Time for a proper lie in, my cold felt like it was sitting on my chest now. The day went slowly on Oleanna. Tilly came and went and I ended up watching TV for much of the day with little impetus to do anything else.
A double stamp but not of approval!
Up in Scarborough Mick got a lift from our next door neighbours to the dentist, the buses out of town have changed to only running every two hours, not so helpful. So a big thank you to Andy and Lisa.
Hello Alan!
Back at the house Mick did a paw count of the local felines, everyone was present. Then it was time for him to head back to Rugby. The train via Hull had been cancelled, so instead he took the route via York. The Ouse very high and understandably no boats were moored at Museum Gardens.
A full Ouse
Back at Oleanna I prepared a chicken, tarragon, leek and feta pie. Tilly leaving her stamp of approval on the crust. Jacket potatoes baked in the stove accompanied my pie. Very tasty even with a cold.
Pie approved
With Water Explorer closing down at the end of the year we’ve been looking into different ways we can track our movements. One idea is via our Victron Venus GX which can log our journeys automatically, we’d then have to down load it and do something with it. Another is via the Nebo app. Last year when we escaped Goole with SeaMaiden and Lullabelle, we all downloaded the app. This helped us see where on the river each of us were when not in view. It was designed more for off shore use, but more and more boats seem to be using it on the inland waterways.
Recently Nebo has had an update and some of the trips I logged with it earlier this year have arrivals and departures from locks, on other trips there are no way points, others it seems to make note of a lock every minute that you are there, ending up with numerous entries for one location! We’ll trial it for the next few weeks alongside Water Explorer. We’ve already adjusted our What3words app to give us a grid reference alongside the three words when we moor up. Both of these are noted down each time we move just in case we should need any assistance from the emergency services.
We’ll see what we think.
Yum!
Thank you Dave Scouts for you advice on the font colour. Mick has done as you suggested, the colour is black as I write a post now, or so it seems. But then in preview mode it goes back to a dark grey! Boo.
Not quite up to yesterdays standards, but not bad.
In Scarborough the alarm was set early, last of the house jobs to be done, then pack up and leave in time for the train to York. There I chose to walk the straight route to the hospital, over Scarborough Rail Bridge, up St Mary’s, through the grounds of Bootham Hospital and into the main hospital site.
During my last eye test pre-pandemic the optician hadn’t been happy with something, she wanted me to have further tests done which could only happen at a hospital. I was referred, had my appointment changed several times during 2020 but finally got to be seen that December.
I was diagnosed with Drusen a build up of lipids and protein near the optic nerve. Some drusen occur naturally with age, others can be a sign of macular degeneration. Today was a follow up appointment, I had had to chase the hospital up regarding it, but I was here at last.
Big letters
Last time I had all sorts of tests done, eye drops, photos, it took ages. Today I had to read the usual eye test chart in area B. Then go to area A where I had a periphery sight test, a full five minutes of trying to spot the little dots. Back to area B where I was very quickly seen by Mr M Moosa. He shone the BIG light into each eye in turn. There had been no change to my Drusen so he was happy to discharge me and I should now mention it when visiting the opticians. Quite a relief.
What was York County Hospital where my Dad spent a month in a plaster cast in 1976
Now because I had booked a cheap ticket I had over four hours to kill in my home town. What to do? What to see? I became a tourist, but one with local knowledge and did a bit of shopping too as it’s someone’s birthday soon! Shh!!!
I walked round places I have known and loved. The pub the amateur dramatics used to frequent is all boarded up. A great family friends old flat is up for sale.
A visit to Barnetts, a must when in York (really it is!), they had some drawer handle screws that we needed for the freezer.
I followed a busker through the streets until he set up camp at the top of The Shambles to play his squeeze box, sing and jig a puppet around. I was relieved that Margaret Clitherow‘s house was still there and not been taken over by more Harry Potter tat shops.
Grape Lane, Coffee Yard. Up to the Minster’s south transept where I corrected a couple who thought that York Bar Walls only stretched from Goodramgate to Bootham Bar! I ended up having quite a chat with them suddenly feeling like a local again not a tourist.
The South Transept
After a sit down on the Minster steps I discovered that there is a Cat Trail around the city, two black cats sitting high up on buildings on Goodramgate.
A local architect Tom Adams had black cats put on his buildings, but there are many more that date back before his time. I knew of some, but certainly not all.
A meander around York wouldn’t be right without going through the Museum Gardens and down to the river. Here a chap adjusted his tyre fenders. Plenty of space today, only three narrowboats and one cruiser, sadly no ice cream boat!
Boats!
Have to admit I was very glad of the sit down on the train back to Peterborough where it had been raining most of the day and Mick had even lit the stove. Mick had used the wind and rain as an excuse to not change the oil and filters on Oleanna as his back would have got wet!
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 9 miles walked, 1 house cleaner, 2 eyes discharged, 1 relieved designer, 4 hours being a tourist, 4 boats, 1 very warm boat to come home to.
Bramwith Junction to Pollington Lock, Aire and Calder
A very chilly start
Time to put a plan together. Sitting around waiting for my glasses to arrive doesn’t get the water tank filled or other boat jobs done. So after breakfast and updating the blog we had a boat conference. These are actually quite rare, most discussions of our plans are held as we stand on the back of Oleanna, but today we needed to concentrate.
Our original plan had been to make use of the weeks whilst Thorne Lock was shut. The London Leckenby’s have a few days in York so we’d planned to join them, maybe even a boat trip into our home city as Jac and Josh have never done this and the tour guides on Oleanna know exactly where to stop to see our family home from the river. Various boat jobs to get done and do. Friends to catch up with around the area etc. Also being in the area for a change over of lodgers at the house would be handy. It all had fitted together quite nicely. Then after Easter we would head southwards on the Trent, the quick way south.
The Don Doors again!
But since the dates for the stoppage at Thorne Lock have changed we’ve been in a quandary. Spending time in York is very appealing especially since Andrew and I haven’t been in the city together for at least 6 years and that was for a funeral. Catching up with friends is something we’d wanted to do summer before last, but floods and the pandemic put paid to that as we were rafted up with other boats at Naburn for several days.
Should we stay and do all those things?
Should we leave before the lock closes in a couple of weeks?
We’ve spent a lot of time mulling this over and every day for the last week we’ve discussed it further, but still not come up with a plan. Today we needed a plan.
Our discussion actually was relatively short.
Swing
If the London Leckenby’s hadn’t been coming up to York then we doubt we’d have been considering heading that way at this time of year. We’ve upgraded to a Gold Licence this year and if we stayed on this side of Thorne Lock and then exited via the Pennines it would mean us loosing about a months worth of Goldness. Decision made, we will be heading south on the Trent as soon as the tides look suitable.
A list of things we need to do was drawn up. Approximate dates worked out and ,most importantly a phone call made to Keadby Lock to book our passage. Sadly there was only an answerphone to talk to, but we knew someone would call us back.
With water needed we pushed off along the New Junction Canal again. If my glasses arrive in the next few days we’ll aim to be near a station to get back to Doncaster to collect them.
Lift bridge ahead
We made our way back swinging and lifting bridges. Before Sykehouse Lock three narrowboats that passed us yesterday were moored up, they looked like they were settled for a few days of company, jobs and possibly even a barbeque.
As we came through the last narrowing where a swing bridge used to be the light at the lock changed to red, shortly followed by green. There were plenty of people around. The volunteer who must live there in the tower, another C&RT chap by the bridge and a couple of boaters, so there was plenty of help to move the bridge out of our way and then back once we were below it.
Water water everywhere!
At the end of the New Junction we turned left and headed towards Pollington Lock.
A couple of bank slippages are marked with yellow buoys. These were there when we walked the stretch shortly after the breach happened Christmas 2020. Short red posts and some spray paint mark the worst bits.
Blackthorn blossom
The visitor moorings below Pollington Lock were empty so we pulled up to the space closest to the water point and got the tap going. We very quickly remembered that the pressure is appalling at this tap, no sitting and waiting for the tank to fill, best to get on with other things and forget about it. Thankfully we can check our water gauge every now and then to know when the tank was full, the pressure so low that there’d be no boom from our tank and no major gushing of water coming out of the over flow, just a gentle trickle. It took longer than two hours to fill us up!
Handy picnic bench!
Tilly checked out the picnic table, but wasn’t overly impressed with the mooring. She’s managed to get on the other side of the ditch here before which makes for an interesting rescue. Mick however looked at the picnic table and realised what we’d be doing tomorrow!
1 lock, 7.32 miles, 3 swing bridges, 3 held up, 3 lift bridges, 6 held up, 2 outsides, 6%, 6th pair knitted, 2 plus hours to fill, 2 pairs of odd socks, 1 conference, 1 plan at last, 1 call booked, 1 useful picnic table and tap.
What a grey day! Even Tilly wasn’t impressed, preferring to spend much of the day asleep inside. With rain forecast for 1pm we had a choice of moving off this morning or staying put. The next proper mooring can be quite popular, this time of year especially so as there is parking, water and bins. An hours cruise to find out and if full it would be another hour back again, bringing us into the window of rain opportunity!
Grey
We decided to stay put, we like this mooring even on a grey day. A walk around the junction was on the cards and there was enough time before we’d get wet.
As we walked down to Bramwith Lock we could hear an engine, then see a flag between the trees, coming along the New Junction. It was Pax a kind of cross between a Dutch barge and a trawler that had been in Goole. They turned towards the lock where some friends had already opened the gates for them.
A narrowboat arrived below the lock, pulling into the lock landing, as we walked past we had a chat with the chap. This was to be his first solo lock, the boat new to him, maybe only by a few days. We wished him luck and carried on to where a footpath heads off to the Don Doors.
The side you don’t get to see from the canal
Water was spilling over the edge of the aqueduct, more so than yesterday when we’d crossed it. I was amazed at how little space there is below the trough to the river flowing beneath. The sides of the trough have plenty of extra support to help it withstand sideways pressure when the river is in flood.
We climbed over the top to the other side, sadly no view along the New Junction as the guillotine gates were in the way. But it being so grey the pictures wouldn’t have been too appealing anyway.
Looking up the New Junction
Was that a Chiff Chaff? It was! A sign of spring.
I so love Blackthorn blossom
We crossed back over the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. The first Blackthorn blossom opening up hunting for the missing sunshine. Bees buzzed round. Was that a Woodpecker we could hear? Spring with all it’s new life.
A small boat in an expanse of water
The single hander came round from Bramwith Lock heading towards Long Sandall. He’d been helped up the lock so still had his first solo lock to come. We wished him well, his next obstacle being Barnby Dun Lift Bridge.
Pootling along
A looooonggg LOUD horn could be heard. Was that someone annoyed to be held up at the lift bridge?
Then another blast. Within a few minutes we could see where it had come from, Exol Pride! I so hope the single hander had been warned about the big blue boat, suspect the Looooonggg blast had been suggesting he got out of their way!
There she goes
We stood and watched as Exol came past, a slight change of engine note before the junction, was that for us or just an adjustment before crossing under the Don Doors? The canal took a good half hour before it returned to calm.
A little after 1pm it started to rain. With whistling wind accompanying it we were glad we’d decided not to move today. Instead I sat in front of the stove and knitted, nearly a whole sock today, just short by an inch or so. Mick pottered on the computer whilst Tilly inspected the insides of her eye lids.
Oleanna
Today we added another option to our escape routes southwards.
Out of Keadby to Cromwell
Head across the Pennines, most probably by the Huddersfield Canals.
Head down the Ouse to Trent Falls and onto the Trent that way.
Cancel a trip to York by boat to meet with family and get through Thorne Lock before it shuts. Have a day trip by train instead.
The jury is still out.
It’s time to add a recipe to the Baking section. Tonight we enjoyed the last slices of my Bakewell Tart.
Click on the photo to get to the recipe
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 walk, 3 waterways crossed, 1 solo boater, 1 Pax, 1 big blue boat, 4 signs of spring, 1 reluctant cat, 1 inch short of a sock.
Five years ago today, really quite early, in fact a touch too early, Oleanna was craned into the canal at Finesse and Jonathan Wilson’s boatyard. I say too early as she was the first boat to be moved that day and sadly we missed her being craned in by about twenty minutes! Here are a few photos from the day and a Link to the blog post. At the time I had a broken ankle and couldn’t get on board Oleanna, so a fork lift and a pallet were brought to assist.
Today in 2022 would not be quite so exciting. Today we would head southwards along the New Junction Canal, how far dependant on a new pair of glasses for me.
Yum!
First though was breakfast whilst Tilly had a couple of hours exploring, Exol Pride had moved off, most probably at first light so the way ahead was clear for us. Pushing off at almost midday we pootled past a couple of chaps in high vis who had been looking at a generator that is chained to the Went Aqueduct.
Went Aqueduct
The lift and swing bridges today gave me a few vehicles to hold up including a bin wagon, a car on a trailer. Not the most we’ve stopped along this stretch before but better than a couple of weeks ago.
Open for us
The light at Sykehouse Lock was amber, but as we came through the first bridge it changed to green, someone on duty. Approaching the bottom gates were open, the swing bridge still across the chamber, but this was moved before we got there. Once in the lock we were ushered above the swing bridge so that it could be brought back into position. The Lock Keeper shouted down to us to keep towards the bridge, the currents created by the paddles towards the top gates can have you going all over the shop.
Looking back through the swing bridge
Two C&RT chaps were sorting things on a small digger boat, maybe this would be heading towards Thorne Lock to assist with the works there next month?
On one of the longer stretches between bridges I gave the Opticians a call. My new glasses had been ordered in Scarborough and last Tuesday they rang me to check where I’d like them sending to, they suggested that they should arrive in a day or two, but I’d not heard a thing.
Close but not too close to the bridge
The line just rang and rang as it had done yesterday. No automated lady giving me options, it just rang. Mick suggested we both try calling at the same time, a possible faulty circuit meaning my call would never be heard at the other end. My phone rang, but a lady answered Micks call, an old 1970’s Post Office trick had worked.
Unfortunately my new glasses had not arrived with them, so I tried the Scarborough store, the lady there said she would look into it and to leave it with her.
At the last swing bridge I thought I was about to hold up a couple of C&RT vans, but they pulled in as the barriers lowered. Good job they arrived when they did. One chap was saying that the barrier on their side hadn’t been working earlier on. They removed the cover and peeked inside, Mick brought Oleanna through, then I pressed the close button. The bridge swung shut, returned to be level with the road, the sirens sounded, the chaps stood back from the barrier.
Leaving them to sort the problem
On my side the barrier rose upwards, on their side the barrier tried, rising only a couple of feet before dropping back down. The chaps encouraged it to lift and also had to give it an encouraging final umph back into it’s upright position. If they hadn’t been there to see to it, I’d have had to call them out.
Don Doors
Under the Don Doors and over the River Don we arrived at Bramwith Junction. This would do us for the day. The wind making it hard to moor again. Mick had to cling onto the centre line whilst I wrapped chains round the steel and tied our ropes. My right hand grip really does not like clinging on to ropes in the cold, hopefully as the temperatures rise this will ease.
Those dry mole hills are great for digging in!
The afternoon was spent knitting, towpath exploring and a touch of planning. On the Trent-link group suitable tides have been worked out for those considering heading round Trent Falls. Mick had identified one of them as a possible for us, so at least his calculations are correct.
The fourth pair of socks was completed, then the next two had yarns auditioned and the fifth pair was cast on and knitted up to the gusset before bedtime. Ooo errr!
1 lock, 5.4 miles, 3 swing bridges, 3 lift bridges, 13 held up, 1 dodgy barrier, 3 C&RT chaps, 0 glasses, 1 boat not in a hurry, 1 possible tide, 4 grey paws, 2 glasses of wine to toast Oleanna.
Opposite the Concrete works to Sykehouse Junction, New Junction Canal
You could hear Franks brain already at work when Mick got up to make our morning cuppa. To give the freezer more ventilation should the drawer be raised? This would involve raising the whole dinette, trimming the cushions to fit, then they wouldn’t fit to make up the bed. A solution with far too many knock ons.
Why won’t it come out!
First thing though was to be able to get the freezer drawer out of the dinette. For a while it’s been sticking part way out, only just enough space to get the lid off and access the contents. Was this down to something underneath the drawer on the floor? We knew there was a problem with condensation in the drawer as the freezer isn’t particularly well insulated, so that might be causing the problem.
Give it an hammer!
In the past we’ve tried pulling the drawer out to access little catches on the sides which would release the drawer from the sliders, but we could never find the catches. They were possibly on the part that was no longer sliding far enough out to be visible. Frank brought his hammer out and started hitting one section of the sliders back in to the dinette. One slider was obviously having issues and the drawer had quite a bit of play on it.
Eventually the slider gave in releasing the drawer. It moved out just that bit more, then nearly all the way there, then out to it’s full extent! We haven’t had this happen for at least a couple of years!
Freezer out in the open air
Mick disconnected the freezer then it was lifted out of the drawer. Time for breakfast! A bowl of blueberry porridge all round to celebrate.
The sliders were unscrewed from the base of the dinette. There had been no little catch on them, just a lot of screws and you needed the drawer to be fully out to access them all. The troublesome slider was examined. It was bent out of shape. The problem was that the drawer once pulled out of the dinette had nothing to rest on, it was hanging in mid air held only by the sliders. The combined weight of the drawer, freezer and it’s contents had bent the slider, stopping it from working correctly.
New sliders 650mm long and heavy duty sliders were needed. Nothing was available locally, just online. If replaced something to support the overhanging drawer would be needed to stop the situation from recurring.
The outside workshop
For now we could slide the drawer in and out without the sliders. Frank took the drawer outside and cut redundant sections out of the sides whilst retaining it’s structure, hopefully this will enable more air to circulate. Holes were also drilled in the base of the drawer, these won’t help at the moment as the drawer will sit on the floor for a while, but once it is lifted up a touch then air should be able to flow underneath it better. Everything was given a rub of candle grease to help it run more freely.
The floor under the freezer is made up of quite a few sheets of wood, possibly three. This isn’t necessary and a section of at least one (dinette structure) could have sections removed giving more air circulation. Then Frank decided that we’d be better off if the drawer ran on wooden runners, the front edge of it would need some support when it gets pulled out. We may add gliss domes to the leading edge, these are frictionless. Frank hadn’t brought his router with him, the easiest way to cut out the floor, so the remainder of the job will be finished another time.
Thank you so much Frank for your help and leaving us with some of the Bakewell Tart!
Just as Frank was setting off to head back to Scarborough, Lisa and Al arrived for a quick catch up. Their boat was a close neighbour when we moored at Viking last year, Al keeping an eye on Oleanna when the breach happened.
Ooo a yummy yarn donation
Lisa and I have quite a few other things in common, Scarborough and knitting. Lisa is an Indie Dyer and had seen I was busy with my sockathon, she’d come to make a donation. What a generous donation it was too! A bag of interesting bits and bobs, three 50 gram skeins and some baby yarn for my baby socks, far better than anything I could find in Boyes. Thank you so much Lisa for your wonderful donation! Link to Lisa’s Etsy yarn shop there’s some lovely yarn. Best keep my needles knitting!
1978 Austin Allegro for sale at Spicers soon
Two weeks into the challenge and the total amount that has been raised by knitters across the UK so far is £102,000. Brilliant!
Tilly had been making the most of the morning, dipping under the new fencing to head off and explore. It is thought that with the new Siemens factory close by, the rail track that runs along the side of the canal will be used to test the new Piccadilly Line tube trains, it may also be reinstated up into the docks. Today people were working on the track, sounded like they were cutting back vegetation. Tilly had been keeping an eye on them!
By the time we wanted to move Tilly had claimed most of the area including the VERY dusty road as her own.
With water supplies very low we pushed over to the water point to fill the tank. The bins here haven’t been emptied in the last couple of weeks, so we kept our recycling for another bin on another day. We then winded and headed out from Goole.
Goodbye blue Goole for now
Was this to be the last time in Goole for a while, well as there are few places to fill with diesel around the patch we aim to cover in the next few weeks, I suspect we will be back to top up.
As we pootled back along the same stretch of water we discussed our escape plan. At the moment the Huddersfield Narrow is looking like the most obvious route. The Trent still our preferred route. If everything were to fall into place, good weather, tides, amount of fresh, lack of wind, Keadby Lock opening hours it would be silly of us not to have a plan in place to go round Trent Falls again. So we shall work out two routes to cover all eventualities.
Hello Wendy and woofer
At Sykehouse Junction we turned left towards Doncaster and pulled in where we’d been a few days ago. We used outies just in case Exol Pride turned up. Sure enough just as the sun was setting it did, slowing to turn towards the New Junction and the Went Aqueduct.
Here she comes
Once they had just about crossed the aqueduct the engine was switched off, a generator kick started, this was where they would moor for the night. Suspect we’d get complaints if we blocked the navigation in such a comprehensive way.
Handy mooring for the night
0 locks, 6.01 miles, 1 left, 1 wind, 1 holey drawer that moves! 1 road claimed,1 grey cat, 3 bags of yummy yarn, 1 full water tank, 1 very full bin, 1 clean pooh box, 2 outsides, 1 big blue boat, 2 plans to plan.
Sykehouse Junction to Opposite the cement works Goole
Tilly was allowed shore leave whilst we joined the Geraghty zoom this morning. For the last four weeks Mick has been involved in something to do with hire cars, so hasn’t been present for at least three of those weeks, so it was nice to see people again and have a catch up.
Then it was time to push off, would Tilly return? Well, a short while after I called for her there was a meow at the back doors. Inside, 2 Dreamies, padded trousers on, trip computer set and we were off.
Reversing out from the junction
Across the way from where we’d moored was a line of buoys marking a relaxing bank, so we didn’t want to get close to it whilst winding. Instead Mick reversed Oleanna back to the junction, good job we’d got the weedhatch cover back in enabling better reversibility. At the junction we turned to face Goole and retraced our wake. Today was chilly and blustery stood on the stern. We discussed our options for escaping Goole, again. If there are enough boats interested then the Trent-Link group will put together an appeal to C&RT regarding Thorne Lock. For us a nudge of dates would be good, freeing up the Easter weekend I suspect would please local boaters.
Someone knows the grass is always greener.
Near Sugar Mill Ponds there has always been a dutch barge moored along the towpath. When we came past last week it wasn’t there, we wondered if it had moved moorings. Then it had returned. Today it had vanished again! Just where does it go to? Maybe for water, diesel? There was a choice of spaces opposite the cement works so we pulled in a touch further away from the boats with woofers. Here is the prefect place to bring a car alongside.
Drax
Across the way the moorings outside the Auction house were chocka block. We wonder if mooring is discouraged during the week when they are open, or is it that no-one will notice you mooring there when they are closed?
Hello Lisa!
A large pot of chilli was made in my cast iron casserole and popped on the stove to gradually cook for the rest of the afternoon, saving on gas.
Chilli gently bubbling away
With a visit from Frank on the cards we needed to stock up on a few things, especially potatoes to go with a roast. Mick headed to Tescos whilst I headed to Boyes for some glue and some baby yarn. Tescos supplied us with a new rectangular ceramic lasagne dish, not pyrex, but identical to the one we used to have. So now I can cook reasonable portion sizes again.
The title of the post? Our location on what3words, I found it amusing.
A Sausage Day! Was I going to like it? Well yes! But I still don’t know what it means as it involved no sausages what-so-ever! Not sure She even knows what it means. But I’d be quite happy to have more sausage days.
Checking on the solar
As soon as Tom was up and dressed the back doors were opened, She recited the rules to me and I was off into the friendly cover. I think She said something about 8 hours, but I wasn’t listening at that point! Who would when it’s a Sausage Day!?
I came back quite a few times as requested. My ‘Thank you for coming home‘ Dreamies however have been reduced in number! Apparently we are on an economy drive, therefore my Dreamies allowance has been cut by 33%. She and Tom have cut their wine allowance by 57%. I wonder where this economy is that we’ll drive too, hopefully we won’t be going by car!
The underside of the weedhatch
The weedhatch cover was removed and laid out on the towpath and given a good scrub all over to remove silt and then left in the morning sunshine to dry off whilst we had breakfast. As just about all of it had been blacked previously I held back with the Danboline, I’ll use this for the handles which sit above the water line and use blacking below.
Once it was dried I scraped away any loose paint and grease, gave it a sand and a good brush down before applying a coat of blacking. This was then left in the now fading sunshine to dry off for as long as possible. Too sticky to do the handles these will have to wait for another day.
Shall I put that screw somewhere handy for you Tom?
Mick spent a bit of time looking at the freezer drawer, trying to remove the back as access was needed to replace the handle that became detached earlier in the day. Either the back is glued in or has a screw or two from the bottom which currently is impossible to access as the drawer no longer comes out fully.
Weaving ends in
The afternoon was spent weaving ends into my first three pairs of socks, daylight a must for such a job. For the next few pairs I’m changing yarns, from DK to 4 ply. This means more stitches to knit and more rows, so each sock will take a touch longer. New patterns were worked out and in the evening the next sock was cast on.
A wheel of socks
Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me. The target on my Facebook page today was reached and another donation from two of Tilly’s friends has brought my Justgiving page to 75% of my targeted amount. I may have to buy some suitable yarn for baby socks when we get back to Goole as I don’t think I have enough suitable yarn to knit premature baby socks.
View from the stern
Today official news has come through regarding the stoppage at Thorne Lock on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. This was originally meant to be in place by now, opening back up around Easter. We have planned the beginning of our cruising year around this, then when re-open we would head up stream on the Trent, a fast route down the country.
Did someone mention sausage!?
But today in sausage terms we’ve been dealt a Cumberland Sausage! The lock will now close on April 4th and be closed for six weeks, reopening 23rd May. This would have us leaving the area at a similar time as last year when we’d been held up by the breach and covid, therefore not making the most of our Gold licence.
We could of course leave the area before the stoppage starts, but that would mean cancelling various commitments we’ve now made. What to do? We have several options.
A back door open kind of day, until it rained!
Leave via the Pennines, Leeds Liverpool, Rochdale or Huddersfield Canals. None of these would get us south for a while. The there is the other option, Trent Falls. We did this last year and if everything fell into place, weather, tide, locks, we’d choose this option. Mick even suggested seeing if we could do Naburn to Torksey in one day!
The jury however is still out.
For anyone interested in travelling the Trent there is a newish Facebook group Trentlink – Safe Navigation of the Tidal Trent. The aim is to encourage people to use the Tidal Trent in a safe way, offering advice and maybe even buddying up with more experienced boats for the trip.
Other news, Selby Swing Bridge which has only just been reinstated has broken down. From 14th March passage will be possible with 48 hours notice, C&RT will manually operate the bridge for you until the running gear has been refurbished.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 sausage day, 8 hours towpath freedom, £50 donations, 1 coat of blacking, 2 patterns, 7th sock, 1 happy cat, 1 less handle, 16 not 15mm Forstner bit, 1 Cumberland Sausage, 2 boaters needing to come up with an alternative plan.
Blue Water Marina to Bramwith Junction, Stainforth and Keadby / New Junction Canals
During the week house reclaiming jobs have been completed, for this winter. All the hallway wallpaper has been patched up, some places better than others. Daily covid test have been taken as half of the Dark Horse Company tested positive the weekend after the show, thankfully everyone seems to have only had mild symptoms and thankfully I seem to have managed to avoid it.
Tree looking not so happy
We’ve made the sensible but hard decision to retire our boat Christmas tree. It has served us well for the last 7 Christmases. Coming into the house has confused it the last two years, sprouting and then getting chilly again even with us trying to move it gradually back to outside. It was also getting a touch too big for the boat and was pot bound. A space in the back garden was made ready with a touch of our own compost, which we hope will give it a much needed boost. If it survives I’ll buy it some solar powered lights so that it can be a Christmas tree all year round.
During the winter C&RT do maintenance on the canal system, taking advantage of the quieter time on the canals. For boaters wanting to cruise it means a touch more planning to avoid getting stuck. Our route south is currently blocked at Newark Town Lock which will be closed until 18th March. Then Thorne Lock was due to close between 1st and 31st March for lock gate replacement, the dates of this stoppage are under review as the gate manufacturing has been delayed. All the same should we stay put at Blue Water Marina for a few more weeks we could possibly end up only being able to cruise out towards Keadby, the furthest south we’d get being Torksey until Newark Town Lock reopens.
Add into the mix the fact that we are surrounded by rivers. The River Trent to our east, River Don the south, River Aire to the north and west and the River Ouse. The recent storms have had all the rivers go into flood. Flood gates and locks have been closed helping to protect properties. So understandably during the last week we’ve been watching the weather forecasts and river levels closely.
Putting everything away
On Wednesday a C&RT notice came through saying that the Don Doors had reopened. The Doors are two guillotine gates that close at either side of the Don Aqueduct on the New Junction Canal, this is to stop flood water from the Don backing up along the New Junction Canal. Whilst they had been closed we’d tried contacting Staniland Marina to see if they could put us up for a little while, they are just above Thorne Lock. But there had been no space for us, so we’d been relieved to hear the New Junction Canal was open again.
I’m sure I’ll fit too
With the weather looking promising for the weekend, our plan started to slot together. A phone call to Sarah at Blue Water Marina meant we had a new gas bottle delivered to Oleanna and our spare keys were returned too as nobody would be in the office when we arrived.
A hire car was picked up on Friday evening and we started to pack. The aim of this trip was to move as much back onto Oleanna as possible, leaving the minimum amount for our last trip when we’d be moving Tilly.
By 9am Saturday morning the car was very full. Tilly’s magic food bowl was set to spring open at evening Ding Ding time and we left a sulking feline basking in the sunshine.
Go on then, go without me!
They just don’t care about me anymore! She says it’s all about me, to make my life easier and less stressful. Well being left in a chilly house with Boggy Face Alan, Stumpy Betty and Boss Eyed Shoes glaring in at me is very stressful! Think I’d prefer a car journey.
It was sunny at the marina, the grass no longer squelching under foot, I just hoped Oleanna would be drier inside than last week. Thankfully she was. First job light the stove. Mick failed first time, kindling and matches just a little bit too damp still. The heating went on and the fire was re-laid and was soon blazing away.
Water tank was emptied, not much left, then refilled. We’d wanted to sterilize the tank but with the water pressure in the marina being a touch dodgy we decided that could wait. Fresh water in our tank would most probably be fine to drink, but after months I’d rather any possible bugs were killed, we’d brought a couple of bottles of drinking water with us anyway.
The back steps came out, the dinette opened up and all the things we’d brought down last were stowed giving us room to empty the car again. Then all that stuff had to be stowed away too. Lunch by the hatch, the weather was suitable for it to be open today.
The trip computer always gets sat up like this to stop Tilly from sitting on it
Mick moved the hire car out of the marina, just in case he got back to collect it after the gates had been closed. The covers were rolled and folded out of the way. The trip computer set to record our journey. We were ready!
Time to say goodbye to Blue Water Marina
Thankfully the wind was kind to us and allowed Mick to reverse us out of our mooring, gradually we turned and headed for the entrance. Two chaps came over to talk to Mick, saying they’d just had difficulty, two of them trying to open it, they’d given up and returned to the marina. We assumed they meant Princess Royal Swing Footbridge which can be awkward. Oh well, we’d see how we did with it.
What a beautiful day
Blue sky, a chilly breeze. Perfect winter cruising weather, we’d chosen our departure day well.
On arrival I opened the control panel where a new sheet of instructions has been added. I made sure I read it fully, turned the key and headed over to close the far barriers. One barrier clicked, the other despite a wiggle or three didn’t, Hmmm! Back over the other side I closed those, click, click and tried to set the bridge in motion. It wasn’t having it. I started to squeeze my way through to wiggle the far gate, but Mick came and did it for me. Still nothing! I’d nudged a near side gate which needed a wiggle now. Hooray the bridge swung!
Thorne Lock ahead
Water bubbled below Thorne Lock, did the gates need replacing that much? It turned out that paddles were open at both ends of the lock letting water flow through to reduce the level above the lock after the recent flooding. Putting the key of power into the control panel immediately closed all the paddles and I had control.
Control panel
Just above the lock is a swing bridge with manual barriers, which is tied into the lock mechanism. The barriers and bridge will only move once the top gates of the lock are open. Up came Oleanna in her first lock of the year, she smiled from horn to horn.
First lock of the year!
With the gates open I headed up to close the barriers to the road. With one closed I was coming back to close the second one when an Amazon Prime van sped up past me and onto the bridge. I shouted about the barrier, he stopped but stayed put on the bridge. It was me who would have to give way to him, no stopping Amazon Prime!
Clear of the stoppage when ever it happens
With him out of the way and barriers closed I lifted the handle on the bridge and pushed it open to let Oleanna out of the lock. All easy. We were now clear of the possible stoppage on Monday.
Staniland Marina with a sunk boat in front of the dry dock!
As we pootled away we wondered what the two chaps at the marina had had difficulty with. Two of them not able to open it? Maybe they had been referring to the bridge at the lock, perhaps they hadn’t lifted the handle, or maybe they hadn’t read the instructions and hadn’t opened the top gates before they tried the bridge. Oh well, we’d got through and that’s all that mattered, no stopping us!
We pootled along, under the M18 and past the scrubby bits where motorbikes must race each other. A breasted up pair came towards us, the canals up here so wide and deep there’d be no problem getting past each other. A batch of new houses have met up with the canal at Stainforth.
Bramwith Lock
Time was getting on and the sun was getting low in the sky. We considered stopping short of Bramwith Swing Bridge but decided we’d prefer to have the view at Bramwith Junction. Through the swing bridge and on to the lock.
Coming up
Bramwith lock feels so diddy, the extended lock (chained open and not often used) makes it seem so small. Time for a windlass and to manually lock Oleanna up.
Of course as soon as we reached the junction, where we wanted to moor the wind picked up, blowing Oleanna out from the bank, so it took us a while to moor her up as the sun set opposite us. The effort was worth it for the view.
Cwor!
More unpacking, the bed made up and a touch of encouragement to defrost the frozen bolognaise sauce we’d brought with us, we then settled down for the evening back on board Oleanna.
2 locks, 5.85 miles, 1 hire car, 1 left behind cat, 2 car loads to stow, 3 swing bridges, 4 held up, 1 big gulp, 1 chilly blue skied day, 1 boat gradually warming up, 2 happy boaters, 1 smiling Oleanna.
Time seems to have been standing still here in Scarborough.
Jobs are gradually being ticked off the lists. On the house jobs list all the woodwork in the two hallways and staircases has been rubbed down, filled, undercoated and glossed. This took a long time and a lot of patience, I know I could have done it better but even my patience was running thin. The back bedroom curtains are now lined. Patching the wall paper in the hallways is partially done.
Mick has serviced the life jackets. All four were inflated and left in the boat cupboard overnight to see if they held the air. This extended to being a week before Mick finished the job, all still filled with air and well out of reach of Tilly’s claws. She decided to explore a bathroom cupboard instead. Finally our gutters have been sorted at the back of the house and our neighbours Dad came and fitted a new shower tray for us. The plumbers had quoted £3500 for a new surround and tray, all we wanted was the cracked tray replacing. Lisa’s Dad did it for a tenth of the quote and a good job too.
Rebekah and Alice
I had a day and night over in Huddersfield working on #unit21. Final costume fittings with only one job left to do, or so I thought! I then watched a dress run through. In the evening I had planned to get the floor marked out and based in, leaving the top coat of green for the Saturday morning, but there was a dance class booked to use the main room. Their hour turned into two and a half! So by the time I’d got the flooring laid out I only had time to draw the lines out before I gave up.
Was it the wine? Was it the chicken?
Chicken and chips with a dubious glass of pink wine was had at Nandos, think I prefer the kebab wagon in Chippy. Over night I got to spend more of my time in my Travelodge bathroom than in the bed as something had disagreed with me somewhat!
I’d planned an early start, but that wasn’t going to happen. I’d planned a walk along the Broad canal into town, but a more direct route conserved energy. During the day I gradually worked my way painting white lines followed by green, fortunately the paint dried pretty quickly. I’d hoped to be back in Scarborough early afternoon, but that wasn’t to be and thankfully Mick was at the station to help with my bags. At least I’d managed to get the majority of jobs done.
The following day I took it easy, Downton Abbey and some crochet with Tilly on the sofa. Thankfully by the evening my appetite had returned so I could enjoy National Yorkshire Pudding day with roast pork.
During this week word came from Huddersfield that a zip had broken on a set of overalls. Replacing them wasn’t an option, no larger sizes were available either. So they were sent to me arriving along with the butchest zip I could find. I have now learnt/made up how to add an extra 3 inches (just to be safe) to the sides of the overalls and how to put a zip in. Here’s hoping it works.
Someone’s on the move
With a train strike on Sunday we’ve hired a car to get me to Huddersfield ready for the fit up on Monday morning. This of course means we had a car available for today. Now how should we make use of it? Well it was way past time to say Happy New Year to Oleanna!
Leaving me behind!
A really rather wet, windy, horrible day. Heading over the Wolds we were deprived of the views but the amount of snowdrops more than made up for it. When we’d last done the trip to Thorne all the fields were brown, now they are green with fresh life growing. The tide was out on the River Ouse as we crossed the M62 bridge. I could see why going round the wrong side of Howden Dyke Island would be a bad thing with the amount of silt to the north western side.
Not the best photo of Howden Dyke Island
During the week Mick had noticed that Oleanna was no longer hooked up. He’d given Sarah a call at the marina to check everything was alright. It was, Oleanna had been moved as the pontoon she was moored on was being replaced. During one of the recent storms a small cruiser i the marina had been lifted up by the wind. It was tied well to it’s pontoon which also got lifted off it’s supports. The boat was found in the middle of the marina still attached to it’s pontoon!
There she is!
There she was right at the far end of the marina breasted up against two other boats. Not the easiest of access, but we managed. Mick found a spare socket to hook us up to and turned the electric heating on. Then we enjoyed our picnic lunch sat by the hatch which remained firmly closed despite the view being rather good.
Mick had intended to do an oil change but the weather put him of somewhat. Instead he pottered, checked Oleanna over and ran the engine.
Down below I got on with my task for the day, some TLC for our multi-fuel stove. Last winter the top plate had started to show a little rust, the stove not having been lit for seven months. Today it was time to do something about it.
A good wire brushing on the top plate removed much of the orange, followed by some fine grit sandpaper. The rest of the stove just needed a freshen up. The big hoover came out to suck away all the dust. The hearth was cleaned too.
Drying the stove
Everywhere then got a good wash down. Only problem was it would take quite a while to dry off, handy that we’d bought a second hand hairdryer a few years ago when we planned to put plastic up at the windows in winter. Today it got used for the first time.
Stir it up
I hunted round in the painty cupboard and found the tin of stove black paint. This had been bought for Lillian’s Squirrel stove before we sold her. Thankfully the paint was still good inside, it just required a very good stir up.
Doors off and bits masked off
All the chrome bits were masked off, the door glass removed for cleaning. Then I gave everywhere a thin, hopefully even coat of paint. The hearth got a coat too to tidy it up.
Paint going on
That paint smells! So glad I’d decided to this job now when we wouldn’t have to put up with the smell all evening. Touch dry in fifteen minutes. Well that was hard to tell as the clock at the back of the galley had said 1:30 when we arrived and still said it when I’d finished painting.
Looking smart again
The doors slotted back on easily, the glass back in the door. Just like new apart from the knob on the riddle handle that needs replacing as the thread has worn away. On our next visit we’ll light a small fire to bring the stove up to temperature to help the paint cure. Then hopefully all the smellyness will be over and done with when we move back on board.
All ready to spill stew on again
A chat with Sarah suggested that there is still problems getting hold of Calor Gas. We have an empty bottle on board which we’d like to replace. Hopefully her next order of LPG will be successful, she’ll put our name on one of the bottles if it is.
Bye bye
Everything onboard was turned off again, taps left open should the temperature drop before we’re back next. Power was unhooked, the cable tucked away. Hopefully next time she will have been moved back to her mooring and a new pontoon making it a lot easier to get on and off.
The sun came out just as we were about to leave!
Our route back to Scarborough was slightly longer than the way there. It took us to New Bridge over the Aire and Calder, I was able to get my first view out of the window of the breach site. Today you’d hardly know what it looked like last year. Then onwards to B&Q in York to pick up some neon pink paint for #unit21 props.
Neon!
0 miles, 0 locks, 2 staircases, 2 curtains, 1 new shower tray, 1 chair, 1/2 a dodgy chicken, 1 glass rose too much, 1 emergency zip replacement, 3 more inches, 1 hire car, 1 service postponed, 5 year old stove paint still stinky, 2 poo buckets forgotten, 1 cuddly Tilly, 1 pair of handknitted first night neon odd socks (neon to match the show, odd for down’s syndrome).
