Cosgrove to Weedon

It’s almost seven pm on Easter Monday, the sun is out, which is kinda typical for the end of a holiday weekend, but all’s well anyway. Well, we think so.

Tomorrow, all being well with the weather, we’ll be off to Yardley Gobion, where we’ll be able to moor up on the same side, which means I’ll be able to add another coat of paint to the stern deck. If not, well, we have plenty of time to get it done. No hurry, no worry, we’re retired!

Tuesday 14th April 2009

Today is absolutely beautiful and sunny, such a shame you people of the chattering classes have to be at work today. However, the glorious weather has allowed me to get on with the painting of the stern deck, and I’ve added another coat to the patch.

Today then, having left Cosgrove at 8.15 and topped up with water, we lazily cruised the three miles to Yardley Wharf and my dear Wifey took the long, uphill walk to the village shop for necessary victuals. Now, here I am, filling in today’s blog before I tackle some more of my recipe book. What recipe book, I hear you ask?

Well now, some time ago I happened across several sites, all full of recipes and from just about every country in the world. You’d be amazed at what’s out there, and it’s all free of charge. Unfortunately, since this is an open blog and everyone and his brother can access it, it would be unwise for me to go into detail. Suffice to say that, when it’s complete, all family and friends will receive a free copy. The rest of the world will have to pay, probably via eBay, Amazon and/or Clickbank and a small website.

Having thus brought you all up to date, I will now endeavour to add more to the book.

Cheers for now.

Wednesday 15th April 2009

After a really bad night of stormy weather it calmed down enough for us to move on to Stoke Bruerne. Luckily enough for us, just as we were about to close the gates, another boat came along. It’s so much easier with two boats passing through locks together to share the work.

This boat was being driven by a couple of middle aged Scotsmen who hailed from Edingburgh, but whose boat is kept moored up at Rickmansworth during the winter months. Their trip is going to take them along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal which, as you all know, is one of those that we did last year. We’ve heard conflicting stories about the Kennett and Avon, which is part river and part canal, and have been somewhat put off cruising it. But these to fellas did it a couple of years ago and quite enjoyed the experience. Some of the locks can be a bit difficult to operate – nothing new there then! – but the scenery is brilliant. Of course, if you are unfortunate enough; as they were, to fall foul of torrential rain, which left them stranded for about a month; it can throw a spanner in the works. Aside from that problem, which we’re now old hands at, we might just give it a go next year.

Anyway, here we are at Stoke Bruerne, on 24 hour moorings, with the weather a bit chilly but dry. Tomorrow, if we are unfortunate enough to be rained on, to hell with the rules, we’ll stay another day. However, we really want to be at Wheedon for the weekend, so we really do need to get a move on, preferably to Nether Heyford, which is about eight miles away and, with just the two locks remaining of the Stoke Bruerne flight left to do, and the Blisworth Tunnel, we should make it tomorrow.

Thursday 16th April 2009

With Blisworth Tunnel to get through, and the final two locks at Stoke Bruerne, we thought it best to leave early. Thus it was that I stood well away from our bed when waking Wifey at 6am. There’s no telling just how a person will react when awoken from sweet dreams. Not that we hadn’t agreed to go early, but that was last night and her, usually, calm and benevolent mood could have changes, especially as we didn’t retire until 11 pm last night.

Anyway, we managed to get away by 7 am, which is a first for us, and were through the two remaining locks and 1 ¾ mile tunnel by 8 am. At that time of morning any remaining holiday makers would, most probably, be sitting down to breakfast. We had a total of eight miles to go to Nether Heyford, where the village has a very good butchers shop, a mini-market and a hairdressers, all of which Wifey intended to make good use of.

We arrived there at about 10.15 and pulled in to the boatyard for diesel and a pump out, just in time for the owner to be found unloading a lorry. While we were waiting another boat pulled in behind us and we got chatting. As you know, we’re planning on doing the Llangollen Canal this year but, since we have 26 inches of draught under this boat, we’ve been advised not to go any further than Trevor. However, the couple we were chatting to actually did that canal last year and managed it all, despite having a draught of 27 inches. I’ll have to have a measure up sometime, just to check how deep a draught we do have.

Yo may remember us doing the Huddersfield Narrow last year? Well, when we arrived at Standedge Tunnel, full measurements were taken of the Shiralee and, to our surprise, we were told our draught was only 22 inches. So, we are now totally confused!!

It’s now half past one and Wifey came back from the village over an hour ago, during which time it’s been chucking it down most fierce. She tells me it only took er 10 minutes to walk back from there and she has to go back to have her hair done by two. Would you believe, with just 20 minutes to go before she has to leave, the rain has stopped. She must have a touc of the Irish in her methinks!

All for today, more tomorrow from Wheedon, where we plan to spend the weekend, and where I’ll try to post this blog.

Oops! I spoke too soon. Wifey has just left for the village and it’s persisting again!

Friday 17th April2009

Oh what a beautiful morning! Rain most of the night and rain again this morning. But, we really don’t care, we’re moving on to Weedon regardless.

Believe it or not, the minute we decided to go, the rain stopped and it stayed dry all the way. Fortunately, no locks or tunnels to worry about, only a water top-up just before our planned moorings. On arrival at about 9.30, the usual cuppa then Wifey trotted off for a bit of shopping.

Weedon consists of two parts called, I think, Upper and Lower. Upper Weedon is where we are and consists of two pubs and a Premier Travel Inn, which is where we once stopped when we took a course in diesel engine maintenance. The pub we’ll use on Sunday, assuming we stay for the weekend, is just a short way from the bridge. There are no real shops in Upper Weedon, except for antiques and such, but no supermarket or village shop.

Lower Wheedon on the other hand has a small grocery, a post office, a chemist and a café and, I have to say, but only from memory, it’s quite a quaint little village.

I’m still not sure if I want to stop for the weekend though, not even for a drink on Sunday. We might just go on to Wilton Marina in the morning, and stay there until Monday, when we can negotiate the Buckbey flight of seven locks, which takes us to Norton Junction with the Leicester Arm of the GUC. However, rather than moor up there for the night, we’ll probably go on to jst before Braunston Tunnel and make an early start through on Tuesday morning, then moor up overnight at Braunston, which boasts a village shop and butchers along with a couple of marinas and chandleries.

And that, as they say, is enough for today.

Saturday 18th April 2009 6.10 am

Did I tell you, we’re moored up opposite a farm? Well, we are and, as you may or may not know, farm folks like to start moving and shaking quite early in the morning, which is why, having been blasted out of a pleasant dream at 05.30; not to mention busting for a pee; I arose from my slumbers at 06.00 and is why I’m sitting here typing.

Anyway, this missive is now four pages long, it’s Saturday and I’m already online. What better time to post this blog than right now.

But, before I do, I think I should let you all know, that I may not be able to do so for much longer, as much as that hurts me to say so. You see, despite having spent several hours re-formatting this laptop sometime before we left Bulbourne, I’m still experiencing trouble with the pesky thing. And the main thing is with the USB ports, which is where, as many of you will be only too aware, the mouse, my external hard drive, my external CD/DVD player, and, most importantly, our 3G USB Modem is fitted.

Whether or not it’s the USB ports themselves are at fault, or the software that controls them are at fault, I simply do not know, but I may have to re-format again. The trouble is, I’ll have to do another backup of essential files but, since the problem is causing my external hard drive to close down intermittently, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to do even that.

Whatever the case, I’ll keep you informed by text or email. What worries me is that, if I do go for a re-format, I could make things even worse than they are. Of course, I may have a nasty virus in the works – even Norton is not infallible – in which case a re-format might just cure the problem.

Cheers for now

Dave, Sheila and Rusty