Category Archives: Prop making

Panto Postcard 2. 2021

70.75 hours

Sunday. What a lovely day. Time for a cuppa in bed for me. I didn’t really plan on doing that much as I’d had a busy week and knew that the following week would be even busier! Not having my breakfast chef on hand I put together a treat breakfast. Two toasted muffins with cheese and ham. Very tasty, but not a patch on one of Mick’s breakfasts. I then spent most of the morning trying to catch up with The Great British Bake Off, played on the laptop whilst crocheting and most importantly keeping my legs up.

During the last week my knees have taken a battering, an old war wound on my left knee used to be sorted with a good rub. But sadly now the effect only lasts a few minutes. So keeping my feet up was a very important job today, also having the opportunity to do some crochet was good. My blanket is now of a size that Tilly and it cannot live comfortably on my knee at the same time.

In the evening I joined Gemma (Production Manager), Chris (Production Carpenter), Ade and Lou (Set Builders) for a drink and some food at the Blue Boar where we could get a table. It was good to see the team again, have a drink and of course have fish and chips (gluten free version available).

Meanwhile in Yorkshire, Mick had been up early to move Oleanna for her rendezvous in the morning in Goole. Thank goodness it wasn’t further! His first hop before Oleanna was over heating got him about half way from Rawcliffe Bridge. Time to let the engine cool down before the next hop just to inside Goole caisson.

Then the final hop was into Viking Marina, to the boat lift. Oleanna wouldn’t need to come out of the water, but this was a space that was available. Our mooring from last winter now has a boy racer cruiser tied up to it, but we could still claim to be neighbours with Lisa and Al’s boat. The trip of 2.5 miles had taken Mick and Oleanna 6.5 hours.

Monday. A very busy day for me at Chippy, read through and fit up all rolled into one along with meeting a sixth form work placement student (Imogen) who’d be joining me several times this week. I collected all my model pieces together and using blue tack put it back together as best I could in the time I had before being asked questions by the builders, showing my face at the meet and greet. Blimey that was odd, everyone being masked, trying to talk to each other and be heard, whilst at least 20 other people were trying to do the same thing!

I did the model showing, followed by Helen showing the costume designs, then it was the read through, so much better read by the actors than read in my head. Plenty of ‘Chill out Hilda!’

Ade and Lou concentrated on building a platform for Rapunzel to get to her tower, whilst Gemma and Chris busied themselves rigging portals and cloths. I managed to get quite a few things drawn out so that they could all be jigsawed out to the correct shape. Jo (Prop maker) arrived with many goodies in her van, including the giant strawberry.

In Goole Mick and Alastair were being busy. First the antifreeze in the cooling system was drained off. Then pipes and the gear box oil cooler were removed. Lots of rusty crud was blocking these. A pressure washer was then fitted to the system and the whole thing was given a good wash through.

The system was put back together filled with water the engine started up. After about ten, fifteen minutes it became clear that the crud was not the only problem as Oleanna’s temperature started to rise again. Alastair decided that a pressure test would be needed to check if the head gasket had gone! This could only be done when the engine was cool, so it was decided to do that the following morning as it was already late in the afternoon.

Tuesday. More drawing up for me today and with the help of Imogen lots of furniture had a base colour applied, Imogen could well be a useful find. Ade and Lou headed home leaving a box of their fresh pressed apple juice for us all to enjoy. Chris and Gemma carried on rigging pieces of scenery with the help from Ash and Gav the two in house technicians.

By the end of the day I’d managed to get some paint on more pieces of scenery and solutions for the cinema screen to be able to fly in and out had been found. One tower has a hinged door in it the other has a section that can be removed with care, hopefully this won’t need to happen too many times. A good day in Chippy.

Heading back to Viking before she over heats

However in Goole investigations continued. Alistair set about doing a pressure test at 8am. This had to be done first thing as the boat lift was needed today. Thankfully Oleanna passed the test and so the head gasket is good, phew! He was sent over to the visitor moorings whilst the lift was being used. Mick headed off to do some shopping and once the mooring was free again he moved back over for more investigations.

The water pump was removed and then taken to bits. Ah Ha! This was the problem, Mick had thought it might be. For those unfamiliar with what the inside of a pump should look like, there should be 6 fins that pump the water through the cooling system, Oleanna’s for some reason only had 1.5, the rest having disappeared into the rusty crud.

A phone call was made to RCR as the job could now be passed back onto our breakdown cover. A new water pump was placed on order, but no-one was sure when it would arrive. Oleanna certainly wouldn’t be going anywhere, she was hooked up so Mick and Tilly could have power again. The marina sadly isn’t a suitable place for Tilly to explore so cabin fever was soon to set it.

Wednesday. Covid policy at Chippy Theatre is to do two lateral flow tests a week which have to be photographed and sent in to Annette the Company Stage Manager. There is also a thermometer by the pass door into back stage. Tuesday morning I’d offered up my forehead at which point the unit flashed red, displaying a large L. I tried again, the same thing happened. I removed myself from the building whilst the thermometer instructions were checked. As I thought, my temperature was too low, thankfully that meant I was allowed to enter the building and get on with work. The same happened again today, six times before my icy heart warmed up enough!

This was a delivery to the pub next door, honest!

The theatre has arranged for the theatre bar to be open on an evening for the company to drink in, hopefully reducing the chance of someone picking up Covid by mixing with the general public in a pub. I’d already decided that a bottle of wine back at my digs was preferable to going to the pub, plus I’m unlikely to be doing that anyway as I’ll be at work till late most evenings anyway.

The backdrop was flown out, red bands added to the portals, they still need to go gold, some of them were trimmed to fit better. As I’d designed the tower last January/February I knew getting in and out of it might be quite a tight fit, so I was the one who had to try it for size first. Thankfully I fitted meaning Rapunzel would have quite a bit of spare room as she is half my size.

I spotted a problem with part of the set. A tent that needed to be on wheels. A discussion was had about it. One side saying if they’d have known it was to be a truck (on wheels) then it would have been built completely differently. The other side said it had always been a truck and that the drawings most probably said as much. In fact the drawings had sketches explaining what would happen to the tent truck. A carpenter would be found to amend the tent.

Mick busied himself on Oleanna. There was the green wire to solve from the alternator belt incident. He also took apart our original domestic water pump and gave it a good clean as suggested by Alastair. This worked a treat, so it was put back to work. The new faulty one was also taken to bits and the switch was found to be faulty. Mick managed to mend this whilst Tilly climbed on the ‘Feed me’ shelf at regular intervals throughout the day. Well I had to occupy myself with something if there was no shore leave! Tom got himself a gate key and blatantly chatted to Toms outside, coming and going at will, leaving me to snooze in front of the stove!

Thursday. Test day for me and another day of being cold hearted!

Today the actors moved into the theatre to rehearse. I moved into the auditorium and spent the day painting the groundrow, which I thought I’d based on a David Hockney painting of the Yorkshire Wolds. However on visiting the Co-op it appears I’ve been influenced by the mural there!

Dash (Director) had quite a few questions and found it quite novel that they could be answered by me within minutes, it’s not often a Designer is in the rehearsal room all day every day. It’s nice for me to hear where ideas are coming from rather than just getting the request on an email at the end of the day.

In Goole Mick waited for the new water pump to arrive. We’d been hoping to have Oleanna back along the New Junction Canal by now, maybe at Bramwith Junction. Extra crew, Bridget and Storm had been enlisted to work the lift bridges for Mick, but by now they had been stood down several times. The pump would be coming from Beta and should be delivered by midday on Friday.

Fusedale alongside the new dry dock at Viking Marina

Fusedale turned up for refuelling at Viking Marina, Laird was expecting it to require 850 to 1000 litres!

Friday. Chris returned for the day, a few hours of his work saved the technicians several days worth and I know things will work now including the tent truck, Hooray! Scenes were rehearsed, a lot of long hair climbing in and out of windows. How to support your long hair and a witch at the same time became a bit of a theme for the day.

Then in the late afternoon the Pippins joined the actors. The Pippins are local school kids, in three teams who add to the chorus of panto. Two hours with lots of singing and dancing on stage whilst I hid behind the backdrop working away.

By the end of the day the town flats were complete apart from some purple blooms.

Around 11am a delivery arrived in Goole, a water pump! You can now see what damage the old one had very clearly. Alastair fitted the pump, the system was filled with antifreeze mix and the engine started up. Everything seemed fine.

A working gauge to show the water pump working!

The new green wire also did it’s job, the temperature gauge showed a constant 80, this hadn’t shown a reading since the belt incident. Hooray! on two counts. By 2:30pm everything was deemed good to go, only thing was it was far too windy to move Oleanna. Mick would most probably have got her as far as Lisa’s boat and ended up being blown alongside and pinned there. Laird from the marina was fine with Mick staying for another night.

Saturday, a slightly later start for me today, just as well as the covid policy at the theatre has changed. Every morning before going into the theatre we all now have to do a lateral flow test. This is so that during rehearsals the actors can all be unmasked, but whilst moving around the theatre masks are to be worn. As I spend my life going from here to there and back again, I wear my mask pretty much all the time. I won’t be changing this even if everyone is testing daily, even though the back of my ears are red roar! I so feel for those who’ve been wearing masks all day every day for the last 18 months.

Time to draw up the tents and when the acting company had left for the day the scaffolding tower was erected so that I could reach Rapunzels tower to touch up the paintwork and finish bits that couldn’t be done before. The technicians dug out old equipment to see if it worked from under the stage and then Gav did a very good job of being ballast at the bottom of a ladder for me whilst I painted a coat of gold on the arches. At 6:15 an alarm went off on my phone, time to wash up, pack up, get changed and run away for the weekend!

In the afternoon Mick returned the key fob for the gates to Laird, thanked him and then moved Oleanna out from the marina. The doors were opened up and Tilly was set free to explore once more.

0 locks, 3.1miles ish, 1 new water pump, 2 mended domestic waters pumps, 1 big flush through, 1 pressure test passed, 0 blown head gasket, 34 litres antifreeze mix, 3 lateral flows, 1 theatre with doors open, 19 cast, 3 carpenters, 5 long days, 1 normal day, 2 soups, 1 brolly, 3.5 meters of hair, 1 new leaking roof, 1 tent on wheels, 4 panto masks,12 hours a day, 1 weekend off, WOOHOOO!

How Much Stuff?! 16th October

Castleford

After the Geraghty zoom this morning Mick headed off to pick up a hire car. He’d shopped around to find the cheapest option. Enterprise just pipped Thrifty to the post as Thrifty have a maximum mileage after which you are charged quite a bit per mile.

Butter, light muscovado sugar and golden syrup

Whilst Mick was out Tilly got to come and go as she liked whilst I first wrote a long list and then started collecting items together. Next week I start work on this years Chippy Panto. On the two previous times we have been on the South Oxford Canal, an easy weekly commute for me to get back to the boat for weekends. This time being a lot further north, I will only be getting one trip back to see Mick and Tilly, plus I’ll be there for five weeks. So my packing needed to be more comprehensive than in the past.

Living on a boat means things are beavered away all over the place. The steps at the stern had to be removed to access the lower cupboard where I keep my Scenic paint brush bag. Then the winter bag of clothes needed to come out from under the bed. This has normally already happened to get our warmer clothing out of storage, but so far this year we’ve not felt the need for thermals. But I strongly suspect I’ll be needing my long johns before too long.

As everything was gathered together and packed into bags I was staring to run out of places to put everything. The bed became piled high. The sewing machine came out from under the dinette seats and sat on top of them in the corner. It really is amazing just how much stuff can be tucked away.

Stew bubbling away, jackets in the stove

A pork stew was put on the stove to have with jacket potatoes later in the day. I carried on packing. The Bourbon tin came out, still full with drawing tools from two years ago. The big pencils got a good sharpen whilst I watched boats arriving to be penned down the broken lock. Mick had a walk up to chat the lock keeper as he was hoping to be able to get the car a touch closer to the boat to load all my stuff. The road to the lock has a barrier and if it’s not open you have to reverse for quite a distance before you can turn round. The lockie suggested returning to the flood lock where you can get a car right by the north bank. We’d leave moving until tomorrow.

A batch of apple crumble flapjack was made and once cool it was cut up and shared between two tuperwares. One to stay on Oleanna, the other added to yet another bag to head to Chippy.

When it came time to go to bed everything was lifted off the bed and put on the floor under the flap of our cross bed, at least now it wasn’t in the way anymore.

The generator has been chuntering away again tonight, still going as we turned the light off at gone midnight!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 car for 2 days, 0 space nearby, 3 sharp pencils, 9 hours, 2 ikea bags, 1 large hold all (obviously it didn’t hold everything), 1 paint brush rucksack, 1 rucksack, 1 food bag, 2 crochet blanket to finish, 1 food bag, 1 sewing machine, 1 pooped cat, 1 designer all packed up, 1am!

Stacks Of Stuff. 25th July

Sawbridgeworth Lock to Hunsdon Lock

The alarm not being set meant we both slept in, maybe a little too much, but so long as we got to where we needed to be tonight it didn’t really matter. There were a few bits and bobs that needed finishing up so Mick set too in the kitchen for breakfast.

Then we walked down to the maltings where several antique places sell their stuff. The first we went into was very organised and a touch posh really. Lots of jewellery and china.

A few bits of furniture. We considered swapping our sofa bed for a curly low sofa which would fit under the gunnels nicely, but we’d have nowhere for the two matching chairs.

‘One’ would need a leather bound library for a Victorian wooden step ladder.

Cats, pig marching bands and Clarice Cliff bowls tucked away in the display cabinets. Nothing for us here.

A units further on was Acorn Auctions, not open today for viewing, never mind there was plenty more to look at.

Riverside Antiques covered several floors and for those who have ever visited Josie’s in Bempton, it reminded me of there, just a touch tidier and you didn’t come out feeling grubby!

From Fred and Wilma, to Walter White.

Captain Scarlet and Blue to Thunderbird 2.

Railway paraphernalia, cap badges and Trains in Trouble singles.

Telephones, crockery, horse brasses. I took lots of photos of horse brasses as reference for panto.

1950’s clock with a timer, a calculator, beer steins, typewriters.

So much stuff, it went on and on for ages! The chap from the red boat had been right, these places could fill up a whole day if we let them. So much stuff nobody needs!

