Blank canvas in a morgue! It’s only an old film set.
Monday morning, Mick helped me with all my painting kit to the unit where I’d be working this week. We’d moored close to the Tramway, so it was only a short walk round to Power Park where I was met by Suzette and John from the theatre. I’d warned them in advance that I was still testing positive, I wore a mask and kept my distance as the set pieces were brought in for me to work on.
Based in and drying
A covid filled brain didn’t help with the laying out of everything, but thankfully we managed to get half the portal flats laid out on tables, all facing the same direction, so hopefully I knew what was what and it would get painted correctly.
This is the third time these portals have been used by me, the markings on the back suggests they’ve been in at least another two or three productions. However this year they have had a make over and been recanvased with a nice fresh coat of white emulsion ready for me. Today’s aim was to get the basics marked out and base colours added so that it could dry overnight. I also joined a zoom production meeting for a short time to chat set and props, then excused myself.
Tuesday. Today NB Dusty would come past Oleanna, bags of coal, a new gas bottle and a top up of diesel had been ordered from them, but their arrival time could be anytime.
Starting to mark things out
In panto land I drew out the designs on the three pieces of portal I’d based in, the stencils I’d cut out in Marlow proved very useful indeed and made the marking out very quick. Mick took time off waiting for Dusty to come and help me rearrange the flats as on Wednesday I’d be joined for a couple of days by Elise. I wanted to get enough flats based in and drawn up so that the two of us wouldn’t end up working on the same piece, helping to keep our distance as I was still testing positive.
Rats and cats
The first few repeats on a border had the black painted in. Each one taking about 20 minutes. To paint both headers just in the black would take a good seven hours!
NB Dusty arrived, Jock and Katy were both well and very jolly as usual. Mick had a good catch up with them at a distance, our paths haven’t crossed for a few years due to the pandemic. They will be doing one more run before Oleanna needs to be north of their patch for the winter stoppages, so Mick should be able to stock up again before heading over the summit of the Oxford Canal.
Elise making a start
Wednesday I was in early, drawing out the design before Elise arrived at 9am. I had just about finished when she arrived. A cuppa each and a chat before I set her going. Elise comes from a TV and film background and has only in the last couple of years swapped careers from researcher/assistant producer amongst other things to work in art direction.
Lining in
It takes a while to gain confidence painting in intricate designs. I’ve been doing similar things for decades but today was Elise’s first time. The first section took her a while, the second was quicker, the third quicker still. I continued with the border, and by the end of the day this was completed and the second border based in ready for Thursday. It had been really nice having someone around to make cuppas and to chat to.
Elise cracking on
In the afternoon samples arrived of the cloths. These basically are giant colour photocopies taken from my model that are printed onto scenic cloth. As I thought the front cloth was a touch too dark, loosing some of it’s luminosity. Adjustments could be made before the big PRINT button would be pressed.
Mick during the day had headed to the service point to fill with water whilst the washing machine was in use. He managed to coincide with other boats using the lock so had assistance through it and at the lift bridge. Tilly had been patient for a couple of days so a mooring by Spiceball Park was required to give her some much needed shore leave. Unfortunately Mick had chosen a space opposite Fine Lady Bakeries, we couldn’t remember if the noise there would continue all night, it did! A new mooring would be needed.
Cats
Thursday. More of the same for me and Elise, painting black and keeping inside the lines. Elise today was storming ahead and by the time she had to head off to London for the evening there were only a couple of bits left to finish off on her second flat. The second border was finished too. A good days work. Only two more flats to be blacked in.
It still being October the time limits on visitor moorings haven’t as yet changed to 14 days. So Oleanna needs to keep moving to stay within the rules. We hoped that nudging up along the towpath by 100 yards would count as a move, after all we’ve cruised just about 1100 miles this year with a couple of hundred more to go. Thankfully the noise from the bakery was much less and we managed a much better nights sleep.
Leak!
Friday morning I was on my own again. Two flats to black and a pod cast to listen to. Elise joined me for a couple of hours and put the finishing touches to the borders. On Thursday it had started to rain which had necessitated the moving of flats to avoid drips. Today a drip had started in the toilet above where we were working, slightly disconcerting getting dripped on when having a wee! By the afternoon this drip had managed to work it’s way through the floor and was dripping onto a finished flat! We moved things around very very quickly. That evening on Oleanna we celebrated with a glass of wine, we were both feeling better and I had my first negative test result for covid.
Saturday we had a lie in before Mick came to help me move flats about. There was red to add and a few bits to touch up on the portals. After a couple of hours the weeks mission was accomplished. There were also a couple of sliders that I started to give some attention to for the Piccadilly Circus scene. Sadly as I started to apply a wash of colour to them it became obvious that the base colour was lifting and mixing in. Not good, but fixable when they eventually dry. So it was time to pack everything up.
Meanwhile Mick headed to the arm just north of Banbury to wind, he then returned into town and pulled up just before the new glazed footbridge in the new development. Returning to the boat in day light whilst working on Panto is a rarity. Mick has been doing a very good job of feeding me this week, but his repertoire had just about runout. Having a Pizza Express opposite meant we could treat ourselves to a take away.
We then settled down to watch the latest Alan Ayckbourn play, ‘Family Album’, that is available to watch ‘At Home’ from the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. During the summer two of the actors had been staying in our house and we’d not had chance to get to see the show. A very good play that tenderly skips between three generations of the same family in one house, and the changing roles of women over the last 70 years. Well worth the ticket price whilst it’s available on line.
Bumbury!
Sunday we woke to torrential rain. We were due to help load the van at 9:15 to get the portals back to Chippy so that they could be erected on stage this afternoon. The pick up was postponed hoping that the rain would subside and not damage the paintwork. I picked up some dust sheets on route and thankfully the rain was subsiding, by the time John arrived with the van it had stopped raining. Two trips to Chippy and the set was delivered. Tomorrow the rest of the set will arrive with the builders from Plymouth, the actors, the rest of the creatives and staff from the theatre will join together for the readthrough.
Bricks
Mick, Tilly and Oleanna will move out of town tomorrow to find somewhere that is safe for Tilly to have some shore leave.
Can we got somewhere better!
Why the subtitle of The Chocolate Orange Test? Well over the last ten days or so we’ve been having a segment as pudding after our evening meal. At first we could taste it, then as covid morphed itself we both lost our sense of taste and we could only enjoy the texture of the chocolate. After another two days the orange flavour started to return. Last night we both had full flavour back. Maybe this is a more enjoyable way to test for covid than sticking swabs up your nose!
1 lock, 1.55miles, 1 wind, 1 gas bottle, 5 bags coal, 67 litres diesel, 2 borders, 4 legs, 2 sliders, 2 days assistance, 1 chocolate orange, 1 Waiouru passing, 1 cat reminded about bringing friends home! 2 pizzas, 2 boaters negative and on the mend.
King’s Sutton Lock to Opposite the Old Foundry, Banbury
Ah tea!
TEA in bed this morning, not Lemsip! Wonderful, if only I could actually have tasted it! It was accompanied by two paracetamol. Our drugs cupboard has sat just about unused for the last three years, looking in it for the next box of pills today it’s starting to look a bit depleted. Maybe sometime soon we’ll be able to go shopping again to restock.
Goodbye
All Mick’s siblings were present this morning for the zoom. Subjects included needy tomatoes in Scotland, Robins in Surrey and Eddie Reader. Whilst we were on line the two hire boats we’d been in line with yesterday came past starting their return to base, I wonder if the lady who was trying to keep her distance had lasted the night or jumped on a train back to Oxford?
Paddle boarders using the bridge hole to get on their boards
The final push to Banbury today, the sun was out, blue skies and deer jumping around in the field opposite our mooring. We pushed off and pootled our way passing several familiar boats, over the last few years we’ve spent a bit of time in these parts and you get to recognise the local boats.
Plenty of lift bridges passed under on our way to Grant’s Lock.
Here the burnt out Lock Cottage has been cleared of all the debris and charred remains. It was sold last year, hopefully the new owner will start work on it soon. With the sun out reflecting off the brickwork the interior glowed looking all cosy and warm.
On the Banbury level
Now we took note of possible moorings for the next few days. New lengths of armco look inviting and the new housing estate looks to be just about finished on the outskirts of town. However a long stretch of the towpath is still having works done to it, so it is very narrow at the moment. We’ll have to choose our moorings with giraffe legs and the towpath in mind.
Outskirts of town
We hoped for a space at Tramway but the last space had been taken by a hire boat. We asked if they planned on staying the night, but it was only a half hour stop for them. Maybe we’d come back if there was nowhere else. Pulling in just before the bridge I then walked round the corner and spotted a big gap opposite the old foundry, we moved along and settled in.
Towpath works
Last year we’d wondered if the foundry site would end up being redeveloped for housing, but it seems as though a car body shop or garage has taken it over. Here will do us for tonight.
Much of the afternoon was spent trying to put together a Click and Collect order with Morrisons which is just across the way here. But for some reason none of our cards would be accepted on the website. The government guidance to keep away from people for five days is almost up for both of us, so Mick will do a shop tomorrow.
Time to dig out things for work. The back steps needed removing to access where I keep my paint brush bag, drawing implements were rounded up, pencils sharpened and popped in the Bourbon tin.
Tomorrow I start work painting panto in Banbury. Tomorrow we’ll see how I get on. Tomorrow I needn’t do a lateral flow test. Tomorrow I will be doing a test. Tomorrow I’ll be wearing a mask a LOT until I’m on my own again. Tomorrow the blog will go onto Panto Postcard mode for the next few weeks. Mick and Tilly will be holding the fort, moving Oleanna as needed. There are winter closures coming up that we’ll need to be through, so he’ll be single handing up to the summit and I’ll be doing my best to get home at weekends, at least this first week I’ll be able to walk to work from the boat.
1 lock, 2.01 miles, 5 minute walk to work, 2 many bags of stuff, 1 bored cat, 1 noisy garage on a Sunday, 1 boater changing hats, 2 boaters who can’t smell Banbury, having covid at least has one advantage!
Today was to be a day in Oxford, making use of being in a city we know. A visit to the fish market, Whittards to stock up on tea amongst other things. But first we had time for a breakfast.
Yum!
Yesterday I’d started to get a bit of a sore throat and in the evening I did a lateral flow test, negative. Today the soar throat was accompanied by a headache. After breakfast I decided to take another test. There on the indicator below the big control line was a faint line. Mick checked it too, only just visible but it was there. I wouldn’t be going out shopping!
This afternoon we’d planned on dropping back down Isis Lock so that in the morning we could get a supermarket delivery whilst I headed to Chippy to sort through things I’d be needing next week when I start painting the set.
Autumn
I cancelled my trip to Chippy, I may have to have a hand held zoom later in the week so that I get sent what I need. The covid policy at the theatre is that you can return to work 5 days after testing positive unless you still have symptoms. Here’s hoping I’m better next Monday!
Not enough room to wind above the lock
What to do? We could stay put, but that wouldn’t get the boat to Banbury where it needs to be for work. So we decided to carry on with our plan and hope that between the two of us we can manage to get to Banbury without coming into contact with anyone.
Going down
Mick reversed Oleanna back to the lock, he’d already been stopped by a lovely Canadian chap called Greg. I worked the lock taking great care to leave as much room between myself and Greg as possible, it may have seemed a touch rude backing away.
Then once down the lock we winded , returned down Sheepcote Wash, turned left back onto the Thames and pootled down the river to East Street. Winded again and pulled into a space. The demolition works at the Power Station were quite noisy so we nudged round to be in front of the façade that is being kept. Here we can get a delivery, then hopefully we’ll start to make our way up towards Banbury, doing our best to avoid people. I’ll have a mask in my back pocket to try to deter people and hand sanitizer before I touch anything. Here’s hoping it remains just a bad cold and that Mick doesn’t come down with it.
Covid view Day 1
Where might I have picked it up? Well almost certainly not from the lock keepers yesterday. Saturdays visit to the pub also seems a bit too close, but maybe my steak came with added covid! I think I’m most likely to have picked it up in Reading when I went on a hunt for shopping.
What will be, will be and only time will tell how we both do living in a confined space together.
1 lock, 0.54 miles, 2 winds, 1 left, 1 big delivery, 2 packets paracetamol, 2 boxes tissues, 1 big bottle of cough medicine, 0 shore leave for Tilly, 1 faint line, thank goodness it was this week not next!
Ashline Visitor mooring to Peterborough Embankment, River Nene
Pulling back
Alarm set for early o’clock, breakfasted and ready to push off before 8am. NB Per Angusta were ready too, as we were booked to go through Stanground Lock first they backed away and let us lead the way.
Soon we were at the sharp bend by Briggate Bridge. Coming the other way this had been really easy, but today with the increased flow it proved quite a challenge.
It may look like a handbrake turn
Mick swung the stern over to start to turn the 90 degrees. Across the bend Oleanna ground to a halt, silt below was stopping our progress right on the bend. We would need a run up, thankfully NB Per Angusta wasn’t too close behind. We managed to back off a distance and then went for it. Oleanna rose up, listed, the engine given more wellie to counter act the strong flow and try to ride over the silt. She worked hard and gradually worked her way free and around the bend. As we pulled away I kept an eye on the boat behind, the dazzling sun inhibiting the view.
It looked like they had a similar problem, getting so far and then having to back off again to give it another go, we hoped they got round as the bend soon vanished behind us.
A flash of blue, then another. We had an escort, two Kingfishers guiding us across the last few miles of the Middle Level. The pair darted ahead as soon as we got close, resting up to make sure we caught up again before they headed onwards. Then when we reached the end of their territory the braver of the pair sat and watched us go past before dashing back to find their mate.
A field of sunflowers all in bloom, cranes ready to move cranes, the brick chimneys and the aroma of chips, we were getting closer to Stanground. We were early.
We pulled in on the lock landing. Tilly checked the notices, no mention of cats, but woofers were certainly not welcome here. It looked good, could we tie it up for the rest of the day? The answer was no as Tina the Lock Keeper arrived ready to lock us through.
Tina ready for us, Alley Cat keeping an eye on our bow
The bottom lock gates were open, the top sluices/slackers/paddles open too producing the flow we’d been pushing against for the last couple of days. Tina walked up to the top gates, closed the slackers then came and waved us in requesting we passed her the centre line on the off side.
Oleanna was tied to a bollard, Mick told to put her in forwards gear and just to keep her there whilst the lock filled. A slacker was raised the level started to rise along with Oleanna. With just a couple of inches to go Tina released the rope. She warned us of a big build up of weed above the top gates, best course of action would be to power on through it, the wind last night had nudged most of it towards the electric sluice but there was still a big patch for us to push through.
Peterborough here we come
We thanked Tina, the gates opened, a distant view of Peterborough Cathedral just visible with a rainbow flag flying high. Time to leave the Middle Level for the River Nene. Yes there was a lot of duck weed, but we’ve been through worse at Selby. We were soon clear of the slightly browning weed, the first of the boats coming the other way just arriving, ready to go straight into the lock.
We passed another couple of boats, one NB Petroc. I knew I knew the name, bloggers, well the previous owners were bloggers.
Left please
With need of some shopping we turned left at the junction, pulling in soon where there was a gap before the services. Here it was obvious the level was up, the bottom step covered with an inch of water, but the mooring rings and bollards were still reachable. Mick did the gentlemanly thing and stepped off the back and paddled to pass our ropes through rings and we were soon moored up.
A touch of paddling required
We’d made it to the Embankment before 10am, got ourselves sorted and were in time to join the end of the Saturday morning Geraghty zoom. Then it was time to make shopping lists, Mick would head off to stock up on food whilst I got on with work.
Tilly was given the afternoon for shore leave. Although we got quite loud protests at our mooring skills. They really are a worry leaving a good chunk of watery outside between Oleanna and the proper outside! I had words then did my calculations and leapt to dry land.
Pah!
Tilly jumped a good 10- 12 ft to the second dry step. The chap on the boat behind put his dog on a lead, owner and woofer watching Tilly’s every move and listening to her complaints. They tied this outside up before, it was rubbish then. Now it’s even more rubbish as it was so far away and a cat should not have to get wet paws, after all I’m told not to fall in! Well at least the trees have got more than a comb over now.Only one thing for it, more cat napping in my escape pod today.
Don’t know why I went to all that effort, it’s rubbish round here!
Mick headed back into town to pick up a few items for me, just in case things as I doubt there will be many suitable shops along the River Nene for model making supplies. He returned with black card and some silver gift tags, the later will be useful to suggest fairy lights.
During the afternoon I heard back from Abi regarding Petiti, the troublesome scene. One of the versions I’d sent to her yesterday had been based on my original idea and this is the one that came out on top! It still needs a bit more work, but it is the direction we will now be heading in. If only we’d stuck to it in the first place I’d have saved a lot of time, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.
One scene down, too many to go
Todays aim was to get Piccadilly Circus painted, by 7pm I’d achieved my goal, well apart from painting a locksmiths barrow. In previous years when painting the sets I’ve managed to draw the scenery out by hand. This year I will be seeking the assistance of a projector, overhead or digital, which will speed the drawing process up no end.
1 lock, 5.19 miles, 1 lumpy bend, 1 engine at full tilt, 2 Kingfishers, 1st through, 1 keeper cat, 1 left, 1 inch above, 9 inches higher than last time, 28 shaggy trees, 4-0, 1 pride city, 1 disappointed cat, 1st solution approved, 1 designers assistant, 1st scene painted.
Not being able to return the hire car on a Sunday we made use of it to visit Oleanna. The small car was packed full with things that we don’t need on land anymore. This consisted mostly of my work things, model making boxes, card supplies, scene painting brushes and my sewing machine.
Which to take and which to leave behind?
All the snow from Saturday had melted overnight, the trip over the Wolds was still quite wet and blustery. The amount of rain that has fallen over the last few days meant that the ground around the marina was very squelchy.
Back on her mooring
During the week Mick had noticed that Oleanna had been plugged back into the electric, so she should be back on her new pontoon. There she was tucked in with a new neighbour, or maybe our new neighbour was there whilst their pontoon gets renewed.
The car remained full of stuff, only our pack up lunch came in doors straight away. First job was to get the heating on and the stove lit. Both were soon kicking out heat.
First job
As we came in I’d opened some of the curtains, these felt stiff on their rods. The front door is slightly swollen and needs a confident tug to open or close it. Then I noticed whilst sitting on the sofa that it felt damp. A look around the interior of Oleanna confirmed that she was really quite damp all round.
Where we’d brushed the cupboards coming in you could see where dampness had been wiped off! Oh blimey! Was this down to not enough ventilation? Sudden temperature changes with the storms? We leave the electric heating to come on when the temperature drops, had being unplugged for a week been the probelm? What she needed was warmth and a good airing.
Oh blimey! That’s meant to be a mirror
With a layer of moisture on every surface I made use of it to give the painted walls and ceiling a good wipe down. This was on the list of jobs to do today as we were here to give her a good clean. The mushroom vent grills also got a clean along with the light fittings in the ceiling.
Outside the weather deteriorated. Major wind and torrential rain battered away outside meaning Oleanna would only get extra ventilation with having the front and back doors open but with all the covers closed. Gradually things started to dry out. The rain also meant Mick wouldn’t be changing the oil, a job now most probably put off until we move back on board.
Lunch by the closed hatch again
Lunch by the closed hatch again, but with the stove lit which was nice. The fire burned away, keeping us warm but also helping to cure the coat of stove paint I’d applied on our last visit. This can give off fumes, so having the front and back doors open helped dissipate the smell.
Storage under the dinette was sorted through and tidied. The bathroom had a jolly good clean. Mick clean the work tops in the galley and then set to work on the metal blind behind the cooker. Grease and dust had taken hold so this was quite a labour of love, sadly our blind dusting tool couldn’t cope with it all and two of it’s three prongs detached themselves from the handle.
Maybe this is a job that needs doing more frequently
Various items that hadn’t been used last year were piled up to be returned to the house. The book shelves now half empty meaning there would be space for our lateral flow test boxes (whilst we still have them!).
All the damp traps in the bedroom cupboards were emptied of water and refilled with crystals. The other items that seem to collect moisture are bottles, both plastic and glass. They were wiped down and left in the shower tray where any new condensation moisture could do little harm.
Plenty of ventilation under the bed
Time was getting on, there was still more we wanted to do, but not having a key to the gate of the marina meant we had to make our exit sooner rather than later. The floor and kitchen cupboards would have to wait for our next visit.
The mattress was brought through and sat on the dinette, allowing the bed base and mattress to air better. Then we emptied the car, not enough time to take the stern steps out to access the storage where I keep my paint brushes.
Glowing in the dark
Electrics were turned off, taps left open, gas turned off in the gas locker and another shovel of coal was added to the fire. The vents were all turned down as we do most evenings when we’re on board. Our hope is that the remaining heat will help dry things out a touch more so we wont return to a similar damp boat next time.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 day spring cleaning, 1 damp boat, 1 big bag rubbish, 1 box to return to the house, 5 boxes lateral flow tests, 6 hours of heat, 1 stove curing, 1 blind immaculate, 1 un-named storm, 2 boaters starting to watch the river levels, 1 boat cat all ready to pack her toys, there are so many we may need a butty for them!
An early Sunday lunch was enjoyed before we got in the car to drive over to Huddersfield. This visit I’d be staying four nights so being nearer to the theatre would be good so I booked into the Premier Inn at Apsley Basin. This not only meant I’d be able to pop into Sainsburys on my way to and from work but I’d also get to see boats every day.
Boats and us!
My chauffer stayed or a cuppa before heading back to Scarborough.
Valentines cards
Monday morning and I found a couple of cards in one of my bags. Somehow the postman had delivered a small box of chocolates and cards to me which I opened whilst waiting for my lateral flow test to to do its thing.
Then it was time to head on up to the theatre to wait for the set to arrive on the back of Grahams trailer. The last time Graham and I worked together was also on a Dark Horse Theatre production, seven years ago, Snakebite. There was a time where I saw more of Graham than I did of Mick! Once the set was in the building Graham and I started to bolt the sections together whilst Penny (the Stage Manager/Lighting Designer) started to rig the lights and soft black masking.
By lunchtime the floor was laid, the flats were in position. Graham had rigged the lift door mechanism and then explained it to me. The warmth of the building had helped by tightening up the fabric the set had been covered in. Ripstock doesn’t like the cold and even just a few degrees can mean a baggy set.
After lunch I proceeded to stick green neon gaffa tape onto the set whilst the sound was sorted for the show. Penny followed on with focusing the lights. Down in the dressing rooms I sewed names into costumes and adulting badges were added to the front of the overalls.
Tuesday, Penny plotted the lights, sound and computer animation whilst I hunted round every clothes shop in Huddersfield for a vest top which I hoped would cover up a pink sports bra. I returned with a few choices and later in the day one of them did the job.
After lunch we were joined by the actors to do a technical rehearsal. Making sure the actors knew where to stand in light, where to stand out of view. Making sure the sound levels were suitable and that the lighting states did the job whilst not overpowering the animation on the set.
This normally would be done in full costume, but we saved that for a tech run later in the afternoon. After work I treated myself to a hot meal next door at Table Table, there are only so many wraps you can eat in a week!
Hair and make up
Wednesday started with a full dress rehearsal. Make up and hair were added into the equation. With three of the Dark Horse staff members on hand to do space buns I managed to avoid having to lend a hand.
An audience and Penny with all her screens
Two shows today. The first with quite a large audience. A local learning disabled school along with representatives from theatres the show may tour to next year. Then in the evening we had an audience of friends and family.
The shows were development showings, half the show with full production values. Although if Dark Horse manage to get more funding for the show next year then we will add neon lights into the set rather than having to rely on neon tape.
Both shows went down well and I got chance to have a catch up with the Assistant Producer from the SJT in Scarborough.
Subdued crochet compared to my socks
Normally on Panto Postcards I do a tally of how many hours I’ve worked. Well with most of the work having been done in advance the days were short. Monday and Tuesday starting at 9am and finishing at 6pm, I was glad I’d taken some crochet along with me as there was quite a gap between shows.
All gone!
Then once the final audience member had left the auditorium it was time to take everything down. This took all of 35 minutes. The original plan had been to ferry all the set over to the rehearsal space, but because of Storm Dudley it was decided to take it to the office instead. Better that people didn’t fly away.
A couple of drinks in the pub next door to wind down was followed by some chips which I managed to eat all of on the way back to my hotel. The second photo is of an empty box overlooking the canal basin whilst Dudley did it’s worst, nothing to do with the wine I’d drunk!
Thursday morning Mick arrived to pick me up. It was time to celebrate Christmas with the London Leckenbys. The four hour drive wasn’t too bad as the worst effects of the storm had passed. A pizza followed by some chilled medication was enjoyed at Wells Street Pizza in Hackney.
Friday we managed to avoid the worst effects of the fresh air Storm Eustice was blowing around. Jac and Josh headed off to do a bit of shopping and get a hair cut at Bermondsey Market, but neither Mick or I fancied sitting on a double decker bus at the height of the storm. Instead we got to watch the womens curling instead.
Christmas presents were unwrapped in the evening. Mick got a hedge trimmer and a webcam. I got a big saute pan, a red fleece top, a new duvet cover and the latest Andy Griffee hard backs. A very good haul, worth the trip to London.
More watery mysteries
Saturday we said our farewells, hopefully we’ll get to see Andrew Jac and Josh next just before Easter. We’d managed to miss the really bad weather again for our trip back to Scarborough, although we did have torrential rain, then sunshine. When we turned onto the M18 we then got sleet which by the time we turned off the M62 had turned into snow, much of it looking like it would be hanging around.
Snowy Wolds
A road closure meant we had to divert to Bridlington and as soon as we ducked under the railway line all of the snow vanished, Scarborough was having quite a pleasant day!
My pretty little Thug
Tilly’s magic food bowl was totally empty and the biscuit bowl had been licked clean too.
Good job they came back when they did as Tom hadn’t left ANY reserves!
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 hire cars, 24 hours work, 7 actors, 21 strips of neon gaffa, 100 dabs of glue, 1 baggy set, 1 tight as a drum set, 2 showings, 1 happy director, 4 nights, 4 pizzas, 1 family Christmas, 1 whole salmon, 2 storms, 1 snowy landscape, 1 cat happy to have us home.
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).
Time for the annual round up. Put the kettle on or pour yourself a glass of something stonger, put your feet up, this is a long post.
Looking out into a cold world!
As midnight turned from 2020 to 2021 we saw the old year out and new one in at the house in Scarborough, a quiet affair with just the three of us.
January and February brought ups and downs with them. Oleanna rose and fell with the water level at Viking Marina due to the breach at New Bridge whilst the country locked down. Despite the restrictions on travelling we made use of having a hire car for a few days at the beginning of the year to keep an eye on Oleanna.
Jobs around the house continued, our bedroom was redecorated and reclaimed from troublesome tenants. Tilly and I ventured out into the nearby park for the occasional walk, dependant on the number of woofers and the weather of course.
We walked, we ate, we drank, did our best to stay well and I started on the design for Chipping Norton’s panto in my reclaimed work room.
The spare living room was used as a workshop doing some work for Animated Objects, scrimming giant sci-fi guns and then painting model buildings all for The Odyssey. Beetroot burgers were made and pancakes consumed.
Then March came along and some easing of restrictions. Colour came back in nature with the daffodils popping up and my panto model started to get coloured in. A design for some origami paper arrived ready to be folded up to be part of 1000 ships display that would happen a couple of months later along the Yorkshire coast.
With new freedoms we had a couple of trips to Goole to check on Oleanna. First one was to swing her round and finally put fire extinguishers on walls all ready for her Boat Safety Inspection which she passed with flying colours and a comment that we seemed to like CO and smoke detectors, well I’d rather have too many than not enough!
The cofferdam at the breach site was completed and an access ramp created. My posts about the breach put us in touch with several people in Goole and at the beginning of April The Goole Escape Facebook group was formed. Due to the breach and lack of water in Goole Docks no leisure boats were allowed to use Ocean Lock out onto the Tidal Ouse. A joint calm voice was needed to try to find a way out for those boats wanting to leave, including us.
Of course March was also when Mick and I got our first vaccinations. Who’d have thought having a jab would put a smile on peoples faces! Not that you could really see them behind all the masks. A bathroom got a make over and we discovered parts of Scarborough we’d never been to before.
April was a very busy month. With lodgers on the horizon house jobs needed finishing. The roof needed attention along with a wall in my work room, both jobs were for the professionals. Pictures went up on walls, finally. The bathroom needed finishing with Frank fitting us a new bath surround.
Mid month out attention moved back to Oleanna. Way back when, we’d booked her in at Goole Boathouse to be blacked. We had a night on board before moving her from one marina to the other to come out of the water. She was jet washed down and the chaps began applying layers of 2 pack to her hull. We visited most days with jobs to do ourselves. Mick busied himself inside whilst I ground back rusty bits on the gunnels, repainted them and the tunnel bands. Inside the oak floor had a good clean and then was treated to two coats of oil. The weather had been perfect for it and she went back in the water a week after she’d come out, enough time for the 2 pack to cure. She looked smart again, well the cabin sides still needed a good wash!
Whilst in Goole we met up with David, Karl, Wendy and Martin, four members of The Goole Escape group. David had managed to negotiate with ABP passage for leisure boats through Ocean Lock at Goole Docks, this was limited to specific times of the tide. So escape was now possible but everything would have to come together to make a sensible plan. We wouldn’t be ready for a few weeks and hoped that there wouldn’t be a mass exodus before we could join people.
As I carried on trying to finish my panto model Mick made good use of his time doing a VHF radio course, we’d need to be able to use the radio to meet the criteria for going through Goole Docks and out onto the Tidal Ouse. Tilly visited the vet and got a years worth of flea and wormer treatments, we were all set to move back on board.
The first of May was that day. We’d hoped that Tilly would remember the boat after seven months on shore, within about two seconds of being back it was obvious she knew where she was. News that Goole caisson gates were now open and cruising up towards the breach site was possible we headed off to give Oleanna a good run and so that Tilly could venture back onto dry land. It was very good to be back on the move again. On our second such trip Tilly remembered how to swim!
Whilst in Goole Mick took his Short Range VHF Radio exam and passed. I carried on painting my panto model. We both had our second vaccinations. Heather Bleasdale came to visit joining us for an outdoor lunch. We got to know the Goole Escape Committee and discussed plans. We watched work going on at the breach site. Mick had a birthday and Joan’s Home Kitchen provided us with a celebratory meal a couple of days before we hoped to escape.
On 21st May an escape committee meeting was had early on, the weather looked hopeful for the tide in the afternoon, we were booked in at Ocean Lock. Our escape was to be via Selby, the Lock keeper was called there and our plan confirmed. At lunchtime we moved up to fill the diesel tank and await the other escapees, Sea Maiden and Lullabelle. Given the go ahead by the docks to proceed we were soon passing through to Ocean Lock where there was plenty of space for the three of us. At around 14:30 the large lock gates opened to reveal our way out of Goole onto the Tidal Ouse.
All three boats arrived safe and sound
We headed upstream following Sea Maiden being pushed along with the tide. Would we make it to Selby before the tide turned. Each boat arrived individually and was locked up into Selby Basin. We’d made it, now all we had to do was escape Selby as the swing bridge out of the basin there was broken.
We waited. Tides, times, weather and the amount of fresh coming down stream all had to fit together. Bridget and Storm came to visit. We twiddled our thumbs. The Environment Agency came and closed the flood barrier. We twiddled our thumbs. Daily escape committee meetings were held. By the 27th everything was looking to fit together apart from one thing, Keadby Lock would not be manned at a suitable time for us to get off the river. Sea Maiden and Lullabelle decided to stay put in Selby. Heather Bleasdale was joining us for the trip but Oleanna would be out on the river on her own heading to Trent Falls.
What a day that was! David’s advice was spot on. Leaving Selby just before 10am Oleanna zoomed downstream with the out going tide. We followed our charts keeping to the channel. At the Apex light Mick swung Oleanna round to head upstream onto the Trent our progress slowing instantly.
We then crawled our way to find where we should wait for the tide to turn. Two hours of very little, drifting on our anchor. We’d picked the day well, it was wonderful out there.
When Oleanna started to move round a touch more we managed to pull the anchor up and found our way back into the main channel to head upstream with the incoming tide. One plan had been to moor up in Gainsborough, but we decided to carry on and arrived at Torksey just as the last light was fading at just gone 22:00, 64 miles in a day, I doubt we’ll ever beat that.
Over the next few days we made our way up the Trent, dug out our windlasses to work locks in Nottingham. Once we rose up Derwent Mouth Lock onto the Trent and Mersey we had completed our escape. The going would now be much slower along shallow canals and plenty more moored boats to slow down past.
Now we should make our booked mooring at Rembrandt Gardens, every day would be a boating day unless the weather was either too hot or far too wet to cruise. Along the Trent and Mersey, pausing to stock up in Alrewas. At Fradley we turned onto the Coventry Canal to head southwards. We gave a tow to NB Burghley Girl to the bottom of Atherstone.
At Hawkesbury Junction we did the 180 degree turn onto the North Oxford Canal, through Rugby and up Hillmorton. NB Kamili with Andy and Irene passed as we arrived in Braunston where we paused for another butchers, then up the flight and through the tunnel.
Straight on along the Grand Union. On route we stopped for a drink with Lizzie at Bugbrooke. Paused for a hot day under some trees near Milton Keynes. Had a diversion along the Wendover Arm for a night. Picked up extra crew, my old college friend Jen, for a day through Hemel Hempstead. Came across our first sightings of HS2 cutting it’s way across the landscape.
At Bulls Bridge we turned left onto the Paddington Arm. On our trip into London we came across our friends Pete and Clare on NB Billy, it turned out we’d be neighbours at Rembrandt Gardens for a few days. We arrived on time and the next day headed across London by bus to Hackney to see the London Leckenbys for the first time since Christmas 2019.
Plenty more family to catch up with. Kath came for lunch, we had a trip to Eastbourne to see Marion and John, a lovely lunch with Christine and Paul. So good to see everyone again and not just on a computer screen every Saturday.
Happy Birthday Big Brother
Andrew’s 60th Birthday was celebrated, nothing fancy just good to be able to be together for it, we’d achieved our second goal of the year.
We heard there was a space at St Pancras Cruising Club for a long boat like Oleanna, so we took advantage of a more secure mooring close to Kings Cross whilst we had a visit back to Scarborough. Checking on the house, lodgers changing over and seeing the latest Ayckbourn play with Bridget and Storm, it all made for a good weekend away. I then headed off to Huddersfield for a couple of days work with Dark Horse, fitting costumes for a photo shoot.
There was to be a Tideway cruise from St Pancras Cruising Club and with one space left we jumped at the opportunity. Ten boats made their way to Limehouse, we breasted up with NB Misty Blue, Graham turned out to be another Goole Escapee. Three lock-fulls of boats headed out onto the Tideway on the morning of 10th July, special permission had been sought to go under Hammersmith Bridge which was closed to all forms of traffic at the time.
Tilly thought we were mad taking her onto such rough water, I was a little perplexed too! Very glad that I was the official photographer, clinging on as we did more than bob up and down! Tower Bridge, The National Theatre, Christine, Adam, The Houses of Parliament, Battersea Power Station. So many sights, what an experience!
The further west we got the calmer the water got. We were glad when Hammersmith Bridge was passed as there had always been a chance that it might close to boat traffic at anytime due to safety reasons. We turned off at Brentford along with several other boats and continued up to Hanwell where we had a very sociable evening at The Fox with everyone. Thank you Simon for mentioning the cruise to us.
Sadly our washing machine hadn’t liked the lumpy water so for the next month we cruised meeting up with engineers on route hoping it could be mended. Back through London, pausing at St Pancras again. Then down to the Herford Union to cut across to the Lee and Stort. We had another mooring booked on the Lee awaiting our arrival, alongside NB Billy.
Then up the Lee and onto the River Stort. We’d only ventured so far up the Stort during our first winter on Lillian, this time we headed all the way to Bishop Stortford. Our return journey was held up slightly due to the river going into flood overnight so we had to wait for it to lower to get under the bridge at Roydon.
Back through London we made use of the new Eco-moorings near Islington Tunnel, a handy stop off with electricity. Here we met up with Nick an old friend from York and Adam called in for a catch up after working the breakfast shift at Radio 2.
Goodbye Christine!
At the end of July we pushed on and left London behind us, returning to Bulls Bridge.
We headed up to Uxbridge for cheap diesel and finally got our washing machine mended. We turned around and headed back to the Hanwell flight, stowed the garden back in the shower and headed out onto the Thames again where we turned right towards Oxford.
With a weeks license we couldn’t dawdle, although a broken lock gate at Boveney Lock did hold us up overnight so our license would be extended. A space was spotted below Cliveden so we treated ourselves to a night moored in the grounds of the big house. We paused for a socially distanced chat with Sue on No Problem XL, good to see her looking so well. Henley Regatta was almost ready as we passed through and our favourite mooring above Days Lock did not disappoint. All too soon we turned up Sheepwash Channel and ascended Isis Lock back onto the Oxford Canal.
Whilst in Oxford I managed an actual face to face meeting with Dash the Director for Chippy Panto. He seemed happy! Then we made our way up to Thrupp where we’d booked ourselves in at the cruising club for a few days whilst the London Leckenbys came to visit and we had a trip back to Scarborough and we got to see the show at Esk Valley for the first time since we’ve been living afloat.
I had a day trip to Chippy where I did a final model meeting over zoom from a dressing room, but also had chance to measure things up. Then we were off up the Oxford Canal, mooring in our favourite spots, it was a touch busier than it normally is in the winter.
A pause to visit Village Meats in Braunston and we spotted our old share boat NB Winding Down so we stopped to say hello. On up the flight sharing with a boat full of actors, then left up to Crick for the first time in ages.
A prearranged boaters meeting at Houdini’s Field worked brilliantly, NB Panda and NB Kamili convened and we all enjoyed each others company over a fantastic barbeque outside so everyone could feel safe and Tilly could roam about. Oleanna was treated to a very good wash and brush up before we were on our way again. We now needed to get her north before I started on Panto.
News came through that the breach on the Aire and Calder had been mended and nine months after the canal had sprung a leek it was mended and open again. Boats could now move through the area, mooring however is still restricted.
Following the Grand Union we headed down the Stockton Flight to Leamington Spa. Tilly and I had a few hot days on our own moored at Radford Smelly then we were on our way again. An obligatory burger at The Cape of Good Hope the night before we teamed up with NB Mad Hatter to ascend the Hatton flight. One day my old college friend Emma will not have an excuse to helping us up the flight, this time we met for a cuppa and a catch up the following day.
On up Knowle to Catherine de Barnes, then Camp Hill Locks, the Ashted flight and Tunnel (!) followed by Farmers Bridge into Birmingham. The city centre is still full of building and tram works but with the sun out it looked stunning. We also caught up with Paul Balmer from Waterway Routes before carrying on with our journey.
A night at Hawne Basin filled the diesel tank up. A night at Dudley Port Basin got the cupboards filled. A pause at Urban Moorings meant we could donate our deposits and the next day we descended from the Birmingham plateau down the Wolverhampton 21.
Along the Staffordshire and Worcester we managed to have a mid stream catch up with Barbara from NB Bessie Surtees. At Great Haywood I managed a catch up with Kay from NB Pea Green as she set up to trade for the day and Mick filled Oleanna’s water tank.
Heading north on the Trent and Mersey we pulled in for lunch and a surprise hello to Barry and Sandra from NB AreandAre whom we’d got to know last year in the first lockdown. In the afternoon we were joined by Bill and Lisa for a trip through Harecastle Tunnel. Now we swung off the Trent and Mersey and onto the Macclesfield with it’s wonderful bridges.
It would have been nice to take our time but we had a rendez vous to make. The end mooring at Marple was free and from here we headed into Manchester by train to join the London Leckenbys for a meal of big red fish. The following day my old school friend Morag joined us for a night on board with some serious catching up to be done.
Our next deadline loomed, Standedge Tunnel. We dropped down the Marple flight, crossed the aqueduct and turned right at Dukinfield Junction onto the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. We knew we were in for some hard work to climb our way over the Pennines, last time we’d enlisted crew to help as I was one handed. This time we’d be going solo. Apart from the very first lock it wasn’t too troublesome. The work is rewarded with stunning views.
Standedge Tunnel did not disappoint. Because of social distancing Mick got ride ride up front in the cratch leaving the helm to a C&RT volunteer. Bumps and scrapes made Oleanna wince along with us, but we all got through in one piece with no damage. Tilly wasn’t too happy about the trip, but at least I can now boast to the local cats in Scarboreugh that I’ve been through the longest deepest highest tunnel on the canal network whilst they just lazed around on their shed roofs!
On our way down the other side Oleanna had a belt that went taking out quite a few wires in the engine bay. RCR were sent for, the engineer suggested we’d need to remove a pulley on the alternator to be able to remove trapped wires, this could not happen where we were. We could move but the batteries would not charge. The only way to top up our electric was with the solar panels. Emergency power conservation went into operation, blogs were hand written, the freezer turned off and we gradually ate our way through our defrosting supplies. Every day Mick managed to pull more wire from the alternator and soon there was no need for an engineer again, just a new belt needed fitting.
We made our way down to Huddersfield and arrived the day before I had a production meeting at Dark Horse. After walking to my meeting I handed over the model and we stocked up on supplies before heading off east along the Huddersfield Broad Canal.
The Board locks are just that, but they are short. On Lillian we’d nearly got stuck here, but Oleanna was built a foot shorter so we knew we were fine, we still had to take great care in descending the locks diagonally. This continued on to the Calder and Hebble, taking our time and using our Hebble spike. The rebuilding work done at the Figure of Three locks, after flooding washed huge parts of the structure away, are only noticeable due to the new stonework.
Bigger locks were welcome, using the key of power once past Wakefield. The sun shone wonderfully for my last full days boating this year as we made our way to Castleford. Here we hired a car to get me down to Chipping Norton to start work on Panto whilst Mick and Tilly stayed on board with the plan to move Oleanna to a winter mooring in Thorne.
Whilst I painted the set working all the hours I could, Mick and Tilly gradually made their way eastwards. They passed through the breach site and headed to Goole to top up on diesel. On their way back towards the New Junction Canal the engine started to over heat, a problem that had happened a couple of years ago on the Thames.
The following day he winded and slowly made his way to Rawcliffe Bridge for easier access for RCR. Little could be done there and then, so Mick and Alastair (engineer) arranged to meet at Viking Marina in Goole. Oleanna managed the two and a half miles in three stages. After her cooling system had been flushed through the problem hadn’t gone away. The water pump was removed and was obviously the problem. A week later with a new pump Mick moved back out onto the cut and joined Lullabelle (a fellow Goole Escapee).
Taking a long weekend off panto, I headed up to join Mick and Tilly to help move them back to Scarborough. Wendy and Martin kept an eye on Oleanna for us whilst we settled Tilly back into the house, I knew where I was! Pah!!
Several days later with the weather on his side, Mick returned as early as he could, pushed off and single handed Oleanna back along the Aire and Calder to Sykehouse Junction where he turned onto the New Junction Canal. With swing and lift bridges to work he was glad of the assistance of a volunteer at Sykehouse Lock. Then the sharp turn at Bramwith onto the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigations. A few more bridges and two more locks before he arrived at Blue Water Marina, Oleanna’s winter mooring.
Tucked up for a rest
On our way back from Chippy a week or so later we called in to check on her. A boat in winter isn’t too friendly without the stove lit. We’ll have visits every now and then to check on her and do the odd job. The weeks are already flying by before we move back on board.
For a year that we’d decided would purely be about seeing our family and friends we ended up having quite an adventurous time. Trent Falls, the Tideway through London and Standedge Tunnel made it quite a year.
So our vital statistics for the year 2021 according to canal plan are
Total distance was 932 miles, ½ furlong and 627 locks . There were 42 moveable bridges of which 16 are usually left open; 169 small aqueducts or underbridges and 30 tunnels – a total of 19 miles 3 ¼ furlongs underground and 3 major aqueducts.
This was made up of 277 miles, 1 ¾furlongs of narrow canals; 270 miles, 4 furlongs of broad canals; 89 miles, 4 ¼ furlongs of commercial waterways; 59 miles, 7 ¼ furlongs of small rivers; 121 miles, 5 furlongs of large rivers; 105 miles, 2 ¼ furlongs of tidal rivers; 8 miles of seaways; 263 narrow locks; 302 broad locks; 61 large locks; 1 lock on major waterways.
Sadly with Oleanna’s log book where it should be, onboard, I’m not able to offer up the engine hours, litres of diesel, gas bottle or bags of coal. Maybe I’ll update this once we are back on board.
The Thames, 2021
This year we’ve done more miles than last, not bad considering we were on land for so much of it. We’ve done far more tidal miles than ever before and for the first time we’ve been on a Seaway! If someone can tell me what the difference is between Tidal waters and Seaways please do. Maybe it was around Trent Falls, or was it downstream of Tower Bridge?
As last year I hope the pandemic doesn’t throw a spanner in the works for us or anyone else. We need the theatrical world to still function with an income for me designing shows and lodgers paying to stay in our house.
I want to say ‘Keep well friends’, but I feel I need to add, ‘Get well soon friends’, as so many have tested positive recently. Thank you for following us and hope to see you soon x
Sunday. What a lovely day off spent with family. Finn the feline version of a silver back was first to say good morning to me, I was honoured as he rarely makes his way upstairs. Then Ziggy made sure I had enough feline attention by sitting on me and demanding I leave the crochet blanket alone to give her plenty of chin rubs.
Family!
The day was spent chatting with Andrew and Jac followed by an early lunch. A joint of lamb with plenty of vegetables and masses of cauliflower cheese. All was very very yummy and just what was needed to refuel me for the journey back to Chippy. I even got to take a generous doggy bag back with me!
Google had been good on the way to Hackney with it’s timings, I aimed for an earlier bus than suggested, just missing it. Then with the volume of people at Paddington it was slow going getting up into the station, I was there a minute before my train departed, but there was no mention of which platform, so I missed it! A change of route however got me back to Oxford in time for a bus back to Chippy before they became hourly.
Just a bit of prop veg
Monday. Jo returned with a mass of giant prop veg. Those turnips nearly looked good enough to eat and her leeks made from yoga mats were a triumph! We were joined by Tim for a second day helping to work the way through the remainder of the prop makes.
The Cotswold Thunderbolt
The local BBC reporters came to film us getting ready to open the show. A few interviews were recorded and then Ash and Gav got to wheel the cannons across stage at speed, which of course was the bit that was used.
I know how to live!
The dress rehearsal from Saturday was finished off, followed by a full dress with another set of Pippins. This then left the evening to do work. I decamped into the bar and spent several hours sewing velcro onto ribbons, sadly the bar wasn’t open!
Tuesday. More fairy lights went up in the auditorium and we were joined by the ushers for the final dress rehearsal when photos were taken. There were still notes to work on and the show was running a touch too long for days with two school shows. Whilst cuts were discussed long into the evening glittering happened in the auditorium, adding that bit of eco sparkle to the show.
Drying leaves
Wednesday. I spent all morning in the land of latex glue. The auditorium needed a good leafing. I got into my stride with three plastic bags where leaves could be glued and left to dry as I stuck the driest onto the balcony fronts. The morning soon disappeared and it was time to clear everything away as we had two previews.
Audience!
The first preview was filled with a school and a group of about 30 adults. Sadly after a couple of songs a fault developed with the sound so the show had to be stopped as nobody could hear the music. People ran round to find the fault and ended up replacing a faulty cable which seemed to do the trick. But by the time we were ready to start again there was a very long line of kids waiting for the toilet! The delay of around twenty minutes meant that the schools bus would arrive before the end of the show, so it was decided to get to the song sheet and then say farewell to the kids, the adults then more than made up for the lack of bums on seats whilst the show finished.
Rudi and Rapunzel with the portrait
The second preview went much better, even the cannons did their best to impress and soak! The old Producer Will was in to watch, which was lovely as he put together the team and contracted us all before he left to go freelance.
Still my favourite set
During the show I realised what was missing from one of my sets. The interior of the tower had been bothering me, it was because it didn’t have any panto shadows. So the set was put on stage ready for some attention first thing in the morning.
Almost finished England on the Wold
Thursday, I was just about first in. Shadows painted before the cast arrived to work through the cuts that would be put in today. I had a few more notes to do before having a really good tidy up. Paints were labelled and stored back in the shed. The model was removed from the model box of the theatre, I keep a few bits as mementos but the rest has served its purpose so just ends up in the bin. All my possessions were collected together and piled up in the shower, the only place left in the building with space!
Just a few more leaves were added and the very last one recorded for posterity. I used a few leaves and added strawberries for my first night cards, the remaining ones were all packed up and put in the attic for someone to find in years to come. Out of the 3588 leaves I’d cut for the show I think I had about 900 left and if I’d had one more day I’d have used them all up.
In fact it’s loads of scaf clamps
At bang on 4pm I got a message, Mick had arrived in Chippy! A hire car had been picked up this morning in Scarborough. The car was loaded and the shower made available to the cast again.
Notes
The evenings performance was a socially distanced one, only 65 in the audience, but they all seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it was because there were lots of the team in as it was our last evening. Mick enjoyed the show and I was especially pleased that the Pippin team on tonight included my favourite, she tends to steal the show when she’s on stage.
Time to say Goodbye to panto
After the show I joined the rest of the team in the stalls for notes. This actually was more of a goodbye to many of us who’d be leaving tomorrow. Tiredness and emotion took over a touch for me. After spending almost 18 months talking about the show and the design having been worked on for a year, there it was on the stage in front of an audience. We were all back doing what we love and sharing it with an audience. I’d avoided going to the pub for four weeks and kept my distance, worn my mask for eleven hours a day (sometimes more) but now hugs could not be refused.
Yum!
Time to eat. Only one thing I could eat, and that was fish and chips at the Blue Boar.
Chipping Norton is where Bagpuss resides of course
Friday. No time to sleep in, there was more to pack in the car and time to say goodbye to Suzanne. Thank you once again for my Chippy Panto home.
Festive breakfast/lunch
Then we were on our way heading northwards. We paused to pick up some breakfast at Leicester Forest East Services. Last time we’d stopped here was when we moved NB Winding Down from Elton Moss, on that occasion we’d had three weeks of boat life and were deafened by the chairs in the dining area being scraped on the floor. Sandwiches would do us today.
There she is!
We turned off the M18 at junction 6 and wove our way through Thorne to reach Blue Water Marina. There sat Oleanna tucked in with her new friends, a few with familiar names about the place.
It’s been strange not being able to go home to the boat whilst working on panto this year, my life having developed a north south divide! So it was good to see her in her winter home. Time to collect a few things I would want before it was time to say Toodle Pip to her for the time being.
Drax
The rest of our journey back to the house was filled with autumnal scenes up over the Wolds. Drax the only power station in the area still with it’s full compliment of cooling towers was busy working hard.
Yes it is me, I’m home now!
Sat in the bay window on our return was Tilly. I got a bit of a telling off to start off with but she soon remembered that I give better head nudges than Mick. Well first you’d gone and left me, then Tom did too! He’d even left me with the magic food bowl which had only popped once! I’d got bored of waiting for it to pop again. I was soon pinned down to the sofa by Tilly, Mick gave me a glass of wine and I caught up on Bake Off again.
Pinned down
Three weeks ago on the day we moved Tilly back to Scarborough, we were contacted by the SJT regarding a lodger for 6 weeks next spring, hopefully our first of several. So this year we know when we’ll be back on Oleanna, well hopefully if the plague doesn’t get out of control!
Protecting the bench
This does now mean that unless there is something boaty to write about, the blog will be going into hibernation again, hopefully not for as long as last winter as we’ll be back on board before C&RT’s winter maintenance is finished. In the meantime we’re working on a few new things to be included on the blog.
Now where’s that stoppage list gone?
for now
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 missed train, 1 huge leg of lamb, 2 feline cuddles, 4 last days, 2667 leaves stuck, 21 leaf cards, 6 ribbons, 1 last night visit to the pub, 1 Oleanna visit, 1 ikea bag of stuff, 1 shouting cat, 1 warm lap, 1 designer pinned to the sofa, 1 panto opened, 1 Pip taking it easy for a while.
Sunday, a day of rest all round. After spending nine hours leaning over painting the floor I needed to check I could still walk. After a bit of a lie in and breakfast I headed out for a walk to get some food. I walked up to Marks and Spencers Food Hall buying a pie and some stir fry vegetables, along with some other bits and bobs to keep me going.
Which one did I buy?
This coming week I would more than likely be trying to paint things with the lights going on and off so I popped into Mountain Warehouse to buy myself a head torch. In past years I’ve ended up borrowing someone’s, but that wouldn’t be possible with covid around. I had quite a choice, narrowed it down to two, then one.
Feet up, baking and crochet
Much of the rest of the day was spent lying on my bed with my feet up. A couple of colours were added to my crochet blanket and two episodes of Great British Bake Off were caught up on. Once I’d watched Dr Who it was very much time to go to bed.
Cinnamon buns
Monday. Ed the sound designer joined us, checking the system and making sure the actors on stage would be able to hear Barney the Musical Director as well as him being able to hear them. Will the Lighting Designer focused lights leaving me with just my head torch behind the backdrop.
Most of the scenery would pass by now, still finishing touches needed, but most of that could now happen in breaks when the lights were on. So I turned to smaller things, the bunch of parsley. The Designer arrived and had changed her mind how this should look! She doesn’t always get in the way, but today she insisted that I start again!
The other major thing that required painting was a portrait of Gothel the witch. I’d been hoping to catch Amy in costume at some stage before now, but had missed her on Saturday. Luckily she had taken some dressing room selfies of herself so I was able to use one of those. I’d been wanting to do a version of the Mona Lisa, it took a while to get her arms not looking stumpy.
Back in Scarborough the roofer returned. The old gutters were replaced and the mass of down pipes moved to nearer the ridge of the roof, hopefully meaning that the water will spread across the roof and not just be a torrent down the corner of the house. The bill for the work turned out to be more than the chap had said, we thought his quote had included scaffolding, but now that was an extra £300!
Still a lot of detail to add
Tuesday. Sound check day, I wondered if Gavin could actually count past two. Barney was moved onto stage. Trying to give him enough space for all his kit, keyboard, headphones, peddles, squeeze box, microphones, cameras, monitors as well as be able to change the scenery in front of him all took time.
Fairy lights going up
Gemma returned and set about adding the fairy lights to the portals, I’d hoped someone would take this on. Due to a lot of previous layers on the portals we wouldn’t be able to push the lights through from the back, this is by far the neatest way. Instead they were cable clipped onto the front, it was quite fortunate that I wanted to cover the surface with thousands of leaves. Once the lights were up Gemma started sticking the greenery up.
Just about finished
Out in the garden Jo was busy with the big cannons. She’d had a brain wave overnight and done some research, I could assist with my boaters knowledge of amp hours and batteries. I got on with the final pieces of scenery, the cucumber sandwich slidders, all the time gradually adding more paint to Gothels portrait.
Wednesday. Mick caught trains down to Thorne, not as easy to get to as Goole was. On Saturday he’d not been able to meet up with any of the marina staff and by the time he arrived it was getting too late to winterise Oleanna. So he introduced himself to Sarah, received the marina rules and handed over some money. The mooring here is a touch more expensive than it was last winter in Goole, but it does include an amount of electricity in the price.
Diddy damp trap
Mick emptied the damp traps, refilled them with new crystals and positioned them around the boat. The water was turned off, the system drained and the shower head laid in the shower. Cupboards were opened up to help with air circulation and the Alde boiler was set to come on when the temperature drops to 3C, a few degrees lower than last winter.
A panto must at Chippy
Time for the technical rehearsals to start in Chippy. The sweet chest had been tracked down, it had been sold off at the last Panto sale by mistake! The new owner will have it replaced with a chest that isn’t so important to panto.
Waiting to start
Last night lighting states and sound levels had been programmed into the boards for the first part of the show, today we’d add the actors, costumes, scenery and props. Teching can be a slow process especially when there is SO much going on. Visual gags and luminous lettuce kept us all amused.
Lettuce!
Thursday, more technical rehearsals. These days I spend watching, taking notes, helping solve any problems. But I’d also decided that baby Rapunzel needed to have a crocheted blanket! Yes we could have gone out and bought one, but it would have been hard to find a good one to match the show. Instead Jo supplied me with some green yarn with gold flecks and I borrowed a lamp so that I could see to crochet in row G whilst I wasn’t needed. In breaks more leaves were added to the portals and Gavin’s feet! He seemed to have a homing instinct to them whilst the latex glue was drying.
Friday. The Cotswold Thunderbolt was erected on stage and we had chance to add the rigging. A chap called Tim joined us to help Jo work on props whilst we continued with the technical. We worked our way through Act 2 until the actors ran out of hours. Then it was time to dry tech the ending of the show.
Wide ribbons had been made up by Valerie a local volunteer, Jo had fibre glassed the giant strawberry which was flown out. With big clamps to temporarily hold ribbons to the balcony fronts we tried out the ribbons and raised the strawberry. This all worked. We then dry teched the end sequence (without actors), it all slotted together as planned! High fives all round.
Saturday. Today we should have been doing the first of three dress rehearsals. Each team of Pippins get to have a dress, but we still hadn’t teched the end of the show with everyone, the five minutes was likely to take about two hours! So in the morning we did a dress rehearsal of Act 1. Imogen my work experience joined us and did her best to cut leaves to decorate the pram whilst sitting in the dark. We then positioned ourselves in the balcony to release the ribbons several times as we finished the technical.
The strawberry, Gemma and Dash
Then followed a busy afternoon, trying to tick jobs off the list, painty jobs that could dry before actors returned in costume. I’d set myself an alarm and at 5:30pm it went off, time to wash brushes, get changed and head to the correct bus stop and leave Chippy for a night away.
Gothel green
This time I was heading to Hackney to see the London Leckenbys. Google suggested a route, S3 bus to Oxford, grab something to eat at the station, a train into Paddington, Bakerloo line then Central line followed by the 388 bus to Hackney Wick. A busy journey but not as alarming as the one to Doncaster had been two weeks ago. Unfortunately I got off the bus a little bit early so arrived about five minutes after I should have, but still before 9:30. Cheese and wine on my arrival with a guided tour of their new improved house, before sinking into bed in what used to be Josh’s room.
0 miles, 0 locks, 5 trains, 2 buses, 2 tubes, 7 tech sessions, 0.5 dress, 6 lateral flow tests, 1 head torch bought, 1 head torch misplaced after 3 hours! 1 boat winterised, 1 portrait, 1 pram, 1 MD squeezed in, 1 backing flat squeezes out, 1 asm, 1 blanket to make, 1 more long week to go.
