This morning I noticed that our window frames need a good clean out. We seem to have a crop growing in the fluffy surround. Maybe it’ll be something tasty!
Cress or something more substantial?
As we finished off breakfast yesterdays locking partners came past us, then as we were rolling back the covers they came past again, heading in the same direction as us. How nice of them to call for us to do Woolhampton Lock together.
The river joins from the right
They of course were experienced at this lock and the swing bridge that closely follows it, having been through it yesterday. Below the lock the River Kennet joins again at 90 degrees, this is soon followed by the swing bridge. The flow on the river can mean that heading downstream you won’t be able to stop to operate the bridge, so it is recommended to open the bridge before leaving the lock.
Power on
Both safe through the bridge
Crew went ahead to open up, from my side of the lock I couldn’t see that it was opened but the chap on the other side said it was as Mick left the lock. A bit of power was needed to get past the initial force of the current, then enough to keep steerage through the bridge where shortly afterwards the boats pulled in to pick us all up. We’d both safely made the transit.
The culvert work we passed has progressed into a lot of mud
At Aldermaston Lock we waited and helped bring a wide beam up before we both could descend. An off duty volunteer appeared and as there were a few boats he went off to get his windlass and life jacket from the car, a handy extra pair of hands.
That’s what they look like
NB Seraph went on ahead through the lift bridge whilst we turned to the services to fill with water, this will be the last opportunity before going onto the Thames. This meant I got to see what the underside of a lift bridge looks like from the road. At the services we disposed of all our waste and then reversed out winded and waited for the road to be clear to lift the bridge again. I was glad we’d waited as I got 27 cars compared to NB Seraph’s 19.
Hips
As Mick brought Oleanna into Padworth Lock I heard two Kingfishers, soon followed by the two of them darting past in electric blue unison, both banking at the same time to give a flash of orange as they turned just behind Mick’s head and vanished into the trees. It was like the Red Arrows, they just needed a few more mates to make a proper display team. Sadly no photos were possible.
Sticky sticky things
We carried on working our way down through the locks and swinging the bridges now on our own, each chamber needing to be filled. Every now and then the river would join again, one stretch taking us by surprise and speeding our way downstream.
Sulhampstead Swing Bridge and lock were to be my last on the Kennet and Avon. A shame the sun hadn’t been out for my last day of freedom before Panto starts. We pulled in at Theale Visitor Moorings, hoping that the Thames will have dropped enough for Mick to make progress upstream towards Oxford this coming week. Today more yellow boards, stream decreasing are showing, they are almost half way to Oxford now, just a few more needed.
Tilly had a good explore this afternoon as I packed, baked and booked train tickets. Mick spent much of the time searching the internet for a new shower thermostatic mixer bar. Ours has decided to keep a constant temperature, just about too hot! So tomorrow he’ll help me with my bags and then go and see if he can get a new one from Reading Screwfix to plumb in.
My bags are now packed and in the morning I’ll be heading off to Panto. Hopefully when you are reading this Mick will be closer to moving onto the Thames, my navigational and windlass duties will be passed over to Paul from Waterway Routes https://www.waterwayroutes.co.uk to help Mick get off the K&A.
So until I get chance to post a postcard here, this will be the last post for a while. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Thames and other boaters blogs as I eat my cereal each morning before painting my arms off on Puss in Boots. See you all soon.
6 locks, 5.99 miles, 1 wind, 5 swing bridges, 1 lift bridge, 41 held up, 1 boat let through, 1 full water tank, 20 biscuits, 1 oat and chestnut loaf, 1 big bag packed, 1 rucksack, 1 bag of templates, 2 kingfishers, 1 boater signing off for a while.
Hunting round for a printers to do copies of my plans I noticed a group of possibles behind the marina opposite. I chose one to aim for and set off with my tracing paper roll under my arm. After I’d crossed the canal the roll had to be tucked inside my fleece as it had started to rain. They were wrapped in a plastic bag, but all the same I didn’t want to end up with a wrinkly set.
Newbury Salmon ladder
In what seemed to be someones garage I opened the door and enquired if they did A2 copies. No came the answer from a chap hidden behind numerous toner cartridges, but there was a place in Aldermaston. That was no good to me, they’d be closed on Sunday when we might just pass through. They could however do me a couple of copies that covered the whole drawing, that would do me.
Modern printers are like old TV sets they take forever to warm up and get going. A test copy was done, which took forever to appear at the far end of the garage. This was fine and he set about doing my copies for me. once this machine got going it didn’t hang around! They charged a minimum of £7.50, was that okay? Just over 30p a sheet that was great, an A2 would have been around £2 a go!
Ambient! My lasagne the other day was ambient too
Now with a bigger roll I looked like I was hiding a shot gun under my fleece. I met Mick at Sainsburys where we stocked up on perishables. Back at the boat we had lunch and then pushed off.
Dante modelling a new woofer life jacket
Okay so we didn’t go far, just around the corner to wait for the marina service mooring to become free. Then we pushed over doing ‘an Andy’ to get the stern in against the strong wind. Newbury has no C&RT water points, but here you can top up your tank for £2, if you spend enough on other things it’s free. We managed 50 litres diesel and a bag of coal, so we got the H2O for free. I put a load of washing on to make the most of it.
When the new rulings come in for Diesel the chap said they wouldn’t sell to passing boats anymore. How many other places will go the same way?
Impatient locals
This all took time and it was nearly four by the time our tank gave it’s boom to tell us it was full. So we pushed back over, mooring just before Greenham Lock. All was good, with empty and full tanks as required and a clean pooh bucket, happy boaters.
Whilst Tilly explored this stretch of narrow land between canal and river I drew up a template for the pattern in the Boozer for Panto. This recurs on several bits of set, so being able to draw it out quickly will be a great help. With this then cut out I could start putting things away.
Work corner
For months now the corner of our dinette has had a model sitting in it along with boxes of paints and my model making box. It is normally tied away better than in this photo. I’d hoped that the Production Manager for Vienna might manage to pick the model up this weekend, but we are too far off his route, so it will be sent by courier instead, we’ll have to put up with it for a while longer. Everything else though could be packed away again and stowed under the seating until next year.
Mine!
It’s all mine!
Tilly woke up just as I was putting the cushions back and made sure that she claimed them by rolling all over the place and running along the dinette sideways, those poor cushions!
Our forth and final meal from the left over pork this evening. Left over stew, just about anything that I could find went into this in my cast iron pot which was left to bubble for a couple of hours. With a large jacket potato each it was very tasty. The joint may have been large, but it did us five main meals so that’s just over £1 a go. Not bad.
A photo for Frank
Earlier than advertised the Michaelmas Fair firework display started. We tried looking out of the hatch but we were too far away with too many trees in the way to see anything. Oh well, we just listened instead.
0 locks, 0.24 miles, 52.4 litres, 1 bag Glow, 1 full tank water, 1 empty wee tank, 1 clean pooh bucket, 24 copies, 1 chicken, A1 template, 1 corner reclaimed, 1 set loaded ready for Monday, 3 yellow boards, the rest still red, 2 free days hooray!
When you wake up, turn your phone on and before you think it’s even woken up fully you get a text message with a question about panto, you just know it’s going to be one of those days!
Luckily the first email I got was from the actor/writer for A Regular Little Houdini who had just worked his way through the model photos I’d sent out yesterday, he was thrilled, so was Josh the Director when I heard from him later in the day.
Then the Panto emails started, questions left, right and centre. Everyone is gearing up to the start of rehearsals next week. Builders wanting to know if they should use prime mixed with colour. Will we need a pay phone in the telephone box? Will a recoiling hoover cable work? Could they have a hanging plot? My plans don’t quite match plans the technicians now have. Which are correct? Mine have to be. How many 1950’s mics have we got? Black or silver stands? Has portal 3 gone? The repercussions of that. They just kept coming all day!
Pub sign
I enlarged writing for signs on the printer and just had one more thing to do when the black cartridge ran out. I changed the cartridge but somehow it didn’t prime itself. Now the printer thinks it is full of black, but can’t print with it. I stopped what I was doing and handed it over to the technical department to fix. That last job could wait.
The designer of Houdini needed to be shot. Drawing up a cross section can be a challenge at times, one I somehow usually sadistically enjoy. But the bridge structure being set at an angle on the stage and then leaning in both other planes! Blimey!! Okay, so doing drawings on a computer would make this so much easier, but hardly a challenge. The sense of achievement when I finally finished it was great.
I just need a shoe horn now to be able to fit the bridge into the actors camper van to bring it back to England after the run in Vienna.
The technical department tried and tried to get the printer working. The final thing was to leave it off overnight and see if it would sort itself out. Fingers crossed as printer scanners are few and far between now. * Edited Looking at the spec of printers Mick found that most manufacturers of printers don’t boast about scanning as they used to! So if needs be we’ll be buying a new one.
Someone’s hard at work!
Tilly came and went. Even though her time outside here has been short, she is bored of this outside. So much so that she constantly got in the way today, being told off for walking on things she shouldn’t and leaving paw prints on drawings! She then gave up and retired to her shelf. When do cats stop growing? Will she be needing an extension soon.
The pork still keeps giving. Tonight we had roast pork and potato pizza. I’d tried making the sour dough base leaving it to do it’s stuff for 8 hours instead of 24. The verdict was either my sour dough starter has died or it simply wasn’t long enough. The base was a touch chewy!
The photo makes it look a touch too done, but it wasn’t
The Thames is still out of bounds, but looking at the levels on the C&RT site the Kennet should be fine. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to do a bit of boating.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 days not stepping off the boat, 4 yellow boards the rest red, 1 Still Rockin stuck at Goring, 1 Kamili stuck at Abingdon, 8:20 first question, 2 many questions to get my work done, 1 annoying cat, 3 pawprints that shouldn’t be there, 1 broken printer, 1 expanding camper required, 3rd pork meal, pizza not so good.
The Thames is still high, out of the reaches we’d need to cover five are ‘Caution Stream Increasing’ the rest ‘Caution Strong Stream’, no signs of it decreasing yet. Hopefully after a couple of dry days this will start to change.
A sneaky peek
Yesterday we decided to stay put until all my work is completed for Houdini and the bit of prep work for Panto I need to do. If then we have time to reach somewhere with a station nearer to Reading we’ll move. Getting closer towards the Thames would be a good thing and getting Oleanna through certain obstacles on the K&A would help too. This will give Mick more chance of reaching Abingdon or Oxford for my first weekend trip home from panto, that’s if the Thames goes down.
and another
So today I knuckled down, hoping to finish my model and any amendments to drawings for Houdini. Only one drawing left to do, a cross section. Lots of photos of the model to show the Director, Lighting Designer, Writer/Actor, Videographer. Just annoying that the internet started playing games as everything was uploading!
An Autumnal Mick
Mick cycled off to Halfords for some engine oil. Then he did a biggish shop at Sainsbury’s. They keep giving us really good vouchers so it would be silly not to use them. It’s that thing they do at this time of year, they think they have got you hooked with free nectar points, money off etc. so you’ll do your Christmas food shop with them. For us it tops up the nectar points that we may or may not be able to spend on a Christmas food shop. If all goes according to plan, our bird will come from the butchers in Braunston and our veg from the Post Office at Napton, so our points will wait for another time.
Mick spent the rest of the afternoon sat out the back, keeping out of my way and chaperoning Tilly. It was such a mild afternoon that I had the hatch open for much of it and Tilly could return as often as she liked.The Fish Selection Pocket Pillows have nothing to do with it! They are rather nice, thank you to Joa or Adam for them, although I think I still prefer the Chicken and Cheese ones.
Autumnal catwalk
She’d had enough after a while and returned to sleep leaving her chaperone outside. He eventually came in to carry on working his way through programmes on the channel tunnel, Heathrow and the first series of Star Trek.
Why the title? Today is the first day of Newbury’s Michaelmas Fair which happens in the week where the Thursday is the first Thursday following the 11th of October. It dates back to the 17th Century when Shepherds and Maids turned up to seek work in the town. It is about a mile away, but we could just about make out the words coming across the PA. Neither of us are big fans of fairs, so I doubt we’ll be paying it a visit. Although the fireworks on Friday may be worth it if we are still here.
0 locks, 0 miles, 0 steps of the boat for me,4 hours, 10 litres oil, 4 boxes wine, 1 model finished, 2 groundplans, 6 sheets, 1 cross section still to go, 25 year anniversary, 2,000 robot women, 2nd left over pork meal, teriyaki stir fry.
It’s been a long time since they stayed in bed in the morning this long. I like it, I get to keep toes warm or lie at the longest length I can be. She and Tom checked the outside without even getting out of bed, I chose to check it through the window, it was still raining!
A Marooned view
Apparently the outside we were aiming to tie up means we have to go through one that has gone all red and yellow. This isn’t good, even if it sounds quite bright and jolly. Tom says it would be really quite hard to tie up the right bit as the outside would be moving itself too quickly, faster than he would be moving it. So this doesn’t sound good. Quite confusing really.
The rain started to stop, so they decided to move the outside to somewhere for 14 days rather than just for 1. Another boat arrived so they joined us, tying up the outside to stop it from moving maybe would take two boats. She got her coat choice wrong, silly thing, of course it was going to rain again!
Newbury Lock
Last night there had been loads of people walking past us, it turns out that there had been a fire display on the canal. The messy people had left everything, but had marked it all with yellow balls. This meant one boat at a time, She and the other She had to walk on. Tom speedily followed the other boat managing to avoid the bridges and they both quickly tied up a park with a big round pond in it. This looked quite good. But Tom moved the outside again, this time on our own. Luckily She was there to help tie it up.
Yellow balls everywhere
Big trees, it all looked quite promising out there, but she and Tom stood in a huddle, then came and told be shore leave was cancelled again. They know I can swim, but the river might take me to another outside, so I had to stay inside. Don’t they realise I’m not that stupid! Those trees look so very good.
Instead I tried helping with the poisonous model, but She wasn’t too keen on this.
Now this is fun!
I did find a new game. Be’doingy balls are quite good on their own, but mix one with a slipper! Well now , that is fun.
By the end of the day the River Thames had got even more jolly. She says she can get from here to Chippy, but they don’t want to get stuck on this side of the Thames until Christmas, so we have all our paws and fingers crossed that the rivers go down quickly.
Sandford Lock would be our problem.
