Category Archives: Films

It’s Beginning …… 19th December

Gibraltar Bridge to Bascote Aqueduct

With rain forecast for the afternoon we wanted to be on our way whilst it was still dry. Ten locks lay ahead of us, would we beat the weather?

We pootled past moored boats, many with decorations up. One boat in the summer has a mass of bears sat in it’s hatch, but understandably now it’s winter the hatch was firmly closed. However sat in the wheelhouse was the largest bear, which might actually have been an orangutan, wearing a Santa outfit including a beard. A shame the glass wasn’t clear for the photo.

We’d considered stopping at Kate Boats for a new bottle of gas, but there was no sign of life and the thought of carrying a full gas bottle over another boats bow was not appealing, it’ll have to wait.

The boat that used to be moored by Calias Lane is no more. Here the towpath used to be full of interesting stuff, the boat almost melding into it all. Late last year there was a fire on board and the owner, Malcolm, was quite badly injured, the boat almost certainly a right off. Now there is no sign of where the boat used to be and winter mooring signs sit along the stretch, all lonely as nobody has taken C&RT up on this location.

Father Christmas peered out through portholes and at The Boat Inn two reindeer levitated by the outside tables.

Looking over our shoulders we’d both thought we were being followed, someone to share the locks with, we’d wait at the top lock to see if they arrived. The top lock was in our favour and I soon spotted a boat coming up the lock below, so we entered the lock and dropped down.

The lady working the boat up came for a chat. They’d been planning to moor in Leamington Spa for Christmas but had changed their minds as there was no diesel to be had, so they were hoping they’d make it to Banbury in time. There was time to suggest good places to moor in Banbury as they’d not been before and we were warned that a pound lower down the locks had almost been empty when they got to it.

As their boat passed I recognised it. We had crossed the Ribble link with the boat a couple of years ago, friends of NB Quaintrelle. However I hadn’t remembered the lady having a Scottish accent and the couple on board had been younger. It appears the boat changed owners a year or so ago.

Much of the flight was in our favour and the levels were only a touch low, but as we were bringing a lock full of water down with us this didn’t concern us. One lock had a bottom paddle left open a touch so the chamber had drained. The boat that had been following never showed itself so we descended solo.

With last nights rain, and most probably the last two months worth, the towpath was filled with puddles and was a quagmire in places. The grassy banks more like brown ski slopes, my waterproof trousers now need a good wash. The temperature today had risen so as we worked our way down layers were removed.

Was this the bridge where a widebeam got stuck in June this year? They got jammed in a bridge as they headed up the locks. The Grand Union was originally built for narrowboats but in the 1930’s the locks were widened so they could take two narrowboats. Most widebeams fit, but the one earlier in the year didn’t, coping stones had to be removed.

We spotted familiar boats, overtaking Kate Saffin who was moored up on the off side, NB Jameson moored before the last lock of the day where new houses are going up. The builders returning from a break came and watched as the water emptied out from the lock.

I walked on to where we’ve moored before away from the road and where there are rings. On our own we tied up and let Tilly out. I wonder if she recognises places, she’s certainly been here a few times before.

At around 2pm the heavens opened, thank goodness we weren’t battling our way down the locks in it. Tilly wasn’t too pleased with it either!

During the afternoon and evening I got very close to finishing my last sock before Christmas whilst we watched The Importance of Being Earnest. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it in the last 1st class post tomorrow.

10 locks, 2.47 miles, 1 awol email, 3 familiar boats, 1 muddy cat, 14 rows left, 0 cratch lights yet, 1 Queens speech with possible ramifications for us, 1 afternoon of rain.

https://goo.gl/maps/QT1Z2Pi66ihcceE19

Filling The Roof. 18th December

Napton to nearly Gibraltar Bridge 20, Grand Union

Even though my sour dough starter seems to have faultered again I had a big jar of discard ready to be used, so this morning I had a go at some sour dough pancakes. These can either be started the night before or a little while before you want to cook them. Leaving them over night develops the flavour, but as my discard is a touch dubious I just mixed the mixture this morning.

With a plate on top of the stove I cooked a half portion of the the recipe and kept them warm under a t towel until I’d finished the batter up. Verdict, very nice. Just wonder what they’d be like with proper discarded starter.

Tilly had been allowed out this morning, she was being kept busy. I was just about to go out and do my mad cat woman shouting when she appeared, Mick opened the hatch and we were three again. Time to move on.

Down the last narrow lock we pulled in and disposed of all the rubbish we’d been accumulating. With no recycling bins until the new year everything ended up in the big skip at the service block. People say where there are no recycling bins the rubbish still gets sorted rather than going to landfill, I hope so.

We then pushed across to the water point and topped the tank up, the washing machine had been run this morning, so it took a little bit of time to fill. With the boat moored on the port side we emptied the yellow water into our container for disposal, the towpath won’t be on the right side for a while so best to make use of it now.

Last year we did these chores on Christmas Eve along with quite a few other boats, but today we had everything to ourselves. The sun was out and we pushed on to Napton Junction. The original plan had us continuing straight on here, but today we turned right for the first time, into Wigrams Turn Marina.

There were plenty of people about, maybe live aboards or just folks preparing for a Christmas cruise. The service mooring was empty so we filled it. We’d guessed that it being run by the same company as at Cropredy the diesel price would be the same, but sadly no, 97p a litre, 11p more! Good job we only wanted a top up and four more bags of coal went on the roof. We are now stocked up for Christmas and hopefully into the New Year, the roof is a touch full and hard to see over!

We winded and then back at the junction we went straight on, onto the Grand Union. First thought was to stop above Calcutt Locks, but then we decided to go down them, the top one almost full.

Back onto wide locks with their candlestick/bomb shaped paddle gears. Winding winding winding. Then that hard to describe fluttering noise, as the water lowers around the large openings of the paddle gear on the chamber sides, almost like Hannibal Lecter’s noise when he meets Clarice,

Down the three locks, then we sought out a length of Armco where Tilly could go out. On the off side a group of old boats are clustered, many with memorable names, Adamant the last one not in steam today. We pulled in and gave Tilly half an hour, she returned in good time, then was a touch miffed at the doors staying closed.

As the evening progressed the wind built up along with torrential rain, this of course coincided with the gas bottle running out. We knew it would as it always does just after you’ve been somewhere you could get a new one. We’re hoping for a lull in the rain tomorrow to get down the Stockton flight without getting too wet.

Payment to my brother for our postal service for the year. Lots of smoked fish from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse.

4 locks, 1 narrow, 3 wide, 3.98 miles, 1 right, 1 wind, 1 straight on, 4 bags coal, 26.78 litres, 20 minutes, 1 sock finished, 1 toe.

https://goo.gl/maps/T9mxMfTYn6yREK8y6

Steak Secrets. 19th November

Jericho

Yesterday we watched the second ever Morse episode, well we are in Oxford! ‘The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn’. Parts of the story were filmed in Jericho on Walton Street, we’re getting good at spotting them. Barbara Flynn did however get out of her car close to the Oxford University Press and walk towards the city centre , the next shot had her walking in the opposite direction towards Studio 2 (The Picture House). This isn’t that uncommon and keeps boaters who are not going very far at the moment occupied.

Today we decided to see what the interior of the Picture House was like and opted to see ‘Official Secrets’. This had a Silver Screen showing for which Mick got £4 off his ticket, I suspect I’d have got in cheaply if we hadn’t been honest when buying our tickets. With large comfy seats we settled down with about ten other people to watch the film. No adverts, other than for the cinema, which was a surprise, but a couple of trailers for films to come which we may keep our eyes open for.

Official Secrets tells the true story of whistleblower Katherine Gun who leaked a memo asking GCHQ to find out personal information on diplomats from smaller countries at the United Nations, so that they could be blackmailed into voting for the second UN resolution on the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Her actions changed the allegiance of The Observer newspaper who brought the story to the public’s attention despite the Americans claiming it to be a hoax memo. The film follows the story up to Katherine Gun’s court case for breaching the Official Secrets Act. We both thoroughly enjoyed the film with it’s great English cast including Janie Dee who I know from my Scarborough days.

On our way back to Oleanna we walked down to look at Combe Road where the first ever murder happened in Morse. The house most definitely is a tardis. No way would three people and a grand piano be able to fit into that little house.

With the stove on Oleanna re-light for the second time today, we suspect the chimney needs sweeping, we headed back out for some food at The Old Bookbinders. The pub had been recommended to us by several people and the menu was attractively French.

Warm and cosy we were greeted by a very French man who directed us to a back room sitting us by a radiator to warm up. The place was starting to fill up when we arrived and we were glad we hadn’t waited until later to eat. There was a Menu Du Jour which we had just arrived in time for (good value), but we both decided to chose things from the A La Carte Menu.

Mick chose Le Benicassim, a burger with everything including a fried egg that revealed it’s yolk through a hole in the top of the bun, it was very tasty. I opted for L’Entrecote Frites, steak and chips with a very nice salad and loads of garlic butter, the aroma will wear off in a couple of days I’m sure. My steak was cooked perfectly rare and had been left to rest before being served.

We followed on with a crepe for Mick, sadly these were not gluten free, so I had a creme brulee. Both were very tasty. With a large glass of wine and a pint of Tim Taylor Landlord our bill was just shy of £60. We don’t eat out much and have become used to pub food being only okay, so today was a treat. If you fancy a slice of France in the middle of Oxford we’d highly recommend the Old Bookbinders, which is nothing like it was back in 1987 when Morse visited.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 silver screening, 1 memo, 1 secret leaked, 1 courtcase, 2 times to light, 1 burger, 1 steak, 1 crepe, 1 brulee, 2 fat content boaters, 1 bored cat who just didn’t bother today.

Out The Other Side, Nearly. 31st December, 1st January 2019

Home Farm Footbridge to Crick Marina Entrance moorings.

New Years Eve morning we got ourselves ready for the off, several boats had already passed us. Full tunnel mode was engaged, Tilly warned, life jackets and waterproof coats donned. Our Christmas lights do a good job of lighting up the tunnel as we pass through, it’s almost not worth turning the interior cabin lights on, except I hope that the light inside helps to keep Tilly calm. Sadly it doesn’t seem to work as she shouted out through the windows and at the back door for much of the passage. She used to be fine in tunnels, so we are puzzled as to what has changed.

Once through we noted that the mooring outside The Moorings was free, if it stays that way we may arrange for a delivery this week. No familiar boats moored outside ABNB, but they soon showed themselves in the next section of Crick Marina, NB Blackbird tucked away in a corner and NB Rock n Roll just across the way.

There were plenty of boats moored up, we went as far as we could, hoping for some phone and internet signal and found a suitable gap for us. Once tied up, Mick headed to the Post Office for some bread and Tilly and I had a good look round. I know we’ve been here lots before, so why did we need a look round? Well we had to find Roger. Roger lives on a boat and the other night he didn’t come home, so she had promised that we’d have a look once we were through the tunnel. I’d been shouting in the tunnel to see if he was in there, but there was no response. She walked along the towpath a bit too quickly to be looking properly, I was taking my time, checking every tree. She had to be slowed down, she’d miss vital clues if she walked that fast!

I decided that Tilly shouting at me to slow down wouldn’t be so good for Rogers’ Mum and Dad to hear, they might think it was him. So we headed back to Oleanna, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for him whilst we’re in the area.

The plan was to have a quiet afternoon in before we headed out to bring in the new year with our friends Lizzie, Andy and Irene from NB Kamili for a meal at The Red Lion . Just as we settled down for the afternoon I noticed a fuzzy patch in my vision, a sure sign that I was about to get a migraine. The pink pills came out of the cupboard with the hope that they would work a miracle before a migraine took hold. Sadly this has never worked and wasn’t going to today. An afternoon asleep was the next thing to try, but the migraine had taken hold and we ended up having to cancel our evening out.

So no three course meal at The Red Lion and drinks with friends, just a bit of left over roast chicken with pasta and a glass of water whilst doing my best not to move. There were a few hoots of boat horns and one or two rockets let off around the marina, mostly it was a quiet evening.

We stayed up to watch the fireworks from London. I suspect they are absolutely spectacular if you are stood by the Thames, but each year looks much the same to us now on our TV screen. What will they be like next year post Brexit? Will London be able to afford such a display? Will they be digging out a selection box from the 70’s. Two traffic lights and a Roman candle on a barge in the middle of the Thames and a Catherine Wheel nailed onto the centre of the London Eye which will rotate five people holding a sparkler each!

New Years Day was a quiet one. Tilly came and went numerous times. Mick got us some food from the Co-Op that was in the Sad Gits section. My head still hurting meant sitting on the sofa for much of the day. Dr Who, Luther and Paddington 2 were watched. The makers of the Paddington films have done a really nice job of them. Being a fan of the marmalade sandwich eating, duffle coated bear from an early age I was very wary about them, but both films have been great. Worth a watch no matter of your age.

0 locks, 1.72 miles, 1 tunnel passing 1 boat, 0 mysterons, 0 Roger, 2 pink pills, 4 yellow, 1 very very still head, 1 passing boater mentioning my name, 0 get together, 2 empty places at the table, 2nd Paddington, 1 boat nearly out of the fuzz of Crick.

Pancakes And Valentines 14th February

Chester

A couple of deliveries had arrived overnight on Oleanna. A card and a box of chocolates had been left in the pram cover and in the cratch there were two cards, a box of chocolates and three cream eggs! Mick got the cards and goodies from the cratch and I got the ones from the pram (who was his other card from?!). My box of chocolates was bigger than the one Mick received, however the card I got had no xxx’s in it! Mick says that he doesn’t know anything about it as the card isn’t from him! But if that’s the case he didn’t send me a Valentines Day card! Not sure which is worse.

As we’d had visitors yesterday we made a management decision to postpone Pancake Day and have a Pancake Wednesday. We are aware that today we are meant to give things up for lent, but as we never do, eating pancakes wouldn’t matter. So this morning we started the day with some Blueberry American style pancakes. Recently I’ve been using gluten free flour more and more, so far simply swapping it for normal flour in recipes has worked, however today I ended up with an extremely runny batter and ended up having to add more flour. Later looking at recipes I’ve noticed that they tend to have a lot more flour in them than with a normal pancake batter. They were tasty, but not as good as they could have been.

The weather today has been extremely windy, so no going anywhere by boat. As the forecast for the day was really rather miserable we decided to catch a bus out to Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet for a day out, we know how to live!

Half an hour on the bus and we arrived at the side of the Outlet. Here there are numerous eateries that look like they have just been dumped in the car park of Vue Cinema. We resisted their offerings and headed straight indoors to the cinema. Showing on screen 5 was The Post, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep directed by Stephen Spielberg. Set in the early 70’s it recounts the true story of The Washington Post journalists and their attempts to publish the Pentagon Papers, classified documents regarding the 30-year involvement of the US government in the Vietnam War. The story predates the Watergate Scandal. A very wordy film, but well worth the listening, we’d both now like to watch ‘All the President’s Men’ again.

A bite to eat was next on the cards, we started to look round the Outlet and eventually managed to get served in Costa, everywhere seemed to be vastly understaffed today.

There were a few things that were on my list to find. Firstly a new pair of jeans. M&S came up trumps and provided me with a pair that will fit me and not have space for half my legs again. Then a good look around Joules for some wellies that would fit my chubby calve muscles. There were none that I fancied, although the glow in the dark kids ones were pretty good, I at least know what size now to order.

Next was the main reason for our trip, Whittards. Every morning I have a cup of their Afternoon Tea, it used to be called Pelham Tea. Whittards are not as common as I used to think when I had a car, so when ever we are near to a branch I have to stock up, especially when it’s at a Designer Outlet, it’s cheaper. I’m also on the hunt for some loose leaf decaf tea, this is much harder to find than you would think, most manufacturers only produce decaf in tea bags. We are in the process of switching over from using tea bags due to their plastic content. After my first cuppa of the day I then only drink decaf. Whittards do normally stock one, but currently they are out of stock until the spring. My hunt will continue.

Our walk back towards the bus meant that we passed the Cadburys shop. The purple branding always pulls us in, but we were very good leaving through the door with only a bag of Mis-shapes.

This evening we have had savoury pancakes for tea, stuffed with chicken in a tomato sauce topped with a cheesy one baked in the oven. On cue our gas bottle ran out shortly after they went in the oven. We’ve been waiting for this to happen as we’ve just seen a coal boat! Sadly there was only enough batter left for one sweet pancake each. Gluten free pancakes are not quite the same, good job we’ve both got plenty of chocolate to keep us going.

0 locks, 0 miles, 7 blueberry pancakes each, 2 buses, 3 cards, 14 x’s for Mick, 0 x’s for me! 3 cream eggs, 2 boxes of chocs, 14 watching the film, 1 option for lunch, 16! 4 packets of tea, 750grams misshapes, 2 boxes of wine, 2 savoury pancakes each, 1 sweet pancake each, 1 more day of this boring Chester place!

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna