‘Nine and a half hours Tilly and we want to see you at least twenty times today please!’
This sort of fell on deaf ears, well she is a cat! What did I expect!! After an initial roll around to leave her scent Tilly disapeared for a few hours, nowhere to be seen. Calling for her mid morning didn’t work, or maybe it did as she returned about half an hour later to say hello and have a drink, followed by a snooze. I think she was still a bit pooped from yesterday.
Out and about in the sunshine
Work for me again today. I wanted to get the initial sketches completed so that Amy can peruse them over the weekend, then I can do any amendments that she’d like along with things I’d like to do. Improving hands is top of my list! By the end of the day all sixteen drawings had been scanned and emailed to Leeds.
Cast portraits, just a couple to add
Mid afternoon an email from Will at Chippy Theatre dropped into my inbox with a synopsis for Rapunzel attached. A Zoom meeting will be arranged to meet the Director next week. This year John Terry is having a break from panto, so David Ashley is taking the reigns.
My sour dough improves with each day time feed, but as the stove is no longer alight it isn’t doing quite so well overnight. I gave it a feed at around midday. It takes a couple of hours before anything starts to happen, then it starts to bubble up the sides of the jar, expanding with air. After about three and three quarter hours it seems to reach it’s peak and within another twenty minutes it has sunk again. I’m hoping that it shows an improvement tomorrow so that I can make a loaf of bread again. But I have to be patient.
15:50
16:10
During the afternoon I’ve been messaging the greengrocer from the market. They do fruit and veg boxes so we’re going to give one a go. No idea what we’ll get, but when we last did a shop with them at the market I spent around £17, so I’ve ordered a £15 veg box. Their website suggested there were no slots left this month, but because they deliver to a house close to the canal near here we have been added in. Very exciting, just hope we’ll be able to eat it all.
This evening the C&RT boaters update arrived keeping us up to date with what the trust are doing. This is a weekly thing anyway, but today it informed us that around a third of the Trusts staff have taken furlough leave, operational staff remain at full strength to look after the network and support boaters needs. They are starting to do aquatic weed management, I wonder if that will happen here?
They are also extending current boat licences for a month from their current expiry date. So our licence which should run out at the end of March will now last us until the end of April next year. Wonder how they are doing this for Gold licence holders?
I so wish I could stretch like that, it looks so good.
Tilly decided to come home for a snooze during the afternoon. Waking with an hour left of shore leave she sat at the back doors gently reminding us she was there. Mick and I looked at each other and decided that it was actually dingding time and the back doors today would remain shut!
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 walk round the reservoir, 1 leg rested on board, 2 calls from Val, 16 sketches scanned, 0 car accident that wasn’t my fault, 20 page synopsis, 3.75 hours optimum rise, 1 veg box sneaked in, 13 months for the price of 12.
An alteration to my routine was called for. I tend to get into work in the afternoons and because of that and wanting to listen to what is being said at the daily press conference from London I keep missing out on a walk. So I decided to rearrange my day a touch, heading out for a walk returning for lunch, then I could get on with work.
Thursday Photo
Today I plotted a route to walk, around three miles with the aim of seeing a house I’ve not noticed from the canal before, Wardle Old Hall which sits at Bridge 101 of the Shropshire Union Canal. Most of the route I’d be covering I’ve done a few times now but that can’t be helped, so I chose to cross over the canal and return across the fields to Stoke Manor.
Recently people have been saying how clear the water has been looking with the lack of boat movements. Sadly that is not the case here. Boats still move for shopping, water etc, but there is far far less movement than there normally would be on the Four Counties Ring. Instead of the canal clearing so we can see the fish and what lies below our hulls the canal is growing murkier and thicker. Last night we’d noticed a layer of scum which was starting to collect trapped by the bridge hole behind us. Today the start of weed was very evident along my route up towards Barbridge.
Weedy scummy
There was lots of activity on the side of the reservoir. At least eight Fountains employees were cutting the grass and trimming the nettles working their way round the two boats now moored there. I did a double take as one lawnmower was moving around by remote control. I’ve seen the little robot mowers before in peoples gardens, but this was a fully grown up big cutting machine a chap walking alongside directing it with a joy stick. At least he was getting his excersise without having to man handle the big mower along the slopes. I was then surprised to see another chap walking his way round the steeper sections of the bank with a mower, maybe the big one is too heavy to get to the top.
Onwards towards Barbridge I walked, the earlier time of day meaning there were fewer people about. I got just past Stokehall Bridge when a muscle in my left calf went ping! Damn!! This has happened before, several times, normally during the colder months. I took a few steps further, not as bad as it’s been before, but I shouldn’t antagonise it more than I had to. I’d managed a mile and was turning round before I’d reached my goal, a hobble back to Oleanna.
Wild Garlic. I’d like to find a patch of it away from the towpath and make some pesto
Another four sketches were achieved, some closer images which require better faces. Some looked good, others not so. The play works it’s way through all four seasons and I was a little bit unsure as to when we went into Autumn, a quick text to Amy and that was sorted.
Coming along
My sourdough starter was fed and returned to the proving shelf whilst the excess was mixed with several different flours, milk, cocoa and chocolate.
Baked in the oven for 25 minutes, then left a short while to cool just enough. The result was good, but could have been a touch better. I’d had to substitute the main flour for rice flour which tends to be a touch thirstier, so this may have dried the mixture out a touch too much. Next time, if I’m allowed to use so much chocolate again, I’ll reduce the amount of arrowroot and add a touch more milk to see if that improves things.
Brownies
Listening to the press conference we both commented on how badly Matt Hancock was delivering his spiel today, he had no idea of what he was saying, he can’t have read it before hand. We listen to what is being said at these conferences and find ourselves commenting at the TV, our comments are getting louder and LOUDER each day!
We’d not seen Tilly for most of the day, she’d returned home for a drink and a short snooze mid afternoon, but now cat curfew time was getting close. A quick call along the towpath didn’t work, so I hobbled down through the gap into the field. More calls. She wasn’t along the left perimeter where she’s popped out from the last few times. I called and called.
Maybe she had gone to climb the trees in the centre of the field?
Is that her?
Was that a Crow over there? On the other side of the field? It was too big for a crow. It moved so it wasn’t an inanimate object.
Yep that’s Tilly
I got Mick to pass me the camera and zoomed in on the black shape walking away. That black shape had four white paws and holey tights!
TILLY!!!!!!!!
All the
NO acknowledgement what so ever, just a swifter walk away from me. At least we knew where she was. Should we leave her to come home on her own? No, we knew she would now be tiered, tired like a little kid who won’t go to bed giving you all the excuses that you can see straight through. Oh for a remote control cat! We could turn her round and bring her back straight across the field!
way
Instead Mick put his shoes on, decided that going to the right would be the shortest route around the boundary to get to Tilly. Off he set. Ten or so minutes later I phoned him. Tilly was on the other side of a hedge from him doing the toddler thing and meowing about being busy! No point in trying to pick her up because she’d find enough energy to wriggle herself free and then be far FAR too busy to come home. Words of encouragement were the only way forward.
over
A while later I hobbled back to the gap to see what progress had been made. They were on the opposite side of the field now, Tilly was leading the way home following her scent, the longer way round the field. I tried shouting, but neither Tilly or Mick could hear me. Back to chopping veg up for a stir fry.
there!!!
Then half an hour after Mick had set off I could hear his no quite so encouraging words just on the other side of the hedge. Time for me to take over.
As she popped her head out from the sideways trees I could see just how exhausted she was. Luckily she knew the best thing to do was come inside and have some food and a drink. Then she took herself away into the bedroom where she curled up for the night only to be disturbed once by us making the bed up.
Arrow points to Oleanna, pin to Tilly!
I wonder where she’ll get to tomorrow!
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 remote control lawnmower, 1 miles there, 1 ping, 1 hobbling mile back, 1tsp maple syrup, 4 sketches, ? more figures just to impress, 12 brownies, 2 shouting boaters, 1 shouting cat lady, 1 cat just visible, 0.75 miles walk for Mick, 1 totally exhausted cat, 0 lap sitting tonight.
All back to the new normal today. Game of pen, followed by feline shore leave rules, breakfast, towpath murder etc.
At times in the old normal, it was hard to determine what day of the week it was, ‘Today is Thursday?’ is one of the phrases that was used quite often on Oleanna. Somehow we knew we’d reached the mid point of the week, but not quite certain which side of it we were on. Our Saturday newspaper would help a touch, anchoring one day a week for us.
Well it is Sunday!
But things in the new normal are not quite the same. Every day feels like a Sunday, we are of course correct one day out of seven. Now that we have had a whole month of the new normal I decided to unwrap the pork joint we’d got and let it rest in the fridge all day to roast this evening. I actually know it’s Wednesday but today it could be Sunday.
Troubles towing after turning the corner
More work for me whilst Tilly went out exploring. She found a friend and brought it back to sit on the towpath next to Oleanna. For once she didn’t bother to consume it as a snack and just left it for passersby to admire. One lady wasn’t too impressed! Maybe it will keep people away from us.
Quite a few more boats moving today, including two that came down the locks. It turned out one was towing the other. Wonder how far they are heading?
10th April
with a full lock
Mick had a walk up to the reservoir this afternoon. We’ve been keeping an eye on the damp patch of towpath below the bottom lock at Hurleston. A C&RT chap had said it was due to an artesian well alongside the lock. Most of the time we’ve been here the lock has been left full, but the other day the last boat to go through the flight came down, leaving it empty over night.
17th April with an empty lock overnight
The following day we walked up to have a look and compare the towpath. There was still a little trickle seeping out but the whole area was far drier than when the lock had been left full. We’re considering sending the photos in to C&RT as to us it looks like there is a leak.
Hurleston eggs
Mick returned from his walk with a box of eggs. At the top of the reservoir there is a house that keeps chickens and the lady charges £1 for half a dozen. We’d seen other people walking with egg boxes and now we know where they’d come from.
Rising again
My sourdough starter had a feed this morning. I’m using the 1:1:1 method to try to get it back rising and frothy. 1 part starter, 1 part water, 1 part brown rice flour. It has turned the corner and grows for the first three hours then deflates. It just isn’t growing enough yet to bake with. So I decided to give it a third fee today to see if that would help. I’ve retained the excess to make some brownies with tomorrow. Thank you for the link to the scrapings method Jerry. I need to get my starter fully frothed then I’ll give it a go.
Stopped in her tracks
As the joint cooked I was going to watch Orlando a broadcast via the ICA. The information about it suggested that it could be useful for a project that might happen next year as the film incorporated projection and live costume changes. But sadly even though our internet seemed to be fine the picture froze. After a few minutes I decided that it wasn’t an artistic element of the film and gave up.
Good crackling
0 locks, 0 miles, 6 eggs, 3 chutney recipes passed on, 3 feeds, 1 mouse for all to see, 9 hours shore leave, 2 new neighbours, 5 sketches, 1.5kg pork joint, gas mark 7 for 50 minutes, 10 more scored lines, 1 vast amount of crackling, 1 month, 31 Sundays, how many more to come?
PS. Who’s daughter lives in the house that we walked past with Tilly? You didn’t leave your name.
Still no shore leave this morning! This Nantwich outside is worse than BUMingham!
After they finished their morning dingding, She asked me if I wanted to use my pooh box. Stupid question really, I didn’t want to use it! I wanted to use the shore based facilities but appeased her by having a wee. ‘Marvelous’ She said, I was then assisted into my escape pod. There was no urgency about this and we certainly hadn’t moved the outside to river conditions, so just what was going on? Then the door closed behind me! Here hang on there!!! She really needed to think about what she was doing here.
The door has closed in the past. One time we got in a big box which moved the outside very quickly, then we got to our new inside, Oleanna. Were we moving to a new inside? They hadn’t told me anything about it. In fact they’d been doing whispering since She made a phone call yesterday morning when She thought I was asleep!
The other times the door has closed I’ve been taken through the outside to visit an inside where woofers quiver and smell whilst waiting their turn. Oh blimey was that about to happen?!
Tom was waiting outside with his bicycle. The Escape Pod just fitted on top of the bag at the front, but it meant we had to go backwards and forwards for him to turn round. Why they didn’t take me and the Escape Pod off the bike to turn… well !
My chariot
Maybe I was going for a pedicure? But She seemed to think I was doing a good enough job by myself trying to open the door.
No, I was going on a guided tour of Nantwich outside. Apparently I’m a touch too heavy to have just been walked round in my pod. Down a ramp to the bottom of the tall trees, they really are very tall! Then across a road. She moved to be between me and the cars, Tom protecting me from sideway trees. This was a touch better. I was told to look at the pretty houses then the black and white ones just like me. I was far more interested in trying to open the door and SHOUT to the world about not being allowed out to climb the big trees!
Those trees look ideal for climbing
People knew I was coming and moved out of the way. One lady with a woofer apologised as her woofer stopped to do a necessary down an alleyway. More pretty houses, but I wasn’t interested anymore, I had something else on my mind and they just weren’t listening to me!
A touch narrow for two meters
Then they stopped and talked to a She. She wondered where she was going to put us as we didn’t have a car. By the skip, unfortunately in a touch of shade so I couldn’t sunbath. Everyone else had cars all spaced out with woofers in the back. Every now and then a Tom would come out of the building and take a woofer away, they all had things on their faces, most probably so they didn’t have to smell the woofers.
Cars socially distancing from each other
Oh but then…. I’d done my best…..but simply couldn’t hold on any longer! Tom and She discussed what to do. Tom suggested that She should hold me whilst he disposed of my pooh. I really didn’t want to have to sit in there with it, She said I was too eager to get away from the smell for the Escape Pod to be opened up. Blimey it smelt! Even the She we’d checked in with moved to be up wind of me!
What’s happening over there?
Then how embarrassing, That She radioed to get another She who had already protected herself from the smell to come and whisk me away. She was nice and cleaned out my escape pod, gave me something new to sit on whilst I waited. All my possessions put in a plastic bag and handed to Tom.
The rules
Whilst I was being sorted the Tom (who is Greek not Mexican like She thought!) I was meant to be seeing had come to collect me but I wasn’t there! So people hunted round for me and I called out to them. Eventually I got to see Greek Tom. He jabbed my neck wrote things down, looked at my teary eye and gave me a stroke and a chin rub. He was quite nice and decided to give me a towel.
She was doing Covid graffiti
Greek Tom chatted away and brought things that I know will end up on the top of the bathroom cupboard! She stayed to pay whilst Tom and I started to head back into town. Now I’d hoped we’d be coming back the same way as I wanted a better look at the pink trees, but Greek Tom’s towel covered my view, so I shouted just as loud, but nobody took any notice.
Not much of a view on the way back wrapped ina towel!
Back inside Oleanna I had to have a really good wash, I smelt of the stuff they use to mask woofer smell. Then it was time to have a good snooze whilst they had a cuppa, it had been an exhausting morning!
I’d been very surprised when I rang the vets for advice regarding Tilly’s booster that it was going to be possible and they’d booked her in straight away. I thought we’d be advised to wait a month or so. All their measures to keep everyone separate had been thought out very well, we were impressed. Nantwich Veterinary Hospital is possibly the biggest practice we’ve taken Tilly to. Under normal circumstances I would have deemed it too far away from the canal, Middlewich was a touch closer but I’d ear marked a practice in Lymm that I’d visited with Houdini six years ago for this years jabs. But it was far more important for Tilly to be kept up to date and for us to replenish wormer and flee treatments.
We came away with some of a years worth of medication, our wallet considerably lighter. A trip back will be needed to pick up the rest of Tilly’s flea treatments as they were out of stock. Hopefully it will arrive in the next three months!
We now had another load of washing to do, so whilst the machine turned I fed my sourdough starter which had turned a touch pink overnight and had lunch.
A good spot for a delivery
Then it was time for us to leave Nantwich behind. Whilst at the water point all the toilets on board (Tilly’s and ours) had a good clean and our waste was disposed of. Then back the two miles to Hurleston, passing NB AreandAre who were waiting for a booze delivery. We winded and resumed our position at the moorings.
Back at bridge 97
Tilly by now had calmed down after her stressful morning so was given three hours of shore leave. When it came time for her to come home she showed her face quickly from the friendly cover. So glad she had forgiven us. A curl up on my knee in front of the stove was all she wanted this evening.
Tail up and happy again
0 locks, 2.08 miles by boat, 2.08 miles for a cat on a bike, 644388 meows, 1 embarassing incident, 1 years vaccinations, 1 years wormer, 3 months (so far) fleaer, 1 passport stamped and approved for shore leave for another year, 1 new towel, Covid -19 compliant vet, 1 clean pooh box, 1 clean pooh bucket, 1 clean lot of cat bedding, 0.2 kg heavier than last year (it’s all those mice), Lockdown mooring 4 again.
As we’re near a water point the washing machine was put to work whilst we had breakfast, another load would be needed before the drawer was empty again.
So pretty with the bluebells
Mick headed off to Sainsburys with a bike and lots of shopping bags leaving me to walk in on my own for a few bits. The Alms Houses on Welsh Row are even prettier than before, their gardens growing greener every day. Forget-me-nots and bluebells contrasting with the red paintwork. I think they are my favourite buildings in Nantwich. They just need a visit from Frank Matthews to replace the spikes on their roofs.
This one would be easy Frank no turning
In town I first visited Holland and Barrett being asked to wait outside until someone left. A chap on a bike joined the queue behind me saying he’d had short shrift from a lady in a different queue earlier today. She’d bitten his head off rather than give him a polite answer and a smile to his question. He preferred our queue.
Tulips and Wallflowers, they remind me of Rowntrees in York
Holland and Barrett was the first shop I came across to bring in measures to protect everyone, and with each visit they add more. Today I was invited to use some hand sanitiser as I walked in, both members of staff wearing masks. They had brown rice flour but no gluten free plain flour. Two bags bought and I was quickly out of the shop, I can now see if I can persuade my sourdough starter to come back to life with the aid of a cabbage leaf.
Fed and a cabbage leaf
Next the bakers. Mick is very partial to cheese twists from Sainsburys, sadly they hadn’t been available when our shopping was picked this morning. There also hadn’t been time to pre-order a pork pie from Clewlows, so a cheese and onion pasty and a medium pie would have to do instead.
Boots to stock up on eye drops, at the till they had some hand sanitizer so that was added to my basket. Then round the bend to Home Bargains where I joined the orderly queue down the side of the building. As I neared the front door Mick came past pushing our click and collect order. A quick once around the shop and I’d found hand wash and some new clothes pegs, we could now hang the washing out with confidence.
Ooo! Escape pod
Back at Oleanna, Tilly was closed in the bedroom whilst all Micks shopping came in, disinfected and stowed. Then she was locked out of the bedroom as I brought my shopping in, then back in the bedroom as the final items were disinfected.
Sadly for Tilly we’ve decided to stay in Nantwich another night so for some of the afternoon we had to cope with her protestations at the back doors. Once she’d visited her pooh box she calmed down a touch.
Where’s it’s roof?!
Tomorrow she will get a fresh box, she’s really done her best to use shore based facilities and this lot of litter still has life in it even after three weeks! As a treat her escape pod came out, I was told off for not getting the roof on it quick enough though! This can only mean one thing, a river cruise. Hooray!!!
Don’t forget the towel too!
The whirligig was put up with washing on it, but during the afternoon the wind got up, making sound effect noises at our windows. Despite having new clothes pegs Mick decided to put the washing on hangers in the pram cover, safer than having to fish it out from the cut!
Some more work on my illustrations this afternoon. One I was very pleased with, another not so. Faces either work really well for me or take several attempts. On the virtual poses I’ve been using, the head of one of the characters seems to be a touch too big for her body so I’m having to adjust it as I go. Still plenty more to do.
Breezy. I like this one
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 bike of shopping, 1 pleasant queue, 1 pasty, 1 pie, 1 lot of eye drops, 2 bags flour, 0 plain flour, 1 big pork joint, 1 red cabbage, 1 leaf, 2 loads washing, 1 escape pod, 1 happy cat, 3 illustrations, 2 episodes of The Nest.
Our Saturday paper is getting thin. It must be half the weight it used to be, no travel section and sport is now in the main body of the paper. The blind date is now virtual with a take away, although the chap this week couldn’t make up his mind whether to eat with his date or flat mates afterwards, he then opted to get a takeaway! She’s better off without him.
In the food section was a Lockdown Larder special. I have a lot of the ingredients needed, but only one recipe really took my fancy, chocolate fudge tart. This requires Hobnob biscuits for the base, none in our larder, you can get gluten free ones, or you used to be able to get them pre lockdown! Too many calories though for not much exercise, I’d prefer a cheese scone anyway, or would I?
Sunday photo of Lockdown mooring 3
Mick logged on to Sainsburys this morning to see a load of Click and Collect slots available for tomorrow. Maybe this would do us till our delivery in ten days time. He secured the slot with the obligatory boxes of wine.
Still nothing showing in the Lapwing field
The route to Sainsburys from Hurleston has no pavement along the road, riding a bike is okay, but not pushing one. I’d looked into getting a greengrocer delivery, but there were no slots for the remainder of the month, so that wouldn’t help. Then a plan was formed.
Sunny day cruising
We’d be needing water in the next day or two, so if we cruised into Nantwich to fill the tank then I could visit Holland and Barrett, hopefully stocking up on Brown Rice flour for my sourdough starter and Mick could ride to Sainsburys and push the bike back with a bigger shop along pavements. This would be further than going from our mooring, but safer and preferable to standing in line at Morrisons.
Much of the morning was spent working out menus for the next ten days and what was essential shopping for this period. I had to be careful as items seemed to vanish from our basket every now and again, so I really hope we won’t get two loaves of bread and three bags of parsnips!
With the shopping order done we decided that Tilly would decide when we left for Nantwich. She’d spent most of late morning/early afternoon asleep on the bed and just as we’d decided that we might head into town today she’d woken and headed out! Luckily she returned quite soon, so the doors were locked and we could set off.
She said I needed to stay inside whilst they moved the outside. This is nothing unusual, I prefer it that way. But She told me I had to give my paws a very good clean, She thinks they are filthy and is threatening me with a pedicure. Have to say I quite fancy one of those pedicures where tiny fish come and nibble between your toes. I think the experience would be really rather quite tasty!
The flag bubble boats
As I’ve been sat at a computer for much of the last few days I decided to walk whilst Mick brought Oleanna along. The sun was out and everyone just around the bend at the flag bubble were being busy doing jobs.
The Nantwich horse
It was a pleasant walk, most people kept their distance but there were some exceptions. I’m starting to wonder if children are taught about meters anymore, but then an old chap on a bike almost rubbed shoulders with a lady as they both passed a boat! I’m quite happy to find a wide place to wait for bikes and walkers to come past, but then some people insist on walking two abreast reducing the gap I’d left.
This stretch to Nantwich is becoming really quite familiar now. The green bus looks like there is a drum kit set up on the upper deck and the tractors looked a touch more spread out than before.
Coming in to the services
I crossed over the bridge to the services which was free and waited for Oleanna to catch up. We disposed of rubbish and refilled the water tank.
Across the aqueduct
Then we pootled across the aqueduct, soon passed another boat who were excited to be heading to the water point for their weekly fill. On down to Marsh Lane Bridge and the winding hole.
Chomping away at the long grass
Here two swans were enjoying tucking into the extra long grass on the towpath. We turned and headed back across the aqueduct to moor close to the ramp down into town.
Marvelous, time for a couple of hours before curfew!Sorry Tilly, this is Nantwich and Tilly cats don’t go out here!How dull!
After our dinner we sat down to watch Phantom of the Opera. Mick has never seen it and I wanted to have a trip down memory lane and spot the props that I’d made in the past. But it wasn’t to be. For some copyright reason in England it was only available to view for free for 24 hrs! Oh well, I bet the table cloth wasn’t as good as mine! And the candles not as expertly dribbled!
Instead we watched The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. It was an old concert, but with some familiar favourites. We’ve been lucky enough to see them live a couple of times. I suspect we enjoyed them more than we would have enjoyed Phantom.
0 locks, 3.42 miles, 1.8 miles walked, 1 thin newspaper, 11am slot, 4 boxes, 1 veg box enquiry, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 1 embankment mooring for the night, 1 bored energy filled cat, 24hr Phantom, 8 Ukuleles, 1 Anarchy in the Uk
Checking into our weekly Geraghty Zoom slightly late this morning we had to quickly join in with singing Happy Birthday to Tilly (Mick’s great niece) who was turning five today, we also got chance to wish Kath (Mick’s little sister) a belated Happy Birthday for yesterday. Everyone was in high spirits as we got to see all of Tilly’s unicorns in turn, our Tilly returned in time to wave a muddy paw to everyone too.
Treasure Island NT
Discussions on the latest two National Theatre productions were held. We’d not watched Jane Eyre which others had but we’d seenTreasure Island last night. A lot of money had been spent on that set. When I was at college 30 years ago my final project (only designed and never realised) was Sweeney Todd set on the Olivier Stage. A visiting Production Manager told me that the budgets for such a show at that time were around £100,000 and I’d spent all that on my set only! We all suspect that when the National Theatre reopens the budgets will be far smaller for some time.
A grey day with showers. Mick decided to get a bike out and head to the garage for a newspaper as we’d missed out last weekend. He donned waterproofs as it was a touch wet and set off only to return a few minutes later once he’d noticed a puncture!
Bike at the ready
As he set to mending it the heavens opened, he sought refuge under the pram cover and continued mending the hole. The position must have been easy to find as no bowl of water was required. Then he was off down the towpath.
I continued with virtual poses for my illustrations. Then moved onto sizing them ready to be used as guides for my drawings. By the end of the day I was happy with how the second drawing was turning out with the addition of an oak tree into what would have been my set design. The opening drawing can wait as it should be quick to do with nobody in it.
Snowballs and angels
Mick returned with our Saturday newspaper and left it for tomorrow. As we sat and half listened to the news conference from Downing Street an aroma of Camembert wafted through the boat!? Strange as we don’t have soft smelly cheese on board at the moment!
First sketch
It reminded me of when I went on an exchange trip to Dijon in my early teens. My host family kept a very ripe Camembert in a cupboard in the kitchen, whenever the cupboard door was opened you fought to stay upright. The poor York lad who had ended up in the same house as me really couldn’t cope with it and Monsieur Boulot made the most of the situation.
At least the aroma on Oleanna meant one thing, neither of us had lost our sense of smell, a new symptom of Covid -19. But just where had this aroma come from?!!
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 toasted cheese scones, 2 birthdays, 10 hours shore leave, 9 pheasants, 6 more poses, 1 new neighbour, 1st sketch, 1 puncture, 1 wet day, 1 soggy cat, 1 oak tree, 0 yellow ribbons, 0 veg boxes available this month, 1 cheesy smell, 1 look to my left … Mick!!!
This outside is almost completely worn out! It is exhausted and so am I. She says it’s because of Lockdown. But we used to do that all the time (apart from when we did Lockup) and that was how they moved the outside up. I know because I used to sit in the window to see them raise it. I may be given 9 10 hours, but I’m starting to not be able to use all those hours. Please will someone come and move the outside for me! I’ve run out of friends!!
The Garden model packed up for storage
Time to start my illustrations for The Garden. Amy the director had filmed rehearsals, and has pin pointed certain moments that would be good for my pictures. This morning I started the process by working my way through the footage and taking snap shots to work from. The angle of the film isn’t that great and it being a physical theatre piece with all the actors wearing black it is hard to make out forms, but it’s a start.
Firielle and Meghan in rehearsals
It’s a long time since I did any life drawing, I get away with basic human beings in my costume designs. These are always standing figures, looking this way or that. What they are wearing is the main interest. But with the illustrations I need to be able to have people seated, dancing and look reasonably human, rather than disjointed. How to draw someone sitting cross legged?!
A touch disjointed
I had a hunt around on the internet for a program the other day that might help. I’d found a couple of programmes, but today I came up trumps.
Adult Male
Baby
JustSketchMe is an on line program where you can choose one of several figures. Male adult, Female adult, children, teens, dogs and cats (if you pay for it). Each figure is jointed, so you can manipulate their limbs in three directions to whatever position you like. It takes a little bit of getting used to, which arrow works which direction of movement, especially when you are at an odd angle. You can move around the figure to see it from different angles, this helps to make sure they are sitting comfortably.
Each dot is a joint that you can move in three directions
As I worked on set ups, I started to add a second figure, a web grid helps you to ground them and then move them round to face each other. A form of perspective. I got quite into it all and worked my way through nine of the fifteen set ups before my shoulder was aching and I needed to go outside and have a game of stone with Tilly. A good start though.
Virtual Firielle and Meghan dancing
Whilst checking on delivery slots this morning Mick had spotted another one. He jumped in and secured it with some wine. Marvelous, three deliveries around a week apart. Except the first one, next week had vanished! Try as we did there was no sign of it anywhere. Mick tried cancelling the last slot to see if it would come back. We got an email through saying that one had been cancelled, but we heard nothing about the first one. All we can think is that the website decided to amend our first order and move it. So we now need to think about shopping for next week again!
One thought is to try having a second account, so as to keep orders separate. When we can get another slot we’ll give that a go.
All the stones need sending back
As I worked Mick spent much of the day accompanying Michael Palin around the world in far less than 80 days and Tilly came in for a long afternoon snooze. Out on the canal there seemed to be far more movement than we’ve had for days. Some familiar boats heading into Nantwich for shopping and water, others new to us, some heading up the Hurleston flight. Are the extra movements due to the lockdown being extended? People finding excuses to move?
Thank you for all your messages of support. It’s very lovely to hear from you. Life has it’s problems, twists and turns, we’ll get through ours, but sadly we’ll have to make changes. Anyhow, we’ve three months at least to think them through.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 lost slot, 1 new programme, 9 poses, 4 hours not 80 days, 1 bored cat, 7 boats, 1 stove, 1st none chicken meal for almost a week, 273 stones moved to the stern.
How I would like to write about our day, a walk around the fields of Nantwich, Tilly playing on the towpath, conversations with family, some work, sanding down the gunnels to make them look pristine again.
But today has been totally crap!
Tilly wasn’t impressed either
Sorry for the swear word, if I could bring myself to write something far stronger then I would. None of the above has happened today. Instead our hands have been forced into doing something that we really didn’t want to do. In normal times it would have been a very bad day, but with the current state of the worlds health it is even worse. We are just very thankful that we are healthy.
Before baking, my cutter has a handle hence the circle on the tops
Needing cheering up, I turned to baking, a batch of cheese scones. Followed by a Quinoa and Parmesan crust chicken quiche. Both tasty.
Baked
Late afternoon a musical flourish came along the canal. Was that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita? It certainly was. She was singing her heart out of the back of a tatty cruiser heading towards Nantwich, pleading with Argentina not to cry. A couple of hours later she returned, still pleading. At least this brought a smile to our faces, especially when the chap continued on his way towards Barbridge!
Quinoa and Parmesan chicken and feta quiche
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 TV, 1 walk to the bins, 1 window, 10 cheese scones, 1 section 21, 1 quiche, 3 months, 2 boaters at sixes and sevens.
Thursday photo, the fields are getting greener
Dimitrios from NB Galene has asked for the cheese scone recipe. This is a gluten free recipe and was very tasty. I suspect if you have normal glutenous plain flour you could substitute it for the flour and miss out on the xanthum gum. The original recipe used garlic powder, but I used mustard instead. You may also want to add a milk wash before baking.
Ingredients
2 cups (250 g) plain gluten free flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used mustard powder)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 tablespoons butter (60 g)
3/4 cup (190 g) plain yogurt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup (125 g) grated cheese, I used a mixture of extra strong cheddar and red leicester
Instructions
Mix flour, baking powder, mustard, sugar, salt, and bicarb in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it in.
In a separate bowl whisk together the yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice. Stir the yogurt mixture and cheddar into the flour mixture well. Cover bowl and let sit for 30 minutes (important for gluten free version), Preheat oven to 450ºF Gas 8.
Line a baking tray. I then pressed out the dough onto a floured top and cut out 10 scones. Placed them on the tray about 1/2 inch apart (this traps a little extra steam between the scones and makes them more tender).
Bake until golden, about 15-17 minutes turning the tray 1/2 way through.
Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving with butter whilst still warm.
