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.
20/3/21
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.
20-3-21
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.
20-3-21
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.
20-3-21
The above photo shows this better. A better fix than some blue tarpaulin and a roll of gaffa tape would do!
20-3-21
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.
21/3/2020
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.
Muddy Cows
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.
SRUFC Vaccination Centre
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.
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.
Fewer layers required
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.
Sneaky peek at panto
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.
Sun on the catwalk
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.
Hello Oleanna!
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.
Today is what She calls my ‘Gotcha day’. Five years ago I was quite happily clambering over the high edge of a pooh tray heading towards a scratch post, stopping to sniff and kill a mouse en route, when the She I’d been staying with picked me up and walked with me on her shoulder to the front door.
I was little then
Here my She stood with a big smile on her face. I had a cuddle and a purr showed off my tail to She and her family and that was it. This was the day I became a boat cat.
It’s such a hard life
Back then the back of the sofa was a good place to sit, that was when we lived on Lillian. Then on Oleanna the sofa had a secret passage behind it which only got revealed every now and again. Now we live in Scarboreugh the sofa keeps moving but always has a route behind it, which I find handy for getting to sit in the window.
Toms boating coat
Life has changed somewhat in the last five years. They no longer move the outside and there are far FAR too many other cats who visit my outside, both front and back! In the last five months I have not murdered anything! Trees are hard to come by apart from in the park and She doesn’t take me there quite as much as she used to.
Out in the park
However, the tree that Tom chopped down has been brought inside. I can now go through my door (when they bother to open it for me!) and climb it to my hearts content, not having to share it with every other cat in the neighbourhood. It’s quite cool and I can stand at the top and sneer at Bogey Face and Fatty Betty who don’t have their own tree.
MY tree
You may think that I am now a house cat. I would disagree. I still get the same rules before I go out ‘You have an hour, no friends home dead or alive or putting them on the roof for later’. I still have to find a route that is accessible to the roof. I get ‘Thank you for coming home’ Dreamies. And quite frequently get told ‘Boat cats don’t claw furniture’ or ‘Boat cats don’t bite’. Lockdown in a house is boring so I have to find new ways to amuse myself.
The highlights of my day are at getting up time and bedtime. My birthday present from last year may have lost numerous feathers now, but it is still tops. She swings it round and I pounce from one end of the bed to the other. I stalk it and wait for it to come out from the Wardle room.
I do get to look out above the trees when She and I go to work. There is lots of this happening right now. I have been given a cushion to sit on so that I won’t try to squeeze into the model box anymore, She’s been busy making things to go inside it, they are poisonous! When we worked on Oleanna everything used to get tidied up every day and put away. Well She is now very very lazy and leaves everything out. Standards are slipping.
Tut Tut Tut!
Tom says that three years ago She wondered what I’d make of life in a house. Well there is a lot more room to run around after visiting my pooh box and good windows to sit and look out of. But the lack of friends is the serious down side along with there being too many cats. She says that one day, hopefully soon, we’ll be back on Oleanna and they’ll be moving the outside again. We just have to get to the other side of this lockdown and the breach. So my killing days may not be over.
Dreaming of Boats!
0 locks, 0 miles, 5 years second mate, 4 white paws, 1 white tipped tail, 5 months house bound, 1 lockdown and breach to pounce over, 3rd sofa, 1 tree of my very own, 2 cat walks, 3 cushions, 2 many cats, 0 friends, 2 lifes, 60 miles apart.
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!
Lisa sent through a photo of Oleanna this morning. The level at the docks is just about normal and Oleanna was sitting there in the rain. Yesterday it must have been sunny at the marina as the solar panels were doing a good job of keeping the batteries topped up and the engine bay got up to 8 C. It’s handy being able to check on her from afar, keeps our minds at rest.
Paper stretched and ready
Here in Scarborough I’ve been busy with work. A new, to me, art shop is proving very handy. I’ve not had chance to go into The Art Room yet and I can’t see what art materials they normally stock, Delia responds to emails swiftly and is very helpful. This week I was after a pad of thick cartridge paper and a wooden board so that I can stretch the paper properly. If water colour paper isn’t stretched, when you start to paint the paper cockles and will never lie flat again. In the past I’ve half heartedly taped paper to a plastic board, but this never really worked that well. So I have invested in a board that will take A3 paper comfortably. This will first get used for my boat origami paper design. Then I hope to use it for paintings of the waterways, which I’ve been planning on doing for some time now. I have the equipment, the reference, all I need now is the time!
This week I’ve started work in earnest on Panto for Chipping Norton. Sketch technical drawings enable me to make pieces of model, then do adjustments. Yesterday I finished working my way through the show, there is still lots to alter and work out, but I have solutions for most things. I’m quite happy with my galleon set, but the smugglers inn isn’t right yet! Hopefully this coming week things will get sorted before my next work arrives on the doorstep!
Cotton top measuring up
I’ve finally finished knitting a top for my sister-in-law which is now measured out and blocking on some new foam mats I’ve treated myself to. These will be handy to take back to the boat as they breakdown into foot squares, but once clipped together they give me 3ft square to pin items onto. They will save me pinning things out onto the back of our mattress on the boat and hoping things will be dry before bedtime!
Cricket on the TV, who’d have thought
Mick, whilst not watching the cricket, has been working on the blog. Two years ago we moved to WordPress and our current deal is nearly up. There are things we’d like to try to improve, but unless we spend more money they are proving hard to sort. Paul (Waterway Routes) suggested sometime ago we tried WordPress.org, this is free but we’d need to pay to have the blog hosted, which is all working out at a similar price to if we stayed put. We could go back to Blogger and Open Live Writer, but photos had been problematic, Mick is still working his way through the blog inserting them and I like the way wordpress works.
Tomorrow Tilly it’s too dark to go for a walk now!
However we miss having a blog roll that moves with peoples posts and a forwards and back button. Mick has found the relevant code, we may need to enlist my nephew Josh into giving us some guidance with this. We’ll see what happens.
Mick is taking his time reading the book he selected from our Christmas stash. The chap has left Kate Saffin and Alarum, headed to the Exeter Canal and is now somewhere on the Bridgewater Canal.
I on the other hand have finished mine, which I’ve really enjoyed. When we first moved on board I read a lot, but in the last couple of years I’d got out of the habit. With so many books to choose from I was spoilt for choice. So when Sam from NB Red Wharf said that Canal Pushers was really good and Debby from NB Chuffed asked for a review I thought I’d best start there.
I like a good crime story and with it being set on the canals it started off on a good footing. Andy Griffee has taken the theory of a serial killer, pushing people into the waterways around Manchester and set a similar story on the Stratford, Worcester and Birmingham Canals.
Jack has just picked up a narrowboat to see if a life afloat will suit him after recently being divorced. Let down by a friend who was going to help him learn the ropes he is soon rescued by a lady walking the towpath, Nina. A friendship is formed between the two of them, Nina keeping herself a bit of a mystery.
Look at those whiskers
Knowing the stretch of canal where the book is set is quite warming to a sole that misses being on the cut right now. Jack’s experience of The Navigation Inn at Wooten Wawen made me smile as it was very similar to ours when we hired our last boat from there seven years ago. Stratford with the tourists and theatre, Wedges, Packwood House, all the time Jack learning how to handle the boat as the mystery of the death of a young homeless lad unfolds.
Not breakfast, but a beetroot and feta burger in homemade gf buns with lockdown chips
Several plots intertwine, gradually unravelling themselves at a narrowboat pace. There are several moments where the pace speeds up which has lead to a couple of nights where I’ve kept the light on whilst Mick has snored away. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to give the plot away, as it is well worth a read. My only criticism, I’ve always walked down hill to the shops in Alvechurch, not up hill.
Verdict, a good read especially for those with a canal interest, but this is not required and it certainly doesn’t turn into a manual for narrowboat handling. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series River Rats which takes place in Bath. I may read my way down towards the Kennet and Avon via Murder on the Oxford Canal by Faith Martin. I wonder if there are enough novels to cover the whole network?
Also not breakfast, but turnip curry, beetroot and carrot curry with homemade gf nan breads
This weekends walk will prove to be a rosy cheeked one as it is currently trying it’s best to snow, although I doubt it will settle. An east wind will be whipping up the sea and will chill us to the bone, thermals needed today.
Last week we braved the climb up onto Oliver’s Mount. Down into the valley to then climb back up the other side and then further all up hill. We chose to go cross country avoiding felled trees up to the top.
Up the top
Here on the summit a telecommunications mast stands. Back in the early 1990’s this was the only place in Scarborough to get mobile phone signal when the telephone exchange had a serious fire knocking out all landlines in the town. The other high point here is the war memorial that marks a view point.
We took our time looking for family names. None from the Geraghty side, but quite a few Capplemans. I shall have to dig out the family tree I was sent after my Dad passed away and see if any of them are mentioned.
The view right up the coast
Oliver’s Mount makes for a great view point. Looking down all the usual landmarks have found new positions around town (as they do!) and the South Bay looks more like a smugglers cove. Views right into the North Bay and up the coast, we took our time spotting friends houses.
The South Bay
The way back down we followed the roads which make up the Oliver’s Mount race track, stopping to say hello to the beach donkeys who are on their winter holiday, sadly they were just a touch too far away for a good photo.
Us last week
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 level back up, 1 glimpse, A3 sketch board, 20 sheets, 0 cow gum, 1 new proscenium, 1 white card sketch model complete, 409 pages, 1 cotton top, 67 pins, 2 t-towels, 6 capplemans, 5 miles up and down, 1 bored cat in need of a hobby, 1 windswept short walk, 0 cobwebs.
Us today!
Where Were We
2020. Sheepcote Street Bridge, Birmingham.
2019. Thorne Lock, Stainforth and Keadby Canal. LINK
Get yourself a cuppa and put your feet up, this is a long post.
Into BUMingham
Having seen New Year in on the North Stratford Canal we commenced the new year by cruising in to Birmingham or as Tilly would have it know, BUMingham, she’s not too keen!
What a stripy world!
A meeting with Amy from Dark Horse Theatre Company about a project in the summer set out our years cruising as I’d need to be in Huddersfield then York for the show. Then it was time to pack and get myself ready for ten days in Vienna. This would be the longest I’ve been away from boat life since we set out in 2014. Half of my clothes were packed up along with a basic scene painting kit and I jetted off to what was a mixed experience. Despite the problems I had a wonderful time working with a great team in the theatre, I hope one day to return.
Whilst I marvelled at the wonderful scenes in Vienna and pulled my hair out at work, trying to keep a calm exterior, Mick and Tilly headed back out into the countryside towards Tardebigge on the Worcester and Birmingham. Here they met up with a friend Chris who was planning a boat build.
Hello!
Mick and Tilly came back into Birmingham to pick me up and then we set about exploring the BCN. There is plenty to explore and we didn’t quite manage to go everywhere, but we did our best.
Smethwick Locks
We headed up Smethwick New Locks onto the Old Main line. Stopped at Dudley Port Basin, coconuts accompanied us down Brades Staircase, then through Netherton Tunnel where we’d planned on visiting Hawne Basin, but thick ice thwarted our first attempt. The following day we succeeded and had a bumpy ride along the Dudley No 2 to fill our diesel tank.
Emma and Ted
Factory Locks brought us back onto the Old Main Line, we visited Wolverhampton, turned onto the Wyrley and Essington Canal and wiggled our way through the rubbish to Pelsall Junction. Here we had a wonderful get together with my bestestest friend and her son Ted (my Godson) who were over from Sydney, an all but too short lunch with them before they headed onwards on their whistlestop tour of England.
The Cannock Extension and Anglesey Branch were ticked off followed by the Daw End Branch, The Rushall Canal, Tame Valley Canal and up the Ryders Green Locks back into the centre of BUMingham early February.
I designed costumes and made the white card model for The Garden for Dark Horse whilst we sat out storm Ciara which was to wipe out the Figure of Three Locks on the Calder Hebble. The damage to the locks looked great and not fixable quickly, a rethink to our cruising route was needed for me to get to work in the summer.
We went to the Symphony Hall and listened to Schubert and Berg spurred on by Dimitrios from NB Galene. Storm Dennis kept us from cruising to our next evening of entertainment at Titford Pump House, a bus replacement did the job so that we could see Alarum Theatre Company’s Acts of Abandonment. Little did we know at the time that this was to be our last live theatre until December.
A night out in the countryside for Tilly and a last night in the city to fill our bellies with curry. Then we were off again, up Smethwick Locks under the M5 where the scaffolding was being taken down. We turned up the Oldbury Locks following a boat that turned out to be NB Sola Gratia. A spin round the Titford Pools was in order before we returned for another diesel top up at Hawne Basin.
The Walsall Canal now beckoned us, that was a bumpy ride over trolleys, trees and all sorts! A fantastic fabric shop, the New Art Gallery right by our mooring and The Leather Museum kept our interest for a couple of days before we climbed up the Walsall Locks back up to Wyrley and Essington Canal.
The garden at Urban Moorings
The ladies at Urban Moorings welcomed us for an overnight visit, time to work the washing machine hard as we plugged into the electric. Then we kept our fingers crossed for a mooring at The Black Country Museum, which thankfully worked.
Marion and John came to meet us for an afternoon at the museum and we all enjoyed fish and chips with plenty of salt and vinegar in between visiting shops and watching chain links being made. The following day we took a boat trip into the Dudley Tunnel, had a second visit to the museum along with a portion of chips before heading out to moor in Tipton and have a visit from Heather from NB Bleasdale, followed by a pie at Mad O’Roukes Pie Factory.
The 7th of March saw us descend the Wolverhampton 21, leaving the Birmingham plateau behind us. Blimey we managed to pack a lot into the first ten weeks of the year! Just as well really. Onto the Shroppie where I had my first successes with gluten free sour dough bread, Tilly got to remember life in the countryside and we were treated to Shroppie Sunsets again.
Burgers with the Margees
The recent storms had brought down numerous trees and caused landslips so our progress was a touch slow heading northwards. We had a lovely lunch with Alison and Laura the Margees at Norbury Junction, they were to be our last visitors on board Oleanna for quite sometime.
Passing NB Bessie Surtees on the Tyrley Locks we actually got chance to chat for the first time. A stop to stock up in Market Drayton, we saw our first homemade mask (a pair of y fronts repurposed) and the start of empty shelves in supermarkets with people gleeful to have a twelve pack of toilet roll under their coat.
The Audlem flight was busy with plenty going down and NB Mountbatten coming up, delivering coal as they went. Theatres closed that day and we started to put into practice new ways of working locks hoping to keep ourselves safe. As we socially distanced around the shops in Nantwich people were joking about the virus. We shopped, adapting what we bought to what was available and then got ready for our first Zoom with family on the 21st March.
We stocked up with NB Halsall at Calverley then made our way onto the Middlewich Branch and down Cholmondeston Lock. The following morning (23rd March) we listened to our gut instincts. If lockdown was to happen we’d rather not have to negotiate locks to get to shops or services, so we winded and headed back up Cholmondeston Lock onto the Nantwich pound. Our gut instinct was correct.
Adam and Adrian on NB Briar Rose
The next few days we saw plenty of boats moving, finding places they wanted to spend the coming weeks, heading for home or temporary ones like NB Briar Rose. Jac my sister in law eventually managed to get a flight back from Melbourne where she’d been to celebrate her Mum’s birthday, at last everyone was where they should be.
We tried different moorings out for size as the need to fill with water or get shopping arose. It was also good to keep Tilly moving, both to stop her from getting bored and to help the local wildlife survive.
Our decision to be on the Nantwich pound turned out to be a good one, we ended up mooring at the bottom of Hurleston on the visitor moorings most, this became ‘Home’ for us where we watched spring turn into summer.
Watching the field behind the hedge be ploughed, planted and start to grow. Listening to the Lapwings enjoying the bounty in the potato fields. Getting to know our neighbours at a distance. The wheelie shoppers. The huskies out for their morning walk. The egg farm at the top of the locks. Weekly veg boxes from Nantwich Veg Boxes which we collected for ourselves and NB AreandAre. Supermarket deliveries were sought each week, sometimes only managing click and collect. The sun shone and Tilly had freedom. The coal boats kept us stocked up with fuel and our waterless (composting) toilet took one need to move out of the equation.
By mid-April my design for The Garden had been reimagined into an illustrated audio play. I was to do the illustrations, then they would have audio and some animation added to be available online. Chippy panto started to gear up with the hope that all would be back to normal-ish by the end of November for the show to be mounted.
We winded, went for walks, watched plays on the internet, winded, ate cheese scones, winded again! Tilly ventured further afield, across her field. We had barbeques, brownies and watched the reservoir banks get mown by remote control.
By Mid-May we were allowed to travel, so we hired a car for a day trip to Scarborough to see how our house was after the tenants had lost it during lockdown. In need of some tlc we now made plans for the rest of the year. We would be returning to life on land for a while, but planned on cruising as much as we could before then.
On the 23rd of May the suspension of the 14 day rule was lifted, our ‘home’ mooring was now 48 hours only so it was time to start moving again. Some boats around Hurleston headed off straight away, others remained a full 14 days before pushing off. We spent the next two weeks pootling to the far ends of the pound, Hack Green and Calvereley, the gunnels got a repaint and we said farewell to NB AreandAre who were heading up onto the Llangollen.
Cholmondeston Lock
With a full boat of veg and fruit from Nantwich Veg boxes, a Sainsburys shop and a visit from NB Halsall we were ready and on the 10th June we pushed our ‘home’ mooring away for the last time this year, Calverely was visited for a top up of water a toilet refresh and then we were off, turning onto the Middlewich Branch and descending Cholmondeston Lock, our first lock in 80 days. New gardening gloves became my boaters PPE and worked well, better than sanitising every five minutes.
Across onto the Trent and Mersey where we headed for Bramble Cuttings for a couple of nights. We’d been hoping to be able to drop down onto the Weaver but the Anderton Boat lift was still closed. So instead we winded at Whatcroft flash and headed up the Cheshire Locks hoping to catch Bosley Locks being open for a day to make our way onto the summit pound of the Macclesfield.
Nice Lock
It was nice being back on familiar ground again, although it took a little while to be able to do the Trent and Mersey hurdles over the lockgate beams with ease after sitting still for so long.
Our chairs were brought out onto the towpath to watch the setting sun at Tilly Railings and a barbeque was enjoyed on the Dane Aqueduct as we waited in line for Bosley Locks to open.
Bosley Locks and The Cloud in the background
With a single hander in front and one behind everyone helped out where we could making our passage up the locks a very jolly if hot one that only took 2.5 hours. Over the next ten days or so we pootled our way along the Macclesfield Canal, such a lovely stretch of water and oh those bridges! Still our favourites.
Calling in at Bollington Wharf we had our gas locker lid mended and had a top up of diesel. Foxgloves filled the canal banks and woods, we stopped at favourite spots along the way turning under the snake bridge at Marple onto the Peak Forest Canal at the end of June, heading for Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth Basin.
Saturday 4th July the pubs could re-open, we however went for a walk and waited for our delivery from Sainsburys along with a diesel top up from NB Alton. A batch of cheese scones were made to help us down the Marple flight on the 7th, we were the second boat down and it felt like we were pioneering boats going where no one had gone for months.
A couple of nights at Droylesden Marina saw to the washing pile and to recharge our batteries before we descended into Manchester. Our last narrow lock of the year was to be Ancotes Bottom Lock 1 on the Ashton Flight where we paused for a night at Telford Basin before tackling the Rochdale 9 on our own the following day. Patience and sheer determination got us out of Lock 92 at the bottom and was rewarded with a cheese scone as we made our way out to the Bridgewater Canal and Worsely.
The 14th July saw us rising up the Wigan Flight. We’d made arrangements to share the locks with NB Billy but it was decided by the volunteer lock keepers that they might be over long to share with, so instead we teamed up with John and Lindsey on NB Merganser. With the help of the Wigan Flight crew setting ahead we made good time up the flight, we then slowed down leaving the others to head off ahead of us.
The next few days we found ourselves leapfrogging NB Billy, or should that be hopfrogging? But we finally caught them up at Blackburn to share the locks. Another spectacular sunset was enjoyed by all near Foster Swing Bridge.
We’d planned to take our time along this stretch, but with local lockdowns looking possible in the area we decided to push on. The Burnley Embankment was busy with walkers and not a place to stop so we continued on to the bottom of Barrowford Locks. The following day we were caught up again by NB Billy so we shared the final flight up to the summit with Clare and Pete.
Our sixth anniversary of being fulltime boaters happened to coincide with pulling up at our favourite mooring on the network, the curley wurlys above Bank Newton. The following day the clouds lifted and we got to see the view. A barbecue was just managed before it started to rain.
It wasn’t quite plain sailing down into Skipton as the skipper of NB Amelie ended up in the cut at the bottom of Bank Newton and then we had problems with lock gates and swing bridges. Mick and I had an overnight in Scarborough leaving Tilly in charge and with the magic food bowl primed. On our return to Skipton we were met by two octogenarians leaning out of the upstairs windows of their house waving. We joined Margaret and Robert for a lovely meal, good to see them even if we were a bit nervy being in their company inside.
Sunny weather accompanied us onwards and finally I managed to take the photo I’ve been after for four years, Oleanna coming towards me under Parson’s Bridge. Now we have the matching pair, Lillian going away from us, Oleanna towards.
At Bingley five rise we teamed up with NB Barley to descend with the help of Lock Keeper Clare, carrying on to Saltaire in the sunshine.
A pause in Rodley meant we could meet up with friends Graham and Tracy in their new garden room, very nice to have a good catch up with them. The following day we took the opportunity to have lunch with my cousins Julie and John, our first pub in months.
Meeting up with Jenny and Andy on NB Barley again we shared the locks down into Leeds with them early the next day. A lack of water meant it took an hour to do one pound as water was let down from above, but we made it in the end to Granary Wharf. Shame the lack of water followed us, in fact the basin did a good job of emptying itself overnight. It took quite a few hours before boats had enough water to be afloat again, we all made a hasty exit as soon as we could.
Back into the big locks of the Aire and Calder we motored on to Ferrybridge where now only three of the power station cooling towers remain, a very sad sight.
Down Bank Dole Lock, the slow filler and we headed to Selby. Our trip up the Tidal Ouse was an interesting one a there were SO many trees floating about, we had to try our best to loose them before passing through what few bridges there were. Kingfishers escorted us just about all the way to Naburn which was a real treat. Instead of pulling up in York we decided to head on up to Ripon, we’d spend time in York on our way back, or so we thought!
Above Boroughbridge a familiar boat came into view, NB Billy. This was the last time our bows would cross this year. At Oxclose Lock we had some time for Tilly to explore before heading up into Ripon Basin to meet up with Robert and Margaret again and for Tilly to show off her ability to spot otters.
I’d get it in the neck if I didn’t include a photo!
On our way downstream the river was rising, we stopped off for a meal at The Dawney Arms making the most of the Eat out to Help out deal. Wonderful food and chance to meet up with Kerry the Landlady and hoped that the river level would ease overnight. Fortunately it did and we made our way in to York. We had hoped to meet up with old friends whilst we were in the area, it turned out the only people I got to see where Jaye and Duncan for lunch. Social distancing, rising rivers sadly put paid to seeing other people.
Over the next ten days the river rose twice. On one fall we made it back into York to pick up a supermarket delivery but very quickly headed back to Naburn where we ended up breasting up in a line of four boats tied to the floating pontoon by the water point. Levels didn’t rise so much as to necessitate wellies or waders, but it did put paid to the London Leckenbys joining us for a few days at the nearby campsite. A big disappointment all round.
But on the 31st August levels had dropped sufficiently for us to head back to Selby accompanied by Richard and Heather on NB Isabella, new boat owners. Naburn was their very first lock, Selby was to be their second! It was such a beautiful morning, we led the way but then let them go first when we reached Selby, we were likely to be able to stem the tide better, but they managed the lock with ease.
Lovely to see Bridget and Storm
At West Haddelsey we had a visit from Bridget and Storm, so lovely to see them. We’d planned on being good and sitting out, they’d even brought their own chairs and the camper van for their own toilet. But as it started to rain we bent the rules taking shelter inside Oleanna. This was the day I gave a second phone to the god of the cut.
For a replacement we headed down to Goole, calling in at Viking Marina to check we would have a mooring later in the month. After filling up with cheap diesel we then headed off up toward Doncaster and Sprotbrough where we caught up with Mick’s niece Fran, before returning back onto the Aire and Calder to do maintenance jobs and enjoy our last days onboard.
On the 18th September we pulled into our berth at the marina, finished off the contents of the freezer and started to pack. Two trips in a hire car to Scarborough and we were moved, Tilly joining us the second time.
Back then we imagined we’d be down to Oleanna doing jobs on day trips and by now we’d have had a couple of weeks out on the cut, but this simply wasn’t to be.
Living Room reclaimed
Jobs in the house keep me busy, along with starting work on the postponed Chippy panto. Mick for a while applied for supermarket jobs, hoping to be a delivery driver. The only job he was offered was as a meet and greeter just before Novembers lockdown. We both decided that maybe we’d cope without the money.
Not as low as she got after the breach
Then before Christmas came the news of the Aire and Calder breach. Fortunately plenty of people are keeping an eye on all the boats including Oleanna.
Blimey what a year!
So our vital statistics for the year 2020 according to canal plan are
Total distance is 792 miles, 2 ½ furlong and 339 locks . There are 82 moveable bridges of which 5 are usually left open; 233 small aqueducts or underbridges and 41 tunnels – a total of 19 miles 6 ¾ furlongs underground and 8 major aqueducts.
This is made up of 365 miles, ¼ furlongs of narrow canals; 242 miles, 4 ¾ furlongs of broad canals; 81 miles, 3 ¾ furlongs of commercial waterways; 76 miles, 1 ¾furlongs of small rivers; 0 miles of large rivers; 27 miles of tidal rivers; 202 narrow locks; 118 broad locks; 18 large locks; 1 lock on major waterways.
Sadly with Oleanna’s log book where it should be, onboard, I’m not able to offer up the engine hours, litres of diesel, gas bottle or bags of coal. This year I can’t even work out how many boxes of wine we’ve gone through!
However I can tell you that from one page of journeys on our trip computer, missing out all the journeys in between the start of the page and the end, the total distance travelled would have been 2.25 furlongs. Instead it actually amounted to 56 miles 7.5 furlongs with 19 winds (turning around). This was of course in Lockdown 1. Grand total number of winds this year, 67.
Christmas Day 2020, Scarborough Spa
Here’s hoping that the pandemic calms down, we all get vaccinated and the breach on the Aire and Calder gets sorted so that we can go boating again. After all we didn’t plan to move back on land permanently!
Since my last catch up we’ve been doing our best to get festive. Our Christmas lights went up earlier than normal, thankfully they have all survived our time away. We used to have two 6ft Christmas trees that we’d buy in Dalby Forest, but this year our £4 tree from Newark Market, back in 2015 sits on a table in a bay window. The lights that used to decorate the trees are now around the windows.
A week or so ago we had a half hour singing carols with neighbours at the top of the road with Scarborough’s Town Crier, he lives two doors up from us. Have to say I surprised myself at the number of carols I knew without a song sheet. The Town Crier may have been loud, but we were more tuneful shall we say!
Tilly about to give the penguins what for!
A burst water main at the top of the street gave the Crier something else to shout about as Yorkshire Water turned the water off for a few hours one evening. No need to knock on doors just get the Town Crier to do his thing up and down the street.
Frank our bubble carpenter has helped sample Christmas biscuits, more ginger was required and my jar was deemed to be past it. There was a distinct shortage of ground ginger in town (apparently something to do with the pandemic) so I thought I’d have a go at making my own. I red up about it and a large root that had arrived a week earlier was peeled (with the aid of a spoon handle), sliced up in the Kenwood chef and then spread out on an oven tray. This went in a very low oven for three plus hours to dry out, it then got ground in the spice mill.
Whilst the ginger was doing it’s thing there was a popping noise from the main oven that I’d just turned on to cook our evening meal. It stopped warming up, it had stopped working. Top oven where the ginger was being quite fragrant still worked thankfully. The following day we pulled the oven out to see if there was anything we could do. One thing led to another and after admitting defeat we managed to push the oven doors onto the floor. This created a rather sparkly effect as the top oven door shattered and both doors ended up being rather dinted!
With less than two weeks to Christmas we hunted round for a good double oven, finding one at John Lewis that would arrive the following week, not quite as good as our old one, but at the very top of what we were willing to pay. Mick then remembered he’d ticked the accidental damage box when taking out house insurance. A claim was made and we waited to see if they would pay up. On Monday morning they rang us and by the end of the day they had agreed to pay for a new oven, if we hadn’t been under Christmas pressure we’d have ended up with the next model up too! This was delivered a week ago and has been fitted and works wonderfully, thank goodness we dropped those doors!
A trip to see The Snow Queen at the SJT was always on the cards and thankfully Scarborough has been in tier 2 so the show could go on. This was my first live theatre since seeing Alarum in Birmingham back in February and what a treat it was. The show was rewritten as a one woman show and blimey she had to work her socks off! Set designed by Helen who would have been doing costumes for Chippy panto this year. The front of house staff were very good and all covid measures made you feel safer than walking down the street. A great show and chilled medication thrown in as well, a lovely evening. Taking the C&RT line and changing it a touch ‘Life is better with live theatre’.
The wonderful canopy at the SJT
Parcels have been delivered, parcels posted. Cards sent and received, having an address does mean we’ve had more than the last few years, in fact we’re running out of space for them!
I wonder who’s house that is?!
This year we could hand deliver cards to our friends around Scarborough, they were accompanied with a bag of homemade ginger biscuits, the new batch with extra homemade ginger! We had a lovely few hours walking from one side of Scarborough to the other delivering festive cheer and catching up with people on their doorsteps whom we’ve not seen for years.
I’ve knuckled down to do a bit of work. Chipping Norton panto next year, postponed from this year is forging ahead. A new version of the script and some time in my work room, assisted by Tilly of course. Sketches done and approved by the director David, a story board ready to be sent out, I’ll move on to making the model in the New Year.
Today is all about cooking, getting stuff done so as to be able to do less tomorrow. Bread sauce, stuffing, gravy, red cabbage and of course festive sausage rolls. For the last few years these have been enjoyed whilst cruising to our Christmas mooring, this year I half expect Franks nose to be twitching as they go in the oven and the door bell to ring as they come out!
That window sill will just need a final sand, ‘Oh did someone mention sausage rolls!’
Tomorrow we will be joined by Frank for dinner and birthday cake, hope we’ve enough food to go round! We’ve been warned, by his usual hosts, that he can always manage two puddings and then after a little nap he’ll quite easily fit in some cheese too! Maybe I should do Yorkshire Puddings, ‘The one who eats the most puddin’ gets the most beef’ as said by a farmer during harvest to their field hands.
This morning in Goole
This morning Lisa forwarded us a photo of Oleanna. The level has risen some more and the sun was breaking through the clouds. Here in Scarborough Mick has just ventured out to get some carrots as our veg box was lacking yesterday.
Scarborough pm
Well the prep is done and my prediction of Franks arrival was correct, well maybe he was just a few minutes early for the sausage rolls coming out of the oven!
Every ring in use
The house now smells of Christmas, the fire is lit and I’ve managed to keep Frank far enough away from my birthday cake for it to last until tomorrow.
Stockings are out, so we are ready.
Are you?
He comes down the chimney Tilly, not through the back door!
Where Were We
2019 Radford Smelly, Grand Union
2018 Somewhere between Napton Junction and Braunston, Oxford/Grand Union Canal
There was plenty of standing water on the roads as we headed out of York on the A19, we passed close to Drax Power Station and then the salt and pepper pots of Goole came into view. Our route hadn’t taken us near the breach site, but all the low lying land looked quite soggy, so with several million gallons of water from the canal added into the equation there could be quite a problem!
When we last saw Oleanna 5th November
On Mondays the marina is normally shut, we had our fob ready to open gates, but this wasn’t required as the place was a hive of activity. It took a while to find a parking space, plenty of owners about. Groups stood and chatted, others moved the old work boats back and forth, getting them off the mud. Just about all the boats looked reasonably level, just a lot lower than normal.
The level today
Geoff came over to chat, he’d loosened our ropes, as I think had the chap on Nomad along with Al from across the way. Oleanna sat at least two foot lower than when we’d left her at the beginning of November. The normal level stern was now going to be interesting to get down to.
Close to the cabin side
Al had moved fenders up on the pontoon, but there was still a risk that the end might just catch a window or the paintwork of Oleanna.
We managed to get down by sitting on the edge of the pontoon and carefully lowering our selves down onto the gunnel, the slightly mangie off cut of purple carry mat we’ve been carrying around for years instead of going in a bin came in handy so as not to get a wet bum and to cushion knees when getting back up onto the pontoon.
That’s a long way down
As we stepped on board she rocked, phew we weren’t on the bottom … yet! The Dutch Barge a couple of boats up from us was very much sitting on the bottom, their draught being about 4ft, so Oleanna may have a foot and a bit under her still, but who knows what lurks beneath the surface.
Mick ramped the electric heating up and Oleanna was soon warming up quite nicely. Nothing seemed to have come to harm inside, hard to tell when we’d left every cupboard open, mattress up and the sofa on it’s back to keep everything aired. But the crockery was still in the cupboards and bottles of wine all upright. She’d been looked after well.
Talking to Geoff he suggested that the level may still drop some more. The caisson stop gates by the railway bridgehad been closed yesterday but they were leaking. At the other end the docks are closed, no movements of ships in and out of the docks. On previous visits to Goole when moored on the visitor moorings, we’ve noticed the level change by a few inches as the ships come and go, but the level was soon topped up from water coming down the system from the Aire at Knottingley. Victoria Lock, the older lock at the docks also leaks, so if the tide is out on the Ouse the water would gradually empty out at both ends.
News reports suggested that at the breach site culverts and drains had been blocked stopping the water from heading towards housing, the fields being flooded instead. Hundreds of tonne bags of sand had been brought to site and large bags of stones also sat waiting to be used to block the breach, they just needed a helicopter to lift everything into place. We all waited to hear a chinook but with the site just over four miles away we might not hear it. *It turns out it was too foggy for the helicopter.
Exol Pride with a full load
The water level going down is one thing. Tight ropes, getting caught on something on the way down might have your boat list. Al had said the day before was a bit like juggling plates, loosening ropes here and there, then there and here again. If vents to the engine bay get under water this can let water in, helping a boat to sink. Oleanna and the vast majority of boats at Viking were all sitting level, just lower than normal. An older boat in the corner was listing, maybe sat on something under the water, people were on hand checking her over to see what they might be able to do.
Maybe if people have lots of showers the level will start to come back up
Then there is what happens as water levels are restored. Vents close to the water line are one thing, but the biggest worry for most is gunnels getting caught on the underside of the pontoon, holding one side of the boat down as the levels rise. A few of the pontoons in the marina have planks attached to keep your boat from straying underneath, but others like ours have quite a big overhang. Without some fat fenders our cabin side would have been making good friends with the pontoon.
Will this be enough?
Mick spent his time seeing what we had to be able to keep Oleanna from drifting under the pontoon. Our boat pole was long enough and tied to a big T stud on the pontoon would do one end. But our other boat hooks and poles simply wouldn’t be long enough to do anything. He put our big red buoy fender out towards the middle of the cabin. Hopefully this would do the job, it might rub the paint work, but that is cheaper to sort than a sunken boat.
Bloomin bl**dy screws!
I’d come equipped to rehang curtains. Nicely washed and relined they were a little bit tighter than they’d been when I took them down, but the curtain rods seemed to still fit and the length was okay even if a touch tight. One thing however was a right pain, the f*ing screws! I’d forgotten that they were nearly all Frank screws (just about no head left)! I struggled on for a while, but having had eye drops at the hospital, slightly blurred vision and a headache I have to admit to giving up very quickly. Mick later did better but he gave up too and we will source slightly shorter new screws which will make the job a lot easier.
One set up
Oleanna had her engine run, charging the starter battery was important as this doesn’t get topped up by solar or from the hook up. I checked the damp traps in cupboards, emptied them and topped up the crystals. Need to buy more! The heating on Oleanna is set to come on when the temperature drops to 8 degrees, the advantage of having a boiler that works on both gas and electric.
Next it was time to find the things we needed. We’d left various things on board as we’d planned to have a week or two out before Christmas, but that simply hasn’t happened. I needed lots of things for my work on next years panto. My old sketch books for Aladdin and Puss in Boots have handy information in them. So a full big bag of drawings was removed from a cupboard. We prefer the bread knife on the boat, a gravy boat for Christmas dinner and the most important things our Christmas Stockings.
Stockings! I won’t have to make new ones now
We had our premade butties and cups of black coffee and tea, no milk!
Just as we’d locked up and climbed back onto dry land, Laird the marina owner came past checking we were alright. Mick asked if there was anything we could use towards the bow of Oleanna to keep her from drifting under the pontoon. Soon Geoff returned with a new long plank, 10 to 12 ft long. This was slotted down between Oleanna and the pontoon and then pushed into the mud at the bottom. We found a short length of rope and then tied the top of the plank round a beam on the pontoon, hopefully enough to stop it from moving. People around said they’d keep an eye open.
That’s better
Before leaving we drove up Albert Street to the end, near to the caisson stop gates. The water was higher on the dock side, we could only tell this by the water bubbling up from under the gates on the breach side.
During the afternoon we’d received an email from C&RT
Lisa is heading down tomorrow, Al is staying over on their boat again and hopefully we’ll sneak back across the tier border when we have a car next. With the plank and pole stuck in the mud down the side of Oleanna we felt happier. Just have to hope the levels don’t carry on dropping too much and us end up on a list.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2ft plus (or should that be minus?) drop, 1 breach, 1 pole, 1 plank, 1 new friend met, 1 still to meet, 0 milk, 1 warm boat, 2 sketch books, 1 gravy boat, 1 bread knife, 3 stockings, 2 relieved boaters, 1 boat blog list again!
Only one window now requires some attention in the house, the others are undercoated and waiting for a warm day for top coat. We celebrated Advent Sunday with roast beef and Yorkshire Puddings. The gluten free batter put in a bread tin, my only option and willed to rise. It did a little but by no means rising and curling over like my Mum’s used to, it was still tasty.
Advent Sunday Roast Beef
Mid afternoon my inbox chimed to the sound of new mail arriving. The annual Happy Official Birthday email from my wonderful 90 year old God-Mum Betty. We always used to have Sunday lunch with Betty when I was a child, roast beef. This was when I received my first Christmas and more importantly my first Birthday present of the year. I then had to wait ALL those weeks before I could open them.
We’re still here
For the last couple of years we have been gradually making our way up the Oxford Canal at the start of Advent. Chippy Panto open, some Christmas shopping attempted before leaving Oxford, our progress northwards slowed by stoppages. Banbury our next port of call for the bulk of our festive shopping, a trip to London to gather the family and then on towards Braunston to pick up our bird for the big day.
Queueing for our bird in Braunston
Being in Scarborough isn’t quite the same. Looking out of the windows on a morning with the central heating going, isn’t the same as popping more coal on the stove to get it springing back into life watching the ducks and swans floating on by. But, this year is what it is.
Chilly paws
Unwrapping boxes of kitchen things, isn’t as exciting as presents, although rediscovering things you’d forgotten you owned is quite nice. But then I also know we don’t need any of these items having lived on a boat for six plus years. Their only purpose really is to fill cupboards. The only way to make use of them is to have a big party, a thing we don’t do very often, but maybe next year.
King Sutton Lock Cottage
My work rooms have now just about been reclaimed there is SOOoooo much space. I’ve gone from a table and the end of a two seater sofa to the equivalent of the whole boat plus more! Blimey I used to be a proper designer! How many paint brushes did I need?!
Loads of room
Last night I moved my model making and paint box from the boat into my work room and as the sun faded away the bluey glow came through the arched window by my tables. My first Advent window.
1st Advent window
No chocolate calendar for me this year, nor a candle. But there are other treats waiting to be opened.
There is of course the Herbie Awards for 2020, always worth keeping track of for good pubs, moorings and gadgets.
Animated Objects are showing some of their projects through the years, many wonderful glowing lanterns to cheer up the evenings.
This morning I’ve opened another window, one to book tickets for The Snow Queen at the SJT next week. Tomorrow our new hob will be installed. Another treat will be opening up a sketch book and starting work on the design for Rapunzel, opening night 17th November 2021.
Rapunzel escaping her high window
Then planning our route for next year, should we go down the Trent heading to London? Head to York to see those people we missed this year? Head back over the Pennines? Will the Figure of Three Locks be open in time? The Weaver? Middle Levels?
Firstly a big thank you to Jenn for letting me know that on the 16th November Bargain Hunt had a special bit all about Emily Blagg as this year is the 100th anniversary of The Palace Theatre. Very interesting to see Emily’s grave, not a big thing as the locals still had a problem with her demolishing the Chauntry to build the theatre. Also I’m glad the researchers didn’t manage to find a picture of her, as I spent ages trying to do the same. Here’s a link to the episode. If you are ever in Newark when the Antique Fair is on it is worth a visit, it costs to get in but is crammed full of interesting things. When we went there was a free bus from near Newark Northgate Station.
Tilly doing her best not to shred the lining before it’s on the curtains
Back in Scarborough I’ve been busy with the sewing machine. I started off small relining curtains for Oleanna, just to get myself and my machine warmed up, much bigger curtains were to follow for the house.
I’d ordered a big roll of thermal lining, enough for boat curtains as well as the bay window. The other day I’d unpicked the stitching on the dark blue curtains from the saloon and dinette areas. Doing this I’d discovered that Kim (who made the curtains in Sheffield) had used some wonderweb on the side hems. This seemed like a good idea, so before lockdown 2 was imposed I’d had a walk to Dunelm to stock up. After several washes the wonderweb had disintegrated and as I pulled the lining away I was left with a big mess to clean up.
I measured up the lining, not as much as Kim had used as I hope I can get away with having not quite so much bulk. The rectangle of lining was pinned in position, having to tug to the curtains to their full extent as no matter how much ironing they simply didn’t want to lie flat. Wonderweb held the sides in position, then I was able to pin round all sides, hopefully where they were before, then I sewed round each panel.
Well that was the plan, but on my third curtain my machine jammed! Oh B**er!! As it was late in the afternoon I called it a day. Good karma at a sewing machine usually works and maybe coming back to it another day would be a wise idea.
Filthy inside, what did I expect!
It was time to give my machine some TLC. The advantage of being in the house was that it didn’t take too long to find the oil that had come with my machine along with the original manual. This showed me how to take the bobbin and what lies behind to pieces and apply one drop of oil.
Then I removed the plate around the teeth, then the teeth themselves. Here was my main problem, fluff, lots of fluff! With all this cleared out and the one drop of oil applied I wondered if I should oil my machine anywhere else. Not according to the manual. I looked on line, no luck, then asked on Facebook after all I know quite a few wardrobe supervisors who should know. Thank you to those who made suggestions, including Dave and Chris who both suggested applying a touch of oil to anything that moves.
Gary White from All Seasons Boat Covers hunted round the internet for me and eventually found a file for my brand of machine suggesting a few more places to oil. Thank you, I promise to do this before I pack my machine away before Christmas.
I soon discovered that my machine and needles were not capable of going through all the layers in the corners, so I decided that I’d finish these off by hand. All six dark blue curtains were soon finished.
Before moving onto the bedroom curtains for Oleanna I decided to make the living room and dining room curtains for one side of the house. I’m very glad we’d not moved fully into the house as once I’d had a good tidy up, rationalisation of Franks and my tools I had a lot of floor space to play with, needed when you want to have floor to ceiling curtains round your bay window.
Are you sure you are helping?!
Rolls of fabric had arrived, first thing was to square off the end and then cut the correct lengths. Tilly decided she’d hold down the fabric for me and supervise the end of my steel ruler. I on the other hand pretended that I was cutting up dance floor for a show (a frequent job in my theatre life usually with at least one other pair of hands). Hands are much better at doing this job than paws, but I was glad of the company.
The fabric I’d chosen had a very small pattern, so not noticeable should I not quite line everything up properly on the wider curtains, although seeing some of the salvage edge peeking through wasn’t good, I revisited such areas.
Lining and curtain fabric were both hemmed, then sewn together. I’d checked that my lining was narrower so that the main fabric would fold back round the sides, but sadly once I’d turned everything the right way round I had a very narrow bit of fabric. So one side of each curtain was unpicked and a couple of inches trimmed off the lining, then everything resewn.
Helping
Curtain tape sewn onto the tops, job done. I just needed my assistant Mick to help with the hanging of them and enough hooks and runners. The bay window track had enough but the dining room track had a mixture of runners, most of which weren’t the right size! A hunt through my stash of such things, we didn’t have enough. One window elsewhere had the right ones so they were stolen.
Hooray they’re up!
Some curtain weights are required and the ends of the bay window track are leaning a touch, these may need trimming back as my curtains are partially on the floor. However these were my first ever properly made curtains, not bodged for use on stage, but proper fully lined curtains. I’m quite proud of them and have ordered more fabric for curtains in another room, but they will have to wait to be made next year.
It was back to boat curtains, bedroom curtains. A couple of years ago I’d bought some more of the original fabric in a sale, having more than enough lining now meant I could reline the original curtains and make a brand new pair too. Tilly has managed to make them look quite shabby.
This fabric however is quite slippy and slidy, not wanting to keep it’s shape and could be pulled in different directions to make it fit, but what would the end curtains look like?
The old linings were unpicked, new added and sewn in. Using wonderweb proved helpful with this fabric. Then a hole new set were cut out, sewn, ironed and all the corners hand sewn in place. In all twelve curtains finished and ready to go up at Oleannas’ windows again. I just hope they fit on the poles properly! I’ve put together a ‘just in case’ pack, should I have sewn them too tight and they need unpicking.
All finished with ‘just in case’ sewing kit
We’d been planning on a trip down to check on her as soon as lockdown was lifted. The tier in Scarborough surprisingly will be tier 2, the number of cases here shot up and at one point we were highest in the country, then they started to drop, Hull forging ahead of us. However Goole will be in tier 3, an area you can travel through, but not go and hang your curtains and give your boat the once over running the engine for an hour etc, not essential. I’m sure some are visiting their boats, some jobs are essential over winter.
They are plotting behind Mum’s nursing chair
With curtains hung in the house we could move ourselves into the living room properly, well as properly as you can when most of your furniture has gone by the wayside through the years with tenants. We moved the sofa in, side tables, plumbed the TV in and standard lamps. Then we fought with my Mum and Dad’s chairs down the tight stairs from upstairs upstairs. We’d put them up there, so they had to be able to come down! My Mum and Dad bought these chairs as wedding presents for each other. Not your average three piece suite, but I quite like it. When funds allow we’ll replace the two seater sofa with a three seater sofabed and move the smaller sofa back to the other side. But for now we have a comfy sitting room. Just pictures to hang, coal for the fire and we’re there.
It was now time to have a day off, I put my feet up and did a few hours of a thing called work!
Most theatres around the country have cancelled their pantos this year, but have been forging ahead with paired down Christmas shows in the hope that once lockdown 2 is lifted they will have a show to bring cheer to their audiences.
Chippy this year is offering A Christmas Carol, with David Bradley. The SJT here in Scarborough The Snow Queen a one woman show and an audio recording of Haunting Julia, a ghost story by Alan Ayckbourn (a great play I’ve had the pleasure of designing twice).
Thankfully these shows will be able to go on, but many other theatres who find themselves in tier 3 will not be able to open their doors. Some of these will be going on line, others mothballed for Easter next year.
A nice relaxing read
Will, the producer at Chipping Norton had been in touch, the second draft of the script for Panto was sent out and now they were ready to contract myself and others to start work, well ahead for next year. On our last visit to the boat I made sure I brought all my work things back with us, but had forgotten the plans of the theatre. I’ve now received copies and a model box. So it was time to read the script.
The last couple of days I’ve been starting to reclaim my work rooms at the top of the house. A damp problem on the chimney breast meant it needed stripping for a builder to check over.
Then I’ve started to try to make space at my model making tables and cleaned the windows. Plenty more room than I had on the boat, but I have yet to gain access to my drawing board which is still engulfed by boxes. I’ll get there.
It’s in there somewhere, no that’s Tilly
One handy tip though, don’t leave water in a hotwater bottle for six years. Not only will it have lost it’s heat but the rubber will perish!
A Beautiful day
Last week on our Sunday walk we braved a visit to the South Bay beach. A beautiful day, chilly but sunny and the beach wasn’t too busy. We marvelled at the blue sea and white light house and then decided to avoid the harbour where the footpaths are a bit too narrow for the amount of people about.
So we headed up Bland’s Cliff. This steep hill used to run up the side of the Futurist Theatre which was sadly demolished in the last couple of years after huge outcries. In it’s place is the Scarborough Eye, better views are free up near the Castle, and a crazy golf pitch!
However Blands Cliff has become very colourful. An art gallery had just opened when we left and now the surrounding walls are covered in murals and mosaics with local topics depicted. Really rather jolly.
0 locks, 0 miles, 0 visits to Oleanna, 1 cleaned sewing machine, 9 relined curtains, 3 new curtains, 2 pairs of proper house curtains, 1 living room moved into, 1 not so helpful assistant, 1 wall stripped, 0.25 work room reclaimed, 2 clean windows, 1 cat loving the views, tier 2, 1 boat in tier 3!
Where were we
2019 On the South Oxford Canal, Somerton Meadows to Kings Sutton. LINK
