Category Archives: Theatre

Clinging On In The Wind. 30th August

Oundle Marina to Pear Tree arm FOTRN mooring

Just before 9am a Sainsburys van arrived with a big order for us, a good stock up especially when we had a voucher for triple nectar points to use. Everything was brought in through the side hatch and then stowed away. Good job Mick had gone through the stash of cat food the other day and donated brands and flavours Tilly turns her nose up at to the RSPCA in March. The space is now filled with porridge oats, oat milk and wine.

Time to return the van. I caught a lift into Oundle to have a bit of a look around and see if the Co-op had a few things that Sainsburys didn’t. I don’t know what I’d been expecting but it wasn’t such a large fine town. Georgian buildings with bold chimney stacks limestone everywhere. Plenty of independent shops. A prescription was collected, cat food and ketchup purchased then I headed back to Oleanna.

Ken and Sue had their hoses out so it made sense to fill our tank up too. Mick was given a lift to the bus station in Peterborough by Enterprise, they weren’t keen on bringing him all the way to Oundle. Then we made ready to push off.

Word on the towpath was that the levels above Islip Lock had dropped 18″ overnight. Someone had left the top paddles up on the broken lock. Engineers had been to site and removed the gear box and taken it away for investigation in the mean time a replacement was being sought. EA notices came out confirming what we’d heard, the next update may be midday tomorrow via one of the engineers.

Despite the unknown length of stoppage we decided to push onwards and cover a few locks and miles, but most importantly moor up somewhere Tilly could go out. We pushed back and pulled onto the service mooring just as it was starting to rain!

The diesel tank was filled, £1.45 a litre. We thanked Mark and Jacqui who had been very welcoming and helpful. This is their last week in charge as they are retiring after many many years running Oundle Marina. Then it was time to say goodbye to Ken and Sue, although if Islip Lock reopens soon we’ll be seeing them shortly, or if it is doomed to be a long closure we’ll be returning in a few days as I’ll be needing to get to London for meetings.

Across the pool, right out of the narrow entrance. Soon at Upper Barnwell Lock. Todays locks would all have powered guillotine gates, each of them sat open waiting for an uphill boat to arrive. Lunch was eaten on the go to be able to maximise shore leave for Tilly. It was windy!

We passed one boat NB Orinoco whom we’d shared a lock with on our way downstream. There was space at Wadenhoe. We considered mooring there and going for a pub meal, but instead I prepared a joint of pork, after all we’d just spent quite a bit of money on food.

As we rounded the big curve of the river, in one direction we could see Wadenhoe Church high on the hill, the other direction a triangle of tall trees, Pear Tree Farm mooring. We were quite surprised to find no other boats moored up, it meant we could pick the sunniest spot for our solar panels we pulled into Harpers Brook.

It took quite a bit to moor up as the wind was pushing Oleanna away from the bank constantly. First we tied to trees, then hammered spikes in and pulled Oleanna as close to the bank as possible at one end and then the other. Then Tilly could be let out.

Straight up one of the many trees. This mooring had many things to climb, but very little friendly cover, so Tilly came and went numerous times topping up on Dreamies.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent working, roasting the pork joint and trying to arrange rendez vous whilst we still don’t know how long we’ll be held up by Islip Lock. At around 7pm we were joined by another narrowboat who also pulled up on the sunny side of the triangle.

3 locks, 4.59 miles, 89.3 litres, 1 full water tank, 1 farewell wave, 1 triangle, 1.5 miles of low water, 1 gear box, quite a few boaters with fingers crossed, 1 approval, 800 lights, 1 front cloth, 1 big joint of pork, 2 windy for a stamp of approval.

https://goo.gl/maps/phVg3eigL1NzPcPu8

Remembering Lillian. 29th August

Oundle Marina

With more than half an egg left from making a Nan bread last night and it being a Bank Holiday I treated myself to some scrambled eggs this morning, adding another egg, a large handful of spinach and a good grating of parmesan. Very tasty indeed.

Time to actually step off Oleanna and have a little wander about the marina. A team of chaps were busy polishing a Merc, I wondered how much it would be for them to give Oleanna a good wash and polish. If only someone would create a cruise through boat wash. At least we’re dong our bit for water conservation in a drought.

**Someone put their feet up and left them behind!**

This isn’t the first time we’ve been to Oundle Marina. Back in 2014 this is where NB Lillyanne came for her out of water survey. Merve and Elaine her previous owners had cruised her here, I think this was only the second or third time they’d been anywhere on her. They’d thoroughly enjoyed their time and we were relieved that they’d already moved onto a widebeam and really didn’t need a second boat.

We chatted with the surveyor, he’d done an in water survey as we’d been a little concerned at damp marks inside, but the report hadn’t put us off so we’d been willing to spend the extra money to get her out of the water and check her hull. All was good, she got the thumbs up.

That day we watched Lillian being lowered back into the water, then Merve reversed her out of the bay, winded and start to head upstream. We climbed in the car, drove to Upper Barnwell Lock and made the phone call to ABNB to confirm the sale. As we hung up Lillian in her yellow glory arrived and we were able to confirm the deal face to face with Merve and Elaine.

I think we then drove over to Crick so that we could sign the paperwork there and then, saving two lots of postage. On our way we managed, with the help of Lizzie to secure a mooring at Crick for a few months whilst we finished sorting out the house to let and prepare ourselves for a year afloat!

Enough of the nostalgia. I returned to Oleanna and continued with my work. A fresh pair of eyes on the front cloth had been needed, a touch more dark and then maybe a thin wash of green.

By the end of the day I’d made another version of the troublesome scene, half painted it and am left with just a few notes to complete. Mick arrived back from his trip to Scarborough, all is ready and waiting for our next lodger to move in.

News on the towpath drums is that the problem at Islip Lock is due to the gear box. They will see if they have a spare tomorrow , if so then it shouldn’t be too long before the lock is back in operation. Fingers and Paws crossed.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 short walk, 6 men to polish a car, 1 very bored cat, 1 shopping order complete, 1 model nearly there.

Another Day Another Stoppage. 28th August

Oundle Marina

Ken very kindly gave Mick a lift back to Peterborough today so that he could pick up a hire car, well van. Today would be a trip to Scarborough for a change over of lodgers and an opportunity to add to the compost wheelie bins at the house, three full buckets to deposit. Mick had hunted round for a good deal on a car, it being Bank Holiday weekend meant it wouldn’t be cheap, but luckily he found that the Peterborough branch of Enterprise would be open today, saving us another days hire which we wouldn’t need.

I signed into the Geraghty zoom, changed to Sundays hoping that more people would be able to join, Saturday morning activities popular for both young and old. Subjects covered were good places to go on holiday, awol cats, and watering trees.

Mick soon returned, boat chores, water, yellow water all done. The van was loaded up and after breakfast he was on his way up to Scarborough, leaving Tilly and me to hold the fort.

Being on Oleanna on my own (apart from my feline assistant) meant I could take over pretty much all of the boat. Drawing board set out on the sofa, model box on the table where Mick usually is allowed a few inches, boxes of model bits and paints here there and everywhere. I hoped today would be a productive day.

Boats came and went all day. A cruiser was put in the water. Others arrived to fill with diesel, all the time I kept my head down working, all the time Tilly closed her eyes, a shame the mooring here isn’t cat friendly.

Late afternoon Sue from NB Cleddau popped her head up to the mesh in our hatch and asked if I’d like a cuppa. A break would have been nice, but I was doing my best to make use of the extra space and a day sitting still, that list of notes slowly getting worked through. She did however bring the news that Islip Lock was closed due to a mechanical failure and would be closed until further notice. Islip is closer to us than Irthlingborough Lock which was closed until a couple of days ago. We’ll keep an eye on notices and hope it opens quickly, we’ve places to be!

I worked on into the evening, stopping for a Co-op chicken tikka masala with a homemade gf nan bread. Then I continued for a while longer, my front cloth my main aim of the day and still in need of more work.

In Scarborough, Mick met one of our lodgers, cut the grass (it actually needed cutting!), made up a bed for the night and did some laundry. All the familiar feline neighbours were still about suggesting the human neighbours haven’t moved house yet.

Just as I was packing up for the night emails started to come in from the Director, she has a young family so tends to do work after their bedtime. This did mean I didn’t get to turn the TV on and have a cuddle with Tilly until after 10pm!

0 locks, 1 broken, 0 miles, 1 van, 3 buckets, 3 feline neighbours, 0.75 front cloth done, 10.5 hours work, 1 very bored cat.

Have The Rules Changed? 27th August

Fotheringhay Castle to Oundle Marina

Another earlyish morning with the hope of avoiding people out to enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend, not that we have a problem with them, it’s just easier to avoid them if they’re not already in the water and still at home.

**The wide beam not the first to leave their mark on the bridge**

We got to see how much paint the wide beam had left on the bridge yesterday, just another gouge in the 1722 structure. Last chance for a photo of the church before we turned our back on Fotheringhay.

We’d noted a narrowboat moored up facing the opposite direction to us, could this mean the next lock would be set in our favour? Yes! I was grateful as it was our next manual wheel operated lock and all I’d have to do was lower the guillotine gate once. Having enough hands to lock the wheel once finished is something I’ll need to master as there’s a lock some way ahead that is very hard to do by one person.

Tansor and Cotterstock both look like places to have a good wander around, even if they are only small. On the list for next time, suspect we’ll need to catch a bus or have a lengthy walk from Oundle.

Now the river works it’s way southwards around the east side of Oundle, under several bridges to Ashton Lock. Ahead we could see the buoys that mark shallow water below the lock, a right hand bend immediately below it. The bow of a boat appeared, Mick slammed on the breaks and then reversed back to give them room to manoeuvre. Would we be passing them on the wrong side, did it really matter just so long as neither boat got stuck in the mud.

It took a while and eventually the bow came round followed by the stern. The main thing for us was that the lock, another manual one was sat waiting for us, only one movement required again! As we left the lock another boat appeared heading down stream, they were also very pleased that the lock was in their favour.

**I think someone should look where they are going!**

Two canoes, neither knowing which side to pass us on were avoided. Then a rib with two chaps fishing from it coming under a bridge. Had they clocked us? They were moving, both with lines in the river. One chap seemed to be steering, occasionally as they moved along at speed. Another boat passed on the wrong side. Have the rules changed? Has nobody informed us that the rules have changed?

Then a cruiser came round the next bend. They were facing towards us, straight at us! Their course was corrected slightly, then their bow faced us again, which way would they go, we only had a small distance further to starboard that we could move. In the end, in the nick of time they moved over and we finally passed someone on the right.

**Essential lock equipment for the Nene**

Lower Barnwell Lock was empty, a lady just walking over the bridge to the control panel. The guillotine gate started to lower. I bipped the horn. I beeped the horn. We were just about there! I BEEEEPED the horn! At last she spotted us and raised the gate again, very apologetic she was.

The narrow entrance to the marina, only just noticeable. Plenty of room on the Cruising Club moorings, but today we breathed in and turned into the marina, wide open water. We’d been told to head to the services, these weren’t at first obvious, but there was a bit of a give away, NB Cleddau with Ken and Sue chatting to the lady. Cleddau had almost got to Irthlingborough Lock when they heard it was broken about ten days ago. They’d returned down stream to the marina to await the lock reopening.

We pulled in on the same pontoon, settled in, a very friendly welcome from all. A quick health and safety check revealed a fence with Tilly sized gaps under it right alongside an intermittently busy road. Sadly this means that for the next couple of days I’ll have to cope with a bored cat.

Mick had a lift from Ken and Sue into town to do a small food shop whilst I got my model box out. It was time to work my way through the show and make notes. As expected I ended up with two sides of A4! Several scenes just need a touch of a tweak, others need a bit more, but Christmas at the Tower of London looks great, even though I say so myself. The biggest job still to do is the front cloth which due to it’s nature will happen over several days.

At 6pm my model was packed away, time for Pimms on the terrace with Ken and Sue. Very civilised. The setting sun put a limit on the time we were prepared to sit out, Ken’s timer for his tray bake encouraged people into their boats to eat. Mick had found some sad gits sausages at the Co-op so we had sausage and mash.

4 locks, 7.39 miles, 4 boats heading down stream, 1 trolling rib, 8 Kingfishers, 1 marina mooring, 7 trips, 1 load of washing, 1 bored cat, 2 x A4, 1 butterfly net, 1 pair snow shoes, 4 large Pimms, 6 bog standard sausages, 1 supermarket order started.

Getting Festive. 25th August

Wansford Station EA mooring

A wet itchy morning. Yesterday we knew that today would be wet. Yesterday we’d decided to set off early today to catch up to where we should be. Yesterday we realised we needed to fill with water. Yesterday we didn’t set an alarm clock. This morning we slept in, our brains forgetting the early start. Our brains registering the rain falling on the roof. Our brains doing nothing about anything.

As we had our morning cuppa with breakfast we decided that maybe we should stay put instead of getting soaked for four hours boating. Topping up on water could wait, Tilly was likely to be the only one to complain.

I worked all day. The trains rumbled across the bridge six times, the same class 14 engine pulling the carriages as yesterday. They also did a bit of shunting around of guards vans and another engine headed off on it’s own.

The narrowboat that pulled in behind us yesterday pulled away once the rain had stopped at around 2pm. Later on in the day it was replaced by a cruiser with three chaps on board who’d been to Peterborough for the beer festival. They hadn’t stayed as their boat is very shallow and was in danger of being over the top of submerged edging, which if the level dropped wouldn’t be good!

Mick spent much of the day plugged in to his head phones listening to the days cricket. The kitchen got a good clean and sort out whilst I painted Christmas at the Tower of London.

This evening I’ve had a good catch up chat with David, he’s in a better place both mentally and physically than he’s been of late. More doors have opened for him so he can now access more support.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 very wet morning, 0 shore leave for Tilly or me, 1 empty box of white card model bits, 1 full box of painted model bits, 2 much brown though! 1 tidy clean kitchen, 1 empty yellow water tank, 1 alarm clock set for the morning.

Stopping For The Trains. 24th August

Pudding Lane FOTRN mooring to Nene Valley Railway Bridge EA mooring

Last night I’d noticed I’d acquired a few insect bites. this morning I counted them 68. By the end of the day the count was up to 87! Mick has some too, he’s not counted his. Blimey what has been having a good munch on us? One thought is that we’d disturbed a lot of insects whilst out in the field looking for Tilly the other night. It’s a good job we’d stocked up on bite cream.

Todays plan was to cruise, work our way through several locks to reach Fotheringhay, then have a few days off. This end of the River Nene does good views, no flood banks to get in the way and not too many trees hogging the banks.

At Wold Newton Lock the guillotine gate was down, the lock full, the river above really quite full, the level over the top of the gates. We reset the lock in our favour and brought Oleanna in, keeping her away from the cascade of water coming over the gates.

This lock has to be one of the prettiest locks on the river, with it’s mill (not so original extension), church, house and various buildings all close by and lawns. A couple sat having morning coffee overlooking the weir cut, very lucky people.

Round a big bend, dark clouds focused the sunlight over a field of cows who’d just had a visit from the Farmer. We pootled on, the A1 sticking close by. The Nene Valley Railway Bridge came into sight, followed by the pontoon, it was empty. A thought came through both our heads, maybe we should pull in and carry on tomorrow. I could have a full days work here instead of by the castle.

We pulled in, making sure we overhung the far end of the pontoon, hopefully leaving enough space for another narrowboat. With it still being school holidays the railway was open today. A quick check of the time table suggested the first train of the day would soon be on it’s way towards Peterborough. The bell rang, followed a while later by the toot of a diesel engine, just enough time to get out onto the pontoon for a photo.

**Today’s engine not as showy as when we moored here last time**

I settled down to work and Mick headed off to look at trains. He’d deliberated on getting a rover ticket, he’d be able to do the round trip twice. If it had been a steam engine today then he’d most probably have done it, but with the drought only diesels are running at the moment, a Class 14 today. Instead he looked round the station, the engine shed, watched the train come back, head out, return and go back to Peterborough again.

I reworked the troublesome scene and painted some funnels, added a few twinkly lights. There may be a better version yet to come, but if I run out of time this solution will be fine.

Tilly being captive here (the pontoon not the right sort) I gave her her spot on flee treatment a couple of days early, just in case the critters that have bitten us had come from her, we doubt it as she’s the only one not scratching!

1 lock, not 4, 3.02 miles, 1 full river, 1 change of plan, 3 services today, 4th version made, 1 reject funnel, 2 boaters promising to get up early tomorrow, 87 bites and counting.

https://goo.gl/maps/jkyLVNUWhaBLGKce9

Sticking Close To Home. 23rd August

Pudding Lane FOTRN mooring

A cuppa in bed followed by a bacon butty.

A work day for me, even though we’d not moved anywhere this morning I still didn’t get set up until gone 10am. Last night’s hunt round for Tilly made us a touch nervous about leaving the doors open, but with it being so muggy we risked it. Thankfully she spent all morning asleep on our bed, didn’t even come through for her morning dingding.

Across the way two boats moved off from the lock island mooring, reversing out of the weir cut and then going down the lock. A while later there were conversations, NB Still-Waters was coming up the lock, another narrowboat that had moored here last night chatted with them. Presumably he headed off ahead to get the next lock ready for them. We waved as NB Still -Waters pulled away, maybe we’ll catch them up, but more likely they’ll stay ahead of us up to Northampton.

Todays mission was to get my panto floor painted. I’d come up with what I thought was a reasonably simple cobbled floor that faded out, shouldn’t take too much painting! Well it took the morning and into the afternoon. Maybe I should have done bigger cobbles!

Part way through the day a loud ‘AHOY OLEANNA!’ came from the lock. It was Jaquie from NB Mosi-Y-Tunya. We’d last passed their boat moored up at the Fish and Duck, they’d headed off to the Commonwealth Games. Another boat who will no doubt speed on ahead of us.

Tilly stirred from bed at lunchtime and ventured outside. Frequent visits inside were made, only a few Dreamies required today. Mick kept an eye on her, she didn’t venture far at all, hardly into the sideways trees closest to the boat, staying close to home and by 5:30 she was inside snoozing. We wondered if yesterday she’d used up this outside. But it felt more like she was nervous of wandering further afield, maybe yesterday she’d got lost for a while, it certainly made for a much quieter day.

**An almost crack through the crack of a porthole**

During the afternoon a group of lads arrived at the lock, a down stream boat had left the lock empty but had closed the guillotine gate. The lads managed to lift a paddle and fill the lock, there was plenty of swimming going on. I think we ended up with around ten teenagers sunning themselves and having the occasional dip.

An engine noise was heard from below the lock. We wondered what would happen with the swimmers. It turned out nothing much, no boat showed itself. The swimmers left to be replaced by dressed youngsters with bottles of beer. Another engine was heard from below the lock. A chap walked up to operate the guillotine gate, saying another boater had had difficulty in opening the control panel door. This chap tried as the youngsters moved away.

The cabinet wouldn’t open, no matter what the chap did it simply wouldn’t open. He headed off to see what he might be able to use to open the door, still no luck. In the end they decided to call the EA for assistance and wait below the lock. Two chaps arrived an hour later. It seems that the cabinet is particular about the key you use as it opened straight away for the EA. The chap tried his other key and bingo it worked.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 floor, 2 ships, 1 gangplank painted, 4 hours of intermittent shore leave, 1 cat staying close, 2 troublesome keys, 10 youngsters, 1 big pile of rubbish.

Telecoms To Carpentry. 22nd August

Ferry Meadows to Pudding Lane FOTRN mooring

Waking early sometimes gives you the opportunity to enjoy what normally only the ducks and geese get to see. Today mist rose from the lake, not a breath of wind, lovely. I headed back to bed for another hours kip.

NB Per Angusta pushed off a few minutes before us, the gap between the two boats might mean we’d get to share locks, or would be just too long for them to head up the next lock on their own. Leaving the lake we could see them hunting round for the exit, we knew we’d catch them up.

Back out onto the river again, curling round the park to it’s north side, back under Milton Ferry Bridge white and grand in the sunshine.

NB Per Angusta were just pulling into Alwalton Lock as we rounded the last bend, we slipped in alongside them. I had the control panel side, time to press buttons for ages closing the guillotine gate, these seem to take twice as long as the gates on the River Great Ouse.

Up we rose sharing a lock, NB Per Angusta were heading onwards to moor at Wansford by the station, where as we would leave the lock and then reverse back onto the Pudding Lane FOTRN mooring, the EA mooring on the lock island already occupied.

Tilly was given 7.5 hours of shore leave, just remember that number, I settled down to do more model panting and Mick hunted round for some tools. It was time to make a frame for the hatch to discourage feline use in both directions.

I hoped I gave clear instructions to my Telecoms trained boyfriend, measurements were taken, sawing heard from the bow. A file was dug out from the tool box to aid getting the cuts straight, maybe I should have paid the extra at the DIY shop to have the timber cut to length!

No hammer could be found, the mallet would have to suffice to knock nails in. My model making PVA was taken outside and just before lunchtime we had a frame of the right dimensions. A quick check to see it fitted. Ah the inner doors have protruding hinges which we’d not taken into consideration, three corners of the frame fitted past them but the forth, no chance.

I had a lengthy phone meeting with Jo the props maker for panto, conversations regarding snakes, gorillas and just how big some boiled egg ice cream should actually be, 2ft or just 18″. Always nice to talk to Jo.

By the end of our conversation Mick had moved one of the sides of the frame in a little and it fitted round the hinges. Next came the mesh which needed trimming to size and then stapling onto the frame, all done pretty neatly. Don’t worry Frank, Mick is not a patch on you! Now we know that the side hatch is only one way, we may add some netting too to keep the mosquitos out.

The afternoon progressed with me just about finishing painting the cloth I’d started yesterday, so glad I’m not having to paint this one, we’ll be getting it printed onto fabric. There may still be bits to add, but I need to put it in the model box first.

Tilly had been back several times during the day for ‘Thank you for coming home’ Dreamies. But we’d not seen her for sometime. The 7.5 hours were up. A walk around shouting had no luck. We had some food then tried again.

Behind our mooring is a field that has been harvested, stubbly straw left standing. On the far side some 300m away the A1 zooms on past. A few crows could be seen. Was that two crows over the far side? Hard to tell in the now dimming light without a camera zoom to assist. Then the two crows moved in unison, four legs and the shape of a cat. I shouted, not able to make out a white tipped tail, it was certainly a cat. I cupped my hands around my mouth to help project my calls. No reaction, just a slow walk towards the sideways trees closer to the A1!

A camera was needed, followed by a walk across the field to where I thought I’d seen her. The noise from the road far too loud to hear anything, so she’d not have been able to hear my calls and I certainly couldn’t hear any replies from her. I could see Mick on the far side of the field 300m away. Had she returned? No.

With phones and the big torch we walked in opposite directions around the field, calling and calling and listening for Tilly. We walked past each other and continued calling and listening. A full circuit, twice! Nothing.

Tilly’s litter tray was put on a locker lid and we tried to get on with things inside. A form needed filling in, emails replying to, but still no cat!

3.5 hours after her shore leave elapsed I heard a faint noise outside, was that her bell? Another. Was it? A face appeared at the one way door, glazed panels keeping the breeze out. Thank ******************* for that.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!!

Just over there!

1 lock, 3.17 miles, 1 left, 1 reverse, 1 cat mesh made, 1hr 40 minutes talking props, 3 lots of dreamies, 1 AWOL cat, 2 concerned boaters, 1 mile walk round a field, 11 hours! 1 not so bothered cat who thankfully came home, eventually!

https://goo.gl/maps/94Fq59hg1BNxLH7y7

Don’t Get Caught On The….. Oh! 21st August

Peterborough Embankment to Ferry Meadows

Last night the bottom step along the moorings had just about become dry, this morning it was back under water. The boat behind us pushed off doing his best not to get wet feet or leave them behind as he stepped onto his boat, quite a gap to keep your feet dry.

As we pootled up to the water point another boat was heading down stream, NB Still-Waters. They had been heading up stream and got quite a distance when the news broke that Irthlingborough Lock was out of action, so with not many shops up stream they decided to head back to Peterborough whilst the lock is mended. We’re hoping to have enough supplies on board to just gradually make our way upstream and not have to hang around for too long anywhere. NB Cleddau are also awaiting the lock to open.

Pat or is it Pam (?) kindly helped with ropes at the water point as she’d managed to dig her wellies out, mine are somewhere deep in a stern locker. Tanks emptied and filled, rubbish disposed of and we were on our way. Our paths are likely to cross again in the next week or so as we both head up stream back to C&RT waters.

We pootled our way along in the sunshine, past boats we had met so many weeks ago, past the towpath that is hanging on for dear life before it falls into the river. We passed the entrance to the mooring where Tilly couldn’t get back to the boat one weekend due to so many people wanting to be by the water. I wonder how busy it go there during the really hot weather!

As we approached Orton Lock we could see that there was a cruiser in the lock ready to come down. In the shadows we could also see a narrowboat, but what was the chap doing right on the bow? Mick dropped me off and I walked up ready to work the lock.

Was there some sort of problem? A chap was walking over to the far side with a windlass in hand. Had the vee gates not closed properly? Were the sluices/slackers/paddles down properly? I asked the lady by the control panel, she pointed to the bow of the narrowboat, their bow hooked over the top of the guillotine gate. The chap who had been sat there was doing his best to push the boat backwards, but 15 tonnes or so of narrowboat can be stubborn to move!

The paddle on the far side was lifted until the narrowboat floated off the gate again. Then there seemed to be a lot of ropes used to help keep the boat away from the gate. Someone had obviously taken their eye off the ball and let the boat drift over the top of the gate, but thankfully it had been spotted quickly enough to rectify the situation.

They all headed out of the lock and sped off hoping to find space at The Boathouse. Mick brought Oleanna into the lock. I made sure she was well clear before closing the guillotine behind.

Our first uphill lock on the River Nene. I lifted the near side paddle, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything, later inspection revealed there was nothing attached to it! The off side paddle was raised and Oleanna rose up. Normally on leaving a River Nene lock you should lift the bottom guillotine gate, emptying the lock. But recently due to the low water levels you are required to leave the bottom gate closed. I really hope they don’t rescind the notice until we’re of the Nene as it takes forever to empty an empty lock.

Not quite a mile on we turned left off the main river and headed in to Ferry Meadows where a large lake sits in a popular park. Here there are two pontoons, plenty of space, we joined NB Per Angusta, shortly followed by a cruiser.

Normally we are reluctant to let Tilly out on pontoons. Those that sit parallel to the bank with a gap have to possibility of pounce calculations not being correct and Tilly ending up brushing up on her swimming skills, so these are avoided. But here the pontoon was wide, just some duck weed to be wary of.

Mick got the boat hook out and moved the weed around, ‘See it’s not grass!’. Don’t be daft I know it’s not grass, grass is yellow! I’m more concerned about this holey outside! My paws aren’t big enough!

Eventually Tilly plucked up the courage to try walking across the pontoon. Land her aim, blimey it took forever! Each paw being carefully positioned. If a dog came for her would she be able to run away? We positioned our plank to give her something solid to walk on. However much of the rest of the day she spent snoozing inside her escape pod.

Back to work for me. New sketch drawings for the troublesome scene were drawn up and emailed off for pricing. The scenery still needs some work, but getting a costing is also important. Then I started to work on a cloth. My pencil drawing needed some adjusting and additions, mostly jars of exotic animal poo! A dinosaur skull and a pith helmet. Then it was inked in and the first washes added.

Mick had a walk to look at the trains at the Nene Valley Railway, no steam engine today, too greater risk of fire so a diesel hauled the carriages. The park was very busy, boat trips, plenty of picnics and bbqs. More boats arrived and turned round as there was no space, if they’d delayed their arrival till mid afternoon those who’d come for the day pushed off.

A roast chicken was enjoyed this evening, the remainders will keep us going for quite a few days. Tomorrow we hope to find a much better outside for Tilly.

1 lock, 3.3 miles, 2 winds, 1 full water tank, 1 empty yellow water tank, 1 helping hand, 1 caught bow, 1 space on the outside, 6 hours of shore leave, 1 hour taken, 1 cloth started, 2kg of chicken, 16 roast potatoes.

https://goo.gl/maps/uNwuiE4FjhQz7Svj8

Levels. 20th August

Ashline Visitor mooring to Peterborough Embankment, River Nene

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

https://goo.gl/maps/Fn1dMa6viHB5VhEQ8

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna