Category Archives: Cats

Welded On! 12th June

Padnal Fen GOBA Mooring

A day of staying put, but not sitting still. Tilly was allowed shore leave first thing, it wouldn’t however be a sausage day, more of a salami day, handed out in slices.

The washing machine was put to work, the solar doing it’s thing first thing. The whirligig was erected and soon filled, the washing drawer just about empty. Whilst Mick did this I collected together what I needed to give the covers a spray.

Wet and Forget and the new pump spray bottle. At last the covers were going to get a spray. Its quite a while since we gave them a scrub at Pollington Lock and a couple of days sat under the trees in Ely hadn’t helped! Once the mixture was ready it was time for Tilly to come inside. Wet Wet and Forget isn’t good on paws as it can be licked off!

**Hopefully it wasn’t too sunny today for it to have maximum effect**

The covers came off and I started to spray them with the new bottle. The last time I actually did this was in lockdown with a standard plant spray, it took forever! Today once I’d got the spray more or less how I wanted it, a fine spray not possible, it took no time at all. Brilliant.

Now what to do?

**After a lot of scrubbing, before the scraper came out!**

The birds in Ely gave me quite a task to scrub their deposits from the roof and cabin side. The back counter had to wait for the pram cover to be back on as it was hard working away with the brush with the frame and whirligig in the way. Once I could get to the newly decorated deck it took a lot of work. White bird sh*t is easy, it just washes off. It’s the green residue from eating grass and plants that is the problem. It had welded itself onto the lid of the weedhatch. Scrubbing with the yard brush got so far. Leaving it soaking a little bit further. Then the paint scraper came out and a mixture of soaking and scraping away time and time again meant that at least we’d be able to open the weedhatch again!

Mick put on his overalls and climbed into the engine bay. He wanted to check over the cooling system after our problems last year. As the engine ran with the header filler cap off (so air could escape if needs be), he sat with his phone in hand watching the gauge as the temperature of the engine gradually rose. All was good thankfully. He also filled the stern greaser, a messy job.

Once the covers were dry they went back on Oleanna so that the grass below could dry off whilst we had lunch. The grass would then be dry enough for feline paws once again., Tilly was allowed a few more slices of shore leave.

Next came the roof. There has been a small bubble of rust gradually showing itself for a while towards the stern along with a couple of patches on the hatch sliders. Earlier in the year we’d had a leak where the solar connection box sits on the roof, a year or so ago I’d done my best to sort a patch of rust here, but it needed looking at properly.

Mick undid the screws and I carefully went round the box to break the seal of silicon we’d put on when we added the second panel. Gradually the box lifted and the cable could be disconnected. The rust was scraped away along with any loose paint.

All rusty bits had a good sanding back and then I applied some Fertan, rust convertor. During the remainder of the afternoon I gave the brown fertan the occasional spray with water to keep it active. Early evening the solar connection box was cleaned of old blacktack and silicone then reconnected and a plastic bag taped down over the top, hopefully to stop any possible rain from coming in, but this would also mean the next time I want to do anything all I have to do is lift the tape and bag. I just mustn’t leave it too long so that the tape welds itself to the roof!

Tilly and I had a little walk along the bank, the wind very fierce up there. Gradually as the afternoon turned into evening the wind started to subside, just as well as we’d planned a barbeque.

I made up veg and haloumi kebabs and a spring green and carrot coleslaw with a bit of wholegrain mustard added. The asparagus was threaded onto skewers, burger buns cut in half ready for toasting.

We huddled in the corner, knowing that the smoke would be blown away from our washing drying in the cratch. The pork and apple burgers I bought yesterday were very nice as was the asparagus even though the wind had just about cooled it down as soon as it left the barbeque!

As we sat finishing off our meal a rather plump bird flew along following the reeds on the other bank. Definitely an Owl, we think it was a Barn Owl. We watched it fly along, turn and head back. Sadly I only had my phone on me, but if you look carefully you can see it. It returned and came over our heads. Another privileged moment on the fens, our first sighting of an owl in eight years.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 winding but plenty of wind, 1 coolant system okay, 3 loads washing, 5 rust patches, 32 welded on sh*ts, 1 busy happy cat, 1 set of covers that we can hopefully forget about for a few months (maybe I’ll give them another spray before winter), 4 kebabs, 15 spears asparagus, 2 burgers, 1 low flying Barn Owl, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.

Captions just bold today.

Keen For Cake. 11th June

Jubilee Gardens to Padnal Fen GOBA Mooring, River Lark

There was only time for a cuppa in bed before I was heading off into town his morning armed with shopping bags. Somehow we’d managed to time our return to Ely with the twice monthly Farmers Market, I like Farmers markets. Mick stayed behind and left me to it.

The market square was mostly full of antique stalls and street food wagons, the market stretching round onto Dolphin Lane. There was still quite a good mix of produce stalls, so before I put my hand in my pocket I had a good look round.

So far this year we’ve only had one lot of asparagus and that was supermarket bought, so seeing what hopefully would be fresh spears I hunted round for the best price. Only a couple of meat stalls. I didn’t want a nice juicy steak at £21 but some sausages if they were gluten free. The lady had pork and apple burgers, sorted that would do us for a bbq this weekend.

More fruit and veg stalls, a nice plump cauliflower, some carrots (just because they looked nice, no idea what I’ll use them for).

There were two bakers stalls. One with every sort of bread you could ever want apart from gluten free, but that’s understandable with sooo much gluten flying about. I got Mick a small pork pie.

The other bakers was George’s Bakery. Here the stall was enclosed with plastic, only small gaps either end for you to be served. Then a line of benches led away under gazebos where some fencing took over to help keep the queue under control. There was a queue, quite a long queue. Sadly it was another stall that I wouldn’t be making a purchase from, just as well a I didn’t really want to stand or sit in a queue for an hour!

Fish, wine, beer, cheeses, all sorts of tasty looking things to buy. I was restrained and walked away with a good stash. On the way back to the boat I called in at a Chinese Supermarket for some more rice noodles and took note of what flours they do in case I need to stock up at some point.

I was back just in time for the Geraghty zoom which covered subjects such as Drax Powerstation, how big one fried goose egg would be in a frying pan.

A top up shopping list was drawn up taking into account the random items I’d just purchased and I headed off to Sainsburys whilst Mick rolled the covers up, pushed off, winded and headed for the water point. I got back to the boat just in time to assist with the second rinse through of the yellow water tank.

Now we pushed Ely away and headed north once more. Rowers were out today in force. We pootled our way back along the straight straight, there was space on the EA mooring should we find none elsewhere.

Blimey it was windy out there, thankfully a tail wind. It might have made it a touch awkward turning onto the River Lark, but Mick and Oleanna made the turn without a problem. Not far to go before the two sets of moorings. The EA mooring on the north bank was filled with one narrowboat, the other GOBA had a cruiser settled at one end, plenty of space for us. We moved to the far end where Tilly could roam free and not disturb the Alsatian on the cruiser.

Sunny, warm and very windy! We were joined by a widebeam filled with friends and family out for a pootle, they stopped for lunch and then headed up to the junction to wind. We pottered away the afternoon whilst Tilly made the most of lots of friendly cover.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been thinking ahead towards October and November when I’ll be away working on Panto. Last year we moved Oleanna north so the move back to the house would be easier/shorter for Tilly. This year we plan on being on board much longer, in fact most probably into the new year. Having Oleanna near to Chippy will be so much better for me to be able to get back at weekends as I’ve done in the past. But once the show is open we intend to get as far north as possible to return to the house to do winter maintenance there. This involves a lot of planning and winter stoppage dodging!

A while ago the first draft of stoppages was published, these are put out for boaters to look at and make comments. Mick spent quite a while looking at routes north, the River Trent, Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire Union. Most years works on the T&M and Shropie are split, one canal before Christmas the other after, leaving a route north to south open. However in the first draft both canals will be closed before Christmas, the T&M for the usual works and the Shropie for work on a culvert, then the usual stoppages will follow in the new year. Mick sent in a comment regarding Coldstone Culvert, a couple of days ago he received a response from the Construction/Stoppage Coordinator for the West Midland Region. It’s only a courtesy email, but at least we know his comment has been logged. The next draft will be out for comment in a few weeks time, we’ve got our fingers crossed.

0 locks, 4.37 miles, 1 wind, 1 right, 1 cauliflower, 1 punnet of strawberries, 1 pie, 8 spears, 4 burgers, 0 boxes wine, 6 bananas, 1 full water tank, 1 empty yellow water tank, 1 pesky culvert.

https://goo.gl/maps/NanZ7Y68FssexAcE6

Captions in black today

Hammer And Tongs. 10th June

Jubilee Gardens, Ely

Thankfully we didn’t have a shouting cat this morning demanding to go out. Tilly had managed with this outside, but wasn’t overly impressed. We took advantage of this and headed out to explore for ourselves and hopefully come back impressed.

Where else could we go other than the cathedral.

We walked up through Jubilee Gardens, climbed up Cherry Hill Park past where the castle once had stood. Surrounded by King’s School buildings we walked up to the South transept of the cathedral then followed the paths anti-clockwise round the cathedral to the west door where we could enter.

Stood in the nave was a replica of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation dress. This had been commissioned for her diamond jubilee by Harrods and was used in the filming of The Crown. Bejewelled, embroidered in gold and silver thread by a team of costume specialist makers it took 4 months to make. A rather stunning job they did of it too.

The first monastery was founded by the Saxon Queen Etheldreda in 673, followed by a Benedictine monastery in 970 which was the second wealthiest in the country. It stood high on the hill , the Island of the Eels.

**Looking down the Nave from the choir**

The Norman building was started in 1081 and became a cathedral in 1109 where the remains of Etheldreda lay. Pilgrims flocked to her tomb which necessitated the building to be extended adding the presbytery in 1252.

Cracks began to show around the structure of the central tower, the monks moved their services outdoors. On the 13th February 1322 just after a 4am service the Norman central tower collapsed. It is thought that water had undermined the foundations of the tower which had been caused by the building of the Lady Chapel.

Work began to rebuild the tower, redesigned by Alan de Walsingham. Firmer foundations were found further out than the original ones and the idea of building the Octagon came about. The width, at 74ft, was too wide to support a stone vault, so it was built from timber, glass and lead all standing on eight massive pillars. It took 18 years to build with an internal height of 142 ft.

At the centre is a painted wooden carving of Christ surrounded by fan vaulting, this is followed by stained glass windows, below that painted angels followed by more fan vaulting. You just have to take a seat and stare upwards. There are tours up the Octagon, but sadly they have to be booked in advance and would have upped our entry price again.

1349 the lady Chapel was completed, the largest in the country. Originally it was richly adorned with statues of saints, bright paintwork and tall stained glass windows. But in 1541 came the dissolution of the monastery’s, windows were smashed, all but one sculpture were defaced, chipped away or removed completely.

**Red roses on the ceiling, why so uneven?**

In 1566 the chapel became Holy Trinity Church the parish church for Ely. The walls were white washed and the windows filled with plain glass, which is more or less how it looks today. A small amount of colour remains on the stone work by the alter and roses on the ceiling, but this is upstaged by a sculpture of the Virgin Mary made by David Wynne. A modern figure of a woman dressed in azure blue. The chapel was handed back to the cathedral in 1938, but it was cold and dark in the winter months. Restoration works in the 1990’s changed this, today when we walked in the chapel was decidedly warm, it’s now used for services and concerts.

The north side of the nave is currently the home for A Table for the Nation. At 13m long by 1.5m wide it has been made from a 5000 year old giant sub-fossilised black, or bog, oak tree which was found in 2012 near Downham Market. It has taken ten years to make. First the tree was cut into planks which then had to be dried out over 9 months removing 400 gallons of water and shrinking in depth by 50%. We had first seen it on the local news when it had been positioned under the Octagon and was turned round. Today it sits in what feels like a corridor, information panels alongside and big bright lights blasting into it’s black grain. It feels a touch side lined and is almost impossible to photograph.

**Can’t forget the organ, present case by Sir Gilbert Scott**

Our tickets included a visit to the Stained Glass Museum which was well worth a visit.

**Hammer and Tongs c1920 by Karl Parsons**

Up the stairs in the West Transept the museum fills one side of the balcony of the nave. Examples of stained glass through the centuries are displayed all back lit, showing the techniques that were developed.

From black or brown painted on lines, paintwork scratched through for extra details. Yellow stains applied to the back of the glass to enamel pigments that came in in the 1500s. Leading and solder that hold all the glass together keeping out the weather. Add into the mix coloured glass. Square bottles of glass that were cut into their four sides. Patterns added onto the surface and details added.

Portraits created in glass following the styles of artist of the times. The Victorians drew on the pageantry of the Middle Ages, Burne-Jones influenced greatly by the Italian Renaissance.

Several 1:6 scale models show how stained glass is made. Small details in the models, receipts from the renowned Alec Tiranti, a large box of Wuffomeat and the jumper a lady wears knitted on what must have been tiny needles.

Modern windows are shown too. Some more to our taste than others, I think we prefer colour to the darker windows where lead or black paint take over.

**Just why was the North West Transept dismantled?**

A very interesting afternoon, although it would have been fascinating to see what lay in storage covered in decades of dust on the opposite balcony.

Tilly was given some shore leave when we got back. She still wasn’t that impressed with Ely! Thank goodness we’d enjoyed our day.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 collapsed tower, 1 removed transept (why does no-one mention that, including me?), 8 sides of wonder, 1 very blue lady, 1 hammer, 1 tong, 1 replica dress, 5000 year old wood table, 1 corridor, 1 disappointing font, 1 slice of pizza dropped from heaven.

Are the captions better Dan?

The Boats We’ve Yet To Meet. 9th June

Ten Mile Bank GOBA mooring to Jubilee Gardens, Ely

The curtains on the porthole in the bedroom were pushed aside this morning so that we could spy for any passing boats as we had our cuppa in bed. NB Eleanor pushed off from behind us and I think a cruiser also came past. As we had breakfast, rolled up the covers we kept an eye open for a boat we’ve yet to meet, but there was still no sign. We needed to get moving to secure a mooring in Ely. Our paths, with the yet to meet boat, will cross at some point.

Today was still windy, is it always so down here on the flat lands? Another blue and green day.

We passed WB Karma, biped our horn, but no one was about, Klaud or Kato had been left in charge of the wheelhouse, a head bobbing up to see who was disturbing his snooze.

We passed the sad house, the last pylon in a line, the closed moorings at Littleport where the ducks, moles and weeds are enjoying themselves with no boaters around to disturb them.

Then the long straight sections towards Ely, the occasional slight bend and the turn off to the River Lark. Onwards. We were gradually catching up with a boat ahead who were overtaken by rowers. Then it was time to seek out a mooring.

Where we’d been before was chocka, but further along nearer the bars there were a few spaces. We pulled in at the bottom of Jubilee Gardens, hopefully here would be far enough away from any cars for Tilly to possibly have some shore leave.

Maybe there? Avoiding the trip boat mooring of course

The overhang on the mooring meant deploying the fat fender and a wheel to save the cabin side. The boat behind us was nicely wedged under the edge! The doors were opened and we waited to see what Tilly made of it.

She stood, had a look this way and that, then scurried through a gap in the passing legs to find some sideways trees to lurk around. We wondered if she’d ever make it back for us to be able to go out this evening, but thankfully she succeeded requesting to have her evening ding ding early!

Our evening ding ding, not bad for a gluten free fish

Around 6pm there was a tap on the roof, Heather Bleasdale. She’d been up to see her, new to her boat that is having work done to it further upstream. Chats over a cuppa on board were followed by fish and chips at RBK. The fish was very large and the chips exceedingly hot. We whiled away a few hours catching up on news and comparing notes of our travels. Hopefully her new boat will be back on the water soon and we might meet up somewhere.

0 locks, 10.64 miles, 1 straight, 0 boat rendez vous, 1 slow jam pot boat, 2 hours dashing between legs, 1 overhung mooring, 3 splats already! 1 wave to Stewart, 2 of each, 1 burger, 1 big catch up, 8 years ago we left Crick as The Wasp with Blackbird and our boating blog commenced.

https://goo.gl/maps/vKKoSwxiWrzd7z388

Flipper Wave. 8th June

2nd GOBA Mooring River Wissey to Ten Mile Bank GOBA Mooring, River Great Ouse

Last night when Mick went to close the hatch he discovered that the level had dropped. We’d noticed that the flow had been greater than we’d remembered it but we hadn’t thought that the level would have gone down by about 3inches. Possibly down to the EA draining water off in case the levels rose with the forecast rain last night. It had rained but we were still quite low this morning, the flow now much slower.

There wasn’t too much protesting from Tilly not to be allowed out this morning, I think she was still worn out from yesterday. Late morning we pushed off and headed upstream towards Hilgay Bridge wondering if we’d need to go all the way before we could wind.

Catching a ride with elevenses in it’s beak

Mick gave it a go a little after the big bend, we might have made it but it looked to be a close thing, so he changed his mind and we carried on towards the bridges. Here we managed to wind just by the 48hr mooring and made our way back under the two bridges.

Over Jubilee weekend Hilgay Bridge was renamed, now Hilgay Jubilee Bridge. There had been a big party and the village had been bedecked with bunting, the avenue up to the church swaged with hundreds of meters.

We made our way back towards the Great Ouse, coming across a cruiser who stopped and let us go past. We wondered what would have happened should we have met yesterdays speeding cruiser at one of the bends or where the trees overhang obscuring the view ahead. This is one of the reasons why there is a 4mph speed limit on the river.

Back at the junction we turned left, heading upstream. The wind got up and buffeted us about a touch, but the air was warm and being able to do a faster speed meant we could hold our course.

Big dramatic skies. Bright blue against the bright green of the banks.

Approaching the other Hilgay Bridge we could see a couple of hire boats and the familiar shape on the moorings of Neil. He lifted his head up to check us out, a flipper may have waved in our direction too. He then just rolled over to get another area of his mass warm in the sunshine.

Not much further and we arrived at the GOBA mooring, pulling in in front of NB Eleanor Rugby an Aintree Beetle. We seemed to have managed to skirt round the rain clouds. Mick went to have a chat with the chap behind who was touching up his paintwork to check if he had a dog about the place before I let Tilly out. The coast was clear so she was given five hours.

What in this wind! If I had to be out there someone had to be out in it with me! She came for a walk. First this way and then that, although I didn’t at first hear that She’d changed direction. Bloomin windy!

Tonight the internet has improved so we’ll be able to watch the episodes of Gentleman Jack that hadn’t been recorded due to either bad signal or memory loss!

0 locks, 6.97 miles, 1 wind, 1 left, 2 rivers, 1 blowy yet surprisingly dry day, 1 flipper wave, 1 remote mooring, 1 Gentleman Jack, 1 lodger okay with the increase, thank goodness.

https://goo.gl/maps/L2oWuibUC1CKhir69

Wissey Tilly. 7th June

2nd GOBA Mooring, River Wissey

As Tilly has been cooped up inside for ~~a few days~~ a life time! today would be a sausage day. We’d not be moving anywhere or requiring her to come in so that we could go out, so a full round of Cumberland Sausage!

The weather was wonderful, just perfect for cruising. The sun shone all day long. Blue skies which during the afternoon filled with willow fluff drifting on the gentle breeze and resting gently on the waters surface. It also fills the boat, collecting in corners and on surfaces, requiring the hoover to remove the fluffy fairies.

Tilly came and went, dropping in for Dreamies every now and them. But watching and waiting patiently followed by pouncing took up most of her day.

Once the blog was written I went for a little walk along the bank, first this way. I could have dropped down into the woods and walked a circuit back to Hilgay and back along the bank, but without knowing where Tilly was I may have been followed. So instead I headed that way, spotting a pair of black ears quite a distance away from Oleanna in the friendly cover.

The two of us walked along the top of the bank for a while longer before I decided that we’d gone far enough and it was time for Tilly to be reminded where the boat was. She soon cottoned on and came hopping and skipping along overtaking me with her tail held high.

It’s so lovely to find moorings like this that have just about nobody walking past all day.

A few boats came past, including a small sporty number that had to jam on the breaks when it saw us moored, we’d already started to move about on our ropes long before we realised the noise wasn’t a motorbike overtaking on the none existent motorway!

As Tilly occupied herself outside we got on with admin type jobs. I put together the figures for the house, needed for our tax returns but also so that we could see if the house had managed to pay for itself last year. Apart from plumbing and roofing costs it did. Then it was time to sus out what we’ll need to charge from now on, our utility price cap ends in the next few weeks. Estimated on last years bills at the new rates the house will cost an extra £68 on average a week to run! Our lodgers, mainly actors get subsistence payments for living away from home, these have not gone up this year. We now need to come up with new prices, we can’t afford for the house to be empty, but we also can’t afford to subsidise people living there. It all feels a bit like Russian Roulette!

Mick spent time trying to get home insurance quotes, having short term lodgers makes it somewhat difficult to get a policy that covers everything. The hunt on that front continues. He did however succeed on another front today. This afternoon he received an email from the EA regarding our Anglian Pass, which allows us to cruise the Middle Level and the River Cam, they had processed our application and were now ready to take payment. His first attempt at paying didn’t work as the person who answered the phone had a dodgy microphone and sounded like a Dalek with laryngitis. Second attempt worked, so we can now cruise to our hearts content.

In between our computer hours we had numerous visitors.

First the Damselflies flew in to say hello. Bright emerald green followed by an electric blue. These were relatively easy to assist back outside.

Then came the Dragonflies, two attached making babies. The far larger delicate insects proved harder to assist, but once they’d parted it became easier. Such beautiful creatures so close up. Another privileged moment with nature. There has to have been something about Oleanna today, the open hatch being very attractive as we had at least another five rescue missions with our winged friends. This more than made up for the admin filled day.

Later in the evening we’d just settled down to watch some tv when we could hear that motorbike returning, louder than before! Oleanna started to move, it only took enough time for us to stand up for the speedboat to be alongside us, almost on the plane, they only knocked back their revs as we started to shake our fists at them. Foot high waves ricocheting back and forth across the narrow river. No time to take photos, no time to get the boat name, but plenty of time to carry on bobbing about in their wake!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 large Cumberland sausage swirl, 2 many friends, 1 willow tree snow storm, 3 dragonflies, 18 rated dragonflies, 5 damselflies, 2 diddy ones, 4 quotes, £5000+! 1 exol spreadsheet filled with numbers, 3 new rates agreed on, 4mph not 9! 9.5 hrs shore leave, 1 happy exhausted cat, 1 Anglian Pass, 1 more Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.

We Forgot The Eggs! 6th June

Wiggenhall St Mary Magdelan to 2nd GOBA Mooring River Wissey

Last night we’d put the finishing touches to a supermarket order for a click and collect in Kings Lynn, this needed to be picked up early to get it back to the boat before the hire car would need returning. Mick headed off in the rain, picked up the order, passed it into the boat through the side hatch all the time getting wet. Then he headed back to drop the car off.

The chap who dropped him back to the boat from Enterprise said that their prices had been high due to the lack of cars for the last couple of years. With lack of demand during the pandemic many cars were sold off, now there is a shortage of new cars so they’ve been trying to restock their hire fleet from the second hand market, which has also been problematical.

Time for breakfast and to wait for the rain to stop. Then we topped up the water tank and relit the stove to help drive out that damp feeling you get on such days. Time to move on. Freddie and the lady came to say goodbye, it had been nice meeting her, maybe our paths will cross again somewhere, if they do Tilly will remain firmly shut inside.

We winded and headed back the way we’d come. If we’d stayed longer we’d maybe have had a trip into Kings Lynn by train to have a look round, but maybe we’ll do that from elsewhere instead.

As we passed under the bridge we both realised we’d forgotten something. Eggs! Last night we’d not added them to our order as just across the road from our mooring had been a small holding who sold eggs, so we’d planned on getting some from there instead. Only we’d forgotten, too late now. We have two left, which means a breakfast or some baking, not both!

The trip back along the Relief Channel was grey to say the least, I for one was glad I’d put on my padded waterproof trousers just to keep the chill out.

The next mooring was now empty, bunting still up along the railings. We’ve been wondering why bits of fencing have been added around the ramps to the moorings. At Wiggenhall these were at the top, here they were at the bottom.

At Downham Market the pontoon was still full. We could have breasted up with someone but we really needed to find a suitable mooring for Tilly as she’s been cooped up inside for days now.

Just as I was about to be dropped off to work the lock I had a phone call from David. He sounded a touch better than he’s done of late and had just had his weekly counselling session via the NBTA, the service is really helping him. Sadly a dodgy lock on the control box for the lock meant I needed both hands, so our catch up was cut short today.

Slowly Oleanna rose in the lock, then I had to admit defeat in locking the panel back up. Mick was sent to have a go, tightening up what screws were left on the lock helped whilst I disposed of rubbish by the Impounding Sluice.

A left and we were back on the Great Ouse, heading upstream again. After a short distance we turned onto the River Wissey and headed for the mooring we’d been at for Mick’s birthday. Here would be good for Tilly especially as we were on our own. As we pulled up Tilly watched our every move and had already started perusing the friendly cover.

Dreaming of what might be in the friendly cover

A joint of pork had been sat drying out in the fridge all day for a Monday Roast. As the afternoon progressed we had the occasional glimpse of blue sky and Tilly had a good time outside in the friendly cover and for some reason up on the pram hood!

1 lock, 8.72 miles, 1 wind, 3 lefts, 2 boxes wine, 1 shoulder pork, 0 eggs! 3 hours shore leave, 1 pram hood with extra perforations!

https://goo.gl/maps/mLaMhmNXNiRgXxRq6

Academy Award Winning! 4th 5th June

Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen EA Mooring

Our mooring had been chosen so as to be as close to Kings Lynn as possible and on Saturday morning Mick was picked up by Enterprise, at last we had been quoted a reasonable price for a hire car by them. He returned in time for us to join in with the end of the Saturday morning Geraghty zoom.

The car was packed. Biscuit bowl filled and the magic food bowl primed. Tilly was left in charge with instructions not to wind Freddie up too much whilst we were away.

Then we were off heading across country, avoiding motorways, crossing bridges over rivers we’ve been under years ago and others we’ve yet to navigate under. The biggest bridge of course being the Humber Bridge. We paused at Willerby Waitrose for a wee break and something for lunch, we also bought ourselves something for the evening.

We then took the scenic route over the Wolds via Wetwang so that we could have a look at the Scarecrow Festival. Our favourites Freddie Mercury outside the chip shop and the Queen with her corgies where we joined the road taking us to Sledmere.

A trip back to the house was for several purposes, one to add to the compost bins, two to check the house over before the next lodger moves in and to go to a party.

Our friends Dawn and Lee (Animated Objects) were having a joint fancy dress 50th Birthday party. The theme for the evening was the Oscars. You were asked to dress as a famous movie star or be dressed for a night at the Oscars.

Well we don’t exactly have a huge wardrobe to rummage through to make up a costume. We just about manage to dress up smart, but we certainly don’t have ballgowns and tuxedos on board, or at the house! Expanding our wardrobe for one evening would be extravagant. Mick had thought of going as a Billy, the telephone engineer from Little Voice, we still have his old work t-shirts. But I came up with a better idea.

My model making skills were put to use. A rigid Alice band bought for me. With Mick having a bigger head he needed a stretchy head band. Then over the last couple of weeks I’ve been cutting out foamcor and card. Wires attached. Carving into it. A layer or two of tissue paper and pva. A couple of layers of filler which was then sanded. Paint, a touch more filler, then more paint. Wires threaded through head bands. Fittings, a layer of thin foam. Hey presto we had our own Academy Award Winners to wear.

Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers.

It was a lovely evening meeting up with old friends we’d not see in years and our Scarborough theatre family. There were a few people who couldn’t make it including Duncan and Jaye who sadly had got the lurgy. Hope you are both feeling better very soon.

The costumes were stunning. Dawn as Slimer and Lee as a Ghost Buster. Fleur and Ruth as Dick Tracey and Breathless Mahoney. Dawn did a quick change for the awards ceremony. There were several categories and blow me down we won the Cobbled Together Award!

A statuette, some wine gums and an assortment of LX tape, always handy to have either on a boat or on stage.

Sunday morning and it was time to make up the last bed in the house, cut the grass, do a bit of weeding and give the big shower a good scrub down. In the process we were spotted by our neighbours who came over to give us the latest news on the street, someone having just moved in a few doors down.

Sadly we didn’t get chance, yet again to give the back garden a good sort out, but green shoots were spotted on the boat Christmas tree. There is hope for it yet, if the weeds don’t choke it before we’re back next! I also found a small pile of post that had been put high on a shelf by someone, not with the rest that had been left on the dining room table. What was in that pile? Our postal votes! Grrr!!! Those lodgers have now lost another half point!

Thankfully the traffic leaving Scarborough wasn’t too bad, it can be horrendous most Bank Holidays, which was just as well as when we stopped to pick up something for our dinner Mick remembered that he hadn’t locked the front door! Back into town again.

We had a pit stop over looking the Humber Bridge in Hessle where Mick’s Mum’s ashes were scattered, it’s nice to say hello to her every now and again.

The drive back wasn’t too pleasant with rain for most of the way.

Tilly had held the fort well although she could have turned the heating on before we got back! The stove was soon lit and a pizza each popped in the oven. Freddie came to say hello too, much to Tilly’s disgust!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car, 2 buckets of compost, 2 head bands, 2 boaters ironed smartly, 50th birthdays, 1 Oscar, 1 Scarborough family, 2 many faces from way back when, 2 many chums missing, 1 lovely evening, 1 cut cable, 2 postal votes, 1 house all ready, 1 locked door, 2 sets of keys, 1 wave to Ruth, 1 wet journey, 1 happy cat, 1 sniffing imbecile!

Flying Past. 2nd June

Ten Mile Bank EA Mooring to Denver EA Mooring

Our 48 hours would be up today, so it was better to move early rather than later and maybe not get a mooring where we wanted. The hire boat moved off and without us even noticing a cruiser had pulled in, they had staked their claim at the end of the mooring and would be joined by friends later in the day. Not sure Neil will appreciate their Jubilee celebrations!

As we pushed off we said our goodbyes to WB Karma, Lana popping her head out to wave, we might see them somewhere up stream in the next few weeks, but today we were continuing on downstream.

Not far for us today. We passed under the railway bridge. Past the pink house with good vantage point windows to see up and down stream, past the end of the River Wissey and gradually caught up with a narrowboat that had passed us a while earlier.

We were now too close to Denver moorings to overtake so Mick put Oleanna into tickover and we drifted along behind. The chap ahead continued on past the moorings to pull up on the lock landing for Denver Sluice, a hire boat having just gone into the lock. We pulled in, moored up and did a cat health and safety check. With nothing of feline interest on the actual bank, the nearest would be across the road at the top. After yesterday there was no way I’d be letting Tilly out here, she’d have to just lump it!

Bags of rubbish had accumulated, so Mick walked over the lock to find the services taking one bag with him.

Blimey, that’s low! Well it certainly sounded low inside Oleanna. Over head a Lancaster bomber heading down to London for the Jubilee fly past. Out of all the planes that could have gone over us today, this was the one we’d hoped we’d see. In fact it was the only one we got to see today! Mick was fortunate enough to be able to get photos being high up.

As 1pm came closer we settled down in front of the TV, flight radar 24 on Mick’s tablet, tracking the Lancaster’s movements, circling around near Chelmsford. We watched as the royals came out on to the balcony at Buck House and then watched the fly past. It looked great on TV, but according to Heather Bleasdale who was in London, you could almost tickle the planes tummies as they went overhead. Our other observation was that the future King, George needs to learn not to scrunch his face up so much, he’ll regret the photos from today for decades!

With the excitement of planes over with the roof of Oleanna was cleared and I set about washing down her port side. The bank being a touch higher made the roof easier today, but then it was further to reach down to get the gunnels! She’s looking all clean again. Just needs a polish, her grab rails also desperately need a repaint as in parts they are getting beyond being even pink now.

Mick headed back off the bins with more rubbish and the yellow water container. He was gone for quite some time as he couldn’t find the elsan. Maybe a girl look tomorrow will be needed.

Later on we were joined by a cruiser, Mick nudged us up a touch so they’d fit the gap batter. The lady who’d had a gin or two asked how to get to The Wash, then she enquired about the Hundred Foot Drain. Both are below Denver Sluice, Mick suggested they should consult the Lock Keeper about tide times, knowing full well that they’d thought of going for a pootle around having no idea about what was entailed! Beetroot risotto this evening with a glass of white wine. The only thing I could find close to hand that was blue were hayfever tablets! A patriotic tea.

At around 9pm we dug out some tea lights and popped them into our guiding lights to join in with the lighting of the beacons, any excuse for us to light them.

0 locks, 2.79 miles, 1 straight, 1 slow boat, 1 very bored cat, 1 clean Oleanna, 3 bags rubbish, 1 yellow water tank empty, 1 missing elsan, 1 personal fly past, 2 guiding lights, 1 red white and blue tea.

https://goo.gl/maps/PRkSjZx9qXGbrqHw5

But I Can’t Hear You When I Slow Down! 1st June

Ten Mile Bank EA Mooring

A staying put day as we need to pace ourselves to make the most of a 48 hour mooring we’ve our sights set on at the weekend.

Tilly was allowed out this morning, no sign of Neil, however she wasn’t too keen on using the stern doors and preferred the bow to come and go, just incase. The washing machine was put to use and both hose pipes were uncoiled joined together to refill with water. This meant there was time to chat with our neighbours on WB Karma. They plan on heading as far as they can on the Great Ouse until a low bridge will stop them, their wheelhouse can be collapsed, but is a right pain.

During the morning I carried on working on my project. More layers of paint followed by some more filler applied with a pin to get extra details into 3D.

Early afternoon there was a sploshing noise from the river, followed by a gentle snort. It was Neil. He bobbed about for a while, the occasional attempt to get out onto the bank, followed by more gliding around. As we watched Tilly came out to observe too, she really doesn’t know what to make of him. Mick had a thought, maybe we should be a touch more careful with Tilly, not so much what she might do, but she might be seen as a tasty morsel by Neil!

It’s seriously filthy under the mats where the bags of coal live

With water easily on tap for the next few days I decided to give Oleanna a much needed wash down, her first since winter. The starboard side half of the roof was cleared, buckets retrieved from lockers along with boat wash.

Being outside meant I could supervise Tilly and make sure she stayed away from Neil. She did try on several occasions to bypass me, behind the fence, on top of the bank, but thankfully a warning from me turned her around. She busied herself jumping from fence posts to higher fence posts, if her calculations had been out then she’d have landed in a bed of nettles!

A hire boat approached the moorings. A lady stood at the front ready with the bow line, they intended to moor behind us, Neil not initially visible as he’d decided to have an afternoon dip. Although as soon as the boat was starting to get close he bobbed his head up, giving the lady a start.

‘Slow Down! There’s a seal!’ The chap at the stern shouted back ‘But I can’t hear you when I slow down!’ He obviously couldn’t see Neil who was now trying to claim his space on the mooring, bobbing up. The boat slowed, she shouted back ‘There’s a seal!’ There was an incredulous look back.

Neil by now was midstream bobbing about. I pointed, the chaps head turned ‘IT’S A SEAL!’

They managed to bring their boat in leaving a good 8ft gap between our stern and their bow which Neil then used to get in and out of the water, showing off to the cameras. he’s so tame he didn’t mind me getting close as I was finishing off the cabin side and windows.

Cat curfew time. Tilly bobbed out of the friendly cover, but then decided to play up as she had an audience, Klaud, John and Neil. First she decided to make use of a big pile of wood chip next to a tree down the other side of the bank, Shore based facilities you know!

Then what followed was a stroppy cat who decided that she wouldn’t be coming in just yet as she was far too busy! I should have given up straight away, but with Neil back on the bank and the proximity of the road bridge I did my best to be fascinating, excelling at failing! I know not to try to follow Tilly as that only encourages her to carry on in the direction she has decided on, unfortunately that route today was up the bank and onto the road!

I had to follow, being near should anything happen would be better than not knowing. We crossed the road and then came back, thankfully the road void of traffic, but my heart was still in my throat. Then she trotted of along the lane alongside the road, a possible route back onto the tarmac through the friendly cover not passable for a human. I tried playing stick, then gave up. Sitting on the ground tossing stones into the air so that she could hear me.

This nearly worked twice, but she just managed to escape my grasp at the last minute!

We’d been gone for so long that Mick came to find us. This was good as he was far FAR more interesting than I was. Still she escaped our grasp. But she started to follow us back towards the river, only for a man to ask ‘Is that your cat?’ Yes and please would you disappear as your presence isn’t helping in our mission.

Fifty minutes after I’d gone out to encourage her home she trotted back on board in front of us! Well it was only because you wouldn’t let me go on WB Karma to say hello to the boys!

As the sun started to descend, Neil slipped back into the water for his last swim around. He was heading off somewhere else for the night.

Please excuse the soundtrack, Mick was doing the washing up at the time!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 seal back, 3 figures painted and glazed, 0.5 roof washed, 4 rust spots noted, 1 cabin side washed, 1 cabin side in need of a polish, 1 seal, 1 hire boat, 1 stroppy cat, 1 road, 754 stones tossed, 50 minutes, 1 under bridge inspection, 1 stunning evening swim.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna