Shiralee Cruise 2011 #26

Saturday 27th August.

Due to the heavy rain yesterday we decided to stay at Bridge 75 on the North Oxford. I do believe I called it the Grand Union in my last blog! See, this is what happens as you get old and wrinkly, the memory fades, and my dear wife knows all about my memory fading, poor wee thing.

So, what did we do with ourselves during our enforced stay, well, not a lot actually, we must have decided a dozen times or more to get the boat ready and move along, but each time we had a lull in the weather and started to make ready, down came the rain again. We set a deadline of 2 pm and, once that had passed, gave up on the idea.

Today however, regardless of the weather, we really must get ourselves to Rugby for shopping. Even more important is the need to top up with water and dispose of our rubbish. This I fear will be another drinkless Sunday, simply because after Rugby there’s nowhere to stop at or near a pub until we get to Hawkesbury Junction, where there’s a place called The Greyhound, the name of which engenders fond memories of my early Harlow days and the ‘Inn on the Park’, as we called it. The small Jazz band on Sundays was a true delight. Ah, memories, what would we be without them?

Sunday 28th August.

Bank Holiday is here again and, even on the cut, you get your inconsiderate people who just love waking their neighbours up in the early hours. Chatter, chatter, chatter at 3.30 am! And, as if that wasn’t enough, Rusty was sat by the back door at 4.45 am. So, having also woken up with a stiff neck, here am I, sitting at the laptop at 5.15 am thoroughly hacked off, and not just because of those two annoyances. I now have a warning that my battery is low and have had to switch the IC on, which I really didn’t want to do this early in the day. No! Going back to bed is not an option.

I avoided switching on the I/C yesterday morning and managed to do all I needed to do by the time Wifey got up, but I don’t think I actually used the laptop after arriving here at Newbold.

Yesterday, ah yes, yesterday, what a fun day that was. We left our moorings at 07.45 and headed for Rugby, which we arrived at by about 10.15, when we headed off to Tesco and such straight away. We first paid a visit to Homebase, where we found a great battery powered LED light to stick on the wall in the galley. We use up so many bulbs in the 12 volt system by leaving one on overnight – no, we’re not scared of the dark – that it’s becoming a wee bit expensive. It remains to be seen how long batteries last in this lamp before we revert to the previous system.

Tesco was a riot of fun because, it being a Saturday, everybody and his uncle were there for their Bank Holiday shopping. On top of which we were treated to the banshee screaming of a toddler whose parents simply let him scream. Talk about making a rod for your own back, will they be sorry later.

Having walked down the hill to Tesco without a coat, naturally the heavens opened up just as we were leaving the store. So, despite having taken the brolly with us, we waited for the shower to pass and headed off back to the boat. After a swift cuppa and more rain we headed off to pastures new, not knowing exactly where we would be pulling in for the rest of the weekend. In the event, and despite my fears that I would be denied my precious pint on Sunday, we found a spot at Newbold where there are no less than three pubs to choose from.

Yesterday afternoon Wifey took Rusty out for a walk and told me that the nearest pub had live music on. Hmmm! This does not bode well, I thought but, with the only disturbance being the one mentioned, we enjoyed more sleep than I expected.

My laptop battery is now up to 27% power and so, unless the heater turns itself off soon, I’ll have to switch the laptop off or make do with the 27%. When I turned on the I/C our batteries were down to 11.9 volts and this despite the engine being run for a total of 5 hours yesterday. Nope, these new batteries are not fit for purpose. Still, having missed out on Barby Marina for a full charge, we’ll try stopping at Limekiln on the Ashby Canal, but that won’t be until sometime next week. First we have to pay a visit to Coventry to top up our prescriptions.

Bank Holiday Monday 29th August.

Sunday was a joy. Aside from the odd shower here and there, this was a quiet and relaxing day with lots of boats tooing and froing, the drivers of some not seeming to care very much about moored boats. Still, we survived to see another day and have will be heading for Hawkesbury Junction this morning.

We had a choice of three pubs to visit yesterday and, in order to avoid those with Sky Sports on the big screen; we much prefer a peaceful Sunday lunchtime drink; we took a walk around to inspect all three. The first one we passed, The Newbold Crown, was the one we eventually settled for and is situated on the main road into the centre of town.

Guinness was about average in price at £2.40 a pint and from the menu we figured the meal prices to be pretty reasonable too. Had we been normal in our approach to food on a Sunday, we might well have ordered lunch there but, Sunday being our low food intake day, we had to decline the offer.

When we walked in at about 12.30 there was already a sizeable group of people in the Public Bar and just two eating lunch in the Saloon and, since the Saloon door was the one we entered by, that’s where we sat. The Newbold Crown is impressive in appearance from the outside and takes up the corner of the main road and a side street, with a very wide frontage and seating outside. Inside this pub is very clean and the owners are quite obviously very proud of their business. After half an hour or so other customers started drifting in and ordered food, so I have no doubt that this establishment will not fall by the wayside as so many others are doing of late.

This morning, what with the days becoming shorter as we head for the autumn, was another chilly start to the day, and I’m sure it won’t be long before we’ll be lighting our fire. With this in mind, just as soon as we get moored up we’ll be applying the finishing touches to the chimney, the tiling and grouting, and Sheila will be giving the fire and inner stack a coat of paint. In order to do this we’ll probably have to throw the windows, doors and hatch open to ensure we don’t suffocate from the fumes.

Hawkesbury Junction with the Coventry Canal is about 11 miles away, but there are no locks along the way. However, with it being a Bank Holiday, it is unlikely we would find moorings without some difficulty and so, instead of going all the way, we’ll try to find suitable moorings about half way there.

Tuesday 30th August
The weather wasn’t looking too clever when we left Neubold, so we decided to stop at Brinklow instead of going all the way to Hawkesbury Junction. We have spent a couple of days here before, but I’m sure there weren’t as many boats here on that occasion. It’s a bit like bridge 103 on the GUC, everybody and his brother now know about it and are taking advantage.

If I remember it right, the last time we were here we actually walked into the village, which looks to be about half a mile away. However, the road over the bridge ahead of us brings you to a T/Junction and, from there you have two choices for reaching the village. You either cross the fields and stiles, or you skirt the fields, which of course is the longer route. We chose the fields and stiles and almost got tangled up in overgrown thorny bushes for our trouble. This was all due to my determination to enjoy a pint or two.

This time though, since it was Bank Holiday Monday and I had already enjoyed my weekly allocation of Guinness, we decided against such a venture, which was just as well because I would never have made even half way.

When we pulled in to moor up we did so just as another boat was passing. Not having time to put our hooks in and tie up, we had to take the weight of the boat until it had gone by. For some reason, and even though I had done this many times before, I must have put too much strain on my left knee, which left me with an agonising limp for the best part of the day. By the early evening though, I’m happy to say, the pain and discomfort had eased off and all is now well enough for us to continue on to Hawkesbury.

Now, since it is another eight miles to Hawkesbury, and not wishing to subject me to the paint fumes, Sheila is going to leave me all alone on the stern deck while she paints the fireplace. She really can be so considerate at times.

Well, that was the last Bank Holiday until Christmas and, with a little luck the little perishers will be back at school soon, thus easing the congestion on the canals. Since we purchased Shiralee in 2006 more than 5,000 addition boats have been registered with BW. Taking into account the small percentage that have been scrapped due to their poor condition, that still leaves a great many more boats looking for mooring spaces during holiday times. It also accounts for why new marinas are springing up all over the waterways, and thank goodness for that. It now means there is more competition and more marinas are now willing to take in residential boaters for winter moorings.

Wednesday 31st August and we’re off to Coventry for a couple of days. The first thing to do once we arrive is to find the surgery and arrange for some medication, after that a look around the shops. My most important item is a 12 volt lead and plug for the television, after that I’m sure we’ll have other shopping to do, such as a loaf of bread and some milk.

I have not been able to find a full picture of the basin at Coventry, but what I did find shows it as being pretty big. Unfortunately we are only allowed 48 hours there, but that should be enough to take in as much as we need. We can always visit again next year, assuming we come this way that is.

Yesterday we enjoyed a Shared Platter at the local watering hole, The Greyhound at Hawkesbury, and very good it was too and, at just £9.95p, a bargain. With Guinness being just £3.15p I was well satisfied. Perhaps we’ll stop off again when we return on our way to the Ashby Canal.

In an effort to reduce battery power first thing in the morning, I am now running the laptop without connection to the 240 volt supply. This means I eventually find myself reduced to about 30% of battery left, which is when I then switch on the Inverter/Charger, and the system is working well so far. I also make sure the engine is run for a full two hours in the evening and, instead of 5 am I now rise at 5.30 am. This is because, having finished a couple of projects I’ve been working on, I can afford to sacrifice 30 minutes of my valuable computer time.

On Friday we will be returning this way and then heading on to the Ashby Canal, where we hope to spend a couple of days on a landline in Lime Kiln Marina, which boasts, among other services, a pub. Now, how fortunate is that?

Wednesday 31st August 5 pm

After much faffing about at Hawkesbury Junction, spending about an hour finding the nearest winding hole and heading back to the junction to top up with water and dispose of rubbish, we eventually set off for Coventry at about 9.15. The run down the five miles to the basin gets progressively more industrialised and overgrown, reminding us of a couple of other canals we’ve navigated this year, but also of the Aylesbury Arm of the GUC.

After a lot of meandering around loops and turns we arrived at the basin at about 11.15 and settled in for a well deserved cuppa, after which Wifey walked the dog. We then set off to find the nearest surgery, which we found had relocated to the hospital.

On our arrival at reception we were told that, due to a shortage of doctors we should instead walk round to the Walk-In Centre, which was just a five minute walk away.

Having filled in the usual form we were then sent round to a waiting room where we met Roger Whittaker, a very nice man who was visiting relatives here on a visit from Australia and was due to go home on 14th of September. We had a real friendly chat with him and he told us he had lived in Adelaide for the past 50 odd years. He also said his brother had terminal lung cancer and his other brother was suffering from dementia. The next couple of weeks are going to be quite tough for him, so I suppose he’ll be glad to return to the beginning of spring in Oz.

We were called in to see a nurse for an assessment before deciding if I needed to see a doctor. Now, anybody else in our position, which is that of spending six or seven months of the year cruising, would do well to avoid Coventry like the plague. As if it wasn’t enough being sent away from the first surgery, I was then told that they could only issue sufficient medication to see me through the next five days. As a diabetic whose condition is controlled with Insulin, this is not damn good enough. “It’s all down to budgets”, says the nurse, which of course is no good to me at all.

Anyway, we eventually came away with much more than she said we would, simply because Insulin pens come in boxes of five, and I now have more than enough to see me back to Willington.

Travelling boaters, you have been warned! Make sure you have plenty of everything medical before you even consider visiting Coventry. What a dump! Instead of spending two days we will be leaving tomorrow morning, just as soon as we complete our shopping, and good riddance to the place. Its only saving grace is the Motor Museum and, from what we hear, that will be closing soon anyway.

Friday 2nd September and summer made a welcome return yesterday. The day dawned bright and cheerful and remained that way for the rest of the day.

The trip through to Hawkesbury Junction too about two hours but it was far from easy finding somewhere to moor up. Although we moan about being limited to 48 hours at most places we stop at, with Hawkesbury being so popular and having a seven day limit, planning your arrival time really doesn’t help much. We are now moored well out of sight of the junction itself and it will be quite a walk when we visit the shop across the bridge, and when we return to the pub later.

Despite the fact that the summer holidays are almost over; I do believe some kids go back to school later this week; there are still plenty of boats moving up and down the cut. I’ve been up for just about an hour and already three have passed by. Can’t these people sleep? Obviously I’m not the only boater who likes to see the sun rise.

Being low on power again I have had to switch on the I/C unit, so I think that it’s a good time to post, but first I’d better make a cuppa for Wifey.

Cheers folks and have a good weekend.

Dave, Sheila and pooch.