Category Archives: Prop making

0 Winds Due To Wind. 18th February

Mick headed to see Oleanna today. When we ‘d left last week there were a few things that we’d left on board due to only one of us carrying things due to my bad back, so these needed collecting. There also hadn’t been enough time to chat with Alastair about some jobs Mick was wanting him to do.

Then there was also the matter of the old alternator that had gone faulty on us in Shardlow. It had moved to Scarborough with us with the thought that a chandlers here might be able to get it refurbished for us. However Alastair said he could sort it, so that needed returning to Goole. With a bike used as a sherpa Mick set off, hoping that he’d fixed a stubborn puncture, Oh for both bikes to have solid tyres!

Mick and Alastair talked about the jobs we’d like him to do.

Stern nav light fitting, Mick will do the wiring on another visit.

Alternator refurbished.

Check the engine mounts and give the engine a general check over. Mick does Oleanna’s servicing but it’s always nice to have someone totally au fait to give her the once over. When we had RCR gold membership we got an engine check each year, but we’ve now cut back on our membership to save some pennies.

Fix a coolant leak. Mick thought this might be from a hose connected to the skin tank, but Alastair thought it was the connection rather than the hose. He’ll tighten it up and sort it which ever.

Tighten the stern glad.

They also chatted about the tappets in the engine. Mick ran the engine and they decided they sounded fine, so that will be left for another year.

**Mick’s Christmas present keeping a watchful eye when we’re not about**

Mick had also wanted to top up with diesel. Manoeuvring around the marina would have been tricksy today due to strong winds, so that can wait for next time. If we had jerry cans he could fill the tank that way. But as we tend to cruise and not sit about for too long in one place we have never really felt the need to own jerry cans, they take up space. Maybe the price of diesel will have dropped again when we next fill up, Domestic rate in Goole last week was £1.09.

The stove was cleared out, not enough time to sweep the chimney today.

A list of things to return with had been put together. The washing drawer was emptied, contents washed and hung up to dry. The interior of Oleanna still needs a good tidy, the floor certainly needs a good wash, maybe even a sand in places followed by a coat of oil before we are back on board full time.

Meanwhile back on land. Tilly has been meeting the new neighbours. The cats who used to live in the area have all moved away, now there are new felines to get to know…..or not!

She hadn’t done any packing for a few days, so I thought I’d give her a helping paw. Thank you Tilly, everything had to wait for Mick to put them away as stooping is still a thing I’m avoiding.

#unit21 rehearsals have been going well. I had a postponed visit to watch a run this week and managed to do a few jobs whilst I was there. Next week is production week and the first shows that kick off the tour. Some last minute knitting has kept me busy in front of the TV. Getting my fingers into training for this years sockathon, there will be more news about this once my show has opened.

Curtain lining has arrived and hopefully this coming week Dulux will deliver everything I need to give a bedroom a makeover in the next few weeks before a lodger moves in. It’s a room that has been decorated by tenants through the years and not very well. But having said that it wasn’t too good before they even started! Here’s hoping my back is fully mended.

Mick and Frank have been dishwasher installers and kitchen adjusters. The old dishwasher had given up the ghost. A damp problem in the last few years and the fact that I think the kitchen had been built around it made it a challenging job. Thank you Frank once again.

Sadly we’ve not had chance as yet to go for one of our walks around Scarborough, my back and work getting in the way so far. Hopefully we’ll put that right soon as we’ve not even been to the beach yet!

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 winds due to the wind, 1 jobs list, 3 new cats, 1 woofer, 1 dead sewing machine, 3 varieties pancakes, 1 hat, 30 badges, 1 alternator, 2 much money being spent, 1 quote, 0 funding, 1 McCarthy visit, 1 vanity project, 1 new PM, 1 salt and pepper reunited with us.

Shrunk or Grown. 26th 27th January.

King’s Marina

I was off to catch a train, well three that would get me to Huddersfield mid morning. The current track record of Transpennine Express is really quite poor, trains being cancelled here there and everywhere, so my last leg of the journey couldn’t be guaranteed. Thankfully all went to plan without too long standing on platforms in the cold. I even got to see Lincoln Cathedral from my first train way way off in the distance.

Mick was left to check in with Paula the marina manager at King’s. She was wanting to give us the best deal on mooring, cheaper to pay for three months than on a daily rate. However, as soon as we know that the way ahead is open, the tides are right and I’m not at work we will be moving downstream. So Mick opted to pay weekly.

Borrowing the directors sewing machine meant I could finish sewing one costume. Now all nine actors have overalls they can wear to rehearse in over the next few weeks. We got everyone into their costumes to check them over. Had anything changed? One chaps overall seemed a touch too tight, easy to undo a couple of darts in the back. Sadly someone else was in a situation where the zip wouldn’t do up, a case of shrinking and expanding going on in unison. Notes were taken for expansion, all those off cuts from arms and legs come in handy for waist lines.

Time to position the numbers I’d made. With everyone stood in a row they looked like mug shots of convicts.

Rehearsals continued elsewhere for the remainder of the day giving me use of the studio floor. Connor came to help roll out the new show flooring, cutting the big roll into three and then marking out the design. Base coats of white were applied, all ready for the green to go next time.

I’ve been quite astounded at the price the Premier Inn were wanting to charge me for production week, so on this trip I’d booked an AirBnB to try out for a night. With a bag of alterations to tack I headed to find my room and see if the access codes worked. The front door was easy, the one for my room a little bit more tricksy, but I got there in the end.

I checked around to see what I had, a small kitchen area with cooker fridge and microwave. No sharp knife and slightly heat affected cupboards the laminate edging having come away sometime ago. The cooker and fridge are a bonus, no storing breakfast on a window sill and a heater that actually works without a big fan going constantly.

**Chips were only for reference purposes**

With some supplies bought along with a portion of chips from the nearby takeaway I set to with alterations sat on my sofa with a huge TV mounted on the wall. TV signal here would certainly get a thumbs down as I couldn’t seem to get any terrestrial channels. I also didn’t want to interact with Alexa as so far I’ve managed to avoid having her in my life. Eventually I did manage to get something to have on in the back ground, early episodes of Silent Witness, the lab used to be next to Kings’ College in Cambridge.

Digs verdict. Well it would be nice if the gap under the door didn’t let light in constantly. The microwave clock is easily covered up with a sketch book or tea towel. The shower door was easily rehung. The romantic view from behind the blind of buildings three foot away did mean no noise from the ring road next door (quieter than the Premier Inn). The big strip light was useful for sewing, but gave an atmosphere similar to that found in a dentists chair. If I stay again I’ll try to fix the shower so that more water comes out of the head than dribbles down the pipe. Having a fridge and cooker though may outweigh other things and it is two minutes walk from the theatre and £200 cheaper than Premier Inn, A bit more cutlery wouldn’t go amiss though.

Back at Dark Horse I finished the alterations on costumes, helped with a mark up of the stage for full rehearsals next week. Then when I was left on my own it was time to don my mask and finish off the giant mug. Getting things lined up and stuck on straight took time. The outside was covered, then the handle. Thankfully my plan for this worked out and two tins of stinky glue later the mug was finished.

Still with time before my booked train, I worked my way through a few props that needed painting. Packed everything away and then removed my mask. Hopefully the aroma on spray paint and any stinky glue will dissipate over the weekend.

My return journey was slightly hampered by late running trains, but this actually meant I still arrived back in Newark on time.

During the day, posts on the Trentlink group had been going about regarding Maud’s Bridge on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. Then an official C&RT notice was put out.

Update on 27/01/2023:

We have now assessed the works required to the bridge following the damage caused by the road traffic accident and are now preparing for the comprehensive repair to be completed by our contractor.

In advance of this, following advice from our engineers, we will take a team to open the bridge to canal traffic on Tuesday 31^st January at 10:30 and then close it at 11:30, allowing all boats currently in the area to pass the bridge.

Following this we will consider further openings as required until a full repair is complete. We will also update this notice with details of the full repair when we have them.

Brilliant! Except we won’t be able to make the hour time slot.

Mick sent an email, to which he got the standard reply that he would get an answer within five working days. So he made a phone call.

The chap seemed fairly hopeful that another bridge swing would be possible for us on another day. He would know more in Monday and call us back. Lets hope we can find a window where everything fits together before too long, so we can move Oleanna up to Yorkshire.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 trains, 1 rip, 4 inches, 2 tucks untucked, 2 x 9m, 12 white lines, 9 numbers, 36 pieces velcro, 2 tins stinky stink sticky stuff, 1 large mug, 2 caddies, 2 wands, 2 books, 1 giant spoon, 1 shower door, 0 view, 0 noise, 1 hour opening, 2 many commitments 2 make it, 4 meals with sprinkles, 2 pies, 2 jackets.

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Don’t Just Sit There Having A Bath! 24th January

Hazelford Lock

The decision to stay put today had been made last night. C&RT were working on Town Lock in Newark today with possible delays for two hours. That was if we could get there as yesterday we’d had reports that between the lock and the next bridge had been frozen.

Mick made a phone call to King’s Marina, were they iced up? What was their diesel price? There was ice still around the edges of the marina, but the central section had thawed. We’ll do a diesel price comparison with the other two marinas tomorrow.

A sausage day for Tilly. Allowed out at breakfast time with two hours. The two hours was extended each time she returned. Something was certainly keeping her busy out there.

Simon from C&RT walked by during the morning, presumably continuing his checks at each lock. Then there was a chap walking his dog, most probably from the Dutch Barge Lily. Other than that island life was quiet, except the noise from the weir. No passing boats today.

Time for me to collect my thoughts a bits and pieces together for my next visit to Huddersfield this week. Name tags were sewn into the new overalls. A couple of spare chip trays were made in pink and purple. A new batch of felt badges were started, ready to be added to overalls. The large wheelie bag was dug out from under the bed and filled up with things to take. The back steps were taken out to access my paint brush bag and an edited few brushes and chalk line made it into things to take.

Tilly returned to warm up three quarters of an hour before cat curfew. We tried to convince her that she should make the most of her shore leave as it will be the last for some time. But it fell on deaf pointy ears, Tilly preferring to have a bath in front of the stove instead.

This evening we enjoyed the last, apart from a butties worth, of roast pork with red peppers and paprika. Yum.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 chaps, 1 woofer, 2 hours, 2 hours, 2 hours more! 3 overalls, 16 badges, 3 nice brushes, 1 small roller, 1 clean pot, 1 wheelie bag, 2 train journeys booked.

Ash. 17th January

Shardlow

**Improving. 1.78m today 36cm lower than yesterday**

Brrrrr! Chilly morning. The levels are improving and with little precipitation in the forecast they should hopefully continue on downwards. This afternoon the flood gates at Newark opened up again, we just need levels at Cranfleet to improve some more then we can be on our way.

Photos of ice on the cut this morning appeared on facebook, thankfully we only have patches in the off side vegetation, here’s hoping it stays that way.

Tilly didn’t mind the cold fluffing up her coat to go off on the towpath. She scuttled along on low legs hoping to pounce on a friend, but they are a touch too quick for her around here.

Inside I stoked the fire, riddled the ash into the pan below. Time to empty it into our ashcan outside on the towpath. In the past we’ve heard lots of people going on about which coal to use, which one is better? Staying in over night, amount of heat and quantity of ash all factors people compare. ‘How do you find Excel this year? I find it produces more ash this winter.’ Etc.

Our normal coal tends to be Excel, although we have had quite a bit from coal merchants with no brand name other than smokeless, along with Taybright, Red etc. To be honest we’ve never really noticed the amount of ash varying between brands. Our ashpan gets emptied once a day to keep the stove operating as it should. Ash always goes into our ashcan, never in the hedgerow as coal ash is poisonous, never mind unsightly and can cause fires. Once cool the ashcan gets emptied into an old coal bag and disposed of in the rubbish bins. When we’re moored up our ashcan lives out on the towpath where any deadly fumes can dissipate rather than enter the boat.

The coal Mick bought from Wickes came in handy 10kg bags, easy to carry along the towpath and to move about. Boaters on Canal World Forum had said it was good, so as it was easy to collect when we had a van he bought several bags. Less CO2 and apparently less smoke.

What do we think of it? Well it seems to take longer to stop being smoky. It stays in overnight well, it gives good heat, but the ash! The ash!! The ASH!!!

Just how much ash can it produce? Masses! It’s easy for us to gauge as the ash pan needs emptying twice a day!

Whilst not emptying the ashpan I’ve made use of having the dinette table to myself, so after mushrooms on toast Pip style, I ironed vinyl numbers and lines onto the navy fabric I’d prepared yesterday.

Good news came from Scarborough this afternoon. Both our boilers are back up and running again, one hadn’t been working for a while, but thankfully it’s all good and safe just in time for our next lodger to move in. Mick has packed away the Christmas decorations and then spent some time making beds up.

Time to start alterations on some overalls for #unit21. I’m not a natural sewer so I take alterations slowly. Each pair need taking apart at the waist to loose or gain length or girth, tucks across the shoulders are also required. It seemed to take forever to get things marked out and trimmed, tacked back together to make sure they looked okay before spending fifteen minutes sewing them back together on the machine! 1 pair down 3.5 to go!

Creamy salmon pasta tonight

0 locks, 0 miles, 9 numbers, 18 lines, 5 hours of podcasts, 2 fully working boilers, 1 river dropping, 1 cut just about ice free, 1 problematic bridge, 2 beds, 1 overall in bits, 3inches sleeves, 4.5 inches legs, 2.5 waist,1 dead stool, 2 catnip Dreamies remaining, 2 much blinking ASH!

Harumph-arumph-arumph! 16th January

Shardlow

Originally both of us would have been heading off to check on the house this morning, some seriously cheap train tickets had been bought for part of our return journey via Hull. But we’d decided that one of us would be better staying on the boat to keep it and Tilly warm as the temperatures were due to get low again. Here’s hoping ice isn’t our next problem!

**Herbie Award winning hose tap thingy**

All the boat chores were done and the water tank topped up. The Herbie Award Winning tap on our hose is now plumbed in and handy on our mooring as you have to go back and forth from one place to another when disconnecting this and that and then turning the tap on.

As the tank filled Tilly and I stretched our legs along the towpath, not far though as a woofer was coming in the opposite direction. Tilly followed me back to Oleanna where she went all cartoon cat with arched back and bushy tail as the dog walked past.

As Mick has the OAP railcard it’s always him who gets to head back to the house. He headed off shortly before it started to hail, but managed to be on a bus as it really came down and covered the towpath within a few minutes. This was then followed by snow, quite chunky flakes too. Tilly was not amused by it.

https://youtube.com/shorts/SYAXmjfBY6g?feature=share

With the table all to myself I got the sewing machine out and started to sew up rectangles of navy polycotton with stiff interfacing inside. These are for dance competition numbers in #unit 21. Then the remaining numbers were weeded out in vinyl ready to be ironed on tomorrow. They’ll need velcro adding to them but that will happen in Huddersfield on my next visit.

Courgette fritters to eat tonight on the boat. I strongly suspect Mick will have had pizza.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 full water tank, -C temps due, 2 trains, 1 towpath walk, 15 minutes hail, 30 mins snow, 1 moving boat, Where did that come from!?! 1 stove being stoked, 9 numbers ready.

Level Or Flow? 13th January

Shardlow

**18cm higher than yesterday, just starting to come down**

This morning the river reached a new level 2.42m. Today there has been no rain, just a shame there is more forecast for overnight!

Cranfleet Flood Gates have been closed since the 23rd December, so I wanted to see what the levels were like at the Shardlow gauge then, so we have an idea when the gates might be reopened. Unfortunately the EA Live Floods page won’t let you go back to look at historical data, but Gaugemap does.

On the 18th December the level was 0.57cm, it then rose to 1.4m and by the 23rd had fallen to 1.148m. So our 2.42cm this morning is a long way above that.

Flow rate might also have something to do with when they choose to close the flood gates.

They obviously knew the level and flow would increase in December. Below is todays flow chart, maximum 172.372m. That’s one heck of a load more water zooming down stream!

Think we’re going to be here a while longer!

Derwent Mouth Lock yesterday compared to 9th April 2022. That’s Oleanna sat waiting for the lock to empty.

A day with more numbers. I’ve started to work out last years mileage, locks etc using Canalplan as I’ve done every year. This always takes a long while remembering all the little journeys we did back in March back and forth to Goole. Not having Water Explorer to look at means I’m relying on the blog more, reliving our year.

Mick has spent more time trying to get our old trip computer working with Nebo. It has installed a new operating system, it just won’t reboot now! Instead we are considering using an old phone inside the boat. A couple of phones have been found and charged up to see if they might be suitable. One isn’t, the other will be tried out when we eventually get to move again.

Even more numbers. I started to cut out the vinyl numbers for #unit21 today. I have them the correct way round this time! Using a scalpel I cut round the outline. Then I weed out the bits I don’t want, leaving what I do want attached to the clear cover which holds the numbers in place. I had wanted to do a box round them, but that felt like a huge waste of vinyl. I may cut strips to use instead.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2.42m maximum, 172m cubed, 1 boat not going anywhere soon, 0 appointment, 0 funding, 4 months reviewed, 3 months stats, 1 outside all used up, 2 frolicking donkeys.

Lock Spotting. 9th January

Shardlow

The alarm went off early and Mick was up and on his way to the bus stop at 7am. The bus this morning was packed, standing room only, presumably overnight workers from East Midlands Airport. Picking up a van from Enterprise he then called in at Wickes. Here he bought several bags of coal as our stocks are starting to run low.

The parking at the mooring isn’t the easiest. Fulltime moorers have access through a gate, but Mick pulled in as close to the hedge as he could so as not to be in the way. As he off loaded the coal onto the roof he was handed items to head to Huddersfield, all the giant sized props, materials I wouldn’t be needing on the boat etc.

**Skips heading to somewhere else by road**

As we passed by the Clock Warehouse we could see that the skip boats were being craned out onto lorries in the pub car park. The narrowboat that had been by the pub had moved over to the water point, by the end of the day they had moved back across once the skips had been taken away.

The journey northwards was pretty horrid with almost constant rain and spray on the roads. A quick pull in to get something for lunch and we were soon pulling up close to the Piazza in Huddersfield where Dark Horse rehearse.

**4E of the Huddersfield Narrow is just round the corner**

I stayed to do costume fittings whilst Mick drove to Sewerby Bridge. Close to Tuel Lane Lock is a company called JC Joel. They provide and make drapes and fabrics for the entertainment industry. Mick was here to pick up a roll of dance floor which is suitable for painting with the right additives in the paint. The existing flooring for #unit21 was cheap vinyl (I had a limited budget) and had already torn before it was laid last year, it certainly wouldn’t survive a tour to five venues.

Back in Huddersfield I tried overalls on two of the actors. Down Syndrome people tend to have short limbs so there was a lot of pinning up and a few nips and tucks on shoulders to do, the overalls are meant for builders not 4ft actors after all.

After lunch Amy (Director) and I went through the props I’d brought with me and those that had been delivered. The giant mug had it’s handle added and was immediately tried out by Amy for weight. Then Alice was called over to check she could easily lift it on her own to take a swig of tea. All worked well. The remaining covering will get added on another visit in a couple of weeks time.

The Piazza was a shopping centre and has been ear marked for sometime to be redeveloped. The shops have gradually been moving out and the empty units have been used temporarily by art groups like Dark Horse. One large unit runs an art workspace for children, their windows always have something fun to look at. Another window showed off a giant cardboard sculpture of Bob Marley, brilliant.

**Temporary Contemporary shop was the Chemists, Dark Horse behind the orange doors on the right**

I took a little time to work out which shop had been used for the chemists in Happy Valley. Now a gallery with anaglypta on its walls. As the scene moved away from the shop you can see animal heads in the window of the children’s workspace, I think the scene was filmed around February last year as I have photos of the animal heads.

Mick returned with the van and flooring. Two of the actors came out to look after the van whilst Mick and I struggled to move the large roll. A lovely chap offered to assist, then Amy came out to help too. We managed to get it into the unit, I’ll be needing some assistance to move it about when I cut it to length in a few weeks time.

**The lower deck of the M1 going over the Sheffield and Tinsley Locks**

A pause in Sheffield to visit Hobbycraft for a few bits then we headed for the Co-op in Castle Donnington to see what they had to offer before returning to the boat. Costume returns were organised, parcelled up and labelled for the morning.

Quite a busy day in Yorkshire.

0 locks, 6 locks spotted, 0 miles, 1 van, 191 miles, 2 overalls to shrink, 1 spare pair to make bigger, 3 braces tabs, 1 big swig of tea, 3 £1 books, £600 worth of floor, 2 near hernias, 1 new sandwich flavour, 1 location, 3 pairs trainers, 1 pair cycling shorts, 1 cat pleased to see us home, 12 sad git sausages, 2 sad git punnets of blueberries, 1 sad git gluten free loaf, 1 emptier boat.

By A Gnats Hair. 8th January

Shardlow

Topics in the Geraghty zoom this morning included foxes, calculus, hyacinths and magnolia trees. Good to see everyone again after Christmas and the New Year.

