Mid morning Mick got a phone call from the archway garage saying that our alternator was ready to be collected. Blimey that was quick, we’ve heard tales of people sending them off to be mended and not hearing back for months, this had taken a couple of days. On collection the chap said it was the regulator that had gone. The chap also said he used to make the steelwork for narrowboats somewhere outside Leicester.
Our nearest neighbours had moved off upstream this morning leaving a gap at the end of the pontoon. Mick pulled us along so as to be further away from the resident cruisers who enjoy listening to their music loud. Not long afterwards a downstream narrowboat tucked into where we’d been, the pigeons made themselves at home on their roof pretty quickly, sorting out the teams for their next five aside match.
A cosy neighbour
As we tucked into an early lunch the next boat arrived, the chap at the helm was obviously deciding on where to go. We called out, would he like to come alongside. Of course he would, Castle Gardens pontoon was now full. We chatted away and helped with his ropes agreeing on a time when we’d be wanting to head towards North Lock in the morning.
Rockets
My head was still not good, but a walk would help, I hoped. So we headed off to find the cut at North Lock and walked northwards, crossing over Wolsey Island. The Space Centre building was worth a look at. The tower is clad in pillows made from ETFE, the same material used at the Eden Project. Dots cover the surface, but from a distance you can just see through it, rockets lurk inside.
The Abbey Pumping Station
We walked that little bit further to the Abbey Pumphouse, we fancied some Victoria engineering instead of space today.
There was lots to read again. The first part of the exhibition all to do with water, bathing through the ages especially around Leicester. As the population grew so did the amount of sewage, Leicester had to do something about the quality of it’s water. So sewers were directed towards Abbey Pumping Station which was built in 1890. From here the cities waste was pumped up to a treatment works at Beaumont Leys, now a shopping centre.
Mixed in amongst the water and sewage, not literally, there are also collections of industrial, technological and scientific items relating to Leicester. A phone box filled with toys, mechano, Kermit. Cinema cameras, Happy and Sad trams. Knitting machines for both stockings and jumpers. Soap. All quite interesting, but the layout a little dated as you tend to find in free museums.
Grand steps
Then up some stairs you enter the room where all the action used to take place. Just walking into the hall you can tell this is where the Victorians meant business. The staircase says this alone!
Cwor!
Four steam engines fill the space. Built in Leicester by Gimson and Company these are rare examples of Woolfe compound rotative beam engines. We think they are still in working order, but sadly not today.
engrained oil
Cream, brown and gold paint decorates the huge wheels, brass polished more than a Braidbar narrowboat’s mushroom vents. Huge pillars decorated with flowers and capitals hold up the structure. Decorative tile work. 130 years worth of ingrained oil, now caught in trays filled with cat litter.
Such detail
Wow! All just for a load of Shit. The Victorians really couldn’t help themselves could they! Well worth a visit if you are in the area.
The route back to Oleanna took a slightly different route, walking alongside Leicester Abbey and the River Soar, looking up at Cardinal Wolsey who died here.
Wolsey
Back on board Mick carried on working his way through the laundry drawer, topped us up with water, hung things out to dry. Then went to sit and wait for our Sainsburys delivery. He was looking forward to a sit down. He can now confirm that the gates into Friars Mill are locked on an evening as he had to come back for our C&RT key to be able to bring our shopping to the boat.
Us
Tomorrow we’ll wait in line for our turn through North Lock.
A slow morning with a slow brain and pills. Thankfully when I have a migraine I don’t loose my appetite. Mick cooked us a breakfast whilst the engine ran and the washing machine turned, being moored by a tap is a very handy thing.
Also having the engine running meant that the local pigeons stopped tap dancing on our roof. Well maybe it wasn’t tap dancing, more like football with a stone. They’d been running up and down above us for ages and what sounded like a stone kept being dropped and picked up.
Sunflower
We’d had plans of visiting all sorts of places whilst we were in Leicester. Visiting the Van Gogh Immersive Experience would have sent my head all over the shop. A walk to the National Space Centre too far and it didn’t appeal this time. We’ve walked past Richard III grave muttering that he should be in York on a previous visit. Paying to get into Richards visitor centre also didn’t appeal, after all I might get part way round and want to leave.
So what did we do instead?
We visited the Dulux Decorator Centre!
Why? I hear you say. Well when we were sorting out our new windows for the house I’d chosen a cream and a grey to match as close as possible to the existing paintwork. The wooden windows will come ready painted. For some reason the paint suppliers weren’t able to match our original colours, in fact Dulux don’t recognise our original paints either anymore. So back in March I’d collected together paint charts and compared them to what we already had. Finally we sorted the cream colour. Then we added a new door into the mix.
Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower
We gave the go ahead for the new door just last week and they have been ordering in materials including the paint. Of course for the same reason there had been with the cream, the paint suppliers couldn’t now match the grey, Dove. They could do Dove Grey or Dove White, maybe just Dove was too common! So today we needed to look at paints .
Alice Hawkins
The poor young chap at Dulux. All I wanted to do was find three maybe four paints as close to my original choice as possible so I had options. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him why I wanted to match one of their colours, but I did. We went around the houses for ages before showing me a Sikkens chart of wood stains. No I wouldn’t be putting that on my nice new wooden windows. Today was not the best day for me to be doing this, at one point I nearly put everything down and walked out of the shop, but instead the young chap went and rang Sikkens returning saying they could match any paint colour. He soon returned with a RAL and BS colour chart and we found two good options, Mick had found other brands and I finally walked away (after apologising for maybe being a touch short with the assistant) with four options. Thankfully the best one got the thumbs up from the suppliers.
We sauntered into the city, a walk round the market. Then through an arcade to find some chilled medication and a sit down in the shade. Not bad medication, last years in Cambridge still out ranks most ice cream. Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Strawberry and a nutty milk chocolate one were sampled between us.
Medication time
We gained enough energy to have a look around the Guildhall behind the currently closed Cathedral. I’d like to tell you lots about it, recount tales from it’s history, but today I started to read the information boards, but quickly gave up, all those words were too much for me. So here is a little bit of info from the website.
Poxy masks
Starting with its Great Hall built in about 1390, a tour of Leicester Guildhall will take you through the centuries and many uses of the site. From its first role as a meeting place for the Guild of Corpus Christi, to a public performance space where even Shakespeare may have acted, to the home of one of the oldest public libraries, the town hall and even a police station.
The Great Hall
The hall with it’s stage, oak panelling, one section rather new and quite well stained to match.
The Parlour
The Mayors Parlour with more oak panelling, stained glass.
One lady looking round thought that modern day prisoners should be made to wear these!
The Library with wonky floors and ancient heavy books all behind glass.
Pick Pocket!
The cells where pick pocket Peter McVoye was held.
We then made our way back to Friars Mill to keep Tilly company. A nice Indian takeaway was enjoyed by us from Simply Indian. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get to see something else.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 loads washing, 4 greys, just not Dove, 1 poor assistant, 3 scoops each, 0 information retained, 0 axe throwing, 1 cuddle with p**ed of Tilly, 5-1, 1 speaker turned down, 1 speaker nudged up, 1 leftover takeaway rice in the fridge for fried rice.
Tea with breakfast and we were ready for the off at 8:30, early for us.
Last night Mick had closed the bottom gates on Gees Lock and thankfully they’d stayed that way. At Blue Bank’s Lock it was full and a chap walked up and opened the top gate for us. He was a Scout leader and was on a walk down to see if the river was at a suitable level for the scouts to use later in the day. He also stayed to help close up and have a bit of a natter. Thank you!
Look horse, the tea room doesn’t open until tomorrow!
King’s Lock. Long before the tea rooms ever existed the cottage had been vandalised and set on fire. A young chap called Ade and his partner Lou approached British Waters to see if they could rescue it, it was due for demolition. They worked hard on the cottage and today it is a popular spot with walkers and boaters. Ade and Lou now are set builders and have built Chippy panto every year I’ve been designing it.
Sadly they only open Wednesday to Sunday, we always seem to pass when they are closed, one day we’ll actually go inside. By now I was taking note of moorings that were available, I knew one person waiting on the other side of North Lock 42 in Leicester who may be looking for a mooring later today. Two boats below the lock, plenty of room for several more boats.
So sad
A sign on the lock beam warned us of a sunken boat between bridge 107 and Aylstone Lock, there it sat, half submerged having been set light to, thankfully no-one had been onboard at the time.
Not hard
As we pulled up at the lock a boat was exiting below. There was time to have a quick ‘Are you carrying on? We’ll wait for you!’ conversation. Brilliant we’d now have two people filling locks and coping with swinging gates. Aylstone Lock took its time to fill and empty, the smell of fuel at the bottom gates was really quite pongy. Now the narrow stretch that today made us feel as if we must have gone the wrong way. But the dye factory was still there even if the gas tower opposite has totally vanished.
St Mary’s Lock
The walls round St Mary’s Lock are still covered in graffiti tags as always, the smell of fresh spray paint emanating from the walls. There sat the boat waiting for us, NB Blue something, didn’t catch their full name, surrounded by C&RT volunteers, they were preparing to paint the lock gates. It always amuses me when someone suggests hoping/jumping back on your boat as it descends into a lock when I can just simply step back onboard below as it leaves. As there were numerous blue shirts about many with windlasses I decided to walk on to the next lock along with the crew from the other boat.
Heading along the straight into the city
Freeman’s Meadow Lock sits by a big weir opposite the football ground. Two boats were just pulling away below, we’d been following a convoy. The other lady and I chatted , they were heading for North Lock, booked through today. It was their first time on the Leicester Section. I made suggestions of where they might be able to loiter should the lock cut be full of waiting boats.
Friars Mill
Our arrival into Leicester was earlier than originally planned. Our plan had been to arrive as the moorings emptied out with boats heading to North Lock for their assisted passage. We’d not been able to book for today, but decided to keep the pace up and have a couple of days in Leicester before our booking. Castle Garden moorings were empty and at Friars Mill there was enough room for two narrowboats behind a couple of cruisers who looked like they lived there. We pulled in, our plan had worked.
We decided to go and see what was happening at North Lock, how many boats would be waiting? How were they going to open the gates with the top cill being in such a bad state?
Looking above
Above the lock seven boats waited, below only four, the rest were holding back where there was more space and would move up once they heard boats were on the move. Plenty of chaps in blue and life jackets milling about, a list of boat names booked for today sat on a lock beam, 8 uphill 8 down. The bottom paddles slightly lifted and the water at the top end bubbling away, both sets of gates chained shut.
Below with more further back
Familiar faces and boats from our journey across the Leicester Section, the people from Ripon, our lock partners from today and right at the front of the queue NB Golden Eagle.
The road alongside the lock is a busy one onto Frog Island, so everyone had to keep an eye on their backs as huge wagons pulled in with inches to spare receiving a round of applause from everyone waiting for the lock. On the other side there is a new development being built, fencing and neat planting to a showroom, behind which is a complete building site. A forklift came along and moved away barriers, two chaps moved piles of breeze blocks and undid several panels of solid fencing this was so a vehicle could be brought alongside the lock.
C&RT undid a section of the neat fencing, swinging it out of the way. A 4 tonne chain winch and strops attached to the offside lock beam. A signal was given, a C&RT old pick up was driven round through the building site, the aim to use it’s towbar as an anchoring point for the winch. The pickup was turned round and then maneuvered into such a position that the towbar was just in line with the lock beam. Everything was attached and ready to go as the lock was drained.
They waited for the level to reach a mark that couldn’t be seen from our side of the lock, from here on the level would stay just about even, the same amount of water coming in through the cill as was going out through the bottom paddles, now is when they needed to encourage the bottom gate to open just an inch or two to empty the lock fully.
All the time this one chap had been leaning against the off side beam. ‘He must be called Frank’ I said. ‘Give me a leaver and a fulcrum and I’ll move the world’ says our friend Frank. He’d most certainly have been that chap leaning against the beam if he’d been here!
A pull on the chain winch, another, the beam moved a touch, a gap appearing in between the bottom gates, the rush of water leveling things out. Brilliant! The first two uphill boats were ushered into the lock, paddles would up and they were soon on their way, cheers all round.
Then the first two down hill boats. Once they had reached a certain level they were encouraged to move forward should anything more happen to the cill behind them. The whole process was repeated everything now where it needed to be. It took 14 minutes from the first boat entering the lock to the last one exiting. Job well done.
Going down
Chatting to a C&RT man he said that they’d been getting calls for assistance a couple of times a day in the last few weeks. People had started to improvise, a Spanish windlass attached to a handrail, a forklift truck and numerous passersby had been commandeered to help open the bottom gates. This morning they’d just been informed that there would be a stoppage to replace the cill around the 4th September. Until then assisted passages will happen twice a week.
Bubbling away
I sent an update to the boat waiting out of view that boats were on they’re way towards them now. The second batch of uphill boats now entering the lock. We’d seen enough now. A little spec in my vision suggested either I’d been looking towards the sun or a migraine was on its way. We headed back to the boat for some pills, my sight not having improved sadly. I spent much of the remainder of the day in bed listening to Tilly complaining about not being allowed out!
Ready for the next two
Mick popped into one of the railway archways near Friars Mill, a car repair shop to ask if they might know someone who’d be able to look at our alternator that went faulty on us earlier this year. The chap said he’d get someone to look at it and let us know, his deadline being Friday morning when it’ll be our turn to go through North Lock.
Half the uphill boats pulled up in Leicester the rest chose to carry on. We’ll keep our Welcome to pull alongside notices in the windows for when the next group of boats arrive for the lock. Our neighbours behind us won’t be moving on, as they told us, They live here!
Up in Yorkshire work took place on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, 20 tonnes of clay were used to block the leak and and then plug the bank. The leak now stopped before anything more serious happened to the bank.
6 locks, 2 shared, 4.3 miles, 3 resident boats, 1 plan paid off, 15 or maybe 16 boats through the lock, 4 tonne chain winch, 1 Frank, 6:30 start for one boat, 9 men in blue, 2 big thank yous to C&RT, 3 pills.
Trent Junction to Cuttle Bridge 13, Trent and Mersey Canal
Depending on which route we take we are either an hour behind or a day behind our schedule, this will almost certainly determine which way we go. But which way is that?
Morning view
Tilly was given 90 minutes shore leave as we had breakfast and joined Mick’s sisters on the Geraghty Zoom this morning. It’s lovely that we are all still doing this two years on. Tilly came home within time so we were able to push off as planned.
The rowers were out and one of their support boats was doing its best to try to move what could only really be described as a tree in the river. They attached a rope, nudged it this way and that, tried to get it up the club slipway without much luck. Hope they got it sorted in the end.
Which way?
Trent Junction is where the River Trent meets the River Soar and the Erewash Canal. The Erewash is a dead end, so we wouldn’t be going that way this time. Cranfleet Cut we’d just come from, so we’d not be going back. This left us two options, the Soar or the Trent. Our summers cruising plans would suggest going onto the Soar would be the most direct route, but a detour is required, so we’d be sticking with the Trent for a little bit longer.
We headed upstream, past Trent Lock pontoon, the chilled medication van already stationed to serve todays gongoozlers. It was chilly out there, we were glad of our winter layers despite the sunshine.
Big controls
Sawley Lock, the left hand lock had it’s gates open waiting for us as the right hand one was already being filled by another boat. I hopped off and headed to the panel a big shiny box with exactly the same instructions as those on the small pedestals downstream. There were only a couple of spaces available opposite the marina, this is where we should have been last night, but we’d had a much nicer mooring.
Sawley Flood lock was open so we could pass straight through and back out onto the river before we were to join the Trent and Mersey Canal. Another junction, not left to the marina, not right onto the non navigable Derwent, but straight on to the canal.
Boaters PPE out with the windlass
Two boats were ascending the lock, the chaps stood chatting on the top gates, only the ground paddles lifted. ‘We’re in no hurry’ said one chap as they moved to open the gates. We emptied the lock and worked Oleanna up off the river. Last year this signalled our successful escape from Goole, today it meant that apart from the river section at Alrewas we shouldn’t now get stuck if the river level comes up.
Broughton House
A pause for lunch in Shardlow before I walked ahead to make use of the post box by Broughton House which commands its position on London Road. Eight semi-circular stone steps lead up to the front door of the house which was built in the early 19th Century by James Sutton one of the merchants who developed the inland port of Shardlow.
Across the way at a side door to Holden House people were being served hot drinks and what looked like a blackboard menu of sandwiches sat against the wall. May have been worth a proper look if we’d been staying longer.
Swapping over at Shardlow
Shardlow lock was just being exited by two boats, a small narrowboat exiting second with novice crew on board, they seemed to be enjoying themselves but were a little bit confused as to which side they should pass Mick as he approached. I’d already lifted the ground paddles before I spotted another narrowboat pulling up below, we apologised and said we’d wait at the next lock, but the chap wasn’t going that far.
A quick chat with David to see how he was today before Aston Lock. Today wasn’t as positive as the last few days, but he was still making progress with the boat. Not everyday will be a great day, but this week he has certainly achieved lots.
At Aston Lock we gained eleven gongoozlers a family of cousins out for a walk. This meant we had extra hands to work the gates.
A self emptying lock
I’d been warned by a boat going downhill that the bottom gates at Weston Lock were leaking like a sieve and it was taking an absolute age to fill. When we got there we’d caught up with the two boats ahead of us, the chaps again stood on the top gates chatting away with only the ground paddles opened.
Big chunky gates at Weston Lock
‘We’re in no hurry’ the chap said again. I did point out that the bottom gates were leaking and that maybe opening the gate paddles would help fill the lock. It took a little while for the penny to drop, all that was happening right now was that they were letting water flow through the lock whilst it still had another foot to rise, they could be there forever, well until the pound above ran out of water!
We followed up. Are all these wide locks counter intuitive like Stenson Lock? Opening the same side ground paddle really didn’t hold Oleanna against the wall. Here we got a shower of hail too, just enough to get us all soggy and chilly before the sun did it’s best to return.
There really is a shelf there
As we approached the stretch where there is an underwater stone shelf, keep to the off-side, a boat was coming towards us. They were going at quite a rate, their bow faced towards us and just as they passed the yellow sign their stern hit the shelf, lifting the boat out of the water! Blimey!! The chap on the front thankfully didn’t fall in. We checked they were all alright before we carried on, all seemed fine.
Baaaaa!
It was cold now, should we catch up with ourselves, or pull in before Swarkstone Lock? The latter was more attractive with fields alongside the canal that Tilly would enjoy. We tried several places, but ground to a halt at least a foot out from the bank. In the end we gave up and moored up with a gap between us and the towpath, Tilly could easily jump it, so could we. Time now to warm up inside.
My planned escape back to Oleanna was very nearly thwarted. I left the theatre with ten minutes to reach the bus stop I have used on a Saturday night to get to Banbury in the past. I glanced at the time table only to discover that the last bus to Banbury did not stop at my bus stop, it was a fast bus. Two minutes later I saw it pass the end of the street! I called the taxi company that had ferried me back and forth last week and pleaded with them to help me. Thankfully they had one driver who wasn’t booked up all evening and he’d just returned from a break. I was soon back on track but £25 worse off.
What a journey!
The first train to Birmingham New Street was very pleasant and roomy, however the next train was packed with singing shouting Barnsley football fans. Luckily I had a reserved seat, well three in all for my journey up to Doncaster as I’d bought split tickets. I sat wincing every time the next round of songs was shouted around the carriage. I wore my mask hoping it would keep any possible virus at bay, not just for me but also the whole panto cast on my return. Eventually the carriage emptied out and things became quieter.
Mick was at Doncaster station to pick me up in a hire car and whisk me back to Goole so that I could surprise Tilly. She was so pleased to see me that I wasn’t allowed to stop stroking her until it was time for bed.
Sunday. What a horrible morning! We’d been hoping to move Oleanna today, the alarm had been set, but the sideways rain was so not conducive to seven hours or so out side to get her along the New Junction Canal. So instead Tilly got to come and go, using the hire car as shelter and we had a cooked breakfast. Hooray!
I actually needed a quiet day as I was really rather pooped. Mick headed off to buy some Puppy Training Pads whilst I did very very little. It was so nice to be back at home with my two favourites cosy in front of the stove.
Hello Martin and Wendy!
Yesterday Mick had discovered that the boat moored behind us was Martin and Wendy’s Lullabelle, we’d escaped Goole with them back in May. Lullabelle is part way through having a repaint, Martin had spotted Oleanna though. They have spent the summer months pootling about on the Ouse, up to Oxclose Lock which was closed and down to Naburn. They then headed back to Selby, had a trip round Trent Falls on Sea Maiden ( another Escapee) and Lullabelle was one of the first boats to get through Selby Swing Bridge when it was finally removed to be mended.
Monday. Time to pack things, the main one being Tilly. Our original plan had been to return to the house on Sunday, have a day for Tilly to settle down with me being around before I headed back to pantoland. But there had been a misunderstanding with one of our lodgers who’d decided that she was not leaving until today, she’d also said no to Mick dropping in to pick up Tilly’s Cat Caravan. Her show was moving on to Newcastle so she wanted to avoid any unnecessary contact, we respected that but were a touch miffed that she’d been confused at us wanting to return to the house on the Sunday when that is when she’d booked the house til!
I don’t see why I couldn’t have stayed here!
Anyhow, we packed the hire car. Fleur the Company Stage Manager in Scarborough had lent Tilly a Cat Caravan, which she wasn’t too pleased about. Also what was it with those Puppy Training Pads! I’m not a puppy and I certainly don’t need training! Our drive back to Scarborough involved two stops to refresh the puppy pads and after about half an hour Tilly seemed to be calming down a touch, maybe helped by the Pet Remedy, or just that she was getting more queasy. Poor poor Tilly! It was a relief for us all to reach the house.
Once Tilly had been cleaned up I didn’t bother restricting her to a room at a time, so we both checked round the house, Tilly more vocally than me! She definitely knew where she was, Yes, Scarboreugh! Our lodgers through the summer have ranged from being awarded 11 to 5 out of 10 for how they have left the house. A spare clean sheet for our bed would have been nice, but that was soon sorted.
Shoes from down the road has been making himself known to our lodgers and came peering in through the kitchen window only to find that Tilly had returned and that we would not be a push over.Stupid Cross Eyed Cat!
Having people live in your house means you get left with things, the garlic will get used, but I think we now have a touch too much malt vinegar! The rest of the day was spent doing washing, unpacking and making lists. Followed by fish and chips from Cappleman’s.
Sunny day
Tuesday morning and it was time for me to pack my bag again. Mick gave me a lift to the station, Scarborough was wonderful and sunny, such a shame to spend the day on a train. Mick headed back to Oleanna to pick up more things and check in with Martin and Wendy who would be keeping an eye on her for us for a few days.
My first train was to York where the River Ouse was in flood, right up to the level of the Museum Gardens, so no boats were moored there. I changed trains to a direct one to Banbury which followed parts of the canal network and rivers, the Soar looked really quite full. Back to Chippy on the 488 I stocked up with some food and went straight into the theatre.
The town square almost finished
Final preparations were taking place for publicity photos so we tweaked a few things whilst the Dame tweaked her padding. Lights were focused onto stage and then scenes were run for the photographer. Meanwhile I carried on painting behind the backdrop.
Final adjustments
During the afternoon news came through that one of the Pippins had tested positive on a lateral flow test today. The Pippins had all been in yesterday after school for a couple of hours rehearsing with the adult company. PCR tests were arranged for the company and anyone who’d been in close contact, it looks like I’d chosen a good day to have off!
Things getting nearer to being finished
Wednesday. The theatre was a touch quiet today with the majority of people having gone to Banbury for a test. The test centre where they had been booked into via the NHS had closed three weeks ago! Luckily their appointments were honoured at a drive through test centre not too far away. Doors and windows were kept open and everyone wore a mask all day long.
Socially distanced production meeting
More painting, nearly everything has a coat of paint on it now. Despite rehearsals going on on stage I can beaver away behind the backcloth quite happily. We had a production meeting at lunchtime. We collected in the bar and were joined by other members of the team via zoom. A laptop was pushed around the bar for people to give updates on their progress and bring up any problems. The main problem we have is that The Chipping Norton Theatre sweet chest, which has been in every panto that people can remember has gone missing! If you happen to know of it’s where abouts please let me know in confidence.
Thursday. Back in Scarborough we finally had scaffolders arrive. This is so that a roofer can sort out the roof where we have developed a roof garden which is letting a lot of water into the house and is possibly the reason the kitchen sockets have been tripping for the last few months.
That looks like a good climbing frame!
Mick added two containers worth of our solid deposits into the compost bin in the garden. The garden waste and our deposits from earlier in the year had almost totally composted down, this will be left until next year before it is used somewhere in our garden.
A pouch of plenty!
In Chippy rehearsals continued, the Pippins joined via zoom this evening, Dash (the Director) showing them where he wanted them to be in certain scenes. They also got to meet the Musical Director who joined us, Barney. Some singing was done over zoom too. It’s great that such things can happen keeping everyone involved with the show. By the end of the day everyone’s PCR results were in, only the one Pippin having tested positive, thankfully she hadn’t passed it on to anyone else. We all continue to do daily lateral flow tests.
Second coat of emulsion before the arty stuff goes on
I was called over by Dash for something important, he needed to give me plenty of chocolate to keep me going through the evening. Working for him is a touch like having a fulltime Dame in the room, and today I got most of the sweeties! A fresh coat of paint was added to the floor before we all left for the night.
First frost
Friday. Blimey it was chilly this morning, fitting for it being Bonfire night. Rehearsals continued, eleven out of twelve Pippins returning to the theatre.
I started putting finishing touches to several pieces of scenery and ended up the day drawing out the floor in paint in preparation for painting it over Saturday night into Sunday morning.
In Scarborough the roofer arrived and Mick got chance to see the roof where the problem was. The roofer wanted us to replace the slates with concrete tiles, but that wouldn’t be right for the house. He also wanted to redo the whole of the roof over that part of the house. Mick declined his kind offer, we just needed the roof to be good again and the rest of it seems to still be in good order. Thankfully the timber is just wet and not rotten. The chap will return next week to sort out gutters and reroute down pipes with the hope that the problem will not recur so that everything can dry out. We now need to find a plasterer to redo the kitchen wall, I’m not sure my dabble with plaster last winter makes me qualified enough for the job.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 windy, 2 wet, 2 nights on board, 1 cat transported to the house, 4 trains, 1 hire car, 0 clean sheets, 5 out of 10, 1 tart, 1 Tilly tree climbed, 3 bottles Sarsons, 1 positive, 2 known neighbours, 1 not too lonely Oleanna.
Our life jackets need a service. They were last done whilst we were in Liverpool and the big date that was put on the back of them reminds us every time we put them on that they should be checked before we head out onto the tidal Trent. We can check the date on the air canisters ourselves and give them a visual inspection, but in a service they are inflated and left for 24hrs to make sure they don’t have a leak. The time before last we had them done at Sawley Marina. We picked them up and then discovered that one of the air canisters that they had replaced would run out/or already had run out before their next check. So it all took longer than was expected.
Sawley could do them, but the chap who does them is on holiday, but they might be able to get them done at the weekend. We then tried Castle Marina in Nottingham. They would send them off to be done and it would take around a week. Before replacing any parts this was going to be cheaper and a better place to hang around for them to be done. So no diversion today up Sawley Lock.
A cooked breakfast and Tilly was allowed to go off and stretch her legs, there will be times coming up when she will not be allowed shore leave so she was told to make the most of it. However she decided to return long before her time was up and sit indoors instead Hmph! She’s not saying much as she’s a bit p’d off with us this evening.
With out of date life jackets on we timed our departure very well as a boat had just come up Zouch Lock therefore closing the bottom gates for us. Whilst we worked our way down the lock and along the next reach of river a Ryanair plane kept circling. We are close to East Midlands Airport here so planes are not that unusual. Mick checked Flight Radar 24 (he likes planes) and tracked the plane, it was circling and circling. They were doing circuits and bumps, practicing landing and taking off without stopping. Round and round they went, then they circled a bit further off for some scheduled planes to come in and land before carrying on. Just how many trainee pilots were on board this plane, was the instructor in one seat and each trainee taking it in turns to land and take off?
The approach to Kegworth Deep Lock has several weirs off to the side, the main weir channel going in front of a grand house. The lock was ready and waiting for us, winding the paddles up takes some doing due to the depth of water in the lock around 10ft 4 of it.
Here was my first view of the dreaded blue risers, there will be more of these along the Trent, I may have to operate the locks as it is out of season, so I may not have to touch any of them.
Kegworth Shallow Flood Lock was open for us to just cruise through. We’d hoped to be able to fill up with diesel at Kegworth Marine but a sign was out saying they were closed, so we’ll have to wait for either Nottingham or Newark.
Ratcliffe Power Station comes in and out of view constantly now, it was busy generating, all the cooling towers steaming away. Ratcliffe Lock our last on the Soar dropped us back down to join the river.
Here most boats are wide, the Dutch barges look wonderful with their elegant curves next to the less pleasing shapes of the others.
Through the last flood lock which is wonderfully framed by it’s bridge.
We were soon at Trent Junction avoiding the weir to our right and now pushing against the water flowing down the Trent. Left left left! There are so many ways you could go here, down the weir, Cranfleet Cut towards Nottingham, up onto the Erewash or left up the Trent to Sawley then the Trent and Mersey Canal, this route to the north is closed with winter stoppages.
Soon we could see that there was space on the pontoon, two boats were moored on the inside, but nobody on the better side for views. Already facing upstream we pulled in, tied up and settled down for the day. Tilly wasn’t too happy, Harumph!!! as she wasn’t allowed out. Being on a river on a pontoon constitutes in our eyes too greater risk for a cat . Our nearest neighbour also has dogs, so an added factor in our decision.
With no feline shore leave on the cards we decided to take advantage of the situation. B***stards!! Tilly’s collar was removed, a box reached from the top of the bathroom shelves, foil packet removed the tube from inside twisted, Tilly caught and put on the table. F**ing B***dy B**stards!!!! The first drop of flee stuff goes on relatively easily, but then the alcohol chill factor hits her neck and it is so hard to keep hold of her. Chilling b**stard wetness on my neck! Just where it’s impossible to get at!!!!B**stards!!!! Avoidance tactics and a chase around the boat to grab hold of her, clamp her down, part her fur and administer the rest of the liquid. B………………………………………………..s!!!!!
After an hour of squatting in a corner and sulking Tilly then managed to assume various sulky poses around the boat for the rest of the evening.
3 locks, 2 flood locks straight through, 6.08 miles, 1 left, 1 left left left, 1 river down, 1.5 sausages, 3 left for sausage rolls, 2 out of date jackets, 8 circuits, 0 diesel, 8 cooling towers, 1 favourite mooring, 1st Look North in ages, 2 drops, 1 seething sulking soggy necked swearing second mate, 2 complete and utter B*STARDS!!! 1 cat protected from flees for another 3 months.
A lie in and a long look at the Saturday newspaper before we pushed off this morning.
Last night a boat had come up Barrow Deep Lock ahead of us, so it was all set for us this morning. This lock leads you down onto a stretch of the river and above there is a set of traffic lights that let you know if it is safe to proceed. Today the lights weren’t working and I couldn’t see a colour river levels board, have to admit I didn’t look too hard as all the boards we came past yesterday were very much in the green and it hadn’t rained that much yesterday. Another sign along side the lock inferred that the navigation was open, so we dropped down. and carried on our way northwards.
Along this stretch is a weir with a radial gate that is used to manage flood waters. Big new signs are everywhere instructing you to stay left away from the weir. Between October and March Pillings Flood Lock (named after William Pillings the Lock Keeper for at least 45 years) is kept closed.
A red paddle at either end of the lock is meant to be left up to help maintain the level on the cut into Loughborough, similar to those at Beeston Lock on the River Trent. The level in the cut today was a few inches lower than the river, so paddles had to be wound up and down at both ends to get us through and then the red ones left up as we exited. There are more signs on the approach from Loughborough which say not to proceed if the red light is flashing. We looked for the light, but it was nowhere to be seen, maybe it’s not been installed yet.
The next three miles of cut skirts it’s way round the eastern side of Loughborough. New housing is going up along the canal by bridge 35 where a scrap yard used to be. Being a more unban area there were more boats on the move today, three in quick succession. NB Marmite (a familiar boat from the Grand Union near Yardley Gobion) was tied up outside The Boat Inn, a sign above the water point here saying it was not in use, good job we didn’t want to top up today.
We reached the Loughborough Branch Junction, sounded the horn and turned to the north. The forecast had been for stronger winds than yesterday and as we made the turn we suddenly knew about it. We’d turned straight into a head wind, elsewhere we’d been sheltered today, but now there was no avoiding it.
The Lock Cottage at Bishop Meadows Lock is for sale. It has always stood out sitting at the end of a lane past a line of moored boats, views across the canal and fields towards the railway. The owners have a telephone box and a red Post Box in their garden which is filled with other interesting bits and bobs. ‘Situated upon the canal banks of Loughborough this outstanding character property offers the benefits of easy access to local amenities but also the feeling of a rural lifestyle.’ We wonder if this is referring to the local sewage works being both local amenities and having a rural aroma!
Down the lock and the river soon joins again, passing by all the wooden houses on stilts at Normanton on Soar with it’s lovely church. Here the river floods, there are more warning lights (these exist), when they flash you need to moor up against emergency dolphins in the channel, certainly heading down stream you wouldn’t want to continue as the weir would have far too much pull. Luckily today we had no need for them we just had to battle against the strong wind that was building. The pram cover needed weighing down on the roof and the river was decidedly choppy, our progress being made in a diagonal fashion.
Under Zouch Road Bridge and through the flood gates we were on a cut again. Once past the houses there was little shelter from the wind. Here was where we’ planned to moor, the wind made this a touch troublesome as it appeared to have changed direction. So instead of it assisting us by pushing us in, it was doing it’s best to get us to the other side. Luckily there are bollards so mooring was a lot easier than it could have been.
Why do they insist on coming here when it’s a weekend? Far too many walkers, even more woofers! Just a pounce away there are big holes that need investigating, they are big enough to get inside, but those bloomin woofers just kept coming! She said I had to make the most of it here, so I tried my best despite the conditions.
3 locks, 1 flood lock, 6.91 miles, 0 red lights, 1 love it or hate it boat, 0 view of the canal, 1 right, 2 boaters with tears in their eyes, 2 windy, £350k (phone box and post box included?), 2 directional wind, 6 holes, 3 bunnies, 0 Roger still, 1 Sunday roast about to go in the oven, 93rd and 94th panto performance the last for this year.
Pitter patter on the roof as we woke this morning, that wasn’t meant to happen today! Not here, maybe in Scotland, but not here!
A few things to do before setting off today and not just getting a newspaper. The anchor needed attaching to it’s chain and rope and then to the boat. We’ll be doing more stretches of river now so it should be ready for deployment should the need arise. Mick did all the necessary, then I moved things around in the cratch so that I had enough space to be able to stand and open the front doors. The weed hatch was opened and the prop checked for any plastic we might have picked up on our way through Leicester. To Mick’s amazement there was only a tiny amount, hardly worth bothering with, considering the amount of rubbish and urban jelly fish we’ve seen over the last couple of days.
We pushed off to pull in just the other side of the bridge to fill with water. Boy the tap was slow! A collection of full plastic bags, which has to be boaters rubbish, surrounded the tap. There are no bins here, so why have lazy people just left it. Who will clear it up? Maybe another boater or someone from the pub, or will it just become a health hazard. Yes we could have picked it up to put in the next bin, but it would have to sit on the roof until such a time and with strong winds forecast it would most probably get blown into the river.
There was a touch of drizzle in the air, so waterproofs were needed they’d also help keep the wind out.
We are definitely now on the river, it meanders round some quite tight bends. Plenty of weed growing where we’ve seen waterlilies before. Other rivers join in and weirs help to keep the levels for navigation whilst letting the excess water flow over them.
Four locks today one of which we moored at three years ago as the river rose around us very quickly and then slowly subsided after a downpour. Looking back at Oleanna today I reckon the water got halfway up the wall that night.
There were plenty of people out walking along the river bank, one chap with his dog kept overtaking us at locks. At Mountsorrel Lock he had stopped for a pint and watched as I started to fill the chamber for us. A Grandad and Granddaughter came out to see if they could lend a hand, which of course they could. Mick brought Oleanna out of the lock as the rain started again, the chap said they’d close the gate for us so I could climb back on board. There is a bridge just after the lock, so to get back on board you have to cross over a road on a bend with the humpbacked bridge. Back on board we looked behind us and both gates were wide open, the chap just disappearing back into the pub. Nothing for it but to walk back and close them.
The gravel conveyor bridge is still one of my favourites and always requires a photo or two to be taken. This is shortly followed by the small basin surrounded by dutch style gabble houses. I say style as they look more like a lego attempt to recreate Amsterdam which has forgotten to add a floor or two to the houses.
This morning there was around eight hours of cruising on the Soar left to get us to Trent Lock, we decided to chop it into three as we’d had a later start today. So we reached Barrow-upon-Soar at around 3pm. The visitor mooring by the weir was free, but I didn’t like the idea of Tilly roaming around fast moving water, so we carried on into the lock cut. Three jolly fishermen filled up the space left on the winter moorings, so we carried on and pulled up on the first of many bollards before the lock.
Lots to play with here, including a very bright blue birdie. I was told I had to leave it alone, no choice really as it was far far too quick for me to catch….not that I tried!
The forecast last night hadn’t mentioned any rain, so we’ve had a look at the Met Office radar for today. Scotland had rain, that was expected. Then just about exactly where we are is the only other place in the country! We have slack ropes and the tyre fenders are out to keep us away from the overhanging edge should the river rise which we doubt.
4 locks, 6.22 miles, 1 soggy morning, 1 newspaper, 1 anchor ready, 1 cleared weed hatch, 1 clean pooh box, 1 blowy day, 2 not quite so helpful gongoozlers, A6, 1 man and his dog and pint.
Yesterday we couldn’t sum up the effort to walk over the river to go to Tescos for a top up shop, so we went this morning. Mostly fresh veg and fruit was needed along with a few other bits and bobs so that we can keep the freezer full in case we get stuck somewhere.
With the shopping stowed we pushed off, winding managing to avoid the numerous swans that loiter for white sliced. The pontoon at Friars Mill could well have been noisier than Castle Gardens this morning as work is still on going with new buildings going up right along the river bank, we just had to contend with drunkards last night.
The frog graffiti is still on the walls as you round the bend to avoid the weir before Frog Island. When we passed through April before last there was a mass of very good graffiti along all the walls leading to North Lock. Most of these have now been covered with smart elaborate tags, very colourful, but I preferred the old Indian chap with turban and huge white moustache.
A cartoony old man with round glasses (Boaster) and a young lady looking on disapprovingly (Joto Foto) sing out from all the tags.
On social media we’d heard rumours that another pontoon had been installed in Leicester. As we approached Limekiln Lock the end dolphin showed itself. A long pontoon stretches down into the arm which once seemed full of rubbish. A Leicester College building stands to one side at the end of the arm along with a modern carpark. We couldn’t see any mooring signs suggesting how long you can moor there for and without going to have a look we couldn’t see if they were secure. Maybe they are for visitors or permanent moorers, we’ll be interested to find out as stopping here would mean we’d be nearer to the National Space Centre and the Abbey Pumping Station Museum that we’d like to visit someday.
New buildings are going up around Wolsey Island, modern houses and a very large block of apartments are progressing well. This side of the city is certainly having some money spent on it. Maybe this will mean there is less rubbish in the river in years to come!
Belgrave Lock looked like the lumberjacks had been around. Large branches needed to be encouraged to move out of the way of the gates and a large log prohibited me from being able to open one of the gates. There have been a lot of trees and logs floating about. In locks like this it’s hard to get them out as the sides are so high, so we had to leave them for someone else.
At Loughborough Road Bridge there is a new culvert this will be used to help flood water flow past the bridge and the surrounding land has been lowered to give more storage for water. Running through the culvert is a new cycle path leading out of the city.
Birstall Lock bottom gates were exceptionally heavy today. I normally can bump gates to get them to close, but this one was obstinate. I got it to move a couple of feet, then would it shift, would it heck as like. Mick was just about to come and help when I managed to commandeer a chap who was planning on walking straight by with his girlfriend. It was still very heavy with two of us but we got it to move in the end.
Thurmaston Lock was our last for the day and we made our way along the straight towards the Hope and Anchor stopping short of the bridge to give Tilly a better mooring. Today is the first time we’ve done this stretch without it snowing. Usually there have been clouds of fairies or blossom wafting through the air, but today unless it snows overnight it is decidedly brown.
Trees, plenty of friendly cover to keep me busy and a later curfew time today. I wonder if this is a bit like a curlew but is rarer, it certainly feels that way to me. This outside has a handy fence for me to stand on above the friendly cover, giving me a better vantage point and greater pouncability. Just a shame there are lots of people on bikes and woofers, but they didn’t seem to see me up on the fence.
I thought I should mention that there will be a couple of Myth Busting Workshops on Composting Toilets next month in the London area, similar to the one we went to in Banbury. If anyone is interested click the link (Link) which will take you to the Eventbrite website where you can reserve yourself a place, the workshops are free.
The alarm goes off earlier each morning and each morning it is darker outside. Today we had quite a bit of cruising to do. According to Waterway Routes and Canal Plan it would take us 5.5 hours to reach the centre of Leicester, no need to arrive in plenty of time for shore leave as Tilly wouldn’t be allowed out anyway, but we still needed to get a move on.
Kilby Bridge we pulled in to top up with water and dispose of rubbish, it didn’t take long before we could push off again.
Every canal lock would be set against us today, but we did manage to have some help at some. As I was setting Double Rail Lock, three frisky horses charged across the fields to come and gongoozle. They were very lively and although not afraid of horses I was cautious due to being next to a 7ft 7” drop (the off side of the lock is the field). They seemed to have lost interest until I crossed back over the gates to lift a paddle, a head rub was all I had to give them, no spare carrots or apples, but they seemed happy with that and moved away.
Below Ervin’s Lock the level was low, down by about two foot. I decided to risk getting back on board and hoped that there would be enough depth at the next lock to get off. It was a slow pootle but we managed it, no need to call C&RT out.
People have been doing a lot of work to their gardens along this stretch. Lots of fancy garden rooms, bars, seating areas, we don’t remember them from two years ago. The next pound looked fine so we hoped the levels would be okay until we reached the river sections.
Dunn’s Lock came into view, there was a figure leaning against a beam and paddles were lifted, at both ends of the lock. Either someone was maliciously emptying the canal responsibly ( the gates were closed) or there were problems below with depth. The chap had a C&RT beanie hat on and said that they had a couple of boats stuck lower down so he was sending water to them. He thought they were almost there, another five minutes and he’d give them a call. We tied up and waited. I started to heat up some soup I’d made last night for us to have on the go when Mick said the lock was being filled for us. The chap walked down to the next lock to set it for us and we were on our way again.
On our way to Gee’s Lock I managed to get the soup up to a suitable temperature and into our insulated mugs, today we’d have to keep moving if we had a chance of reach Leicester in the light, no lunch break. The lock came into view and this was where we met the first of the boats that had been stuck. A C&RT tug and hopper boat were tied up above the lock, blocking the entrance and below a C&RT crane boat was doing it’s best to leave the lock. We helped close gates and fill the lock whilst chatting to the chap driving the tug. The lack of dredging along this section and the very low reserves in the reservoirs make it almost impossible for them to manoeuvre their work boats. The weight of the crane boat means that it is just ploughing it’s way along the bottom and any weight added to the hoppers means they drag too. They had spent all morning doing only two locks and using up a lot of water in the process.
With the tug and hopper out of the way we made our own way down the lock and followed to Blue Banks Lock. Here the tug had been left in gear just through a bridge and two chaps had just about finished filling the lock, they waved us to pass. The force from the tugs prop sent us all over the shop, it took a lot to keep Oleanna from avoiding hitting the bridge, then avoiding the offside vegetation, then to straighten up and not hit the hopper side on. By the time we were back under control the gates were being opened for us. They worked us through and warned us that we’d be meeting the crane boat soon, it was likely to get stuck at Soar Valley Way Bridges.
You could tell the bottom of the canal was being dragged, all the rotting leaves were surfacing and the water had turned almost black. We soon caught up with the crane and went into neutral. He saw us and suggested that we should pass on the off side. We looked, the vegetation team certainly hadn’t been along this stretch and we certainly were not going to drag Oleanna through the trees. So we carried on following very very s l o w e l y….. The bridge wasn’t a problem and maybe that is where we should have passed. A short distance on the crane got stuck, try and try again, reverse, try again, reverse again until he got moving.
The next wider section he managed to pull in towards the offside leaving enough room for us to pass. We offered him a tow but he declined!
Kings Lock. The Lock cottage has just recently had a new coat of paint, well all of it except the chimney stacks. A chap was replacing the fence along the front. Ade and Lou who built the set for Aladdin saved this cottage some 40 years ago when a fire had almost destroyed it. They put in an Elm fence and Ade’s youngest brother was forced up onto the roof with no scaffold or any form of safety to paint the chimney stacks (most probably the last time they were done).
We were now in front of the slow work boats and could up our speed. Once down Kings Lock we were joined by the River Soar enabling us to go a little bit quicker with more water underneath us. The next two locks were sat waiting, top gates open. The gasometer before St Mary’s Mill Lock has vanished. I used to be fixated with it’s staircases to nowhere, but now they are nowhere to be seen just hardcore where it once stood.
Freeman’s Meadow Lock needed filling which meant I got to stop the water going over the large weir for a few minutes. Then it was straight on into the centre of Leicester.
Castle Gardens moorings had a couple of boats on the pontoon, but we carried on under West Bridge to see if there would be space on the new pontoon at Friars Mill. Sadly there were three boats already moored here. If a touch more thought had been put into how they’d tied up then we’d possibly have fitted on the end, but the dolphins being on the outside doesn’t help with nudging up to each other. We winded and made our way back to Castle Gardens. Here we pulled back towards the other boats to be away from the footbridge and the amount of duck poo on the pontoon, all tied up just before sunset.