Oh hang on! We did find one thing each that maybe we’d have bought. Mick, an Aston Martin DB5 Corgie car. This was James Bond’s car, first seen in Goldfinger. It had rotating number plates, a retractable bullet proof rear shield, extending front over-riders, pop out machine guns, and, of course, a functioning passenger ejector seat! £15 a bargain!

Mine, a cream tea pot with chrome cosy. I used to have one of these that I think I bought at the aforementioned Josie’s. I would make my morning cuppa in it every day, but sadly quite a few years ago it broke or started to leek. Today I could have replaced it for £8, I very nearly did too!

Then near to the Ercol pebble tables and the canteen/table of cutlery there were two Victorian photographs which had dolls faces added to them. Three dimensions morphing out from two, quite disturbing really. Had someone made these up for a Halloween party?!

Yet another floor showed itself to us, but here we decided that we’d seen enough and that it was time to push off and get a few miles done.

Today there were thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. We gathered together our waterproofs before setting off, we knew we would be needing them today!

NB Small World had already moved off when we passed the gated community. We dropped back down Sheering Mill Lock all the time the skies behind us getting darker. There was a queue at the water point at Harlow Mill Lock which stretched back towards the lock, we managed to get past but a widebeam wouldn’t.

Here as we finished dropping down the lock the heavens opened, just enough time to get waterproofs on, I’d already put shorts on to save over heating in clinging waterproof trousers. Mick stayed up top and brought us along the pound reaching Latton Lock where we’d stopped for our Tesco’s click and collect the other day. Derek and Margaret waved from their comfortable dry seats as we passed, hoping there would be space for us to pull in before the lock.

We ended up on the lock landing. Covers back up and dripping under cover. We really wanted to be further on today so we waited and waited for the rain to subside. At one point it started to look good and Mick walked to set the lock. A cruiser was just arriving, so he helped them up, leaving the top gates ready for us, of course now it was heaving it down again!

Almost an hour later the rain dried up, covers were dropped and time to move on again. Thunder continuously rumbled around above, it was hard to hear the crack associated with each lightening flash. Above Burnt Mill Lock there were now three trip boats moored on the off side and David and Ted’s boat was sat on the visitor moorings, he’d said he needed some shopping.

It stayed almost dry through Parndon Lock but then on our last stretch of water the heavens opened up again. I made an excuse of preparing our evening meal whilst Mick stood at the tiller through the driving rain. Thankfully at Hunsdon Lock there was plenty of space for us to pull in.

Drip drying we checked the river levels. Tomorrow we need to pass under Roydon Railway Bridge on the river section. The pound we were in had risen by about four inches and we were seeing footage of flooded tube stations at Stratford! We’ll see what happens.

7 locks, 6.61 miles, 2 antique shops, 6 scarlet, 6 blue, 87 brasses, 7 piece band, 2 much to look at, 2 down pours, 25 minutes constant rumbling, 16 meatballs with celeriac, 0 shore leave, 1 very steamed up boat, 1 cruising plan coming together.

https://goo.gl/maps/cYxba9TsGk1iFs4N6

A Thousand Ships. 29th March

With the Ever Given now un-stuck on the Suez Canal there are plenty of ships that have been held up in the Mediterranean and Red Sea, one report suggests there have been around 300 ships waiting for the way ahead to be clear. The traffic jam, longer than will be found at Minshull Lock on the Middlewich Branch in a couple of weeks, will take weeks to clear. Doing a Suez is now being added to narrowboat language up and down the country for when you get into one of those situations!

Meanwhile here in Scarborough fingers and rakes have been busy.

A month or so ago I was commissioned by my friends Dawn and Lee of Animated Objects Theatre Company to design a sheet of origami paper influenced by the Yorkshire coast, I was one of six artists to be chosen.

Last week an envelope arrived in the post with twelve squares of paper for me to fold into ships, two of each of the designs.

These have also gone out to numerous houses and homes along the Yorkshire coast as well as further afield to those who have links here, I know of two sets that have gone to Malvern.

All twelve ships were folded and carefully placed into an envelope to return last Friday when Dawn and Lee came to collect the model buildings I’ve been painting for them over the last few weeks.

Model Buildings for another part of the project

My 12 ships will be amongst another 988, making 1000 which will go on display in various places along the coast in the next few months. This is all part of The Odyssey a project taking place over the next three years. Have a look at their website to find out more about the artists involved.

https://youtu.be/yS7-H_HJtUM

To launch this phase of the project Dawn and Lee were up very early and down on the North and South bays a couple of mornings last week.

National Day of Reflection, 23rd March. Animated Objects

They busied themselves with rakes and created sand drawings. My favourite was Helen with ships in her hair.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1000 ships, 20 buildings, 9 walls, 12 folded ships, 1 mighty ship free at last!

Three Months And A Year On. Breach 33. 20th March

Three Months ago today we learned of the breach on the Aire and Calder. The canal was doing a good job of emptying itself into fields, the flow of water heading for the villages of East and West Cowick. That all feels like a long time ago.

This morning my computer binged at me, a message from Mark Penn with new photos from the breach site. His initial comment was that there was no change. This was right in some respects, no progress on emptying out the cofferdam ready for inspection. But on the other hand there has been quite a bit happening.

Four days ago we received the notice from C&RT regarding a temporary fix to where the cofferdam meets the piling on the south eastern end. They would be implementing a more secure seal here, which is in progress and visible on Marks photos.

The first thing noticeable is that the floating pontoon is back on site. It had been stored through the other side of New Bridge. The pipes pumping water round the breach have been extended towards Goole, meaning that the pontoon and workers wouldn’t be drenched whilst working.

Water is actually being pumped into the cofferdam from the western end. This at first seems strange, pumping water in to where there is a breach, only for the water to flow out and into the drain below.

But thinking about it, it must be to help relieve pressure on the cofferdam whilst they make a more robust seal. We all know that lock gates open easily when the water level is equal at one end of the lock, yet the water pressure at the other end is immense. So keeping the water level between the cofferdam and the canal will mean less stress on what they are working on.

By the pontoon you can see a lot of new piling being put in along the bank where aggregate had been added last week. The void has been filled and now they are reinforcing the piling where it meets the cofferdam.

The above photo shows this better. A better fix than some blue tarpaulin and a roll of gaffa tape would do!

From above you can see the new piling lines up with the dam and the aggregate. Here’s hoping that this fix is nearing completion and that no more voids will hold up the cofferdam from being pumped out fully next week. Then the investigations can start and the engineers can get to work on a solution.

20-3-21 A boom has been positioned downstream near the bridge

A year ago we had arrived in Nantwich to stock up before continuing northwards. Little did we know we’d be there for months. The world was a different place, everyone getting used to what social distancing was, panic buying and hand sanitizer were new things. Supermarket shelves were empty and queues were long.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we’d have our first Geraghty Zoom.

In all our minds back then we knew lockdown was coming, but only imagined it would last for a few months. Then life would return to some form of normality. Kath, Micks sister had left a plant on her office desk hoping it might survive, she’s not been back.

Theatres closed their doors on the 16th March 2020. A year later it was apt to have a panto meeting. Showing my white card model to the creative team and producers was a little strange on a Zoom meeting. Mick had enabled my phone to be an extra camera so that I could show people round my model whilst giving them motion sickness! A good meeting.

On Wednesday I caught a bus up to Scarborough Rugby Club where I joined the queue for the local vaccination centre. I’d last stepped foot in this building eight years ago when collecting old rugby shirts to be used in the premier production of John Godbers Muddy Cows at the SJT.

This time I left with my vaccination card and a sticker. My photo on social media has caused some unrest from those who didn’t receive one. Mick is miffed and so is Kath from Herbie along with numerous friends. Sorry!

This morning I have received my NHS vaccination letter, I’m glad my doctors had everything in hand as the nearest hub to us is Saltburn 31 miles away. The 3.5 miles on the old railway line is much better. Just a shame I’ve had a few side effects, hopefully todays vertigo will pass soon.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 dam filling up, 1 reinforced joint, 2 boaters still with fingers crossed, 3 months, 53rd Geraghty zoom, 1:25 scale white card model, 18 rugby shirts, 1 jab, 3.5 miles home, 1 sticker controversy, 1 wild flower bed planted, 6 more houses to go, 2 thank you’s to Paul (Waterway Routes) and Dave Scouts for blog advice, 1 map from last year to check it still works, 1 window open all sunny day for Tilly, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.

Boating Giddy. Breach 25. 28th February

Blimey the end of February already! Spring is certainly springing. Here in Scarborough the sun has been out for a few days and flowers are blooming in the woods and along the cliffs to the sea.

With the announcement last Monday regarding the roadmap out of lockdown the world feels a lot more positive. On Monday and Tuesday we allowed ourselves to get a bit boating giddy, planning our escape from Goole. Mick even put our first destination into canal plan to work out how many hours cruising we’d need to do a day.

One escape route would mean we’d be needing to doing just over 2 hours a day, the other just under, although we’d most probably end up doing several days worth in one as there would be nowhere to moor up on the river sections. But this is all easy and would have us reaching our destination towards the end of June. All very exciting, we just have to hope that ABP let us out through the lock onto the Ouse or that the repair on the Aire and Calder is far easier than all the engineering suggests.

We are going to keep our first destination this year a surprise for you until we are on our way. But on Monday and Tuesday this week things started to slot into place quite nicely, we just have to hope that the Governments roadmap, (without dates!) follows the dates Mr Johnson mentioned. We will continue to abide by the rules, just hope everyone else does their part. There is also a long list of jobs to do here along with lots of work.

According to various sources regarding the Aire and Calder Breach the piling forming the cofferdam was finished five days early. The area is virtually dry and decisions on a permanent repair would be made by the end of this week. Equipment has been heading to site all week and initial thoughts are that there is no problem with the culvert under the canal.

Repairs continue on the Calder Hebble at the Figure of Three Locks near Dewsbury. This was just about totally wiped out in floods at the beginning of last year. The repairs have taken into account the possibility of future flooding, the towpath has been reinforced and the spillway should now be capable of carrying flood water away. I’ve come across a couple of videos of the works.

https://fb.watch/3X9yJx9k2o/

This was a route we’d been planning on taking last year as I had a show that would start in Huddersfield and then tour to York. The gap between performances allowed enough time for us to travel between the two theatres, however the damage caused here altered our plans, then the show was cancelled.

Cancelled isn’t really the right word, as this week Dark Horse have been in touch and are wanting to bring the show out of hibernation. It will need designing in the next few months and some costume work before the summer even though it won’t be performed until early next year. Another reason for hoping the roadmap out of lockdown keeps going in the right direction.

Reports from Viking Marina in Goole suggest levels are coming back up. Mid week the caisson gates were seen open, but the metal stop planks were still in place with the pumps running full pelt around them. This weekend we’ve had reports from Lisa and Al that the metal stop planks may now have been removed. With the cofferdam now stopping any more water from escaping I suspect the caisson gates and stop planks are no longer required. Opening them up here means that as the locks in Goole docks are used there will now be another four miles worth of water to draw from. The navigation still remains closed, the red lights still showing at the caisson.

0 locks, 0 miles, 3, 1 set of gates, 1 lot of stop planks, 13 guns, 27 houses, 1 white card approved, 1 white card to be costed, 1 commission finished, 1 plan coming together, 1 roadmap, 0 dates, 1 cat going solo more, 1 new show, 3 more months photoless, 1 long list of jobs, 2 giddy boaters, 1 neighbours cat with cream paws, 1 smug boat cat.

Going Down. Breach 23. 19th February

Aire & Calder Navigation Main Line
Location: Ferrybridge Lock and Goole Caisson
Starts At: Lock 11, Ferrybridge Flood Lock
Ends At: Goole Pipebridge

Update on 19/02/2021:

Works at the breach continue this will create fluctuations in water levels between Pollington, Sykehouse and Goole.

Skippers of all craft are advised to check their mooring lines to ensure their vessel is securely moored allowing for water fluctuation.

This notice from C&RT came through mid morning. Oleanna is moored on the other side of Goole Caisson, but that doesn’t mean the levels in the docks are any more constant. In fact this morning I received a message from Lisa saying that Al was on his way to the marina to check on boats as the level had dropped significantly overnight.

The thought was that ships had been through Ocean Lock and taken a lot of water with them, therefore dropping the level. It would take some time for the pumps working around the Caisson to bring the level back up again.

Al checked Oleanna’s ropes and sent through a couple of photos. She certainly was a lot lower than when we’d last had a photo, but not as low as when we’d first visited her after the breach. Apart from the lack of water all seems well. Thank you Al and the others in the marina for keeping an eye on things.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 foot down, 1 very bored cat, 4 guns finished, 9 at least halfway, 1 assistant locked out, 128 photos of a white card model, 2 notebooks, 0 missing blog photos!

Panto Postcard 4

42 hours

Another hard week, but there was time for a bit of socialising.

After spending several hours on Sunday hunting around Oxford for various bits and bobs, then printing off lettering, it didn’t really feel like I’d had a day off. In fact since rehearsals started I think I may have only managed one day off, however I finished work at 2.30am on that day and most probably did some knitting too for the show!

I was first on the bus in Oxford and last off when it reached Chippy and as soon as I was back in the theatre there were things to be getting on with. The crew were meant to be rehearsing the scene changes before the actors arrived to work various bits, but they seemed to have found other things to do instead which didn’t bode well for the dress rehearsal in the evening. More things were finished off, parts of the show were worked on by the cast and all looked pretty good in time for the dress which was to be photographed.

You would think that dress rehearsals should improve each time you do one, in an ideal world they should. But there is also a chance that things can go wrong, better in a dress than a performance. This dress was one of the latter! When going from a restaurant scene to the interior of a pyramid and only having 3 mins 45 to do it, everything needs to be just so backstage and everyone ready. On Saturday the crew had laid off parts of the set for me to work on, Monday morning these should have been reset for the dress, but two large flats had ended up being the wrong way round. With an audience of ushers in watching we had to wait several minutes before the curtain opened and things did not look quite right on stage.

The next scene had to be stopped as a part of the scenery hadn’t been tied off correctly and later on another scene change needed attention to avoid a possible incident. One scene had to be reset so that photos could be taken again. Quick changes had been missed too. So by the end of the day everyone was relieved that there was still another day before a paying audience were in.

Tuesday and the scene changes were talked through, tried, reworked, things moved around in the wings, alterations to costumes were made, scenes worked on and all the time Jo the prop maker was still working through her huge list of makes. In the evening everyone crossed their fingers for a more successful dress. The hard work by all during the day paid off. Every change of set and costume worked to time and nobody was put at risk in the process. Just about everyone made it to the pub for a drink followed by a few of us heading for a curry.

Wednesday, preview day. I was in early to paint a few bits, hoping the paint would be dry before anyone got close to it in floating costumes. Jo still worked away in the garden shed producing more and more props for the auditorium scene and making us a less phallic lamp!

The previews were full of the older population of Chippy. A lot of grey hair meant the Dame found it hard to single out a dark stranger to take a fancy to. Only a few small things didn’t go quite according to plan, but that’s what previews are for. A couple of quick notes were done on stage before we headed to the pub for a well earned drink.

Thursday. My list had only a few items left on it. So I treated myself to a lie in followed by a bath, my first in possibly four years. I only managed to get slightly wrinkly before I packed away all my possessions at my digs and headed to the theatre. The morning I spent putting a few finishing touches to things and helping Jo out. Rehearsals had been called during the afternoon so that a few cuts could be made. One of the cast has been feeling not so good for the last week and had been doing her best to avert becoming ill. On Wednesday you could tell she was holding back her singing as much as possible to preserve it for Press Night. So once the cuts had been gone through, rehearsals proceeded so that one of the understudies could take some of the pressure off her. Fazil the snake would be voiced by the understudy and lyrics in songs were spread to other cast members. This was done very well, if you didn’t know I suspect you’d not have noticed.

Mick got the bus over to Chippy and we met up in Checkers the pub next door for something to eat before the show. The last few jobs had been completed with a couple of hours to go and Jo was busy sorting out her petty cash. Unfortunately just after we’d finished our pie and stew the sight of Susie the Company Stage Manager walking quickly past the window meant someone was needed. There were other people in the pub she might have needed but she turned straight towards us. Before she could say a word I knew what the problem was likely to be and had already stood up to leave Mick to finish his pint on his own. One piece of scenery gets pushed off stage very close to a smoke machine which has sharp corners, I’d already patched up the canvas a couple of times, so went straight to the labelled pot of paint that was needed. It only took a couple of minutes to sort and show Susie the labelled paints waiting for any such occasion.

The show went very well, apart from one flown piece of scenery not quite reaching it’s dead! Hopefully someone will take the time to check that out. Lots of laughter, singing, shouting, sweet catching. Mick, even though he always says he won’t join in, did and found the demise of the badie very amusing. Drinks in the bar followed the show along with pizzas delivered from one of the many fast food outlets in Chippy. After a couple of hours celebrating we got a lift back into Oxford with the director who managed to get his car as close to our mooring as possible, his car boot full of my possessions.

A lot of hard work, over months, but a very enjoyable experience.

’m now looking forward to having cups of tea in bed, knitting in front of the stove and gradually making our way back up the Oxford Canal (when stoppages allow). 3mph calls again with a purring cat on my knee and sharing a box or two of wine with my boy Mick.

Normal blog writing will resume, as soon as I’ve had a kip.

0 locks, 2 buses, 3 dress rehearsals, 1 axe, 3 mummies, 2 planes, 1 very loud dame, 1 curry, 6 moonlit leeks, 1 emergency repair, 1 very jolly, bright and loud panto, 1 happy cat, 2 boaters back on board.

Waiting For The Grey Boat. 7th October

Thrupp to Kidlington Green Lock 43

A dry but chilly morning, time to nudge one more step towards Oxford. Plenty of boats were heading north and at times there were several waiting for the lift bridge, we headed southwards for water and a suitable place for Tilly.

Knowing we’d be able to fill up ahead the washing machine had been active whilst we’ve been in Thrupp, the gauge now reading a quarter full. We pulled up at Langford Bridge which isn’t the best place for a water point. Just after a bridge on a bend. We opted for mooring with our stern in to the towpath and bow sticking out, a fender strategically positioned hoping that the freshly painted gunnels will survive a day un marked.

Once full, we pootled onwards having ear marked a mooring we thought would be good for Tilly. At Roundham Lock we swapped with a boat coming out of the lock and had extra crew to help us down as a hire boat awaited their turn accompanied by a lady sat in their bow playing sea shanties on an accordion .

With moorings above and below Kidlington Green Lock we pulled in above and I walked to see what was available below. I had a suspicion that the boat that would be our neighbour had a cat as there was an escape board pinned into the armco at either ends of the boat. Mick confirmed this on my return as he’d seen the cat having a bath in preparation for coming out of it’s cat flap. We decided as there was plenty of space below the lock with sunlight we’d move down.

A boat had just pulled in, most probably for lunch, they had a whippet who dashed along the towpath towards us. Maybe above the lock would have been better! Once we’d tied up Mick walked down to ask about their dog and how it is with cats. Not good was the answer and they were expecting another whippet to arrive shortly but would be moving on in an hours time. This did not go down too well with Tilly!!

They’d tied the outside up. She’d written down the magic numbers. The magic music had been played. There were trees. There was a big huge field to run around in. I’d been locked in for days, weeks, years!!! But she didn’t recite the rules, just a ”Sorry Tilly, when the grey boat goes” !!!!! We hoped that the lady kept to her word.

Just as she said they pulled off an hour later and as she walked past informed us that the dogs were safely on the boat. Tilly and I stood and watched the grey boat go past, a stairgate visible at the stern to keep their dogs in. It was now safe. “Three Hours, no friends home, dead or alive or putting them on the roof for later …..”etc. One happy cat.

During the afternoon I finished off my first Fazil for panto. He still needs eyes a tongue and some markings, but the shape is good and he fits on my hand as well as Micks. A one size fits all snake. Another two to make, but I’m going to have a break from snakes whilst I do a bit more towards a big order I’ve got. Multicoloured wool put away and subtle cream and red back out.

As our roast pork cooked the sun set over the far side of the field behind us. What a lovely sight, whilst trying to encourage a still giddy cat to come home for her dingding!

2 locks, 2.33 miles, 1 full water tank, 1 accordion, 2 planks, 1 pawprint rubbing strake, 1 mark, 1st female DR, 1 aptly named boat, 1 snake, 4th pair started, 1 Sunday roast, 4 hours of pouncing, digging, climbing and running around like a loon!

https://goo.gl/maps/yYNYgrYoTDv

Autumn Half Term. 6th October

Thrupp

It started to rain as Mick got out of bed to make tea. Was it worth getting dressed before our morning cuppa to get the cratch cover back on before everything in the well deck got wet? We knew it made sense and put top layers on with water proof coats. After wiping water off the cratch board the cover was back on before 8am. Damp things removed we got back into bed for tea.

Soon after breakfast the stove was lit, the temperature having dropped by around 10C since yesterday. We knew the forecast was for rain followed by more rain today, so hadn’t planned anything. It felt like an Autumn Half Term holiday where either you spent it in front of the TV or were forced to walk around the Lake District in the rain because it was character building! We decided to do the former after Mick had walked to the Co-op about a mile away for our Saturday newspaper.

A boy programme on trains was followed by a girl programme, GBBO. Then we decided to watch Mystery Road that is being shown on BBC4. Lunch was suitable soup with homemade chickpea flatbreads. The flour has been sat in a drawer for the last year and is just passing it’s use by date. They were an interesting experiment and I think next time I may add a touch of cumin. They also might be a good base for a flat bread pizza.

During the day my Panto snake puppet grew, it only needs a few more inches of body and then things like a tongue and some extra markings for it to be finished. Then there are another two to make!

Late afternoon the rain dried up so we had a stroll around the village. It wasn’t a long one as the village is quite small. A row of Grade 2 listed cottages sits alongside the canal. If you fancy one it would be a mere £425k in need of some modernisation. They do look cosy though. We studied the bus timetables to see if here would be a possible place for me to commute from, 2 buses and they run on Sundays, the advantage of being by Oxford Airport. Then we followed a path behind The Boat Inn which led us back to the canal at Shipton-on-Cherwell and the Holy Cross Church.

Inside no lights were on and the small church was a touch gloomy in the fading light of the day. A flash was needed to be able to see just about anything, a small organ and two bells. We returned to Oleanna having decided to eat out at The Boat Inn tonight, hoping that their beer stocks had been replenished from earlier in the week.

We joined four other tables in The Morse Room. The Boat Inn was used as a location in an episode of Morse back in 1989 (The Last Enemy) and the walls have numerous photos from the episode. John Thaw looked over my shoulder as I tucked into a steak and chips. We’d heard the chap on the table next to us checking to see if their pies were just stew topped with a puff pastry lid or a proper pie with sides, the answer was yes they had sides. But what we forgot to ask ourselves was how our food would be served. They arrived on plates, but the chips came in a mini frying basket with a piece of paper under them. These were dispensed with very quickly, all the food on a plate where it should be.

The steaks were okay, still not had one to beat The Old Hall Inn, Chinley (The Red Lion in Crick comes second). They certainly weren’t triple cooked chips, more the variety that had once been mashed potato which had then been formed into chip shapes, then sprayed with a coating to hold them together. The only option I had for pudding was ice cream. A scoop each of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate in a glass with a blob of cream on top. You may notice that I call this ice cream as it had no medicinal qualities to it what –so-ever, just supermarket cheepo ice cream. We decided to return to Oleanna to keep Tilly company for a second drink rather than spend more money on beer and wine in the pub.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 bridges, 1 cratch cover back on before the rain really set in, 1 clean pooh box, 7 pencils, 2 pens, 1 handcuff key destined for the floor, 1 very bored cat, 3 episodes Mystery Road, 1ft of snake, 5 chickpea flatbreads, 0.5 of soup, 1 large glass wine, 1 pint, 2 steaks, 1 with 1 without onion rings, 1 stove lit all day, 1 very cosy boat.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna