Bedford River Festival, Day 1. 23rd July

Priory Marina

As my phone and I woke up this morning panto emails arrived. A 10:30am meeting was possible with my director and she gave me a new route to head down for the troublesome scene. I sipped my tea in bed whilst looking at pictures of Alice in Wonderland Operas and Ballets. A quick squiggle in my puzzle book and I had a whole new look. This was then redrawn to match my storyboard, photographed and sent to Abi ready for our meeting. Thankfully things just started to click with this version and so long as other things can be made to work we have a solution and I can crack on next week.

Time to head in to see what the Festival was all about. We decided to keep to the south bank of the river, ended up missing a one way bridge onto the islands and had to walk up to the weir, but at least that brought us to NB Cleddau.

Here Ken and Sue has set up gazebos for friends and family to take shelter in, there were plenty of chairs to sit and chat. We joined Jennie and Chris who used to own NB Tentatrice, so lovely to see them again and have chance to chat rather than a quick snippet as our bows crossed.

A while later Heather Bleasdale joined us, she’d come for the day, had already spent time with other friends, had a good walk round and was in need of a sit down just in time for the Motor Boat display. About twenty or so boats processed behind the Harbour Master and Lord Mayors launches. This years theme was pirates.

Some boaters had donned costumes and hung skull and crossbone bunting, others had gone that bit further and decorated their boats. One cruiser going the whole hog with smoking cannons and the white boat hardly visible under the corex pirate disguise.

The Viking Kayak Club had also done a fantastic job creating a small galleon that they paddled along in the procession.

After plenty of chats Heather, Mick and myself headed off to have a look round some of the stalls and vintage car display on the High Street. Blimey the town was heaving! We’d been warned that on some of the bridges we’d be packed in, shuffling to cross them. But being outside we didn’t feel too covid claustrophobic.

At 4pm it was the turn of the Narrowboats and Widebeams to process. NB Cleddau had by far the most bunting and flags of all the boats and plenty of passengers to wave at the crowds.

Two boats had created cannons in their portholes. One had used black buckets, the other black flower pots along with the occasional spurt of smoke which was very effective. An Owl sat on one boat was quite happy with a chick in it’s beak, keeping an eye on everyone.

WB Black Pearl got top marks from us as we stood and waved back to them.

A walk down to the Vegan area where there were some nice things to buy and lots of interesting food items, although we did refrain from buying any Mexican Lollies at £3.50 a go, no idea what made them Mexican, unless you got to cover them with chilli sauce!

We had a brief look at the cars, some lovely specimens. A walk along the Embankment and then we tried to return in time for the Dragon Boat final, but there was simply too many people about to make it in time.

A sit down and a cuppa were required so we headed into The Swan hotel to find space. Heather managed to convince a lady to allow us to sit in an area reserved for afternoon teas, but as it was empty we were sure they’d like to make us a brew, which they did and at a reasonable price too.

Taco bowls of vegan chilli and salsa were very tasty, we don’t know how they smuggled the chill beef nachos into the vegan village, but Mick didn’t care and enjoyed them.

We sauntered along the north bank and into Russell Park where tens of thousands of people were eating, drinking, heading down helter skelters and listening to Oh My God, It’s The Church! singing about shoes! Each to their own.

A dance stage was further up and thumping away. Some people getting a little bit boozy and the aroma in the air didn’t shy away from the police. As we were so close to the boat now, Mick and I decided to head home for a quieter glass of wine on board and to feed Tilly. So we said our goodbyes to Heather as she needed to head towards the station. Hopefully our paths will cross again in a few months time that’s if we can get our boats to London with the lack of water around on the system.

What a busy and lovely day. More tomorrow!

0 locks, 0 miles, 15 baked cookies, 1 new solution, 2 bloggers, 1 guide book author, 2 jet boots, 100 cars, 2 pots of tea each, 2 processions, 1 dragonboat race missed, 2 taco shells, 1 nachos, 1 owl, 178634 people, 1 busy day.

31. Where’s 31? 22nd July

Bedford GOBA Mooring to Priory Marina

Over breakfast I worked, putting things into the panto dropbox ready for the first production meeting on Zoom. This was mostly parish notices and how everyone has progressed. The whole thing is a few weeks late. With my first panto for Chippy I was at least a couple of weeks ahead of where I am now and somehow I need to catch up. A number of factors have caused the delay in getting started, but the main thing is there is now a team together, a script and we need to crack on with things. The costume designer, new this year, has not grown up with pantos so there will be a lot of explanations needed. Such as why there are SO many costume changes and especially why everyone gets changed for the final scene into an outfit just for the walkdown, the Dames costume for this tends to be the most outlandish and impractical outfit known to man that they have to put on in a matter of seconds in the wings. Maryna comes from an Opera background so it will be interesting to see what this brings to her costumes.

**Just a touch too tall to get under the bridge**

Once my meeting was done it was time to do boat chores, the yellow water needed emptying and then we could move off. All morning boats had been coming past, quite a few cruisers with low air draught. Higher ones appeared and tried their luck at getting under the bridge just round the bend, some made it very carefully others winded and pulled up behind us on the moorings to wait for the river to be dropped in the early evening.

NB Lily May winded and headed to the marina for a pump out and no doubt fill with water. The water point we’d used the other day had now been taken over by a water bottle station for the festival. We winded and headed to Priory Marina ourselves to find our mooring, C31. The pontoons were lettered and quite easy to see, but the numbered spaces, hmm? Mick nudged Oleanna’s bow into a space and I hopped off to see where we should be, there were no markings on the ends of the pontoons. Numbers on the hook up points didn’t reach into the 30’s. Mick called Karen who made her way to help us find the right place just as I looked down to my feet and saw 31 between my toes!

Once plugged in we could start the big wash, Mick being a good house wife whilst I got on with doing more panto sketches. There is one scene that is just eluding us at the moment and time is of the essence as peoples availability now gets harder as schools have broken up.

Around about 5pm I got a message to say a parcel had arrived for me at a Parcel Shop a short distance away from Tescos. This would have been a short walk had we stayed on the GOBA mooring, but now it was that bit further away. The Oasis Beach pond had filled up slightly after the rain the other day, I’m not sure it made it look any more attractive!

**Dancing at the tiller, ready for the weekend**

A few more boats were sat waiting for the level to drop on the river. On my way back several of the boats had managed to limbo under the bridge, the level looking to have dropped by about 6 inches. I wonder if it would get any lower.

Back at Oleanna I unpacked the biggest parcel. Tilly assisted and then was allowed to do what all cats do and climb inside the empty box. This kept her content for a while. My clothes cupboards were reorganised and the model shelf emptied, the model box I’d received slid in to it’s space. I’ll need to finish packing away long sleeved tops to make room for other bits of model in the next few days, but for now everything has a home. More importantly once the final scene of panto is sorted I can start making a model.

0 locks, 0.26 miles, 1.5 hours shore leave, 1 hour talking panto, 50th Chippy panto, 5 emails, 3 sketches, 1 designer not confident, 1 huge box, 1 model box tucked away, 1 empty yellow water tank, 1 full water tank, 2 showered boaters, 2 loads of washing more to come, C31 found.

It’s Coming! 21st July

Bedford GOBA Mooring to Kempston Mill to Bedford GOBA Mooring

Today was the day we hoped to reach the end of the navigable River Great Ouse, however there was a stoppage notice regarding ‘unforeseen circumstances during tree removal works, the river is closed near to Queens Park, Bedford.‘ A look on various maps and we concluded that this was upstream of Bedford. Hopefully whatever blockage would be clear by the time we got there, we’d see how far we could get and if needs be we’d reverse.

The stoppage notices seem to get published on the Visit Anglian Waterways EA Facebook page, we haven’t been able to find some means of getting them sent to us by email. So the notice had been published yesterday and facebook had only allowed us to see it this morning!

We headed back upstream, under the low bridges, temporary pontoon bridges still leading to nowhere, more portaloos arrived, areas of wheelie bins cordoned off. Two lads studied plans alongside a load of scaffolding, I wondered how far they’d get in erecting what ever it was by the time we came back. The park between the upper and lower river was very very busy.

As I was wanting to lift the guillotine gate at the top of Bedford Lock two chaps were rigging something from the structure above. A sound cable needed to be sent across the river to connect the PA systems, an 8ft pole was erected then the cable would be taken across the river and attached to a high place on the north bank keeping it high out of the way. I asked how they’d get it across, I’d hoped the reply would be drone or bow and arrow, but it was just by boring boat! We weren’t a problem to them so the gate could be lifted to raise us up onto the final reach of the river.

It would have been nice to head east on the upper river to have a look at the bridges, but more temporary pontoon bridges stretched across the water, so we turned to the west and started to head up stream.

Mooring numbers reached 81 along the banks. Council chaps were removing duck and blanket weed from ponds, aided by a digger to scoop it up.

Under Town Bridge which will be closed to traffic at the weekend as brass bands will be playing there. From the Swan Hotel to Bedford Borough Council the architecture changed every way you looked. Then modern shopping and restaurants took over the north bank.

More bridges, including two very low ones carrying the railway overhead.

Now the river seems to follow a much more rural route, trees everywhere. Had we reached the stretch where the unforeseen circumstance had occurred? Was this the tree? Was that it?

When we eventually reached the tree there was no denying it would have been a problem. The sawn stump of a tree was very evident and on the opposite bank the undergrowth had been dragged away as the huge tree had been dragged up the bank by machinery. A chap remarked that we’d timed that well, the tree had been moved just thirty minutes earlier. We came across two more chaps with chain saws chopping into more trees upstream too. I wonder if the River Festival stirs the EA into action this far upstream?

We carried on, the river bending in front of us. The further we got the slower we went, a fisherman had warned us of it being very shallow a mile upstream, but on the big bends it seemed to be fine. Mick kept our speed down, if we got stuck we might be there for some time as not many people venture this far upstream.

**Was this as far as we could get? Yes!**

Up ahead the new landing stage for the trip boat came into view beside another low bridge and modern housing, one building mimicking an old mill that once stood here. Our speed slowed right down. Oleanna started to ground, we needed to find the deeper water on the port side. A touch of reverse then Mick changed our course, slowly moving us along. We grounded again, Oleanna being attracted to the lower water.

Maybe if we could wind where it was wider. We only made one attempt at this as it was obvious the depth would not be sufficient for this manoeuvre, this along with the current we could end up in bigger trouble, being pushed further aground. We’d not reached the end of the navigable river as marked on our maps, but we’d reached as far as we could and that was good enough for us, just a shame we couldn’t get to the landing stage and have a little walk round.

This is where one day, in the future, the plan is to connect the Great Ouse with the Grand Union Canal with the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway. The new bridge by the landing stage may inhibit some larger boats coming this way, but so would the bridges into Bedford. When it is connected it will make a fantastic ring and we’d now be able to just cruise another 16 miles, climb up 21 locks, drop down another 20 and join the GU in Milton Keynes. Instead we’ll have to retrace ourselves back to Denver, across the Middle Level to Peterborough then back up the River Nene to Northampton and up the locks to the GU.

We made the decision to reverse our way back to where the river was a touch wider to wind. We managed this without too much bother and then carried on back down stream. The tree chaps still moving branches out of our way as we went.

As we approached Bedford a widebeam was winding and then pulling into their mooring or the weekend. Another boat could be seen settling themselves in, NB Cleddau. We pulled over to have a chat with Sue and Ken, we’ll be calling in for a longer chat over the weekend.

I walked up to the lock, a small cruiser was just coming in followed by a short narrowboat and then another cruiser, it all taking time to squash them in. This lock is going to be very busy over the next few days. Mick hung about in the upper river staking our claim to be next down and not another pontoon bridge that had just arrived.

Our first downhill lock until we reach sea level again.

The chaps with the scaffolding hadn’t made much if any progress since we’d passed them two hours earlier, I hope they get it sorted quickly as the Festival is only a day and a half away, It’s coming quickly!

Back at the GOBA mooring we winded and joined NB Lily May, Chris and Chris are friends of Heathers and Chris is also the author of the Imray Guide to the Great Ouse. They have a lovely black cat called Icarus, but sadly Tilly didn’t seem too happy about his presence, so she was grounded until his shore leave was curtailed.

Paul the boatmover came past and in his jolly manner was saying hello to everyone. Good job he stopped for a chat, on his own boat rather than someone else’s. The lady in the marina had said that the river would be lowered on Friday, the reach that we are moored on. Paul said that they lower it by a foot maybe even more so that cruisers can get under the next bridge to us to access the moorings for the festival. If we headed out for the day we’d return to our boat firmly sat on the bottom and needing ropes and crampons to get on and off! This also happens on Sunday to let all the cruisers out again. Good job we’ve booked into the marina!

Time to knuckle down to do some work, with a meeting tomorrow I need to update things and stop being a boater for a bit.

2 locks, the same one there and back, 6.75 miles or there abouts, 2 winds, 2 lefts, 1 landing stage just out of reach, 0.25miles in reverse, 3 known boats, 2 boat cats, 1 war avoided, 2nd story board, 1 boater changing hats, 1 more river ticked of.

A Breath Of Air. 20th July

Barford Old Mill EA Mooring to Bedford GOBA Mooring

Thank goodness the temperature had dropped this morning. If it hadn’t been for Tilly we’d have most probably slept with the windows out last night, maybe even have had the front door open to help bring the cooling air inside. But Tilly isn’t aware that other cats get to go out at night time and just cuddles up on our bed to go to sleep, great on a night like last night!

Today we had air to breath. The temperature outside now 21.4C and inside 23C. With a few hours cruising to do we were straight out of bed, had our first cuppa with breakfast, therefore saving us an hour at least. As we made ready to push off our neighbour on NB Atropos did the same. She’d aimed to leave early but after yesterdays heat had decided to award herself a little lie in. We still don’t know her name, but suspect we’ll cross paths another day when we can introduce ourselves properly.

Reversing out could have been a problem as we’d been sitting there for five days, but thankfully Oleanna sorted herself out quite quickly and pulled backwards back out onto the river and we were soon heading towards Bedford again.

The island we were on used to lead to a lock, Barford Old Mill Lock, we first passed what must have been a small weir and then the lock, the later identifiable by the curved recesses for the top gates. Barford Mill is mentioned in the Doomsday book and had a value of “2 shillings and 13 sticks of eels”. The corn mill ceased working in 1924 having become unsafe and was demolished in the 1950’s. In the early 20th Century it had a turbine and generated electricity.

First Lock of the day was Willington, vee gates at both ends. Past Danish Camp where big signs welcome people to it’s three bars and restaurants, yet another sign suggests you can only drop people off by boat, no mooring available! I suspect it was a very busy place over the weekend.

Kingfishers escorted us along, the navigation becoming narrower still now. The sound of human life increasing with every mile we travelled, we were getting closer to Bedford.

Castle Mill Lock looked similar to Willington, but there were no slackers/paddles in the gates. These sat in the centre of the lock island. One to fill the other to empty. The lock is deep, the water level changing by 6ft 11″ then add to that a good few more feet to the top of the chamber walls.

The width is just over 13ft so Mick decided to see what would happen as I filled the lock, our centre lines most probably not long enough to reach the bollards up top and then get back to him below. I gingerly wound the slacker, the rush of water sounding immense below my feet. The gear extends out so that you can see down to your boat, the water coming in at the centre of the lock below you. At first Oleanna was pushed to the opposite side of the lock, but as the level rose the pressure of the water went under her hull and pushed her back over, all quite gently as I gradually wound the paddle up. Winding it down was a little bit different as it seemed to slip as it got towards being closed, I just hope it was closed fully for the next boat.

A mental note was made of the vacant GOBA mooring not far on, this would be backup for us for the weekend, much further out of town, but possibly quieter. A wide beam sat just off the mooring enabling it to stay for longer than 48hrs.

Four EA work boats came towards us, two weed cutters, they’d most probably been busy around Bedford preparing the river for the Festival. Little pram covers had been fitted to a couple of them, the big cutters put onto the bank as we passed.

Cardington Lock, the narrowest on the river at 10ft 1″. This was set against us, but didn’t take long to sort out. Back to a guillotine gate at the top and a timer, the bottom gates cranked due to the proximity of the bridge making for a bit of heavy work.

Mick called Priory Marina to see if they had diesel and to ask where their pump was, not obvious on Google maps. We were given instructions that we’d find the pump on the left. Hawkeyed I stood in the bow, it took a while before I saw the sign. If she’d have said left after the big toadstools it would have been so much easier!

As we pulled up to the pump we passed NB Cleddau and NB Still-Waters both having a rest. A chap came to fill the tank, the pump stopping automatically at 100litres. We weren’t full, but that would do for us today. At the office Karen the manager was very friendly and helpful. She found information about when the Upper River would be dropped to enable more boats to get under the bridges, this would be Friday. Mick enquired if there might be any moorings over the weekend, there would be, we’d think about it. Karen didn’t know quite how far we’d get on our way up towards Kempston, levels are shallow at the moment and it is shallow up there anyway!

Back out on the river the next and last GOBA mooring on the river had a small cruiser on it. This is where we’d been hoping to moor for the weekend IF there is space. A chap at the marina said all the moorings were booked, but did he mean in town or did they include here too? We carried on upstream and pulled in on the only good bit of edge alongside the islands that sit between the Upper and Lower river. Here inflatables were being laid out, marquees and food and drink stands arriving. Small pontoons were being made into bridges for ease of access to the islands a great hive of activity.

**The mooring would have required crampons to get on and off due to the high bank**

As we had our lunch a car drove over towards us. Where we’d moored was marked out presumably for the reserved mooring spaces, a chap came for a chat. We thought we were about to be moved on, but no, once he realised we weren’t the boat he was expecting he offered us a mooring on the lower river for the weekend. By this time we’d already decided that being plugged in for a few days and getting to the bottom of the washing pile would be a good idea, especially as GOBA members get one night at the marina free when you pay for a second one. The thought of being alongside a fun fair, thousands of people walking past all the time day and night was not appealing, so we politely turned him down.

Below Bedford Lock is a water point close to the lock landing. We pulled up and connected our hose pipe and watched two chaps hoist up the last two sections of a marquee. I had a little wander over to where we’d be meeting people on Saturday, the geese being ever so busy trimming the grass and leaving deposits.

**The John Bunyan making ready to turn into the lock**

Whilst we filled the John Bunyan trip boat arrived, they’d just missed the lock being in their favour. This gave us chance to chat to the chap at the helm and ask how far we’d be able to go upstream. They now have a landing by Kempston Mill, but until a low bridge is either removed or raised their boat is unable to reach it. We were told that we may have to reverse some of the way back to be able to wind. Useful information.

A Fireman came for a chat too, he was checking out the area for the weekend, they will be doing demonstrations and also have a couple of safety boats on the river. Today he was enjoying the calm before hundreds and thousands of people descend.

We made our way back to the GOBA mooring, had difficulty with depth, but then managed to tuck in with another boat who’d also been offered a mooring for the festival, they’d accepted.

A stock up shop at Tescos took us past the pyramids of the Oasis Beach Pool, now looking like it needs masses of maintenance and looking very unloved. Once back Tilly was given a couple of hours shore leave, her first impression wasn’t too good, but she got over her initial thoughts and spent a lot of time in the tall grasses.

Rain clouds had followed us for much of the afternoon and finally around 7pm the heavens opened. Proper rain, we were sat back inside with all the doors and windows closed listening to it hammering down on the roof. We’ll need an awful lot more similar showers to help fill the reservoirs back up around the system. At least we got to watch the TV this evening without a fan constantly going round to keep us cool.

Thank goodness for some fresh air.

3 locks, 7.15 miles, 1 reverse, 2 winds, 13 sticks of eels, 100 litres, 4 kingfishers, 1 marina booked, 1 free night, 0 gas, 1 free mooring turned down, 1 trip boat, 1 festival coming together, 300,000 to 500,000 people expected! 2 hours shore leave, 1 model box on it’s way, 10 degrees lower, ahhhh!

https://goo.gl/maps/8Us2ng9uZpeTtFNv7

Hot Toothpaste. 19th July

Barford Old Mills

Tilly wasn’t too impressed that we’d made the decision to cancel all shore leave this morning and well into the afternoon until the temperature hopefully dropped. She spent much of the day lying on either our bed, the floor or whinging at the back door, but very little of it keeping her fluid in take up.

The white sheets were lowered as soon as Mick woke and they wafted away in the not so gentle breeze. We adopted the keep everything closed method again, aiming to attempt to keep the interior temperature as low as we could. People being interviewed on TV talking about the what happens to the human body when it gets too hot just made me feel dizzy even before the temperature reached 30C outside!

As we had breakfast we could hear an engine, someone was on the move. The tone changed, reverse! Were we going to get another neighbour? Yes, NB Atropos was backing in to join us. Mick went out to lend a hand. I could hear that her experience of Bedford had not been a good one, the riverside heaving with people enjoying the heat, getting on her boat to ask questions, generally not helping her to feel safe. So despite the soaring temperatures she’d moved off very early today. It was good to have her back with us.

Inside we sat, pottering away on computers. Mick caught up on the Tour de France coverage, just how were those people managing to cycle in the heat? We knew they were mad to start off with, but….

The temperature outside steadily rose, every curtain and window closed on Oleanna. The fan was set in motion, wet towels hung around the boat, t shirts dampened down again, a repeat of yesterday except the day started hotter and the mercury kept on rising.

Every half hour or so I’d give Tilly a damp flannel down, hoping it would have much the same effect as wetting our t-shirts. As much as she didn’t want me to do it, she tolerated it and at times even purred. If I’d tried this with Houdini my previous cat I’d have been left with several fewer digits.

**The clock is about 2 hours out, this was at 12:30ish**

Mick brought the temperature gauge from the kitchen. Inside seemed to be staying around 7 degrees cooler than outside, then if you left it on the floor with Tilly a while it dropped another couple of degrees.

**Fifteen minutes later the interior temperature by Tilly had dropped** **by 2 degrees**

As the sun moved round we decided that moving the sheets to the starboard side would be worth doing. It’s only in the sun for a couple of hours, but if we could keep the cabin side from getting too hot then it would cool down sooner and enable us to sleep better tonight. Mick wet his hat before venturing out, I applied some kitchen foil to the windows with water and a drop of washing up liquid sprayed on the glass.

A sheet hit the water, the wind gently made it drift towards the stern where it could be removed and redeployed on the cabin side. Our rope fenders used to help keep the sheets in place, then we retired back inside to carry on wilting and damping Tilly down every half hour.

**Maybe it was time to join Tilly on the floor!**

A swimmer arrived, went in the river a few times then hung around as we started to emerge from inside. The shade now having taken over from the sun and hopefully the ground starting to cool down. We needed the air replenishing inside the boat and Tilly really needed to stretch her legs even if it was still 37. something outside.

Gosh that wind was strong and hot. Gosh that swimmer wouldn’t shut up!

**Temperatures starting to drop outside, but pretty constant inside**

The boat now in full shade and clouds starting to cover the sky we started to unwrap the boat. Glazing came out of the frames, sheets were folded up, foil off the windows. Outside was still hotter than in, but we really needed that breeze.

Our third barbeque in a row, Salmon with lemon and spinach, veg kebabs and the remainder of some rice drizzled with dressing. When a weary Tilly showed herself she was picked up and popped inside the boat, doors closed again.

Rain! It didn’t bother us so long as the food cooked, we’d spent most of the day wet anyhow, what harm could a few drops of rain do.

The temperature outside slowly but surely dropped, the cabin a touch more reluctant to follow suit. The fan on our faces, cool mat under my feet as we watched the news of fires springing up across the country. We’d made it through the two hottest days we’ve know on the boat. We just had one more night to try to sleep, temperatures still around 30C.

**This evenings friend finding wasn’t quite so energetic**

I squoze toothpaste out onto my toothbrush and popped it in my mouth. Urgh, hotter than the veg kebabs we’d eaten this evening! Urghhh!!!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 returning neighbour, 1 boat sealed up, 38.7C outside, 33.5C inside, 2 degrees cooler at Tilly level, 16 flannel baths, 2 wet towels, 2 frozen salmon steaks, 1 annoying swimmer, 1 model box, 1 email of notes, 2 boaters and 1 cat survived.

Wet T’s. 18th July

Braford Old Mill

The cool of the morning was lovely, but sadly going to be short lived as the temperature started to rise. Our neighbour of last night moved off as they’d said at 6:30 and not that long after Mick was on the gunnel lowering the white sheets again.

Tilly was allowed shore leave first thing, but when she revisited for some ‘Thank you for coming home’ Dreamies the doors were closed behind her, soon followed by the windows and all the curtains, trying to keep the coolness we’d started with trapped inside.

With the sheets on the sunny side it certainly reduced the amount of heat the cabin sides emitted inside. Maybe when Oleanna is due a repaint we’ll use the same colours, but with cream being the predominate colour rather than dark blue. Lets face it this heat wave isn’t going to be a one in a hundred year event, it may not be the last heat wave we get this year! We may also invest in foil blankets and magnets for such days to help reflect the heat away more than the sheets, thank you Adam and Chris for your comments.

Whilst the sun shone down on Oleanna we stayed inside, windows, doors and curtains all closed. The new fan was pointed towards dampened towels that we hung from a string across the boat. The evaporation from the towels helping to cool the air.

I put together my panto story board with notes and emailed it off to Abi. I don’t expect a reply for a few days as she has two young children to look after in this heat as well as herself.

**Mick preferred to sit outside in the warm shade**

Once shade started to appear on the bank Mick headed out to sit in it. I preferred to stay inside with Tilly. A cold flannel to cool down every now and again for both myself and Tilly. We’d tried a chilled hot water bottle wrapped in a towel for her to lie on, cool matt no good, escape pod in front of the fan, That one was just plain scary! But at least she would allow me, even though begrudgingly to wipe her down with a cool wet flannel. Cats don’t like being wet, she tried her best not to purr as she got used to it.

The internet stopped working or a while the server needing rebooting, phones became hot, in the end I turned mine off so that it would have chance to cool down.

I never thought that one day I’d even think of wearing a wet t-shirt, but today it was most certainly the best way of keeping cool. Mick soon followed and felt the benefit quite quickly.

***White bits up to reflect the heat away***

As the shade took over the bank and had chance to cool the ground I also moved outside. Fan turned off inside the boat and Tilly allowed back outside. A water bowl was put down for her but she seemed to prefer her self catering approach to keeping hydrated. You lead a horse to water, it’s even harder to get a cat to drink!

One of Mick’s sandals had a malfunction, the heel strap breaking. One job that wouldn’t involve too much energy. Some strong cotton and big needle and my leather thimble sewed it back together in no time.

We don’t know what temperature we got up to here on our island, the internet suggested around 38 39C. We just know it was bloomin hot!

This morning I’d message our friend David to check up on him in Yorkshire. He’d been offered shelter in a house by some people in the local village if his boat got too hot, which it will have done despite being white.

This evening we stayed sat out until 10pm, the sheets lifted on Oleanna and windows open or removed to try to replace the air inside and help her cool down. Tilly was allowed an extended shore leave as she’d had wet food for lunch today. After our barbeque she was elusive, most probably being busy. We ended up leaving her to it, she found her own way back just after the news had started.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 island to ourselves, 1 boat overstaying, 2 many lobsters on boats or paddle boards, 1 dark boat, 0 bra day, 2 wet t-shirts, 1 wet cat, 1 story board, 1 book started, 1 mended sandal, 2 rain showers, 2 steaks cooked much better than the one I had in Littleport, 4 veg kebabs, 1 bowl of roasted potato salad, 25 glasses of water each, 1st day survived, 2 glasses of wine each, yes I know it was a Monday but I just couldn’t face any more water!

Heat Preparations. 17th July

Barford Old Mill

Our neighbour on NB Atropos had sneaked away in the early hours, making the most of the cool early morning to head upstream. Mick was out on the gunnel putting the sheets back down the cabin side at around 8am, not much of a view through the curtains today!

A gentle breeze seemed to be blowing which was lifting the sheets. Time for some adjustments. Mick hunted round for some big magnets that we have and used those to start off with, nowhere near enough of them though. All the fenders and loops of the centre line were draped down the cabin side to help keep the fabric in place.

The tent on the island had gone but there was still the aroma of cooking coming from 50 yards away. We had breakfast, pottered away the morning inside keeping in the shade as there is only about a foot of it outside until mid morning.

As soon as there was enough shade I set up my office outside. I hoped to get much of my drawings done today before things get really sticky tomorrow. I just about achieved this, only one drawing left to do but as yet I haven’t found an alternative solution for that scene.

**Maybe otherworldy enough, but maybe not.**

My sketches were scanned ready to make into a story board that I can send off tomorrow. It would be good if Abi and myself agree on the way forward before a meeting at the end of the week.

Tilly came and went, although as the afternoon went on she did tend to hang around closer to the boat and sit under chairs for some added shade. She has a water bowl outside as well as inside. I’ve brought out the cool mat with the hope that she may use it, it’s now covered in a t-towel so hopefully the fabric of it won’t put her off. Having said that, she has walked round it this evening to reach her water bowl in the shower!

**Lifting the sheets to get some air into the boat**

We’ve had trial attempts at putting an ice pack wrapped in a t-towel under the towel in her escape pod, but that made the floor too lumpy and the escape pod was rejected. Hopefully tomorrow she’ll be less active naturally because of the heat and accept some of the measures we’re trying to help her with.

Mid afternoon the remaining campers on the island brought all their possessions to the mooring behind us, this was followed by two inflatable canoes. Each in turn were lowered into the river and loaded up with bags of things and one person each. We had a good chat as they loaded everything up, they’d been good neighbours as had we. The third chap headed back to their camp and then appeared in a small rib with an electric outboard. We now had the island to ourselves.

As I worked Mick changed our solids bucket in the toilet and we emptied the yellow water, all jobs that would be a touch too much to do tomorrow. He also rigged up an old computer fan in the vent of the electrics cupboard which will run when the inverter fan is running and then carry on for four hours afterwards. This cupboard can get quite hot, so we’re hoping this will help.

An chap suddenly appeared behind us on the island, he was going for a swim. His boots trailing behind him and his panama hat on to protect his head from the sun. The two ladies he joined thought he was bonkers as he tipped his hat to say hello!

Early evening we were joined by another narrowboat. Reversing in to moor behind us. They were on their way back from Bedford and had wanted to avoid mooring nearer the lock where last week it had been chaotic to say the least. On a schedule they would be off early tomorrow.

**The ash under our bbq is from a previous island visitor**

Outdoor cooking is required from now on. Well apart from boiling up some potatoes which I then wrapped in foil with some garlic and a drizzle of rapeseed oil. These sat on the grill of our barbecue as the sweetcorn cooked and then the pork chops. Apart from the garlic being a touch dark, everything was very tasty, accompanied by a coleslaw of cabbage and apple.

We sat out until quite late this evening, the air only just really cooling off just before we headed inside. Over the next two days we’ll try to remember that feeling of slight chill. It will return, we just have to live through 48 hours of exceptional heat before it does!

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 boaty neighbours, 5 campers, 4 boats, 1 swimmer, 1 hire boat too late to moor, 0 depth on the outside, 1 hot cat, 1 escape pod roof removed, 0 feline cooling attempts accepted, 2 pork chops, 2 cobs, 2 packets of potatoes, 1 of them for tomorrow, 2 boaters as prepared as we can be.

Going White. 16th July

Brampton Old Mills EA Mooring

Curtains remained closed this morning. Our port side had shade until about 8am, then the sun started creeping around the trees opposite, thankfully today wouldn’t be too hot.

Tilly headed off to explore, we’d not heard the woofer since last night, so we hoped it had left the island. A small tepee tent had sprung up just along the island from us and there was an aroma of sausages cooking on a wood fire.

The Geragthy zoom included topics such as honesty, choral societies and how we might reuse the sheets we’d bought. One suggestion being that we might make sails to aid our return to Denver, it would certainly save on diesel. We could even use our new fan should there be no wind to help us move, but that would mean running the engine!

Time to work out how to attach our sheets to the cabin side. All the planks and poles would come in handy, I’d often wondered why we had kept three boat hooks on the roof, but today they’d be useful. The sheets were draped over the cabin side, the top foot put over the roof and into the gutter with a pole to weight it down. This was fine until it came to adding the next length. Tape was deemed to be necessary.

I still intend to repaint the grab rail so taping things to it wouldn’t be a problem. The big roll of gaffa I’d liberated from a theatre came in handy for this purpose. The sheets stretched from the front of the cabin to part way along the sign writing at the stern. Thought now is required on how to keep the sheets hanging down when there is a breeze never mind the forecast 14mph winds in a few days.

Mid morning a narrowboat appeared and headed to see if it could get in behind us. Being about 50ft there should have been just about enough space if she could get into the side. The depth turns out to not be that great all the way along the mooring here. The lady managed to get off with ropes and Mick helped get her bow rope. In the end she was moored at a touch of a jaunty angle but the bow close enough to get on and off.

As the morning progressed we kept our eyes open for shady places to sit out, only a small patch that was constantly on the move. Mick trimmed back a few nettles to make a slightly larger area. After lunch the area had expanded enough for two chairs to be in the shade.

I set up an outside office and continued to work on my sketches for panto. This year I have yet another boat/ship. One line in the script ‘stoke the boilers’ suggests it’s a steam powered ship. Then there are comments of sails, no problem, plenty of such ships to use as reference, just how to incorporate it into the design?

I was very fond of last years ship and I can’t replicate that one. A big steam funnel centre stage will use up too much stage space, but maybe I’ve succeeded in a way round it.

Then there is an island called Petiti which we don’t want to be too much of a colonial island to conquer, after all this is Chippy 2022 panto. At the moment I quite like the look of Singapore’s Supertrees, but Abi the director suggested it might have an edible feel to it all. Maybe I can turn the trees into ice cream cones?! Who knows.

During the day the river has been busy. Plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Our neighbours on the island have been joined by others, they’ve been for a paddle in their canoes and by the sounds of the clinking glass consumed a few bottles of beer between them. The lady on the boat next to us (really wish we’d got her name) headed off to try to find the old lock on the island. Not sure if she was successful, maybe we’ll have a look tomorrow.

**Blanket to help keep the bedroom cooler**

As the sun moved round our port side went into shade. We popped a cream blanket over the bedroom on the starboard side, hoping that might help to keep it cool for later. The sheets on the port side were lifted onto the roof meaning the windows on that side could then help with ventilation.

This evening I had a go at making Quesadillas. I kind of had the ingredients, but it was a version of a recipe by the gfblogger on instagram. They were nice, but maybe some proper chipotle paste would be better than the chilli dressing I had on board. I’ll be giving them another go at some point as they require very little heat.

0 locks, 0 miles, 3 sheets cut in half, 14m of white cabin side, 1 white blanket for the bedroom, 1 small patch of shade turns into 1 huge area by mid afternoon, 1 wasps nest, 1 weekend long party (must have a boat to access it), 3 canoes, 1 rib, 10 hours shore leave, 1 very pooped cat who really needs to start drinking water!

14ft! 15th July

Priory Centre, St Neots to Barford Old Mills

The original plan had been to leave at 9am, but that didn’t quite happen as Mick had decided to purchase an electric fan from Argos which wouldn’t open til 9. It had been ordered so he went to be first in line at the front door to pick it up.

We were slightly disappointed, yet not surprised at the size of fan. We’d have difficulty finding somewhere to put it after all if the description had been correct! It was 14inches not 14ft! Yes it will use power, but may just help move air about to help cool us in the coming days.

Tilly’s pooh box had a clean out as we topped up the water tank, best to leave with a full water tank. As we made ready to push off Paul stuck his head out of their hatch to say goodbye, we suspect our paths will cross another time somewhere.

Across the way the Macc boys were discussing things, would everyone be trying to find some shade on the river. We hoped for their sakes they were, but also hoped that the mooring we were after would be free by the time we arrived.

An old riverside house has been having quite an extensive refurb along with an big extension. With 1.5 acres and a mooring long enough for a narrowboat no wonder it’s £2,250,000!

**Oleanna waiting with Eaton Socon Mill behind**

Eaton Socon Lock was soon in view. There was movement at the lock, a day boat having just been helped up the lock. We set the lock to out favour, a sign by the control panel saying that there is an intermittent fault where the delay timer trips the guillotine. Thankfully it behaved for me and we were soon up, after the 6mins 30secs delay that is inbuilt.

Above the lock we pulled in at the EA mooring, the bank decidedly awkward to moor to. We managed to get the stern close enough to the bank for our needs and headed to the big Tescos 3/4mile away.

A big stock up required the bike to be a sherpa. The ability to cook outdoors a necessity and other meals to require the minimum amount of gas usage. We came back with the bike fully laden.

Time for lunch on the go, with the next mooring at Great Barford we had another two locks and six and a half miles to go, we needed to keep moving. The river started to remind us of the upper reaches of the Thames, narrower, more bends to keep you on your toes. A keen eye required to spot those in canoes or on paddle boards who are oblivious to our existence.

Under the A1 where it splits in two. How many times have we been over the river here and not realised it was the Great Ouse below? We’ve also been thinking about that as we’ve seen trains rushing past on the East Coast Main Line recently.

At Roxton Lock we came across our first totally manual lock for ages. The gates were heavy, or is it just that I’m not so used to opening and closing gates as I used to be.

A Kingfisher darted in front of us, managing to stay for a while on a post, my zoom only just managing to catch it before it flew off.

This was then followed by a Little Egret, I’d never noticed how fluffy frondy their tails are before.

At Great Barford Lock the wild flowers were past their best, but the teasels still had enough purple flowers to keep the bees occupied.

Above the lock was busy, swimmers getting ready for a dip, canoes, paddle boarders. Here there are two lots of moorings, the GOBA one’s we might have been able to squeeze into between two boats, or outside the pub where there was plenty of space but also it was more than likely to get really quite busy.

We carried on though hoping that the EA mooring tucked behind on an island would be free. Thankfully it was apart from a small rib tied up in the middle. We tried here and there to moor, the bank not very even and the water shallow. As soon as we started to hit a spike in a very muddy dog came rushing round to see what was going on. It was soon followed by it’s owner who kindly moved his rib round the bend.

Eventually we found a spot where we could get off at the bow with ease and just close enough for the plank at the stern. As the cloud cleared away we could see what the afternoon shade would be like, not as comprehensive as we’d hoped, but at least there was some. We’ll get shade first thing, then the port side will heat up followed by a couple of hours of the starboard side. Our sheets would be needed, they were cut in half and folded up ready for a trial run tomorrow.

I tried out a new recipe for a mushroom biryani tonight, it didn’t turn out quite like the recipe had suggested, I suspect my pan lid was a touch too tight as it ended up being a bit soupy, never mind it was still very tasty so I’ll try it again with a looser lid or less liquid, adding some chicken too would be nice.

3 locks, 8.54 miles, 14” new fan, 1 full water tank, 1 clean pooh box, 1 fully laden bike, 3 boxes wine, 2 boxes Tilly food! 1 island mooring, 1 bridge should we want to leave, 3 sheets cut to size, 800ml reduce to 600ml, 1 very boisterous woofer that we hope will leave the island.

https://goo.gl/maps/tWhswHy2PZBJxAcj8

Jelly Babies Or Inuits. 14th July

Paxton Pits GOBA Mooring to St Neots Priory Centre

NB Still-Waters moved off whilst we were still having our morning cuppa in bed. We waved but I’m not sure they saw us.

Last night we’d adopted a new routine on heading to bed. The last few nights we’ve been plagued by flying insects, we really need to sort out some fly screens for our windows! All the windows and curtains were closed in the bedroom before any lights were turned on, then once we’d finished reading the lights went out, windows opened, the glass from the porthole above our heads removed. We only had one little blighter buzzing around our ears, success. But I suspect by the time the weekend comes we’ll not be wanting any windows closed.

We pushed off ourselves a little after 10 making our way towards St Neots. Some of the moorings have very high flood proof scaffolding, keeping their boats from straying onto the banks. A two tone tree? How has that come about? One side a pale variegated leaf the other green.

After a couple of miles we approached St Neots Lock. Here our maps suggested a one way system around an island below the lock. However two cruisers came towards us the wrong way. At least it meant the lock would be in our favour.

St Neot’s Lock is quite a modern lock. The bottom has a guillotine gate and vee gates at the top. In the chamber there are steps rather than ladders, the sort you find on Thames locks. There are also cable risers on the sides to pass your rope around. The length of the lock seemed vast with Oleanna sat at the back. A pair of slackers at the top end sat side by side. Lifting the first one I wondered where the water would come into the lock, would both paddles lift at the top end, or would one route the water further down the chamber?

Blimey the colossal noise of rushing water below my feet sounded like I’d set a tidal wave going, yet in the chamber nothing much seemed to be happening. I steadily opened up both slackers and Oleanna rose at the far end.

The river now wider, day boats and later on rowers and paddle boarders everywhere. We made our way into St Neots a space on the pontoon by the Priory Centre, phew! Opposite the Macc boys were breasted up along with some cruisers, through the bridge looked full too. Maybe we’d move on after some shopping and topping with on water.

Fresh food was needed along with something to make a home made shade for Oleanna. If we can’t find a shady mooring for the weekend then we at least want to cover our cabin side to stop Oleanna becoming a very big storage heater. White fabric was required.

**Locals are asking boaters to take their rubbish home rather than leaving it where bins used to be!**

Boaters bins along the river seem to have been removed, so we’d taken our recycling along into town which got deposited in bins around the market square. The market was okay, but not much to it other than the figures that were stood holding up the ends of the benches.

Were these Jelly Babies or Inuit people? Which ever they are what do they have to do with St Neots? If I get time I’ll try to hunt round the internet for information, but if anyone knows please let me know. Hang on they might be monks holding beads with a cross hanging down.

The charity shops let me down on the hunt for white fabric/sheets, so we bought Argos out of all the flat sheets they had, only three. Not quite enough for the whole cabin side, but a good amount will get covered if needs be. We just need to sus out how to hold it all down. The roof will be easy, but the bottoms?

Back at Oleanna we were just settling down for lunch as NB Mosi-Y-Tunya came past, they’d been travelling with NB Caspar, we waved and it was obvious they were looking for somewhere to moor so we offered them our starboard side. This led to quite a lot of boaters chat.

During the afternoon a cruiser that had been issued an overstay notice was pulled back to the end of the pontoon, which made enough room for both us and NB Mosi-Y-Tunya to be moored. As both boats filled with water more conversations were had, comparing notes on places we’d been, Paul and Jackie’s tales of crossing the Wash and we handed on tips for the River Nene locks. At last we also managed to palm off the wine gums I’d won at the Oscars party that had sadly disagreed with me. Paul, Jackie and their friends Peter and Kath wolfed them down within minutes!

1 lock, 3.17 miles, 2 neighbours, 0 shore leave, 3 white sheets, 1 sad gits stir fry, 0 work done, 1st production meeting arranged, 1 tea dance, 1 exercise class, 1 full water tank, 0 boaters bins again, 32 jelly babies, or 32 Inuits, which ever they are going to be very warm next week!

https://goo.gl/maps/j3g8C1AiCTHinHFs9

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna