch when wet.

Over the years we’ve seen quite a few boats painted by Nick, the last one we shared Big Lock in Middlewich with, it looked immaculate and when we asked how recently their paint job had been we were surprised when they mentioned years rather than weeks. So we’ve seen quite a bit of his work around the north west, when it hasn’t been raining.

We sought refuge back in the paintshed to have a look round. They certainly had their work cut out on the boat in there. One chap was stripping the paint off in the well deck as another was removing window frames. Here they strip every boat back to bare steel using scabblers, needle guns etc. Then the shell is acid treated, this kills off any rust and gives the shell a layer that acts as a primer. 2 coats of 2 pack epoxy primer are followed by 2 coats of 2 pack base coat, then 2 coats of the desired finish including bow, stern hatch, tiller and anti slip painting all in their heated dock. Their sign writing is done by Robin Wagg.

The Paintshed’s dock is not a dry dock, meaning that they don’t do blacking at Uplands Marina as your boat sits in the water. They can black your boat but they do this at Hesford Marine on the Bridgewater, there the hull could be shot blasted. Nick chooses a day with suitable weather, the chaps at the marina shot blast the hull and then Nick very quickly follows them with the first coat of 2 pack blacking to keep the hull as dry as possible. He also insists on doing the job himself. We chatted over logistics for this. Ideally the hull should be shot blasted and blacked before the cabin is painted. However this does mean that when the cabin is being prepared dust and swarf from the sanding is likely to end up sitting along the water line of the new blacking, not ideal really.

Their next slot for painting would be March 2026, but he suggested that we should get the blacking done in the last warmer months of this year when the weather is better for such things. He’d be able to do it in September then we’d look at mooring at Uplands for the winter so then Oleanna would be sat ready and waiting for her painting.

We chatted through all the other jobs on our list, he made some suggestions and nothing would be a problem. He called Caldwells Windows regarding a delivery he was expecting, but also asked them if they do double glazed sliding windows for us. They don’t, I’d suspected as much just from looking on line.

Nick is a nice cheery chap, we liked him. We worked out an estimate for blacking and shot blasting so that this could be added into the price he’d come up with, so we’d be able to compare painters prices better.

Down side to The Paintshed was the blacking having to be at a different time in warmer months. September was suggested, we already have a lodger booked in the house, so we’d be homeless and more to the point Tilly would be homeless! Not being able to grit blast the cabin sides and get them painted quickly due to a days cruise between Hesford and Uplands Marina is also a negative. The distance back to Scarborough in a vehicle for Tilly also might be too much. So sadly as much as we liked Nick and the boats of his we’ve seen he dropped into second position.

It was still quiet early in the afternoon when we left. What to do with ourselves for the rest of the afternoon? Cinema? Nothing on we fancied. We ended up driving to find the portals of the tunnels on the Trent and Mersey, one found, no boats waiting to go through. Then headed on up to Midland Chandlers at Preston Brook to see what we could see. Mick was after a few connectors for the tunnel light and horns and some new screws for fixing things back onto the bracket. We had a good look round and gave up, only purchasing a bottle of Marine 16.

**Neoprene lined fender hooks, might be worth it once Oleanna’s painted, expensive though**

We then wiggled our way back towards Northwich. Sign posts to Lewis Carroll’s birth place and visitor centre caught our eye close to Daresbury, shhhhh! Would these be close enough to the canal to be able to walk there in the future? It was too late in the day now to visit.

Our accommodation for the night was the Travelodge at Lostock Gralam, just off the A559 to the north west of Northwich. It has recently had an upgrade! I think this means a new lick of paint, a funky covered arm chair and a new painting above the bed. Instead of having Rudolf’s red nose in the painting we now had a stylised landscape with moon and we’d be serenaded by a black cat plucking a fiddle.

Nearby is a La Turka, a Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant. It was big with a very good menu having plenty of gluten free dishes. Mick chose a pizza and I had chicken kebabs with a side salad, twice as much as was need for both of us, maybe we should have got a doggy bag for breakfast. It was very nice and I suspect if we ever moor near Wincham Wharf we’ll be back as it’s only 1km away.

0 locks, 0 miles by boat, 1 yellow car, A64, 3rd painter, 1 blogging boat, 4 spray guns, 1 wet day, 2 complicated sadly, 1 small bottle Marine 16, 1 Dante pat, 1 cat and fiddle, 1 pizza, 2 kebabs, 1 side salad, 1 bottle of wine on a week night, 1 cat home alone!

Fuses. 22nd January

Ages ago Mick spent quite a while trying to find the fuses on Oleanna, fuses between the batteries and … well, everything really! He couldn’t find any. Had they been tucked away well and truly out of sight? It appeared not, he has never found any fuses that the boat builder may (or may not) have fitted. With the new batteries he wanted to rectify this. When he fitted the new batteries last year he fitted a bus bar for the battery cables to terminate on. The bus bar contained fuses to protect the onward cabling to the inverter and the 24v domestic system. The new battery supplier told him that a fuse at the battery end of the positive cables is not required because the battery management system (BMS) would cut off in the event of a short circuit. So it was probably very safe so he didn’t fit any. But it niggled away in his mind. There were various opinions on facebook groups and internet forums, some saying “Oh! You must have fuses” and others saying “You don’t need to bother, nobody has fuses at the battery end” Anyway, due to their relative cheapness and being fairly simple to fit he decided to do it anyway.

So he obtained two “cube” fuse holders from 12 Volt Planet and 2 x 150 amp fuses.

Today he caught the 10am train down to Goole, taking the Brompton with him to avoid having to paddle once reaching the marina. The usual photos of the sea near Bridlington or the Humber and the bridge didn’t get taken due to thick fog, today the world wasn’t picturesque.

In fact the only photo he did take was of the new wee tank connector that Alastair has made for us and left on the stern lockers. Thank goodness, we won’t have to keep our fingers crossed that the connector connects without spillage, or more likely splurtage as the pump pumps!

When Mick had fitted the new fuses and reconnected the batteries the inverter wouldn’t turn back on. About an hours worth of head scratching ensued but eventually he remembered that back in October when we left Oleanna in the Marina he had remotely switched the inverter to “Charger only”. This must have overridden the physical switch on the front of the inverter. This had the effect of not powering up the inverter if the shore power was disconnected (which it was). Anyway, all sorted in the end. Back in the days when Mick worked as a techie in the telecoms and IT sector he had a saying: “Every fault is easy when you know what it is”. Very true in this case.

Meanwhile back in Scarborough one project I’ve been working on has been completed. All three of our garden benches have been repainted and the slats replaced. Not a cheap job but all three have cost us the same as replacing one. Frank leant us his pillar drill and I made sure the new sapele slats got the full number of coats of protective varnish. Hopefully they will now see the two of us out.

Last week I visited a physio for the second time. The wonderful Meera (self referral NHS physio) had given me a few simple stretching exercises and they seemed to have done the job. She believed my muscles were all far too tight and causing me extra problems and exacerbating my knee pain. If only I’d seen her back in August! I have one more exercise to help strengthen my hips and was given an open appointment should I need it before the end of February. No stick needed and I’m increasing the distance I’m walking every day, I’m determined to be able to push lock beams again this year. Thank you Meera!

**Eastfield Medical Centre in the sunshine**

My next project was to redecorate a room that hasn’t really ever had much thought put to it. The dining room had only ever been painted white and felt a little bit sterile now that we have people staying on that side of the house more often than not. A couple of years ago I made some curtains, last year I added a print out of the swirly wave that I’d used as a front cloth for Rapunzel at Chippy.

Taking colours from the curtains and painting I selected a pale yellow and a turquoise. I’d ordered the paint before Christmas when Dulux were giving 20% off most things, so the colours were a little bit of a surprise when I opened the tins, especially the blue/turquoise.

There are still a few bits to do before it’s fully finished, hopefully before next weekend when our next lodgers arrive.

Yesterday we had a phone call from one of the boat painters on our short list. We’ve not yet managed to visit them. They had had a cancellation for a repaint, sadly someone had passed away, would we be interested in the slot? The slot was in three weeks time. Three weeks at this time of year to get across to the other side of the Pennines, there were bound to be stoppages that we weren’t aware of, tides to consider, weather, possible flooding. Then we’d also need to finish preparing the house for lodgers, leave Tilly with them or heaven forbid she’d have to go into a cattery What’s a CATTERY!?! Best she doesn’t know.

It didn’t take me long to turn down the opportunity, three weeks was just too soon sadly. I hope they managed to find another boat to paint and we’re hoping to be that way in a couple of weeks.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 fuses, 1 wee connector, 3 benches, 1 possible gardener, 1 hibernating cat, 1 dining room far brighter than before, 1 new painting started but put on hold, 2 knees actually working again, 1 cat prison avoided.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Cats

Vampire Not Required. 22nd March

New Bridge Buoys. 21st March

How Does It All Fit? 20th March

If Only She’d Stroke My Head! 19th March

Packing Up. 18th March

Passing. 25th February

Decision Made, Deposit Paid. 13th February

4th Painter. 5th February

3rd Painter. 4th February

Fuses. 22nd January