**1.55m up 2 inches from yesterday, the River Soar is closed again**

I needed to make the most of day light hours so I was soon out on the stern. Wind direction was checked, then Mick helped remove the starboard side of the pram cover, extra ventilation required today.

Rain had been threatening for most of the morning. When it struck it did it in style! We’d chosen the right side of the pram cover to remove, but the rain still came in. Things were moved round, items removed from where rain water gets diverted on the roof. Just about everything important stayed dry and by lunchtime the milk pods were finished. They moved into the cratch to free up space in the stern workshop.

Now the moment of truth. Would my measurements of the stern doors have been correct and had I built the giant mug to those dimensions. Tilly was locked in the bedroom. I lifted the mug out from it’s position on the dinette, over the kitchen units, a few inches to spare there. Then offered it up to the back doors. I could have hooked them out of the way, but that might mean they wouldn’t end up being as open as they could be.

I rested the mug on the top/threshold of the door. Very little light could be seen either side. I then carefully pushed the mug through the opening. PHEW! It fitted. I really had no idea what I would have done if it hadn’t. Phew! Maybe 2mm to spare. Phew.

The rest of the afternoon I spent sticking yoga mats to the inside of the mug. It sat on off cuts raising it off the wet deck. It pee’d it down again and I risked having the back door open for some fresh air, the sides of the pram cover back on trying to keep everything dry. This did mean the back of the mug got a little bit damp, but it should dry out fairly quickly.

With next to no room to work in and day light fading fast I had to stop. The large pieces to cover the outside of the mug would have to be done elsewhere with more space. The mug was lifted onto the hatch just enough space between it and the pram cover for it hopefully to stay dry overnight.

Items were packed up to take to Huddersfield. Not having the mug in the corner of the dinette made the boat feel so spacious!

The evening was spent replacing the bunnies ears with longer versions and watching Happy Valley. The Piazza in Huddersfield featured as a location. Tomorrow we’ll be delivering the giant props to a unit that was just out of shot, I’ll have to check if there really is a chemists there.

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 torrential rain storms, 2 milk pods, 1 gnats hair spare, 1 mug outside, 1 cabin reclaimed, 2 ears, 1 cranium darn, 1 bored cat, 4 unsticky paws.

It’s A Mugs Game. 7th January

Shardlow

Despite the bucketing down rain Mick headed off to catch the bus this morning, thankfully not getting too wet. A fourth elbow joint, a mask and masking tape for my work along with a Saturday newspaper and the eternal hunt for pink cat food in gravy.

With the boat to myself I got the sewing machine out from under the dinette, time to make a pregnancy bump from a cheap calico bag and some stuffing. Rebekah, the actress, is very small so I’m hoping the pad will look like she is nine months pregnant and not about to totally pop! I’ll try it on her next week and see if it needs making smaller or not.

A try out for some competition numbers that will get attached to the actors costumes for one scene. I’ve bought some vinyl that can be cut into shapes and then ironed onto fabric. The instructions on line were for use with high tech cutters and big irons that all cost a fortune. I would be using a scalpel, scissors and the cheap travel iron we have on the boat. I followed instructions, but not correctly, I’ve ended up with numbers back to front! Thankfully this was only a try out and I’ve plenty more materials to get it right next time.

Mick returned with the shopping in sunshine. A quick lunch was then followed by a couple of hours cutting, gluing and sticking. Today the milk pods got two thirds covered before I was loosing the light. My new mask seemed to be doing the job, but fumes seemed to be getting inside the boat instead! Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain too much tomorrow so I can take the sides off the pram cover as well as wear my mask as there is still plenty more stinky sticking to do.

Time to get on with more jobs inside. The panto potato was cut into chips and I made up a couple of card trays for them to be fixed into. Some painting will be added at some point.

Then time to turn attention to the giant mug again. The handle was tried out, then attached inside. The rest of the work now needs to be done either outside or elsewhere. I still haven’t tried it through the back doors! That will all be fun and games tomorrow!

**Sticking the bottom bits is easier if you are inside**

As Mick came back from Derby there was a boat coming up through Shardlow Lock, they had just come off the river. He chatted to them. They had come from the River Soar along stretches that were mostly amber but some were in the red. The river reopened on the 4th January. Sadly for us our route is still closed at Cranfleet Flood Gates. If our original plan had been possible, today we would have been sitting at Keadby waiting for Vazon Sliding Bridge to reopen following the rail strikes.

We watch the levels and watch the weather. We could be here for a while yet.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 1 elbow, 35mm masking tape, 1 mask, 2 boxes pink gravy food, 9 months, 2 trays of chips, 2 bigger ears, 2196 backwards, 1 handle.

Oleanna Workshop. 6th January

Shardlow

Talk has turned to what to do should the river remain too high for us to head northwards. A week would be fine, but what if it ends up being several weeks? Maybe our route requires amending. Last year we’d only been interested in stoppages before Christmas holding up our progress, we’d not taken any note of those on the network behind us this year. Would we be able to reach Yorkshire by one of the Pennine routes?

We knew Wigan closed on the 3rd Jan. But what about the Rochdale or Huddersfield Narrow? Mick looked through the stoppages. If we could get Oleanna to Huddersfield for my show that would be brilliant. We knew there was a stoppage stopping us getting there from the east, but what about the west? A long stoppage in Slaithwaite, oh well! The Rochdale has stoppages scattered around too. So no Pennine route open to us. Even if there had been we’d have needed to be through Stenson Lock before next Monday when it closes for new bottom gates.

So it looks like we are here for the foreseeable. Forecast for more rain in a few days. Great!

Time to get to work properly. Most of the jobs involve contact adhesive which is very very smelly, so not a job to be done inside. I set myself up a workshop at the stern under the pram cover for some shelter.

The hatch got a layer of plastic to protect it, aerials moved out of the way. One of the lockers was cleared for a drying area. Time to get sticking yoga mats onto the formas I’ve made. The two sugar lumps were covered before lunchtime. The vapours coming from the glue as soon as you start to spread it out was really quite something, I ended up opening one of the sides of the pram cover, but it didn’t help that much.

**Not a bad view, two widebeams added last night**

I have previous experience of this glue. Frank used to use it to fix edging onto pieces of scenery at the SJT. On one show we used it to add curves of silver laminate to what became known as ‘the doughnut’ which hung from the lighting grid in Scarborough for ‘Making Waves’ a show about the RNLI in Northumberland. None of us were too keen on this particular piece of scenery which when back lit illuminated everything above it, including ducting which normally remains unseen for very good reasons.

My first experience was at college fixing fabric to foam shapes, sitting all day in a workshop with the extractors working hard. When I got home that day I proceeded to empty the fridge of all four of my house mates food hunting for my cheese grater! It is strong stuff.

I decided that I’d only do so much gluing each day to hopefully save my brain cells, so I moved back inside to work on the giant mug. The pipe I’d bought yesterday was measured out with the hope that the hair dryer we have on board would get the pipe hot enough to bend into shape. No chance! I also needed a vice, pieces of wood all sorts which simply were not available on Oleanna. Time to rethink.

I’d bought three 90 degree elbows yesterday, if I had one more I’d be able to make a handle, quite square, but it would do the job. Pipe was cut, holes in the mug to slot things through, yep it would do. Mick was volunteered to head back into town tomorrow to pick it up along with a suitable mask to protect me from the glue fumes.

**Are you waiting for your Dingding to be served Tilly?**

Mick carried on working on the trip computer. He managed to install the Android Operating System with not too much bother. It just won’t re-boot now! Still work in progress. He then moved on to removing the Christmas lights outside.

During the day a couple of boats have come past, one presumably returning to it’s home mooring and a C&RT tug boat which returned with another skip several hours later. Will these be used for dredging? Or will the new lock gates be loaded into them for Stenson?

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 makeshift workshop, 1 stinky morning, 1 head ache, 2 sugar cubes done, 2 bottoms done, 1 handle rethought, 2 holes, 2 rolls masking tape, 1 elbow missing, 0 response from the trip computer, 1 Friday night roast, 0 way out of here come Monday, 1 pompom.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Prop making

0 Winds Due To Wind. 18th February

Shrunk or Grown. 26th 27th January.

Update on 27/01/2023:

Don’t Just Sit There Having A Bath! 24th January

Ash. 17th January

Harumph-arumph-arumph! 16th January

Level Or Flow? 13th January

Lock Spotting. 9th January

By A Gnats Hair. 8th January

It’s A Mugs Game. 7th January

Oleanna Workshop. 6th January