1 lock, 0.4 miles, 1 more day of cabin fever, 1 more rainy day, 1 river running by quickly, 1 new cyc, 1st coats of paint,1 ball, 1 slipper, highly recommended.
Yesterday we’d stopped short of our planned destination for the day, today we needed to catch up. So the alarm went off, we had breakfast and were ready to push off into the chilly morning. At least the sun was out and we might be able to see the views that the cloud had shrouded on our way west.
Sun’s out
There are so many boats moored along the Long Pound, progress was very slow but at least Alton Barnes White Horse was in view for much of our way. Then we skirted round the Wiltshire mounds to our north were ancient terracing is very evident.
Mounds
Under Lady’s Bridge and past the wide water where a chap was just coming out of his boat full of the joys of spring!
Terraced Pickle
Just before Pewsey Winding Hole a chap pointed at us from the bow of his boat and then three others waved.
The Rustys
The Rustys had winded this morning and managed to get their boat just about into the side to moor so that they could go for an exploration. our boats were finally pointing different directions and our paths wouldn’t cross again. Hope their trip back to Hilperton is good. There was a bit of banter about meeting up next year, maybe Bingley.
Boat cat keeping an eye on us
We considered stopping to dispose of our yellow water but by the time we realised that the service mooring was actually free it was a touch late, so we carried onwards. The chilled medication emporium wasn’t open anyway!
Birdies
Approaching Wooton Rivers Mick took it very slowly, we didn’t want to get shouted at again. The boat in question seemed to have moved since we’d come the other way a month ago, by a full boat length! Maybe he’d been all the way to Bath and back having returned to the same spot, or maybe not.
At the bottom of the locks we disposed of all our rubbish with the handy recycling bins and then started to make our way up to the summit pound.
A chance photo paid off
Work emails kept me busy when not winding my windlass. Difficulty finding the paint I was after, where’s the drawing for the ladder, would I like an extra painty pair of hands in Chippy. This was all panto stuff, then the emails regarding Houdini started flying back and forth between the writer and production manager. All the time I was aware we would be heading into a black hole of communication once over the top.
Wooton Rivers Lock
Even though I was busy trying to respond to everyone there was still time to buy some eggs at our 2000th lock on Oleanna. I picked out the larger ones from the bottom tray thinking that they would be fresher than those on the top. I’d make use of these in the quinoa quiche I was making for tonight, we were a couple of eggs short before and now we had several very large eggs in hand.
As we pulled out of Brimslade Lock an abc hire boat came from the lock above. We left our gate for them as they closed the gates ahead of us. We all said hello and then we watched them pull into the lock landing to drop off crew, followed by having difficulty getting into the already open lock.
Last lock uphill
Cadley Lock was our last up hill. Sadly the plums by the top gate were now well past their best, most rotting on the floor making it very slippy under foot. But I was surprised at the number of butterflies here. About four fluttered their way around me, one hitching a lift on our roof for a distance. I’d have thought it was way past butterfly time.
Rotting plums
The locks up to the summit and down the other side are still being locked overnight at 3pm. We’d been caught out by the very low pound heading westwards and just made it to the top in time. With two more miles across the top we knew we wouldn’t be down the first set of locks by 3pm, so we’d find somewhere to moor instead. At least we’d caught up some of the time we’d lost yesterday, hopefully tomorrow we’ll get back to where we should be.
Hitching a lift
Through Savernake Tunnel we started to look for a possibility, the railway now very close by but on the off side, so Tilly would be safe. A short distance fro where we’d moored last time we pulled in by another boat. The water deep enough at the stern to get close, but the bow sitting a long way out. Here would do us for the day.
Out of the tunnel into the eastern side
Tilly jumped to the bank with ease and headed off to make friends. I then spent the next three hours trying to catch up on the Houdini emails about Kabouki drops and video footage, finally chipping my ideas into the mix that had been going back and forth all morning. My drawings were scanned and shared. Food put in the oven and after eating I finally got chance to do some model making. Four hours later I had a new version of the proscenium finished, it was now well past bedtime.
4 locks, 2000th on Oleanna, 11.96 miles, 1 final farewell, 1 white horse, 1 must have galloped away, 70 ft in a month, 6 giant eggs, 10 litres paint, 1 ladder, 20 pairs castors, 1 or 2 kabouki drops, 10 scanned drawings, 18 toing and froing emails, 1 prosc, 12 midnight finish., 1 black hole ahead
On Sunday Mick helped me with all my things to Avoncliff Station.
This used to be a request stop
I had quite a lot and a quick change at Westbury Station so he decided to come with me that far to help get me onto the next train. After another change I got a taxi to Admirals Hard where I caught the Cremyll Ferry across to the Rame Peninsula. Only an eight minute crossing but just long enough for those of us sat outside to get sprayed by the waves.
A woofer passenger on the Cremyll Ferry
Lou was there to pick me up, we dropped my work things off at the workshop where Ade was busy and then she gave me a lift down to the village of Kingsand. With keys to my flat I made myself comfortable, stocked up on some things to eat and drink from the shop, possibly getting ripped off and then went for an explore. This was likely to be the only time I’d get in daylight to look round.
The old border
Kingsand and Cawsand are twin villages in Cornwall, however until 1844 Kingsand was in Devon and Cawsand Cornwall. A house still marks the boundary, about 100 ft away from my flat.
Cawsand
Several small beaches link the houses together, all very characterful, smugglers hiding in the corner of your eye. Narrow roads with no parking make for a tranquil place, well until the tide comes in! It did however feel as though nobody actually lives there, it’s just for the tourists now.
My groundfloor bedroom window and the sea!
My flat was about as long as Oleanna but wider. Have to say that our bathroom layout is better designed despite being half the size. Everything was very comfortable, but the kitchen lacked a few basics that would have made cooking a touch more flavoursome.
Last bit left to prime
Monday morning I was picked up from outside one of the pubs and was at work for 8.30. First thing was to lay out the back drop. Normally this would have been stretched on a frame, but as my design needed me to be able to draw lots of circles we laid it out on the floor. By 10am I’d primed the cloth and gained a couple of blisters in the process. Ade and Lou’s workshop has been having a new roof fitted, the central ridge still needed replacing and in parts it was open to the sky. So as the day progressed and the weather outside became damp, buckets were deployed around the place.
Drawn up ready to paint
By the end of the day just about every bit of set that was ready had been primed and my backdrop was marked out. A pencil and string being my compass, I could have done with Frank’s trammel heads (ends of a compass that you can attach to a length of wood), but I managed in the end.
Wednesday the sun came out, only one thing for the canine assistants to do, sunbath
Tuesday and I started to lay blocks of colour onto the backdrop. Three shades of blue paint, a straight edge and a steady hand were needed. Occasionally a helping paw would appear, Bo and Shine two collies spend their days over seeing what happens in the workshop and hoping to be able to gain access to the bins from next door.
Pasty powered painting
The workshop is next door to CornishPod, winner of the World Pasty Championship in 2016. The smells wafting through from them were too much for me, on Monday I’d put in an order for a couple of gluten free pasties. Fresh and warm I enjoyed one for my lunch, keeping the second one for Wednesday. The day was wet again, water flooded in through a hole that had been made for new electrics, a blocked drain was found and sorted by the landlord.
Wednesday thankfully a dry day but water had seeped under the wooden floor where my cloth was pinned out , it had crept up between the sheets and was creating quite a stain. In parts the cloth was wetter than when I’d first painted it. Action was taken and we relaid it on sheets of plastic, a fan heater deployed to drive off the worst of the moisture and I concentrated on painting the portals. The roofers were back in for the day, covering up sections of the ridge.
Tellytubbies
Each morning I woke to wonderful sunrises, some from Tellytubbies,
A new day
others more moody and grown up. Not a bad view to have from your bedroom window. The local sea swimmers would all walk down for their morning dip shortly after dawn. They’d bob away in the swell as the tide came in, Kingsand only seems to have high tide!
Oops I might have bought some cheese!
Thursday was the start of the next storm. We hoped the worst would miss us. The team grew by two, Ade’s nephew Frank and a scenic artist Debs. Debs had come to paint another set they have been building for The Drum in Plymouth. Nothing quite so time consuming as my backdrop and portals, just lots of washes and rust. Lu and Frank lent a hand where needed, basing things in for me and painting black for Debs. As the day progressed the winds got stronger and stronger, necessitating brushing more bits of decaying roof off my backdrop.
The view whilst waiting for my lift
By the time I got back to my flat the tide was being aided by the wind. On other evenings towards high tide the waves had been making it onto the road outside my front door, but the direction of the wind having changed and the tides not being so high the waves just crashed against my bedroom wall instead. Their bumping giving the sofa a slight nudge. I hoped I’d be able to get some sleep, but thankfully things calmed down and I managed to get some shut eye.
Tides
Friday, Debs and I were left to it in the workshop, the others on apple duty back at the house. Ade and Lou have around 250 apple trees from which they press apple juice. This years crop has been plentiful, so whilst painting brushes were working hard at the workshop, Lou and Frank picked up the latest windfalls and Ade worked his way through the first of 40 crates of apples.
Finished!
By the end of the day the other set was finished and Panto had a completed backdrop and two portals. Plenty more for me to do, but at least the main aim of the week was completed. I celebrated by having a halloumi and roasted pepper pasty for lunch, very tasty it was too.
Saturday my last day. A quick tidy up of the flat before I got a lift up to the workshop to see what I could achieve before heading home. I made a good start on two large flats, but I’d hoped to get them almost completed but the paint just wasn’t drying quickly enough. There was also the matter of packing paint and mixing colours so Lou can carry on basing things in,hopefully saving me hours of work.
Mixing grey
The last job was to mix a huge vat of grey. I hate mixing grey, you think you’ve nearly reached the right shade, just a bit more black, a bit more, a bit more, maybe just a touch more. Damn! Now a bit more white!!
Frank and Lou, my cloth was raised and stretched out shortly after this
The other set was loaded onto a wagon. The pieces I’d finished were stacked away and the backdrop was hung to help it continue drying. The water stain is fading but I doubt it will go completely.
Plymouth
Back in my civvies it was time to head for the train. A lift down to the ferry which was just coming in, then an awaiting cab to the station. I had 4 minutes to get to the right platform, my luggage a touch lighter as my brushes will go to Chipping Norton with the set. Two trains and I arrived back in Bradford on Avon where Mick was there to meet me.
A hard weeks work in the company of the lovely Lou and Ade in such a wonderful setting. It’s just a shame I never really got to see the village at low tide in day light.
Meanwhile back on Oleanna.
Mick and Tilly have not been idle. On Sunday afternoon Mick moved the boat a little towards Bradford joining the local boats. On Monday he took the toilet to bits. We have a Separett Villa, the urine gets separated into a tank under the floor from which we can pump it out into another container for disposal. Gradually when rinsing through the system I have noticed it taking longer and longer for the water to drain to the tank, so I’d raised a chitty with the maintenance department.
It was quite sometime ago that Finesse showed us how everything had gone together but Mick managed quite easily to remove the toilet and then the floor above the tank. From the separator one pipe leads to another which then does two 90 degree turns to enter the underfloor tank. Here was where the blockage was gradually getting worse and when Mick poured vinegar into the top it stayed put, the pipe finally having blocked.
Our yellow water tank, the blocked bend on the left
With some drain unblocking cabley thing and more vinegar he eventually managed to shift the blockage. No need to cross our legs, we can go to the loo again. But maybe we need to add more vinegar to the bottle we spray the separator with, or even add it neat every now and again, or maybe we should just drink it so that the pipe doesn’t block again.
On Tuesday morning I made a request that Tom should move the outside. This outside was okay, but another would be better, so he moved it to a Mrs Tilly stamp award winning mooring, Dundas. Here I busied myself outside, returning to check on Tom only to find he’d lost his legs! I found them for him down in the big box at the back of Oleanna. It was quite soggy down there so Tom was trying to get rid of all the Aunty freeze that had leaked there a month or so ago. He was very careful to keep me away from this Aunty, apparently it can be deadly to cats.
Purring paws
Thursday they filled with water winded and headed back towards Avoncliff. All the sink U bends and shower traps were given a good clean and then on Friday they moved up to Bradford and managed to get a spot on the 48hr moorings below the lock. Here was good, plenty to keep me occupied, but then Tom decided to nudge the outside a touch. This touch to the outside meant there were far more woofers, in fact a constant stream of them. It really wasn’t worth stepping off the boat!
0 locks, 7.24 miles by boat, 5 different moorings, 1 calcified lump added to the yellow water tank, 10 litres anti-freeze, 2 winds, 5 trains, 2 taxis, 2 ferries, 13 lifts, 2 pretty villages, 0 beach to be seen, 6m plus high tide, £51!!! 2nd shop at the co-op, 1 flat almost on the beach, 1 thumping sea, 4 bottles wine, 1 bottle oil and some garlic required, 58 hours, 1 fat knee, 1 pastie powered painter, 1 back cloth, 2 portals complete, 1 well used straight edge, 2 woofer assistants, 1 slightly blue ball, all three crew back on board, 1 purring cat.
With no plans of going anywhere today we treated ourselves to a cooked breakfast. Whilst the sausages sizzled in the oven I sanded back to primer on the grabrail, getting it one more step towards a top coat. Above is should be the usual photo. Edited.
The day was set to be wet and it didn’t disappoint, but there was time before the heavens opened to give Mick a much needed hair cut. He always looks younger with less hair.
Other boats moved off so we decided to see if we could get closer to the side if we moved a touch back. But the ledge meant we’d be sticking out more at one end than the other no matter what we did, so we returned to our previous position. Here the ledge could be used to assist with touching up the few patches above the water line.
The start of my new proscenium
Whilst I got on with some painting of my Houdini model, Mick was given the job of washing down the water line and the gunnel. I still hoped that there might be a long enough window of dryness for me to get a coat of paint on. But the heavens opened splashing mud back onto the gunnels and keeping everything far too damp outside.
Tilly came and went, occasionally stopping for some Dreamies and a check on what I was up to. She was right I’d made the false proscenium a touch too elaborate, maybe I’ll have to make it again!
A full roast dinner ended the day. We refrained from lighting the stove as the oven had been on for so long, the boat being nice and cosy.
Saturday
Tilly was kept in whilst we had breakfast, when the boats behind us had moved off and the long procession of hire boats had come down from Bradford we pushed off ourselves backwards to the water point. The tank was filled, the gunnel rinsed off we then pulled forward just past the houses and got a slightly less gritty bit of towpath to moor alongside.
Mick headed into Bradford on a bike for a newspaper whilst I managed to get some undercoat on the grabrail. This however didn’t get chance to dry off enough before the next spattering of rain. At least I know it’ll need another coat anyway along with a good sand.
That looks better
Oleanna was on a good list on the ledge. I masked off the ends of the gunnel and the press studs for the cratch cover so everything was ready. Wiped everywhere down again. By now it seemed dry enough to touch up below the gunnel with some blacking. I worked quickly and ended up giving the whole area a thin covering so as not to look patchy, extra time and thickness of paint afforded to where it was needed most.
After lunch the big tin of Epifanes Multiforte Black was dug out from a bow locker. Even though our bow lockers are dry, this tin of paint has gradually been rusting where the lid meets the tin. The curled edge of the lid uncurling itself as you try to prise it open. I’d known that sooner or later we’d need a new air tight container to keep the paint in. Today was that day as the only way the lid was coming off was by denting the airtight seal.
That’s one side done
Mick headed back into Bradford to see if he could find a cheap container whilst I got back on my kneeling mat and worked my way along the gunnel. The occasional light bit of rain soon dried off and luckily didn’t land on the vertical surface.
I’d taken a risk with the weather and with Tilly being out, but the black was soon dry enough to withstand both of them. Just a shame that as soon as I stood back to admire the finish I could spot a few places where I’d missed a bit of bubbling paint. No time to sort that now sadly, they may come back to haunt me next year. A second coat would be better, but for now this will see us through to spring on this side.
I’m not allowed on the cat walk!?
Mick returned with a couple of containers from Sainsburys, the paint was decanted and sealed away. Hopefully the small container will all get used on the starboard side sometime soon.
The remainder of the day was spent packing for next week. Tomorrow I head off for a weeks painting near Plymouth, trying to get ahead on panto. Last year we spent quite a bit of money on a scenic artist who interpreted my model somewhat instead of following it. So this year I’m earning some extra money by doing a weeks painting before the set goes into the theatre where I’ll finish it. There’s a lot to do so I may not get chance to enjoy my flat right on the beach at Kingsand!
Gluten free cider batter
This evening we treated ourselves to a meal out at the Cross Guns. Their menu was limited but they did do gluten free fish and chips in a cider batter. This was very tasty and Mick enjoyed his cheese and bacon burger. As there was a pudding I could eat as well it would have been silly not to. A slice of warm polenta cake, very nice.
Pudding too
So, unless Mick or Tilly feel the urge to write something on the blog next week, all will be silent. I may get chance to post a postcard, but I suspect I’ll be too busy slapping on the paint to think about it. See you when I get back.
0 locks, 1 full water tank, 2 days shore leave, 1 side ready for winter, 4 bubbles, 1 prosc, 1 cabinet, 3 containers, 2.5 litres black, 1 ledge, 2 big bags, 1 fish and chips , 1 burger, 2 puddings, 1 blogger heading to work, 1 cat left in charge, 2 photos.
This morning I noticed a natty little thing on the ferry that crosses from our mooring to the SS Great Britain. On the bow of the boat is a metal hoop which pivots, controlled by a cable from the helm. As the ferry is brought in and lined up to the jetty the metal hoop is lowered over a post. The driver then walks to the bow flips down the ramp which covers the watery gap, passengers get off or on, she then flips the ramp back up returns to the helm and lifts the hoop off the post and away they go. This means that the ferry can be a one person operation as nobody is needed to tie ropes. Here’s a link to a video I took of it this morning (warning it’s 35MB!).
A close up of the bridge
Two more loads of washing were put through the machine, hoping to use up some more electric before we left. This helped pass the time whilst I composed a long email to the theatre in Vienna with photos of the model for A Regular Little Houdini. With the final rinses happening we headed to the nearby Tesco for a few supplies and then we were ready for the off.
About to cast off
Once the ropes were carefully untied from the wobbliest wobblesome pontoon, the wind helping to push Oleanna away from it, we winded and set off for a little tour of the harbour before we left.
Still westward bound
Down towards the Underfall Yard where we turned, mow eastward bound.
Rigging on the SS Great Britain
We headed back past the SS Great Britain, we then cruised down past the electric cranes and turned into Bordeaux Quay and The Waterfront winding at the far end before then passing under Prince Street Bridge, leaving the harbour.
A concrete boat having a house built on top
We would have liked to stay for longer but sadly time is limited before I start work and the cost of mooring here is a little off putting. A week would cost us around £160, cheaper than a hotel and we’d get all our washing done, but still a touch costly.
Straight through Netham Lock
As we cruised our way out of town storm clouds gathered behind us. Waterproofs were gathered from inside. Straight through Netham Lock and we were back onto the river. Gradually more trees surrounded us, gradually the sky became darker. The forecast originally had been for rain at 4, then 2, but it got started at midday. We hoped for a mooring as soon as we got back onto C&RT waters.
Starting to rain
Hanham Lock was in our favour so we rose the 15 inches or so. There was a space on the pontoon at The Chequers Pub, but we’d have had to shrink a touch to fit. Onwards in the rain, waterproof trousers were now required. Mick valiantly stood at the helm whilst I made tea and lunch to have on the go, but his sandwich stayed inside for fear it would get too soggy.
Keynsham Lock and some kind sole had left the top paddles open, so this very slow lock took even longer in the rain than it needed to. Mick hung back away from the lock whilst I emptied it, the flow from the lock would have necessitated mooring up fully on the lock landing. Then we rose slowly, very slowly. The last 2 foot taking a life time !
?
It still rained. Not even an inch spare on the pontoon here. Onwards to Ferris Railway Bridge where thank goodness there was space for two next to the one that had taken up residency. We settled down and started to dry off.
There was just enough phone signal for me to have a chat through the props list for Panto with Jo the prop maker. Good job I don’t really use my phone much as it took us a good hour and a half to work our way through the show. Jo will start work on collecting materials in the next week then she’ll start by making the prop car and mod scooters.
This morning I received photos from Australia of the knitting project I was busy with earlier in the year.
Billie at 1 week old
This is Billie at a week old with the blanket I knitted for her. Billie is the great niece of my bestest friend Emma. Nellie, Billies Mum, was very pleased with it, so was Chief their woofer.
Dad and Chief look on
3 locks, 1 straight through, 11.41 miles, 2 more loads washing, £3 left on the post, 1 tour of the harbour, 2 misleading forecasts, 2 soggy boaters, 3rd mooring lucky, 1.5 hours talking smash, pub stools and mod scooters, 0 shore leave for Tillyagain!1 sour dough woken, 1wk old Billie all wrapped up.
Another day on the trains for Mick, heading to York for our friend Mickle’s funeral. Tilly and I stayed put, two train fares would have been too much or hiring a car too far to drive there and back in a day. Mick left suitably attired in a baseball cap, apparently there were lots of remarks that everyone should have worn one. It was a very rare sight, Mickle without his cap on.
Can I really go out?
Tilly’s mornings for the last couple of months have consisted of sleeping whilst we move the outside, so it wasn’t until Mick was about to leave that she realised that the back door was open for her. At two hour intervals she returned as requested.
Puss in Boots needed some attention this morning, lists, contacting the set builders and prop maker. I’ll be heading off to do a weeks painting soon so needed to check that supplies were on order and how my accommodation would work.
Then I revisited my Houdini model. Various ideas had been chatted about yesterday and extra details like the blue doughnuts needed to be added. Monday is the first deadline for the design, I need to send photos to Vienna and hopefully get the thumbs up from them.
Sneaky peek of the model
Mid afternoon I needed to leave some glue to dry, so instead of sitting watching it I decided to go for an explore. Tilly returned home so was left in charge. Friday is obviously a day when most hire boats are returning to base as the moorings here were just about empty and not that many boats passed all day.
I walked down to the lock, crossed the bridge and headed up to the road above. Straight on was a footpath, so I followed it up the hill. A kissing gate and National Trust sign invited me into Bathwick Fields, I’d stumbled onto the Bath Skyline walk without knowing it.
Pretty good views from up here
Within minutes of leaving the boat I was high above Bath with fantastic views across the city. The curve of the railway, the spires of the churches and the Bath stone rows of houses lined up along the hills.
Bath
I dipped down to an orchard where you could pick the fruit, but sadly I didn’t have long enough arms to be able to reach the top most branches, everything else had long since been picked.
Community Nuttery
Across more fields alongside Jacob Sheep and many squirrels busy collecting nuts. Maybe they had emptied the nuttery I came across. A road that led to Smallcombe Garden Cemetery. For £3 a decent burial could be afford by artisans as well as rich Victorians, over 7000 of them until the plot was full. In 2014 the Heritage Lottery Fund gave support to preserve the cemetery and you are invited to look round the grave stones for locals who left their mark on Bath.
One of two chapels
Up through another field, I seemed to be walking in the opposite direction to every one else, but then I didn’t know I was on a recognised walk. The path led further up hill and by now my glue would be dry and I wanted to return home. Eventually there was a gate not marked as PRIVATE and I started my steep descent back down to Bath, then back up the locks to the boat.
Cemetery
An evening of worked followed which actually finished ten minutes before Mick stepped back on the boat at around 11:30pm. A Regular Little Houdini is now ready to see what the producers in Vienna think on Monday, fingers crossed.
Lines of Bath stone
0 locks, 0 miles, 4 miles walked, 4 trains, 3 tubes, 1 bus, 1 final farewell, 1 cap and guitar, 1 weeks work sorted, 3rd props list, 1 sad gits tea, 1 plant pot headed statue, 1 not 2 bottles of wine, 7 hours shore leave, 1 long day for everyone.