Today Mick had extra errands to do on his bike other than just the click and collect from Sainsburys. I’d managed to track down a local timber merchants that is open in the mornings Richard Potter Ltd. A quick phone call this morning and bingo they had dust masks! I go the chap to put a pack aside for me. I’ve been wanting to get on with some painting of Oleanna, which of course requires the existing paintwork to be rubbed back. When doing small areas I haven’t bothered with a mask in the past, but in the current climate I’d rather not be adding any dust to my lungs.
Cowslips on the branch
Just about any suitable masks on the internet were being snapped up by those wanting to wear them day to day when outside, so I was relieved to be able to get hold of some locally which are suitable for the job in hand.
As Mick cycled away I checked on my stock of sandpaper, nothing, well it wasn’t where it should be. I knew I was running low anyway so that and some masking tape were added to Mick’s list.
Whilst he was away shopping I continued to reread Communicating Doors by Alan Ayckbourn. The theatre in Vienna were interested in putting on the show next year, but had been told by previous designers that it wouldn’t fit on their stage. A month or so ago I’d come up with a possible layout that might work, the other day I read Act 1 and today Act 2. If the director can live without having a bath I think I have a solution. Who knows whether the show will be mounted, but at least I can say that they could do it. Austria this week are lifting a few of their restrictions, allowing smaller shops to reopen. It will be sometime before theatres open their doors again. Here they were the first things to close, so in my mind will be the last to reopen. But there is no harm in having a show up your sleeve.
Successful shopping trip
Mick returned with the shopping, walking along the towpath. Only one thing was missing from our Sainsburys order and that was hand wash. We’ve just opened our last bottles and in normal times we’d buy more to have in reserve.
This afternoon I decided to extend my walk a touch and head off on footpaths to see what Stoke Hall looked like in comparison to the Manor. I walked northwards along the towpath to Stokehall Bridge 99 where I headed north east across fields.
Pooh sticks bridge
A bridge over a stream meant I just had to have a game of Pooh Sticks. I both won and lost, the longer stick being faster than the shorter thicker one.
Stoke Hall
The hall soon showed itself through the trees. A Grade 2 listed building from the 17th Century it has been extended through the centuries, mostly during the 19th Century. Three storeys red brick in Flemish Bond it doesn’t look quite as imposing as the Manor does. But I hunted down the details from when it was last on the market and their photos are far better than mine. The interior has wonderful panelling and a small blue swimming pool adds to the seven bedrooms and similar number of reception rooms.
Hos
I crossed the freshly ploughed field aiming straight for the stile on the far side, few foot prints to follow on this field. Then a short distance along the road before climbing into a field with a couple of horses.
Stiles a bridge and a hedge to negotiate
The footpath took me across grazing land, over small planked bridges and over stiles in hedges. A farmer plough his field heading uphill whilst the path I followed took me past last years cut off stumps of maize.
Last years crop
My OS map showed a trig point, so I veered off the marked footpath to spot it. Not much good for it’s purpose now as it’s surrounded by trees, but it’s still there.
I then continued straight along the footpath to where a stile brought me onto the road that leads either to Cholmondeston or Nantwich.
Onto the road
Next I had a choice to walk to Venetian Marina and Cholmondeston Lock, returning along the canal and past Lockdown Mooring 1, or to follow a road to the west which would see me passing Stoke Hall again. The former won, the road was a touch busier than I’d expected.
Cholmondeston Lock
Walking up to the lock and standing on the bridge above the bottom gates I sighed. On the 23rd of March we’d known what was coming and headed up the lock for the last time. This is starting to feel like another life, another time.
Hello Blossom
I now followed the canal back to Barbridge Junction. Many of the boats that had been there three weeks ago are still moored in the same places. I spotted a couple of boats that we’ve seen moving, now back on their home moorings and got to say hello to a lady who is a member of the local Covid boaters group.
Below Hurleston Reservoir
Back on the main Shropie a lady paused whilst gardening to have a chat. Her and her husband have been busy tidying their mooring and we’ve said hello each time we’ve passed when going for water. She said I must have been a long way, which I had, a touch further than I’d imagined, but it was making up for not working our way up the Cheshire Locks on the Trent and Mersey today. We chatted away across the cut, their boat was being painted when lockdown happened. Luckily the painter has been able to continue work, but all they’ve seen so far is photographs. I suspect we’ll have another chat the next time I pass.
Shouty boat lifting his fenders
0 locks, 1 walked over, 0 miles, 5.7 miles walked, Act 2 read, 1 solution, 3 masks, 2 boxes wine, 7 black plastic bags, 2 grades sandpaper, 2 rolls masking tape, 3 days quarantine, 3 on the offside, 1 Hall, 2 horses, 6 kissing gates, 4 small bridges, 2 sticks, 2 gardeners, 15 minutes chat, 2 concerned home owners, 3rd chicken left over meal, hash with an Indian influence, 1 shouty boat up the locks, 1 shouty boat down the locks.
