Category Archives: Uncategorized

Scrub A Dub Dub. 18th March

Pollington

As far as we know the flood gates are still closed at Ferrybridge, here at Pollington is possibly the nicest mooring along this stretch, even if Tilly doesn’t agree! The water tap being close did also have something to do with staying put today.
As we got up we stripped the bed and lifted the mattress for a good airing. The winds now having subsided to a reasonable breeze we could open windows again. At times last week the air inside the cabin felt like we’d already used it five times over, so it was nice to have fresh air again. 
Perfect drying weather

With bedding hung out on the whirligig, making the most of some sunshine and a breeze, more washing was put on.
Mildew
Green and mildew

I then decided that lots of factors were in my favour, water on tap, some sun, a little breeze and picnic tables. Time to give the pram cover a good scrub. Over this winter we’ve noticed it starting to get a touch of mildew inside and where it is turn buckled to the roof on the outside it was going green.

Scrub-a-dub-dub
followed by a good rinse

Mick removed the covers as I filled a bucket with hot water and some Techwash, the scrubbing brush and hose with spray gun attached were brought out and I was ready.

Each piece had a soaking and scrub on both sides, the picnic bench a suitable height to rest on (although you have to be careful not to leave your cover with lines from the slats). Once scrubbed they got a good rinse on both sides before being put back onto the pram frame to dry.
Stop IT!!!

Nasty Tom


















I like it when they come outside to play. I helped by keeping sticks out of the way and killing them, sticks can be very pesky things at times. She had difficulty with the green snake, so Tom did some mending. He then had to test it, I my direction! I wasn’t impressed, how childish!! So instead of helping I went to wait for some friends to come out and play. I waited for a long time by their hole, but none of them showed themselves.

Drip drying

The cratch cover maybe should have been done aswell today, but I’d had enough of scrubbing so we packed up. 
River levels are still high, the Ouse seems to have peeked and is on it’s way down again. It rose to nearly the top of the life buoy. The Aire is slowly going down, maybe in a couple of days we’ll be able to get through Ferrybridge.
0 locks, 0 miles, 4 loads of washing, 1 clean pooh box, 3 pieces of pram cover scrubbed and rinsed, 1 leaking hose, 2 buckets of wash, 1 dodging cat, 2 pesky sticks, 0 friends, 1 big hole, 1 lock walk, 2 giant sweat potatoes baked in the stove, 2 boaters with a bit too much orange food!

Pooooteling!!! 17th March

Goole to No 3 Swing Bridge, Pollington 


At least there were ducks here!

With the weather calming down we decided we’d make a move today. Having been in Goole for almost two weeks now a change of scenery was much needed.
Mick got the bike out and cycled to Tescos to stock up on milk, bread and some green veg to go with our roast tonight. He also got a Sunday newspaper to make up for not getting our usual yesterday.
4pm today in York

Checking the river levels after the weekends storm means we won’t be going too far for a few days even if the forecast is looking a lot drier. The Ouse in York is on the rise again, getting higher than last week so we won’t be heading that way.
Just gone midday we undid the macrame, managing to swap ropes back to their normal places and pushed off. Not a totally calm day the bow moved out by itself. When we’d moored we’d winded so that any lapping waves would hit the stern and not keep us awake, a good decision, but it meant we needed to wind again.
Bye bye Goole

Mick backed up a touch to get a better position and then motored Oleanna round at speed, the wind trying to push us back into Goole. But with determination Oleanna made it round and we were on our way waving goodbye to the docks.

She’s happy again

A head wind isn’t that pleasant when cruising, but putting our hoods up we forged onwards, so glad to moving again.
2 sitting down on the job

Four of the desperado sheep were still cutting the grass as we passed, maybe they are the local Fountains team!
M62 ahead
The three mile straight kept coming, all the time windy but when we got under the M62 bridge things got a hole lot rougher. Waves with white horses whipped up at our bow. Blimey that wind! Even Oleanna looked a touch pensive. So glad we’d not tried this a few days ago!! There was a mile of this relentless gale until we turned the 90 degrees bend and instead of us being pushed to the side the wind calmed down a touch.
A grumble
Sykehouse Reservoir was busy. A grumble of fishermen, hunkered over their poles filled one side of the water. Four windsurfers were making fast work in the breeze, experts at turning swiftly, we only saw one of them take a tumble into the water.
The windy NORF

Only a glance down the New Junction Canal today, we were heading straight on towards Pollington, glad it was only a half hour away. The wind was now steady and waves met our bow all the way. Ahead the amber light at the lock waited for us, but instead we pulled in at the end of the visitor moorings, closest to the water point.
Pollington

The hoses were connected (one didn’t quite reach) and the water tank filled as we had some lunch. We’d moved at last, pootled our way through a head wind for eight miles. A new view, water just there what more could we want.

Some trees would be nice! 

There has been quite a bit of cutting back alongside the moorings. The nearest trees are across the drain that runs along side. The drain is quite full of water and far too wide for four little black and white legs to spring over. 
Not a bad view this evening
0 locks, 8.01 miles, 1 wind,  1 Sunday newspaper, 1 cabbage, 1 empty wee tank, 2 much rubbish, 1 mile of white horses and spray, 1 smiling boat, 2 hoses, 1 full tank, 1 disgruntled cat, 1 Sunday roast, 2 friends in the Blue Bell, York drinking pints of T, 2 boaters enjoying the sunset instead.




https://goo.gl/maps/vAc8k7MuN8G2

Better Is The Enemy Of Good. 16th March

Goole
to York University

Our trip to York was still on the cards, just not by boat sadly. We’ve stayed in Goole to be near the train station to make our trip easier today. 
Albert Street
Goole Station

With rain forecast we tried calling for a taxi to take us to the station, but no answer came, so we braved it and walked. At least if we walked, there could only be one hold up if a swing bridge was used. In a car there could also be a tailback from the station if a train came through, the whole of Goole stops for trains.

The NORF

Only very slightly damp at the edges we caught a train first to Doncaster (retracing our cruise from a couple of weeks ago from Sheffield) and then back over Doncaster Lock to York. The lock each time was empty, no sign of Exol Pride, the River Don did however look really quite full.
The Ouse full to the brim from Skeldergate Bridge
Back in York, my home town, we caught a bus out to the East Campus of York University. The bar walls turning yellow with the daffodils and the River Ouse level with the banks. A Dutch Barge was moored up at Kings Staith and a narrowboat was clinging onto a trip boat pontoon, one of the few floating pontoons in York.
A good venue with huge glue-lam beams

At the University we walked down through the new campus to the Ron Coke Hub which faces out onto a lake in true York University fashion. Here we joined a couple of hundred people all brought together for the memorial of Professor John D Currey, father of my oldest friend Nick. John had been one of the founders of York University’s Biology Department back in the 1964. Back then they were based on Micklegate as the campus out in Heslington was being built.
The lecture hall

It was a chance to catch up with Nick’s family, not having seen his siblings for decades. Tea and cake was followed by us all filing into a lecture hall where we heard memories of John through his academic life, family life and his many interests. A full and varied life.
Harry, Nicks famous dog, recently seem in the i and front page of the Guardian

Mick had only met John once for about five minutes, but by the end of today he felt he knew a lot more about the man. The title to the blog today is what John would say to his students as they hunted for good results whilst looking though microscopes at particles of bone. I’d always known John was a lecturer at the university, but to me he was more Nick’s dad who wore socks and sandles whilst riding his bike to and from the university in between orienteering weekends.
I also got chance to catch up with an old family friend Diana who I’ve kept in touch with since we sold my Dad’s house, it was nice to see her properly today.

John Currey

Nick had complied a display of photographs and in a room to the side a 3D slide show, which summed John up. A lovely celebration of his life. 
York Station clock

The trains were a little bit more awkward returning to Goole. Here we opted to have a curry on our way home. However we changed our minds and decided to get a takeaway instead and get a taxi back to the boat. The chap serving said they’d be able to give us a lift, so we ordered and then waited. He came out from the back with an order, but it wasn’t for us and disappeared to do a delivery. Our food then came out from the kitchen, only to be returned there to keep warm for quarter of an hour. 
The Viceroy

Eventually our driver returned and our food brought out again. With just over a mile to go we warned him of the speed bumps on Albert Street which he coped with, but when a big puddle showed itself he didn’t want to go any further. Fair enough, the lift thing had always been a bit fractious with them even though he was the one who offered! We’d have been better off eating in and then walking back to the boat. The food was good, just a shame it wasn’t a bit hotter.
Disappointed at not being able to spend a few days in York we considered heading that way still. But with river levels on the rise again today we are thinking again. The flood sirens were sounded in Todmorden today as the River Calder rose, this is where the river flooded and swept away parts of the Rochdale Canal a few years ago, this is our preferred route over the Pennines!
0 locks, 1 gone over 4 times on trains, 4 trains, 2 buses, 1 Toby, 1 curvy station, 4578464 daffodils, 1 new campus, 0 stepping stones, 1 man far more important than I knew, 6ft 10, 9 speakers, 1 old friend, 1 Harry, 1 apt meal to end the day, 1 hungry Tilly on our return, 0 Saturday newspaper.

Jobs To While Away The Time. 15th March

Goole… still
Yet another windy day. Mick today asked where all the air is going to and when will we run out of it? We must have had all the air possible blow past us in the last week or so!
Mick headed off to Boyes on a bike to buy some engine oil. The price in Boyes is good, but just a long way to transport it back to the boat. Luckily we have a sturdy pannier for the front of the Brompton which is big enough for 2 5L bottles. He also went to both marinas in the hunt for filters. The Beta rep had been yesterday trying to persuade them into stocking them, but nobody apparently asks for them!
Some of the sketches I did after my trip to Huddersfield for the Separate Doors 3 project, have now been chosen for the report. Two will need extra work as they will be for the front and back covers. These will be in colour, so more work is needed on them.

The boxes and sewing machine are too big for the hole!

When I’d finished making my panto model last year everything had been packed away and stowed under the dinette in the corner. Since then we’ve been to Sheffield and had an extra support added to that end of the seating. Kris positioned the support so that it wouldn’t foul the freezer, but it’s position means its in the way to get my work boxes out, the gap now being too small for the boxes to slide out through! I tried this way and that, in the end I had to pull the freezer right out on it’s drawer which gave me enough space to slide the boxes out. A bit of a phaff, but it’s only every now and then that I need my work things.

As I sat down to see what else needed adding to my sketches Mick got on with various chores. Cleaning the u bend of the bathroom sink and removing the build up of my hair from the shower trap. He then removed the shower head and put it in some descaler for ten minutes. The difference is that you now stand in a torrent of water instead of it going in all directions but the one towards you.

Report covers 1 and 2 colored, 3 still to be coloured in

My sketches went away after a couple of hours. The front cover consists of 12 heads, mostly recognisable in pencil. I would normally now do an ink line, rub out the pencil and then use watercolours. But I’m worried I’ll end up loosing everyone. So I had a go without the ink, over the pencil on another drawing. I’m not convinced, so some more thought is needed before I launch myself at the front cover properly.

The rivers are all still too high for us to escape, but we’re hoping that next week things will improve, the winds drop and we’ll be able to get moving again.

? MPH past moored boats!

One person moved here today, a jet ski! It seems that canoes are not the only ones who can go as fast as they like on canals. I pitied those moored on the visitor moorings as he zigzagged his way and swooped to turn. Past us there are miles of water he could play on without any boats, but he had to play on our stretch. Luckily he was gone after half an hour.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 Little Shuva on the river, 10 litres oil bought, 1 support, 2 hours, just 2 hours! 2 solar panels earning their keep, 6 sketches, 2 for colouring in, 1 very tentative brush, 1 improved shower, 2 draining sinks, 1 donation to rednose day.

What To Do On A Windy Day. 14th March

Goole

Another windy day, at times it actually felt more windy than when Gareth came through. Exol Pride set off at 7am, it’ll be hard work going upstream, but easier than going downstream. Hope they got through the Don Doors before they were closed due to rising waters.
We kept ourselves occupied with a cooked breakfast then I got on with some form filling. The wind kept blowing, but the sun was out. Of course by the time I’d finished my task the heavens opened delaying our walk into town. The advantage of the wind was that the rain blew through quite quickly.
Choppy Docks

The docks were very choppy, we’d just missed a boat coming up Ocean Lock and we could just see it’s bow reversing through one of the swing bridges at the far end. If only we’d left half an hour earlier! Clinging onto our hats we walked our way around the docks, over the lock gates and around to look at the river. 
Masks

Ducking out from the wind we went to see what Goole Museum had to offer. In rooms above the library the museum is small, but interesting. An exhibition of African Stories in Hull and East Yorkshire gave stories from the slavery trade up to more modern times. Chaps who’d been lion tamers, those who served in the World Wars, families that settled in the area. A lot of words to read. At the far end of the room an artist had made masks, treating them all in a similar way with decorations and verdigris.
Tasty and good for you!
One room is filled with boat portraits. Reuben Chappell was a pier head artist painting portraits of the merchant ships coming to and fro from the docks around Britain. He was possibly the last such artist, but with over 12,000 paintings he was most probably the most prolific. He would sketch the ships as they docked, return to his studio where he had backgrounds already painted and add the ships. His customers could be leaving on the next tide, so he had to work quickly.
A house now a lock
Filling a hold with coal
Photographs of the streets in days gone by are on wide window sills so you can compare the view to what it once was like. Models of ships fill a whole wall and then donations from the community fill other displays, a section of a hairdressers and a lads bedroom. 

Tom Puddings waiting in line

Large hand tinted photographs of Goole, part of the Grayburn Collection cover the corridor and staircase walls.These caught our attention the most. Navigation House which once stood where Ocean Lock gates are now, tom puddings waiting to empty their coal into ships. 
1892 map
An old map showed that where Goole Boathouse Marina is now used to be a Timber pond and standing where Viking Marina is was a Cock Boat Pond (a small rowing boat often pulled behind a larger ship or used to ferry goods from ship to shore) with an Alum works close by. Our current mooring got covered with railway sidings. Old Maps online has given me plenty more maps to look at of the area all very interesting
1953 with Ocean Lock

From 1892 to 1953 where you can see how things changed for them to build Ocean Lock in 1937.
Mick’s new improved macrame

We fought our way back to Oleanna into the headwind. By late evening it had started to calm down, but it’s due to come back again tomorrow.
0 locks, 1 walked over, 0 miles, 1 more (to add to the many) windy day, 0 shore leave, 1 personal statement, 4 boats, 1 reversing, 1 museum, 1 closed market, 1 beef and parsnip stew on the stove, 1 sock finished, 2 Don doors closed.

Rivers Up. 13th March

Goole

Not as bumpy last night as it could have been. The wind still buffeted us about no end with the occasional downpour. Both of us managed to sleep quite well, the new macrame worked a treat.
Ducks struggling in waves bigger than themselves (not the best photo)
With the wind still going for it Tilly was grounded for much of the day. She tends to stay away a little bit too long when it’s windy, we think she looses her scent trail home. That is not the case at all! I always know where home is. There are just far too many things moving that all need investigating.
Later in the afternoon her winging at the back door got the better of us and we relented.
Right to the door

Early afternoon our delivery arrived, the van being able to park up right outside the boat. Sadly there were a few items not available but we’d already had an email about them. No loose parsnips, I had ticked that they could substitute these. Which they had done, with Leeks! These went back, but as I unpacked I came across a bag of parsnips, which hadn’t made it to our receipt! So more than I wanted and free. Tomorrow we’ll brave the wind and walk to Tesco for the missing bits.
York at 3:30pm today and still rising

Today we were originally planning on heading up the Tidal Ouse to Naburn, this we’d cancelled several days ago. Checking levels and webcams today the Ouse was doing what it does well at this time of year. 
The No Entry sign outside the Lowther has been submerged above the white line on occasions, luckily not today. 
That’ll be in the red then

Checking levels on the Aire, there would be no doubt that it would be in the red today. It may well be above the red level marker as it’s currently 8ft higher than an average height.
Paul and a bored cat

We’ll not be escaping for a while yet.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 boaters and 1 cat hunkered down in the wind, 1 delivery, 2 boxes of wine only, 1 new post, 1 guilty, 8ft high, 4 ropes better than 2, 1 new sock nearly finished.

Highlight Of The Day. 12th March

To the water point and back, Goole

Wet, windy and rainy … what’s new! We’re getting used to this weather now.
Tilly wasn’t impressed though, it took quite some time for her to get out of the back doors and across to the trees this morning. But once there she kept herself busy, returning only for ‘Thank you for coming home’ treats and to leave her muddy paw marks everywhere!
Our thoughts turned to stocking up. From our mooring it is getting on for a mile and a half walk to Tescos, then the same back with heavy bags. With high winds and Storm Gareth (The Dark Lord) on his way we decided on a delivery. There is a track that comes right alongside the mooring and so long as the driver keeps going he’ll get to us. So we spent quite a bit of today putting together our shopping list. Enough supplies to see us to the end of the week.
Exol Pride fully laden but not going anywhere

River levels surrounding us are still not good. We may be on a stretch of canal, but which ever way we go we have to go onto a river to get to more of the canal network. The Ouse, The Aire, The Don or The Trent are our captors or seen another way our means of escape. 
Excitement! A trip to the tap 
Filling up

 With the wind calmer than of late we decided to head across to the water point for a top up before things got worse. Tilly came home when called and we untied all the ropes and pushed off. So exciting to be on the move!

DB Dolly Earle had breasted up to a wide beam just by the water point. So we winded to be able to get our nose in amongst their ropes.

Whilst topping up the tank we also wanted to dispose of our mountain of rubbish. I wonder how often the bin here gets emptied? We’d normally have kept hold of our rubbish, but space on board was starting to run out, so we added to the biffa bin mountain. 
Over flowing

As we pushed off to return back to our mooring the wind started to pick up. It was manageable  but boy it was cold. Mick decided to redesign his macrame and swapped ropes around. Being able to get ropes back to Oleanna meant he could tie them off tighter, spring lines added too. We felt a lot more secure and less likely to move around biffing the side.
As the evening has progressed the wind has built up. I’m glad Mick has perfected our mooring lines, just hope the chap behind us on his little cruiser is okay.
0 locks, 0.4 miles, 2 winds, 2 outside changes, 1 the same as before, 1 full water tank, 1 rubbish mountain, 1 delivery organised, 2 yarns proving hard to find, 1 perspective new boater chat, 1 commission arrived, 1 pork joint finally finished.

PS Those who get this by email, are they coming through okay? Last week we had reports of a post without photos and tonight one that was just blank.


Three Ships. 10th March

You guessed it Goole


Tilly finding the sun again
This morning we had a phone call from the Lock Keeper at Naburn, this is the lock that takes you off the tidal River Ouse onto the reach that passes through the city. He was calling to inform us that the river was up and that the moorings at Naburn were under water. We’d already guessed as much and with the Aire having levelled out over night at 3ft higher than a week ago we wouldn’t be getting to Selby in time anyway. Mick chatted to the chap and cancelled our booking. Selby currently is unmanned, but a Lockie would have been there on Wednesday for us, now there is no need.
A shame as we really wanted to take Oleanna to York. It’s where I was born overlooking the Ouse in Fulford, my home til the age of 22 and where Mick worked for 14 years. We still have lots of friends in the area and it is also the closest we can get Oleanna to Scarborough to be able to catch up with folk there. But when the Ouse floods it’s best to respect it and stay away. The floods now are nothing compared to what it can get like, but the flows would be strong, moorings under water and we’d constantly be checking on our ropes as there are no floating pontoons in the centre of York. Our trip by boat will have to wait until next time we’re near.
Bye then
Mick headed off to catch a train this morning leaving Tilly and myself in the sunshine. What a lovely day to not be cruising. No rain all day, it may be the only good day for the rest of the week, oh well.
Once Tilly had returned from one of her numerous visits to the trees to annoy the local bird life, I locked up the boat and went for a walk. Yesterday on Vessel Finder we could see six boats in the docks, so that is where I headed, not hard as just about anywhere from the moorings takes you through the docks.
I saw three ships
I got to the end of Albert Street and turned right and headed for Ocean Lock. Last night must have been busy, as today I could count nine ships.
Another two
It seemed that Friendship S was having to wait in line behind another ship to be unloaded as it was moored up against the walkway to the lock.
Timber maybe
Cranes and trucks were busy moving goods around all over the place. 
From the lock gates I could see that the tide was quite high out on the river. We haven’t been able to work out when boats come through the locks, whether it’s at high tide or low. Some days it’s just as the tide turns that ships head out towards the Humber, other times it’s towards low water. No ships looked like they were getting ready to leave but I headed to see what could be seen from north of the locks.
Entrance to Ocean Lock almost central, Victoria Dock on the right
Here a flood bank blocks your view somewhat, but the houses behind it are grateful as they seemed to be siting a touch lower than the water on the river. Climbing to the top I could see where the entrance to Ocean and Victoria Locks were. No boat movements visible.
Sailor Memorial
Here the Goole Sailor Memorial sits, behind a high fence and gates. Those who died in service during the two World Wars are commemorated here over looking the Ouse.
Shuffleton Windmill
A windmill stands close to the flood bank in Shuffleton. George Heron owned the mill in 1870, the sails removed in 1893 and the original mill was rebuilt in 1912. Every year the Shuffleton Feast took place on the river foreshore. The highlight of which was to climb a greased pole to try to win a large ham that was stuck to the top of it.
Quite grand in the middle of a terraced street
My walk towards the shops took me along terraced streets. Some of the houses double fronted standing out from those around them. Sadly I haven’t been able to find any information on them.
I collected a few bits of shopping and returned to Oleanna. We now had a neighbour a small cruiser, the owner having headed out for supplies. Boats were on the move today, making use of the dry day. A cruiser passed and then DB Dolly Earle came past waving as he headed to breast up with a widebeam by the water point.
Chicken and Sweet Potato pie. Yummy!
This evening we’ve enjoyed a  chicken and sweet potato pie covered with my latest batch of puff pastry. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy a pie again and this one we’ll be having again as it was very tasty. With the VHF radio on we listened to three of the ships leaving through Ocean Lock and the approach of Exol Pride who had to stem the tide and wait it’s turn. Wonder when she will head up the canal as the River Don is high again.
 0 locks, 0 miles, 4 trains, 4 bike rides, 5 mile walk, 9 ships, 3 going, 2 coming in, 3 boats moving, 1 sunny day, 1 spoil sport noisy bird, 5 hours.

Hailing Goole. 10th March

Goole

A day to stay inside for most of us. Wind, sun, rain, hail, more wind and more hail! 
Tilly did her best to be outside, but at times the wind was a touch too much for even her.
The hail was avoided by all of us, apart from the bits that bounced off the roof and jumped in under the mushroom vents.
Safe from the hail

The river levels keep rising and falling. I hunted through my old pictures of Bank Dole lock to see if I had one of the levels board there. Gaugemap shows the height difference of the river at Knottingley Lock, but what we don’t know is at what height the river goes into the amber and then the red. I was hoping to make an educated guess if I had photos, but none were to be found. 80cm higher than it had been 5 days ago suggested it would more than likely to be in the red.
Checking the webcam in York showed what we’d expected, the river being full to the brim at King’s Staith again. Every now and then a cruiser shows itself on the moorings outside The Lowther, but they have far more power than a narrowboat.
So for the time being we’ll be staying put. The forecast isn’t too hopeful for the rest of the week with strong winds every day. 
Before

My box set of Inspector Morse was opened. You can watch most Morse episodes in any order as there is little underlying plot story to story. So we chose to watch Death of the Self, mostly because my friend Jane Snowden was in it and she gives Morse a snog!
Big and red!

Late afternoon the hail had dried up and the sun was out. Time to see if my latest creation would fit. Mick offered to kneel on the gas locker and do the honours whilst I directed. It fitted perfectly, just needed to be attached in some way.
Cable ties should hold it

A couple of cable ties to the shackles did the trick. If we could get one in lower that would be better, but that would involve pushing the stern out to get the bow closer to the bank and in this wind … well we might not get the stern back!
Red Nose

So Oleanna now has a Red Nose for Comic Relief on Friday.
Shame nobody except us is likely to see it, but if we don’t go anywhere it won’t end up with mud on it from lock gates. It is a vast improvement from my previous version.
Previous version, too small, but Lillian’s button was at a better height.

0 locks, 0 miles, 3 hail storms, 2 lots of thunderous thunder, 1st 4 ply sock needing adjustment, 2nd version started, 1 giant red nose attached, 1 Morse watched, 1 roast chicken for tea.


Next on the needles

Five Winds. 9th March

Goole


Sunny

Sun streamed in through the bathroom porthole this morning, the forecast surely must have been wrong! Tilly headed out for eight hours of shore leave and we settled down to breakfast.
Within what felt like a couple of minutes someone had turned the outside light off and rain was starting to hit Oleanna at a diagonal. The forecast had been fairly accurate. 
Tilly came and went getting damper each time she headed off into the sideways trees, but the rain wasn’t going to put her off today.
For weeks I’ve been moving around a bag containing damp crystals, today was the day they would finally get used. In the bedroom we have several damp traps, some in cupboards, one under the front steps and a couple under the bed. They all needed emptying (some of them quite full) and then topping up with crystals. The hardest one to get to is under our bed in a gap between our underbed drawers. To get to this I have to lift the mattress and slide an arm through the holes cut in the bed base. Reaching just as far as I can to get hold of a small damp trap, which needs to be tilted to come through the hole.
First attempt my elbow got stuck, but before I panicked I managed to work it free. The sliding portion of the base wasn’t quite lined up, so it just needed adjusting so as not to trap me again. The trap was full to the brim with water so I managed to position a cloth to catch any overflow as I tipped it through another hole.
The wind just too much to get round

As the morning progressed so did the build up of wind  and rain. A narrowboat came along, the chap at the helm intent on getting somewhere, keeping his speed up to avoid being blustered around. He passed us, then ten minutes later he had winded and was coming back straight into the wind and rain. There being no visitor moorings free by the boat house he’d returned to join us, or so we thought.
He came past us, winded and looked like he was heading to moor up, but then carried on past us again where he winded another time. Maybe he was trying to moor with his bow facing the wind, keep the lapping of waves to the opposite end of the boat from where he sleeps.
Again he came past us, winded and then tried to wind again, this time the wind really wasn’t going to give him a chance to get the bow round. He let it win and carried on  that bit further to where the canal widened giving him more chance to get round. This time he succeeded and then came in to the bank behind us. Here there is only one bollard of any use, which he managed to get his centre line around. Three spikes were hammered into the ground to tie the rest of his ropes to before he could go inside to dry off.
We hadn’t considered moving today due to the weather. Quite glad that wasn’t us.
Sheep!?!

In the afternoon the sun came back out, the wind still blowing a hoolie, but at least it was brighter. A glance out of the side hatch and there were two sheep. Sheep in Goole?! Hadn’t been expecting them. They looked bedraggled, one with it’s wool clinging on in a few places and bare elsewhere. Then  another four came past, stopping to trim the grass for a while. Desperado sheep, going it alone.
Grazing the towpath

A walk along the towpath later on to stretch our legs meant we caught up with them. Two sat happily in the sideways trees, the other four trimming the towpath, pausing to have a good rub on fencing. 
A satisfying rub
Apart from the wind it was a beautiful day, quite a shame not to be cruising. If we’d have moved off yesterday we’d be on the Aire today where tight bends and the wind would most certainly not have gone together, so we were glad we’d stayed put.
Sunny again
An old rail line leading to the docks

The river levels have been dropping gradually all day, but with the downpour this morning they started to go back up in the evening.

Nearly finished
Who’s been here? They smell funny!

Our booking to head up the River Ouse is on Wednesday, the forecast that day is not appealing with very very strong winds. At the moment we’re hoping things improve and we just have to postpone it by a day, but we’re also aware we may have to we cancel our trip altogether.






0 locks, 0 miles, 8 hours, 4 wet paws, 1 soggy moggy, 2 windy, 5 winds, 6 damp traps, 1 lodged arm, 2 fittings, 2 adjustments, 6 inches, 1 more fitting needed, 6 desperado sheep, 6 roll and folds, 1 block of puff pastry, 1 conpooperated cat.

Zonked