Category Archives: Cheese

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

Quick! Before The Cows Cut Us Off! 28th May

New Fen Mooring

Yesterday when we pulled up we decided that we’d be staying put today, such a lovely mooring in the middle of nowhere on our own, Tilly could have a field day!

So when the front blinds were rolled up we were surprised to see another narrowboat moored up, at least they were at the other end of the moorings, so neither of us would disturb each other.

All day we saw two walkers, the narrowboat ahead moved off and another came past us heading to Brandon and then returned a couple of hours later. Other than that we’ve had bird song to listen to.

Tilly started the morning by watching the damselflies in the reeds alongside the boat. I was then given 9 and a half hours to explore! But I had to show myself at least ten times during the day which I think I managed quite well.

Despite the incredibly slow internet here we just about managed to join in with the Geraghty zoom this morning, we froze and went silent on several occasions. Topics included the Fens, bunting and even vampires.

There’s lots of grass to tuck yourself away in and sandy mounds, She said she hoped they weren’t ants nests because I’d spend the day being looney loopy if they were. I only managed an hour of looney loops though.

She got on with her project. It gets hidden away when She’s not doing it. Tom sat outside for sometime in his coat. He says he was listening to the birdies with his eyes closed, but I’m not so sure!

Late afternoon I realised I hadn’t even stepped of the boat, so it was time to head for a bit of a walk. With Tilly in tow I climbed onto the flood bank and walked back towards the Great Ouse. Having a cat in tow would mean I wouldn’t be walking miles, but we covered quite a distance until I saw that the next field had cows. So we turned and started to walk back, Tilly only distracted a couple of times so she managed to keep up in her springy way charging ahead to buy her more distraction time.

However on our return our pace had to become a touch quicker. Up ahead I could see quite a lot of cows, all white with black ears. They were very interested in us! Would we make it back in time not to be cut off from the boat by them? I made the decision to get back to the boat with Tilly and shore leave would be over for the day, I really didn’t want her stranded on the other side of inquisitive cows.

With a Moussaka on the cards this evening, I spread the preparation out through the day. Potatoes were boiled and left to cool. Aubergine sliced, salted to get rid of any bitterness, then fried and left to cool. The mince was prepared and everything layered up with the final layer of cheese and egg sauce popped on top. Each bit done whilst things on my project had time to dry off.

I now need some filler for the next phase. Back at the house I have the ideal filler in powder form, but I’ve not seen that kind in shops in years. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some cheap Polyfilla that I can thin down a touch to achieve the same effect when we reach Brandon.

Despite patches of sunshine today the temperature has dropped, so Mick lit the fire this evening. Only a small one as we didn’t want to overheat, but just enough for us not to need blankets on our knees and hopefully keep the boat warm overnight.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 moving boats, 2 walkers, 2 beads, 1 project fitted and ready for the next stage, 1 box of filler required, 1 aubergine, 1 bag sprouting potatoes, 250grams mince, 0 parmesan, 1 recipe next time, 9.5 hours, 1 field day, 1 km cat walk, 1 stove, 1 heard cows who couldn’t be bothered with us in the end! 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval

Hanging Around For Twelve More Months. 26th April

Wedgenock Lane Bridge to Radford Smelly

No rushing away for us this morning, in fact we’d not be able to move off until mid-afternoon as there was an important appointment to be attended. So there was nothing for it but to have a cooked breakfast, whilst listening to Tilly complain at the back door about the lack of shore leave, AGAIN!

We waited and waited , several boats came past. I began to prepare tonights meal and we all waited.

Then at 2:15pm I collected past medication together, passport, popped a puppy pad in the escape pod and bundled a begrudging Tilly into it, zipping the door up behind her. She loves it in there apart form when the door is closed! I was very aware that some of her protestations this morning had been toilet based, preferring to use shore based facilities than the box onboard, so she’d kept her legs crossed. I really hoped the stress of her visit to the vets wouldn’t end up being damp or smelly!

So far Tilly has only seen the same vet twice, that was when she had her first vaccinations in Tamworth. Each year I look at our route and try to find a practice as close to the canal as possible, we then time our cruising accordingly. Last year we’d gone to the vets in Scarborough, five minutes by car, not a popular choice for Tilly! The last two years we’ve had to chat to a vet in a car park and hand the escape pod over because of the pandemic, this year I was to be allowed in with Tilly.

Cat waiting area, shame you have to walk past the woofers to get to it

Avonvale Veterinary Centres have several branches and the Warwick one was under a five minute walk from our mooring, the closest we’ve managed. Tilly shouted most of the way there and whilst we waited in the cat waiting area.

We were soon greeted by Sidney our man in green. Everyone bar Tilly wearing masks. A quick chat checking on her history, weigh in, teeth, heart, tummy, all squeezed and checked over. Then the jab in the neck.

I’d asked for a years worth of wormer and flea treatments. That was fine, although Tilly and I wanted to try her on a different wormer as we’ve worked out that the pills she’d been given last year gave her the shakes/tremors. Sidney obliged and we’ll try a spoton wormer. Hooray something else on my neck!!!

All very efficient, friendly, most importantly understandable as last years vet had a very thick accent which was next to impossible to understand without seeing her lips along with the ambient traffic noise in the car park. Just a shame about the price, just shy of £200, but that is everything she should need for the next year.

Tilly’s passport was signed, another year of shore leave granted, we just needed to move Oleanna now to somewhere suitable to kick start that year.

Back on board Tilly stretched out on the bed like lady muck to relax. Mick had got Oleanna ready, so we could push off as soon as possible.

At Cape Top Lock a pair were just about to exit the lock and pull up on the water point, Mick held back and then we descended.

There’s a new car park for the hospital with a brightly coloured surround to it. Plenty of building work around Kate Boats base. We did wonder if the hire fleet were still based here as there were no signs of it, maybe the dust from the building site opposite has made them move base for a while.

We soon passed NB Mad Hatter, whom we’d shared Hatton with last year.

A new stretch of rings has been put in between bridges 42 and 43, we’d always wondered why there was nothing here. We pulled in and I hopped off to do a shop at Morrisons, we’d get 10% off if using our credit card. Mick stayed onboard as the nearby benches were occupied.

With two heavy bags of shopping stowed we pushed onwards, time ticking away before cat curfew. We waved to our friends John and Gemma who live overlooking the canal, no visit to Wool Warehouse for me today. The cat is still here, almost unblemished, someone looks to have scrawled something on the mouse, but it’s mostly been cleaned off. This still has to be the best graffiti art on the network.

Soon we reached Radford Semele. We found a space and pulled in at the end of the arnco, a distance away from the next boat where a woofer was playing. I checked that their dog would be fine if I let Tilly out then gave her an hours leave. Thank goodness I could hardly keep my paws crossed any longer! That new litter smells a bit funny!!!

The finishing touches were put to the quiche and popped in the oven. Todays missions accomplished, we now just need to crack on to meet the next deadline.

Quinoa crust chicken quiche, click for recipe

2 locks, 4.69 miles, 6 hours waiting, 5 minutes walk, 1 very nice Tom in green, 1 Tilly wanting to escape, 1 jab, 2 wormers, 12 fleas, 1 clean bill of health, 12 months shore leave granted, 2 boxes wine, 2 loaves bread, 1 quinoa quiche.

https://goo.gl/maps/kk5NLY8gkWuG2PWt9

PHP’s And All That! 29th March

Thorne Lock

This morning Mick tried to get the blog roll working again. Well this ended up with the blog disappearing and being critical again. It had to be the plugin causing the problem.

Extra IT assistance was required from our hosting provider. They backed up the blog and then disabled all the plugins. Back came Oleanna.co.uk. Mick then added back in all the plugins apart from the blog roll. During the day he wondered if there had been an update of the PHP and if that might have been the problem.

An auto update had given us PHP 8.0 which doesn’t appear to support the blog roll plugin. Mick has raised a support ticket with the creator but so far he’s not heard back. Later on in the day Mick downgraded the blog to PHP 7.4 which means we have the blog roll back. Further investigation is required and maybe some assistance from someone who understands coding.

Not a very exciting day on Oleanna, even Tilly wasn’t that bothered about going out. The temperature has dropped, we expect it to go even further.

We had a walk over to the chandlers at Staniland Marina the main doors firmly locked, but we got waved round to a different door, staff only. No Marine 16 today but an order is expected tomorrow, so we’ll check back then.

Numerous boats sit out on the hard around the marina. Plenty in need of a lot of work. An oil rig escape pod has had the seats removed at some point and sits glowing orange from underneath the developing green patina. Just how do they fit so many people into these things that get launched off of the oil rigs? No wonder the seats look so robust.

I had a walk around the Community Woods. Tracks zigzag their way along with footpaths through the trees. It’s a huge area of straight lined trees and a good place to collect kindling without affecting the natural decaying process too much. I walked almost back to the M18 and then back along the towpath. A new app on my phone helping me to identify plants along the way. Plantnet Thank you Kath from Herbie.

Mick spent a bit of time in the engine bay, changing the fuel filters. A smelly job but one best to be done before we head out onto the river in a few days.

It’s been a busy day at the lock with boats moving themselves to get through before next Monday. Still no news regarding our cratch cover though.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 Marine 16, 1 cleaned fuel filter, 1 changed fuel filter, 1 woody walk, 1 can’t be bothered cat, 17th sock finished, 18th toe knitted, £20 more donations!

Haloumi To The Rescue. 27th March

Bramwith Junction to Thorne Lock, Stainforth and Keadby Canal

With yesterdays excitement having gone on a touch longer than planned we found ourselves without a newspaper to read in bed this morning, more concerning was that we had no bacon or sausages for breakfast! However I always keep some haloumi in the bottom of the fridge ready for a bbq, so I suggested a veggie breakfast. it turned out to be a good suggestion.

Once Tilly was back from exploring we made ready. The canals were busy this morning, boats stuck either side of the Low Lane Swing Bridge on the New Junction due to problems with the road barriers again. Until they are mended you can book passage through with 24 hours notice for 10am or 3pm, glad we were already through!

A push of the bow was required today, no wind to help us get off the bank, we turned towards the Stainforth and Keadby Canal and pulled up at Bramwith Lock. A narrowboat was just going down so I helped with the gates before refilling it for ourselves.

Mick passed me the key of power so I could walk on ahead to work the swing bridge once we were down. I however was just a touch too late to press the buttons as someone who’d been at the services beat me to it. Two boats one way and one the other, only three cars held up.

That was my work done for the day, so I got out my knitting to do as we cruised our way in to Thorne.

The boat that had been sunk in front of the dry dock looks like it has been moved over to the towpath side, it now has a boom round it. We pulled in between a couple of boats and let Tilly out just as Patch a woofer from next door decided to go for a walk all by itself. We now know it’s name very well!

It’s flat round here, apart from the man made hills

Tilly inspected the trees, there are plenty in the community wood, but decided that it was a touch too busy to make the most of them.

A couple came by and stopped for a chat. They used to own a boat, but the lady now has difficulty walking so they had to sell up. Turned out they also had a boat builder go bust on them, they ended up loosing more money than we did. Link to our tale.

With the sun out there were plenty of people about at the bar across the way at Staniland Marina, one chap was having a very good time of it. We lit the stove, got it going and popped a couple of jacket potatoes in to bake, enjoyed with some onion sauce and cold gammon left over from yesterday. Yummm.

1 lock, 4.72 miles, 1 wind, 1 swing bridge swung, 3 held up, 3 slices of squeaky cheese, 1 tree whelmed cat, 1 pesky patch, 1.5 socks knitted, 2 perfect jacket spuds.

Too Windy For Much. 19th March

Bramwith Junction

Exactly as the title suggests today was far too windy to go anywhere, even Tilly wasn’t too enamoured with the constant blowiness. Yet other people were on the move. Adams Ark a local widebeam was busy taking groups of cubs from Barnby Dun up to Bramwith Lock and then along the New Junction for a short distance. There was usually a very short person stood at the helm guessing which way to point the bow, they were accompanied by two adults who could see over the roof. Other boats came past struggling in the wind, one getting stuck on the bank opposite us as they hadn’t had enough umph to keep going.

After the Saturday morning Geraghty Zoom (amongst the topics, missing glasses, avoiding Labour and Swedes) we headed out to walk back to Barnby Dun to post off my socks and find a newspaper.

The ladies at the Post Office/Spar shop were very busy chatting away. The lady at the Post Office counter did interact with me briefly, but the lady I bought our newspaper from didn’t even look in my direction. Everything was purchased using contactless and nobody even mentioned how much things were. I checked my receipt a few hundred yards away, well it seems that I got some postage for free because they were all too busy gassing!

We walked through the village, which has been subject to new house building through the ages. Originally the village was an agricultural one, when the canal was built in 1732 produce was moved from Hull to Doncaster and Sheffield. In 1860 George Frederick Milnthorpe brought prosperity to the area by opening a malt kiln, this meant those who worked in the fields could now work through the winter. History Link. Land was sold off to Pilkingtons. Stainforth and Bentley pits were sunk at the beginning of the 20thC pulling people into the area. In 1959 Thorpe Marsh Power Station was built bringing more jobs to the area. The power station still appears on quite a few satellite images of the area even though the last two cooling towers were demolished in 2014 using no explosives, just a wire! They also appear in our Nicholsons guide in the Aire and Calder Section. A Gas fired power station was planned for the site, but has never been built.

We headed for the Farm Shop that I visited a few years ago. Set back from the road there is plenty of parking and a couple of picnic tables to enjoy a slice of cake and a coffee outside.

When last I visited there didn’t seem to be much fresh produce, although I think I’d only come for a carrot and a cooking apple which I managed to get. Today the place has changed.

A full rack of fruit and veg, fresh eggs, a butchers counter, plenty of the posh preserves and some frozen items. Little was priced! This always puts us off.

We picked up some spring cabbage and a leek for next week. Ogled at the 31 day dry aged beef in it’s climate controlled fridge, blimey those ribs looked good! At £31 a kg they weren’t the most expensive item, fillet steak was at least another £10. With no price on the boxes of eggs we refrained from buying any.

The people in front spent over £75, the chap behind had a shoulder of lamb and some pork fillet along with a box of eggs, his bill would be big too. In between them we stood with our cabbage and leek, £1.96! Well we are on an economy drive.

On our walk back be passed the Co-op, Mick popped in and bought the last dozen free range eggs. I wonder how long it will be before you can buy free range eggs again, or are hens destined to be barn dwellers forever due to avian flu?

Lunch today consisted of sad git’s Hot Cross Buns (M&S gluten free, very tasty) followed by our treat cheese. Ribblesdale Blue Goats and some Wookey Hole Cheddar, plenty left for another day.

Mick considered doing an engine service, the one he’s been meaning to do since November! But with the wind blowing straight across the canal he was worried he’d loose things like funnels, so this was put off again.

I got on with a new tension square with Lisa’s yarn on slightly bigger needles. This had meant pulling out the pouffe and revealing the secret passageway to Tilly, she’d so easily amused! I discussed sock knitting with lots of ladies on the March Knitting Challenge Group. I’d always been put off of knitting socks, never being able to get my head round four or five needles. But when I came across circular needles designed for socks and I gave it a go. I now love sock knitting and have my own pattern.

Cauliflower Cheese with extras, click on the photo for recipe

This evening I cut up the cauliflower we’d bought at Doncaster market. Blimey it was huge! I got half way through and decided I’d keep the other half for Monday evening, possibly a roast cauliflower korma that we’ve not tried before. Have to say size isn’t everything, we’ve been spoilt with our organic veg in Scarborough, Tree Top Press‘s caulis have so much more flavour.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6500 steps, 5 pairs posted, 1 newspaper, 2 chatty, 1 PO balance that won’t balance, £1.96, 12 eggs, 1/3rd of a sock, 0 service, 1 very blowy mooring.

Nose and Toes. 18th March

Doncaster Visitor Moorings to Bramwith Junction

This morning it was time to find Oleanna’s Red Nose. I made this three years ago when we were in Goole and it has been in storage under the bed since then. In the last three years we have had a new bow fender, and although they looked to be the same size would the nose still fit?!

Mick climbed out onto the bow to fit the red giant crochet cover, it fitted! No adjustments required. The colour had faded on the top last time, so Mick put it on inside out to make it as red as possible.

I made a phone call about my glasses to the Scarborough branch, the lady said she’d check things and call back. Thankfully she did, but unfortunately my glasses still have not arrived. They’d been sent between branches internally which could take between 7 and 10 days, they’d been sent out last Friday. I could have walked back to Scarborough and back by now! If they don’t arrive by next Friday then a new pair will be ordered for me. I explained about living on a boat and how no one had mentioned the 7-10 day delivery when I ordered them. All a bit frustrating, we won’t hang around them, if I need to come back by train so be it!

Time to head out to do some shopping. We’d timed our visit perfectly as it was market day. First into the Fish Market to see what we fancied. We got a couple of Salmon steaks for the freezer and a large mackerel which was filleted for this evening. I did a quick google to see how I’d cook it and found what sounded like a tasty recipe with roast potato hash.

Some bacon and a chicken were bought from the inside market and Mick treated himself to a Diddy Pork Pie. Lots of tasty sausages on offer, but none gluten free sadly.

A lot of the fruit and veg stalls sell things in bulk, this was fine for Blueberries, £1 on the market for the equivalent of £7 in a supermarket, the majority of them went straight in the freezer. Then we found other stalls who did smaller quantities and topped up on veg for a roast and a big cauliflower to add some cheese to tomorrow.

That was the market done. Time to visit Scicluna Deli, possibly my most favourite deli. A visit to Doncaster wouldn’t be right without walking in through the front doors. It is food heaven. They stock just about everything you could dream of, with one exception, chestnut flour.

Having Mick with me helped to keep my time in there to a minimum. Some banana shallots, a quick look round and then time to choose two treat cheeses! Our bill still came to over £10.

Back at Oleanna we had lunch and then decided to head back down stream, getting out of Doncaster and into the countryside.

The moorings at Long Sandall were still full so we descended the lock.

Kirk Sandall has a tarmac towpath which is popular with bikes and dog walkers, not ideal for Tilly, so we carried on.

At Barnby Dun Lift Bridge a chap with a cruiser asked if he could go through with us. I went to press the buttons. A chap in a sporty number asked if the bridge was about to close, yes but only when you’ve gone over it! Then a gap in traffic, I pressed the button. Lights and sirens going just as a complete to**er in a white van drove along at speed, no intention of slowing or stopping. He looked straight at me with a stupid smug face and carried on across the bridge as I released my finger from the button.

I did stop the traffic. I stopped counting how many vehicles I’d stopped when I reached 60!

Back at Bramwith Junction we winded to have the hatch to the towpath and moored back up.

Ends were woven into the latest two pairs of socks. Then each pair was packed up ready for posting tomorrow. One of the skeins of yarn from Lisa was wound into a ball and a tension square knitted. I think however I need to use the next size up of circular needles as it was all a bit too compact. This will require some digging in the pouffe where I stash my crafty things.

This evening we watched the moon rise across the fields. A real shame my camera didn’t do it justice.

1 locks, 5.69 miles, 2 winds, 1 lift bridge, 60 plus cars, 1 tag along cruiser, 0 glasses, 1 punnet blueberries, mushrooms, tomatoes, 6 bananas, 1 huge cauli, 2 salmon steaks, 2 mackerel fillets, 8 slices bacon, 1 chicken, 27 mini sprouts, 1 lemon, 2 treat cheeses, 4 sad gits hot cross buns, 1 worm moon.

Going For Gold! 27th to 29th December

A bit of a tradition for us (when in Scarborough with a car) is to visit Thornton-le-Dale to see the Christmas lights. In days gone by we used to drive back from my Dad’s in York via one of the scenic routes so that we could see them.

They are not a huge spectacle like Regents Street and pretty much remain the same year in year out but they are still very pretty to us. Multi-coloured festoons swag up the street and along Thornton Beck, which runs along side Maltongate. I especially like the group of swans, one all puffed up and head down.

Whilst in the village we also popped along to have a look at the old cars at Mathewsons Auctions, made famous in Bangers and Cash. The showroom is now full of merchandise and the cars out of the forecourt weren’t anything special. We did however bump into Derek Mathewson, as well as running the vintage garage and museum Derek owns The Moorcock Inn, Langdale End where Mick used to drink. The next vintage car auction is in February and there are several very pretty cars going under the hammer LINK

We then headed back to the coast to see more lights. Scarborough Harbour for the last year or so has put on a display of it’s own. The boats bobbing on the low turning tide are festooned with lights up their masts and rigging.

There were plenty of people out taking photos despite the chilly breeze. Centre stage is the lighthouse, one of my favourite buildings. Big pea bulbs decorate the building which glows in the dark. Wonderful.

Christmas Cheese selection, Smoked Brie, Harrogate Blue, Kit Calvert Wensleydale and Keens Traditional Cheddar

Last week we’d been considering moving Oleanna to Huddersfield, making use of the break in the winter maintenance over Christmas and the New Year, so that I could have her to stay on whilst working for Dark Horse. We are now quite glad that we didn’t set out on the trip as with all the recent rainfall the flood locks on the Aire and Calder have been shut, Doncaster lock (not that we’d have been going that way) is closed due to high water and the Don Doors are closed protecting the New Junction Canal from rising waters on the River Don. Oleanna can stay put and I’ll stay in a hotel instead.

Janet, what a fab costume. Photo Tony Bartholomew

The last couple of evenings we’ve been to the theatre whilst sitting on our sofa. We had booked tickets to see Jack and the Beanstalk at the SJT, but sadly the night we were going coincided with some of the company having positive covid tests. Instead we decided to watch the show from home. Adapted by Nick Lane we knew we’d be in for a silly time and it was designed by Helen Coyston (costume designer for panto at Chippy). We really enjoyed it especially Janet and The Paella of love, from heaven above.

Last night we sat down to watch Hull Truck’s production of The Railway Children. This was originally filmed for a live stream so it included 15 minutes of nothing before it actually started, a full interval break and no credits which we thought was a big shame. The show has been getting great reviews, although we really enjoyed it I think quite a lot was lost in the filming. Well live theatre is magical and not being in the room with an audience let it down somewhat. The camera angles at times, although capturing the full set meant that the actors were smaller than they would have been even if we’d sat on the back row of the theatre. Have to say I felt a little bit short changed even if Sian Thomas’s costumes were lovely.

Back to the title of the blog. Going for Gold!

This isn’t that I’ve beaten Tim Larmour to the top of a mountain (Fulford School joke) therefore depriving him of Gold! No we actually got round to making a decision, we’ve bought Oleanna a Gold license for the coming year. Mick had looked on line, found where to buy a Gold License on the C&RT site but not where you could apply for a refund on a standard license.

They’re not as fancy as they used to be. Just a black G not a gold one!

Our license ran till the end of May, but a Gold License runs from January to the end of December, so to make the most of it we needed to trade in our old license this month to get a maximum refund. Mick rang C&RT and was assisted by a very helpful lady. Within minutes we had an email confirming our purchase, then a little while later another saying that they had refunded us £300 plus from our old license. Really easy.

For those readers who don’t know what the difference is. The Environment Agency is the navigation authority for the River Thames, Anglian Waterways plus a few more. With a standard C&RT license you need to pay for a visitors license to cruise EA waters. We’ve done this several times on the Thames. A Gold license however means you are covered for both C&RT and Environment Agency waters, it costs around about £300 more than our previous license but now we can come and go as we like onto the Thames or on the River Nene.

Our cruising plans for next year are still dependant on a few things, but we thought it best to invest in a Gold license now as they only run from January to December and we could get a refund for what remained of our existing one.

Who knows we may spend a couple of months exploring the Thames in greater detail than we did a few years ago along with other rivers in the south. Or we may head eastwards to the Nene, Great Ouse etc. Time and commitments will tell.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 Christmas shows, 2 Christmas lights, 3 red napkins, 4 pink t-towels,1 painting, 1 of several rivers closed due to flooding, £338.04 refund, 1 Gold license, access all areas, 1 cat licensed to kill!

Hopefully The First. 16th July

St Pancras Cruising Club

The quote for a new circuit board and fitting came in around £70 +vat. They wouldn’t get the part until next Tuesday. If it turned out that that circuit board wasn’t the problem they would then order the other one and not charge us for the first visit. This all looked quite appealing, but would they come out to us if we carried on on our cruise up the Lee and Stort? Being somewhere handy for them to visit us is one thing, but each day the mooring fees are adding to the cost of the repair. Being hooked up to electric isn’t the same without a washing machine!

Mick called them back after we’d mulled this over. Sadly they don’t have an engineer who covers up the Lee valley. We decided to pause the repair with Domestic Repairs Ltd, if we haven’t managed to sort it before hand we’ll wait until we are coming back through London and call them back out. The chap was understanding.

The reconditioned board was ordered to be sent to my brothers, Mick spent much of the rest of the morning checking that he would be able to remove the circuit board and replace it. He is confident he’ll be able to do it. However if it turns out to be the other circuit board that is the problem, that is a different case, he hasn’t worked out how to remove that one! So here’s hoping it turns out to be the first one. Fingers crossed.

I headed to Waitrose for a few bits to keep us going. There was a market in the covered Market today. Lots of very tempting looking edible items, bread, rice dishes, cheese, samosas, cakes. Oh if only!!! The majority contained gluten and we’ve had a touch too much yummy cheese lately so I was good and stuck to my shopping list in Waitrose after inhaling some lovely smells.

This afternoon I did a sketch of the Dames pram for panto. I’d asked for a Silver Cross pram, one of the lovely old fashioned ones. Well you can buy them brand new still if you happen to have £1800! We won’t be doing that as it would eat up all our props budget! I had a hunt round on ebay for a cheaper model and found one for £175. Still a lot of money and I’m sure Jo may be able to find one we can borrow and alter, or one that needs some work doing to it.

Just what would the chaps who worked here in Victorian days make of it now!

Late afternoon we heard the return of Graeme next door. A plan has been arranged to share some locks with him tomorrow, both boats heading eastwards. I think we’ll all be slapping on the sun cream if today was anything to go by.

0 locks, 0 miles, £70 plus, 1 of 2 boards, 1 board ordered for a DIY job, 0 oysters, 0 focaccia, 0 cake, 0 cheese, 1 heraldic green pram, 1 strawberry, 1 plan planned.

Space Buns

St Pancras Cruising Club

Knowing when the first train is likely to go past kind of helps when you wake up at just gone 5am and luckily we managed to get back to sleep.

I spent the first part of the morning making lists, next week I’ll be in Huddersfield for a few days doing costume fittings before a photo shoot for #unit 21. All the overalls have arrived along with a few bits and pieces to do neon hair dos. But I was still missing a few bits so a trip into town was called for.

Mick and Tilly were left busy working their way through the washing and awaiting another visiting boat that would be pulling up alongside us today. They also caught up on the cycling.

I could of course get on the tube or climb on a bus, but when I roughly know the way and it’s not too far I much prefer to walk around London. Heading out of the gate from the cruising club I walked up Camley Street which parts St Pancras and Kings Cross stations. On the paved area in front of Kings Cross, where the old station used to have lines of waiting passengers queueing for their trains, there was a food market today. Everything looked tasty, most of it full of gluten. It was still too early in the day to purchase food and the tasty cheese would have spent far too long on a hot day fermenting in my bag.

I wove my way down towards Oxford Street. A modern block of flats had a very good bit of painting on what most probably is the bin store. Such a wonderfully atmospheric painting.

But this side was even better, what an atmosphere

My first port of call was Primark, for my sins! With a small budget and not a very long run, Primark is usually a good starting point. Anything I bought that doesn’t get used can be returned to the Huddersfield store quite easily next week. However, Primark seem to have gone for grown up colours this season! If I wanted shorts today I would have come up trumps with neon colours, but there was only one t-shirt in a good size for one actor in the whole store! It’s a good job we don’t actually need the t-shirts for the photo shoot, so I can gradually collect them when I see them.

They did however have a lot of buns. Not edible ones, but ones to help make big hair buns. These were cheaper than the ones I got online, so I may require more to create big space buns!

Next I headed to Sally’s, here they sell hair products mostly to hairdressers. I’d hoped they might have some colourful hair extensions, but fortunately they didn’t as the cheapest ones there were around £30! I did however get a very large can of hairspray to help with the space buns.

Not such an Aladdin’s cave of fabricness that it once was

Down to Berwick Street, hoping shops I now of old have survived. Borovicks is still there, but I’m sure there used to be three times as many rooms full of fabric.

MacCulloch and Wallis on Poland Street pulled me inside. Here the basement is full of haberdashery. Want a zip? Any type, length, teeth, they have it! Sewing cottons, you’ve a whole wall of colours to choose from. The yarn on the ground floor was all so tempting, but I was good and only bought things for the show.

A window display that I couldn’t walk past

Returning on a more westerly route to Oleanna I walked along roads surrounded by hoardings hiding the ongoing works for HS2. Pile drivers driving and four story high portacabins, most probably accommodation for the builders.

Back at the Cruising Club our whirligig was very full, towels were drying on locker lids, Mick had run out of clothes pegs. We have a new neighbour who is staying for one night. He had more difficulty getting in due to the weed.

Lists were ticked off for work, train tickets printed out, just need to pack things now.

At around 7pm we could hear loud music, just where was it coming from. A peek out the front of the boat suggested that this might be a regular thing. Heather yesterday said there is a chap who turns up with a big sound system at the gas holders. Here he shares his music with others.

It was an eclectic mix, 80’s, reggae, bhangra, modern pop, allsorts. Across the way people were dancing, laughing and having a great time. At 9 pm the music stopped, two hours of jollyness shared amongst strangers.

0 locks, 0 miles, 7 miles walked, 2 stages for Cav, 4 space buns, 1 t-shirt, 1 triangle of chalk, 250m thread, 1 M&S sandwich, 2 clean boating caps, 4 loads washing, 1 bag half packed, 1 new neighbour, 1 bored cat.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna