Those mushrooms in the fridge needed eating up, so I had to make some mushrooms on toast ala Pip this morning, sorry Mick!
Emails back and forth to the printers. Update from me to Production Manager and Director. A new coach drawing done. Sideways trees checked over a few more times.
Go away, I’m recharging my solar!
Mick still in Scarborough was being kept busy too. A chap had come to measure up for wooden double glazed windows to replace the single glazing. Numerous questions were phoned through to me. If we had one type of stop on the highest window in the house we’d loose the squiggly bit, we like our squiggly bits so a key option was okayed. A cottage style was rejected, but brass furniture approved, all whilst I was drawing up the coach.
On his way to the station Mick popped into Clockhandyman and purchased a switch to add to our Nebolink set up. Then he caught three trains back to Rugby.
Time for a detour
A Google for copy shops came up with The Printing Works, time to get my updated plans scanned and copied. The usual walk across the park towards the station was closed due to an emergency closure on the bridge across the Avon, just a short detour required to get back on track. The very helpful chap took his time, concerned about the grey background on the scans. I checked them over, not a problem you could see all the information required, they wouldn’t be for display.
As he scanned and printed we chatted about what I did, he got a sneaky peek at a photo of my model. He very kindly let me borrow a Pantone swatch book so that I could identify the shades of blue I’d used on my portals. This is so the printers can add in a coloured border that will wrap around our scenery instead of it being white. I promised to email a photo when the show was up and running so he could see how it all came out.
Pantone charted
New sets of plans were popped in the post as I walked back to the boat. Then it was time to make the new bits for the model. A simpler coach, two bits of handrail and a dustbin. MIck was back shortly before I’d finished. Over the next few days I’ll have to dig my paint box back out from under the dinette to paint them, but hopefully the majority of everything is now done. Time to get back to boating life.
0 locks, 0 miles, 3 trains, 4 window phone calls, maybe it should have been me that went to Scarborough, 15 scans, 12 copies, 2 envelopes posted, 2 hand rails, 1 dustbin, 1 coach, 2 plates of pork fried rice, 1 switch.
More and more boats came past including the little green tug we’d encountered yesterday, maybe they’d been for water at Braunston last night. Eventually we found a gap in the traffic and pulled out continuing our journey towards Braunston.
Not a bad view from bed this morning
Below I busied myself cleaning Tilly’s pooh box and trying to encourage her back into the bedroom. If I was stood in the well deck she’d brave crossing the bedroom to peek out of the front window, but otherwise the bedroom was still a place to be very very wary of. There’s a monster in there I tell you!!!
Turn
The bangers spire came into view followed by Braunston Turn. Over the junction we could make out that there was a boat moored at Midland Chandlers, but when the water point came into view and that was free we made ready to moor up. Whilst I dealt with the water and rubbish Mick headed into the chandlers to see what they had in the way of switches. Sadly nothing that we could use. The Nebolink can wait a few more days until we find a switch more suitable.
Reading as we go
Onwards now north. I brought the new panto script out the back and as we pootled along the North Oxford Canal I read it through. A pencil should I need to make notes for set things and a blue highlighter pen to underline props as I went. Only one set thing I noted, I need to rehang a door to open the other way. Lots of blue for props and quite a few new chuckles.
This pound is always busy. Today boats seemed to come in threes towards us, just where were they all coming from? We’re normally on a canal or river away from the crowds at this time of year, so it maybe feels that bit more busy to us. We pootled onwards past the nice moorings north of Braunston, these all seemed to be busy.
Barby Straight we only encountered a couple of boats, but the last one must have been really deep draughted as we ended up being on the bottom at quite a tilt. Inside I could hear drawers opening, items falling, Tilly balls all rolling to the port side. The MONSTER’s back!!!! Just when I thought she was getting over the printer!
Lots going on here
Lots of work seems to have taken place near Hillmorton. New sheds with boats under cover being worked on. A little boat was out on the hard with the chalk marks of hull thickness, hopefully the results good for a prospective new owner.
Still pesky those bananas
We pulled into a space above the locks for lunch. During the morning reading the script I’d grown to like panto again, during lunch the emails started again and my top lip started to curl up. A quick response to one of them, the others could wait till we’d moored up for the day.
Time to drop down the three Hillmorton Locks. Time to find a gap in the passing boats! Maybe we shouldn’t have stopped for lunch, all of a sudden we were surrounded with boats wanting to descend the majority hire boats heading back to base. We trod water alongside a moored boat, the boat ahead got caught out by the flow coming from the weir. He decided to stay put on the off side and let us have the next available chamber on the towpath side.
Rush hour at the locks
So many crew at each lock. Some knew what they were doing, others didn’t and I winced at some of the practices. One boat insisted on lifting paddles halfway to empty the lock and then they were going to close the gates despite a boat heading uphill towards them.
Now we were meeting the next set of hirers coming out from the Rugby bases. It was noisy and chaotic to say the least. One boat had young crew sat in the well deck urging Grandad to open the gate ‘It must be ready now!’ as Dad chatted to me at the stern, narrowboating a favorite pass time for his family, costs him a fortune, grandad’s first time, want a boat of their own but wouldn’t know what to do if it broke down, couldn’t afford it anyway. I suggested they should look into a share boat, it works out cheaper than hiring every holiday. Eventually he moved the morse control and headed off to the next lock, his daughter having almost exploded in the welldeck at her Dad not getting a move on!
Into the bottom lock
The last lock down to the Rugby pound seemed quieter, a volunteer helped with the bottom gates and as we left she indicated to the following boat which of the paired locks they should aim for. All could be peaceful again. Time for the final scene of panto.
There was space on the armco closest to Rugby Station. We pulled in, then quite quickly moved along a boats length as we’d disturbed a wasps nest. Tilly was given two hours shore leave, preferring to use the stern and hatch avoiding the bow and the bedroom!
Panto emails kept me busy for much of the remainder of the day. A new print company wanting to charge £200 for a sample?! I’m sure their printing is very good, but we’re possibly looking at two companies doing different elements that all have to look the same, I want reassurance that I won’t end up with a right mishmash of colours. The carpenters were updated with my thoughts, new drawings needed.
Roast Pork, yum
A joint of pork came out of the fridge and an hour later went in the oven. A Friday night roast would help warm the boat up for the evening. As I started to collate a props list together Mick prepared the vegetables. A very tasty meal indeed and Act 1 props all listed. I even ended up with Tilly sat on my knee the bedroom starting to loose it’s scareyness.
3 locks, 10.3 miles, 0 journey on Nebolink, 1 left, 0 switch, 1 monster in THAT bag! 4 balls, 1 temperature gauge, 1 miss timed lunch break, 1 clean pooh box, 6 hire boats all at once, 1 spliff and a can of larger, 2 hours, 1 wasps nest, 5m not 3m, 1 long list of things to do, Act1 props done, 1 heel turned.
With breakfast out of the way Mick headed to meet our Sainsburys delivery. The chap had followed his sat nav and was in a residential cul-de-sac that I’d never heard of. A quick look at a map and phone call later he knew where to head and could be seen arriving through the hedge. Mick transported everything back to the boat on a trolley. As I stowed everything he topped up the water tank, time for us to head onwards.
Every lock out from Banbury we would meet a boat coming downhill today, no need to reset the levels and always someone around to help close the bottom gates.
Looking that bit tidier than a month ago
The house at Bourton Lock has had a touch of TLC in the last month. The shutters have a fresh coat of paint and the scrawled graffitti has vanished. I wonder if one day anyone will live there again.
As we passed crews they all exclaimed at how busy it was in Cropredy, boats breasted up and only a gnats hair to get through in places! There was certainly plenty of traffic, three boats awaiting their turn above Slat Mill Lock, our arrival perfectly timed.
Now the towpath was filled with boats, only a few spaces left. Rounding the bend by the cow field a boat coming towards us went aground on the silt, it’s alway deceptive that bend. As we got closer we realised who it was, Paul the boat mover again. He’d been trying to take a photo of us and found the bottom a bit too quickly. See you somewhere, sometime no doubt Paul.
Slow going, no let up on moored boats. It’s still about ten days before Cropredy Festival, hopefully everyone who wants a mooring has arrived. NB Watt Way was tucked in amongst the boats, we’d been on the Great Ouse with her last year. NB Derwent 6 with Del and Al were chatting away to a walker. By the services trading boats had taken root, add to this kids eager to go canoeing and an off side mooring it made for a touch of squeezing past. Busy busy!
Twitchers
The lock cottage by Cropredy Lock had a big banner pinned to it, Rock at the Lock and the lock gates had posters for various events this coming weekend, both shows from Mikron will be here, sadly we won’t be, we’re just that bit too far ahead of Mikrons tour this year. We did wonder where Tyseley would be moored, hope someone gives them an off side mooring.
Once past the marina the moored boats thinned out, but we still met plenty of downhill boats, most heading onwards to Banbury today. We looked back, all the moorings taken in Cropredy, the 24hr moorings (we speculated) would have the same boats on them for the next ten days.
We rounded the bend below Claydon Locks and pulled in for some lunch, blimey that had taken what felt like forever to get this far. Tilly’s excitement and near dash for the front door was thwarted, we needed to move some more today, the sideways trees would still be there next time.
Photo for Adam
Only one down hill boat on the Claydon flight NB Debdale just dropping down the bottom lock. Pounds were low between most locks the levels a good foot down. Instead of walking on ahead leaving Mick to close up behind, I stayed incase he grounded, but thankfully the levels weren’t that low.
Claydon Top Lock
Up the last lock onto the summit pound we pulled in at the far end of the visitor moorings, plenty of space here. Tilly was given a couple of hours to explore and she made the most of her time. Mick looked at details of how to install our Nebo link.
Gluten free Toad in the Hole, click photo for recipe
As today is Yorkshire Day our evening meal had to contain some Yorkshire Pudding, so I made up a Toad in the Hole. The sausages took quite a while to brown off, but the gluten free batter rose wonderfully. Happy Yorkshire Day.
12 locks, 7.2 miles, 2 many boats everywhere, 1 reader, 24hrs my foot! 2.5 hours, 1 summit reached, 1 skein of yarn not wound that’ll be rectified tomorrow, 1 big tray of Yorkshire Pud.
Waking in the back bedroom is a strange thing, the bed is quite bedoingee which we’re not used to and being aware of people moving around the house, but not sure where. We opted to get up for our morning cuppa and be sociable. Coco the woofer was happy to see us, they’d just come back from a walk in the park. Soon we were joined by Herbs two girls aged six and nine, we all chatted whilst they had their rice crispies and Olivia and Herb finished packing things up.
I think we need someone to tame our garden
The two girls said hello on the Geraghty zoom before being ushered to pack their bags and get ready to leave. Today they’d be going to Diagon Alley (The Shambles in York), their Dad Herb say’s he’s Harry Potter, but they don’t believe him. We waved goodbye and then set about sorting our breakfast.
I did another hour of pulling things up in the front garden, trimming bushes and hacking back ivy and rose bushes that had bolted for the sky. Mick tidied the dead bluebells making sure any seeds were scattered for next year, we like our bluebells.
Capplemans the only chippy in Scarborough
Bedding washing, ironing, cleaning, bed making, shower cleaning kept us busy right through the day until it was time for Mick to head off and pick up our order of fish and chips. Very crispy batter today, yummo! We made a mental list of jobs still to be done then blobbed in front of the TV before heading to bed early.
Wonky!
Sunday. Was that curtain pole like that before? Surely when we put the curtains back up after I’d decorated the back bedroom we’d have noticed the pole on a wonk? Maybe someone had tugged the curtains a touch too much and the screws holding the pole up had given up. Things happen. We’d rather know about them than not, then we can do something about it, if we’d not slept in that room then the next time the curtains were drawn they may have come down. Mick tried to fix them, but in the end we deemed it a longer job than we had time for so we removed the curtains for safety (there is a blackout blind), afterall a two year old would be sleeping in that room tonight!
All clean and ready for Zoe and family
Windows got a once over, the big shower a full clean, it still has an annoying leak! The postman delivered an important parcel. We packed away our things into the car. Oven, fridge cleaned, sandwiches made for the journey back.
It lives!
One last thing to check, our Christmas tree that hadn’t been doing to well when we’d left it back in May. With all the rain and having been repotted with some of our home made compost it was green again and sprouting! Brilliant!!
A message was sent to Zoe our next lodger and we were off to join the queue of traffic trying to leave Scarborough. Would we make it back in time to drop the car back off before Enterprise closed? The back route over the Wolds was busy with farmers harvesting. Rain as we passed Goole, the M1 closed near London so tailbacks of traffic as people exited to avoid it. We played chicken and hoped that carrying on to the Crick turn off would work, thankfully it did.
The car was unpacked and returned well within the time frame, Mick picking up various bits and bobs on his walk back.
Tilly was very happy to see us, the pigeons and wagtails had kept her occupied, but we were far better than the birds. Look see they left me with only a few biscuits! There were the just in case biscuits left in her bowl, the magic food bowl licked clean.
Whilst at the house there had been post to open. I got a certificate from Dementia Uk for my fundraising. I also got a parcel of yummy yarn from one of the dyers who’d donated yarn to my Sockathon. This was from her monthly yarn club based on literature, Mars. I’d also bought myself a skein of her brightest multicoloured yarn. The later will soon be being knitted up into a pair of socks for me, it’s about time I had some new socks.
The other exciting post had to be signed for and fortunately it had arrived swiftly. Mick had decided to upgrade our Nebo logging and has purchased a Nebolink. This will automatically record our journeys once installed. More about this when he gets round to wiring it in.
Nebolink
After two days of cleaning, bed changing etc we deserved a glass of wine this evening, we sat down and watched the 1935 Hitchcock version of The 39 Steps on Youtube. This is the version that the play we’d seen on Saturday was based on. So much of it was the same, only slight alterations and the direction made the stage play so funny compared to the serious side of 1935.
0 locks, 0 miles,1 car back in time, 1 full house, 1 spotless house, 1 family to another,2 of each, £868.13, 220 grams yarn, 2 empty bowls, 16 biscuits left, 1 big cuddle from Tilly, 1 last wash load.
Our mooring here in Banbury meant that picking up a hire car from Enterprise was a lot easier than it would have been from Cropredy. Hiring a car from Friday instead of Saturday morning was also a lot cheaper for the weekend. So this morning we packed up things we’d need for a couple of nights away, filled up Tilly’s biscuit bowl and got the magic food bowl out. Tilly would be left in charge, Mick’s Christmas present of a webcam focused on her food so we could check it opened on time.
24 hours apart!
It was grey in Banbury when we left, as we worked our way up and across the country it brightened up. By the time we reached Scarborough it was positively sunny and only t-shirts were required. Back at the house we unloaded our things, working out which room we’d be sleeping in for the night as Olivia our lodger for the last few weeks had family staying.
To the NORTH
The garden had had a field day. The wildflower bed was certainly past its best, some very droopy Oxeye Daisies and one stem with teasels stood out from the masses of grass. I spent an hour pulling out long grasses and Mick added our deposits into the compost bin. Then it was time to put on smarter clothes for us to head to the theatre for the evening.
A beer each
Eat Me had a beer and burger deal on if you had a ticket for that days show. The beers didn’t include the gluten free one that they do but the person who served us said it wouldn’t be a problem. We ordered our burgers which we knew would be the best we’ve had for quite sometime. Our bill turned out to have a third off because of the deal, well worth it.
A burger each
The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow was guaranteed to be very silly. Four actors play all the parts, at times costumes are abandoned on stage for an actor to run elsewhere to play another part. Wigs, references to Hitchcock films, physical comedy including a chase on the Flying Scotsman, an escape at height on the Forth Bridge, quick changes, certainly kept us on our toes. Olivia Onyehara (our lodger) played all the romantic ladies, Dave Hearn played Richard Hannay and then Niall Ransome and Lucy Keirl played everyone else, I have no idea how many parts. One character made Mick and myself turn to look at each other. In a big huus (said with a Scottish accent) Hannay is confronted by a black gloved man holding a smoking cigarette in a long holder, Professor Jordan. This man, a German Spy with the top of his little finger missing! Thankfully Mick didn’t need convincing that I wasn’t a German spy.
If you happen to be in Keswick in the next month get yourself a ticket.
Dodgy perspective atThe Trafalgar
A drink with our friends Steve and Frank after the show kept us out late, on returning to the house Olivia and her partner Herb were still up. It was really nice to have chance to meet Olivia and congratulate her on her performance.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 car, 2 buckets, 2 pouches of food, 1 Tilly in charge, 1 hour weeding, 2 burgers, 2 beers, 2 hours 40 minutes of silliness, 2 mates, forgot to ask you Frank, how are your beans doing?
A hire boat beat us setting off this morning, we followed them in towards Banbury. They passed the winding hole before Tramway, then another hire boat shot across the cut aiming to wind and go into orbit all in one go. We stopped and wait for them to turn. Their positioning hadn’t been right, so they ended up missing the hole. Several more attempts were made each one ending up with the same outcome, a barge pole stuck out the front. They let us pass and we suggested backing up further and trying again. As we passed under Tramway Bridge they were still facing the wrong direction.
Banbury Lock ahead
At Banbury Lock the hire boat ahead was rising in the lock. The chap at the helm asked how far they had to go before they could wind. I checked my Waterway Routes map, about ten minutes a short distance after the footbridge they’d be able to turn just before Hennef Way.
A hire boat was on the water point above the lock, using his hose to wash the boat. He pulled forward as we came out of the lock. As I walked up to the lift bridge I could see it being wound up. A chap who’d been walking past with his shopping had stopped to do the honours. Once it was back down I noticed him slotting a windlass back through the gates at Tooleys Boatyard. Thank you.
Thank you
Blimey Banbury was busy, glad we stopped short yesterday. We were wanting to stop for a couple of bits at Lidl, but there was not one space spare. Oh well we’d make do for lunch today.
In stark contrast Sovereign Wharf was almost empty, maybe everyone had headed to Cropredy to grab a mooring in advance of the Festival. We pootled onwards. Hang on, maybe they’d have room for us. We’d been planning on pulling into Cropredy Marina, but being in Banbury would be far easier. Mick put Oleanna into reverse, it being a Friday the Wharf office was open. A lady popped her head out, we enquired if they had room. She headed off to check with the owner and returned pointing us to a mooring behind us.
Where have they all gone?
Oleanna really wasn’t keen on pulling into the off side, she’s used to mooring on the Spiceball Park side, but she relented in the end. We tied up and headed to the office to check in. Half the price it would have been at Cropredy including electric and an easy walk back to Lidl. It was only 10:30 too, brilliant!
It may look different but it’s still Bumbury!
Lidl provided us with frankfurters. A few years ago we went through a phase of having them for lunch, we’ve avoided them suspecting them to contain gluten. Today we checked the ingredients, today we’d have frankfurter sarnies for lunch!
Yum!
The washing machine has been busy again, we’d been running low on pants and socks. I sent off an email for a revised panto quote for printing, called Tim the puppet man again who seemed very keen to help us out on panto, then I collated my paint requirements and emailed them to Gemma. Several jobs crossed off the list.
Mick has had a phone call from Ricky at Finesse today regarding our failed battery. They haven’t dealt with the company our batteries came from since Oleanna. Mick talked through the checks he’s done and Ricky agreed, we have a dead battery. The warranty is as Mick had sussed, not really worth persuing as we’d only be offered 10% off another battery from the same company!
1 lock, 2 miles, 3 lift bridges, 2 open, 1 lifted for us, 10 frankfurters, 1 bored cat, 3 loads washing, 1 tumble dried, 2 boaters with clean smalls, so many passing boats.
Boats were already on the move, mostly hire boats. We pushed out, waving to Graeme. I walked up to the bridge to do the honours with the key of power. All clear I lifted the decking and Mick brought Oleanna through, a short distance behind was another boat, so I waited to let them through too, this took quite a while, the chap offering to close the bridge so that I could get back on Oleanna. I declined as it would be quicker for him to just get out of the way, there was waiting traffic!
The services were filled with hire boats topping up with water and selecting books from the book exchange. The boat that had just come through the bridge had got himself stuck between Oleanna and the corner, I gave their bow a big push and they were off again, very slowly in front of us. We don’t have a problem with tick over past moored boats but when their speed didn’t increase when we’d passed everyone today suddenly felt like it would be a very very long day!
One bridge, too many boats
We trundled along behind, maybe the lift bridge would be down and they’d let us pass. No. This is another lift bridge that looks like a hydraulic mechanism is on the cards. They passed through the bridge but didn’t warn a boat that we were directly behind them, the bridge obscuring us from the chaps view until the last minute. We made sure he knew the way ahead was now clear. Then the boat aheads dog took a dive into the canal, it had tried to follow it’s owner down the gunnel then couldn’t turn round.
At Shipton Weir Lock I walked up to help as the couple sorted their dog out. The lady and dog were first timers, the chap used to have a boat twenty years ago. Mick asked if it was possible for us to leapfrog them as we’d quite a distance to travel today, thankfully they were fine about it. As we rose in the lock a queue formed below. The chap from the boat we’d been following insisted on crossing the bottom gate, which doesn’t have a walkway for the simple reason that there is a very good bridge over it! I was glad to be ahead of them as today I was likely to get annoyed with such things and shout at the man.
Bakers Lock was occupied with a hire boat, a family of four. I asked the usual question, ‘Is it your first narrowboat holiday?’ The answer was polite but honest, ‘Yes and it will be our last’. The kids weren’t sleeping, at the locks there were things to do, but they were hard work etc. Boating simply wasn’t for them, it doesn’t suit everyone.
Lesser spotted strimmer
Above the lock the towpath was being strimmed. The moored boats getting a spraying of cut grass. One of the chaps did walk back with a leaf blower to give them a clean.
The hire boat was returning to base a couple of days early. At each lock we’d catch them up, have a chat and help them. By their last lock, Dashwoods, we were on first name terms and I knew that the youngest had started to learn French, yesterday.
At Pigeon’s Lock there was a queue, we had to tread water as the lock landing was occupied, a boat was coming down. Soon there was space and we moved up. The next boat into the lock took their time. From below I could see that there was a problem with the bottom gate, water gushing around it. I walked up and suggested that a couple of people might be needed on the top gate to open it before the pound above lost all it’s water that was flowing straight through the lock.
I so love Rosie
Next up was the hire boat and there was chance to see what the problem was at the bottom gate. Where the bottom gate meets the stone stop ( not sure of the technical terms) there is usually a large timber which helps to create a reasonable seal. The top couple of feet of this timber had rotted away, leaving a big bolt holding only air and allowing the water in the lock to rush around the end of the gate. Was there a notice about this a little while ago?
Hope you found something more appealing to do for the rest of your holiday.
Lunch was had on the move after Dashwoods Lock. The hire boat had pulled in at the water point just before the bridge at Heyford, no-one was to be seen. We waved anyway as I’d promised the girls. Hope they found a nice hotel for their last couple of nights and that they got to go swimming.
A long pause before I could raise Mill Lift Bridge, so many walkers! Just as we were through another boat approached, Mick waved them on, so I waited before lowering the bridge, confusing a dog walker who wondered why I was just by the buttons and wasn’t closing it.
ALAN!‘s Lock gave me the chance to take a photo of the paddle gear and the break that I’d mentioned a few weeks ago, similar to that at Hillmorton.
At Heyford Common Lock there was a hire boat full of cousins and teddy bears. Mums and Aunties shouting to the young crew to keep their arms in as they descended the lock. They’d had a great few days and the weather had been good too. They were heading back towards base and not worried about the rain this evening as they’d be tucked up. I however jinxed this by mentioning that rain was forecast for 4pm. By the time we’d risen up the lock it was 3:50pm and drops of rain hit the cut. Waterproofs time.
Would we be lucky, would Somerton Meadows have space for us. Rounding the last bend we could see our usual spot was available, in fact there was only one boat along the first stretch. We pulled in as another boat pulled in from the opposite direction. Tilly was given todays time frame and off she went into the sideways trees, she likes it here.
See you Joan
Too late to start some work I looked into what I could make with the spring roll wrappers and left over roast chicken. There were various other things that needed eating up, beetroot and some Jersey Royals, these were set steaming whilst I chopped up a carrot that had seen better days and some white cabbage. Garlic and fresh ginger. Roast chicken was soaked in soy sauce, maple syrup and a bit of lemon juice. This was all cooked up a touch then it was time to see what to do with the spring roll wrappers.
Each wrapper required soaking in hot water for about 20 seconds to soften it up, then blotted dry. I soon discovered that I needed to work quickly as they stuck to things if I took my time. Filling in and wrapped up, the ricey wrapper sticking itself together nicely. I now had a choice, steam them or fry them. I don’t deep fry anything, but decided to shallow fry them to see how crispy they got and hoping they’d stop looking like condoms!
Well the outcome was some very nice chicken rolls, golden brown and hot. The accompanying potato salad and beetroot strange bedfellows, well that’s what you get with a fridge fusion tea.
7 locks, 11 miles, 2 lift bridges, 2 boats, 2 cars, 5 humans, 2 dogs, 1 holiday cut short, 20 years and no sense, 4pm rain, 1 big teddy crew, 1 red moggy, 2 hours of cat shore leave, 1 interesting meal.
A cuppa in bed was allowed before we walked up to the deli. The cabinet by the front door is filled with wonderful looking pastries and Persian dishes. Sadly none of the yummy looking things would agree with me, so I just dreamt of filo pastry filled with cheese spinach and spices. We looked around the rest of the shop which does sell gluten free produce, however the mark up is really quite something, £6 for a box of cereal! Yesterday Mick had come for a look and spotted some spring roll wraps which were made from tapioca and rice flour. He considered buying me a pack but wasn’t sure about them. I decided I’d see what they were like, knowing they’d not be like tortilla wraps. The dishes in the freezer also looked appealing, but we’ve enough food on board right now without adding to it. We made our polite purchase and headed back to Oleanna.
I’ve missed seeing this boat
A pootle got us to the services, we trod water and waited to pull in then emptied the yellow water and topped up on fresh water. Tilly got a clean pooh box which she was desperate for! Then we carried on past the line of interesting boats on the Agenda 21 moorings to Wolvercote Lock. Here a single hander was just finishing going up, I closed up after him and set the lock ready for us.
I unlocked Perry’s Lift Bridge remembering that it so wants to lift itself, so I quickly walked across it letting it do it’s thing behind me. I then sat on the beam. There was a chap a short distance along the track mixing something on the floor. He walked up and sat on the other beam opposite me. He made some remark about Huel drinks, that was what he’d just been mixing. He then waved to Mick saying he was just helping. With Oleanna safely through the bridge I stood up, the chap didn’t. I asked him to stand so that I could cross the bridge, he stayed seated. His comment was something to do with the bridge being dangerous and he was waiting for me to walk back over it before he stood up!? Well it took some persuasion, but eventually he stood up. The bridge stayed put. ‘Isn’t your husband coming to help you?’ I replied that he wasn’t needed as I bent down to encourage the beam to lift and close the bridge sufficiently for me to add my weight to it for it to then be locked closed again. It was all a touch odd, the chap continued talking to me as I walked away, but I needed to catch up with the boat so politely made my way.
Picnic anyone
Wolvercote Lift Bridge is still not there. Pipes coming up from a newish concrete base suggest it may end up having a hydraulic mechanism fitted. But for now the bridge deck sits under the A34 with a picnic bench sat on top of it.
I walked on to Wolvercote Junction. Here the single hander was waiting his turn, a boat was trying to get itself off the bottom and another boat sat in Duke’s Cut Lock waiting for the water to empty. Mick pulled in behind the single hander and I helped him up. There was time for chats about where we were both heading. He’s gradually aiming for the Macclesfield to spend the winter up there. We’d really enjoyed our 2016 winter on the summit pound.
Wanting to stop for lunch we were out of luck for a mooring below Kidlington Green Lock so carried on up it. I did a double take as I walked up. The yellow bag that had been over the off side bottom paddle had been removed, now back in working order. But the beam had been sawn off and replaced with one of C&RT’s improvised beams, big chunks of timber bolted together. This hadn’t been like this three weeks ago. Had there been notices about it whilst we’d been on the Thames? I had a vague memory of one.
Frankie and Ghost, Shadow was elsewhere
Up we rose and looked for a mooring. There was a gap ahead in front of three boats, one of which had it’s back doors open. As we approached slowly I called out ‘Hello!’ Out of the side hatch came the slightly puzzled face of Frankie, the puzzlement soon turned into a big Italian smile. There was time for us to have a good chat and catch up, Ghost came out to check on us, you could tell she was doing calculations to hop across to join us. I’m so glad we got to meet up this time.
Lunch was had and just as we were about to push off again a blue boat was pulling alongside us. Our turn to pop our heads out to see who it was. Graeme on NB Misty Blue. He pulled alongside and we had a bit of a chat, but boats appeared from both directions cutting our time short. We’d planned on heading through Thrupp today, but now if there was space we’d stop and meet Graeme for a pint.
There was also a rendez vous planned with NB Dusty the South Oxford coal boat. Recently Jock and Katy have sold up and the new chap onboard is Bob working Dusty for Juels Fuels. It was guaranteed that we’d meet him mid channel. The boats were tied together and drifted a touch as we filled up with diesel. Bob used to have a boat on the South Oxford about ten years ago, this was his first run down to Oxford since he’d taken over Dusty, he was surprised that he still knew quite a few people. 87 litres at £1.03. Thank you Bob.
We were surprised when we arrived at the two day moorings that there was still a space for us at 4:30pm. The three boats that had been ahead of us were all lined up one after the other in order of arrival. I needed to do some work before heading to the pub, so knuckled down.
Mick, Pip and Graeme after a few drinks
We had a very pleasant evening with Graeme at The Boat. Exchanging our cruising tales from the last couple of years and where we planned on heading next. He’d recently been on the St Pancras Cruising Club cruise to the Thames Barrier and then back upstream to Teddington. So very glad we bumped into him again and had chance for a proper catch up. The man just doesn’t stop smiling!
Food envy!
4 locks, 5.7 miles, 4 lift bridges, 1 left open, 1 a picnic bench, 1 with a weirdo, 87 litres, 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 1 clean litter box, 2 smiling boaters met, 1 coloured storyboard, 3 glasses wine, 1 mediocre burger, 1 mediocre gammon, 1 very yummy looking liver and bacon.
With model box and drawings wrapped up against possible rain I set off to catch the bus to Chippy. From our mooring the walk was a far shorter one than if we’d been moored in Jericho. However the large puddles of water on the roads edge gave slight concern when buses passed by! Dry refuge had to be sought. Time ticked by, then more time. I’d arrived in plenty of time and with only one bus an hour I started to get very twitchy as even the Stagecoach app was jumping past the bus I was waiting for! Thankfully buses are colour coded in Oxford so when three came along together I knew the last one, gold, was my bus.
Oxford roads are totally messed up at the moment, road works here there and everywhere so it seems, but the bus made it through to Chippy only twenty minutes late, thankfully I’d aimed for a bus an hour early for my meeting, so I wasn’t late.
People! Louisa, Paul, Gemma, John, Liza and Sophie at the front
How nice it was to be back in a room full of people doing a model showing, only one joining via zoom today. We had the Lighting and Sound designers along with Sophie the costume designer, just Jo the props maker was missing today.
Sophie showed us her costume designs, I’d had a sneaky peek at them a couple of weeks ago to see what colours she was thinking of using, so our designs matched quite well.
Then it was my turn to show the model. Thankfully I didn’t get the model shakes which normally happens when showing a model to a full room. A couple of minor adjustments and additions were asked for by John the Director. All went well.
Trying to cut costs piece by piece
After this Gemma the Production Manager and myself sat down to see if there was anywhere we could try to save some money. Sadly my design has come in over budget, some tweaking and pinching of money from other places is possible, inflation and a few extra requests really hasn’t helped. Each set piece was looked at individually, the build discussed. I’d already amended drawings to include alterations to make the build easier. On the main set build we could only find a couple of things to reduce the cost, my painting would have to make up for this as extra details in the build may have to be cut.
How the rainforest portals would be put together was also talked about. Having the design printed onto canvas would be the best option as it would then match two cloths with the same look. Some work by me is required to get it printed in sections with overlaps to achieve the best outcome. Mike Todd asked about this process in a comment the other day. Basically my model designs are scanned at a very high resolution, then they can be printed onto various types of surfaces depending on what you want them to do. This is just like a very VERY big photocopy. Gauzes can be printed so that you can do transformation scenes, a scene in front of the gauze bleeds through to what is happening behind it. A front cloth which needs to be soft, far softer than could be painted by hand, this we’ve used a lot at Chippy. Scenic canvas for applying to set pieces, saving a Scenic Artist lots of work (in this case meaning I’d not have to work my socks off for an extra week). Designs can also be printed onto vinyl or mdf flooring.
Chair and notes
To do any of these your original artwork has to be as good as it can be, any mistakes will end up being 25 times bigger, the odd pencil line not erased will show up as a 1cm line. A jittery line will still be jittery, just bigger. In some cases painting by hand is more fluid, curves are so much easier to paint at 1 to 1 with a paint brush on a long stick. The mice and cats I had on the portals last year would have been enlarged from my model as blobby things, rather than the neat animal shapes I painted with the assistance of stencils. So printing has it’s place, but it comes at a cost.
The theatre
I could paint the portals this year, adding a week to my work load, this would save the budget about £1000. That decision in the end will likely happen next week when new prices come in for printing and building the set. So unfortunately the relief I normally feel on a day when I hand over a model was not present and I still have more work to do before the design can be signed off. Heyho!
Holly Hocks on Spring Street
Some time was spent checking what paint was already in stock at the theatre and making sure it was stored safely to be used in a few months time. Plans were printed and scanned for distribution. Time to catch a bus home.
The S3 gold I caught was also running late and it headed to Charlbury, I’ve never been there before. So by the time I got back to Aristotle Bridge it was 7:30pm, too late to do a few work jobs. Dinner was left over roast chicken pasta, an easy meal once the chicken carcass had been stripped.
An emptier bag than I went with
Mick had spent the day getting quotes for insurance for our house. The costs have gone up, hasn’t everything, and companies seemed to be reluctant to cover us for three lodgers at the house at a time. Mick got in touch with a broker to see if they could find a policy that wasn’t too pricey for us. We’ll see what he comes back with.
0 locks, 2 late buses, 2 many thousands, 1 and a bit increasing my work load, 3 possible days near Plymouth, 1st proper model showing since the pandemic, 2 boxes of paint, 4 litres Bona Mega, 2 not 3, 1 bored cat.
The paperboy decided to have breakfast before going to pick up a Saturday paper, the weather app he’d looked at suggested the forecast rain would start around 11am. Well it was wrong, it started around 9am and continued with only a couple of short lulls well into the evening. Mick put on his waterproof coat and went shopping with a brolly in hand.
Drawings
The drawing board came back out and on Saturday I spent all day updating working drawings so that the set for panto could be built from them. I added in a few suggestions from one of the builders, with the hope that they would assist in reducing the cost of the build. My original sketch drawings are done with two things in mind. One to assist in making the model and to get pricings done. They tend to have a bit too much information on them, so simplifying them for building was needed.
PAH!!!
Mick listened to what cricket commentary there was from Manchester, most of the recorded interviews he’s heard before and remembered. Tilly spent much of the day asleep, occasionally sticking her head out the back just incase the weather had improved, it hadn’t!
Hello!
Boats came past, one with many a sticker in it’s windows. This was NB Scholar Gypsy, the crew however not known to us, we waved from inside anyway, but I suspect we weren’t seen as the person on the helm was forging on in the rain.
Gingery Salmon with lots of green
The staff at the hire base worked away through the rain. Boats were washed whilst having a second rinse by the rain. Then the numerous hire crew arrived early afternoon, they were chatted through the boat, then each one in turn headed off down the canal, most to Isis Lock to wind below and return. They then moved their belongings on board for their time away, slightly soggy at the edges.
Sunday. The Geraghty zoom included Jeremy Paxman, cherries, cricket (of course), season tickets for QPR and Scottish blueberries.
Our 48 hours was now up, but still being in Oxford was needed for Monday morning to access a bus out to Chippy. Thankfully the S3Gold service follows the canal for a distance northwards of Jericho, so we set our eyes on the quiet mooring by Aristotle Bridge.
First things first was to dispose of some rubbish. The bins at College Cruisers are C&RT bins, but are often not accessible due to the hire fleet being in. This morning however all but one boat were out, so we pushed Oleanna across the cut and got rid of the fishy packaging from our salmon last night.
as it says
We were now opposite NB Huffler. Margaret could been seen through the window and Tony stuck his head out of the hatch. Margaret hasn’t been very well recently, requiring visits to A&E to help monitor her heart rate. Things were improving, but another visit to the hospital was on the cards. We wished them well and hopefully they’ll be back on the move soon.
Pipe smoker
We now pootled on up the cut, only 0.6 of a mile, but just far enough. The back gardens along this stretch are worth a nosy at along with the backs of the houses. However at this time of year the amount of leaves obscures the views too quickly for photos. We pulled in towards the end of the quiet mooring, surprised at how many boats were moored there.
Tilly headed off into the ditch between the canal and playingfield. Across the way a couple were trying to trim a Spaniels fur, it really wasn’t enjoying the experience and kept shouting about it.
I got on with more drawings, once they were complete I then set to taking photos of the model. A new coloured storyboard will be put together in the coming days for reference.
The Town Square
With the model packed up and ready to go we sat down and enjoyed a roast chicken. Very nice, it’s been a while. I just need to now factor into our menu a lot of beetroot as Mick wasn’t aware I’d bought a bunch. It might be beetroot and chicken salad for us this week.
0 locks, 0.6 miles, 1 very wet day, 1 drier day, 1 disappointing outside, 1 model finished, 14 sheets of drawings finished, 130 photos, 1 Sunday roast.
