Friday 14th October.
This, as you all know, will be the last entry for 2011, unless of course something astonishing occurs before next April, when I’ll write an entry or two.
Meanwhile, some facts and figures about this trip.
We have just 23 miles to go to Willington, which will bring our total this year to 530. During the 28 weeks and 3 days that we’ve been out we would have passed through 456 locks and actually cruised for about 210 hours. We would also have stopped overnight at 137 different locations.
Goodness knows how much water we have used, or how much diesel we have bought, all that info will be in Wifey’s diary. Where water is concerned we are nowhere near the consumption of the average British household. As for diesel, well, that could take some calculation, but it’s quite a lot. However, up until the end of August we had used 674 litres (147 gallons) at a total cost of £687.04p.
Compared to road travelling vehicles, this is cheap but, despite all efforts by the EU, farm vehicles and the domestic use of red diesel in boats is still subsidised. We now have to pay full price for propulsion, and this has been the case since soon after we bought the boat, but for heating and charging of batteries we still benefit from the reduction.
These facts, along with any more that come to mind, I’ll enter when I know.
Sunday 16th October.
Yesterday we made our way down from Handsacre to Fradley Junction and will stay here until tomorrow morning. If yesterday is anything to go by we’ll be sitting outside The Swan at lunchtime, enjoying even more sunshine. Boating traffic is now thinning out but, as it is the weekend and the sun is out, the weekenders are still with us. October is very much like April where boating is concerned. During the week there’s not much going on but, come the weekend and you can’t move for them, much less find a mooring spot. And finding a mooring spot is all in the timing, which we are getting rather good at.
Just beside this stretch of moorings, which lies between two locks, there’s a BW wildlife reserve, with a lake and pathways running around it. To my mind, and even though it is designated as an area for various species of birds and insects, the lake is far too quiet. Now, I’m not a kiddie person, in fact I find most of them to be quite obnoxious, but I really do believe that this lake would benefit from a few youngsters in canoes and kayaks. I’m not talking masses of the little monsters, perhaps a small club or two with special permission from BW and overseen by responsible adults. Of course, it will never happen. Just a thought.
Monday 17th October.
Yesterday my hopes of sitting outside The Swan at Fradley Junction and enjoying a pint or three of Murphy’s, were dashed by the cool breeze and heavy clouds. Of course, after those pints the clouds dissipated and the sun came out!!
We made it through four locks and two miles to Alrewas this morning before the high winds developed, but this is another of those places that, despite having visited before on several occasions, I still didn’t recall the layout of until we had arrived. We moored up just as soon as we were able after passing through the last lock and then, because this spot was somewhat narrowed down by overhanging trees, moved on a little further and then, having walked into the village for a few bits and pieces, we returned via the towpath further up and, seeing that it was completely empty of boats, moved along for the second and final time.
By this time of course, my nearest and dearest had had enough but, since I had no just cause to move again, here we will stay until the morrow, at which time, weather permitting, we’ll move on to Branston, where I’m hoping we’ll partake of a pub lunch, the last one on this cruise and signifying the 50th pub this year. Yep, we’ve visited 49 pubs in the past seven months. Now, that is some pub crawl.
Tuesday 18th October.
Yesterday we really felt the change in the weather, very high winds and some really heavy rain, and we’re approaching a short stretch of the River Trent at the first lock we come to. Still, I doubt it was enough to put the river into spate. Going down the lock, if I remember correctly, we have about 100 yards of canal, after which the river crosses at a ‘T’ from left to right. We then ride the river for a short while and it leaves us again to continue down the canal.
Thankfully the wind has died down and it has stopped raining, so we should be able to complete the five miles and four locks to Branston this morning. Wednesday Branston to Willington then, after paying a visit to the doctor, into the marina on Thursday morning. Job done!
Of course, should the weather turn foul again, we’ll have to stay here another day.
15.30 the same day…
Phew! That wind! Strong doesn’t even begin to describe it. But, lucky old us, we left Alrewas early, about 7.45, and completed the five miles and four locks to Branston Water Park moorings in 2½ hours, long before the wind really got up.
As usual after arriving at a new spot, we sat around for awhile drinking tea and nattering, after which we strolled into town for the paper and the promised pub lunch. We dined at The Blacksmiths Arms on our way through here in April, so we knew we were in for a decent meal. I plumped for the Italian Spicy Meat Ball with Pasta, whilst Wifey went for the Liver and Onion with Mash and Gravy. I’m pleased to say that there was enough there to satisfy and that neither of us required a pudding. However, behind the bar under a domed cover were slices of Carrot Cake, which I simply could not resist, so the guvnor had a couple of slices wrapped in foil for us to take away.
This pub, along with the Newbold Arms, is one of the cleanest pubs we have come across during this years cruise and, with meals at around a fiver is highly recommended by both of us. In fact we were so pleased with the service that we have decided to make a point of coming again whilst moored at Mercia Marina this winter. Last winter we weren’t too sure about the wisdom of taking the boat out, what with me recuperating from my op. But this year will be a different story as we are determined to take every opportunity to spend time on the canal.
Hopefully the wind will have died down again by morning, at which time we’ll cruise the seven miles and two locks to Willington, where we will call in to the surgery for renewed prescriptions and to make appointments. After that and assuming the weather is still OK, we’ll go on to the marina.
Thursday morning, all being well, I will endeavour to post this, the last blog for this year. One of our first jobs once we are securely tied up and all shopping is done, will be to go through our photos and put names to them. We will then sort them out and copy the best ones – in our amateur opinions – into a separate folder for onward copying to CD or DVD. Any member of our delightful families should place their order by email as soon as possible, after which we will be happy to hand out copies when we all meet in March or, if you are agog with excitement and can’t wait, we’ll be pleased to post them on. Your choice.
Thursday 20th October.
That’s all Folks, the last blog of 2011.
But first, our final cruise yesterday, from Branston to Willington and on to Mercia Marina. Oh boy, what a morning!
There were quite a few boats moored at Branston, several of which were heading our way and so, not wishing to have to compete with them at the only two locks along the seven mile home stretch, we left at 7.45 am.
Up until we had almost reached the outskirts of Willingon the day was fin, with just a light, following breeze, just the job for cruising, especially on our final day out. But – there’s always a but isn’t there? – with about half a mile to go the clouds started really building up and we passed through a couple of light showers.
We stopped at Willington at about 10.45 and paid a visit to the surgery to put in a prescription and make an appointment, then we popped into the Co-op for a few bits and pieces.
We arrived back at the boat at about 11.15 and prepared to move on to Mercia and, just as we cast off our mooring ropes and pushed off, the rain started. Within five minutes or so the heavens opened up and, by the time we arrived at the diesel pump in the marina, the wind was gusting and we were soaked. And we still had to fill the tank up.
But first we had to telephone the office and ask someone to come and unlock the pump. It’s still raining quite heavily at this point.
So, along comes Rob, the boss man. He must have Irish blood because the rain stopped just for him and, amazingly, the wind dropped too.
Naturally enough, in order for us to have further difficulties, if not with the rain then at least with the wind, another delay occurred, this time in the shape of the local hire boat company whose engineer needed to top one of their boats up with fuel.
With the diesel filler line being too short to reach our filler cap and in order to delay us even further, we then had to move the boat forward a few feet. That done we finally filled up with diesel at a final cost of £108.
At this point the wind decided to throw a tantrum, just to make life interesting over the final couple of hundred yards to our moorings. This involved winkling the sharp end between a boat and the pontoon which, in gusting wind, inevitably results in a ‘slight’ bump against the other boat. Thankfully the owner of said boat doesn’t live on his so, what the eyes don’t see, the heart can; grieve over.
Finally we tied up and attached our mains cable, by which time the wind had dropped, the sky had cleared and the sun had come out.
And that dear reader was our last cruising day of 2011.
During our winter break, which should last until the middle of March, I’m hoping to rearrange to pages of the blog to appear a little brighter and more interesting. With a little luck I’ll be in a position to post a few photos on our extended cruise in 2012.
Until then we three on Shiralee wish you all the best of health and whatever else you wish for yourself and yours.
Cheers me dears!
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Thursday 13 October 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #32
Tuesday 11th October.
Yesterday was most enjoyable, but a little trying on my legs. First thing after breakfast we walked from the boat; which was moored as far away from town as we could possibly get; all the way up to the third lock, just to empty our cassette and dispose of our rubbish. Of course, we then had to walk back.
After that little exercise, and knowing I would be walking into town to meet Alan and Chris, I let Wifey go to get the paper and visit the bank.
Alan phoned at about 10.40 to say they had boarded their bus and would be arriving at about 11 o/clock so off we went again. We then headed for the Wetherspoon’s pub, which just so happens to be beside the bus stop, and enjoyed a coffee and long chat before heading back to the boat.
Just before we left to meet up with them though, I noticed that there were quite a few spaces vacant between our boat and the water point, which presented an opportunity to move down a bit. No such luck though because, by the time we got back all those places had been filled, so we’re still at the back of the queue.
Later in the afternoon we all headed back to Wetherspoon’s for lunch and, would you believe it, they had run out of Guinness? Actually they hadn’t run out, they were changing the barrel, but I didn’t hear them say that and settled for a lager instead. I’m nothing if not versatile!!
Our two meals came to less than a tenner and were most enjoyable. I can’t think why we haven’t used Wetherspoon’s on our earlier visits, with Guinness at only £2.75 and all bitters at £1.99, they really are the cheapest around. Some of their meals even come with a free drink, even though the price would be most acceptable without the freebie. If they can be so reasonable, why can’t the other breweries?
After all the chat and catching up, we walked to the bus stop with Alan and Chris, the return one being across town and nearer to the canal. Unfortunately, and despite their own aversion to hordes of kids on buses, they were treated to a bunch of them leaving school. Oh dear, what a shame, tut, tut!
Our friends should be back in the U.K. sometime in January, but they’ll be jetting off to Cyprus then, so it’s unlikely we’ll meet again at that time. Still, it will be good to see them again, whenever that will be.
Today we should be leaving Stone and making our way back towards Mercia Marina. I emailed Lucy there yesterday morning to let her know our due arrival date, but as yet I haven’t received a reply. The problem is, once again we are faced with high winds this morning, so there’s a good chance we may have to stay another day, but that’s really not a problem as we have several days in hand.
Wednesday 12th October.
Topped up with water and left Stone yesterday morning, arriving at the bottom of Sandon Lock at about 11 am. This is a peaceful little mooring and apart from one other boat moored about 50 yards ahead of us, we were on our own.
This morning we set out about 8.15 and, after just one more lock and four miles, we arrived at our current moorings, somewhere between bridges 78 and 77 and nobody else will be able to join us because there is only enough space for one boat, and that’s ours!
Tomorrow we must get to Great Haywood because we are almost out of coal. With just enough room for about three boats, Great Haywood can be difficult to stop at but, since the next possible place for buying coal is at Fradley Junction, we really don’t have a choice. Meanwhile we’re going to enjoy the rest of today and tonight in peace and solitude.
Now, Great Haywood Junction, which joins the Trent and Mersey to the Staffs and Worcester, has an Anglo Welsh boatyard, BW water point and rubbish disposal and the boatyard has an Elsan disposal unit, which we’ve used in the past. They also sell diesel and coal, the latter of which we were desperately short of. There is room for about three boats at the water point, so it can be a bit tricky stopping there when it’s busy and we really weren’t looking forward to doing so.
But luck was on our side this morning when, much to our surprise and delight, who should appear coming towards us but the Coal Boat and its Butty. There are several of these boats cruising the waterways and we always try to buy from them rather than marinas, most of which can be quite a bit dearer. When they are fully laden they do sit pretty low in the water and, due to the weight they are towing, they move along very slowly, which is just as well because it can take some time to stop a load of several tonnes of coal at speed.
Anyway, we gave them a wave and shouted our order to them. Unfortunately the man was in some pain from broken ribs and was having some difficulty carrying the coal bags, and I could be no help with my knees and, with the towpath being mostly grass, bringing our trolley out would have been a waste of time, so he had to carry all four bags on his own. Still, he didn’t seem too upset about it and we parted in fine moods, especially us now that we only had to stop short of Great Haywood and walk our rubbish and Elsan down.
While Sheila walked around to the boatyard to empty our Elsan cassette, I dumped the rubbish in the bin. I then went looking for her but, since I had never used the Elsan unit before, I had no idea where it was. When she came back she told me that they now charge £1 for using it and, when she explained to the woman there that she hadn’t brought her purse with her, her reply was, “Well, you’ll just have to come back then, won’t you?” Miserable cow! Watch out for this one folks, she’s a meanie alright. As it happens, when Sheila mentioned this to one of their workmen, he said, “Forget it”, so we did. These boatyards don’t normally charge for this facility, especially if you are purchasing other goods, such as coal or diesel, so they must be feeling the economic pinch.
Thursday 13th October.
Today we are moving on to Bridge 69, another site that’s way off the beaten track, but at least we’ll be able to watch TV there. Would you believe it, last night we wanted to watch Midsomer Murders but, as is usual with these instances, the ITV channels were breaking up. However, all is not lost, because I know we have a strong Internet signal at bridge 69, so we can watch it on the laptop through ITV Player, so there!”
We are now only a week away from Mercia Marina and winter, so you won’t be receiving many more blogs. I have no idea how many of you actually read them, although I do have one or two followers, but whoever you are I hope you enjoy them, as boring as they seem to me. After all, what I put down here are just day to day happenings and, as you can see, they are sadly lacking in juicy tidbits.
Next year we should be able to introduce you to some new stretches of waterways, in particular the Kennett and Avon Canal which runs from the Thames to Bristol. From what we hear about this canal, it’s not been given much in the way of moorings, so we’re not expecting a particularly enjoyable ride. However, so long as the weather is in our favour we can always pull in to any old section of canal bank and put the plank out if necessary.
The Bristol Channel up to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal should be pretty interesting too, seeing as how we’ll be paying about £160 for the use of a pilot to steer us around any obstacles.
Crossing the Ribble Link up in Lancashire is a two hour trip, so we’ve been told by somebody who did it this year, but that doesn’t involve a pilot, although we are obliged to wear life belts and must ensure our mobile phone is fully charged.
All in all 2012 should be interesting.
It is now almost 8.30 and whilst sitting here after breakfast, we spotted a few sheep wandering along the towpath. In fact there weren’t just a few, Wifey counted 16 altogether. The obvious thing to do in this situation is to try to locate a local farmer and advise him of the facts. I tried two different 118 numbers and finally came up with a number for a farm near Great Haywoood, about a mile away. This was after a complete failure by those 118 services to find a number anywhere near where we are.
So I telephone the number that they found, only to discover it was a rented property and not a working farm. What’s more, the lady who answered didn’t have a local phone book and could not help at all.
I next tried the Internet and found one near Great Haywood but, just as I was calling them, all those pesky sheep found their way back into the field. However, they had actually found their way back behind the fence separating the canal from the fields. They were not back in their own field and they now have ample opportunity to return to the towpath at any time.
I find it hard to believe that these 118 services are unable to find the number for a farm in this part of Staffordshire, goodness knows there are plenty of them on the map!!
Friday 14th October.
Today we’ll be making our way to Handsacre via Rugeley for shopping at Morrison’s and water top up. For the weekend we’ll probably stay at the top of the locks at Fradley Junction, move on to Alrewas on Monday, Branston Tuesday, Willington Wednesday where we’ll call in to the surgery to make appointments and finally, the marina on Thursday. And that, dear reader, will be that for this year.
Since there is no telling what exciting and stimulating happening may come our way during this last leg of our cruise, I’ll post this now and finish with blog number 33 when we get back to Mercia.
Cheers for now and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rustydog!
Yesterday was most enjoyable, but a little trying on my legs. First thing after breakfast we walked from the boat; which was moored as far away from town as we could possibly get; all the way up to the third lock, just to empty our cassette and dispose of our rubbish. Of course, we then had to walk back.
After that little exercise, and knowing I would be walking into town to meet Alan and Chris, I let Wifey go to get the paper and visit the bank.
Alan phoned at about 10.40 to say they had boarded their bus and would be arriving at about 11 o/clock so off we went again. We then headed for the Wetherspoon’s pub, which just so happens to be beside the bus stop, and enjoyed a coffee and long chat before heading back to the boat.
Just before we left to meet up with them though, I noticed that there were quite a few spaces vacant between our boat and the water point, which presented an opportunity to move down a bit. No such luck though because, by the time we got back all those places had been filled, so we’re still at the back of the queue.
Later in the afternoon we all headed back to Wetherspoon’s for lunch and, would you believe it, they had run out of Guinness? Actually they hadn’t run out, they were changing the barrel, but I didn’t hear them say that and settled for a lager instead. I’m nothing if not versatile!!
Our two meals came to less than a tenner and were most enjoyable. I can’t think why we haven’t used Wetherspoon’s on our earlier visits, with Guinness at only £2.75 and all bitters at £1.99, they really are the cheapest around. Some of their meals even come with a free drink, even though the price would be most acceptable without the freebie. If they can be so reasonable, why can’t the other breweries?
After all the chat and catching up, we walked to the bus stop with Alan and Chris, the return one being across town and nearer to the canal. Unfortunately, and despite their own aversion to hordes of kids on buses, they were treated to a bunch of them leaving school. Oh dear, what a shame, tut, tut!
Our friends should be back in the U.K. sometime in January, but they’ll be jetting off to Cyprus then, so it’s unlikely we’ll meet again at that time. Still, it will be good to see them again, whenever that will be.
Today we should be leaving Stone and making our way back towards Mercia Marina. I emailed Lucy there yesterday morning to let her know our due arrival date, but as yet I haven’t received a reply. The problem is, once again we are faced with high winds this morning, so there’s a good chance we may have to stay another day, but that’s really not a problem as we have several days in hand.
Wednesday 12th October.
Topped up with water and left Stone yesterday morning, arriving at the bottom of Sandon Lock at about 11 am. This is a peaceful little mooring and apart from one other boat moored about 50 yards ahead of us, we were on our own.
This morning we set out about 8.15 and, after just one more lock and four miles, we arrived at our current moorings, somewhere between bridges 78 and 77 and nobody else will be able to join us because there is only enough space for one boat, and that’s ours!
Tomorrow we must get to Great Haywood because we are almost out of coal. With just enough room for about three boats, Great Haywood can be difficult to stop at but, since the next possible place for buying coal is at Fradley Junction, we really don’t have a choice. Meanwhile we’re going to enjoy the rest of today and tonight in peace and solitude.
Now, Great Haywood Junction, which joins the Trent and Mersey to the Staffs and Worcester, has an Anglo Welsh boatyard, BW water point and rubbish disposal and the boatyard has an Elsan disposal unit, which we’ve used in the past. They also sell diesel and coal, the latter of which we were desperately short of. There is room for about three boats at the water point, so it can be a bit tricky stopping there when it’s busy and we really weren’t looking forward to doing so.
But luck was on our side this morning when, much to our surprise and delight, who should appear coming towards us but the Coal Boat and its Butty. There are several of these boats cruising the waterways and we always try to buy from them rather than marinas, most of which can be quite a bit dearer. When they are fully laden they do sit pretty low in the water and, due to the weight they are towing, they move along very slowly, which is just as well because it can take some time to stop a load of several tonnes of coal at speed.
Anyway, we gave them a wave and shouted our order to them. Unfortunately the man was in some pain from broken ribs and was having some difficulty carrying the coal bags, and I could be no help with my knees and, with the towpath being mostly grass, bringing our trolley out would have been a waste of time, so he had to carry all four bags on his own. Still, he didn’t seem too upset about it and we parted in fine moods, especially us now that we only had to stop short of Great Haywood and walk our rubbish and Elsan down.
While Sheila walked around to the boatyard to empty our Elsan cassette, I dumped the rubbish in the bin. I then went looking for her but, since I had never used the Elsan unit before, I had no idea where it was. When she came back she told me that they now charge £1 for using it and, when she explained to the woman there that she hadn’t brought her purse with her, her reply was, “Well, you’ll just have to come back then, won’t you?” Miserable cow! Watch out for this one folks, she’s a meanie alright. As it happens, when Sheila mentioned this to one of their workmen, he said, “Forget it”, so we did. These boatyards don’t normally charge for this facility, especially if you are purchasing other goods, such as coal or diesel, so they must be feeling the economic pinch.
Thursday 13th October.
Today we are moving on to Bridge 69, another site that’s way off the beaten track, but at least we’ll be able to watch TV there. Would you believe it, last night we wanted to watch Midsomer Murders but, as is usual with these instances, the ITV channels were breaking up. However, all is not lost, because I know we have a strong Internet signal at bridge 69, so we can watch it on the laptop through ITV Player, so there!”
We are now only a week away from Mercia Marina and winter, so you won’t be receiving many more blogs. I have no idea how many of you actually read them, although I do have one or two followers, but whoever you are I hope you enjoy them, as boring as they seem to me. After all, what I put down here are just day to day happenings and, as you can see, they are sadly lacking in juicy tidbits.
Next year we should be able to introduce you to some new stretches of waterways, in particular the Kennett and Avon Canal which runs from the Thames to Bristol. From what we hear about this canal, it’s not been given much in the way of moorings, so we’re not expecting a particularly enjoyable ride. However, so long as the weather is in our favour we can always pull in to any old section of canal bank and put the plank out if necessary.
The Bristol Channel up to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal should be pretty interesting too, seeing as how we’ll be paying about £160 for the use of a pilot to steer us around any obstacles.
Crossing the Ribble Link up in Lancashire is a two hour trip, so we’ve been told by somebody who did it this year, but that doesn’t involve a pilot, although we are obliged to wear life belts and must ensure our mobile phone is fully charged.
All in all 2012 should be interesting.
It is now almost 8.30 and whilst sitting here after breakfast, we spotted a few sheep wandering along the towpath. In fact there weren’t just a few, Wifey counted 16 altogether. The obvious thing to do in this situation is to try to locate a local farmer and advise him of the facts. I tried two different 118 numbers and finally came up with a number for a farm near Great Haywoood, about a mile away. This was after a complete failure by those 118 services to find a number anywhere near where we are.
So I telephone the number that they found, only to discover it was a rented property and not a working farm. What’s more, the lady who answered didn’t have a local phone book and could not help at all.
I next tried the Internet and found one near Great Haywood but, just as I was calling them, all those pesky sheep found their way back into the field. However, they had actually found their way back behind the fence separating the canal from the fields. They were not back in their own field and they now have ample opportunity to return to the towpath at any time.
I find it hard to believe that these 118 services are unable to find the number for a farm in this part of Staffordshire, goodness knows there are plenty of them on the map!!
Friday 14th October.
Today we’ll be making our way to Handsacre via Rugeley for shopping at Morrison’s and water top up. For the weekend we’ll probably stay at the top of the locks at Fradley Junction, move on to Alrewas on Monday, Branston Tuesday, Willington Wednesday where we’ll call in to the surgery to make appointments and finally, the marina on Thursday. And that, dear reader, will be that for this year.
Since there is no telling what exciting and stimulating happening may come our way during this last leg of our cruise, I’ll post this now and finish with blog number 33 when we get back to Mercia.
Cheers for now and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rustydog!
Sunday 9 October 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #31
Thursday 6th October.
We finally made it to Weston this morning and, by the time we arrived the wind was really picking up. However, with just three bars up on the dongle, I did at least manage to post the 30th blog of this trip.
This morning, even though the engine had been run for five hours yesterday, the batteries were down to 9.9 volts again and we didn’t bother watching TV last night. We did listen to the radio though, but that alone should not account for the drop in power overnight. I’m now beginning to wonder if we have an earth leak somewhere. I also think we should avail ourselves of a couple of days in Aston Marina on the way back from Stone. But, since we only have another two weeks before we’ll be in the marina at Willington, this would seem to be a waste of money.
I’m hoping the weather will be kind to us tomorrow morning, we really would prefer to get to Stone tomorrow and spend three nights there. We don’t yet know which day Alan and Chris are planning to visit, but we’re quite looking forward to meeting up again. If we can take a walk into town tomorrow morning we should be able to find a decent eatery to take them to for their lunch or evening meal.
Friday 7th October.
Yesterday afternoon I received a text message from my Alan asking me when we would be at Stone. Our plan was, as I explained to him, to be there for Friday through to Monday morning. Unfortunately, he said, they would not be able to meet us on Friday as they had urgent business to attend to. Neither could they meet us over the weekend, because they would be baby-sitting. So that would leave us with Monday.
Now, some time ago, I’m not sure when, but knowing that my brother Alan would not be able to meet us with the car until the third weekend of the month, we drew up plans that would take care of the extra week. Instead of turning right off the Coventry onto the Trent and Mersey heading for Mercia, we would turn left at Fradley Junction and head for Stone.
This would serve two purposes, we would have another week on the cut and we would guarantee meeting up with Alan and Chris before they return to Germany on the 15th. Of course, Alan and Chris would not have known this, all they knew was that we were heading for Stone and, since they knew they could get a bus there from Stoke, it offered them the same opportunity for us all to meet up. With hindsight I should have suggested the weekend, but that would have been too easy and cruising, in order to be fun, also has to be somewhat erratic.
So, all being well and assuming we are not obliged to cruise in foul weather, in which case all bets are off, we’ll meet on Monday.
Well, surprise, surprise, the weather has decided to stay nasty, thus preventing us from moving on today. I’m beginning to believe we should have returned to Mercia early and met up with Alan and Chris in Willington, or Derby. Still, it’s easy being wise with hindsight.
4 pm on the same day.
It has been persisting on and off for most of the day, but we at least managed to walk to and from the local shop without getting a soaking. Although somewhat late in the year, the weather is consistent with summer showers, rain one minute and sunshine the next. However, according to those nice weather people at the BBC the weekend should be much better.
We’ve now decided to leave overnight stays at Aston Marina altogether, but first we have to get to Stone, and it is six miles away with two locks to go through, which should take no more than 2½ hours. What chance of the rain holding off for that amount of time in the morning?
Saturday 8th October at 7 am and it is still breezy, but just a wee bit damp in the air. Whatever happens weather wise we have to get to Stone today, otherwise we may have a problem finding a mooring spot. Stone can be a pretty busy place for boaters.
Sunday 9th October.
Yesterday we were pretty lucky with the weather on our trip here to Stone. There are times on the cut where, due to the position of the boat in relation to the bends in the canal, it seems far windier than the tops of the trees would suggest, and Weston is one such place. Although the tree tops were virtually at a standstill, the water was moving quite strongly towards us, giving the impression of a strong head wind. But, once we moved off and rounded the first bend, there was hardly any wind at all. In fact we made it here to Stone with just a few drizzly spots of rain, and we made the six miles and two locks in just over two hours. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived and with it being Saturday, everyone and his uncle were already moored there, so we had to settle for a place right at the back end, which means a longer slog into town.
Now, I mentioned in an earlier blog, that we are in desperate need of a new radio/CD player. We also need a unit with which we can transfer our old vinyl to CDs. Yesterday we were presented with an opportunity to lay our hands on just such a unit, and not that thing that costs £200 either.
In the Saturday issue of the Daily Mail there was a copy of the Cooper’s of Stortford home shopping catalogue. On the back page is a music system that does vinyl recordings into MP3 format onto a memory stick. It is also has a radio and CD player and will sit nicely underneath our TV, which means we can do away with the radio/CD player in the cupboard. It also means that when we come across old vinyl records in charity shops; which we visit quite regularly to dispose of books; we’ll be able to buy them and convert to MP3. All we need to do then is transfer to laptop and copy to CDs. Terrific.
Oh! I forgot to mention the price, £69.99, the price of a new radio/CD player from Halford’s and that’s at the cheap end of the market. That’s one problem solved for the winter jobs to do.
Actually we have a multitude of jobs to do during our winter moorings, many of which I was unable to carry out whilst recovering from the knee op. Some of them, such as servicing of engine and heater system, can wait until we are ready to leave in March 2012. But much of the paintwork needs repairing, as does exterior woodwork after the effects of sun and rain. I also need to design and build a seating cum storage system on the stern that will give us comfortable seating whilst cruising and will enable us to store our tiller arm, windlasses and other bits and pieces that are currently stored inside the boat. We also need a telescopic clothes prop onto which we can mount the TV aerial, which will save climbing out of the boat as I do now.
Yesterday morning we took a stroll into Stone for shopping; just a few bits at the local Co-op; Sheila has taken a fancy to their 99 brand of de-caf tea and wanted to stock up before we get back to Willington. Fortunately we have a Cop-op at Willington too, though just how many boxes of 99 she’ll buy before we leave in March and, more importantly, where she’ll store them, I dread to think.
Tomorrow morning at about 11 o/clock we should be meeting up with Alan and Chris, who have both visited Stone in the past and know the layout pretty well. No doubt they’ll come back to the boat for a cuppa and a chat, after which we’ll probably stroll back into town for a lunch time feed.
For future reference and assuming the weather holds good, we’ll be heading back to Mercia on Tuesday morning.
Monday 10th October.
Yesterday morning, with nothing better to do with ourselves, we walked to Morrison’s for a few bits and pieces, and then, just for a laugh we did it again, only this time to the nearest pub, The Swan. After just one drink we fancied a change, so we walked through town to the Wetherspoon’s pub and discovered that their Guinness is the cheapest ever at just £2.75 per pint. What is more all their bitters are only £1.99 per pint. This begs the question, why are the other breweries not following suit? Even those pubs in the same locale as Wetherspoon’s are still charging way over the odds. If Alan and Chris are planning on dining out today I can see no reason not to go there for lunch, their food prices are very good too and some of them include a free drink.
I have been a silly little Billy! Something has been nagging at me since I ordered the music centre from Cooper’s on Saturday. Last night that something surfaced. This system records onto a memory stick in MP3 format which I thought I would be able to copy to my laptop and then onto CD. However, I remembered a customer of mine last year complaining that he was unable to play his language course on his car radio/CD player. I had to explain that he would need an MP3 player, because that is the format in which the language courses have been recorded.
So, after kicking myself up the you-know-what, out came the laptop and off went an email to Cooper’s, where I explained the problem and asked them to cancel the order. Luckily it was the weekend and the order had not been despatched yet. I’ll have to check later for a reply. Incidentally, Cooper’s do not have a 24 hour order service, despite what it tells you on the back of their catalogue. All you get when you phone out of hours is a message telling you their office hours of 10 am until 4 pm, or some such. You would think by now, that they would have engaged the services of a telephone ordering service by now.
Now, if anybody out there knows of a relatively inexpensive unit that will record old vinyl onto CD, and I don’t mean that £200 job, I’d love to hear from you. Alternatively, if you know how to convert MP3 to CD format, that would also be good, because I could then cancel my cancelled order!
Stone is a rather erratic location for Internet access, one minute five bars, the next it’s down to three, but I’m going to try posting this blog now, simply because I won’t have another opportunity until Tuesday, and goodness knows where we’ll be on that day.
Cheers for now from,
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
We finally made it to Weston this morning and, by the time we arrived the wind was really picking up. However, with just three bars up on the dongle, I did at least manage to post the 30th blog of this trip.
This morning, even though the engine had been run for five hours yesterday, the batteries were down to 9.9 volts again and we didn’t bother watching TV last night. We did listen to the radio though, but that alone should not account for the drop in power overnight. I’m now beginning to wonder if we have an earth leak somewhere. I also think we should avail ourselves of a couple of days in Aston Marina on the way back from Stone. But, since we only have another two weeks before we’ll be in the marina at Willington, this would seem to be a waste of money.
I’m hoping the weather will be kind to us tomorrow morning, we really would prefer to get to Stone tomorrow and spend three nights there. We don’t yet know which day Alan and Chris are planning to visit, but we’re quite looking forward to meeting up again. If we can take a walk into town tomorrow morning we should be able to find a decent eatery to take them to for their lunch or evening meal.
Friday 7th October.
Yesterday afternoon I received a text message from my Alan asking me when we would be at Stone. Our plan was, as I explained to him, to be there for Friday through to Monday morning. Unfortunately, he said, they would not be able to meet us on Friday as they had urgent business to attend to. Neither could they meet us over the weekend, because they would be baby-sitting. So that would leave us with Monday.
Now, some time ago, I’m not sure when, but knowing that my brother Alan would not be able to meet us with the car until the third weekend of the month, we drew up plans that would take care of the extra week. Instead of turning right off the Coventry onto the Trent and Mersey heading for Mercia, we would turn left at Fradley Junction and head for Stone.
This would serve two purposes, we would have another week on the cut and we would guarantee meeting up with Alan and Chris before they return to Germany on the 15th. Of course, Alan and Chris would not have known this, all they knew was that we were heading for Stone and, since they knew they could get a bus there from Stoke, it offered them the same opportunity for us all to meet up. With hindsight I should have suggested the weekend, but that would have been too easy and cruising, in order to be fun, also has to be somewhat erratic.
So, all being well and assuming we are not obliged to cruise in foul weather, in which case all bets are off, we’ll meet on Monday.
Well, surprise, surprise, the weather has decided to stay nasty, thus preventing us from moving on today. I’m beginning to believe we should have returned to Mercia early and met up with Alan and Chris in Willington, or Derby. Still, it’s easy being wise with hindsight.
4 pm on the same day.
It has been persisting on and off for most of the day, but we at least managed to walk to and from the local shop without getting a soaking. Although somewhat late in the year, the weather is consistent with summer showers, rain one minute and sunshine the next. However, according to those nice weather people at the BBC the weekend should be much better.
We’ve now decided to leave overnight stays at Aston Marina altogether, but first we have to get to Stone, and it is six miles away with two locks to go through, which should take no more than 2½ hours. What chance of the rain holding off for that amount of time in the morning?
Saturday 8th October at 7 am and it is still breezy, but just a wee bit damp in the air. Whatever happens weather wise we have to get to Stone today, otherwise we may have a problem finding a mooring spot. Stone can be a pretty busy place for boaters.
Sunday 9th October.
Yesterday we were pretty lucky with the weather on our trip here to Stone. There are times on the cut where, due to the position of the boat in relation to the bends in the canal, it seems far windier than the tops of the trees would suggest, and Weston is one such place. Although the tree tops were virtually at a standstill, the water was moving quite strongly towards us, giving the impression of a strong head wind. But, once we moved off and rounded the first bend, there was hardly any wind at all. In fact we made it here to Stone with just a few drizzly spots of rain, and we made the six miles and two locks in just over two hours. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived and with it being Saturday, everyone and his uncle were already moored there, so we had to settle for a place right at the back end, which means a longer slog into town.
Now, I mentioned in an earlier blog, that we are in desperate need of a new radio/CD player. We also need a unit with which we can transfer our old vinyl to CDs. Yesterday we were presented with an opportunity to lay our hands on just such a unit, and not that thing that costs £200 either.
In the Saturday issue of the Daily Mail there was a copy of the Cooper’s of Stortford home shopping catalogue. On the back page is a music system that does vinyl recordings into MP3 format onto a memory stick. It is also has a radio and CD player and will sit nicely underneath our TV, which means we can do away with the radio/CD player in the cupboard. It also means that when we come across old vinyl records in charity shops; which we visit quite regularly to dispose of books; we’ll be able to buy them and convert to MP3. All we need to do then is transfer to laptop and copy to CDs. Terrific.
Oh! I forgot to mention the price, £69.99, the price of a new radio/CD player from Halford’s and that’s at the cheap end of the market. That’s one problem solved for the winter jobs to do.
Actually we have a multitude of jobs to do during our winter moorings, many of which I was unable to carry out whilst recovering from the knee op. Some of them, such as servicing of engine and heater system, can wait until we are ready to leave in March 2012. But much of the paintwork needs repairing, as does exterior woodwork after the effects of sun and rain. I also need to design and build a seating cum storage system on the stern that will give us comfortable seating whilst cruising and will enable us to store our tiller arm, windlasses and other bits and pieces that are currently stored inside the boat. We also need a telescopic clothes prop onto which we can mount the TV aerial, which will save climbing out of the boat as I do now.
Yesterday morning we took a stroll into Stone for shopping; just a few bits at the local Co-op; Sheila has taken a fancy to their 99 brand of de-caf tea and wanted to stock up before we get back to Willington. Fortunately we have a Cop-op at Willington too, though just how many boxes of 99 she’ll buy before we leave in March and, more importantly, where she’ll store them, I dread to think.
Tomorrow morning at about 11 o/clock we should be meeting up with Alan and Chris, who have both visited Stone in the past and know the layout pretty well. No doubt they’ll come back to the boat for a cuppa and a chat, after which we’ll probably stroll back into town for a lunch time feed.
For future reference and assuming the weather holds good, we’ll be heading back to Mercia on Tuesday morning.
Monday 10th October.
Yesterday morning, with nothing better to do with ourselves, we walked to Morrison’s for a few bits and pieces, and then, just for a laugh we did it again, only this time to the nearest pub, The Swan. After just one drink we fancied a change, so we walked through town to the Wetherspoon’s pub and discovered that their Guinness is the cheapest ever at just £2.75 per pint. What is more all their bitters are only £1.99 per pint. This begs the question, why are the other breweries not following suit? Even those pubs in the same locale as Wetherspoon’s are still charging way over the odds. If Alan and Chris are planning on dining out today I can see no reason not to go there for lunch, their food prices are very good too and some of them include a free drink.
I have been a silly little Billy! Something has been nagging at me since I ordered the music centre from Cooper’s on Saturday. Last night that something surfaced. This system records onto a memory stick in MP3 format which I thought I would be able to copy to my laptop and then onto CD. However, I remembered a customer of mine last year complaining that he was unable to play his language course on his car radio/CD player. I had to explain that he would need an MP3 player, because that is the format in which the language courses have been recorded.
So, after kicking myself up the you-know-what, out came the laptop and off went an email to Cooper’s, where I explained the problem and asked them to cancel the order. Luckily it was the weekend and the order had not been despatched yet. I’ll have to check later for a reply. Incidentally, Cooper’s do not have a 24 hour order service, despite what it tells you on the back of their catalogue. All you get when you phone out of hours is a message telling you their office hours of 10 am until 4 pm, or some such. You would think by now, that they would have engaged the services of a telephone ordering service by now.
Now, if anybody out there knows of a relatively inexpensive unit that will record old vinyl onto CD, and I don’t mean that £200 job, I’d love to hear from you. Alternatively, if you know how to convert MP3 to CD format, that would also be good, because I could then cancel my cancelled order!
Stone is a rather erratic location for Internet access, one minute five bars, the next it’s down to three, but I’m going to try posting this blog now, simply because I won’t have another opportunity until Tuesday, and goodness knows where we’ll be on that day.
Cheers for now from,
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday 6 October 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #30
Wednesday 28th September.
Yesterday morning we moved on from the bottom of lock 9 to Polesworth, where, after a quick cuppa, we set of for the local health centre, only to discover that it is closed on Tuesday mornings. So, since we needed a prescription each, we did a bit of shopping, walked back to the boat and had a spot of lunch.
About 2 pm we again made our way to the health centre, by which time my legs, from my knees to the bottoms of my feet, were really giving me gyp. The knees still tend to ache on most walks, as do my calf muscles. My feet don’t just ache, they are a constant source of discomfort, even in bed. By the time we arrived at the centre in this belated summer heat-wave, I was really pooped and not in the brightest of moods.
To be told by the receptionist that, ‘because you are temporary patients, you will have to book an appointment for tomorrow’, came as something of a blow, not to mention a bloody insult. Are our needs of less importance than those of the patients on their list? It’s not as if they were busy, with only a handful of patients waiting there.
Anyway, at this explanation for having to wait for the morrow, just to spend five minutes waiting for a doctor to write up a prescription, I blew up, raised my hands in the air and stormed off in high dudgeon. Wifey was not best pleased at my behaviour, but I was even less pleased at the mere idea that I should have to walk into that village for a third time.
This morning we girded our loins and headed for Hopwas, a distance of eight miles, with two locks along the way. With the amount of boats moored up over such a distance, our progress was rather slow, with the whole trip taking almost four hours.
Fortunately, although it is very warm outside, there is a cool breeze blowing through the boat, so I am able to sit here and bring this blog up to date. Goodness knows what temperatures you are enduring down south!
Tomorrow we will head for Whittington, just three miles away, where we will enjoy a pub lunch. I’m quite looking forward to sitting under a parasol and enjoying a drink of Stella and a light lunch. Yes, Stella, Guinness is a wee bit heavy in this weather.
Saturday 1st October.
Sad to say the pub lunch at Whittington did not materialise, mainly because The Swan had been closed down. This is not the first time we have seen the demise of a local. The Swan though, with its huge catchments area, came as a bit of a surprise. Actually, we took a walk into Whittington and found another pub, but it didn’t do food, so we didn’t bother.
Now, just before setting off from Whittington yesterday morning, along came a boat with another in tow. Since they were crawling along at tick-over speed this did not bode well for our trip to Fradley. So, while we were giving them time to get a couple of miles ahead of us, Wifey popped into the village for milk, bread and a paper.
Not wishing to catch up to the crawlers in front we took our time heading for the junction. We needn’t have worried though because said crawlers had pulled in about a mile ahead. But, having sauntered along for the first mile, we sauntered along for the other four, completing the trip in two hours. And very pleasant it was too. Of course this Indian summer can’t last for much longer, but it is at least saving on coal.
Incidentally, I told you in the last blog, that we would be heading up the Birmingham and Fazely Canal, which would have meant turning left at Fazely Junction and spending a couple of days at the water park. However, in view of our shortage of medication we decided against this and continued along the Coventry Canal instead.
So, having digressed somewhat, back to Fradley Junction where we enjoyed a pub lunch at The Swan. They do a rather good Hot Pork Baguette and, much to my surprise, having forgotten our last visit, they also have Murphy’s Stout on tap. (There are times when a poor memory is not an altogether bad thing!)
Today, after disposing of rubbish and topping up with water, we will be heading for Handsacre, where we will stay for the weekend. Here we have The Crown, which is beside the canal, and The Old Peculiar, which is a short walk into the village.
This fine weather is still holding up and looks set to stay until Monday or Tuesday of next week. We have heard that snow will soon be on its way. Hmmm! Can’t say I like that idea much.
Sunday 2nd October.
Now, after five years on the cut and having already visited the majority of places mentioned in this year’s blogs, I still have problems remembering what they look like before we arrive. Wifey tries her best to explain the appearance of these places, even to the extent of showing me in one of the guide books, but she’s not always successful. I suppose I must blame this on my old memory, but it really is a darn nuisance.
Anyway, having arrived at Handsacre I immediately recognised the moorings, but until we walked to the local shops their location and that of the pubs was lost to me. No matter, I now know which pub of the two we used on our last visit, The Old Peculiar.
The reason for this preference is that we don’t like Sky TV in pubs and The Crown has just that. In order to attract the paying public some establishments seem to think all punters love football. Neither of us can stand the wretched game much less have it shoved down our throats when we’re trying to enjoy a quiet drink. Yesterday the Crown was showing the local derby of Everton and Liverpool at lunchtime and followed that in the evening with another match. Too much!
The pub we normally use in Findern, just up the road from Mercia Marina, also has Sky, but the sound is turned off on Sunday lunchtime, so that’s alright then.
Sunday lunch for us was, until we took to the water, a simple matter of a couple of drinks in the local followed by a late roast at about six p.m. Over the years since buying the boat we have found our appetites diminishing somewhat, to the extent that we very rarely bother with a full roast dinner. And this doesn’t only apply to Sundays, we now prefer much smaller meals and tend to shun red meat for the rest of the time too. We are quite likely to snack these days on meals such as baked potato or pasta as anything else, besides which where most people consider midday or 1 pm to be the right time for a main meal on Sunday, we have always kept to the same time as mid-week, about 6 p.m.
However, since we’ll be heading back this way once we have met up with Alan and Chris, we have vowed to stop at Handsacre again to sample an evening meal at The Old Peculiar. The prices look good at about £5.95 and the place is very comfortable and clean.
Whilst sitting there this afternoon I spotted some framed cartoons on the wall opposite and went to investigate. They turned out to be all about motor bikes and were drawn by a chap called P. Wilford. Having enquired at the bar about this person, I was told by a customer that the man responsible for putting them there was the manager and that he was sitting outside in the garden. So, leaving Wifey to fend for herself I popped out to have a chat.
Being a biker himself and deciding several years before to remove the pool table and turn the area into seating, he looked around on eBay for something suitable for adorning the walls and found these cartoons. The pictures were drawn in the late ‘80s and early ’90s and, from what the manager told me, Mr. Wilford also drew cartoons of other subjects. I must investigate further.
Monday 3rd October.
Aha, the weather has changed already, well, it has up here. Last night we saw the first drop of rain for quite a while but, when June phoned to be reminded of our blog address – her computer has crashed – she asked if we could send the rain down to Harlow. She doesn’t like the stifling heat any more than I do. Wifey seems impervious to any kind of weather and could probably live in an igloo or mud hut in the desert with no detrimental effect.
Today we have set our sights on Rugeley where there is a Morrisson’s store and a Wilkinson’s. Not that we need much by way of shopping will only be stopping for bread and the paper, and dispose of some of our books to a charity shop. After that we’ll be off to moorings out in the boondocks for the rest of the day and night.
Right now would be a good time to advise you all of our planned route for 2012, which will take in a lot of new territory and cover many more miles than this year has. Indeed, it will be more like our first year out at about 750 miles.
Just briefly so as not to bore you too much, we’ll be heading south to Oxford where we’ll take the River Thames to Reading and the top of the Kennett and Avon canal and on down to Bristol.
From Bristol we intend taking the Bristol Channel up to the Gloucester and Sharpness canal which, in turn will take us on to the River Severn and Stourport where we’ll join the Staffs and Worcester canal and head north.
Following the Staffs and Worcester, the Shroppie, the Bridgewater and the Leeds and Liverpool canals, we’ll arrive in the big city of Liverpool. After a few days seeing the sights of this City of Culture, we’ll head on up to the River Ribble and cross the Ribble Link to the Lancaster canal and on to its furthest reach, when we’ll make our way back to the Trent and Mersey and back to Mercia for the winter.
We reckon we will have to cruise an average of 3 or 4 miles per day in order to eke the trip out for seven months, which will give us plenty of time for two day stopovers wherever we like. So, lots of new experiences, especially along the Kennett and Avon where the moorings are in short supply and where we will have to pass through 29 locks at Devizes, all at one go. That’ll be fun! We have lots of planning to do this winter.
Tuesday 4th October.
The weather has finally changed for the worse, lots of high wind and heavy cloud yesterday afternoon and evening, although the wind has died down this morning. Hopefully it won’t be too fierce on our three mile trip to Great Haywood where, after phoning the surgery yesterday, we will have to book ourselves in and arrange for prescriptions. I was told that Sheila will be able to return in the afternoon to collect them, but I have my doubts.
This morning, despite our panel showing 12.1 volts, the pesky heater refused to start up and with the drop in temperature overnight it was a wee bit chilly in here. Still, boiling the kettle and turning the oven on for a short spell solved the problem. It looks like we’ll have to get the fire started again. Goodness knows what the voltage is at this minute, I daren’t look, but our lights are getting dimmer by the minute. There are times when this 8 am restriction to running of engines can be a darn nuisance.
Actually, I sat and worked out what the problem is with the voltage drop. Our original batteries, of which we had six domestic, were 135 Ampere Hour, giving a total of 810 when fully charged. When we asked Linden to replace them with four new ones he installed the 115 A/H rated ones, thus reducing the available storage to just 460 A/Hours. No wonder we’re having problems. Indeed, we currently have just over half the power available to what we had after adding two more batteries on our first trip out way back in 2007. When we add two more later this year we’ll still only have 80% of the previous available power. My fault entirely of course, I should have insisted on like for like.
15.30 same day.
We left our moorings at bridge 69 at 09.00 and managed the three miles and one lock to Great Haywood in about 1½ hours. Our only reason for stopping here is to pay a visit to the local surgery, and what a difference that was compared to Polesworth. I gave them a call as soon as we arrived and explained our situation and was assured that all we had to do was pop into the surgery, fill in the usual forms and all would be taken care of. The prescriptions would be made up for the next morning and the medication prepared at their own dispensary. All we need to do is walk into the village in the morning and we’ll be on our way before lunchtime.
Now, as we seem to be experiencing problems with batteries, I also phoned the nearest marina and asked about mooring up there for a couple of nights. The very pleasant lady I spoke to assured me that somebody would return my call asap. They didn’t, so I called again about an hour later. The same lady referred back to the other person and again said they would call me back. They still haven’t done so. I can’t imagine their business is doing too well if this is how they treat enquirers about one of their services.
I had hoped to post this blog today but unfortunately the signal is very poor here. This is because we are below the lock, whereas the last time we moored here we were above it. However, since keeping records of signal strength on this trip, I do know that the signal is OK at Weston, but I will have to tie my dongle to a stick and erect it on the roof. Hmmm! I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Could be painful.
Wednesday 5th October.
Occasionally, when we’ve had poor Internet signal late in the day, I find it can pick up enough the following morning to access the WWW. Sadly, at 5.20 this morning this is not the case, so I won’t be posting this just yet.
5.30 pm the same day.
Well, we’re still here at Great Haywood and won’t be moving on until tomorrow, and that assumes the weather is kind to us. We had hoped to be in Weston by now, but we don’t cruise in high winds, and that’s what we’ve had all day today.
This morning at about 11 o/clock we walked in to the surgery, our prescriptions were already made up and ready at the dispensary. It seems that if a rural practice has patients living three miles or more away they are entitled to have their own dispensary, even if there is a local pharmacy that dispenses prescriptions. Not a lot of people know that!
The trouble with Great Haywood, as we discovered earlier in the year, is that it’s virtually impossible to pick up TV or Internet, especially below the lock, which is where we are at present. Still, no matter, there’s not much worth watching on TV and I have nothing important to carry out on line, except to post this blog which is already 10 pages long. Hopefully we’ll make it to Weston tomorrow morning.
Thursday 6th October.
It’s Valerie’s 65th birthday today, hope you had a good one. I say ‘had’, because I have no idea when I’ll be able to post this blog. I’ve already cut out much of the rubbish but it’s still going to be over 10 pages long.
Planning is one thing, doing is quite another. Yesterday was a really godawful day in terms of weather, nothing but high winds and, later in the afternoon, plenty of rain and it continued throughout the night. Being moored under an oak tree does make life interesting, with acorns and small branches falling onto the boat, not to mention the bird pooh, which I’m very wary of treading in first thing in the morning. They are not small birds either, probably the size of vultures judging by the lumps.
Thankfully the high winds have now dropped and so has the rain, so we should be able to make our way to Weston. With all the holiday traffic still making its way up and down this canal, I’m looking for an early start this morning. There’s not a lot of space at the junction, which is where we really need to stop and dispose of rubbish and top up with water. We won’t get another chance until we get to Stone, and we will have to wait until Monday morning, when we’ll turn the boat around and head back to Mercia.
Hallelujah brother, we’re at Weston now and I can get trhee bars up on the dongle. So, here goes nothing, let’s post this humongous blog!! Yeah!!
All abreast from Dave, Sheila and Rusty, our long suffering pooch, bless her cotton socks
Yesterday morning we moved on from the bottom of lock 9 to Polesworth, where, after a quick cuppa, we set of for the local health centre, only to discover that it is closed on Tuesday mornings. So, since we needed a prescription each, we did a bit of shopping, walked back to the boat and had a spot of lunch.
About 2 pm we again made our way to the health centre, by which time my legs, from my knees to the bottoms of my feet, were really giving me gyp. The knees still tend to ache on most walks, as do my calf muscles. My feet don’t just ache, they are a constant source of discomfort, even in bed. By the time we arrived at the centre in this belated summer heat-wave, I was really pooped and not in the brightest of moods.
To be told by the receptionist that, ‘because you are temporary patients, you will have to book an appointment for tomorrow’, came as something of a blow, not to mention a bloody insult. Are our needs of less importance than those of the patients on their list? It’s not as if they were busy, with only a handful of patients waiting there.
Anyway, at this explanation for having to wait for the morrow, just to spend five minutes waiting for a doctor to write up a prescription, I blew up, raised my hands in the air and stormed off in high dudgeon. Wifey was not best pleased at my behaviour, but I was even less pleased at the mere idea that I should have to walk into that village for a third time.
This morning we girded our loins and headed for Hopwas, a distance of eight miles, with two locks along the way. With the amount of boats moored up over such a distance, our progress was rather slow, with the whole trip taking almost four hours.
Fortunately, although it is very warm outside, there is a cool breeze blowing through the boat, so I am able to sit here and bring this blog up to date. Goodness knows what temperatures you are enduring down south!
Tomorrow we will head for Whittington, just three miles away, where we will enjoy a pub lunch. I’m quite looking forward to sitting under a parasol and enjoying a drink of Stella and a light lunch. Yes, Stella, Guinness is a wee bit heavy in this weather.
Saturday 1st October.
Sad to say the pub lunch at Whittington did not materialise, mainly because The Swan had been closed down. This is not the first time we have seen the demise of a local. The Swan though, with its huge catchments area, came as a bit of a surprise. Actually, we took a walk into Whittington and found another pub, but it didn’t do food, so we didn’t bother.
Now, just before setting off from Whittington yesterday morning, along came a boat with another in tow. Since they were crawling along at tick-over speed this did not bode well for our trip to Fradley. So, while we were giving them time to get a couple of miles ahead of us, Wifey popped into the village for milk, bread and a paper.
Not wishing to catch up to the crawlers in front we took our time heading for the junction. We needn’t have worried though because said crawlers had pulled in about a mile ahead. But, having sauntered along for the first mile, we sauntered along for the other four, completing the trip in two hours. And very pleasant it was too. Of course this Indian summer can’t last for much longer, but it is at least saving on coal.
Incidentally, I told you in the last blog, that we would be heading up the Birmingham and Fazely Canal, which would have meant turning left at Fazely Junction and spending a couple of days at the water park. However, in view of our shortage of medication we decided against this and continued along the Coventry Canal instead.
So, having digressed somewhat, back to Fradley Junction where we enjoyed a pub lunch at The Swan. They do a rather good Hot Pork Baguette and, much to my surprise, having forgotten our last visit, they also have Murphy’s Stout on tap. (There are times when a poor memory is not an altogether bad thing!)
Today, after disposing of rubbish and topping up with water, we will be heading for Handsacre, where we will stay for the weekend. Here we have The Crown, which is beside the canal, and The Old Peculiar, which is a short walk into the village.
This fine weather is still holding up and looks set to stay until Monday or Tuesday of next week. We have heard that snow will soon be on its way. Hmmm! Can’t say I like that idea much.
Sunday 2nd October.
Now, after five years on the cut and having already visited the majority of places mentioned in this year’s blogs, I still have problems remembering what they look like before we arrive. Wifey tries her best to explain the appearance of these places, even to the extent of showing me in one of the guide books, but she’s not always successful. I suppose I must blame this on my old memory, but it really is a darn nuisance.
Anyway, having arrived at Handsacre I immediately recognised the moorings, but until we walked to the local shops their location and that of the pubs was lost to me. No matter, I now know which pub of the two we used on our last visit, The Old Peculiar.
The reason for this preference is that we don’t like Sky TV in pubs and The Crown has just that. In order to attract the paying public some establishments seem to think all punters love football. Neither of us can stand the wretched game much less have it shoved down our throats when we’re trying to enjoy a quiet drink. Yesterday the Crown was showing the local derby of Everton and Liverpool at lunchtime and followed that in the evening with another match. Too much!
The pub we normally use in Findern, just up the road from Mercia Marina, also has Sky, but the sound is turned off on Sunday lunchtime, so that’s alright then.
Sunday lunch for us was, until we took to the water, a simple matter of a couple of drinks in the local followed by a late roast at about six p.m. Over the years since buying the boat we have found our appetites diminishing somewhat, to the extent that we very rarely bother with a full roast dinner. And this doesn’t only apply to Sundays, we now prefer much smaller meals and tend to shun red meat for the rest of the time too. We are quite likely to snack these days on meals such as baked potato or pasta as anything else, besides which where most people consider midday or 1 pm to be the right time for a main meal on Sunday, we have always kept to the same time as mid-week, about 6 p.m.
However, since we’ll be heading back this way once we have met up with Alan and Chris, we have vowed to stop at Handsacre again to sample an evening meal at The Old Peculiar. The prices look good at about £5.95 and the place is very comfortable and clean.
Whilst sitting there this afternoon I spotted some framed cartoons on the wall opposite and went to investigate. They turned out to be all about motor bikes and were drawn by a chap called P. Wilford. Having enquired at the bar about this person, I was told by a customer that the man responsible for putting them there was the manager and that he was sitting outside in the garden. So, leaving Wifey to fend for herself I popped out to have a chat.
Being a biker himself and deciding several years before to remove the pool table and turn the area into seating, he looked around on eBay for something suitable for adorning the walls and found these cartoons. The pictures were drawn in the late ‘80s and early ’90s and, from what the manager told me, Mr. Wilford also drew cartoons of other subjects. I must investigate further.
Monday 3rd October.
Aha, the weather has changed already, well, it has up here. Last night we saw the first drop of rain for quite a while but, when June phoned to be reminded of our blog address – her computer has crashed – she asked if we could send the rain down to Harlow. She doesn’t like the stifling heat any more than I do. Wifey seems impervious to any kind of weather and could probably live in an igloo or mud hut in the desert with no detrimental effect.
Today we have set our sights on Rugeley where there is a Morrisson’s store and a Wilkinson’s. Not that we need much by way of shopping will only be stopping for bread and the paper, and dispose of some of our books to a charity shop. After that we’ll be off to moorings out in the boondocks for the rest of the day and night.
Right now would be a good time to advise you all of our planned route for 2012, which will take in a lot of new territory and cover many more miles than this year has. Indeed, it will be more like our first year out at about 750 miles.
Just briefly so as not to bore you too much, we’ll be heading south to Oxford where we’ll take the River Thames to Reading and the top of the Kennett and Avon canal and on down to Bristol.
From Bristol we intend taking the Bristol Channel up to the Gloucester and Sharpness canal which, in turn will take us on to the River Severn and Stourport where we’ll join the Staffs and Worcester canal and head north.
Following the Staffs and Worcester, the Shroppie, the Bridgewater and the Leeds and Liverpool canals, we’ll arrive in the big city of Liverpool. After a few days seeing the sights of this City of Culture, we’ll head on up to the River Ribble and cross the Ribble Link to the Lancaster canal and on to its furthest reach, when we’ll make our way back to the Trent and Mersey and back to Mercia for the winter.
We reckon we will have to cruise an average of 3 or 4 miles per day in order to eke the trip out for seven months, which will give us plenty of time for two day stopovers wherever we like. So, lots of new experiences, especially along the Kennett and Avon where the moorings are in short supply and where we will have to pass through 29 locks at Devizes, all at one go. That’ll be fun! We have lots of planning to do this winter.
Tuesday 4th October.
The weather has finally changed for the worse, lots of high wind and heavy cloud yesterday afternoon and evening, although the wind has died down this morning. Hopefully it won’t be too fierce on our three mile trip to Great Haywood where, after phoning the surgery yesterday, we will have to book ourselves in and arrange for prescriptions. I was told that Sheila will be able to return in the afternoon to collect them, but I have my doubts.
This morning, despite our panel showing 12.1 volts, the pesky heater refused to start up and with the drop in temperature overnight it was a wee bit chilly in here. Still, boiling the kettle and turning the oven on for a short spell solved the problem. It looks like we’ll have to get the fire started again. Goodness knows what the voltage is at this minute, I daren’t look, but our lights are getting dimmer by the minute. There are times when this 8 am restriction to running of engines can be a darn nuisance.
Actually, I sat and worked out what the problem is with the voltage drop. Our original batteries, of which we had six domestic, were 135 Ampere Hour, giving a total of 810 when fully charged. When we asked Linden to replace them with four new ones he installed the 115 A/H rated ones, thus reducing the available storage to just 460 A/Hours. No wonder we’re having problems. Indeed, we currently have just over half the power available to what we had after adding two more batteries on our first trip out way back in 2007. When we add two more later this year we’ll still only have 80% of the previous available power. My fault entirely of course, I should have insisted on like for like.
15.30 same day.
We left our moorings at bridge 69 at 09.00 and managed the three miles and one lock to Great Haywood in about 1½ hours. Our only reason for stopping here is to pay a visit to the local surgery, and what a difference that was compared to Polesworth. I gave them a call as soon as we arrived and explained our situation and was assured that all we had to do was pop into the surgery, fill in the usual forms and all would be taken care of. The prescriptions would be made up for the next morning and the medication prepared at their own dispensary. All we need to do is walk into the village in the morning and we’ll be on our way before lunchtime.
Now, as we seem to be experiencing problems with batteries, I also phoned the nearest marina and asked about mooring up there for a couple of nights. The very pleasant lady I spoke to assured me that somebody would return my call asap. They didn’t, so I called again about an hour later. The same lady referred back to the other person and again said they would call me back. They still haven’t done so. I can’t imagine their business is doing too well if this is how they treat enquirers about one of their services.
I had hoped to post this blog today but unfortunately the signal is very poor here. This is because we are below the lock, whereas the last time we moored here we were above it. However, since keeping records of signal strength on this trip, I do know that the signal is OK at Weston, but I will have to tie my dongle to a stick and erect it on the roof. Hmmm! I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Could be painful.
Wednesday 5th October.
Occasionally, when we’ve had poor Internet signal late in the day, I find it can pick up enough the following morning to access the WWW. Sadly, at 5.20 this morning this is not the case, so I won’t be posting this just yet.
5.30 pm the same day.
Well, we’re still here at Great Haywood and won’t be moving on until tomorrow, and that assumes the weather is kind to us. We had hoped to be in Weston by now, but we don’t cruise in high winds, and that’s what we’ve had all day today.
This morning at about 11 o/clock we walked in to the surgery, our prescriptions were already made up and ready at the dispensary. It seems that if a rural practice has patients living three miles or more away they are entitled to have their own dispensary, even if there is a local pharmacy that dispenses prescriptions. Not a lot of people know that!
The trouble with Great Haywood, as we discovered earlier in the year, is that it’s virtually impossible to pick up TV or Internet, especially below the lock, which is where we are at present. Still, no matter, there’s not much worth watching on TV and I have nothing important to carry out on line, except to post this blog which is already 10 pages long. Hopefully we’ll make it to Weston tomorrow morning.
Thursday 6th October.
It’s Valerie’s 65th birthday today, hope you had a good one. I say ‘had’, because I have no idea when I’ll be able to post this blog. I’ve already cut out much of the rubbish but it’s still going to be over 10 pages long.
Planning is one thing, doing is quite another. Yesterday was a really godawful day in terms of weather, nothing but high winds and, later in the afternoon, plenty of rain and it continued throughout the night. Being moored under an oak tree does make life interesting, with acorns and small branches falling onto the boat, not to mention the bird pooh, which I’m very wary of treading in first thing in the morning. They are not small birds either, probably the size of vultures judging by the lumps.
Thankfully the high winds have now dropped and so has the rain, so we should be able to make our way to Weston. With all the holiday traffic still making its way up and down this canal, I’m looking for an early start this morning. There’s not a lot of space at the junction, which is where we really need to stop and dispose of rubbish and top up with water. We won’t get another chance until we get to Stone, and we will have to wait until Monday morning, when we’ll turn the boat around and head back to Mercia.
Hallelujah brother, we’re at Weston now and I can get trhee bars up on the dongle. So, here goes nothing, let’s post this humongous blog!! Yeah!!
All abreast from Dave, Sheila and Rusty, our long suffering pooch, bless her cotton socks
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