Category Archives: Friends

The Year Of The … 2024.

Time for the annual round up of travels on Oleanna. So sit back with a glass or mug of something nice, put your feet up and I hope you’ll enjoy the read.

We saw the New Year in in the house. Some canal side painting to hang in the downstairs toilet kept me busy during betwixtmas. I decided to set myself a new knitting challenge for the year, to knit a pair of socks each week for the full year to raise funds for Dementia UK. Emails were sent out to numerous yarn dyers and the parcels of generous donations started to arrive along with my needles starting to knit round and round in circles.

Late January we hired a car. First trip was to Dewsbury to purchase fabric for new dinette cushions, it also gave us chance to catch up with Mick’s old work colleagues Mark and Sarah on our way back. The next day we started to do jobs on Oleanna. Mick set too in the engine bay and The Shed to get ready to install our new lithium batteries, I sanded and cleaned the oak floor inside. Window surrounds with water damage were sanded back, stains removed and then revarnished. The stove top was given a fresh coat of paint and the floor two coats of Danish Oil. Mick fitted the batteries and chunky cables and tested things out, all seemed to be good.

Bowls of soup kept us going whilst on Oleanna and whilst in the house I made gluten free crumpets and focaccia. I just have to make the most of the big kitchen whilst I’ve got it!

February. More and more donated yarn arrived, I was going to have to make space on Oleanna for it, just as well I wouldn’t be making a panto model this year!

New dinette cushions were covered. The Galley tap was replaced, we’d discovered that the tap we had was no longer made, but managed to buy two along with spare cartridges, hopefully these will see our boating days out! The new battery installation was tidied up and hooks were added into The Shed to make better use of the storage in there.

Tilly had her yearly vaccinations and we stocked up on flee and wormer for her. Opticians were seen, improvements to a bathroom in the house were started, we had our first lodgers of the year and a lovely visit from Pip’s old school friend Morag. We then called together our Scarborough friends for a gathering before a final tidy up of the house and our return to Oleanna at the beginning of March.

Shore leave permitted for another year

With just about all the house jobs done in the house we moved back onboard, this pleased Tilly and she found her way into the secret passage as soon as she could If I stayed in there I might never have to return to the house again!

Our first aim for the year had been to join the Fund Britain’s Waterways cruise on the Thames, quite a journey from Goole especially when all routes south were blocked by winter maintenance. Once we’d stocked up the boat we headed straight for the New Junction Canal, pulling in to give Tilly some much needed shore leave. She was happy and so were we to be back out on the cut.

We headed towards the first of the stoppages that would be lifted, got stuck by rising waters on the River Aire, made a dash to Lemonroyd when levels dropped a touch. Here things didn’t go too well, two visits to an emergency dentist and Oleanna’s cooling system developed a fault for which we needed a part. Thank goodness we’d upgraded our batteries, but there was no hot water. Alastair from Goole came out to fix our problem and we had a few days plugged in at the marina before river levels dropped and Woodnook Lock on the Aire and Calder reopened we could now be on our way again.

Making our way up towards the Rochdale Canal we negotiated river sections just coming out of the red and made our final dash to Brighouse before the level rose again. We were now at least two weeks behind our planned schedule to reach London in time for the campaign cruise, yes we could have upped the hours we were cruising, enlisted extra crew in places to speed our journey, but we opted to slow down and enjoy the journey and abandoned joining the cruise.

Through Tuel Lane the deepest lock on the network arriving in Hebden Bridge for Easter weekend. We enjoyed cheese, hot cross buns and a pint with Alex one of our favourite actors. Then an evening with old college friends Alan and Doug up near Todmorden before we carried on climbing over the Pennines.

The Rochdale was how we remembered it, hard work but wonderful scenery. The Great Wall of Tod and ducklings took us up towards the summit where we’d booked our passage across the top, a shame it was an overcast damp day. Two C&RT chaps helped us up the last uphill lock and then down the first few locks on the other side getting us through a section guaranteed to be low in water.

There was a pause in Littleborough meeting up with Mick’s sister Anne and his niece and great nieces, first time I’d met the great nieces and the first time we’d seen Anne and Ruth since lockdowns.

A mystery man arrived near Slattocks on our descent towards Manchester, Paul Balmer (Waterway Routes). He’d offered to help us on the long stretch into Piccadilly but arrived a day earlier to help get us to the Rose of Lancaster, he did return the following day and was rewarded with the first batch of apple flapjack.

Down the Rochdale Nine and onto the Bridgewater Canal where we turned left heading southwards. We pulled in for a couple of days at Little Bollington for Mick to have a couple of days away in Scarborough, leaving Tilly and myself on the embankment where the breach on New Years Day 2025 has now happened.

Through Preston Brook Tunnel and on southwards on the Trent and Mersey. Up the Cheshire Locks for the first time this year we paused and had a night out at the New Vic in Stoke to see One Man Two Guvnors with a cast of so many familiar faces. Then on through Harecastle Tunnel and down to Stone where we were joined by Bill and Lisa who got to work their first locks.

At the beginning of May we turned a right at Great Heywood and onto the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal. Unfortunately one of our new lithium bully boy batteries had gone faulty. This needed sending back which took some packing and planning for a pick up. It was deemed to be faulty and a replacement was made ready to be sent out to us when we’d reached somewhere suitable.

Pretty when the sun’s out

A dentist check up in Birmingham suggested I’d be needing a few appointments so it was just as well I’d been before we arrived in Birmingham. Up the Wolverhampton 21, we like that flight, and an overnight stop at Urban Moorings to donate our deposits from our separating toilet.

We now had a rendezvous. Messages had been sent back and forth and as we arrived in Birmingham we were able to pull in right behind NB Lottie Jane where Clare and Graeme were waiting for us. They were over from New Zealand for a few months and had borrowed their friends boat. Over dinner we arranged to share the broad locks ahead of us, they’d head off in the morning and we’d loiter for my dentist.

A few days later after coinciding with another Graeme on NB Misty Blue, then descending Lapworth Locks we rendezvoused again on the embankment above Rowington on the Grand Union. Here there was a meeting of boats as we managed to also coincide with Chris on NB Elektra and have a guided tour and a catch up sat out on the towpath.

Down Hatton, both boats glad to have company to work the locks, we rewarded ourselves with a meal at The Cape of Good Hope. Onwards to share the locks back up the other side with Clare and Graeme. It was very nice to be able to spend some time with them again before our journeys took us in different directions at Napton as we headed onto the South Oxford Canal and they headed towards Crick for the boat show.

Mick’s birthday was seen in on the South Oxford, now a state pensioner! A new battery was delivered and looked after at Aynho Wharf for our arrival, more socks were knitted, one pair hand delivered in Thrupp and we managed to moor at several of our favourite moorings as we headed down to Oxford.

Sally, Andrew, Ian, Mick, Jenny, Pip, Sam, Jac

A big Leckenby get together was arranged at the Kings Arms by Sandford Lock on the Thames. Andrew and Jac drove over from London and Ian and Sally along with Sam and Jenny drove over from near Lechlade and Windsor. We had a very loud Sunday lunch, so good to be able to get us all together at a jolly event.

Now we headed down stream on the Thames, we usually end up going up stream! Perfect timing to meet up with Australian visitors Siobhan and Patrick in Wallingford for lunch.

A perfectly timed arrival at Clivden meant we got to moor on an island for the second time, perfect for Tilly. A warm evening bbq above Boveney Lock, watching the royals in Old Windsor. Then we arrived at Weybridge where we joined the River Wey, with a transit licence we moved up to Pyrford Marina meeting up with Ann-Marie and Dave from NB Legend and then a trip back to Scarborough to do a turn around at the house.

On our return we picked up extra crew member Kath (Mick’s sister) and turned onto the Basingstoke Canal. Kath has lived close by to the canal for several years but never seen a boat on it. The following day we joined forces with NB Olive to continue our climb up the locks, there were now 6 cats in the locks not just 1! We cruised our way up to the end of the navigation only to have a phone call saying that a boat had hit a lock gate behind us and that the Deep Cut flight of locks was now closed. Would we be stuck for days, weeks or months?

Oleanna’s horns were removed for some of the lowest bridges on the network, we’d actually have had plenty of space for them. Lunch was enjoyed with Marion and John, a walk over the top to visit the other end of Greywell Tunnel was enjoyed in the sunshine. We then spent the next few days waiting for news on the broken lock and trying to find moorings for Tilly away from NB Olive as Tilly isn’t too keen on other cats!

We spent time visiting Brookwood Cemetery, walking in the woods near Mytchett Visitors Centre and caught up with Sam Leckenby for a meal. Then we heard that the Canal Rangers would be able to give us assisted passage through the troubled lock. Four boats were bow hauled through, only cats allowed to stay on board. At least we’d managed to cruise The Basingstoke Canal on our second attempt.

Downstream on the Thames again to Teddington and a lovely early evening trip to Brentford ended our journey on the Thames this year. We’d booked a mooring in Paddington Basin for a few days giving us chance to catch up with friends and family in London. Andrews birthday was celebrated in true Leckenby style, meet ups with Christine and Paul for Tapas, brunch with Kathy and a few pints with Nick, Kerry and Harry were all enjoyed even though my left knee was starting to seriously play up.

We pulled out from London as the General Election was looming, we’d done postal votes some days before hand. Back along the Grand Union heading northwards we decided to attempt the Slough arm for a second time. Sadly our depth meant all we achieved was a load of weed around the prop and had to abort our mission.

The Grand Union is a very familiar waterway now to us, we climbed up to the Tring summit and headed off to Lizzie’s 50th birthday party in Crick. Lots of boaters we’ve met through the years were there to have a catch up with. We also took the opportunity to catch up with my college friend Jen who’s joined us for a or two cruise in the past.

The first lock of the Marsworth flight was hard work for my knee, the second impossible. Time for role reversal, I’d be at the helm, Mick wheeling a windlass from now onwards. A turn onto the Aylesbury Arm, water Oleanna hadn’t been on before. Our only sight seeing was at an NHS walk in (more like hobble in) centre in High Wycombe, but we did pop to say hello to Ronnie Baker.

Another turn around in Scarborough before we headed towards Milton Keynes joined for a lovely day by Mike and Chris. Northwards to Braunston and onto the North Oxford Canal passing through the large landslip site which had the canal closed for months earlier in the year. Right onto the Coventry Canal, Atherstone and up to Fradley where we turned left for the first time in years.

Now we met up with our old shareboat NB Winding Down and walked round Shugborough Hall, my knee having improved with exercises. Straight on to Stoke then a right onto the Caldon Canal. There was the opportunity to coincide with Debbie and Dave on NB Bonjour, handing over another pair of socks, before we carried cruising both arms of the canal. Having limboed our way on the Basingstoke we decided to give Froghall Tunnel a go. Horns removed again, we slowly but surely managed our way through and had a very quiet night in the basin one lock down on the Uttoxeter Canal, another first for us.

At the beginning of September we retraced our route back to the Trent and Mersey with perfect timing to meet up with Mike and Christine on NB Alchemy, we had time for a catch up and introduction to Tilly before we headed in different directions. Middleport Pottery was visited for the first time, then it was through Harecastle Tunnel for the second time this year.

Paul joined us again to assist us down the Cheshire Locks getting us a little ahead of schedule which meant we were at the Anderton Boat Lift at a weekend meaning Lizzie could join us for the trip, even though it was an exceedingly wet day. This ticked off Oleanna’s seventh and final wonder of the waterways.

We cruised to both ends of the River Weaver on new waters for all of us. A tour of the Daniel Adamson was offered and taken and the last pairs of socks for my sockathon got sponsors. The monthly market in Northwich caught our attention and we had a very lovely evening in Manchester with the London Leckenbys when Josh moved to the city to study at the University.

Back southwards on the Trent and Mersey we crossed paths with NB On The Fiddle and NB Cobweb meaning I could hand deliver some more socks to an old SJT colleague. We started up the Cheshire Locks on our own, but soon picked up Bridget and Storm who were in need of a canal fix, it was great to have a couple of days with them.

Now we turned over the Trent and Mersey and onto the Macclesfield Canal. The Bosley flight was low on water so I handed the helm back to Mick and reclaimed the windlass, Mick is willing to give Oleanna extra umph when needed.

A belated birthday trip on the PS Waverley for Mick had us moored in Macclesfield for a few days, NB Alton stopping to top us up with diesel and coal. Then we were across the top of the Macc and down the Marple flight ready to turn onto the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Rain gave us a day off in Stalybridge. Another pause was taken at Uppermill for a trip to Scarborough to see the latest Ayckbourn play and meet up with our lodgers before they headed homewards.

On our final ascent to the summit of the HNC, we thankfully we swapped roles due to low water levels, a 100 meter dash and quick thinking by Mick averted disaster at Lock 29W where Oleanna had got stuck on the cill as the lock did it’s best to empty itself behind her. Once we’d reached the summit we had a quiet afternoon preparing for Standedge Tunnel the following morning.

Our third time through the tunnel, Tilly resigned to hide tucked away behind Mick’s pillow. In Marsden there was then a wait for a lock bridge to be mended before we could descend through Yorkshire. Paul came to assist again on a very drizzly day getting us to Slaithwaite.

From here we had a trip southwards to help celebrate Kath and Sean’s Civil Partnership, a wonderful day with all the Geraghtys together.

Mick and I worked the rest of our way down to Huddersfield where Paul came to assist again wanting to check data for Waterway Routes which is hard to do without being on a boat. We finally waved goodbye to Paul in Wakefield and did our best to avoid the River Aire going into flood, but ended up having to wait a few days at Castleford.

Back on the Aire and Calder we headed to Sykehouse Junction and tucked ourselves on the moorings at the start of the New Junction where we’d moored on our first night this year. Tilly was given shore leave, I remember it well! whilst I tried to finish off some painting jobs before we returned to Goole.

By the end of October Oleanna was tucked up in Goole and we were back in the house with our next lodger, the baddie from the Christmas show at the SJT. Back in the land of veg boxes, get togethers with friends, lantern parades and walks on the beach. Jobs in the house have been listed, a few ticked off and more to work through next year in between lodgers.

The run up to Christmas also included visiting a couple of potential boat painters. A trip to London for a boat trip on the Thames to mark Marion and John’s Golden Wedding Anniversary and at the same time catch up with my family too.

This year Christmas was just the three of us with lots of food and some sock knitting of course. In fact I knitted right up to the bongs of Big Ben at midnight getting part way through my 55th pair of socks in 2024.

So this year was The Year Of The ……

… SOCK!

Now for our final statistics for 2024

This year is the first full year that we’ve logged our journeys using Nebo, but I’ve also kept a tally as we’ve cruised using Canalplan, I’ve got quite a spread sheet. The two methods of recording distances give different totals so I shall list them both. Nebo calculates distances, has average speeds and maximum speeds. Canalplan doesn’t do speed, but includes locks, tunnels, bridges, etc so I suspect I’ll carry on with both next year.

Canalplan stats.

Total distance of 956miles, 4 furlongs and 846 locks.

There were 56 moveable bridges, of which 11 are usually left open; 205 small aqueducts or underbridges and 28 tunnels – a total of 12 miles, 4 furlongs under ground and 1 major aqueduct.

This is made up of 426 miles, 1 furlongs of narrow canals; 279 miles, 7.5 furlongs of broad canals; 55 miles, 1.75 furlongs of commercial waterways; 44 miles, 1.5 furlongs of small rivers; 137 miles, 5.75 furlongs of large rivers; 5 miles, 0.75 furlongs of tidal rivers; 417 narrow locks; 353 broad locks; 55 large locks; 2 boat lifts.

Nebo stats.

Underway 289.95 hours; end mileage 943.24miles; average speed 2.5mph; maximum speed 27.8mph (the link was doing something odd for the first few months then it became more realistic); maximum speed 6.5mph (I hasten to add this was on the River Aire heading downstream in the amber)

Nebo 2024 Cruise Map

Other stats.

58 Vehicles held up at moveable bridges; 1011.03 litres of diesel bought; £0.90 lowest diesel at Viking Marina Oct 2024; £1.24 maximum diesel at Aynho Wharf May 2024; 490kgs coal; 3 x 13 kg bottles of gas; £52 electric at moorings; 2 buckets of compost deposits; £20 donation; 630.4 Engine hours; 4 packs Dreamies; 51 friends; 4 brought in; 2 upset tummies; 40 Mrs Tilly stamps of approval; 51 boxes of wine; £252.45 spent on mooring fees; 1 overnight guest; 0 shows; 12 lodgers; 5 supermarket deliveries; 1 problematical knee; 8 months cruising; 20Litres oil; 0 fuel filters; 2 oil filters; 1 kitchen tap; 3 new batteries; 1 faulty; 150amp hours to 460 amp hours (at 24 volts); 1 boat mover sighting; 1 blue boat sighting; 11 days of guest crew; 54.4 pairs of socks; 1,000,000 plus knitted stitches; £1525 raised for Dementia UK; 271 posts; 268,000 words; 353 likes; 399 comments; 15900 visitors; 41300 views!

Thank you for joining us on our travels in 2024.

The count down to the start of our travels for 2025 has started.

A Golden Ride On The Thames. 21st December

Masthouse Terrace Pier, London

Our journey continued down to London Town, conversation regarding Oleanna’s boat paint as we headed southwards. We shouldn’t chose a painter just because his paint shop is in the shadows of cooling towers! This wasn’t the case but Tom was certainly in the lead.

The traffic was bad in places. Our satnav decided to take us on a short detour at one point, handy as it avoided standstill traffic and took us past Wansford Station where we’d moored a couple of years ago on the River Nene. Good Christmas lights were seen, no time to stop to see any of the trains though as we were directed back onto the A1 in time to see the field Tilly had gone AWOL in until well after dark.

Ziggy checking over the local news

It’s been sometime since we drove to my brothers in Hackney and we nearly always get the turn off wrong, but this time I’d remembered to look out for B&Q, then there’s a really tricksy junction to get on the right road. I think this is the first time we’ve done it without a single hitch and thankfully there was a parking space not far from Andrews front door.

Josh was home from University and we had a very pleasant evening catching up, eating a seriously chunky beef bourguignon and drinking maybe just a little bit too much wine. Good to see them all for an evening on our own.

Friday some of the morning was spent sending, or trying to send our email Christmas card. Why does it always have to be so hard? But we got there in the end. What to do with ourselves for the rest of the day?

Selfridges windows not as good as I remembered them being

We didn’t really want to spend any money on going to a museum or a special exhibition. For some reason the Wallace Collection came to mind. Mick checked out a route by bus and we were off heading into London. Three buses later we pulled up outside Selfridges, their Christmas windows were okay, but not quite as slick as I’d expected.

A Christmas staircase

Now it was lunch time, we ended up with an M&S sandwich each sat on a bench outside the Wallace Collection, their cafe menu a touch too expensive for us. Time for some culture. Hertford House in Manchester Square was the home of the Seymour family, it’s named after Sir Richard Wallace who built the extensive collection along with the Marquesses of Herford in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

I was expecting quite a good collection but nothing by any means as large as it turned out to be, 25 galleries housing arms and armour, furniture, porcelain and so many paintings from the 15th to 19th Century. Yes you will find The Swing by Fragonard, much smaller than I’d thought it would be, The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals to name just two of the very famous paintings in the collection.

There are Watteaus, Velazquezs, Rubens, Rembrandts, Gainsboroughs, Canellettos, Van Dycks all great stuff amongst lots of Francois Bouchers fluffy pink huge canvases which don’t really do anything for me. I walked round spotting paintings I’d learnt about in A Level art, but then pin pointed paintings that stood out to me.

What an elaborate ruff

My favourite was simply called A Dutch Lady, by M.J. Mierevelt. She was just at the right height to have a conversation with. Her 1628 ruff exquisitely painted. I wanted to ask her so many questions about life in the 17th Century and why she wasn’t named on the frame as many were.

Mick, Rob and Nick

Then we hopped on buses out to Camden, catching glimpses of the canal as we crossed over bridges. A quick call in to drop off a Christmas present with Christine and Paul before we met with my friend Nick and his Canadian friend Rob at a pub just round the corner. I’ve known Nick since we were babes in arms, for some years we went to school together, then did our Art Foundation course together too, we’ve never lost touch. The frequency meeting for drinks on Christmas Eve has dropped in recent years, parents no longer calling us back to York for Christmas. So it was very nice to be able to exchange presents face to face, have beer, food and conversation this close to Christmas.

Saturday was the main reason for our trip down to London. Regular readers will be excused for not remembering what we got up to 10 years ago on the 20th December. Back in 2014 we joined all the Geraghty family for a vintage bus tour around London to celebrate Marion (Mick’s sister) and John’s 40th Wedding Anniversary. Today was naturally their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Interesting buildings in the complex

Andrew and Jac joined all the generations of Geraghty family and friends for the day. Meeting up at Richards flat on the Isle of Dogs we had nibbles and a glass of fizz whilst every one gathered. Then a five or so minute walk to Masthouse Terrace Pier on the banks of the Thames. There waiting for us was an Uber Clipper hired for a trip on the Thames. Marion and John had originally booked a smaller boat, but the toilets weren’t working they’d had an upgrade to a much bigger boat.

Our boat for an hour or so

With about 40 of us onboard there was plenty of room, you could stand out on deck or stay inside with a window seat, where ever you fancied really. Soon we pushed off, two other boats were waiting to come in. Off upstream we headed. Downstream of Tower Bridge boats go fast, it was quite exhilarating stood out on deck at the stern.

The first 2km of our cruise was water we’ve not cruised on Oleanna, in fact I think I’ve only been further downstream on a Clipper for Kath’s 50th birthday when we headed to Greenwich. When Canary Wharf came into view we were now on water we’d cruised on the night time flotilla in 2022. Past Limehouse Lock, now landmarks were familiar.

Sadly the weather wasn’t on our side so many of the taller buildings were only just visible . As we approached Tower Bridge we were all called towards the bow, where John and Marion put on floral garlands to mark the occasion of their anniversary.

Tower Bridge

Under the right hand span of Tower Bridge. Landmarks were pointed out to the youngest of passengers. Places of work were pointed out to new victims and sisters by Mick.

We were moving quicker than we did on Oleanna, the bridges coming one after the other. It was handy to have Waterway Routes up to confirm the names as we passed underneath.

Occasionally John would go on the tannoy, pointing out places of interest in his and other passengers lives. The National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, the Tattershall Castle that many a Geraghty had crossed the Humber on. The exclusion zone in front of the Houses of Parliament seemed to be smaller than I remembered it.

Houses of Parliament

We made it under Vauxhall Bridge but sadly not quite as far as Battersea Power Station. It was in view though and everyone got a good view as the clipper winded to return us back to Masthouse Terrace Pier.

Power Station in the distance
The first time we’ve been under the centre span with it down

Then it was back to the flat where a chap had been laying out a fantastic buffet from The Space Bar. Drinks, conversation, speeches, photographs and plenty, I mean plenty of food was enjoyed. Then there was cake! Not just one but three types of cake! What a grand way to celebrate 50 years of marriage. Congratulations to Marion and John and thank you for sharing it with us all.

Speeches

Back at the London Leckenby’s we fell into the sofa and didn’t do much for the remainder of the evening.

Cutting the cake

Presents were exchanged on Sunday morning, then we climbed back into our little car and headed back northwards. A pause near Cambridge to refuel and have a substandard breakfast before we carried on up the A1, M18, M62 and then back across the Wolds to Scarborough.

Knitting two together so as to not run out of yarn

Tilly was very pleased to see us. David our lodger had been feeding her whilst we were away, but he’d left food for our return, Tilly apparently hadn’t been impressed with not getting her dingding earlier than normal and she’d been quite noisy about it after not being spotted for three days.

Back in Scarborough before the sunset

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car to London, 3 London Leckenbys, 2 cats, 1 huge gallery, 1 oldest friend, 1 whiffy pub, 5 buses, 1 train, 1 clipper, 40 passengers, 50th anniversary, 50 golden balloons, 2 much yummy food, 3 cakes, 1 gluten free take away box of brownies, 1 lazy evening, 1 pleased Tilly to see us, 1 poorly baddy!

Socking Along

Deco socks

Well my fundraising for Dementia UK has reached £1360 which is absolutely brilliant. THANK YOU!! And there is still some sponsorship money to come in for the 53 pairs of socks in my original challenge. Yes a year has 52 full weeks and knitting a pair of socks a week throughout 2024 would mean that I could stop when I reached 52 pairs. But that would leave a couple of days overhanging and as the 53rd pair will be for someone who’s birthday happens to be right at the end of the year I obviously had to include them.

Some Panto socks

However in the last few weeks I’ve had quite a bit of interest from a Boat Women group on Facebook, people wanting to be added to a waiting list. Then whilst at a friends house the other evening I had requests for 3 more pairs. So currently I have an extra 22 pairs to knit, not all this year I hasten to add! I might allow myself the first week in January off.

I’ve decided to keep my list open until the end of November for anyone else wanting to sponsor a pair. I don’t want anyone to miss out and it would be great to be able to use up more of the wonderful yarn that was donated by indie dyers.

If you thought you’d missed out and would like a pair, speak up NOW! Or forever have chilly toes.

80th Birthday socks

I’ll need your shoe size and a word to base your socks on. This could be anything, a season, mood, era, colour, just so long as it’s not blue as I’ve just about run out! You could even request socks to match your boats livery. I’m happy to add your name to my list, then get in touch shortly before I’m about to cast on the first stitch for you to make a donation to my Just Giving page. Mental reminder to self, must extend the closing date of my page.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/pip-leckenby-1704636205453?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fpip-leckenby-1704636205453&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Pair 49 are currently on my needles so as it’s week 47 (I think) I’m a couple of pairs ahead of myself. So there are nine days left to put in your request to be added to my list. More photos of finished socks have been added to the Sockathon page

Anyhow, boat news. On Tuesday our webcam showed us that the world of Goole had gone white with snow. We’d been expecting some here in Scarborough too, however it missed us. Mick can tell how cold the engine bay is whilst sitting in front of our fire, the temperature had dropped to 2C.

On Wednesday morning we woke to a little dusting of the white stuff. Whilst we lay in bed with our morning cuppas Mick had an alarm from Oleanna saying the power was off. It came back on briefly, but went off again, all before the marina was open. Was it just Oleanna or a more wide spread power outage?

Pair 48 with my faithful assistant

I checked all the Goole facebook pages I’d joined when there was the breach on the Aire and Calder, no mention there. Should Mick jump on the next train to Goole to check things out? The next train was cancelled.

Just gone 10am he gave the Marina a call. It wasn’t just Oleanna, Mick got to talk to Laird and he was having difficulty getting into his office due to the lack of electricity. Mick quickly left him to get on with things, no point in getting a train, our inverter would inform us when the power came back on, this was 3:15pm.

MY PAWS!!!!!

The heavens opened in Scarborough and the world became a very white one, over a proper inch, maybe even two fell during the morning. Very glad we didn’t need to go anywhere. Once it had stopped Mick swept the paths in front of the house. Tilly headed out to assist, but soon changed her mind. I couldn’t see my paws and She’d suggested I should get them painted a different colour, maybe a dark red! I wasn’t up for that. Maybe she should knit me some bright socks to wear out in the snow. I don’t fancy trying to put them on you though Tilly!

A touch different

The image for our Christmas card has been chosen and worked on, a little bit different from past years. Veg box ordered, Duck ordered, Christmas booze arrived. I’m going to run out of things to do in preparation for Christmas before November is out! Well that’s what comes of not doing panto and not being able to get on with a decorating a dining room due to having a lodger.

Another visit to the SJT last week to see the touring production of John Godber’s Perfect Pitch. The play was commissioned back in 1998 by the SJT and premiered as part of the 10 x 10 Season. It was also my first design for The Round. It played in rep through the summer with Comic Potential (Alan Ayckbourn) and Love Songs For Shop Keepers (Tim Firth). A couple going caravanning for the first time to a site just south of Scarborough, having their idyllic weekend broken by a couple who pull up close by. The play has been updated and sections rewritten meaning the caravan can now be just off stage, saving on set build and touring costs. Back in 1998 we also had real grass that required watering and grow lamps on through the night to keep it alive. I’ve now seen several productions and still no-one has beaten John Branwell in the part of Grant.

Perfect Pitch 1998

More quotes have come in for both boat and house. One boat yard’s excuse for not having got back to me in two weeks was ‘That boat doesn’t need repainting!‘ Well that’s because the photos I sent were when she was a matter of weeks old, she’s done at least 7000 miles and most probably over 5000 locks since then. Still to hear back with a price from them, think he’s already lost the job.

Anyhow, keep warm everyone, well until the weekend when we’ll be leaving doors open and admiring the blue bells coming up!

0 locks, 0 miles, 53 to 75, 5 house quotes, 6 boat quotes, 2 more to come in, 1 appointment, 3 Morse episodes, 1 extreamly bored cat, 1 focaccia, 2 veg boxes, Tilly Too keeping the snow outside, 2 boaters nearly ready for Christmas.

A Ride In The A. 3rd November

A document listing requirements for Oleanna’s repaint has been compiled. An order made for primer, undercoat, replacements and filters placed. The living room rug keeps on being murdered (the fish is innocent by the way!). My work room has been reclaimed from items that just get dumped up there ever year. Drawings and dimensions done for various things about the house. Front flower bed trimmed back, the brown wheelie bin been filled twice and our back passage is now clear!

Frank came round once he’d heard there was some parkin to eat, he did a good job of eating several pieces before leaving. We were left with a few pieces to keep us going for another day or two, however it was all gone before it had had chance to reach it’s full stickiness potential.

Sunday, after a cooked breakfast, we had a walk down to say hello to the South Bay. Not a bright blue skied day, but at least it wasn’t raining. Plenty of dog walkers enjoying the tide being out and leaving plenty of sand to run around on. The sea had scoured away the beach by the Spa wall revealing weathered wooden planks, we’ve not noticed these before. Then because of my knee and Mick deciding that now he’s a pensioner we’d ride the cliff lift up to the Esplanade. Apparently he’s never ridden in one before!

A treat for the pensioner

Monday and Mick had arranged to get a lift with his friend Mark down to Goole. Mark recently has bought himself a rather lovely car, an MGA, built the year he was born. If the weather was fine they would drive down to Goole in the ‘A’. The hood sits too low for Mark so he doesn’t put it up, taking waterproofs might be a sensible precaution. If they knew it was going to rain they’d go in a far more modern vehicle.

Us in Scarborough

At 11am there was a ‘Beep Beep!‘ as Mark drove up the street. Wow, what a beautiful car. Only just enough space for two and Mick’s laptop and a couple of things were better put by his feet than in the boot. ‘Can’t come in, don’t want to stop the engine as it might not start again!’. Mark’s face certainly that of a cat that had got the cream.

Beep Beep!

A quick look around the outside and then Mick worked out how to open the door, no exterior handles, before concertina-ing himself into the passenger seat. With a whooosh of exhaust fumes they sped off, Goole bound.

They chose to go up Staxton Hill (quite a steep hill up onto the Wolds) and through Sledmere down to Goole, travelling in style. On arriving at the marina Mick checked that the A would be alright going over the severe speed bumps which are followed by potholes out on the lane. These were negotiated and in through the gate. It’s hard not to notice such a car, she turns heads, so Mark got lots of comments from people.

Pretty

Mick got on with the jobs in hand on Oleanna. Setting the heating thermostat to come on at 4C. Switched on the security camera that I’d efficiently turned off last week. Riveted a popper to the bow so the cratch cover would close fully and not get whipped up by wind. All the time Mark kept the engine running.

He did turn the engine off briefly so they could have a walk around the marina. Thankfully she started up again using a bit of wire (the solenoid is faulty) then time for another comment from someone before they were back on the road heading northwards.

Boys and their fast cars

I’d guesstimated that with our normal journey time to Goole being around 1 hr 30, a round trip without stopping for too long would be a bit over 3 hours. Mick ended up having just over ten minutes doing jobs before they were on their way back over the Wolds. No time for photos of any sort. They pulled up outside the house at 2:45pm after sitting in traffic and being noticed on their way back into Scarborough.

No point in being awake!

A very nice drive out for the two of them. Being able to have a catch up shouting at each other as they went and thankfully the heater worked. Mick definitely enjoyed himself, but he’s reassured me that he won’t be saving up for one himself, we’ll stay with our life at 4mph, after all what would Tilly have to say about it!

Where we travelled in October

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 beach walk, 1st tram ride, 1 Christmas card short list, 1 boat quote email, 1 house quote email, 1 saveloy, 2 yolks, 1 nice trip out, 0 handles, 4 warm feet, 10 minutes, 0 fertan, pair 46 cast on, 1 very bored cat!

Green Flags And Pins. 18th October

Above Cooper Bridge Lock 1 to above Fall Ing Lock 28, Wakefield

Mick headed off to check the river level before breakfast. Amber! He then walked up to check the flood gate. Still closed. But there was certainly hope we’d be able to get moving again today. Messages were sent on to Paul who was already on his way to Leeds. If we had to abort cruising today he’d divert and walk from Rotherham to Sheffield to check his map data.

Both Mick and I had had the same thought. With an extra crew member today should we try to get to Wakefield in one go. The forecast for Sunday is appalling and river levels likely to go back up and it would be good to try to get off the river sections before hand. This would mean two longer days than normal, but nothing we haven’t done before.

Let’s try again

Mick made a phone call to CRT to check to see when they thought the flood gates might open. Sarah was very helpful and said she’d ring round and call back. This she did within a few minutes. Flood gates were being opened and once they had been the notice on the website would be updated. Info passed on to Paul. A while later Mick checked the website and sure enough it said all flood gates were open on the Calder and Hebble. Time to go!

Through the flood gate at Cooper Bridge

Just as we were about to push off Paul could be seen up at the lock, a wave to confirm we were on our way. He’d checked that the gate ahead was open, well one side of it was. Once down and through the lock he took our Hebble spike and walked ahead, the road being a more direct route to Cooper Bridge Lock 16 on the Calder and Hebble. In hindsight Mick should have headed a touch further upstream to wind before heading for the one open flood gate. It ended up taking a while to turn sufficiently to get through.

I wonder where the Cill is?

The lock cottage by the lock looks a touch naked without the trees, I suspect the owners like the improved natural light though. The geese are still about, bickering amongst themselves and occasionally turning round to hiss in Pauls direction.

Paul about to climb the ladder to open the gates

Down back onto the river we headed to Battyeford Flood Gate which takes the navigation off to the right above the next weir. Ahh! The gates were both closed here, obvious that they were unlocked, but no way for us just to head through. Thankfully there was a ladder where Paul could be deposited to climb up and open the gates to let us through. If you were a single hander this would have been next to impossible to sort, nowhere to tie your boat other than to the ladder and no means of keeping the gates open when returning for your boat. We managed to get through and pick Paul back up from a ladder again, the gates wanting to close behind us. A note was sent to CRT as we felt this was a hazard. Sarah soon replied, we were basically being a bit too quick for their staff to get everything open and chained open.

Autumn ahead

Now the mile long stretch to Ledgard Flood Lock. Waterway Routes doesn’t only show services and different types of mooring, but also access points onto the towpath, whether the towpath is suitable for cycling or not. As we headed downstream Paul referred to his map, flags and pins turned to green if the information was correct, he had other markers too for possible locations for new bridges. Paul aims to personally check everywhere on the waterways every three years, either by boat, foot or by bike. He’s happy for people to spot things and inform him of changes too, lengths of stay at mooring sites, access points, changes to names on bridges or locks. We help to keep the maps up to date as we travel, in fact Paul quite often requests we check the location of a new bridge or the state of a towpath upgrade. This year we’ve confirmed what is at the new services at Marple amongst other things. Today we were off duty as the main man was with us and he’s far more fastidious than we are.

Approaching Ledgard Flood Lock we could see that the gates were closed and the lock would need to be worked. You have to have a Hebble Spike to work the lock, Paul climbed off the bow with it in hand and went about setting the gates and paddles to fill it ready for us as Mick pulled us backwards away from the weir to wait. The lock is pretty big and took a while to fill and then empty. We left it how it had been found, bottom gates chained open top gates closed.

Baaaaa!

A pause to fill with water at Mirfield Services, then we were on our way again, no stopping for lunch today otherwise we’d run out of daylight. As Paul and I set Shepley Lock we were being watched by a very large sheep! Wonder how that came about, don’t remember it from earlier in the year.

A bailey bridge will be added to the maps

The next flood gates were open and once we were down the next lock there was time to make a brew and lunch to have on the go. We came across one of the charity boats having just pulled out from Thornhill Double Locks.

Thornhill Double Locks

Easy working these with two people. Once down Oleanna pulled into the side whilst Paul walked up the Dewsbury arm to check map data there too. We’ve still not been up there on Oleanna and going by boat would have taken us that bit longer than by foot, so we’ll save that for another time.

That smells good

I made use of being moored up to put together a pot of Staffordshire Lobby, my first go. Slow cooking beef, potatoes, parsnip, carrots, beef stock, beer (gf) all popped in a casserole. I’d been aiming to cook this on top of the stove, but as it was quite warm today it wasn’t lit, instead it went in the top oven Gas mark 1 and a bit. After an hour it was turned down to 0.75, it still had a few more hours to cook giving off it’s rather nice aroma.

From blue skies at Ledgard

At the Figure of Three Locks we met a hire boat coming up, they’d been stuck in Wakefield when the river had gone into flood and had just broken a windlass on one of the paddle gears. Hopefully their holiday hadn’t put them off completely.

to ominous skies at Broad Cut

Approaching Broad Cut Top Lock ahead we had blue skies behind and catching us up quite a bit of cloud. The towpath continues down to Broad Cut Low Lock, here the navigation re-joins the river and to reach the towpath you’d have to cross the river. Paul’s maps plot out the route you’d need to take which involves walking through a railway bridge. Next time we’re moored here we’ll go and have a look.

Purple dotted line showing how to reach the towpath

On reaching our last lock of the day Thornes Lock, another that you have to have a Hebble Spike for, the dark clouds caught us up, Mick headed inside to find our coats. Back on the river and on to Wakefield where we turned in through the flood lock and back onto the cut, pulling up a little damp at 17:35. We’d pushed off around 10:15 this morning and only paused a couple of times, over 7 hours, a long day for us. But we’d made it to our destination caught up with where we’d wanted to be today.

Hello Wakefield

Paul topped up on chocolate boat biscuits, packed his bag. A little bit more map data to check before catching a train back to the boat in Birmingham, the moorings we’d pulled onto. Earlier in the year they’d been 72 hr moorings, but new signs have them as 48 hrs. Suspect this will be one of the changes on next months updated maps.

Thank you Paul

Thank you so much Paul for giving us a hand the last two days and earlier in the year too. Your assistance today was very much appreciated and we were glad to be able to help you check the river.

A thick Staffordshire Lobby

The Staffordshire Lobby needed some buckwheat adding, a gf substitution for pearl barley. This however soaked up every last drop of moisture in the stew. Next time I’ll add it much much later and hope to still have a good amount of gravy. Despite this it was still very tasty, easy to make and most probably perfect to sit on top of the stove all day slowly cooking away. We’ve got half of it left over to enjoy in a few days time.

13 locks, 2 flood locks straight through, 1 flood lock worked, 2 flood gates open, 1 flood gate ajar, 12.7 miles, 1 giant sheep, 1 pot of lobby, 1 stretch checked, A team plus 1, 1 destination achieved, 1st Christmas wishes, 1 disappointed cat.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/WeMriWioqzUpRq8V6

Freedom! 17th October

Opposite Sainsburys to above Cooper Bridge Lock 1, Huddersfield Broad Canal

Sunshine! Wonderful sunshine, just a shame we were still coughing. Last night it had rained, more so than it had during the day. We got ourselves ready to push off and awaited our plus 1.

The Locomotion Bridge

A couple walked up, warning us of a very leaky lock ahead for us on the broad canal. They’d ended up doing the lock backwards as they’d been afraid of the water sinking their boat. Quite new to boat life they had plenty to talk about. Paul arrived so we made our excuses and pushed off, we hoped to cover quite a few miles today to catch up on ourselves.

Hello waiting cars

Paul walked ahead to lift Locomotion Bridge. Key of power turned the barriers are manual, then a press of a button has the road lift up and above for us to pass under. Four cars held up and a few cars turned round.

Errr Mushy Peas!

Onwards to tackle the Broad locks. Today Paul and I would work the locks and leave Mick on board to negotiate the cill and getting round from behind the closed bottom gates. Above the top lock was a mass of duck weed, this would mean we’d need to open a second gate as just one was likely to not go fully into the recess due to the amount of weed in the way.