Category Archives: Flowers

Is This As Low As We Can Go? 18th May

Dog in a Doublet to Burnthouse Bridge Rural Mooring, Whittlesey Dyke, Middle Level

Yesterday Mick had phoned Stanground Lock to book our passage through for today. Kev, not Tina had called us back and booked us for midday. He also rang us this morning, yesterday he’d responded to a missed call on the mobile, today he was responding to Mick’s message.

We gave ourselves a couple of hours to return back up the Nene to Peterborough Junction where we’d turn onto the Back River, the aroma of partially cooked chips hanging in the air today. Does anyone know what the metal framed tower is on the north shore of the river?

The Back River brings you under a railway bridge, then past the back of the houses at Stanground. Soon we arrived at the lock and Kev popped up from nowhere, we were an hour early just as the timings on our maps had suggested, but better early than late.

Kev set the lock, the nearest paddle/slacker lifted to fill it, I could see straight through the opening, you don’t often get a view like that. With the gates open we were soon in the lock. Time to chat Anglian Passes.

About a month ago Mick had applied for an Anglian pass on line. This gives you access to the Middle Level and the River Cam and lasts a year. The pass is a fairly new thing and has caused quite a to do in certain circles. The website had said someone would ring to take payment. No-one did. So with our arrival getting closer Mick rang and was told that our application hadn’t arrived, could he fill out the form again and email it to them, then someone would call to take payment. This he did. We are still waiting for the phone call.

This tale was nothing new to Kev, he wasn’t surprised. He wrote us down on his sheet and took our details. Next we needed to purchase ourselves a key and a key. A different navigation authority means a new key to access facilities. We also required a different windlass, which in these parts is called a key. Kev had both for sale and quickly provided them in return for £17. We also enquired about Salters Lode on the other side of the Middle Level, we’d tried calling the Lock Keeper there but had had no response. Kev said we’d just need to arrive at a suitable time for the tide, he then provided us with the tide time. No need to book just turn up and we’d be locked through. What a helpful chap, very reminiscent of the Lock Keeper at Thames Lock onto the River Wey.

The paddles on the lock were lifted, the lock emptied, gates open. We’d descended onto the Level. Well maybe we’d descended a touch too far as Oleanna seemed to want to stay put in the lock. There was a little bit of movement so a push out at the stern and bow a bit of a jiggle and she was free! We are on the cusp of draft for the navigation. Mick later on read notes written by Simon Judge regarding deep drafted boats going through the lock backwards, well we know now!

Narrow and shallow, our speed would be a lot slower than it had been out on the river.

Here sky rules, when would we get to see our next hill? Flat as flat, well until we came across a new railway bridge being built.

A view of the brick works and McCains from the other side this time. Two churches in Whittlesey. Three work boats sat at the edges of the navigation, having their lunch break, weed cutters, one called Covid 20.

Ahead lay the bend we’ve heard of between bridges 111 and 110, the navigation is narrow the bend 90 degrees. Mick slowed Oleanna right down as we passed possibly the nearest vets to the waterways, then took us round in one go with plenty of room to spare.

A public park in Whittlesey has a 48hr mooring, space for two narrowboats, we pulled in for lunch then consulted our schedule. Should we stay here the night? We were already ahead of schedule, Tilly would be able to go out, other moorings further on looked like they would be alongside roads, so not deemed to be cat friendly.

‘Two hours Tilly, we might want to go out and explore ourselves.’

Another look at our schedule, planned mooring places for the next few days. Waterway Routes open as well as Google Maps satellite view. A meeting with family is planned next week, a mooring to have a birthday barbeque would be good too, so we’re only using the link route through the Middle Level at the moment. Our planned passage through Salters Lode to Denver Sluice had been on Saturday, but all of a sudden the moorings on the Great Ouse looked a touch more appealing. Did we have enough time to reach Salters Lode for Friday morning? If we cracked on today yes.

Fortunately Tilly had decided that the grass outside wasn’t up to much and had retired to the bedroom, but as soon as the back door closed we got complaints. ‘You know I said 2 hours, well I actually meant 2 minutes!’

Ashline Lock drops the navigation down by 6ft, it lay a short distance in front of us. The width of the locks isn’t enough to be able to share with another narrowboat, bottom gates should be left open, paddles closed to help conserve water levels. Time to use our new windlass/key, so new it’s grey paint not fully cured!

The paddles at the top of the lock are similar to those you find on the Leeds Liverpool canal, you just can’t see whether they are open or not, then how many turns until they are fully open? The lock gradually filled. The bottom paddles are similar but positioned on the gates themselves. I chose to count how many turns they took to open, twenty, thirty, thirty five, I gave up, the lock slowly emptied.

Is this the lowest you can be on non-tidal water in England? At Lodes End Lock to our south the level is variable and can be nothing, but it suggests on our map that to head west through the lock you may rise to be on the level we are on now. Around us the contour on the OS map was around 0 or even -1 in some fields.

In the pamphlet we’d been given it showed us the location of Rural moorings, but Mick had spied on the website that there were another four such moorings, two of which we’d be going past today. Might they be more cat friendly than the public moorings?

The first was at Angle Corner. 32m of bank had been cut and large posts added to tie to. Here you might be able to get off your boat without too much trouble, but the bank is steep, nothing that would worry Tilly. We made a note of its position to report back to Paul at Waterway Routes.

Just past Burnthouse Bridge there was a second mooring. We consulted our maps, if we didn’t stop here we had at least another two hours to cruise to the next mooring in March which may not have space. We pulled in flung our ropes over the posts, Oleanna sat a good meter out from solid land, a plank or major leap of faith would be needed here to get off, but that didn’t bother us. A quick cat health and safety discussion, she’d get off okay, but would almost certainly arrive back on board wet. No shore leave today for any of us!

2 locks, 13.89 miles, 1 wind, 1 left, 1 straight on, 1 hour early, 2 minutes shore leave, 2 hire boats, 1 private boat, 3 work boats, 1 new key, 1 new key, 2 levels, 10 new posts, 1 contract to sign, 1 storm approaching, 0 Anglian Pass.

https://goo.gl/maps/yqpCcmpAE7s4gvee9

Fitting Into Boxes. 20th April

Cast Iron Roving Bridge

Some dog filming going on in the city today

Mick was away seriously early this morning, he arrived in Scarborough just after 10am and arrived at the house shortly before our lodgers left for work. He had an hour or so to wait before a plumber arrived to try to solve the boiler problem. The boiler was taken to bits, everything checked, lots of head scratching a valve in the airing cupboard was changed (possibly the third such valve this year!). Thankfully all was back working, but why the valve stops working is a mystery. Hopefully this will now have solved the problem, the boiler has a few good years left in it, but if the valves keep failing we may have no choice but to replace it. Fingers crossed.

Back in Birmingham Tilly and I pottered on as normal. Tilly had some shore leave and when she came back I decided to head off for a walk. My main purpose was to find some more comfortable FFP2 Masks. We still wear masks in busy areas such as shops and trains and as very few people now wear them they may as well be more for our protection. The one’s we have now are actually for woodwork so the elastic goes over the back of your head, so they are not quite as user friendly as they could be.

I headed to Boots to see what they had, 5 for £10. That would do. I then had a look around a few shops before I got a touch twitchy about being amongst sooo many people. I decided to walk back to the boat via Gas Street Basin, entering from the north east side where two arms used to head off, I’ve not been this way before. You get quite a good view across the boats.

The bridge at Worcester Bar didn’t used to exist, it was just a wooden plank which could be swung across for access using a chain.

Back on board Tilly requested more shore leave, but as I opened up the back I could see another cat coming from the boat behind us. Maybe this was one of the cats that was running along our roof last night! Not wanting to have a towpath turf war Tilly was allowed in the pram cover but, luckily she hadn’t seen our neighbour!

An interesting darn. I do need a magnifying glass

My hygienist appointment went well, although I still can’t imagine why anybody would want to do the job. At least now it is no longer necessary for them to wear the full Darth Vader outfit to clean your teeth! I was asked if I’d like to book my six monthly appointments, this is when boaters don’t always fit into a box. Depending on stoppages I’m likely to come by train after panto has opened in Chipping Norton. So booking an appointment today would be risky. I know when it should be and that will do for now.

No sign of the other cat when I got back, so Tilly was allowed an hours shore leave before ding ding. I took the opportunity to hear how a meeting had gone for David today.

Boaters, Continuous Cruisers don’t fit into normal boxes. Banks find it hard, Doctors quite often need to be reminded that they can register people without an address, having to declare yourself homeless to be able to vote, etc are all things that need to be dealt with by boaters. The people who provide support that David is now entitled to would like him to fit into one of their boxes, for this it would be easier for them if he lived in a house, this however would not be so good for David’s mental health. Soon he will need to start moving his boat again, which will cause problems with the continuity of his care. To receive counselling over the next few months he would need to remain in an area, that area could be challenging to CC in.

Then there have been other boaters, those who have also put him in a box, the one of the overstayer/continuous moorer, just what you need when you are not well and the visibility of your illness is not obvious! David is going to seek advice from the Welfare Officer at C&RT and from the NBTA, there has to be a way round this. He has come so far and needs support to carry on going in the right direction. Surely the corners of a few boxes can be push to make them fit him and his situation?

On a lighter note, here is Brain Cant fitting into a box. https://fb.watch/cx45YllNq8/

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 return tickets, 5 hours for the boiler, 7 hours on trains, 5 masks, 2 shore leaves, 1 t-shirt darned, 40 minutes cleaning, 0%,1 more pat on the back, 1 box needing to have the corners stretched.

An Inch Short. 16th March

Bramwith Junction

What a grey day! Even Tilly wasn’t impressed, preferring to spend much of the day asleep inside. With rain forecast for 1pm we had a choice of moving off this morning or staying put. The next proper mooring can be quite popular, this time of year especially so as there is parking, water and bins. An hours cruise to find out and if full it would be another hour back again, bringing us into the window of rain opportunity!

We decided to stay put, we like this mooring even on a grey day. A walk around the junction was on the cards and there was enough time before we’d get wet.

As we walked down to Bramwith Lock we could hear an engine, then see a flag between the trees, coming along the New Junction. It was Pax a kind of cross between a Dutch barge and a trawler that had been in Goole. They turned towards the lock where some friends had already opened the gates for them.

A narrowboat arrived below the lock, pulling into the lock landing, as we walked past we had a chat with the chap. This was to be his first solo lock, the boat new to him, maybe only by a few days. We wished him luck and carried on to where a footpath heads off to the Don Doors.

The side you don’t get to see from the canal

Water was spilling over the edge of the aqueduct, more so than yesterday when we’d crossed it. I was amazed at how little space there is below the trough to the river flowing beneath. The sides of the trough have plenty of extra support to help it withstand sideways pressure when the river is in flood.

We climbed over the top to the other side, sadly no view along the New Junction as the guillotine gates were in the way. But it being so grey the pictures wouldn’t have been too appealing anyway.

Was that a Chiff Chaff? It was! A sign of spring.

We crossed back over the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. The first Blackthorn blossom opening up hunting for the missing sunshine. Bees buzzed round. Was that a Woodpecker we could hear? Spring with all it’s new life.

The single hander came round from Bramwith Lock heading towards Long Sandall. He’d been helped up the lock so still had his first solo lock to come. We wished him well, his next obstacle being Barnby Dun Lift Bridge.

A looooonggg LOUD horn could be heard. Was that someone annoyed to be held up at the lift bridge?

Then another blast. Within a few minutes we could see where it had come from, Exol Pride! I so hope the single hander had been warned about the big blue boat, suspect the Looooonggg blast had been suggesting he got out of their way!

We stood and watched as Exol came past, a slight change of engine note before the junction, was that for us or just an adjustment before crossing under the Don Doors? The canal took a good half hour before it returned to calm.

A little after 1pm it started to rain. With whistling wind accompanying it we were glad we’d decided not to move today. Instead I sat in front of the stove and knitted, nearly a whole sock today, just short by an inch or so. Mick pottered on the computer whilst Tilly inspected the insides of her eye lids.

Today we added another option to our escape routes southwards.

~~Out of Keadby to Cromwell~~
Head across the Pennines, most probably by the Huddersfield Canals.
Head down the Ouse to Trent Falls and onto the Trent that way.
Cancel a trip to York by boat to meet with family and get through Thorne Lock before it shuts. Have a day trip by train instead.

The jury is still out.

It’s time to add a recipe to the Baking section. Tonight we enjoyed the last slices of my Bakewell Tart.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 walk, 3 waterways crossed, 1 solo boater, 1 Pax, 1 big blue boat, 4 signs of spring, 1 reluctant cat, 1 inch short of a sock.

Lunch With The Sheep, 27th August

Norton Junction to Cracks Hill, Leicester Section

A couple of boats came past and turned left at the junction before we pushed off, this suggested we’d be in a queue for the locks. Oh well! We pushed off and turned left too, only to pull in almost straight away to top up on water. A load in the washing machine had just finished so the dishwasher went on.

The two boats ahead of us were both filling with diesel at Welton Hythe , the first one winding too, maybe our luck would be in. Soon we were passing the service station at Watford Gap then ducking under the road bridge.

Hang on! The Thai/Chinese restaurant that has been gradually been getting more and more dilapidated is having a make over. Painted grey with new windows and fencing along the canal edge. I wonder what it will be?

As we approached the bottom of Watford a boat was just coming out from the bottom lock and there was no queue, we hadn’t even moored up before a Lockie waved us in, a first for us. We ascended then swapped over with another boat in the next pound, ascended the second lock and then pulled in to wait for the last downhill boat to finish in the staircase.

The volunteer Lockie stood and chatted for a while. Today we were the third boat to go up, a very quiet day. They had started with one of the side ponds virtually empty so the downhill traffic had helped fill it, even so they’d had a boat ground on one of the cills going into a lock.

This chap had been on duty the day the sink hole appeared on the flight. A little hole had appeared just by the towpath side gate. He said they stood there and prodded it with their windlasses, wondering what it was. Then they poked a stick down it, six to eight feet deep! More of the top surface fell away and the locks were closed for a while to access them. For a while that lock had to be manned, ropes used to open and close the gate. The hole was then filled with large chunks of aggregate and then bonded together with resin. The top surface filled with concrete and bricks to match what had been there.

It is thought that the sink hole was created by water coming in from a red paddle and making its way through the brickwork on the opposite side of the lock. This then over time has scoured out a cavity behind the lock wall eventually giving way. Thank goodness no one was stood on it when it happened!

It being lunchtime we were left to do the staircase by ourselves, they checked we knew which order to do the paddles in first. ‘Red before white and you’ll be alright’, yep we were fine, I quite like doing the staircase on our own.

What a lovely flight, shame about the noise!

The levels were a bit down but we managed over the cills fine, we’d been warned of quite a leek on one of the gates and to stay back in the lock to avoid it. The chaps had just finished eating in time to close the top lock gates for us.

Rubbish was deposited as we rose up the final lock of the flight and then we were off aiming to moor for our own lunch with the sheep before Crick Tunnel. Plenty of space with a few sheep to keep us company across the way.

With coats and life jackets on we entered Crick Tunnel, prepared to get wet towards the far end. We passed three boats, one with a very smoky engine and the last one had just entered the tunnel.

ABNB, where we bought and sold NB Lillyanne, have moved to North Kilworth, the pool in front of the old office now almost empty. Signs are advertising the moorings.

The Moorings bistro alongside Bridge 12 has now sadly closed. Signs say you can only moor for water and elsan. Another sign advertises The Red Lion in the village, well worth a visit especially if it’s pie night! We’d booked ourselves a Sainsburys delivery to The Moorings, but we soon noticed a gate across the entrance. Our shopping is now cancelled and we’re looking for another handy spot to moor for a delivery.

A new building on the far side of Crick Marina

We looked for familiar boats, they all seem to have had a bit of a mix up since we were last here, no one where they used to be in Crick Marina. During the show a lot of boats get moved to make space for the show boats, usually to the far end of the main pool.

Pootling onwards we hoped for space at Cracks Hill and we were lucky. Here you get about half the amount of dog walkers you do nearer the village so it’s a touch more friendly for Tilly. We pulled to the back of the rings, hoping we’d get a neighbour this evening.

7 locks, 5.75 miles, 1 left, 1 tunnel passing 3, 0 mysterons, 1 full water tank, 1 pesky gate, 7 sheep, 1 mooring for 2, 3.5 hours, 1 rendez vous awaited, 1 test result in.

https://goo.gl/maps/7yFoetcHzTZBHmwHA

PS For Karen, here is a link to the Szechuan Pork recipe I made the other day. I didn’t have proper Szechuan peppercorns but used Rainbow peppercorns, which are a mix of black, pink, green and white peppercorns with All Spice and Coriander seeds. Enjoy.

Calm Returns. 15th August

Thrupp Canal Cruising Club

A slightly damp morning meant that the campers would be packing up their tents today to then have to dry them off when they got home. Messages came through from 1km away as they prepared to head back to London. It has been a lovely weekend with them, but now the calm of the waterways can return.

Tilly was given free reign coming and going again today as she liked. She certainly keeps herself busy for hours on end before returning home to check we’re still here. This mooring in Thrupp is far better than alongside the road with only walkers to dodge and not the occasional car to run away from!

Despite it being Sunday I sat down to do some work. The budget for #unit21 needed a bit of pruning. On Friday I’d had a long chat with Graham who will be building the set for me to see if we could get down the price of materials. He had quoted for a set to withstand the rigours of touring to a couple of venues a week and I had designed it to fit plywood sizes. Making the whole set lighter (less robust in the long term, but with some care it will be fine) and adjusting some dimensions to fit other materials better we managed to trim nearly £400 off the build. A couple of pointers from him to cheaper flooring may also save £300, so the budget is just about back on track.

I miss working with people like Graham.

Next up was a paint list for panto. I worked my way through the model deciding what colours I’d be needing and in roughly what quantities. Next week I’m paying a visit to Chippy so will see if there are any paints still usable from previous years to help reduce the long list I have. My biggest dilemma is on the glitter front.

Panto sets are known for their sparkle, mine not so much. Stage glitter tends to be bigger than that kids glue onto their cards for Granny and Granddad, sharp 5mm squares of plastic that get glued onto scenery, then when dry the excess tapped off. But glitter is not good for the environment it being made from plastic. So far Eco-glitter has reached the makeup world, but not reached the scenery world and some theatres (The National) are locking away their old stocks so no-one can use it anymore.

There is one scene that really needs a sprinkle of panto glimmering glitter. I’ve found one product that may do the job but it still doesn’t tick the box environmentally. I need to look harder!

With Tilly out being a thug and Mick listening to the cricket all day I took myself off for a walk. My route heading towards the campsite in Hampton Gay. Here there is a church and the ruins of a big house that I wanted to explore.

Hampton Gay was once far busier than it is now, excluding campers of course! There was a Mansion House, a mill, church and cottages with a population of around 86. Now the ruins of the Mansion House stand behind fencing and warning signs. The church opens around once a month and the cottages have vanished unlike the occasional train that runs right past the grave yard.

Fire, bankruptcy and even a curse at the end of the nineteenth century brought about the abandonment of the settlement. In medieval times the mill ground grain. In the 17th Century the mill was converted to produce paper and the population grew. But two separate fires struck the mill, each time it was rebuilt the last time it went bankrupt. In 1887 a huge fire overwhelmed the Manor House, without this or the mill people moved away and the population shrank.

Some stories say the manor was set on fire deliberately for the insurance. Others believe it was the result of a curse. On Christmas Eve 1874, a Great Western Train from Paddington derailed just a few hundreds yards away. Despite calls for assistance, the residents of the manor house refused to offer help and shelter to the victims. Thirty-four people died that day and sixty-nine were injured and according to legend a curse was placed on the house.

Not able to get into the church or a closer look at the mansion I decided to walk across the fields towards Hampton Poyle. From the meadows you can see across to London Oxford Airport where a plane had just landed.

Looking back towards St Gile’s Church I could just see Holy Cross Church which stands on the other side of the Cherwell and canal. Both churches less than half a kilometre apart

Holy Cross just visible on the left, St Giles on the right

Over styles, through fields with grazed grass, numerous horses everywhere. My straight line brought me to St Mary’s Church just over a mile away, just how many churches does one area need? There’s even St Mary’s Field Church only another half mile away, it’s spire visible from quite a distance.

Hampton Poyle’s St Mary’s has a 13th Century chapel, it’s north and south isles were added a century later and the double bellcote was an 18th century addition.

In the16th-century, priest Richard Thomason, was allegedly condemned to hang in chains from Duns Tew steeple (near Bicester) for his opposition to the first prayer book of Edward VI. The 17th-century rector Edward Fulham was forced to resign and flee abroad on account of his strong Royalist views and his opposition to Puritanism.

Across another field with more horses to White Bridge which crosses the Cherwell, not the prettiest of bridges but it’s concrete serves the purpose. On the south bank of the river I now turned westwards across the fields following the course of the river until it reached Thrupp Community Forest.

Here paths weave themselves through the trees, some more muddy routes have been bypassed. I was glad I’d got long trousers on as the nettles were rampant and my arms had to keep being lifted aloft. The river remained shy behind the not-so-friendly cover.

Soon I popped out to where the railway crosses, just that little bit too close to Thrupp, the path now bringing me back to Annies Tea Room. We still haven’t visited here, one day hopefully on a weekend when the Ice Cream Parlour is open!

With small amounts of food left over from the weekend I made us some fried rice, one chicken thigh and a couple of inches of salmon were added along with a good scattering of frozen peas. From a very full fridge on Friday morning to an almost empty one.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 quiet day, 3 campers back to London, 2 boaters pottering, 1 test, 9 hours, 1 very pooped cat, 1 shade of glitter, 10 litres emulsion, 10 litres bona mega silk matt, 12 colours, 1 panto paint list complete, 3 miles, 3 nearly 4 churches, 1 feast of leftovers.

The Girl Next Door. 3rd 4th July

Scarborough

They think I don’t know what’s going on! They think I don’t realise that they are going off into the outside and leaving me all on my own. They don’t realise what a hard, exhausting job looking after the boat is. But I know I am more than capable. I quite look forward to days like this especially when She gets my magic food bowl out, it does mean though that there won’t be anyone to snuggle up to when it goes dark.

Bags packed, Tilly in a sulk, we were ready to catch the train northwards to Scarborough for the weekend.

With seats booked the train journey was fine, plenty of space for everyone. We swapped trains in York and arrived in Scarborough to meet Bridget and Storm, leaving our bags in their car for the afternoon. We were all heading to the Stephen Joseph Theatre to watch the matinée of The Girl Next Door the latest play from Alan Ayckbourn.

At Christmas the auditorium had been about a quarter full, but today it was just under half, couples sat in a checker board fashion across the rows helping to fill the space.

The play, Alan’s 85th is set in lockdown last year. Rob an actor who is famous for playing a fireman in a 1940s drama is stuck at home with his sister who works at the treasury and spends most of her days on zoom calls.

When a girl is seen through the garden hedge, hanging clothes out to dry, Robs life is about to have a hole new dimension added. Cheese souffles, brandy, blackouts, covid 19 all make for a time travelling love story.

After the show we’d booked a table at Eat Me Cafe who have taken over the theatre restaurant and bar during the pandemic. We all enjoyed quality burgers and very fine chips.

It was lovely to spend time with Bridget and Storm seeing the play, along with catching up with various people around the theatre it made for a great day.

Our arrival at the house was a noisy one, we’d been warned and a small bag of treats had been left in the hallway to appease Brodie and we soon made friends.

Brodie our lodger woofer, don’t tell Tilly!

It’s odd being in your own house, yet not quite being the occupiers of it. For the last 9 weeks Bill and Alex have been our lodgers whilst The Girl Next Door has been rehearsing and playing at the theatre. Tonight was the last night of their run, so it was safe for us to stay over.

The wild flower seeds have sprouted and gone bonkers. Does anyone know what this is please?

Last nights usually involve a drink with the director so our lodgers were quite late coming home to have a catch up and drink with us which was far more relaxed than when they had first arrived.

Sunday morning and it was time to say farewell to our lodgers. Bill was on an early train whilst Alex and Angie had breakfast with us as they packed. A few weeks ago they had kept our neighbours amused as they had done a run of the play in our house and garden. Our kitchen being two terraced houses knocked together and the rear gardens being still separate, it was an ideal location to rehearse the play.

Back on our own in the house, we had chores to do. The garden needed some taming, so our compost bin had a major boost of greenery.

Once the bed linen had been washed and dried there was ironing to do, beds to make up for our next lodgers who would arrive on Monday after we’d left. So it was a very busy day.

We’d asked Alex if there was anything that was missing from the house. A cafetiere (they bought one and gave it to the house), a ladle (I found 4 in storage) and a mirror in one of the bedrooms, this was easily rectified as we had one upstairs upstairs.

Last thing to do was to hang the painting my Dad did in 1954 which was a scheme for our house in York. The design changed quite a lot over the next 8 years, but this is one of my prized possessions.

The house ended up being quite different

We ended the day with fish and chips from Capplemans and a glass or two of wine. One very good weekend.

0 locks, 0 miles, 10 minutes walk to the station, 2 trains, 1 Sir, 1 Lady, 1 play, 2 times, 4 burgers, 1 Monty, 2 actors, 1 roadie, 1 Brodie, 1 back bedroom, 3 gardens tidyish, 2 hours ironing, 1 painting hung, 2 of each.

Kath. 27th June

Rembrandt Gardens

Living under trees for days on end isn’t good for solar, it also isn’t so good for our batteries. This morning we woke to no power, none what-so-ever! The battery bank had turned itself off to protect itself, only one thing for it turn the engine on. Fortunately it was 8am, but we did feel bad about it being a Sunday morning and having new neighbours very close to our stern.

Despite the engine running we had a lazy morning reading the Saturday paper in bed, that was until we heard the unmissable sound of a coal boat engine popping it’s way into Little Venice. NB Emu had just turned out from the Regents Canal, paused, and then reversed back down under Westbourne Terrace Bridge. Mick gave them a call to see if we could have a top up of diesel when they returned.

Our neighbours also were after a top up, which gave us the opportunity to apologise about having to run the engine early on a Sunday morning. Mick asked the chaps on Emu about their supply of Calor gas, they stopped getting it direct from Calor a while ago and since then they haven’t had any problems. Brian from NB Alton on the Macclesfield Canal is having serious trouble getting hold of stock or anyone to talk to about the matter, he’s pulling his hair out about the situation.

After breakfast we gave Oleanna a good tidy up, my work things had been packed away yesterday, now she needed a wipe down and a sweep through before our lunch guest arrived.

Picnic lunch had indoors due to grey skys

Mick has lots of sisters, four in fact. Today we had a visit from Kath, whom I used to work with at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Over the last 18 months we’ve seen quite a lot of each other on zoom, but not in the flesh. So it was lovely to see her again and spend several hours just chatting and being in each others company.

Having been on the boat for the last two days I decided to have a walk around the block once Kath had left us. I headed along the path under Harrow Road Bridge. The permanent moorings here have created a barrel garden stretching alongside their boats. The half barrels are filled with lots of lovely flowers, very pretty and creating a bit of a buffer zone to their boats.

I walked down into Paddington Basin. NB Billy on the outside pontoon, another boat just tying up, but still several spaces available. There is a big screen that will show Wimbledon and a cinema screen that over looks the winding hole. I wonder what films have been shown here, would it be best to sit on the roof of your boat or better to hire Goboat to watch the main feature?

Liz West‘s installation under the Westway

I worked my way round the end of the basin, waved to Billy, then carried on to walk back down under the Westway and Harrow Road. This was mainly so I could get a photo of Oleanna across the way on our Rembrandt Garden mooring.

My circular route was completed by crossing Westbourne Terrace Bridge and then Warwick Avenue Bridge bringing me back to Rembrandt Gardens. Not a long walk but enough to stretch me legs. It was now time to get baking as I had an important birthday cake to make.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 power, 8am engine, power restored, 1 cat unimpressed with the outside, 84 litres, 90p, 1st sister,1 pate, 1 salami, 1 ham, 3 cheeses, 1 absent Shropshire blue, 1 lovely afternoon, 1 queen of sheba.

The Line. 22nd June

The Grove Bridge 164 to Black Jack’s Lock 85

A chilly start but there was some sun about every now and again.

With not quite being fully into the bank it was hard for me to give the bow a big enough push off to get past the widebeam in front without leaving my legs behind! A blast of bow thruster assisted and we were soon on our way.

At the Cassiobury Park Locks we met a boat coming up them. The chap was on quite a mission aiming for Lichfield as quickly as he could. His estimates were Braunston in two or three days then another couple up to Lichfield! Not sure if he’ll be getting any sleep, slowing for moored boats or closing locks after himself to achieve those times especially as he was single handing! Good luck to him and I hope his family problems get sorted.

We took our time going down, leaving the bottom lock empty, well it half empties all by itself anyway. At Iron Bridge Lock we swapped over with an Aqua narrowboat who were pleased to see another moving boat, down here there appear to be few of us. Here the wooded sections of Cassiobury Park show signs of hefty use. By the little weir there is little if any friendly cover left the paths having been widened by many feet over the last year.

Then as we made our way past the lines of boats below the locks we could see numerous seating areas in the woods, all circled around burnt out camp fires. A nice spot to have been locked down in maybe, well until someone decides to do a touch of engine maintenance, leaving it in the middle of the towpath for everyone to wonder how long it will stay there without a vessel to call home! Lack of respect for nature.

Approaching Cassio Bridge Lock we got to see our first tube train on the bridge high above. We’re still quite a long way out but dropping down this lock does feel like we are crossing a line in towards London.

Maybe these were meant for the monkey later in the day

For some reason bananas sat on the lock beam, were they there for anyone to take? Or just sat out hoping for sunshine to ripen them from their green state?

We pulled onto the diesel point at Bridgewater Basin as we’d spied a full cage of gas bottles. Would they be full or empty though? Oleanna carries three 13kg bottles. We’d replaced one in Goole, another we knew was full but the third one had leaked somewhat after our boat safety, so we had no idea how much remained in that bottle. Since being back on board we’d used a full one and the dubious one ran out a couple of days ago. We’ve been hearing of LPG shortages around the system, it’s thought that staycations, people caravanning etc has meant there is a shortage of bottles to refill. Luckily for us the chap here said he had plenty and at £38.50 they seemed reasonable, as up ahead they were quoting over £40. Diesel here was 84p, shame it wasn’t the price painted onto the board originally 48p! We’ll hold out for Uxbridge though.

Common Moor Lock had just brought a wide beam up, the chap apologised to us for there being two widebeams breasted up towards the lock. There was plenty of width here, but as they were the last boats before the lock landing it made pulling in very awkward indeed. The outer boat brand new, the spray foam insulation visible through the windows, well you’ve got to have a nosy especially when someone is in the way!

Two narrowboats were rising slowly in the lock, two young couples taking their boats up to Tring for the week. One of their dogs really wasn’t enjoying the experience so they were hoping someone would take it off their hands so they could have a peaceful week.

Now we got chance to look and see what damage had been done below the last lock where we passed numerous moored boats, which pushed our line of travel over towards numerous branches sticking out into the canal. Mick got Oleanna just a touch too close to them and sadly this now means we have a scratched line all the way down the port side. ‘Well it’s about time someone gave her a good polish!’ I said to Mick. He knew what I was meaning, but I also know who will end up trying to do something about it!

Above Lot Mead Lock several chaps were fishing another crossed the lock gates just before we arrived. He brought out his phone and started to film us , doing close ups of the paddle gear, then long shots of Oleanna entering the lock all the time he was talking, not sure if this was as a running commentary to a friend on the other end of the phone or just to accompany the filming. He didn’t say anything to us, maybe because his first language wasn’t English, but he helped close the offside gate getting a thumbs up from Mick.

Living on a narrowboat you get used to having your photo taken, you are asked questions, you are a tourist attraction whether you like it or not and if you choose to be polite you help promote the waterways. But sometimes, just sometimes someone crosses over the line. This was one of those occasions.

Mick went to close the paddles on the offside, I was trying to take a photo of the cuddly toys all gongoozling through a window at the lock cottage. Then I heard Mick with raised voice shouting at the chap, who was stepping onto Oleanna! ‘You don’t walk on anyone’s boat!’ He stepped off and carried on filming, we’re not sure if he understood he’d pissed us off, but he had. Our boat is our home, I’m sure he wouldn’t like us turning up and walking into his hallway! This was the first time I’ve ever not said thank you to someone who helped me with a gate, even if I didn’t want their help.

Onwards to Batchworth Lock, the house here had been for sale a while ago and we wondered if any improvements had been made to it. Sadly it doesn’t seem so, dead hanging baskets curtains pinned across the windows, it all felt really quite sad. It’s not the most attractive house and left to decay it is even less so.

We worked our way down through the lock, then managed to persuade the local swans not to stay in the lock so I could close the gates. No need to stop at Tescos today so we carried on to Stokers Lock.

As we cruised the next pound we waited to see if he was still there, the monkey who’s been clinging on for years to a ruin of a building.

He was, his arm must ache so much after all this time! But at the other end of the building there was someone new. Hanging high above the cut was a bear in a superman costume, sat in a canoe, fishing for hearts. How do people get these things in such places, these bears and monkeys are way up high?

We made our way down to near to Black Jack’s Lock where there was plenty of space for us. We pulled in and let Tilly off to explore, not seeing her for quite a few hours, I think she found quite a bit to be busy with!

The afternoon turned quite frustrating as I tried to place an order for overalls. Sadly despite Amazon saying the smallest size would be delivered in 2 to 3 days they were lying! The delivery date was going to be at least a week after I needed them. I spent too much time hunting round the internet for somewhere else, but in the end I’ve opted to do more sewing and bought the next size up.

10 locks, 7.35 miles, 1st tube, 9 bananas, 50ft scratch, 1 trespasser, 3 awkward widebeams, 1 monkey, 1 superhero bear, 3 clueless crew, 4.5 hours of feline busyness, 1 tempting trolley.

https://goo.gl/maps/oSQSPRQJ37tTYe5m7

Egrets Not Regrets. 20th June

Berko Top Lock 53 to Aspley Sainsburys

A boat came past as we were finishing breakfast, no point in rushing to get ready to join them as it would take at least quarter of an hour to get ourselves sorted. So about half an hour later we pushed off, light weight rainy clothes required as the air was full of drizzle.

The bridges in Berko have had a make over, paint and statistics to brighten a grey gloomy day. As we came towards Ravens Lane Lock we were admiring the hanging baskets on the interesting house with coloured bottles in it’s windows, I’d love to see inside one day, a lady walked out onto her balcony.

I now want to know even more bout the lady who lives here

We made a comment about her hanging baskets, not in bloom yet but so many they will be spectacular when they are. The lady then asked if our boat was named after the play. Well, Oleanna is and the lady was correct, the first person ever to make the connection. There was just time to chat a little, we both agreed that Oleanna (by David Mamet) is an extreamly good play, my favourite and that it was about time it was put on in the West End. I vote for Malcolm Hebden to direct it as the production I saw in Scarborough in 1995 is most certainly the best I’ve seen.

We descended four more locks on our own, at Sewer Lock we just about caught up with the narrowboat in front of us, they had been slowed by a widebeam that was weaving across the navigation. We did catch up with them at the next lock and then shared the rest of the days locks.

Stood at Winkwell Swing Bridge was my old college friend Jen who lives in Hemel Hempstead. Two years ago she joined us for a few hours of boating, last night she’d noticed on Social Media that we were near and had volunteered to come and join us again.

Using the key of power I got the bridge moving quickly, only holding up a few cars, one of which disappeared whilst I was chatting away to Jen. Both boats came through, there was just enough time to pop Jen’s bike on Oleanna before it was our turn to work down Winkwell Bottom Lock. The widebeam thankfully had reached it’s destination at the marina below so the way ahead was clear.

We worked down the next five locks with NB Candi or is it NB CandI? Jen soon remembered what to do at the locks and we chatted away the hours until we reached the 24hr mooring by Sainsburys. Here we moored up, enough space for both boats, then had a very late lunch.

It was so lovely to see Jen and have a catch up. She’d decided to take a sabbatical from working at the National Theatre in January last year to do some scenic art tutoring amongst other things. This of course didn’t go too well and meant that when all the staff were furloughed from the theatre she missed out. So when October came along and there were shows that needed painting again Jen went back to working three days a week on the South Bank. Lockdown had been hard for her and her family, her son very much missing out on the social interaction with his friends at school.

We all had a lovely afternoon and if only she’d work for free and come and help me paint panto that would be wonderful. The thought of a weeks painting in Cornwall in a workshop with fresh Cornish Pasties being made next door nearly swung it.

By the time we said our goodbyes it was too late to do a big shop at Sainsburys. So instead we did ourselves a Click and Collect for the morning, which would only delay our departure by a little bit.

Because our mooring is right by an access road into the retail units for wagons we don’t allow Tilly out here, much to her distain. How ridiculous! Then She gets all annoyed with me for something that She hadn’t done. In fact dear readers I got shouted at! I’d been trying to tell her that my pooh box needed refreshing, but She’d been distracted all day long. So she didn’t take too kindly to my making use of the fresh litter whilst it was still in it’s bag!

14 locks, 8 shared, 5.1 miles, 1 swing bridge, 4 held up, 1st person to make the connection, 1 extra crew member, 4 hours of constant chattering, 1 hunt for eco glitter, 1 click and collect sorted, 1 protest wee, 1 hour cleaning the bathroom! 50 panto model photos, 1 email sent, 0 regrets, 1 fish, 1 obligatory photo.

https://goo.gl/maps/35UBdTc6KMdMHLQr6

Stenson, 2nd June

Sarson’s Bridge to Branston Lock 8, Trent and Mersey

Alarm was set to get us up and at it this morning. So how come we only pushed off at 9:30?! Does it really take us three hours to have breakfast?!

One boat had already passed us this morning before we set off. In an ideal world it would be good to have another boat to share the next two locks with, especially Stenson Lock which is 12ft 6″ deep. We’d see if we would find a partner.

The Tudor twin towers of Swarkestone Pavillion still grab your attention as you cruise past. In the past I’ve tried to find out a bit about it, but not been too successful, however today I’ve found out that it is a Landmark Trust property Link it belonged to Swarkestone Hall which was demolished in 1750.

On the moorings below the lock was a narrowboat, there was activity, engine keys were picked up and the ladies onboard NB Puzzle made ready to join us which was great.

Mick brought us in to the lock landing where faded signs announce, once you are already there, of a sunken boat. These signs would be much better set a touch further away from the lock as you almost have to be on top of the sunken boat to read them! We reversed back for me to hop off, by which time Emily from Puzzle was already emptying the lock.

Yesterday they had teamed up with a boat for the locks, but when Puzzle stopped to help a widebeam that kept grounding their partner boat continued onwards and obviously headed up the lock without them. Well they had a new partner now.

Emily and I worked the lock whilst Mick and Emily’s Mum (sorry didn’t catch your name) stayed at the helm. We were soon up. We wanted to fill with water, but another boat had only just set up their hose pipe, so rubbish was disposed of and we’d hope to fill later in the day.

Cricket seems to have started, how did I know this, well Mick started to play with his phone, then voices of commentators sprouted forth. After a minute Mick decided to silence his phone, not wanting to disturb our cruise. I did say he could plug himself into it, but his ear phones were in the bedroom!

Today a blue field of Linseed waved in the breeze, the occasional poppy flower boosting the blue that surrounded them. We think it was early 2016 that we last did this stretch, Tilly was a new boat cat heading to Tamworth for her first vaccinations. Back then the fields were filled with swans, who then escorted us along the cut.

At Ragley Boat Stop signs on the electric post say they are now charging £10 a night. This will be reimbursed when purchasing food and drink in the bar. It sounds like they’ve had boats staying for free and using the hook up.

Trying to clear gravel from below the gates

A widebeam sat at the end of the lock landing for Stenson Lock, the owners hanging onto their ropes. A couple of boats having just come down. We could see the stern of a boat just entering the lock, was it a narrowboat requiring a partner? Well it turned out to be a work boat, two chaps from C&RT clearing growth off the gates and doing their best to dig gravel out from under the gates so that they would close better.

Pulling onto the lock landing I walked up to see how long the chaps would be. Ten minutes or an early lunch? An early lunch was the reply. I walked down and relayed the information to the widebeam and NB Puzzle. Spikes were hammered in.

Of course because we were all prepared for a wait the problem was fixed quickly and within ten minutes the work boat was backing out and the widebeam taking it’s place in the lock. Two boats then came down before it was our turn.

Going up Stenson Lock, it’s big for round here

One of the C&RT chaps was very chatty, happy to help with the big heavy gates, then he left us to it

Stenson Lock is contrary. Normally in a broadlock you would first open the ground paddle on the same side as your boat. The water enters the lock, hits the wall opposite and then returns to hold your boat against the wall. But here should you do that your boat will career across the lock. As Puzzle was shorter than us Emily and I opened the paddle opposite Oleanna to hold her there before opening up the other paddle. Then as the level rose to the cill line we carefully opened the gate paddles.

A lady waiting to come down the lock chatted, this would be the first time she’d used ground paddles. Yes they were going down, but would be coming back up later in the day. She and her husband have been liveaboards for three weeks and so far have been enjoying it. After telling her of our latest adventure she decided they would leave tidal waters for a few more weeks.

Strange shaped arch, would a horse have fitted under it on the towpath?

Up the two boats came, we were on our way again. NB Puzzle stopped in Willington to meet a friend and we paused at the surprisingly empty water point to fill the tank. The pressure of the tap was good, this was a touch disappointing as we’d hoped to be able to have lunch whilst filling as our destination was still a distance ahead.

Over the River Dove Aqueduct where we once got absolutely soaked as a thunder storm suddenly hit. We passed a boat with a rather effective paint job, created by holding fronds of fir tree against the cabin and spraying over it with different colours.

According to our route plan we should be stopping today at bridge 32, near to Horninglow Basin. Our plan was to continue onwards to Branston Water Park.

Soon Dallow Lane Lock arrived, our first narrow lock this year. A quick check back to last year and it turns out we are just a week short of eleven months since we’ve been in a narrow lock. I can’t remember a gap so long, maybe it was before we bought a share in NB Winding Down.

Small gates, easy to lift paddles all helped by an oncoming boat who’s crew came to help. There was a space at Shobnall Fields, but we decided to continue, a few more miles would serve us better.

I got myself ready for a touch of pruning. Five years ago a large rosemary bush grew at Shobnall Road Bridge, I fancied a sprig to go with our roast chicken this evening. Things change over time and sadly the huge bush has been replaced with terracing filled with bark. Oh well!

Diesel 69p, maybe we could have waited to top up the tank , but we were glad we’d had peace of mind after the Trent.

New buildings have popped up, several large warehouses all with blue smiling trucks parked outside. Another part of the Amazon empire.

Today seemed to have been longer than it should have been. Our average cruise time should be just under 4 hours, yes we’d pushed on further today and had a wait at Stenson Lock, but not too long. By the time we pulled up just short of Branston Lock we’d been on the go for 7 hours. Canalplan suggests this should have been 4 hours 47 minutes. Waterway Routes has half hour markers on the maps, here Paul has our journey at just under 5 hours 30 minutes. Interesting, are there more moored boats to slow down past, did we really loose an hour and a half?

We stopped just short of Branston Lock, whilst Tilly was out I could cook our dinner, roast chicken. Not something I’d normally choose to cook on a hot day, but with all the doors open it wasn’t too bad. I even decided to spatchcock the chicken to reduce the time the oven had to be on. It turned out very well and cooked in half an hour less than suggested for a normal bird.

During the afternoon (14:50) a notice had come in from C&RT, we’d first seen mention of it on social media.

Due to a boat sinking in Stenson Lock, the Lock is currently out of action to other users. Canal River Rescue is being called out as a point of urgency to assist the boat out of the lock.

I had a hunt through my photos for one of the new liveaboards boat, they had a trad stern, the sunk boat a cruiser stern. It appears the boat had been coming up the lock and somehow had got caught, water quickly overwhelming it. It looked like a fairly new boat. Old or new it is still someone’s pride and joy now filled with water. We hope the crew are all safe and that the boat can be raised soon.

3 locks, 2 broad, 1 narrow, 11 months, 13.32 miles, 26.11 volts, 1 full water tank, 1 partner, 0 rosemary, 1 flattened chicken, 1 rainy evening, 2 hours.

https://goo.gl/maps/dLk8WtHWysdUuyJe7

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna