Category Archives: Nature

Loaf Of Bread. 26th May

Lockdown Mooring 5

That maple syrup and spoon of other flour had done the trick to my starter, this morning it had doubled in size and hadn’t sunk back down the jar. It was ready to bake with. I wasn’t prepared. I’d thought it might take until this evening for it to be ready to start a loaf and if I started a loaf now then I would end up baking it tonight at bed time!

I scanned through my recipes and found one that suggested it would rise and be ready to bake between 5 and 7pm. The recipe did have a touch of yeast added to it, but I thought it was well worth it as I didn’t want to waste the progress my starter had made. So a loaf of Chestnut and oat bread it was. My starter was so airy, the airiest it’s ever been. I ran out of white rice flour, so had to add some brown rice flour. Once mixed the sponge was left on the proving shelf for four hours to see what it did. It rose up and showed great promise.

Domed and cracked top even without the yeast

Time to get on with the portraits of the actors who would have been in the production of The Garden. I’ve been putting this painting off for a while, but it proved to be quite pleasurable to work on.

They look a touch like they need a good wash

Skin tone shadows were painted in for everyone and highlights washed back. Then I started to work up one face at a time.

Whilst painting we listened to Anno Domino the new Alan Ayckbourn play. Alan and Heather play all the characters and it is well worth a listen. Back in the 60’s Alan had a stint of being a Radio Drama Producer for the BBC. This showed as we both laughed out loud at images that simply wouldn’t have been as funny on stage. The sound effects (an Ayckbourn hobby) and atmosphere along with the multi track recording worked very well. It must have been great fun for them to make as it is great fun to listen to. Available until the 25th June.

Final ingredients (including some yeast) were mixed into the sponge. Then it was poured into a lined tin and left of the proving shelf for an hour and a half to rise. It gained about a third in height, time to bake it. Mick was requested not to step on and off the boat for a few minutes whilst I transferred the tin into the hot oven. Any knock right now would end with a very flat loaf. Transfer completed Mick could continue to mend one of our tyre fenders that has developed a puncture.

I’d spent all day sat at the dinette table working, so after dinner I headed up the towpath for a walk. I’d spotted a footpath on the offside of the canal which would bring me alongside Oleanna as the sun started to set.

Quite a beautiful evening.

I walked up to Hack Green Locks. The field beside them had the now rotund lambs/teenagers we’d seen back in March. They still played and demanded milk from their Mum’s teets. One old lady just stood and stared at me until I moved away.

I crossed over the bridge between the locks and started to walk back towards Oleanna. This side of Nantwich the fields are all pasture where as to the north they are more arable. Blimey the long grass was hard to walk through and there was no obvious footpath.

A murder of Crows circled the nearby wood, cawing to each other. I found my way into the second field and walked round it’s perimeter trying to find the way ahead. Nettles and brambles stopped my progress. By now I felt like I’d walked through miles of deep snow, my calf and thigh muscles complaining.

I found a narrow bridge across a ditch into another field with more long grass but decided to turn back and head to the bottom lock where a pathway had been worn to the bottom gates. The bywash here was just narrow enough to hop over and I was back on shorter grass.

Tonights sunset was beautiful. A good Shropie sunset is hard to beat. Not having Hurleston Reservoir in the way helped to get the full effect.

0 locks, 2 walked to, 0 miles, 1 frothy starter, 1 loaf, 84th play, 4 portraits finished, 1 Sainsburys order completed, 9 hours, 2 friends consumed at least, 1 tyre mended, 1 stunning sunset.

It works today!

https://goo.gl/maps/9MSEzxGEjpwHCevp7

One’s Better Than None. 21st May

Lockdown Mooring 4A to Cholmondeston Lock to Lockdown Mooring 4A

Time to fill up with water, we’ve not been so careful this last few days so the tank hadn’t lasted so long. But which water point to choose? I knew as there was something that needed to be picked up.

We reversed back through bridge 97 to Hurleston Junction, winded and headed up to Barbridge. Our Lockdown Buddies were all busy, some already with plans as to which way to head when cruising restrictions are lifted this weekend. Most of us will need to move off the 48hr moorings on Monday. At the moment we plan on staying around the area for another week or two with the hope that the Covid-19 statistics improve.

For the last two months we’ve hardly met another boat on the move, but now numbers are picking up. Those visiting their boats for the first time in a couple of months, maybe even this year, are out for a there and back day cruise. Others who can’t wait for the weekend and who have started to move already. So of course today we met a boat at a bridge hole, we were the closest, ‘Just like old times’.

I stood as look out at Barbridge Junction and signalled the way ahead was clear as we turned into the Middlewich Branch. The building site opposite is back up and running again.

Not what you normally see on the Four Counties

A cruiser with a huge engine sat on a trailer by the slipway at Barbridge Marina, bit of overkill for the canal system.

Now most of the Hawthorn blossom has gone, but getting going is the Elderflower. A few more days before the flower heads are out fully.

The plant pot lady on her swing now just about overgrown.

The length of boats we’d left a couple of months ago are still moored above Cholmondeston Lock. Each with their little patch and all very friendly now. A group stood round the water point as we pulled up, a boat just having finished filling. They wound their hose up and gave us room.

With the tank filling I took a large shopping bag with me and headed off on my own. There was a delivery I needed to pick up, sadly a second one hadn’t arrived. I returned to Oleanna where one half of Mick’s birthday present was presented wonderfully wrapped in a Sainsburys bag.

A while ago Paul, from Waterway Routes, had pointed us in the direction of Tannus tyres. These are solid tyres so therefore cannot get a puncture. As our faithful Brompton has had a couple of punctures lately I decided to fork out for a pair.

Delays had happened. The company only dispatches orders the following week as they were working with reduced staff. They sent no confirmation of my order and it was only when it arrived that I was informed that there was only one tyre, not a pair! I ordered a second one, luckily getting some discount from the company. Then I wasn’t able to pick it up until Wednesday. Hence all the delay. So either Mick will get his Christmas present early or Tilly has used up all her pocket money for the next five years in buying the second tyre.

Look at that de-lamination, that used to be plywood.

Lunch was eaten as the water tank filled, we then backed past the line of boats and headed back home.

They’ve lost the ability to change the outside!

Videos of how to fit a Tannus tyre were watched, they are renowned to be quite tricky as they are a solid tyre. Time to give it a go.

The Brompton had it’s front tyre removed, easier than the rear one, it also had a slow puncture. Then the choice of which pins too use, red, blue or black. The blue ones were the correct size for the wheel. These were fed into the holes and then Mick started to fit the tyre. He’d had the foresight to leave the tyre on the rear hatch sitting in the sun for a while. This made the tyre more malleable and considerably easier to fit than expected.

The wheel back on the bike it was taken for a test drive a short distance up the towpath. Just the second tyre to arrive now and he’ll be puncture proof.

I started on some details and shadows on my illustrations. This became quite satisfying, the characters now taking shape and form on the page. There is still more to do and the slight disappointment when I realised that the main character, Emma not only has a stripy cardigan but her coat is multicoloured also! I saved that as a job for tomorrow.

0 locks, 5.55 miles, 0.2 in reverse, 2 winds, 1 right, 1 left, 1 full water tank, 0.5 present, 1 solid tyre, 1 birthday boy kept busy, 1 endless coat, 2 neighbours gone, 1 new neighbour.

I Dig Canals. 19th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

Today I had to make sure I got some time with Tilly on the boat, on our own. Mick headed off up the locks to check for eggs, that egg box of ours has done quite a few trips now. Tilly and I had to put our heads together and quickly, what on earth were we going to do for Mick’s birthday presents?!

Technical glitches, places being closed Mondays and Tuesdays, things costing far more than originally thought (he is worth it) and a pandemic haven’t been helping! There was nothing for him to open with his cuppa in bed! That had to be sorted. Within half an hour there were a couple of cards and six presents for him to open in the morning. Tune in tomorrow to see what he got!

Whilst I’ve been working on my illustrations for the last couple of days we’ve been listening to I Dig Canals podcasts from Alarum Theatre Company. These have come about from an aural history project about the women who helped save the inland waterways from closure and destruction after the second world war. At the moment there are eleven episodes of varying lengths. There may be more planned but as we’ve not got to the last one yet I don’t know.

They are a good listen, full of stories on the Waterway Recovery Group and people trying to get their boats over a blue mini submerged in the cut and mothers listening for the splash as their kids got on and off the boats. The waterways back then were not how they are today and the boats they cruised in had few mod cons. Well worth a listen.

Another thing to listen out for next week is a new radio play. Alan Ayckbourn should have been starting rehearsals for his latest play Truth Will Out this week, but the summer season at the SJT in Scarborough has been cancelled for obvious reasons. So instead Alan has written a radio play Anno Domino which will be premiered from noon on the 25th May for a month, found on the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s website. You can listen for free or make a donation to help the theatre to reopen in the future. This marks the return to acting for Alan, he last performed in 1964. The play has been recorded at home with Heather, his wife and himself playing all the parts. We’ll certainly be listening in.

A birthday card needed popping in the post so I took the long route to the post box. Along the canal to Stokehall Bridge there were plenty of people on the towpath, walkers, fishermen (who all spread out just a touch too much) and a family who gathered themselves up into the hedge for anyone to pass.

The fields from the bridge are tuffy green now, the crop whatever it will be getting ready to reach for the sky.

The oak trees are now in full leaf, lush bright green. On the other hand the hawthorn blossom is passing it’s best, now turning pink and some has even started to fade into brown. Some of the cow parsley was getting on for shoulder height today.

Once at the A51 I walked along towards the post box. For the last couple of months you’ve just had to glance both ways before crossing, but today I had to wait several minutes before there was a big enough gap in the traffic. Another sign of the world getting busier was the aroma around the post box. It is situated on a layby/ bus stop, plenty of lorry drivers stop here for a pit stop, most of them relieving themselves too. Blimey it stank!

This evening I made use of another aubergine from our veg box and cooked us another moussaka. This time I only had pork mince and new potatoes. It was looking very good as it went in the oven, so I made use of the days hot water for a shower. Sadly the gas bottle ran out at some point, long before the top even started to brown. So we had an extended wait for our evening meal. It was tasty, but not as good as the one I made a couple of weeks ago.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 lemon, 8 podcasts, 3 more to go, 6 improvised presents, 2 cards, 1 walk, 1 wee mail box, 1 arrived 1 to follow, 1 empty gas bottle, 1 sock to change into a hat, 1 house nearly cleared.

Laying The Ground. 18th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

Tilly obliged in coming home this morning so we could have a walk up the locks together. We don’t like leaving her out with no-one home, just in case!

We’d been able to hear and see things going on at the top of the flight, a digger/crane in the compound that had been used whilst the bottom lock was being rebuilt. At the locks there was activity too. A couple of chaps seemed to be moving earth around, tidying up the edges of the towpath with a digger . Mick made sure they were aware of the leak at the lock. We suspect the brief for the lock may not have actually included repointing behind the gates, just rebuilding the chamber wall and making it wide enough for boat passage. We feel we’ve mentioned our concerns to enough people now, as I’m sure others have too.

The red van still has eggs for sale, but no duck eggs sadly. We looped back round onto the towpath, crossed over the lock and did a circuit round the reservoir. The work men at the bottom lock were raking finer stones around the lock, finishing off what has been left for a couple of months. Wonder if any of it will need to be dug up to sort the leak out?

An afternoon of painting again. The garden fence went on forever! Will I actually get them finished this week?

Mick attracted my attention at one moment, ‘It’s them!’.

The Wheelie Shoppers were on the towpath, not the field, walking towards the junction. They didn’t dip down into the field but carried on. I grabbed my camera and followed at a distance.

Of course Tilly had to come and help, in fact her meowing arrival at my ankles may well help me in laying down the ground for my back story. The two of them, minus wheelie shopper, walked up the hump to the bridge. Each gave a glance over their shoulder towards me. My sight line was obstructed for a few moments during which time they vanished! But where to!?

I walked up the mound, as if to cross the bridge whilst Tilly continued straight along on the level. Tilly confirmed that they weren’t hiding below, in fact she got quite upset about the whole thing and started shouting very loudly mimicking a duckling who gets stuck on the wrong side of a passing narrowboat from it’s mum. Panic had set in, so my attention had to turn to her, calling her up to the higher level to see where I was. This all helping very much with my back story, should I ever need one.

The Wheelie Shoppers hadn’t actually vanished into thin air, I had a very good idea where they had gone. Opposite the end of the bridge there is a narrow path that leads through the sideways trees, I’d spotted this months ago. Straight ahead is what looks like a small branch blocking the way. They had either lifted this to pass, or the pathway takes a 90 degree turn which isn’t visible from the towpath. As I glanced through the sideways trees I could see them quietly moving away from the canal.

This morning whilst looking down to the boats below the reservoir, I got thinking. With the normal mooring rules coming back in next week, boats will start moving off. We are on a 48hr mooring, so will need to move on Monday whether we want to or not. Each boat will go in a different direction, at different speeds, with different aims and different destinations in mind. We’ve spent a couple of months in each others company, yet not been able to get to know each other, keeping our distance.

Some we just nod our heads, others we deliver veg boxes to, others we have little chats when we come across each other on the towpath or when passing. Social distancing will not be lifted for quite some time yet, so sadly we can’t get together to celebrate being able to move again, or celebrate the lifting of lockdown when it comes. We will all just drift off in our own directions after sharing the last two months together apart. I hope that our bows will cross again in the near future when we can take the opportunity to stop, stand closer have a drink and conversation together. These boats will always be our Lockdown Buddies.

So fluffy, no wonder Mum and Dad are so proud

0 locks, 0 miles, 1ce more round the reservoir, 2 to tidy, 1 to watch, 1 full lock, 1 leak leaking badly, 2 speeding boats, 8 feathery fluff balls, 14 fences, 0.5 fee, 0 shopper, 2 rucksacks, 2 secret pathways, 1 button webcam required, 1 back up story well and truly laid.

Tom’s Cat. 17th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

For the last couple of nights I’ve preferred to sleep on my bed on the sofa. She is comfortable, mostly, but I thought I’d try a change. It also means I don’t get moved around quite so much during the night.

Then this morning I thought I’d try another change. Instead of warming one set of toes I decided to warm knees instead, Tom’s knees. She wasn’t too happy about this and said I’d become Tom’s cat. Because of all the changes I totally forgot about my morning game of pen and headed straight for the back door instead. She was even less happy about this.

Maybe I should reconsider. Tom gives good chin rubs, but his head nudges aren’t as good. He also tends to just push me off the bed in the middle of the night where as She slides the duvet around with me on it when She wants to turn over. I’ll think it over.

Today she went for the usual walk trying to avoid other people going round the reservoir, so she went in the same direction only to find that the family turned round and came back! I’d have run through their legs in this situation, but She says that wouldn’t be 2 meters away and more to the point She’s too old to be running around on all fours! I don’t see a problem with it myself.

The weir into the reservoir all clear now

The reservoir had lots of fishermen round it. All with their masses of equipment. One chap stood in the middle of the path as I approached, but moved out the way for me. His mate down the bank said to just push him out of the way! I didn’t have a long enough stick to keep the social distance, he’d moved enough out of the way anyway.

Oleanna, a visiting boat and then the flag bubble to the right

Back on board I made myself some hummus as I’d run out. With no tahini on board I tried zuzzing some sesame seeds with my stick blender to make some before adding chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, a touch of cumin and some sumac. This will keep me going for a while even with putting half of it in the freezer for the next time I run out, although I think it will need thinning a touch with some more oil.

I also set about browning some pork that we’d bought back in November in Oxford. To this I added a parsnip, carrots still left from a couple of weeks ago, the turnip from this weeks box and several tomatoes. A little glug of wine a stock cube some sage and seasoning, then left it to bubble away at the lowest setting in the top oven. This cooked over several hours and smelt exceedingly yummy.

Mick gave the chimney a sweep, removed the baffle plate inside the stove and cleaned it out. I made sure he stayed well away from my illustrations when he came past with sooty hands. Sadly the stove wasn’t lit until the evening, so the pork stew stayed in the oven to gently cook.

Skies were painted in and a few backgrounds for fireworks and blowy days. There is still a lot of work to do on my illustrations. I need to get a few more hours done in a day, but I am limited as my right hand isn’t too keen on holding thin brushes for too long.

The pork stew was very tasty, we had it with some salad and rice. There is enough left over for a couple more meals. Trying to keep up with the veg boxes keeps me on my toes, so I think we’ll have to freeze the remains of the stew, just so that we can get the greens, aubergine and broccoli eaten before the next box arrives!

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 fishermen, 1 Tom cat! 1 pizza boat, 2 lots of hummus, 3 meals of pork stew, 16 illustrations, 14 skies, 1 whirl wind, 0 wheelie shoppers today, 1 clean chimney, 2 filthy hands.

Back Home. 16th May

Lockdown Mooring 3 to Lockdown Mooring 4A

All the washing done, the water tank almost empty it was time to head ‘home’. But first it was Geraghty Zoom time. There was plenty of gurning from Wiltshire this morning. Good to see everyone.

All the boats apart from NB Islonian had moved off before us this morning. Several more we’ve not seen before came past too, people starting to move to touch further. Down to the winding hole. The reeds here look like they need their roots doing, a very clear line between the bright green new growth and the sandy dry old from last year.

At the water point we joined another boat to fill up. Most moored boats by the services having a visit from their owners for the first time since lockdown was impossed. People rubbed back paintwork and others checked their engine bays. Covers removed and boats pushed off for a little jaunt up the canal and back to give them a run. For the next week people can visit their boats for the day, but not stay overnight.

As the water echoed around our almost empty tank I walked up to the garage for a newspaper and few other bits and bobs. Eggs were needed as I need to bake a cake soon and I didn’t want to risk the egg farm having sold all theirs to the local garden centre.

It’s been a few weeks since I came to the garage, here basic supplies and of course fuel can be purchased along with a Saturday newspaper. A perspex screen has been added at the counter, the chap serving wore gloves and struggled to get my basket through the opening. Bread, butter, eggs, a paper and a 3kg bag of porridge oats were scanned, a handy top up shop. However I did forget to get one thing, I’ll just have to be creative next week!

Back on the towpath I took my time to walk back to the water point. I’d spotted what I’d thought was a Damselfly and wanted to check it was. Three sat on the towpath warming themselves. The first I’ve seen this year, maybe they’d just hatched out and were finding their wings before zooming over the water. They obliged by sitting still to have a photo taken.

Back at Oleanna the tank was just about full on my return. Another boat had turned up for a top up, the water was certainly busier than we’ve seen it for a long time. We pushed off and made our way back towards Barbridge. I’d considered walking back but when we came across a group of fluffy cygnets I was glad I hadn’t, Dad was standing guard on the towpath and I suspect he wouldn’t have let me pass.

Our first cygnets and damselflies today.

Fishermen are back in numbers. One chap had totally taken over the grass at the junction with a tent and several rods out across the water. At least he’d found a patch where people could avoid having to walk right past him, quite self contained and out of the way.

A shiny freshly painted boat sat on it’s mooring as we approached the reservoir. The owners had just arrived for the day so we got chance to chat as we passed. The boat had been at Overwater for a repaint when the country closed down. They spent their time tidying their mooring, but last Thursday they jumped at the chance to get her back home. A fine looking boat.

Oleanna smiled back at us as we rounded the final bend by the reservoir, we were approaching ‘home’.

All the neighbours waved and said hello, Helen from the Scrabble boat said she was going to get a bungee to tie us down. Our little community happy where we are for now.

There was one space left on the 48hr mooring, our space. We slotted back in, back at ‘home’. It looked like someone had spent sometime in our spot as a can of Redbull lay on it’s side and five cigarette butts were strewn around. These were picked up and put in a bin for disposal later, the litter bug humans are returning.

Tilly was straight out, happy to be back. No coming and going time and time again, just content to do her thing.

I settled down to have a long chat with the London Leckenbys catching up on the weeks news. Mick popped his head out of the hatch and pointed to the gap in the hedge, the Wheelie Shoppers!! I watched the lady walk past and loitered at an angle to check they were heading to the path they have worn through the barbed wire fence.

A couple walked by, obviously having picked up some eggs from the farm. No duck eggs still, but the van was still there, so that is a relief. I glanced back into the field just to see the lady disappearing round the end of the pond.

Tilly now so happy to be here needed some encouragement to come home. So the mad cat lady walked up and down and headed into the field. No sign of the white tipped tailed one, but I did walk round the corner to near where the Wheelie Shoppers go. I see this as laying the ground for venturing along the path in a few days time, under the pretence that I’m looking for my cat.

0 locks, 4 miles, 1 wind, 2 straights, 1 full water tank, 1 new pooh bucket, 1 paper, 6 eggs, 1 loaf bread, 3kg porridge, 3 damselflies, 7 cygnets, 2 proud parents, 1 busy canal, 7 fishermen, 5 fag butts, 1 spot for us, 0 wheelie shopper today, 1 Thursday photo taken on a Saturday.

Greengrocer Boat. 14th May

Lockdown Pickup Mooring to Lockdown Mooring 3

Waking early this morning I peeked out of the curtains, then had to open up the hatch. At 5 am it was dawn, the birds were in full voice, steam rising off the canal all around us and the sky to the east glowed orange with silhouettes of cow parsley gently waving. The view over Scarborough’s South Bay yesterday was special, this view was magical.

I did go back to bed and had a few more hours sleep before we had our cuppa in bed. Then it was up and time to move, it was Thursday after all. Oleanna was nudged up closer to the bridge passing the locals who now know us. We found our mooring spike holes easily and just tapped them in to moor up, then settled down to have breakfast.

We must have been early on the route today as shortly after 10am the chap from Clem’s pulled up in his car. Three boxes for us today, Sandra had ordered two, us one. Today we got chance for a quick chat with him.

The veg box scheme started up in October with friends who couldn’t make the market on a Saturday morning. By Christmas the demand had grown beyond friends. So by the time the pandemic arrived they were already set up. The chap we’ve seen the last three weeks had stopped working for them a while back but because demand was growing he was offered a part time job. The part time job is now 40 hours a week. At the height of demand they were selling around 400 boxes a week, he’d be delivering over £1000 of fresh fruit and veg a day. Demand isn’t quite as it was, he’s looking forward to having Sundays off again.

Whilst we are still in the area we’ll keep using them, although next week I might just ask for no potatoes and see what we get instead! Obviously when we start to be able to move again we’ll stop getting them, but should we return to Nantwich in the future and the boxes still be available I’ll get in touch with them.

Mick headed off to Crewe in the car to return it to Enterprise. Our petrol for the trip to Scarborough had only been £26 thanks to fuel being so cheap. We can’t remember when you could last buy a litre of petrol for under £1!

Rules on the canals are starting to be lifted, our cruising is still limited but fishing and canoeing amongst other sports is allowed again. One chap turned up with his rods, chair, brolly etc and plonked himself a few meters behind us, certainly not the 15 he’s meant to leave. We didn’t say anything as we were intending to move, backwards through where he was fishing.

Mick politely mentioned what we’d be doing. The fisherman said he normally avoids canals but thought as today was the first day for fishing he’d give it a try. As he’d totally taken over the towpath with no thought for anyone else we just did what we’d have done if he wasn’t there.

Back to the winding hole where we turned. A beep beep to let Sandra know we were nearly there and her two boxes were laid out on the bow locker for her to pick up. We had a long chat about our day out yesterday and covid-19 testing for boaters.

As we were on the move already we carried on toward Calverley the water tank needing filling and a big pile of washing was requiring our attention. At Barbridge there are scarecrows at just about every house. One chap stood at the helm of a narrowboat, Spiderman climbed a wall and what looked like Chewbacca held a large microphone. Apparently the village got together to make them. Hopefully they will stay for a few days longer so that we can have a walk around the village to see them properly.

The C&RT bins and their enclosure at the junction have been removed leaving only the metal uprights with hazard tape around them. The canal bridge to reach them isn’t safe for the bin wagon anymore, so maybe the bins are going for good?

At Calveley we ate our lunch as the tank filled, disposed of rubbish and then moved on through the bridge to pull onto the moorings and set the washing machine to work.

Mooring here for the night means that Tilly could be reminded that the outside will move once again. C&RT have amended their guidance more. Limited movements until the 23rd May. Then if you are on a visitor mooring you need to move, but if moored on a 14 day stretch you won’t need to move until the 6th June. Just about every boater we’ve talked to today is wanting to stay put, not confident of moving distances until the number of cases has dropped a lot more. We all know the set up where we are and feel safe. I think if we have to start moving we’ll still be in this pound for sometime until confidence grows. C&RT are hoping to have the waterways back up and running by the 1st June. But we’ll see.

One thing is certain, I need to get my illustrations finished and get our gunnels looking good before we loose a low hard edged towpath mooring.

0 locks, 4.2 miles, 3 veg boxes, 2 leeks cut down to fit in the fridge, 1 car returned, 9 fishermen at least, 1 clock ticking on moorings, 1 full water tank, 1 lead to follow up, 1 happy towpath cat, 1 load of washing, 1 extra good fried rice tonight.

His and Hers Loaves. 6th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

My sourdough sponge had gone frothy overnight, so it was time to mix in all the other flours. Potato starch, Tapioca starch, Flaxseed all sorts, plus some butter and an egg. It all makes for a very liquid bread batter that is so very different to the last few loaves I’ve made which were vegan as well as gluten free.

Poured into a lined bread tin (GF stuff always wants to stick when it’s cooked) it was then left on the proving shelf to grow. The recipe I’d chosen I could have added yeast too, but as my starter had been so bubbly I decided to omit it and leave it to rise for longer on it’s own. The timer was set for 2 hours, the minimum.

With only one egg left I set off on the Egg Walk. Micks version of this may differ slightly from mine, but both versions have the same intention. Duck eggs and maybe some hen eggs. I walked up the locks, under the first two bridges on the Llangollen Canal and then climb up onto what was the A51 before the newer version was built.

Here people pull in to buy eggs and boaters have their cars parked. Today the red van had a fresh supply of eggs, medium and extra large, but sadly the centre trays were empty. No duck eggs.

I looped round onto the A51 and walked over the canal. Nantwich Vets Equine Centre looked like it has opened back up. Several horse boxes turned in along with various other vehicles, in fact there was a bit of a queue to turn in. The world is getting busy again.

I walked round the houses to see if there were any eggs here, but sadly the table wasn’t out. We’ll try again tomorrow.

A full circuit of the reservoir before heading back down the locks. This only equates to a couple of miles at most, but at least it’s showing some effort before starting work for the day.

At lunchtime Mick asked if I could make him a loaf of bread. We still have some bread flour on board, not much, but some. We also have dried yeast, so this was possible. My loaf needed longer on the proving shelf, so I wondered if they both would be able to go in the oven together.

Baking times and temperatures were different for the loaves, but I managed to work it out in the main oven. My loaf was baking first with the hope that it would have set itself before possibly getting disturbed when adding Mick’s loaf. If you happen to knock the tin of the gluten free loaf before it’s set all the air bubbles will pop, making it a flat loaf. My calculations worked and the usual extra five minutes out of their tins finished them off nicely.

Three quarters of my sketches got inked in this afternoon before noises from the flag bubble distracted me. Shrieks and engine noises. Just what was going on!

NB Plum appeared to be trying to get in to the off side for some reason. Then after a while we could also see NB AreandAre doing similar things. A tractor in the field? Then we could see why, a cow had fallen in the cut. It actually turned out to be two cows that had misjudged their footing and toppled into the canal. Plum and AreandAre were being used to stop the cows from walking away from where they could be rescued. After about fifty minutes both were back on dry land and the world calmed down. Sandra filmed the rescue, here’s a link to the footage on their facebook page.

This evening I decided it was time to use the aubergine we’d got in the veg box last week. An obvious choice was to make a Moussaka. I’ve never made one before, but we had everything required which would mean I could use the half tin of tomatoes and some more potatoes. Well it took some time to get ready for the oven, but that time was well worth it. Ever so tasty, it’ll be added to the repertoire.

No audible sound of the PPe bird at all today and no sign of the wheelie shoppers. I’ll carry on listening to bird song on the internet in hope to find out what it is.

Tilly watching out for the Wheelie Shoppers

If you are wanting a bit of a jolly good laugh this weekend I can highly recommend By Jeeves which will be on the Show Must Go On Youtube channel from 8pm on Friday. This was the show that opened the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough when it moved into the Odeon building in 1996. I did a little bit of work on the premier production when I first started working there, I put the flowers on the grass verges I seem to remember. This recording is from a production in the States or Canada I believe. Not your usual Lloyd Webber big musical, but Jeeves and Wooster brought together in a daft musical by Alan Ayckbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber. For those who worked at the SJT back in 1996 the show is in our blood, the lyrics resurface just as soon as the music starts. When a production of it was put on at The Old Laundry in Bowness a few years ago so many of us rushed to see it again. We’ll certainly be watching.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 duck eggs, 0 reservoir eggs, 1 circuit, 2 loaves bread, 1 sachet yeast, 1 sourdough, 12 inked in drawings, 1 pirate on a bike, 2 swimming cows, 1 tractor, 2 boats, 9 hours, 1 exhausted cat, 1st Moussaka, plenty of potatoes left.

Yummo! 3rd May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

With some gluten free bread on board, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes etc and it being Sunday, there was only one thing for it…. a cooked breakfast!

Because of us having a potato mountain on board I decided to have a go at making some hash browns. This turned out to be a very good idea. I grated up a few small potatoes and a half onion left over from a few days ago into a t-towel, then I squeezed out as much water as I possibly could, a surprising amount. Then in a bowl I added a good amount of salt and pepper and about half an egg, enough so that I knew it would help bind everything together without becoming a potato omelette. This was then handed over to the breakfast chef for cooking. Cooked in rapeseed oil for about 3 minutes on each side until golden.

They were certainly worth the grating. As Rick Stein says, ‘Yummo!’

I decided to stretch my legs in the late morning sunshine and see how the fields up towards Stoke Manor were doing. I walked this route a while ago when the footpaths were hard to make out across recently sewn fields. Today I set out to do the route in reverse.

Walking along the towpath up to Stokehall Bridge you could see the effect of the recent rainfall. The towpath plants have shot up, cow parsley reaching for the sky. The well trodden path a curved dip between the green edge of the canal and the trees. Normally this would have been mowed by now, but C&RT are only mowing near locks and moorings, places where you need to be able to see what you are doing. I wonder what they’d look like if there wasn’t quite so much footfall?

I crossed over the canal at the bridge and climbed over the stile. From here the green field had a very well marked footpath straight across towards the manor. The crop now sprouted by around 8 inches in little tufts above the earth.

Where the two paths meet I could see which was the more popular route, the other route ending with a 12 ft quagmire. But the path was marked, was the yellow colour from feet brushing through the crop, or has the farmer sprayed or rolled the line to mark the way?

Approaching the manor the trees now in leaf framed the building well.

The footpath becomes a narrow channel through the friendly cover of cow parsley and grasses brought me to the farm yard and back onto the road. I was glad to see the footpath sign has been revealed again, shame the one at the top of the road still had it’s black bin bag wrapped around it!

Returning by the reservoir the cocky cockerel had escaped again and was strutting his stuff around the garden. A couple of boxes of eggs his good ladies had laid sat waiting to be bought. I’m still holding out for some duck eggs.

Tilly spent much of the day out in the fields, we don’t get to see much of her at the moment. She returns for a few biscuits and the occasional drink during the day. An odd restorative kip and then she is back out hunting for friends. We have turned into a B&B for her. At least with the stove out this evening she curled up on my knee for some warmth. I wonder what she’ll make of it when we get to cruise properly again?

The ability to draw had returned this afternoon, so I worked my way back through my sketches, removing gurning chins, improving hands. Sadly I was missing a good photograph of the movement director to add to the portraits on the last sheet. Hopefully Dark Horse will be able to provide me with a better image of him, then the pencil stage will be done, unless I get notes from Amy.

Thank you Ann for the link to the National Trust bird song. Sadly the PPe bird doesn’t feature. Mick has down loaded an app BirdNET to see if we can identify it with that. He’s tried several times to catch it’s call , but when he does get it it is upstaged by other bird song. We’ll continue and hopefully managed to identify it.

This evening we have worked our way through a few more potatoes and enjoyed a large roast chicken and fresh veg to accompany them. We didn’t eat the whole bird, the left overs will last us most of the week. With still half of our veg box left to consume I’d better look at buying some new jeans the next size up!

0 locks, 0 miles, 12 tomatoes, 4 rashers bacon, 4 hash browns, 8 mushrooms, 3 slices toast, 3 eggs scrambled, 4 slices black pudding 1 hours walk, 2 bridges, 1 field, 2 paths, 12 eggs, 1 cocky ‘un, 15 sketches complete, 9 portraits, 1 still to go, 1 cat B&B, 1 elusive bird, 2.1kg of chicken, 1 bag of potatoes completely eaten!

Rustling In The Hedges. 1st May

Almost Lockdown Mooring 4

Since we’ve been mooring here we have occasionally seen a couple walking along the field alongside us. The first time was at dusk, they walked along the towpath and then bobbed through the large gap into the field. The lady had a face covering/scarf wrapped round and the chap had a wheelie shopper. They entered the field and walked back along the hedge, never to be seen again that evening.

Maybe the ladies face covering was due to the virus, or was it a disguise so nobody would recognise them? Just what were they doing with their wheelie shopper in the field? Certain possibilities came to mind, but in the morning there was no evidence in the field of a freshly dug hole.

We’ve been keeping an eye out for a boat with that wheelie shopper. But we now know most of the boaters around us and none of them fitted the bill. As we stood one day waiting to cross the main road into Nantwich, the same couple appeared from under the aqueduct and walked northwards with that wheelie shopper, no disguise that day.

Then this morning the lady crept past the gap in the hedge again, we’re right along side it now, maybe the chap had already passed by with the shopper and I just hadn’t noticed him. Just what do they do in there? Our four legged spy refused to go and keep an eye on them, she went out eventually but didn’t give us any information when she returned.

Mick headed off on the bike to pick up a parcel for me. A very helpful local lady had offered to help with post should we need and I’d been running low on paper for my illustrations. I’d hunted round on the internet for ages trying to find one place that stocked the same paper I’d been using along with a new sketch book for panto. This had proved impossible. So I hunted round the Fred Aldous website to see if they had the equivalent weight paper as I’d been using. An A4 pad and two sketch books were ordered, one for panto and the other for #unit21. No excuses now I had to do some work, well …. after a walk.

Lots of paper to fill with drawings and ideas

On my way up to the reservoir I had a quick check in the field, no obvious signs of any activity again. Maybe it’s a short cut !?! Up at the reservoir the hawthorn was bloomin. No eggs for sale today and the raft that we think divers had been using to inspect the dam has now gone, leaving the water for the ducks.

As I reached the boat house with it’s slipway I could see the familiar shape of NB Mountbatten heading from Barbridge to Nantwich. That would explain why some of the locks had been empty when I’d walked up the flight, Mountbatten comes down the flight and heads up to Calverley before returning southwards. I gave Mick a call so he’d be aware of Richard delivering coal to us. This will be the last time we see them for a while as Mountbatten is heading to the Erewash canal for some work on her base plate.

The towpath alongside the moorings has had a hair cut whilst we were away yesterday. A fresh cut edge visible towards the hedge. An expletive was heard from the boat just behind us ‘SH*T’. The lady was most probably correct in her observation, and I suspect there will be a patch of grass that will grow greener than it’s surrounding due to the substance she had been stirring.

The rest of the day was spent improving some of my drawings. My original plan had been to do new drawings rather than amendments to those already existing, so I could choose which was best. But sadly the new pad of paper I’d bought, despite being of the same weight isn’t as white as the original pad. So when they are photographed the background would be different.

So as I’ve only three sheets left of the original paper I’m saving those for the drawings that need the most work and just rubbing out where needed on the originals. I now need a really fine pointed rubber to help edit faces that with just a slight line in the wring place end up gurning out from the page at me!

Half of the spinach from yesterdays veg box was wilted into a chicken curry that I’ve adapted from my Hemsley and Hemsley cook book. Peas instead of green beans, a chunk of ginger added and served with basmati brown rice. Very tasty it was too.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 bike ride, 1 reservoir walk, 3 buckets constantly stirred, 3 sketch books, 1 hail storm, 6 improved drawings, 1 pair glasses, 1 lady, 1 chap, 1 hedge, 1 field, 1 wheelie shopper, 1 mystery, 1 silent spy.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Nature

Loaf Of Bread. 26th May

One’s Better Than None. 21st May

I Dig Canals. 19th May

Laying The Ground. 18th May

Tom’s Cat. 17th May

Back Home. 16th May

Greengrocer Boat. 14th May

His and Hers Loaves. 6th May

Yummo! 3rd May

Rustling In The Hedges. 1st May