Homerton Road Bridge

Being so close to Westfield Stratford it would have been silly not to have made a visit. Combining it with a shop at Sainsburys to keep us going for the next few days made sense too. The bus stop at Kingsmead gave us a couple of options and the first one that came along took us the long way round. Past Josh’s school through Hackney Wick, past so much graffiti (it really is colourful here), across the canal several times, Bow Bus Garage, over several of the bow back river bits, then into the land of the high rises before the familiar canopy of Stratford Bus Station came into view. Here we hopped off and climbed up over the railway tracks to Westfield.

We’d avoided coming at the weekend to try to miss the masses, but to us there still seemed to be so many people. I’d made a short shopping list hoping that Lakeland would come up trumps on most things, if not then John Lewis might fill the gaps. Inside the curve of the building guided us round. Primark came into view, so we braved the jumble sale that it is. I was wanting some new t shirts, they are cheap and do okay for cruising in. The choice wasn’t great, but I persevered standing in line to make my purchase totalling £5. Mick had given up long before me!

The hunt for Lakeland then started. We walked round the full curve of the mall, no sign. Checked a map on my phone which suggested that it was on one of the streets to the side. Outside we headed, only to find an Ikea! Not a full blown Ikea, but a place where you can order and collect things, sadly no meatballs and chips though. On display they had the right hooks for our utensil rack, but delivery would be 7-10 days! We tried the next street for Lakeland, still no sign. Another check of a map and it should have been where we were heading. Mick checked what must have been a different map and Lakeland showed up next door to John Lewis. It hadn’t been there earlier, so why would it be now? Eventually we managed to find an interactive map. Lakeland was on the top floor tucked away beside John Lewis!

A good look round is always worth it at Lakeland, we don’t get out much! You just don’t know what you will find. On Oleanna the join between cooker top and the worktop has been collecting bits, these bits manage to avoid the usual clean up and a knife just seems to push them further down the non-existent gap. Lakeland has a special brush for this. Our bathroom towel rail and galley blinds need a dust, which is such a phaff. Lakeland has a special duster for them.  So with our new cleaning toys we left with only hooks still to find.

Tiger provided us with a box for Tilly’s toys and my feet to rest on whilst sitting at the dinette and some hooks. Brilliant. Our visit to Westfield had been a success.

The small Sainsburys had most of what we were wanting but I wish I’d remembered the Chinese supermarket earlier as we almost overdosed on sad gits Pak Choi this evening!

Sitting waiting for a different bus back I couldn’t help but notice all the masses of bollards that surround such places. Presumably to stop ram raiders. Will these now be placed along all our bridges keeping vehicles away from pedestrians?

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 scenic bus journeys, 2 nook and cranny brushes, 3 pronged blind cleaner, 2 marker pens, 15 hooks, 1 pair flip flops, 1 t-shirt, 1 small toy box, £2.45 for replacement glass, 2 Lidl cheese twists, 1 bag edamame beans, 5 red billed ducks, 1 bedroom to tidy up!

Old Ford Lock to Homerton Road Bridge, River Lee Navigation

With the festival about to get going in the park we decide to make a move and see if we could get moored somewhere near Hackney Marshes. First job was to see if anyone was about next door and ask them to let us out. I’m sure we’d have been able to have pushed them out and then pulled them back in, but Mr Widebeam was around and started up their engine. When they had moored up the other day they were short of a stern rope, so Mick had lent them one of our spares, we asked if he’d like to buy it off us for £10 but he said he was fine. Don’t think I’d be happy with just a bow and centre line, but each to their own.

Once free we headed straight for the water point, a boat was coming up in the lock so we beat them to it. They managed to stay put in the lock and use the other tap that was by the bins to get their tank a quarter full before the volunteer lock keepers had to ask them to move so other boats could use the lock. Old Ford Lock can be a busy one as it sits just by the junction with the Hertford Union Canal, a short cut across the bottom of Victoria Park to the Lee Navigation. If you continue straight on you end up at Limehouse and then the Thames. Because there is a water point and bins it is a popular place to fill your tank after being moored for two weeks. So volunteers help to keep the moving boats on the go, but even they didn’t understand why there were four of them rosterd on for today and then none next week!

By the time we’d finished filling up an orderly queue had formed both in front and behind us, we’d picked our time perfectly. Down the lock and we turned a sharp left onto the Hertford Union. New off side moorings were nearing completion as was some new housing. A small sign hung from a building suggested a chandlery, but the mooring in front will be a permanent one so access will only be by land and looking for their website suggests they no longer exist. Once through the second bridge we were onto new water for all of us. In December 2014 we’d come down this way, but the three locks on the Hertford Union had closed early for maintenance as a gate had been damaged. We’d moored up short of the second bridge and then reversed back out to take the route via Limehouse onto the Lee. A couple of days ago a gate had been damaged closing the locks again, but the fix was a quick one so there was no need for a large detour this time.

Still not feeling too good I stayed on the boat to take her through the locks, that was until I managed to give the first gate a very big biff! Luckily the gate swung out of the way after the encouragement I’d just given it! Blimey poor gate and Oleanna, maybe I wasn’t capable of being at the helm! No damage done thank goodness, a few drawers open inside Oleanna, but that was all. Mick locked me down and behind we could see another boat approaching. So once in the middle lock we waited to see if they would be continuing down the locks or had pulled in. With camera on full zoom I could make out someone working the lock, so we stayed put and opened the off side gate ready for them to join us. I took over windlass wielding and managed much better at that than I thought I would.

The next lock was being turned in front of us as our bows appeared through the bottom gate, but as it was only about three foot deep it wouldn’t take long for the boats to come up. The amount of water coming over the top gates though meant the level was unlikely to even out, so with two people on a bottom gate we managed to force it open. There was a cruiser and a small fibreglass dinghy, the chap from the dinghy had a reasonable engine, but the cruiser was powered by the smallest outboard ever and instead of using it they decided to bow haul themselves into the lock. The chaps with the cruiser looked like they knew very little, did they even have a windlass? So after an exceptionally long time the two boats headed on towards the next lock, leaving it for us.

A lot of the walls round here have been given over to graffiti, some of which is good, but have to say not a patch on Leicester’s. At the junction the world opened out, wider water and the Olympic Park stretching out ahead of us. To the left the Copper Box, the right the stadium. We were back on old waters now. We turned left passing the mooring places we’d used before. The bridge from Josh’s school to their play fields now is no mooring and beyond there up to the next bridge is permanent mooring which was being prepared two years ago. New restaurants and other businesses have taken over parts of what was the media centre for the Olympics. A new life to the area.

Now we were on the hunt for a mooring. A few spaces showed themselves, but the question is, Can you get into the bank? We tried one place behind NB Four Seasons, but they were on long lines, we still don’t have a gang plank so this was a no no for us. After Homerton Road Bridge a couple of bollards were free, but very close to the bridge. We pulled in and Mick headed on by foot to check out other spaces. Because the area is popular it was quite easy to recognise spaces that were far too shallow as the weeds were high, other gaps had lower weeds which gave us hope. We pulled into one and I hopped off the bow, but the stern wouldn’t come in. A couple of large boulders under the water were stopping us from getting into the side properly. We nudged back so that only one was in the way and decided to call it a day with the bow near enough to jump off and the stern sticking out! Certainly not a text book mooring, elsewhere on the system we’d have carried on to find somewhere better, but hey we’d had enough.

Jac and Andrew turned up so that Jac could have a guided tour of Oleanna as she had missed out the other day. She’d been told about the corner cupboard and was suitably impressed. After the tour we climbed into their car and headed over to their house to help them eat up the mountain of vegetables they’d bought for the night before that had been cancelled. I was still on reduced rations and water only, but the food went down well. A lovely evening sitting out in their garden listening to the festival across in the park, before it rained.

We had a slow walk back to the boat. The temperature had dropped which was a relief and there was a breeze. London seemed to be normal around us, fast and noisy. An Ambulance whizzed past, followed by an unmarked police car, helicopters could be heard over head, a few more sirens. We didn’t think much of it until we checked social media.

4 locks, 2.26 miles, 1 full water tank, 1 new pooh bucket (before Jac visited!), 1 big queue, 4 lockies, 1 teeny tiny outboard, 2 lefts, 1.3 miles new water, 1 gate still operable, 3rd space, 16th visitor, 2 boxes green lasagne, 3 parcels, 2 blue toys for me, or are they really for Mick? 1st properish meal in three days, 1 lovely evening, 2 boaters checked in as Safe.

Victoria Park

On Wednesday evening after Brian had gone to find his crayons to make a sign to pop in his window, a boat pulled in alongside us. This we don’t mind, we have been in London for over a week now and been able to look out of both sides of the boat for all that time. But our plan was to move off in the morning to find a mooring on the Lee, so Mick popped out and the chap decided to pull alongside Brian instead. Within five minutes though a widebeam reversed up and pulled in along side us. They were on the hunt for a working pooh sucky machine and the nearest one was out of order, so they hoped that in the morning they would be moving on to empty their tank. Swapping boats round was an option, but her partner would be around in the morning to help should we be the first to move.

As we went to bed we could hear what sounded like next doors water pump going off every five seconds. Luckily it was so regular that it became easy to ignore, I could only assume that this was why they could ignore it too. Over night my insides decided to disagree with something  and the last thing I was going to be capable of was working Oleanna through locks. So instead we stayed put, Mick pottering around the boat, Tilly wondering why other cats were allowed to walk over her boat and I spent much of the day in bed hoping for some improvement.

Half asleep in the half darkened room the cycling water pump was replaced with piano music. It seemed a bit distant, but could only be coming from next door. Asking Mick about things like this can be a bit pointless as his hearing omits certain frequencies. I’d started to wonder whether my mind was just trying to keep me distracted with music, but eventually Mick could also hear it. Mr Widebeam must play the piano or keyboards as it stopped just before he left the boat in the afternoon.

Last night the water pump next door seemed to be constantly going or someone somewhere was running a generator in the early hours. Then at about 2 am there was a very loud telephone call going on which was followed by loud bicycles and some music turned up loud for full appreciation! This was then followed before 5am by the local dawn chorus from the paraquettes in the park. I was glad I’d spent much of yesterday asleep!

Today we have also stayed put and sadly had to postpone a meal this evening with my friends Nick and Kerry at my brothers as I’m still not feeling up to it. Hopefully we’ll get to see them later next week when I can enjoy a pint again. As next doors cats stayed inside to listen to the piano Tilly got to explore the clump on trees along the towpath again. Both the Brompton bikes have been fettled, oiled chains and tyres pumped. When Tilly decided to return to the boat she dashed out in front of a bike, but luckily for her it was just Mick who slowed down and let her dash for the stern.

Shortly after next door finished tickling the ivories this afternoon a loud deep base came wafting from the park. A large stage has been erected in part of the park for music festivals through the summer. The sound check booming was soon over shadowed by vast rumblings of thunder followed by torrential rain. Here’s hoping that tonight is quieter and that we’ll be able to move on before the festival gets going tomorrow.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 near neighbour, 1 musical neighbour,  2 tip toeing neighbours, 1 poorly Pip, 1 dinner postponed, 27 C, 2 thunder storms, 3rd bird pooh! 2 giant granny squares, 2 bikes in working order, 150dB.

Old Ford Lock

Just what is it with birds down here!? Maybe our paint scheme gives them a dicky tummy. We just seem to be in the firing line!

Tilly has coped very well with being cooped up inside Oleanna for the last eight days. She would ask to go out, but after being refused a couple of times she would resign herself to another boring day without friends and just sleep. So as soon as one of us was dressed this morning the back doors were opened and left open for her to be able to come and go as she liked. There was a time limit suggested, but this wasn’t necessary.

The doors were opened and just sat there, open! None of the usual mouse being thrown back into the cabin for me to get distracted by (I really don’t know why I keep falling for that one!). Tom just opened the doors and stepped aside. Wow! Those trees looked better than they had done yesterday through the windows. They needed climbing and all that grass needed checking for friends and then sampling. There was just one problem, well far more than one really. Bicycles!!!

I hate them and they just didn’t stop coming for me. So I spent quite a bit of time on the cat walk and then decided that the roof might be a better place to spot a suitable gap. Once I’d taken a chance to cross the towpath the grass was sweet and the trees looked like a great challenge. But just a short distance away there were even more bicycles and woofers. One very big gap meant that I could get quite a distance along the towpath to where I thought some friends might just be. Just a shame that I was now surrounded but bicycles on all sides. So I made the most of the trees and watched the bikes go by.

She came and called me home and said I’d have to be quick, so I was, only narrowly avoiding a bicycle hot on my tail. I was glad of the back up. The rest of the day I stayed close to home discovering a new way onto the roof at the front and sitting and keeping her company out in the garden.

We pottered around for the day, doing a few jobs. I reorganised the front wardrobe, packing away the fat warm coats and making space for our new chairs. I dug out the remains of the duvet cover that I made Tilly’s bed out of last year. Once ripped and twisted into yarn I wound it up, I’m hoping there will be enough to make her a comfy bed that will fit on her shelf.

Later this afternoon we had a tap on the side hatch from Brian from the boat behind. He had been away from his boat for a week and come back today to dead batteries. He was hoping to be able to jump start them, but was short of some jump leads, did we have any? I wonder how many new boats have jump leads, we do. Mick went to see if he could help, there was a boat on the way that had a charger and Brian was hopeful. Mick returned not hopeful, Brian’s batteries were cabbaged and not likely to last long even if he got the engine started. After his friend arrived we could hear an engine, but it wasn’t his. The jump leads were returned and I think he’ll be buying new batteries tomorrow.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 Tilly day, 639,046,432 bicycles, 0 friends, 1 rescued cat, 7 plants watered, 2 chairs found a home, 1 upset bird tummy, 1 scrubbed cabin side, 1 tantalising hole, 3 lots of yarn, 3 cabbaged batteries.

Paddington Basin to Old Ford Lock, Victoria Park

Our seven days in Paddington were up this morning, so it was time for water! A few jobs to do first, the yellow water tank, Tilly’s pooh box and a load of washing put on, yes we still had enough left in the tank. Our crew for the day arrived on time, my brother Andrew and nephew Josh and after the obligatory guided tour we were ready to push off.

We waved the basin goodbye and pootled up to Little Venice sanitary station to fill the tank. A pause whilst we waited for NB Ouse Dunit to reverse back from doing the same, they were heading back into the basin to see if they could get another space for a few more days! With no-one else on the water point we pulled through the bridge to be greeted by puddles of effluent by the pump out machine. Someone had had a problem this morning! The toilets here were also quite, should I say, continental and I didn’t fancy wading my way to a toilet without a seat and no paper! So we stood at a distance as our tank filled, Josh and I comparing broken limb stories.

NB Avalon Two arrived and pulled up to wait for water followed by NB Larch who were wanting a pump out! They pulled up alongside us and waited for us to finish before we pulled out from under their ropes and reversed back through the bridge. We winded and turned our way onto the Regents Canal to head east following one of the water buses. As we pootled past the moorings to Maida Hill Tunnel we spotted NB Muddy Waters another Finesse boat on it’s mooring, no-one was home so we couldn’t say hello.

Above the canal sit large imposing houses with pillars and architectural details from the past, however they are only about 20-30 years old and just look they have been made up from airfix kits. There was a boar snuffling around in it’s enclosure at the zoo and in the Snowden Aviary birds were sitting up high to watch the world float by. Andrew and Josh have walked the towpath here out to Josh’s school in Hackney Wick, so they got to see everything at a slower pace today, the moored boats keeping our speed down.

A rendez vous with Christine, Anna and Julian worked perfectly at Camden Lock. Our crew hopped off to work the locks as Anna and Julian climbed aboard Oleanna. Anna used to live on a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon but had never been through Camden locks on a boat so that had to be rectified. Two chatty volunteers greeted us behind the locked gates at the lock, we were surrounded by gongoozlers, the fence here is very handy for keeping them out of harms way! When we last came through a couple of years ago there were scooter seats along the canal where you could sit and eat your food bought at the market, but they have all long gone and large buildings are going up in their place between the railway and canal. We all had to stop in our tracks as a crane lifted a large load of something from a boat over to the building sight. Once down the three locks we pulled onto the end bollard so that I could give Anna and Julian a whistle stop tour of the inside of Oleanna before they headed off to catch a flight back to Berlin.

Mick pulled Oleanna in before St Pancras Lock, the works have been completed at the gasometers which look very fine. NB Bleasdale could just be seen glinting away in her fresh paint, moored up amongst friends at the cruising club. The lock landing was occupied and a community widebeam was on the water point blocking our way to the lock. The crew were familiar to us as they’d been two boats away in Paddington for a couple of nights and yesterday we’d been shot with their water pistols (so funny!). They got their act together and pulled into the lock. With plenty of crew on board they had no excuse to leave the gates open when they knew we were following! I found myself shouting after them “You will be closing the gates after you, won’t you!!”

By now we had been caught up by NB Avalon Two who we shared the next four locks with. As the boats approached Islington Tunnel a light could be seen at the far end, so we both loitered. In the end we pulled into the side to wait, which was a perfect time to hand out the warm sausage rolls and a cuppa each to our crew. Then on through the near 1km long tunnel. Strange to think that our route a brick lined 99 year old tunnel has so much going on above it. Offices, shops, tube station all that hustle and bustle and us just pootling along at 3 miles an hour below it.

Once down Actons Lock we started to look out for a mooring. We passed a couple of possible places but they were still a bit too far to walk to my brothers and the proximity of a road meant Tilly would still be without shore leave. But when a space big enough for us appeared shortly before Old Ford Lock, we pointed Oleanna’s bow in. She fitted, towpath side, trees, a view into the park, still quite a way to Andrews house, but doable. Our three armed crew headed off to do a bit of work and most importantly do some chopping up for our meal this evening whilst we settled in and treated ourselves to showers. Trees were tantalisingly close, but the doors stayed shut!

This evening we walked the full length of Victoria Park, avoiding the many many cyclists and runners, to have a meal at my brothers house and catch up on the two birthdays that have occurred this month and see first hand the new tree room they have built in their garden. A lovely evening sitting out between the tree room and house drinking fizz, consuming paella, birthday presents and catching up with Jac whilst their two cats watched on from above.

7 locks, 7.58 miles, 1 tunnel, 0 mysterons, 3 armed crew, 12 to 15 visitors, 2 guided tours, 1 stinky puddle, 3/4 full water tank, 1 load washing, 2 shiny boats, 1 crane, 6 crew incapable of closing gates! 2 many gasometers to count, 12 sausage rolls, 1 spiky spined building, 3 cats cruising together, 1 jaunty angled mooring, 4 glasses of fizz each, 1 mountain of paella, 1 imprisoned cat!

Paddington Basin

Due to a leaking flat roof we had no visitors today, it wasn’t our boat roof! Hopefully Mike and Chris have found where water was getting into the neighbours and managed to fix the problem and we’ll be able to catch up soon.

That freed up the day for us, so we caught a bus into town. Well that was the plan! When we reached the bus stop every bus after the first one was stopping at Marble Arch, but when that arrived it had Marble Arch on the front. A brief message came up on the board saying something about there being a split route today for one bus, but we didn’t catch the full message. So we hopped onto the next bus and hoped we wouldn’t end up having to walk right across town. Sure enough at Marble Arch we were told that the bus was terminating there so we walked around the corner to see if there might be another bus that would get us closer to Tottenham Court Road.

Kings Cross would do us. Plenty of people were asking the driver how to get places and he wasn’t the most helpful of people, but we did manage to gleam that Oxford Street was closed. There had been a few Police cars with sirens heading that way. The bus set off and the next stop was displayed, then it turned left where there was a police road block and we entered the unknown. The driver was off route and the display helpfully told us the time and showed us an asterix. We at least vaguely knew where we were, but didn’t know if the driver would stop anywhere before he was back on route. Warren Street Tube came into view so we rang the bell and headed down the stairs as the bus was stopping. Just a shame we were at the other end of Tottenham Court Road from where we wanted to be and it is a one way street coming towards us.

Our walk took us past several places that I used to frequent when I lived in London 21 years ago. Samuel French Bookshop has recently closed. They mainly sold play scripts and I suspect very few people actually bothered to go into the shop anymore, they still exist but only on line now. Tiranti’s is still there a few doors down, they sell tools and equipment for carving, model making and moulds.

The lure of the big Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road was far too great and I made Mick climb the stairs to the top floor where they have reams of exotic, coloured, textured papers to dream of. I used to visit here when making posh models for top designers. Back then I thought it was the only place to buy black flock paper, I didn’t see any today and anyhow Boyes in Scarborough sell a sticky backed version for half the price.

Next was Blacks where we purchased two folding chairs. We left our old purple ones with NB Lillyanne and Mick’s sister Christine had offered to buy us new ones as a boat warming present. So with two dark blue deluxe chairs (they had to colour coordinate with Oleanna) we headed back to Paddington on the tube dodging heavy showers as we went.

A few vital supplies have been bought so that we have some cruising sausage rolls to keep our crew going tomorrow.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 leaking roof, 0 visitors, 3 buses, 1 big diversion, 0 explanation found, 74 pretty coloured rolls, 2 improved chairs, 2 be test sat in still, 12 sausage rolls ready for the oven, 1 annoying water pistol wielding moron.

Paddington Basin

The sun was out and a way of being able to sleep in it needed to be found. This inside has quite deep windows and the curtains assisted me in being able to lie in the sun for an hour or so. I don’t think anyone spotted me there, it was quite comfortable and it may become a favourite spot, like all the others.

Late morning Kath, the last of Mick’s sisters, came to meet Oleanna. She had a full guided tour excluding the engine bay. It’s much easier when there is only one person to show round rather than four, so she got more information about everything. We still are not up to Leckenby standard though. As a hobby my Dad used to design conversions of vans into motor caravans. His guided tours could take hours and as a child I was occasionally sent by my Mum to try to rescue someone after a couple of hours who had shown a small amount of interest, this was extremely hard as Dad was in his stride and very proud of his creation.

We had a bit of a walk around the Paddington Central area. To our surprise a lot of boats had left the basin today and there was space that hadn’t been filled immediately. Kath hasn’t explored this part of London so it was all new to her. After donating my crutches to St Mary’s we walked under Bishop’s Bridge Road where there is an artwork ‘Message from the unseen world’ (United Visual Artists) which is a tribute to the life of Alan Turing, known for his work breaking the enigma machine in WW2. Large panels with LEDs light up using algorithms and displays extracts from a commissioned poem by Nick Drake. Alan Turning was born close to Paddington.

Further on is the sculpture Two Figures by Sean Henry. Affectionately nicknamed Walking Man and Standing Man, the two figures face one another from either end of a concrete path. They are a favourite of mine and if ever I’m walking here I have to say hello to the larger than life men. We carried on walking up into Little Venice were Rembrandt Gardens had one boat moored there. There was a very long queue for the water buses and there seemed to be a queue at the water point under the bridge. So much so that a boat had pulled up in the narrow section and a chap was rushing to the elsan to empty a cassette as quickly as he could before moving on and out of the way.

This evening we’ve had a visit from Frank and his ‘friend’ Helen. Frank is now standing out from everyone else as this is his second visit to Oleanna, he likes all the oak. It took a while for them to actually get to the boat, but they arrived after being delayed a couple of times and getting lost around St Mary’s hospital. This brought back reassuringly familiar memories of when I used to work with Frank. But as they arrived with a bottle of wine in hand it was alright. After  Helen had a chance to look around Oleanna and we’d drunk the wine we all headed out to Pizza Express for some food just before they closed the kitchen.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hammock, 2 Stafford crutches donated to London, 3 more visitors,  4th sister, 1 afternoon beer, 1 late lunch, 1 widebeam that can moor anywhere, 6pm, 7.30pm, 8pm, 8.35pm, 2nd visit for Frank, 4 pizzas, 2 bottles of wine, 1 looney cat.

Boats started shuffling round quite early this morning once a rain shower had come over head. NB Four Seasons pulled out from the mooring behind us winded and then left the basin along with a couple of other boats. This then meant that there was space, a bit of jiggling about and NB Ouse Dunit got a space on the pontoons, a small gap had appeared behind us so the boat that had been three abreast moved down and reversed into the space leaving his bow over hanging our stern. More boats arrived some finding spaces big enough for them and others cruising off to try elsewhere. MB Ash came down to wind setting off on the weekend run. The deck was full of gas bottles and a few coal bags. Then the GoBoats started across the way, groups who have hired a self drive boat heading out towards Little Venice and beyond.

The second guided tour started shortly after Marion and John had left. I’m beginning to wonder how many times I’ve said certain things and whether we shouldn’t dwell quite so long on the composting toilet! Anne is the first guest to use it and she survived.

With everyone gone we spruced ourselves up for the evening and headed out to Mornington Crescent for Christine’s pre significant birthday meal bumping into Fran (Mick’s niece) just round the corner from our mooring. On alighting the bus there was time to have a look at the huge deco building  beside the stop. Giant black cats and Egyptian decoration adorned the façade. The only information at hand was that it was Greater London House. Why all the cats? Later on Mick’s nephew Duncan enlightened us as he had worked for Asos who are based there. It was Carreras Cigarette Factory, built in 1926, converted into office space in the 60’s when it lost much of it’s decoration. But in the late 90’s the façade was restored and replica cats were put back outside the entrance. The black cat was on Craven A cigarette packets and the original statues were removed in 1959 and separated, one now at the Basildon works and the other was transported to Jamaica to stand outside the Carreras works there.

We met up with the rest of the family (minus Tilly, Mick’s great niece and Richard his nephew) and friends of Christine at a Tapas restaurant and took over their basement room drinking wine, eating lots of lovely dishes that just kept appearing and talking lots. Our places were marked out with old photos of each of us. Obviously her siblings, nieces and nephew got the better photos as there was a larger back catalogue to choose from. The evening was rounded off with a couple of drinks in The Lyttelton pub opposite the tube station. Thank you Christine for having such a lovely birthday.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 new neighbours, 1 boat at capacity, 8 visitors so far, £5 entrance fee this weekend only! 1parcel from Australia, 1 wonderful best friend, 2 guided tours, 9 diddy beans, 1 paper read from cover to cover, 12 legs too many, 11 on one boat, 2 buses, 1 walk too far, 1 circular walking route, 10 feline faces, 8.5ft feline figures, 22 for tapas, 1 miss hearing, 1 question thankfully never asked, 2 soggy legs, 2 pints, 1 non game.

Paddington Basin

Mick’s mum Ruth loved her music, especially choral music and in her time she sang with the Royal Choral Society. One of her favourite concert halls was the Royal Festival Hall where she introduced her children to her love of music. About ten years ago Ruth paid for a seat to be named for her and recently the family was approached to see if they wanted to renew it. When we knew we’d be heading to London for a few days Mick decided to see if there was a concert whilst we were in town where he’d be able to sit in his Mum’s seat. So last night we were joined by Kath and Christine at a performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra of Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor, Op 15 and Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 in A, Op92.

We all met at Wagamamas below the Festival Hall and had very nice summery fish dishes with a glass of wine before working our way into the Hall. Following the bombing in Manchester the South Bank have instigated bag searches at each of the venues. We had been sent an email warning us about this. Access into each venue is reduced to one door where security were checking every bag and large bags had to be left with them. We expected there to be long queues so left ourselves plenty of time before the performance, but the staff were very efficient and we were on level five before we knew it looking out over London.

I had last been here with my junior school some 40 years ago. Sitting in the cool concert hall listening to the orchestra was a lovely way to spend the evening. The Beethoven went down better than the Brahms and received a standing ovation. They don’t half like to applaud at these things! They even get a round of applause for just managing to walk onto the stage! I had to resort back to tapping my thigh with my left hand as my missing digit was complaining somewhat.

On leaving we had to walk back out onto the balcony to admire the view and sunset over London. All the buildings were lit up and the sun was giving the sky it’s last glow of colour for the day. Stunning, just a shame I hadn’t taken my camera with me, so phone photos have to suffice.

A lovely evening all round apart from one thing….  where was the name on Mick’s seat or should I say, Ruth’s seat? Normally a plaque is put on the back of the seat so the person sitting behind can see who had been so generous. The row in front were almost all named but on the back of THE seat all there was were screws and a small portion of a plaque trapped under a screw, but no name! Not even the end bit of a Y. Has her name been broken off and not yet replaced? Or was it not renewed?

Today we have had the first wave of London visitors, Siobhan and Fionualla. However Siobhan has travelled a lot further to be able to visit us, as she actually resides in Newcastle, Australia. She is over in England visiting family and brought Fionualla  her sister to see us this morning. Mick and Siobhan are very good friends and grew up together in Ealing. It may have been about ten years since we were last together in Newcastle, so there was lots to catch up on over a cuppa and of course a full guided tour of Oleanna. It is now our turn to visit Newcastle.

Once midday arrived, so did the stream of boats hoping to moor up in the basin. The first boat had tried yesterday and called out to see if they could pull alongside us. Mick popped out to chat with them, we think that where we are is restricted to single mooring so he pointed them to where there was a space to breast up. A few more boats have turned up and then had to battle with the wind that there seems to be today, but all spaces are now taken. A couple have tried to pull up on the opposite side to us, even managing to tie up, but they have been moved on by the security guards. They really should remove the mooring rings if they don’t want people tying up or better still allow people to moor there. Going for a walk this afternoon I noticed that boats are now three abreast just up from us. We certainly timed our arrival on Tuesday very well.

This evening we’ve had the company of an old friend of mine Sara Taylor. Her husband was a visiting lecturer at my college and I was taken under their wing during my final year. We became great friends and have managed to keep in touch even though they moved to the States 24 or so years ago. Sadly David passed away a few years ago and Sara and I haven’t managed to been in the same place together since I saw the Millennium in with them in Connecticut. After seventeen years there was a lot to catch up on over dinner and the odd glass of bucks fizz. Plenty of laughter and a lovely evening to round off a day full of visitors.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 great friends, 1 sister, 1 fully guided tour, 1 boat left, 1 sexist gaudy boat, 2 shirts bought, 1 trip to the bins, 3 abreast, 1 space at Rembrandt Gardens, 17 years too long, 1 edited highlights tour, 1st strawberries of the year,  2 glasses bucks fizz, 2 handy curtains, 7 boats come and gone, 1 evening full of laughter.