Shady Oak Pub to Overwater
Saturday 22nd September
Yesterday morning at about 7.30 we had rain but, by the time Sheila had taken Rusty for her pre-cruise walkies, it had stopped. So, taking the bit between our teeth, we prepared to move on, with the intention of completing the six locks and four miles to Calverley.
At the same time as we started to untie the boat, two BW/CART workers turned up and boarded their small tender. (BW = British Waterways and CART = Canals and Rivers Trust. CART is how I will refer to them from now on) When I asked which way they were going I was told the same direction as we were. This was great news, because it meant Wifey would have help with the locks.
Of course, just as we were setting off, down came the rain and it continued raining for most of the trip. Along with the rain came a drop in temperature and it wasn’t a slow drop either, it seemed very sudden and, by the time we reached Calverley, I was feeling quite chilly.
This morning, as per the forecast, it is now frosty, the first frost of the autumn? It’s also foggy, although, why it should be is a mystery when you consider the rain and cloudy conditions throughout yesterday. I suppose it’s the clear sky and overnight drop in temperature. Still, with a clear sky we should have a pleasant time of our trip to Barbridge this morning. We were considering going on to Nantwich, but it’s quite a walk to The Star at Acton and we can still get the bus to Nantwich from Barbridge. Also, Barbridge is only a couple of miles away and we have no locks to worry about, so we should be able to catch a fairly early bus into Nantwich soon after we arrive.
Sunday 23rd September
Whoopee! Sunday is here and it’s boiled eggs and soldiers for brekky. Plus, there’s a relaxing hour or so in The Old Barbridge Inn at lunchtime.
Yesterday was a really fine day and, after taking on some coal at Calverley, from a coal and diesel boat, we spent a leisurely hour and a half making our way to Barbridge. Following on from that, we caught the 11.09 bus to Nantwich and wandered around the shops finally heading home with a trolley and bag full of goodies. Just for good measure we’ll go again tomorrow, this time from Nantwich moorings and pay a visit to Morrison’s for the rest of our shopping.
What we really love about these shopping trips, is the variety of shops selling meat, veg and fruit and bakery items, especially the bakery items. Fresh bread and custard tarts are always a must, as are the huge pieces of chicken found in local butcher’s shops. It really amazes us the effort that these shops put in for their customers, and the fresh produce available. It’s all very yummee!
We always call into the charity shops for books, although there are a couple that we avoid like the plague. They all do good works, but some of them seem to think they can charge what they like for used books. On average we would expect to pay about £1.25 or so, but the shops we avoid are the ones charging £2 or more. Yesterday we bought four paperbacks in one shop at buy one get one free and spent just £3. Although, I have to confess, I don’t understand why they make these offers. Surely they want as much money coming in as possible, don’t they? So, why give stuff away? Ah well, ours not to reason why!
Monday 24th September
Once again we are being treated to some pretty poor weather, with more heavy rain. Yesterday, I’m pleased to relate, it stayed dry until well into the afternoon, which allowed us to walk to and from the pub at lunchtime. Sadly it wasn’t quite warm enough to sit outside.
I’m getting along quite nicely with my caravan painting, although it will need some tidying up at the end stages as it’s looking a wee bit ragged at present. I’m now onto fiddly bits, such as windows and what can be seen through them, not to mention the appearance of a glass surface which, in itself, is pretty tricky. Still, it’s coming along.
There seemed to be more canal traffic than usual yesterday, mostly holiday boats but, to our surprise, not many of them stopped here. On previous visits, and they have been many, we have had difficulty finding a mooring spot, but this year the place is virtually empty. Perhaps it’s because we’re here quite late in the season!
The rain is thundering down now and I have my doubts about being able to move on to Nantwich. Not that it matters really, as we’ll be able to take the bus into town from here rather than there, if you get my drift. To be honest, apart from a few really warm days; and I do mean a few and warm, none of the sweltering, humid days of yore; this summer has been a complete and utter wash-out. Come back Gulf Stream, all is forgiven!!
Tuesday 25th September
Having awoken to heavy rain yesterday morning and had breakfast, we decided to wait and see if it was going to ease off, and then make a decision as to whether or not to push on to Nantwich. But by 10.15 it was still raining quite heavily, so we decided to stay here and take the 10.39 bus to town. Not that we really wanted to venture forth into that foul weather but, with an almost empty fridge, we really did need to go to Morrison’s. That huge umbrella that our son David bought us a few years back, has come to our rescue on several occasions, none more so than yesterday.
We arrived at the bus stop and found company in the form of another boating couple. They were from the boat that had moored in front of us the previous day and, whilst the husband was taking the train down to Weymouth to pick up their car, the wife was doing some shopping and coming back to the boat.
Shopping done and back on ‘Shiralee’, it was now a case of waiting for the rain to stop, which it refused to do for the rest of the day. At the moment there is a fine drizzle and very light breeze, so, who knows, we might make Nantwich today. We will take another bus ride into town, this time for those smaller purchases, such as meat and bread and, of course, another visit to the indoor market. I’m still looking for a strap wrench and a couple of good sized hooks on which to hang our stern ropes whilst we’re on the move. It’s so untidy, having them clutter up the floor space on the stern deck.
My pastel painting tutor has asked me to proofread her lessons, which I have been happy to do. Whilst ploughing through the latest lesson, after taking Rusty out, the rain has started again. Along with the rain, has come a bitter wind, but, I’m happy to say, only a light one. Perhaps we’ll still get to Nantwich this morning, even if we do have to resort to the brolly.
Later…..
Well, breakfast is over, it’s still gushing down with rain, so it looks like we’ll be stuck here at Barbridge for the 4th day in a row. It’s not looking good for any further non-essential cruising, so, with that in mind we have decided to make our way back to Mercia with as few stops as possible. This doesn’t mean missing out on our Sunday drinky-poohs, only that we will be there much sooner than we would have wishe, probably around the 16th of October.
Meanwhile, we’ll simply have to catch the bus into Nantwich from here again, rather than wait until we reach Nantwich. Infact, with Nantwich being only three miles away, we’ll probably go through to Audlem tomorrow.
Wednesday 26th September
I’m a wee bit late in bringing this up to date today, because we have had problems with the fire and have still not been able to get the heating to run first thing in the morning. So, not wishing to run the batteries down too much, I have only been using the laptop for an hour or so, which hasn’t given me much time to do much except download and read emails.
It’s now just after 1 pm and we spent 3½ hours cruising from Barbridge to our current moorings just before bridge 80 and Overwater marina. We stopped here because it’s not an official mooring site and we wanted to run the engine for much longer than normal. From now until we arrive at Mercia, I intend running the engine for eight hours per day, which will include any cruising time, plus charging during the evening. I’m hoping this will top the batteries up enough for the heater to work first thing in the morning.
Also, since our solid fuel fire hasn’t been giving of its best of late, we wanted to check the chimney out again because I felt sure it had become blocked again. Sure enough, when Wifey took the back panel out, stuck to the back was a huge chunk of solid matter, all black and grey and gungy. After taking that off, I made use of that long piece of steel rod that me found back at Gurnett Aqueduct on the Macclesfield. With a good point on the rod already, it didn’t take long to chip the rest of the gunk off the inside of the stack; much of which was wet and black; then for Wifey to drag it out from the hearth. We now have a chimney stack completely free of obstructions, and a fire that is burning quite nicely, thank you.
Now, after spending four days at Barbridge due to really filthy weather, we have decided to press on to Mercia marina and aim to be there on or about the 16th of October. This is two weeks earlier than originally planned, but we are so fed up with all the rain, that it seems pointless to prolong the agony. Hopefully next year will prove more amenable weather wise.
Thursday 27th September
Brrrr! This morning has clearly demonstrated that winter is on its way, with an almost clear sky, light frost and thick fog. Hopefully, once the sun comes up, the fog will clear quickly and we’ll be on our way, through four locks and about a mile, to the middle of Audlem.
We were considering a two day stopover at the nearby Overwater Marina but, now that we have cleared the chimney and have a generous amount of warmth in the boat, we don’t need to run the heater in the morning. All we have to do to ensure that the batteries are topped up, is run the engine for more than seven hours per day, which beats wasting two days in a marina, although is not as effective as being on a landline power supply.
As you all must be aware, we’ve had some pretty atrocious weather of late, so the use of our cameras has been seriously curtailed, which means no photos in this blog. I could include old ones from previous years, but you folks, for whom I write this blog, have seen them anyway. Also, with only a couple of weeks until we arrive back at Mercia, unless we are treated to some decent weather, taking pictures of places we’ve already covered seems unnecessary, unless we encounter an odd incident or two, in which case we’ll all be in for a treat.
So, without more ado, I’ll now post this blog.
All abreast everybody
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Shiralee Cruise 2012 # 26
Barbridge to Shady Oak Pub
Monday 17th September
First of all, to all those very kind people who respond to my blogs, many thanks for taking the time to do so. I can assure you all that I do read them as and when I can. One of these springs to mind right now, regarding Billinge Green Flash and the aircraft noise. Truth to say, and probably due to my age and less than perfect hearing, I didn’t notice it. There are some beneficial side effects to joining the older generation!
To Kevin I would say many thanks for the heads up on using the gas oven when we’ve had no heating and no fire lit. I do realise the inherent dangers with carbon monoxide poisoning but, since the boat is well ventilated and I only have the oven on for a few minutes, just to take the chill off, the danger seems minimal. Our CO Detector has been checked very recently and is positioned quite close to the cooker, so I would expect fair warning. Thanks again Kevin, your genuine concern is much appreciated and, now that we have had the fire alight for quite a while and will be getting our Webasto system serviced within the next couple of days, I’ll have no further need to use the cooker.
On this subject though, my memory is stirred back to the time when we first moved to Harlow, back in 1958 when I was just 15 years of age. All we had in our maisonette at that time was an open fire in the living room, the sole responsibility for its care and attention being down to dad. It was not unusual, especially if he was having a lie in, to find us kids huddled around the cooker in the morning, drinking our tea and munching on a slice of toast. Winter mornings were not much fun in those days. Oh, the hardships we suffered!!!
This morning has dawned fine and calm, which gives me hope of trundling towards Chester for about six miles, passing through six locks along the way and, with a bit of luck, not getting wet in the process.
Tuesday 18th September
So, being quite close to the water point at Barbridge yesterday morning, rather than take the boat forward a mile and turn around to go in the opposite direction, we reversed up. Just as we were approaching the water point, another boat came out of the junction and also headed for the same spot. ‘Not on your nelly’, I thought, and just made it to the point ahead of him.
This water point is only just long enough to take two boats but; and it’s a BIG but; if, as the other boater had suggested, I had moved ‘Shiralee’ forward a few feet, so that he could tie up his boat and not have the back sticking out over the junction, we would have had a problem retrieving our hose reel from the front deck. “We can easily get two boats in here”, he said, “we’ve done it many times before”.
Well, after a couple of minutes of me trying to tie up the bow line, with him bending my ear, I’m afraid I became quite rude and virtually told him to shove off until we had sorted out the hose reel. As soon as that was done we moved forward slightly, and he pulled his boat nearer.
I would not have minded so much had his boat been as long as ours, but it was much shorter and he really wasn’t overhanging the junction arm at all, just a wee bit too close should another boat come up behind and clip the back. Also, there can only be one person using the water point, so he couldn’t fill up until we had finished. Fortunately, once we had moved along for him, he realised he had been out of order in thinking he knew best and came along to apologise.
I’m usually very patient with other boaters; believe that or believe it not; but I do get frustrated with people who insist they know better than I do.
Anyway, after filling up with water and disposing of rubbish and, after a cheery wave from our new ‘friends’, we turned the boat around and headed towards Chester. Eventually, after six miles, six locks and 3½ hours, we arrived at Beeston Castle, or the ruins of this 14th century fortress, built by the Earl of Cheshire. From where we are moored, which is almost opposite the local pub, it sits high on a hill overlooking the canal and surrounding countryside. Sadly, due to surrounding trees, only the top can be seen. Still, it must have been quite an imposing edifice in its day.
The Shady Oak pub caters for a couple of trip boats, one of which takes disabled people and the other, probably OAPs and such. But they all end up at the pub for a meal. We called in there about three years ago when travelling back from Ellesmere Port and, on that occasion, which was in early May, it was a very warm day and we were able to sit outside. We’re not calling in today because we want to get to Christleton for our heater service. Who knows, perhaps we’ll give it a go on the way back.
Wednesday 19th September
Brrrrh! It’s getting quite autumnal now, what with the wind and rain we had to pass through yesterday on our way to Christleton. At one point the wind was so strong that it even turned our big brolly inside-out. Still we arrived in one piece and I immediately phoned Eric, who in turn phoned Andy, who then phoned me and discussed our heater. After explaining to him that the system won’t start up at anything less than 12.5 volts, or thereabouts; the system has a low voltage cut-off point of 11.8 volts; he seemed to think we have a problem with the correct voltage getting to the unit. At any rate, he will phone me this morning and arrange to pay us a visit.
After speaking with Andy we then walked off to wait for the 41 bus for Chester. This should have been at the bus stop on the A41, which runs parallel to the canal but, what actually turned up was the C56. Who cares, we boarded that one instead.
We took a walk around the town but, with it being so big, we didn’t have time to walk around the wall. So, after a bit of shopping, off we went to the bus station but, having deciphered the timetable; which seems to be written in some kind of language known only to the compiler; we discovered that the C56 goes from the same stop as we alighted at. This meant another walk through the town. However, as sometimes happens when standing at bus stops, a different bus, the 41B, which also goes to Christleton, arrived and we jumped on that. Even then the darned thing still didn’t stop where we thought it should, instead it stopped at the canal bridge, which meant a longer walk to the boat.
This morning, after Andy has been, we’re planning a return to Chester but, as it is really chucking it down right now, that could very well be doubtful.
Whilst walking through Chester we stopped to listen to a young man playing an electric fiddle. His name is Alleyne Johnson and, as opposed to the usual busker, he also had some pre-recorded accompaniment and, not only that, he also had electric drums, which he tapped with the end of his bow, as and when necessary. The sound was such that I could have sat and listened to him all day, really quite brilliant. Instead I bought his CD called ‘Arpeggio’ which I shall listen to as soon a I can.
Well now, it’s already 6.15 am and my pooch needs a pee, but I’m hanged if I’ll take her out in this downpour. It’s doubtful she would come anyway; she hates getting wet; and will cross her legs instead.
Thursday 20th September
More rain yesterday, but we still took the bus into Chester again. Our primary reason for this trip was to walk around the city wall but, as with all the best laid plans, we were somewhat stuffed because, having climbed three short flights of wet and slippery stairs, and walked about 20 yards, we found the way blocked off and we were diverted down even more steps to the street below. So much for that idea then! Goodness knows when we’ll come by this way again.
So, having seen what we wanted of Chester on Tuesday, all we could do yesterday was a little more shopping and catch the return bus to Christleton. Of course, we stopped for coffee and a sticky bun before doing so, but the morning was a little disappointing. The rain, of course, added to that disappointment.
It continued raining, on and off, for the rest of the, evening and during the night but, all I can hear now is water falling from the tree under which we are moored, so we should get away today for the return trip to the Shady Oak pub, where we’ll stop for the night. On Friday we’ll have six miles and six locks to travel, to the top of Bunbury Locks, where we will stop again for the night. On Saturday morning we will top up with water and dispose of rubbish, then head off to Nantwich for the weekend, passing through Barbridge on the way.
Friday 21st September
Our Rusty seems to have improved in health of late, because it is now over a week since she’s pestered to go out in the early hours. We’re not even sure as to why she does it, other than the sound of her gurgling tummy, which suggests an upset of some kind. The fact that she’s now 14 or 15 years old may well have something to do with it, but we don’t know, despite several visits to vets.
We have noticed though, that her eyesight is not as good as it was, but that’s to be expected. When we bring her back from a walk, instead of hopping down the back stairs, she now waits at the top for one of us to lift her down. On several occasions of late she has missed the bottom step and taken a tumble. Still, apart from that, and her ‘selective’ deafness, she’s pretty fit for her age, so we can’t complain at the occasional ‘walkies’ in the early hours.
Yesterday was a pretty good day and we managed the seven miles to the Shady Oak pub without getting wet. With no places of interest to visit here, Sheila spent some time giving one side of Shiralee a wash, the rest of the day we spent taking it easy or walking the dog.
The pastel project has slowed down of late, because Emma has been busy with other things, partly other business and partly taking her friend Maggie to and from specialists to tend to her new knee. I don’t expect any further info regarding the caravan picture until Monday or Tuesday.
I could carry on with the painting on my own, I do know most of the techniques involved, but I would rather follow Emma’s tuition because I am, after all, her guinea pig for this project and so, if I don’t follow what she instructs me to do, I won’t be her guinea pig.
So, rather than hang around waiting, I have printed out a couple of old photochrome pictures and will start one of those. One is of Boscastle in Cornwall and the other of Gadshill on the Isle of Wight. Both pictures are circa 1900, showing much older houses and rough roads. I do like these old photos and will probably spend quite a bit of time painting them when we return to Mercia.
In fact, if it continues to rain this morning, I could very well make a start on one of those today. If we didn’t have six locks to go through and providing it didn’t get too windy, I would have suggested we go anyway, but it’s no fun for Sheila having to operate double locks when it’s raining and blowing a gale.
With a strong signal here at the Shady Oak pub I think I’d best post this blog whilst I can. But first, a photo of me and the Oxley’s. Alan is the one with the soppy smile on his face and I’m the slob in the middle. Obviously Chris is on the other end.
All the best for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Monday 17th September
First of all, to all those very kind people who respond to my blogs, many thanks for taking the time to do so. I can assure you all that I do read them as and when I can. One of these springs to mind right now, regarding Billinge Green Flash and the aircraft noise. Truth to say, and probably due to my age and less than perfect hearing, I didn’t notice it. There are some beneficial side effects to joining the older generation!
To Kevin I would say many thanks for the heads up on using the gas oven when we’ve had no heating and no fire lit. I do realise the inherent dangers with carbon monoxide poisoning but, since the boat is well ventilated and I only have the oven on for a few minutes, just to take the chill off, the danger seems minimal. Our CO Detector has been checked very recently and is positioned quite close to the cooker, so I would expect fair warning. Thanks again Kevin, your genuine concern is much appreciated and, now that we have had the fire alight for quite a while and will be getting our Webasto system serviced within the next couple of days, I’ll have no further need to use the cooker.
On this subject though, my memory is stirred back to the time when we first moved to Harlow, back in 1958 when I was just 15 years of age. All we had in our maisonette at that time was an open fire in the living room, the sole responsibility for its care and attention being down to dad. It was not unusual, especially if he was having a lie in, to find us kids huddled around the cooker in the morning, drinking our tea and munching on a slice of toast. Winter mornings were not much fun in those days. Oh, the hardships we suffered!!!
This morning has dawned fine and calm, which gives me hope of trundling towards Chester for about six miles, passing through six locks along the way and, with a bit of luck, not getting wet in the process.
Tuesday 18th September
So, being quite close to the water point at Barbridge yesterday morning, rather than take the boat forward a mile and turn around to go in the opposite direction, we reversed up. Just as we were approaching the water point, another boat came out of the junction and also headed for the same spot. ‘Not on your nelly’, I thought, and just made it to the point ahead of him.
This water point is only just long enough to take two boats but; and it’s a BIG but; if, as the other boater had suggested, I had moved ‘Shiralee’ forward a few feet, so that he could tie up his boat and not have the back sticking out over the junction, we would have had a problem retrieving our hose reel from the front deck. “We can easily get two boats in here”, he said, “we’ve done it many times before”.
Well, after a couple of minutes of me trying to tie up the bow line, with him bending my ear, I’m afraid I became quite rude and virtually told him to shove off until we had sorted out the hose reel. As soon as that was done we moved forward slightly, and he pulled his boat nearer.
I would not have minded so much had his boat been as long as ours, but it was much shorter and he really wasn’t overhanging the junction arm at all, just a wee bit too close should another boat come up behind and clip the back. Also, there can only be one person using the water point, so he couldn’t fill up until we had finished. Fortunately, once we had moved along for him, he realised he had been out of order in thinking he knew best and came along to apologise.
I’m usually very patient with other boaters; believe that or believe it not; but I do get frustrated with people who insist they know better than I do.
Anyway, after filling up with water and disposing of rubbish and, after a cheery wave from our new ‘friends’, we turned the boat around and headed towards Chester. Eventually, after six miles, six locks and 3½ hours, we arrived at Beeston Castle, or the ruins of this 14th century fortress, built by the Earl of Cheshire. From where we are moored, which is almost opposite the local pub, it sits high on a hill overlooking the canal and surrounding countryside. Sadly, due to surrounding trees, only the top can be seen. Still, it must have been quite an imposing edifice in its day.
The Shady Oak pub caters for a couple of trip boats, one of which takes disabled people and the other, probably OAPs and such. But they all end up at the pub for a meal. We called in there about three years ago when travelling back from Ellesmere Port and, on that occasion, which was in early May, it was a very warm day and we were able to sit outside. We’re not calling in today because we want to get to Christleton for our heater service. Who knows, perhaps we’ll give it a go on the way back.
Wednesday 19th September
Brrrrh! It’s getting quite autumnal now, what with the wind and rain we had to pass through yesterday on our way to Christleton. At one point the wind was so strong that it even turned our big brolly inside-out. Still we arrived in one piece and I immediately phoned Eric, who in turn phoned Andy, who then phoned me and discussed our heater. After explaining to him that the system won’t start up at anything less than 12.5 volts, or thereabouts; the system has a low voltage cut-off point of 11.8 volts; he seemed to think we have a problem with the correct voltage getting to the unit. At any rate, he will phone me this morning and arrange to pay us a visit.
After speaking with Andy we then walked off to wait for the 41 bus for Chester. This should have been at the bus stop on the A41, which runs parallel to the canal but, what actually turned up was the C56. Who cares, we boarded that one instead.
We took a walk around the town but, with it being so big, we didn’t have time to walk around the wall. So, after a bit of shopping, off we went to the bus station but, having deciphered the timetable; which seems to be written in some kind of language known only to the compiler; we discovered that the C56 goes from the same stop as we alighted at. This meant another walk through the town. However, as sometimes happens when standing at bus stops, a different bus, the 41B, which also goes to Christleton, arrived and we jumped on that. Even then the darned thing still didn’t stop where we thought it should, instead it stopped at the canal bridge, which meant a longer walk to the boat.
This morning, after Andy has been, we’re planning a return to Chester but, as it is really chucking it down right now, that could very well be doubtful.
Whilst walking through Chester we stopped to listen to a young man playing an electric fiddle. His name is Alleyne Johnson and, as opposed to the usual busker, he also had some pre-recorded accompaniment and, not only that, he also had electric drums, which he tapped with the end of his bow, as and when necessary. The sound was such that I could have sat and listened to him all day, really quite brilliant. Instead I bought his CD called ‘Arpeggio’ which I shall listen to as soon a I can.
Well now, it’s already 6.15 am and my pooch needs a pee, but I’m hanged if I’ll take her out in this downpour. It’s doubtful she would come anyway; she hates getting wet; and will cross her legs instead.
Thursday 20th September
More rain yesterday, but we still took the bus into Chester again. Our primary reason for this trip was to walk around the city wall but, as with all the best laid plans, we were somewhat stuffed because, having climbed three short flights of wet and slippery stairs, and walked about 20 yards, we found the way blocked off and we were diverted down even more steps to the street below. So much for that idea then! Goodness knows when we’ll come by this way again.
So, having seen what we wanted of Chester on Tuesday, all we could do yesterday was a little more shopping and catch the return bus to Christleton. Of course, we stopped for coffee and a sticky bun before doing so, but the morning was a little disappointing. The rain, of course, added to that disappointment.
It continued raining, on and off, for the rest of the, evening and during the night but, all I can hear now is water falling from the tree under which we are moored, so we should get away today for the return trip to the Shady Oak pub, where we’ll stop for the night. On Friday we’ll have six miles and six locks to travel, to the top of Bunbury Locks, where we will stop again for the night. On Saturday morning we will top up with water and dispose of rubbish, then head off to Nantwich for the weekend, passing through Barbridge on the way.
Friday 21st September
Our Rusty seems to have improved in health of late, because it is now over a week since she’s pestered to go out in the early hours. We’re not even sure as to why she does it, other than the sound of her gurgling tummy, which suggests an upset of some kind. The fact that she’s now 14 or 15 years old may well have something to do with it, but we don’t know, despite several visits to vets.
We have noticed though, that her eyesight is not as good as it was, but that’s to be expected. When we bring her back from a walk, instead of hopping down the back stairs, she now waits at the top for one of us to lift her down. On several occasions of late she has missed the bottom step and taken a tumble. Still, apart from that, and her ‘selective’ deafness, she’s pretty fit for her age, so we can’t complain at the occasional ‘walkies’ in the early hours.
Yesterday was a pretty good day and we managed the seven miles to the Shady Oak pub without getting wet. With no places of interest to visit here, Sheila spent some time giving one side of Shiralee a wash, the rest of the day we spent taking it easy or walking the dog.
The pastel project has slowed down of late, because Emma has been busy with other things, partly other business and partly taking her friend Maggie to and from specialists to tend to her new knee. I don’t expect any further info regarding the caravan picture until Monday or Tuesday.
I could carry on with the painting on my own, I do know most of the techniques involved, but I would rather follow Emma’s tuition because I am, after all, her guinea pig for this project and so, if I don’t follow what she instructs me to do, I won’t be her guinea pig.
So, rather than hang around waiting, I have printed out a couple of old photochrome pictures and will start one of those. One is of Boscastle in Cornwall and the other of Gadshill on the Isle of Wight. Both pictures are circa 1900, showing much older houses and rough roads. I do like these old photos and will probably spend quite a bit of time painting them when we return to Mercia.
In fact, if it continues to rain this morning, I could very well make a start on one of those today. If we didn’t have six locks to go through and providing it didn’t get too windy, I would have suggested we go anyway, but it’s no fun for Sheila having to operate double locks when it’s raining and blowing a gale.
With a strong signal here at the Shady Oak pub I think I’d best post this blog whilst I can. But first, a photo of me and the Oxley’s. Alan is the one with the soppy smile on his face and I’m the slob in the middle. Obviously Chris is on the other end.
 |
| Me, between our friends Alan and Chris Oxley Chris is the pretty one on the left. Obviously I'm the slob in the middle |
All the best for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Shiralee Cruise 2012 # 25
Wheelock to Barbridge
Wednesday 12th September
I hope you like the picture I’m trying to paint. When I’m finished; probably in a couple of weeks or so; I’ll post my own interpretation of that photo, in pastels. Of course, I don’t expect, nor do I want it to look anything like the photo. If all I wanted was that image then I would have no need to paint it.
Today, with the weather looking as if it might stay dry and calm, we’ll take the next four miles and four locks to Middlewich, where, we hope, we will be able to have the heating repaired. The only problem we are likely to come up against is being unable to moor the boat below Kings Lock, which is where the boatyard and chandlery are and where the heater is to be repaired. If they have no space we will have to revert to Plan B but, since we don’t yet have a Plan B, we’ll have to wing it.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Wifey to surface, so that we can have brekky and get on our way.
Whilst I await Wifey’s appearance, have I told you about my problems with Internet Explorer? Well now, this might interest you and, with luck, somebody will know what to do.
I am in receipt of several Newsletters from different people. In one of those Newsletters I regularly get links to the writers blog but, when I click on the link, I receive an error message telling me that IE is unable to access the blog and the operation is being aborted. This also happens when I carry out a search for that person’s site and click the link.
Of course, I have emailed the person concerned, in fact on a couple of occasions and I did so again this morning, but I have yet to receive an acknowledgement or reply of any sort. Naturally, if, after this attempt at attracting their interest, I don’t receive a reply, I shall unsubscribe to their Newsletter. There’s no point continuing with them if they can’t be bothered to answer a simple question, even if they can’t explain why this is happening.
Any ideas anyone?
Thursday 13th September
I received a reply from the above person, and she has made a few suggestions regarding security settings and such, but, even going through some of these, I am still unable to open her links. However, there have been times when I’ve been searching the Web and clicked on a site, where this has also happened. But, with this one, the links never open at all. Most odd!
Yesterday was a mad day and, with six miles and six locks, the whole trip shouldn’t have taken more than three hours. But, because we had two ahead of us, we were delayed somewhat, especially as one of them was being handled by just one person. Even with Sheila helping him, we were still much slower than usual. The last straw was the delay at the final lock, which is at the start of the Middlewich Arm or, more correctly, The Wardle canal. When we came out of the final lock on the T&M, we not only had to wait for another boat to exit the Wardle lock and turn around to go back in, we also had to wait for another boat to come down that lock.
As a result of all these delays the trip took us 4½ hours. Can’t complain though, at least it didn’t rain whilst we were moving. It soon chucked it down though whilst we were drinking our cuppa, then stopped, then started again, which was why we walked into town in the rain. Good fun this boating!
Today has dawned with a red sky, and you know what they say about those. We have no worries though because, having walked into town yesterday, in the pouring rain, it doesn’t frighten us. In any case, we’re catching the bus to Northwich this morning and will visit our local butcher on our return.
My art guru, Emma, has now suggested she calls this Caravan painting, ‘Painting a Scene’, which does make more sense since it really isn’t a landscape as such. She also suggests painting a ‘Sunset over Water’ scene, which I would really love to have a go at. Meanwhile, I now have my instructions for starting on the caravan itself. And it is also time to wake my ‘sleeping beauty’. Duty calls!
Friday 14th September
The mornings are now getting darker, well, they are when I get up and, even at 6.15, which is about when I take Rusty out, the sun isn’t quite awake either. This probably means that, as the nights also lengthen, the temperature will start to fall and we will definitely need the central heating. Thus far, having cleared some of the gunk out of the chimney stack, we’ve had a fire going, so we have now contacted an engineer who will service the heating when we get to Barbridge in a few days time. Eric, the engineer, was the one who fitted our fan belt and carried out our oil change when we were on the Montgomery. He will either take it away and pass it on to the people he uses, or send them along to carry out a diagnostic and service.
Yesterday was, I found, very tiring. It was another one of those days where, having walked into Middlewich, we then took a 40 minute bus ride into Northwich, which was followed by more walking to the art shop and another, rather speedy walk back to the bus stop, where the bus had already pulled in and was waiting to change drivers. Another 40 minute bus ride was followed by the walk to the butcher’s and on to the boat. It’s only the strain on my legs that’s knackering me, not the exercise itself.
In the art shop I bought a few ‘in between’ coloured pencils, plus a soft pad of mixed colour paper, along with photo album corners and pastel holders, which will save getting my hands too messy.
We arrived back just in time for lunch, which meant we had been away for almost four hours, so our wee pooch was only too happy to welcome us home, especially as she was bursting for a pee. Lunch consisted of left-over sausage, with fried egg in a bap. Yummy! And, since we do seem to have rather a lot of eggs, breakfast will be eggs on toast. Yummee again!
We were hoping to move about half way to Barbridge today but, with that howling, gale force wind out there, this is rather doubtful. This is not the ideal weather for cruising, as I have said many times before. Still, so long as we are there for Sunday, I’m not too bothered. I can always get on with my painting while we wait for it to calm down.
Saturday 15th September
Having said we probably wouldn’t move due to the high wind, when Sheila returned from the shops the wind had dropped, so on we went, only for the wind to get going again. But, since we were now on our way and it wasn’t raining, we decided to press on and finally stopped between bridges 17 and 18, about a mile short of our actual destination.
This is a very quiet stretch of the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie, no road bridges and no railway lines, so the rest of the day and last night were very peaceful.
Sunday 16th September
When I awoke yesterday morning, with the wind whipping up waves on the surface of the water, I had my doubts about getting to Barbridge but, by the time we had breakfast, the wind had dropped and it looked like the sun might make an appearance. We had two locks and about six miles to do, with a stop at the Venitian Marina for cola and diesel.
We arrived at Barbridge and topped up with water and, after finding a mooring spot, I gave our engineer, Eric, a bell and we have arranged to meet him on the way to Chester, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully we will have the heating running within the next few day, then I’ll be able to let the fire go out and remove the rest of the gunk from the chimney.
We intend stopping off at Crisselton for this heater service and will also take the bus into Chester. The last time we were there, which was before I’d had my knees replaced, we moored up below the city wall and Sheila took a walk around the town with another boating lady, after which we moved on to Ellesmere Port. This time around I’ll be able to see some of the town.
Alan and Chris Oxley flew off to China on the 12th, although Alan had told us it would be the 13th, so we didn’t have the chance to wish them well on their trip. They will only be away for a month, during which time they are taking a boat trip on the Yellow River. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up with them when they return to the U.K. and before they go back to Germany.
When we arrived here at Barbridge yesterday, there were afew boats moored up, but nowhere near as many as usual. On a normal weekend it can be difficult finding a place to tie up, but there were so few boats here that we had no problem at all. In fact, even before we walked to the bus stop for our trip into Nantwich, most of the boats that were here had moved off.
As usual, when we are here for a weekend, we’ll call in to the Old Barbridge Inn for a lunchtime drink. Well, it would be rude not to!
I received an email from my old work colleague and friend, Les, this morning. She’s the lady who chaperoned the kids whilst I drove the mini-bus over, six years ago! Doesn’t time fly? Anyway we still keep in touch, sometimes by phone; when I remember to call her; and sometimes by email. Her husband, Dave, is an up market motor engineer and travels to all sorts of exotic locations servicing expensive track cars. He also has his own workshop in Harlow and is a very busy man, I’m pleased to say. Having gone through a slow spot recently, he’s just returned from Cyprus, so I’m hoping thinks are now on the up.
Must stop there, doggie needs servicing!
Monday 17th September
Well, the nights are drawing out and, with the mornings being darker for longer, I have a feeling autumn is almost upon us. This is even more noticeable with the trees beginning to turn colour. But, at least the daytime is still quite mild and we are not finding it necessary to wear warmer coats. The biggest problem for us is the damned daddy long legs that invade us in the evenings when our lights are on. Even with the curtains closed the little blighters still find their way in, and we’re left to catch them and throw them out of the hatch.
Fortunately, with the sun shining and a light breeze, we were able to sit in the pub garden yesterday lunchtime. I can think of no more pleasant way of spending an hour or so, than with a couple of pints and a bag of crisps. How sad is that?
We’ll be turning around and heading off towards Chester this morning. This is so that we can meet up with our engineer and have the heater system serviced.
Meanwhile, with seven pages written already, I’ll wish you all a very pleasant week.
All the best from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday 12th September
I hope you like the picture I’m trying to paint. When I’m finished; probably in a couple of weeks or so; I’ll post my own interpretation of that photo, in pastels. Of course, I don’t expect, nor do I want it to look anything like the photo. If all I wanted was that image then I would have no need to paint it.
Today, with the weather looking as if it might stay dry and calm, we’ll take the next four miles and four locks to Middlewich, where, we hope, we will be able to have the heating repaired. The only problem we are likely to come up against is being unable to moor the boat below Kings Lock, which is where the boatyard and chandlery are and where the heater is to be repaired. If they have no space we will have to revert to Plan B but, since we don’t yet have a Plan B, we’ll have to wing it.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Wifey to surface, so that we can have brekky and get on our way.
Whilst I await Wifey’s appearance, have I told you about my problems with Internet Explorer? Well now, this might interest you and, with luck, somebody will know what to do.
I am in receipt of several Newsletters from different people. In one of those Newsletters I regularly get links to the writers blog but, when I click on the link, I receive an error message telling me that IE is unable to access the blog and the operation is being aborted. This also happens when I carry out a search for that person’s site and click the link.
Of course, I have emailed the person concerned, in fact on a couple of occasions and I did so again this morning, but I have yet to receive an acknowledgement or reply of any sort. Naturally, if, after this attempt at attracting their interest, I don’t receive a reply, I shall unsubscribe to their Newsletter. There’s no point continuing with them if they can’t be bothered to answer a simple question, even if they can’t explain why this is happening.
Any ideas anyone?
Thursday 13th September
I received a reply from the above person, and she has made a few suggestions regarding security settings and such, but, even going through some of these, I am still unable to open her links. However, there have been times when I’ve been searching the Web and clicked on a site, where this has also happened. But, with this one, the links never open at all. Most odd!
Yesterday was a mad day and, with six miles and six locks, the whole trip shouldn’t have taken more than three hours. But, because we had two ahead of us, we were delayed somewhat, especially as one of them was being handled by just one person. Even with Sheila helping him, we were still much slower than usual. The last straw was the delay at the final lock, which is at the start of the Middlewich Arm or, more correctly, The Wardle canal. When we came out of the final lock on the T&M, we not only had to wait for another boat to exit the Wardle lock and turn around to go back in, we also had to wait for another boat to come down that lock.
As a result of all these delays the trip took us 4½ hours. Can’t complain though, at least it didn’t rain whilst we were moving. It soon chucked it down though whilst we were drinking our cuppa, then stopped, then started again, which was why we walked into town in the rain. Good fun this boating!
Today has dawned with a red sky, and you know what they say about those. We have no worries though because, having walked into town yesterday, in the pouring rain, it doesn’t frighten us. In any case, we’re catching the bus to Northwich this morning and will visit our local butcher on our return.
My art guru, Emma, has now suggested she calls this Caravan painting, ‘Painting a Scene’, which does make more sense since it really isn’t a landscape as such. She also suggests painting a ‘Sunset over Water’ scene, which I would really love to have a go at. Meanwhile, I now have my instructions for starting on the caravan itself. And it is also time to wake my ‘sleeping beauty’. Duty calls!
Friday 14th September
The mornings are now getting darker, well, they are when I get up and, even at 6.15, which is about when I take Rusty out, the sun isn’t quite awake either. This probably means that, as the nights also lengthen, the temperature will start to fall and we will definitely need the central heating. Thus far, having cleared some of the gunk out of the chimney stack, we’ve had a fire going, so we have now contacted an engineer who will service the heating when we get to Barbridge in a few days time. Eric, the engineer, was the one who fitted our fan belt and carried out our oil change when we were on the Montgomery. He will either take it away and pass it on to the people he uses, or send them along to carry out a diagnostic and service.
Yesterday was, I found, very tiring. It was another one of those days where, having walked into Middlewich, we then took a 40 minute bus ride into Northwich, which was followed by more walking to the art shop and another, rather speedy walk back to the bus stop, where the bus had already pulled in and was waiting to change drivers. Another 40 minute bus ride was followed by the walk to the butcher’s and on to the boat. It’s only the strain on my legs that’s knackering me, not the exercise itself.
In the art shop I bought a few ‘in between’ coloured pencils, plus a soft pad of mixed colour paper, along with photo album corners and pastel holders, which will save getting my hands too messy.
We arrived back just in time for lunch, which meant we had been away for almost four hours, so our wee pooch was only too happy to welcome us home, especially as she was bursting for a pee. Lunch consisted of left-over sausage, with fried egg in a bap. Yummy! And, since we do seem to have rather a lot of eggs, breakfast will be eggs on toast. Yummee again!
We were hoping to move about half way to Barbridge today but, with that howling, gale force wind out there, this is rather doubtful. This is not the ideal weather for cruising, as I have said many times before. Still, so long as we are there for Sunday, I’m not too bothered. I can always get on with my painting while we wait for it to calm down.
Saturday 15th September
Having said we probably wouldn’t move due to the high wind, when Sheila returned from the shops the wind had dropped, so on we went, only for the wind to get going again. But, since we were now on our way and it wasn’t raining, we decided to press on and finally stopped between bridges 17 and 18, about a mile short of our actual destination.
This is a very quiet stretch of the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie, no road bridges and no railway lines, so the rest of the day and last night were very peaceful.
Sunday 16th September
When I awoke yesterday morning, with the wind whipping up waves on the surface of the water, I had my doubts about getting to Barbridge but, by the time we had breakfast, the wind had dropped and it looked like the sun might make an appearance. We had two locks and about six miles to do, with a stop at the Venitian Marina for cola and diesel.
We arrived at Barbridge and topped up with water and, after finding a mooring spot, I gave our engineer, Eric, a bell and we have arranged to meet him on the way to Chester, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully we will have the heating running within the next few day, then I’ll be able to let the fire go out and remove the rest of the gunk from the chimney.
We intend stopping off at Crisselton for this heater service and will also take the bus into Chester. The last time we were there, which was before I’d had my knees replaced, we moored up below the city wall and Sheila took a walk around the town with another boating lady, after which we moved on to Ellesmere Port. This time around I’ll be able to see some of the town.
Alan and Chris Oxley flew off to China on the 12th, although Alan had told us it would be the 13th, so we didn’t have the chance to wish them well on their trip. They will only be away for a month, during which time they are taking a boat trip on the Yellow River. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up with them when they return to the U.K. and before they go back to Germany.
When we arrived here at Barbridge yesterday, there were afew boats moored up, but nowhere near as many as usual. On a normal weekend it can be difficult finding a place to tie up, but there were so few boats here that we had no problem at all. In fact, even before we walked to the bus stop for our trip into Nantwich, most of the boats that were here had moved off.
As usual, when we are here for a weekend, we’ll call in to the Old Barbridge Inn for a lunchtime drink. Well, it would be rude not to!
I received an email from my old work colleague and friend, Les, this morning. She’s the lady who chaperoned the kids whilst I drove the mini-bus over, six years ago! Doesn’t time fly? Anyway we still keep in touch, sometimes by phone; when I remember to call her; and sometimes by email. Her husband, Dave, is an up market motor engineer and travels to all sorts of exotic locations servicing expensive track cars. He also has his own workshop in Harlow and is a very busy man, I’m pleased to say. Having gone through a slow spot recently, he’s just returned from Cyprus, so I’m hoping thinks are now on the up.
Must stop there, doggie needs servicing!
Monday 17th September
Well, the nights are drawing out and, with the mornings being darker for longer, I have a feeling autumn is almost upon us. This is even more noticeable with the trees beginning to turn colour. But, at least the daytime is still quite mild and we are not finding it necessary to wear warmer coats. The biggest problem for us is the damned daddy long legs that invade us in the evenings when our lights are on. Even with the curtains closed the little blighters still find their way in, and we’re left to catch them and throw them out of the hatch.
Fortunately, with the sun shining and a light breeze, we were able to sit in the pub garden yesterday lunchtime. I can think of no more pleasant way of spending an hour or so, than with a couple of pints and a bag of crisps. How sad is that?
We’ll be turning around and heading off towards Chester this morning. This is so that we can meet up with our engineer and have the heater system serviced.
Meanwhile, with seven pages written already, I’ll wish you all a very pleasant week.
All the best from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Shiralee Cruise 2012 # 24
Red Bull Aqueduct to Wheelock
Friday 7th September
I forgot to mention just how fortunate we were yesterday whilst towing Martin and Ann, not once did we meet another boat coming the other way through a bridge. Had we done so we could have had a problem, either stopping to allow the other boat through, or charging ahead, making the other boater stop for us. This is not an unusual occurrence and usually sorts itself out, but, with a boat in tow it’s different gether altomatter!
Well, as I mentioned in Blog 23, Alan and Chris turned up at about 12.30 but, alas, as they were short of time we were unable to celebrate the sixth year of living on ‘Shiralee’. But, no matter, Sheila and I will do the necessary at the pub in Rode Heath on Sunday.
Living on a narrowboat does present certain difficulties, but these are pretty minor when compared to the sheer joy of being able to move around in complete freedom from interference by the usual jobsworths and uppity officials of one stripe or another. Apart from the sensible restrictions as to the amount of time allowed at designated moorings, we don’t see many other signs saying ‘No…’, or ‘Do Not….’, as you do in every town, village and city throughout the U.K, except perhaps ‘No Fishing’, but this is for safety reasons, all to do with overhead power lines. Indeed, the restrictions on mooring times are a necessary evil to prevent some boaters overstaying their welcome and preventing visitors from stopping.
As for difficulties, well, one of those would be storage, which we never seem to have enough of. As a consequence we do have rather a lot of stuff strewn about in different places. For example, from my viewpoint as I sit here pecking at this keyboard, I can see an RAC torch, a container of mixed nuts, a box of eggs, two boxed of sweeties, three mobile phone chargers, a stack of pens and pencils and a pair of binoculars.
There’s also a pair of spanners that I keep handy for work on the Universal Joint down in the bowels of the engine bay, a full length tape measure, my empty teacup and a cafeterre. The list is endless, and I’m only facing forward, there’s plenty more behind me. It’s all stuff that we can’t do without but have no room for elsewhere. Which reminds me, I must get down to designing and constructing a new shelf for the top of our main galley cupboard, the top of which is a total mess.
As for today, well, once we have topped up with water at the BW point at Kidsgrove, we’ll be moving along by another three locks to a nice, open space on the T&M, where we will stay the night. Then, on Saturday morning we’ll head off to Rode Heath, where the aforementioned celebration will take place.
Saturday 8th September
Yesterday was one of those easy cruising days, with just a mile and six locks to do, although, that mile took us a wee bit longer than expected, because, upon arrival at the BW/CRT water point and rubbish disposal unit, we were unable to open the door to the cassette emptying room. It didn’t matter which way I turned the key, the lock would not open. Fortunately there was somebody in the office and she called one of the workmen who, in his turn said, after trying the door himself, “Sorry mate, can’t help you there, we’ll have to put it ‘out of order’”
“What?” said I, “we have two cassettes to empty, we can’t leave it until the next place, can’t you jimmy the door with a crowbar, or something? I’ve got a nice, big screwdriver you can use.”
“Hold your horses”, he said, “jimmy it open! Then, pointing his finger at me and wagging it, with a supercilious grin on his face, “Don’t you worry now, I’ll soon have you sorted”.
Within a couple of minutes he had spoken to another workman and I was told to load the cassettes onto his van, after which he whisked me off to a nearby depot where I did the business. Of course, by the time I got back to the boat a notice had been put on the door saying ‘Out of Order’.
They will have to jimmy the door anyway, in order to change the lock, won’t they?
So, as a result of that delay, that mile took us two hours and we eventually moored below lock 46 or, if you prefer, Church Lawton.
Once we had settled in I decided to experiment with my pastels, on a clean piece of paper, to see if I could get the sky colours right. After dividing the sheet into three and mixing different pastels, I think I now have a reasonable facsimile of a blue sky with clouds. Today I will actually apply my experiment to the real thing. Fingers crossed, I really can’t believe how difficult skies can be. In fact there are several book on that subject alone, so I suppose it’s always been considered tricky.
Derwent, the manufacturers of pastel pencils, have a complete range of 72 colours, of which I have now downloaded a colour chart. Goodness knows how much they cost, but they certainly won’t be cheap. I have a box of just 12, which I bought in Northwich and that is only a basic selection. However, when we get to Middlewich we will catch the bus into Northwich and check out the art shop there. Meanwhile, I’ll see how much they are online.
Monday 10th September
Yep, I forgot Sunday but, since nothing much happened out of the ordinary on Saturday, that’s no great loss. All we did was to cruise down from Church Lawton to our present position at Rode Heath, a distance of one mile, with six locks along the way.
Although, having said it was ‘no great loss’, we did encounter a few morons at one set of locks. Along this stretch of the T&M there are several sets of two locks side by side, a time saving device from long ago. Even so, the rules still apply, one boat goes up and, if a boat is coming down, you wait for it. What you don’t do is empty the lock and come up. All this succeeds in doing is drain the pound above and, when you get there with your boat, clutter up the pound with too many boats, all getting in each other’s way, which is precisely what happened. Like I said, morons, in such a hurry that they can’t be bothered with other boaters.
Not to worry though, it was a fine day and we weren’t in a rush. However, there’s also the question of the ratchets on the paddle gear. These should always be closed over when finished dropping the paddles because, if they are not, and the next user doesn’t notice then, when he comes to opening that paddle, it could drop if his hand slips, with the result of a broken wrist, or worse when the windlass is thrown back at the user. And those morons were at those locks too.
I do hope that makes sense. It’s a bit like using a starter handle on an old car, as anybody of my age will tell you. When one of those things came back at you, you knew all about it and took greater care the next time.
So, Sunday, and not much happened there, either. We took a walk in the morning to find the elusive Royal Oak pub, and we found it after about half a mile along the main road. It looked nice enough and so we paid it a visit at lunchtime. By my calculations, what with walking Rusty later in the day, when she insisted on walking around the heath, I must have covered a good two miles.
The Royal Oak pub is a very pleasant, as we would expect, knowing that Alan and Chris have been there and recommended it to us. The pub has two bars, commonly known as Public and Lounge, with a pool table at one end of the Public and a TV at the other. Whilst the Lounge is laid with eating irons on a Sunday, so they obviously cater for the affluent members of society. We, as is our habit, settled for a couple of drinks, a packet of crisps and a packet of Mini Cheddars, as is our wont. Next time through here, as I am prone to saying at many other places, we’ll try a meal there. But, if we have a meal at all the pubs I’ve suggested, we would be looking at bankruptcy.
Anyway, a pretty good weekend was had by all, which is just as well, because it is now raining and we’ve used up our 48 hours, so we must make tracks for Hassel Green. That too is only a short distance away with a few locks, but we do have a big brolly.
Tuesday 11th September
No problems yesterday regarding our trip to Hassel Green, with only two miles and four locks and with a fairly fine day, we were pretty pleased about that. On top of which, there was plenty of room to moor up when we arrived.
When we see a boat approaching, from whichever direction, we always check it as it passes, just in case it’s somebody we know. Yesterday evening along came a boat that neither of us were familiar with but, as I looked up from the name of the boat, to the stern, whose face did I see but Andy’s, our mechanic from Mercia. We’ve been in contact over the time we’ve been cruising, but we hadn’t expected them to come this way. Sandy, that’s Andy’s wife, must have walked right by us without recognising our boat because, had she noticed, I’m sure she would have given us a shout. As it was, she was walking from the Hassel Green lock to the next one along, which is quite a distance. No doubt they’ll give us a bell some time.
This morning I received an email, supposedly from Paypal, telling me I had paid £5.95 to Facebook (Ireland). Now, I’m pretty sure the basic membership to Facebook is free, and I certainly don’t recall giving them permission to raid my Paypal account willy nilly, so I’ve forwarded it to Paypal as a ‘spoof’ email.
As for my pastels, well, this latest landscape project has hit a stumbling block. I was about to start on the tree line yesterday, when I noticed that I had actually laid the picture out the wrong way round. This would not have been too much of a problem, but I had also ‘flipped’ the picture of the caravan, which holds centre stage so to speak and, to make matters worse, I had sketched the outline in charcoal, which is a devil of a job to remove. So, I am now back to square one and having to start all over again. Still, it’s good experience
Wednesday 12th September
We moved along yesterday, only another two miles and 10 locks, to Wheelock. Thankfully the weather stayed dry, well, almost to the end when we were treated to a light shower. Once we had secured our moorings and popped into the village for a paper, chilling out was the order of the day. We did consider taking the bus into Middlewich but, assuming this weather holds, we’ll be there tomorrow anyway and will be able to take the bus to Northwich from there. I still need a few bits and pieces for my pastel painting, and Northwich has an art supplies shop.
This morning I got stuck in to some more of my landscape project, adding in some of the trees and a faint outline of the caravan. This part, I’m pleased to announce, went much better than the sky but, this is only a tutorial about technique. It’s not about getting it right, and so, having also repainted the sky, I’m not too distressed about it not looking very good.
Now, without more ado, and with a good signal, I’ll post this blog.
All the best to you all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Friday 7th September
I forgot to mention just how fortunate we were yesterday whilst towing Martin and Ann, not once did we meet another boat coming the other way through a bridge. Had we done so we could have had a problem, either stopping to allow the other boat through, or charging ahead, making the other boater stop for us. This is not an unusual occurrence and usually sorts itself out, but, with a boat in tow it’s different gether altomatter!
Well, as I mentioned in Blog 23, Alan and Chris turned up at about 12.30 but, alas, as they were short of time we were unable to celebrate the sixth year of living on ‘Shiralee’. But, no matter, Sheila and I will do the necessary at the pub in Rode Heath on Sunday.
Living on a narrowboat does present certain difficulties, but these are pretty minor when compared to the sheer joy of being able to move around in complete freedom from interference by the usual jobsworths and uppity officials of one stripe or another. Apart from the sensible restrictions as to the amount of time allowed at designated moorings, we don’t see many other signs saying ‘No…’, or ‘Do Not….’, as you do in every town, village and city throughout the U.K, except perhaps ‘No Fishing’, but this is for safety reasons, all to do with overhead power lines. Indeed, the restrictions on mooring times are a necessary evil to prevent some boaters overstaying their welcome and preventing visitors from stopping.
As for difficulties, well, one of those would be storage, which we never seem to have enough of. As a consequence we do have rather a lot of stuff strewn about in different places. For example, from my viewpoint as I sit here pecking at this keyboard, I can see an RAC torch, a container of mixed nuts, a box of eggs, two boxed of sweeties, three mobile phone chargers, a stack of pens and pencils and a pair of binoculars.
There’s also a pair of spanners that I keep handy for work on the Universal Joint down in the bowels of the engine bay, a full length tape measure, my empty teacup and a cafeterre. The list is endless, and I’m only facing forward, there’s plenty more behind me. It’s all stuff that we can’t do without but have no room for elsewhere. Which reminds me, I must get down to designing and constructing a new shelf for the top of our main galley cupboard, the top of which is a total mess.
As for today, well, once we have topped up with water at the BW point at Kidsgrove, we’ll be moving along by another three locks to a nice, open space on the T&M, where we will stay the night. Then, on Saturday morning we’ll head off to Rode Heath, where the aforementioned celebration will take place.
Saturday 8th September
Yesterday was one of those easy cruising days, with just a mile and six locks to do, although, that mile took us a wee bit longer than expected, because, upon arrival at the BW/CRT water point and rubbish disposal unit, we were unable to open the door to the cassette emptying room. It didn’t matter which way I turned the key, the lock would not open. Fortunately there was somebody in the office and she called one of the workmen who, in his turn said, after trying the door himself, “Sorry mate, can’t help you there, we’ll have to put it ‘out of order’”
“What?” said I, “we have two cassettes to empty, we can’t leave it until the next place, can’t you jimmy the door with a crowbar, or something? I’ve got a nice, big screwdriver you can use.”
“Hold your horses”, he said, “jimmy it open! Then, pointing his finger at me and wagging it, with a supercilious grin on his face, “Don’t you worry now, I’ll soon have you sorted”.
Within a couple of minutes he had spoken to another workman and I was told to load the cassettes onto his van, after which he whisked me off to a nearby depot where I did the business. Of course, by the time I got back to the boat a notice had been put on the door saying ‘Out of Order’.
They will have to jimmy the door anyway, in order to change the lock, won’t they?
So, as a result of that delay, that mile took us two hours and we eventually moored below lock 46 or, if you prefer, Church Lawton.
Once we had settled in I decided to experiment with my pastels, on a clean piece of paper, to see if I could get the sky colours right. After dividing the sheet into three and mixing different pastels, I think I now have a reasonable facsimile of a blue sky with clouds. Today I will actually apply my experiment to the real thing. Fingers crossed, I really can’t believe how difficult skies can be. In fact there are several book on that subject alone, so I suppose it’s always been considered tricky.
Derwent, the manufacturers of pastel pencils, have a complete range of 72 colours, of which I have now downloaded a colour chart. Goodness knows how much they cost, but they certainly won’t be cheap. I have a box of just 12, which I bought in Northwich and that is only a basic selection. However, when we get to Middlewich we will catch the bus into Northwich and check out the art shop there. Meanwhile, I’ll see how much they are online.
Monday 10th September
Yep, I forgot Sunday but, since nothing much happened out of the ordinary on Saturday, that’s no great loss. All we did was to cruise down from Church Lawton to our present position at Rode Heath, a distance of one mile, with six locks along the way.
Although, having said it was ‘no great loss’, we did encounter a few morons at one set of locks. Along this stretch of the T&M there are several sets of two locks side by side, a time saving device from long ago. Even so, the rules still apply, one boat goes up and, if a boat is coming down, you wait for it. What you don’t do is empty the lock and come up. All this succeeds in doing is drain the pound above and, when you get there with your boat, clutter up the pound with too many boats, all getting in each other’s way, which is precisely what happened. Like I said, morons, in such a hurry that they can’t be bothered with other boaters.
Not to worry though, it was a fine day and we weren’t in a rush. However, there’s also the question of the ratchets on the paddle gear. These should always be closed over when finished dropping the paddles because, if they are not, and the next user doesn’t notice then, when he comes to opening that paddle, it could drop if his hand slips, with the result of a broken wrist, or worse when the windlass is thrown back at the user. And those morons were at those locks too.
I do hope that makes sense. It’s a bit like using a starter handle on an old car, as anybody of my age will tell you. When one of those things came back at you, you knew all about it and took greater care the next time.
So, Sunday, and not much happened there, either. We took a walk in the morning to find the elusive Royal Oak pub, and we found it after about half a mile along the main road. It looked nice enough and so we paid it a visit at lunchtime. By my calculations, what with walking Rusty later in the day, when she insisted on walking around the heath, I must have covered a good two miles.
The Royal Oak pub is a very pleasant, as we would expect, knowing that Alan and Chris have been there and recommended it to us. The pub has two bars, commonly known as Public and Lounge, with a pool table at one end of the Public and a TV at the other. Whilst the Lounge is laid with eating irons on a Sunday, so they obviously cater for the affluent members of society. We, as is our habit, settled for a couple of drinks, a packet of crisps and a packet of Mini Cheddars, as is our wont. Next time through here, as I am prone to saying at many other places, we’ll try a meal there. But, if we have a meal at all the pubs I’ve suggested, we would be looking at bankruptcy.
Anyway, a pretty good weekend was had by all, which is just as well, because it is now raining and we’ve used up our 48 hours, so we must make tracks for Hassel Green. That too is only a short distance away with a few locks, but we do have a big brolly.
Tuesday 11th September
No problems yesterday regarding our trip to Hassel Green, with only two miles and four locks and with a fairly fine day, we were pretty pleased about that. On top of which, there was plenty of room to moor up when we arrived.
When we see a boat approaching, from whichever direction, we always check it as it passes, just in case it’s somebody we know. Yesterday evening along came a boat that neither of us were familiar with but, as I looked up from the name of the boat, to the stern, whose face did I see but Andy’s, our mechanic from Mercia. We’ve been in contact over the time we’ve been cruising, but we hadn’t expected them to come this way. Sandy, that’s Andy’s wife, must have walked right by us without recognising our boat because, had she noticed, I’m sure she would have given us a shout. As it was, she was walking from the Hassel Green lock to the next one along, which is quite a distance. No doubt they’ll give us a bell some time.
This morning I received an email, supposedly from Paypal, telling me I had paid £5.95 to Facebook (Ireland). Now, I’m pretty sure the basic membership to Facebook is free, and I certainly don’t recall giving them permission to raid my Paypal account willy nilly, so I’ve forwarded it to Paypal as a ‘spoof’ email.
As for my pastels, well, this latest landscape project has hit a stumbling block. I was about to start on the tree line yesterday, when I noticed that I had actually laid the picture out the wrong way round. This would not have been too much of a problem, but I had also ‘flipped’ the picture of the caravan, which holds centre stage so to speak and, to make matters worse, I had sketched the outline in charcoal, which is a devil of a job to remove. So, I am now back to square one and having to start all over again. Still, it’s good experience
Wednesday 12th September
We moved along yesterday, only another two miles and 10 locks, to Wheelock. Thankfully the weather stayed dry, well, almost to the end when we were treated to a light shower. Once we had secured our moorings and popped into the village for a paper, chilling out was the order of the day. We did consider taking the bus into Middlewich but, assuming this weather holds, we’ll be there tomorrow anyway and will be able to take the bus to Northwich from there. I still need a few bits and pieces for my pastel painting, and Northwich has an art supplies shop.
This morning I got stuck in to some more of my landscape project, adding in some of the trees and a faint outline of the caravan. This part, I’m pleased to announce, went much better than the sky but, this is only a tutorial about technique. It’s not about getting it right, and so, having also repainted the sky, I’m not too distressed about it not looking very good.
 |
| This is the picture I am working on |
Now, without more ado, and with a good signal, I’ll post this blog.
All the best to you all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Shiralee Cruise 2012 # 23
Gurnett Aqueduct to Red Bull Aqueduct
Friday 31st August
At last, as I mentioned in my last post, we now have the fire alight and I can enjoy its warmth first thing in the morning. Sadly the chimney still need some work, removing the accumulated gunk caused by inferior coal, but that can now wait until we’re back at Mercia.
I also have a new pastel project, courtesy of Emma in New Zealand. This one is of a caravan in a field, the photo of which is below. Unlike the one I did of Rusty, which I have yet to show you, this will be much more challenging. I’ll be printing this one out later today and will keep you posted on progress.
Saturday 1st September
Well, we were going to get moving today, instead we decided to stay until this morning, when we can walk into the village of Sutton Lane Ends where there is a post office and farm shop. Going on to bridge 50 would have meant no Saturday paper and no TV pages. Not that we watch TV these days, not even for the Olympics.
We had hoped for a dry day, and that’s how it started but, alas, later in the afternoon the rain turned up. But not before we had cleaned up the forward deck, polished the new hooter and cleared the muck out of the shower filter.
Also, whilst taking doggie for her afternoon constitutional, I was fortunate enough to find a length of ½ inch iron bar. Once I have cut it down to size; that will be a wee bit over the inside height of the chimney; and cut one end at an angle, somewhat like a chisel point, I can then finish removing the aforementioned gunk inside said chimney. So, I’m now looking forward to another couple of hours of hammering and, hopefully, won’t have to remove the stack to finish the job.
This morning, so far, is dry and calm and so, after our walk to the village, assuming it stays that way, we will move on, but not to bridge 50, oh no, there’s a much better mooring spot only two miles away, and that one has a pub. Oh yes, Sunday is sacrosanct and I will not be denied my two pints of Guinness. So there!
Sadly, our wee pooch is off colour again and had us up at 3 am, after which she sat by the back stairs with her tummy gurgling, managing to keep me awake in the process. While she was on the pills she was fine, but she now seems to be back to her normal self. Fortunately the problem clears itself within a few hours and she seems to be none the worse for the experience.
Sunday 2nd September
What a very pleasant day we had yesterday. After breakfast we took a walk up to the farm shop at Sutton Lane Ends, about half a mile uphill and away from Macclesfield. Beef burgers are now our staple snack for Sunday afternoons and this shop is no different than most butchers in the area, producing burgers of a goodly size. Fortunately they also sell goodly sized baps in which to enfold them. Yummee!
With only two miles to go to Oakgrove we were in no hurry to leave, expecting to find a couple of boats already moored there. But this wasn’t the case, unlike when we passed through in the opposite direction. In fact, it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that another boat turned up, otherwise we would have been on our own last night.
As you would expect, we have moored close to a pub, this time The Fools Nook; originally The Royal Oak, specifically built to serve the navvies working on the construction of the Macclesfield, but later changed to Fools Nook after the last Jester in England, Samuel ‘Maggoty’ Johnson and one that we have not used yet and can now strike off our list.
Monday 3rd September
The Fools Nook was well worth a visit. A very tidy pub with friendly staff and a huge picture on one wall depicting three jesters capering about. I tried taking a photo with the mobile but, with interior lighting making the picture look darker than it is, I have my doubts as to whether it will show up when I download to the laptop.
The day is calm and dry, so we should be able to make our way down the 12 Bosley locks this morning and be in Congleton for Tuesday.
Tuesday 3rd September
With a stop for water and rubbish disposal at the top of the locks yesterday, we made the 2½ mile trip to the bottom in 3½ hours, which is not too bad considering the huge lumps of reed bed we had to break through between Oakgrove and the locks. Still, at least the BW boys were out and hauling those lumps out of the canal. So much for preserving wild life though if it means we boaters have to suffer weeds tangled in props, eh?
With the weather remaining bright and warm the mere thought of pastels under the roof of the boat gave me the sweats, so I decide to leave it until this morning. Wrong! Mixing colours under artificial light is not a good idea, and so I gave it up after struggling to find the right blues and greys for my sky. You would think that, with 12 pencil pastels, 12 full size pastel sticks and 64 half size sticks I could find the right combinations, wouldn’t you? But, so far I seem to be getting absolutely nowhere. Hopefully Emma will be able to help.
Anyway, with the fridge empty we do have to get to Congleton today, but, with the weather calm and dry and only four miles to go, it should be a pleasant trip.
Wednesday 5th September
To Congleton, from Gurnett Aqueduct took us just 1½ hours, which seemed a bit slow, until we moored up and saw yet more rubbish tucked under our bow. This included a really big ‘Y’ shaped log, about three feet of “2” by “2” timber and a bunch of reeds. Thankfully, the further we go away from those locks, the less likely we are to find the reeds.
Anyway, the weather was good enough to take the bus into town without having to wear a coat. Smiths had a book by Harry Sidebottam that I had been searching for and the latest from Lee Childs so, apart from stacking up with victuals and lugging it all home, the trip was actually quite enjoyable.
Later in the day I had another try at getting the colour right for the sky in my landscape project, and gave up after the third attempt. This morning though I received a reply from Emma with some advice, which I will try out later. Once I have licked this problem, if I ever do, landscapes should not present too much of a challenge.
Today we have to go into Congleton again, just to pick up my meds and any items we forgot yesterday, which will leave us free to moor where we like at Kidsgrove tomorrow and shopping at Tesco will not be necessary.
Thursday 6th September
A celebration is in order today, because, on this day in 2006 we collected our unnamed boat from The New Boat Company at Reading. Hip, hip, hooray!!
Into Congleton yesterday, ostensibly just to collect my medication from Boot’s, which we did, except for one item that had not been delivered and that item cost Wifey a walk into town later in the day. You have to ask why the huge conglomerates can’t get a simple order right. In the first place, when we put the prescription in, they didn’t have the item in stock; and I’ve been using these test strips for about a year now; and, having ordered two of them only one was delivered. Still, employ monkeys and pay them peanuts, what can we expect?
The rest of our time was spent picking up stuff we had forgotten on Tuesday and finding even more books at Smith’s and charity shops. But, upon walking along a street that we hadn’t walked along before, we found the Congleton Oatcake Shop. Of course, as everybody knows; especially our friends the Oxley’s; there aint no oatcake but a Staffordshire Oatcake, and we’re in Cheshire. Anything else is simply not up to par. But, we bought some anyway, along with a pack of Pikelets, which are 5 inch round holey pancake type thingies, full of currants, to be toasted and lavished with butter. Oh boy, I’m drooling here!! Congleton Oatcakes are slightly thinner and they cook somewhat drier, but, with the full application of cheese and bacon, they are certainly worth the effort.
About 3 pm Boot’s phoned to say the other box of strips had come in so, after Wifey went off to collect them, I pulled out me plonker and set to. No! Not that plonker. In this case the word is my euphemism for the Ukulele, which I haven’t plonked on for a few weeks now having been tied up with my new art hobby. Not that I’m getting very far with it as I still don’t seem able to get the sky right. The blue never seems to look like a sky blue whatever combination of colours I use. However, in order to surpass that problem I have resorted to watching my Colin Bradley video. I’ll get there eventually.
Whilst Wifey was in town and I was reading about Atilla the Hun; after finishing my uke practice; there came a knock at the window. A couple had pulled in behind us on a cruiser and the man, whose name is Martin, asked if I minded them hauling their boat past us, which meant him walking along the gunwale.
Of course I had no objection to this but asked why he needed to do so. It seems his gearbox had broken down and he and his wife Ann were trying to ‘walk’ the boat to the nearest boatyard, about another four miles away. Anyway, being the kind hearted chappie that I am, I suggested they stay overnight and we could then tow them there. At first he declined but, after talking to Ann, who obviously didn’t see the point in lugging the thing so far, he accepted my offer.
Hmmm! Last time I did that was on the River Calder a few years back, and that was a boat full of Boy Scouts. Indeed, we hauled them along the Huddersfield Broad and onto the river, soon after which they broke down again and we found ourselves hauling them another couple of miles, at which point they phoned ahead for help.
So, just as soon as Wifey has trotted off for the Daily Mail this morning, we’ll be off to Kidsgrove with a cruiser in tow. We hope for an easy run because we’re meeting Alan and Chris at midday. Looks like I’m going to have to suffer another hour or so in the pub. The things I do for friends! Still, we do have cause to celebrate, don’t we?
Friday 7th September
Martin and Ann and their cruiser ‘So So Happy’, were safely delivered to Sherbourne Marina and we were duly thanked with a couple of cans of Stella and a carton of Rose wine. Of course we protested, but they insisted and so we accepted and left them to ‘pole’ the boat into the marina, ready for an engineer to do his stuff.
Afterwards, having arrived at Red Bull aqueduct at about 10.45, we awaited the arrival of Alan and Chris, who turned up at 12.30. Sadly they also had other chores to carry out prior to their trip to China, such as collecting the necessary spending money, I was unable to put myself out with yet another trip to a pub. But, as we discovered after they had left us, the supplier of said cash insisted on photographic identification, which they didn’t have with them, so they will have to make another trip. Hopefully we’ll see them again in October before we return to Mercia.
Later in the afternoon a boat named Big Ben came by and, almost with a screech of breaks, stopped and reversed up and the bloke on the stern deck shouted at me through the nearest window. When I put my head out of the front cratch cover, who did I see but an old acquaintance from Bulbourne named Kevin. As I recall, he it was who came along with Pixie and myself to the hospital to have Pixie’s hand sewn up. A really good lad and a pleasure to meet again. Unfortunately, with a friend following behind, he didn’t have time to stop and chat.
Well, as it’s Friday and we have a good signal, I’ll drop this missive in the post.
Have a good weekend dear readers.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Friday 31st August
At last, as I mentioned in my last post, we now have the fire alight and I can enjoy its warmth first thing in the morning. Sadly the chimney still need some work, removing the accumulated gunk caused by inferior coal, but that can now wait until we’re back at Mercia.
I also have a new pastel project, courtesy of Emma in New Zealand. This one is of a caravan in a field, the photo of which is below. Unlike the one I did of Rusty, which I have yet to show you, this will be much more challenging. I’ll be printing this one out later today and will keep you posted on progress.
Saturday 1st September
Well, we were going to get moving today, instead we decided to stay until this morning, when we can walk into the village of Sutton Lane Ends where there is a post office and farm shop. Going on to bridge 50 would have meant no Saturday paper and no TV pages. Not that we watch TV these days, not even for the Olympics.
We had hoped for a dry day, and that’s how it started but, alas, later in the afternoon the rain turned up. But not before we had cleaned up the forward deck, polished the new hooter and cleared the muck out of the shower filter.
Also, whilst taking doggie for her afternoon constitutional, I was fortunate enough to find a length of ½ inch iron bar. Once I have cut it down to size; that will be a wee bit over the inside height of the chimney; and cut one end at an angle, somewhat like a chisel point, I can then finish removing the aforementioned gunk inside said chimney. So, I’m now looking forward to another couple of hours of hammering and, hopefully, won’t have to remove the stack to finish the job.
This morning, so far, is dry and calm and so, after our walk to the village, assuming it stays that way, we will move on, but not to bridge 50, oh no, there’s a much better mooring spot only two miles away, and that one has a pub. Oh yes, Sunday is sacrosanct and I will not be denied my two pints of Guinness. So there!
Sadly, our wee pooch is off colour again and had us up at 3 am, after which she sat by the back stairs with her tummy gurgling, managing to keep me awake in the process. While she was on the pills she was fine, but she now seems to be back to her normal self. Fortunately the problem clears itself within a few hours and she seems to be none the worse for the experience.
Sunday 2nd September
What a very pleasant day we had yesterday. After breakfast we took a walk up to the farm shop at Sutton Lane Ends, about half a mile uphill and away from Macclesfield. Beef burgers are now our staple snack for Sunday afternoons and this shop is no different than most butchers in the area, producing burgers of a goodly size. Fortunately they also sell goodly sized baps in which to enfold them. Yummee!
With only two miles to go to Oakgrove we were in no hurry to leave, expecting to find a couple of boats already moored there. But this wasn’t the case, unlike when we passed through in the opposite direction. In fact, it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that another boat turned up, otherwise we would have been on our own last night.
As you would expect, we have moored close to a pub, this time The Fools Nook; originally The Royal Oak, specifically built to serve the navvies working on the construction of the Macclesfield, but later changed to Fools Nook after the last Jester in England, Samuel ‘Maggoty’ Johnson and one that we have not used yet and can now strike off our list.
Monday 3rd September
The Fools Nook was well worth a visit. A very tidy pub with friendly staff and a huge picture on one wall depicting three jesters capering about. I tried taking a photo with the mobile but, with interior lighting making the picture look darker than it is, I have my doubts as to whether it will show up when I download to the laptop.
The day is calm and dry, so we should be able to make our way down the 12 Bosley locks this morning and be in Congleton for Tuesday.
Tuesday 3rd September
With a stop for water and rubbish disposal at the top of the locks yesterday, we made the 2½ mile trip to the bottom in 3½ hours, which is not too bad considering the huge lumps of reed bed we had to break through between Oakgrove and the locks. Still, at least the BW boys were out and hauling those lumps out of the canal. So much for preserving wild life though if it means we boaters have to suffer weeds tangled in props, eh?
With the weather remaining bright and warm the mere thought of pastels under the roof of the boat gave me the sweats, so I decide to leave it until this morning. Wrong! Mixing colours under artificial light is not a good idea, and so I gave it up after struggling to find the right blues and greys for my sky. You would think that, with 12 pencil pastels, 12 full size pastel sticks and 64 half size sticks I could find the right combinations, wouldn’t you? But, so far I seem to be getting absolutely nowhere. Hopefully Emma will be able to help.
Anyway, with the fridge empty we do have to get to Congleton today, but, with the weather calm and dry and only four miles to go, it should be a pleasant trip.
Wednesday 5th September
To Congleton, from Gurnett Aqueduct took us just 1½ hours, which seemed a bit slow, until we moored up and saw yet more rubbish tucked under our bow. This included a really big ‘Y’ shaped log, about three feet of “2” by “2” timber and a bunch of reeds. Thankfully, the further we go away from those locks, the less likely we are to find the reeds.
Anyway, the weather was good enough to take the bus into town without having to wear a coat. Smiths had a book by Harry Sidebottam that I had been searching for and the latest from Lee Childs so, apart from stacking up with victuals and lugging it all home, the trip was actually quite enjoyable.
Later in the day I had another try at getting the colour right for the sky in my landscape project, and gave up after the third attempt. This morning though I received a reply from Emma with some advice, which I will try out later. Once I have licked this problem, if I ever do, landscapes should not present too much of a challenge.
Today we have to go into Congleton again, just to pick up my meds and any items we forgot yesterday, which will leave us free to moor where we like at Kidsgrove tomorrow and shopping at Tesco will not be necessary.
Thursday 6th September
A celebration is in order today, because, on this day in 2006 we collected our unnamed boat from The New Boat Company at Reading. Hip, hip, hooray!!
Into Congleton yesterday, ostensibly just to collect my medication from Boot’s, which we did, except for one item that had not been delivered and that item cost Wifey a walk into town later in the day. You have to ask why the huge conglomerates can’t get a simple order right. In the first place, when we put the prescription in, they didn’t have the item in stock; and I’ve been using these test strips for about a year now; and, having ordered two of them only one was delivered. Still, employ monkeys and pay them peanuts, what can we expect?
The rest of our time was spent picking up stuff we had forgotten on Tuesday and finding even more books at Smith’s and charity shops. But, upon walking along a street that we hadn’t walked along before, we found the Congleton Oatcake Shop. Of course, as everybody knows; especially our friends the Oxley’s; there aint no oatcake but a Staffordshire Oatcake, and we’re in Cheshire. Anything else is simply not up to par. But, we bought some anyway, along with a pack of Pikelets, which are 5 inch round holey pancake type thingies, full of currants, to be toasted and lavished with butter. Oh boy, I’m drooling here!! Congleton Oatcakes are slightly thinner and they cook somewhat drier, but, with the full application of cheese and bacon, they are certainly worth the effort.
About 3 pm Boot’s phoned to say the other box of strips had come in so, after Wifey went off to collect them, I pulled out me plonker and set to. No! Not that plonker. In this case the word is my euphemism for the Ukulele, which I haven’t plonked on for a few weeks now having been tied up with my new art hobby. Not that I’m getting very far with it as I still don’t seem able to get the sky right. The blue never seems to look like a sky blue whatever combination of colours I use. However, in order to surpass that problem I have resorted to watching my Colin Bradley video. I’ll get there eventually.
Whilst Wifey was in town and I was reading about Atilla the Hun; after finishing my uke practice; there came a knock at the window. A couple had pulled in behind us on a cruiser and the man, whose name is Martin, asked if I minded them hauling their boat past us, which meant him walking along the gunwale.
Of course I had no objection to this but asked why he needed to do so. It seems his gearbox had broken down and he and his wife Ann were trying to ‘walk’ the boat to the nearest boatyard, about another four miles away. Anyway, being the kind hearted chappie that I am, I suggested they stay overnight and we could then tow them there. At first he declined but, after talking to Ann, who obviously didn’t see the point in lugging the thing so far, he accepted my offer.
Hmmm! Last time I did that was on the River Calder a few years back, and that was a boat full of Boy Scouts. Indeed, we hauled them along the Huddersfield Broad and onto the river, soon after which they broke down again and we found ourselves hauling them another couple of miles, at which point they phoned ahead for help.
So, just as soon as Wifey has trotted off for the Daily Mail this morning, we’ll be off to Kidsgrove with a cruiser in tow. We hope for an easy run because we’re meeting Alan and Chris at midday. Looks like I’m going to have to suffer another hour or so in the pub. The things I do for friends! Still, we do have cause to celebrate, don’t we?
Friday 7th September
Martin and Ann and their cruiser ‘So So Happy’, were safely delivered to Sherbourne Marina and we were duly thanked with a couple of cans of Stella and a carton of Rose wine. Of course we protested, but they insisted and so we accepted and left them to ‘pole’ the boat into the marina, ready for an engineer to do his stuff.
Afterwards, having arrived at Red Bull aqueduct at about 10.45, we awaited the arrival of Alan and Chris, who turned up at 12.30. Sadly they also had other chores to carry out prior to their trip to China, such as collecting the necessary spending money, I was unable to put myself out with yet another trip to a pub. But, as we discovered after they had left us, the supplier of said cash insisted on photographic identification, which they didn’t have with them, so they will have to make another trip. Hopefully we’ll see them again in October before we return to Mercia.
Later in the afternoon a boat named Big Ben came by and, almost with a screech of breaks, stopped and reversed up and the bloke on the stern deck shouted at me through the nearest window. When I put my head out of the front cratch cover, who did I see but an old acquaintance from Bulbourne named Kevin. As I recall, he it was who came along with Pixie and myself to the hospital to have Pixie’s hand sewn up. A really good lad and a pleasure to meet again. Unfortunately, with a friend following behind, he didn’t have time to stop and chat.
Well, as it’s Friday and we have a good signal, I’ll drop this missive in the post.
Have a good weekend dear readers.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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