Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 15

Penkridge to Great Haywood

 Monday 24^th June

 As I said in my last post, we’re off to Acton Trussel this morning, well, we have been here at Penkridge for 24 hours more than we should have, so I suppose we ought to move on. Nowadays, what with this new charity called Canals and Rivers Trust and their imposition of £25 penalty if you overstay your time limit, it’s a bit risky overstaying. Having said that, this new ruling is only being applied to the more popular moorings, so we were probably pretty safe here.

 If memory serves, Acton Trussel doesn’t have much going for it; no shops or pubs as far as I can recall; but the moorings are pretty good. We’ll only be staying for the one night there and then we’ll move on to Weeping Cross, wher we’ll take the bus into Stafford. Wifey desperately needs a new pair of boots and I would like to have the screen repaired on the iPhone that Steve gave me. I haven’t actually inserted the SIM card from my phone into it yet, simply because it still has quite a bit of PAYG on it, but it’s useful for viewing video’s on through our WiFi unit.

 Tuesday 25^th June

 We are now at Acton Trussel on the Staffs and Worc canal and the sun is shining. It promises to be a warm day and we’ll be off to Weeping Cross in order to catch the bus into Stafford.

 My good friend Steve, at Mercia, gave me his wife Linda’s old iPhone before we left, so I’m taking it to have the screen repaired. Also, Wifey need new boots which, having only bought them a year ago, have now split just above the seam. People she has spoken to also say they have the same problem, so it must be built in obsolescence, methinks!

 Yesterday, as days go, was pretty odd. For a start and just as I started the engine to leave Penkridge, an indicator light came on telling me that a fan belt had snapped. Lovely, just what I needed at 7.30 a.m. Had it been the domestic one it would have been quite straightforward, but, no, it had to be the starter battery one. This one is the first to go on, so it’s tucked behind the domestic one, which meant that one had to come off as well.

 After changing that; the first time since buying the boat; we topped up with water and disposed of rubbish and finally started on our way just after 8, so I suppose we didn’t do too badly.

 Fortunately for us the weather stayed dry for our run to Acton Trussel.

 Later in the evening, whilst I was doing the washing up, I also found a jar of peanut butter that was out of date and so, before cleaning the jar I decided to empty it out of the hatch and into the canal. Fish will gobble up just about anything!! So, having stuck the jar out of the hatch, I suddenly found myself confronted by a bunch of ducklings. Cute little buggers!!

 Did you know that ducks also like peanut butter? No, neither did I. Mind you, they had to be quick in snapping it up because lumps of the stuff do not float.

 Around about 9.30 pm, as it was getting just a wee bit chilly, I asked Wifey to set and light the fire. (Don’t blame me, she likes doing these things, and who am I to complain?) As she opened the door to the fire, she heard a crack. Great, the front glass had cracked, right across the middle. Now, bearing in mind the dangers of CO poisoning, even though we do have a gas detector on board, I phoned Andy for advice, the upshot of which was that I hunted up the sealant I used on the chimney stack and applied a liberal amount to the crack. The glass now has a big, white streak across the middle, but it’ll do until we find a replacement.

 So, all in all a pretty odd day. Hopefully the sun will keep shining for our trip into Stafford.

 Wednesday 26^th June

 We had a pleasant surprise yesterday afternoon, when an old friend from Pillings Lock passed by. This boater’s name is Rob and he lives on a Dutch Barge. We haven’t seen Rob at all since we left Pillings several years ago; what was it now, 2009? Well, it was about September in the year I had my knees replaced.

 Anyway, after passing as much time in chinwagging as he slowly drifted by, he told us that he had been asked to leave Pillings Lock Marina, well, ‘chucked out’ was the phrase he used. He didn’t have enough time to tell us why, but he probably fell afoul of Paul Lilley’s erratic moods, or something of that nature. Perhaps he simply had a falling-out with the man, but I can think of no more even tempered person than Rob. A very amiable bloke and always ready to help a fellow boater, which he has done for us on more than one occasion.

 All I can say is, ‘no wonder that marina is never full of happy boaters’, if Paul finds fault and sends them on their way. We’ve met several other boaters who, for one reason or another, have left that place. Ah well, you know what they say, ‘you can’t please all the people all the time, so you have to please yourself’. Hmm, that seems a good line to include in a song. Ooops, too late, Ricky Nelson already did that in Garden Party.

 Now, after a good day here at Weeping Cross yesterday, along with a bus trip into Stafford where, after shopping around Sheila managed to save £20 on a pair of boots and I managed to find a pad of light coloured pastel paper, we’re off to Great Haywood this morning, where we’ll probably stay for two nights and also where we’ll be lucky if we can watch some tennis – the signal there is pretty erratic – and we may not have the phone or Internet either.

 Thursday 27^th June

 Well, tomorrow is our 33^rd wedding anniversary, so we’re going into town again this morning, firstly for the necessary cards, but we also want to visit a few charity shops for books. We’ve now started reading Wilbur Smith novels and we want to try reading them in chronological order. At the last count he had about 13 standalone novels, 5 about The Courtney’s, 5 about The Courtney’s in Africa, 4 Ballatntyne novels, and I don’t know how many books set in Egypt. I’m currently reading ‘Hungry as the Sea’, which is a fast moving story about salvage tugs and such. As you can see, we have quite a lot of ground to cover.

 Yesterday we came down from Acton Trussel to Great Haywood and, as luck would have it, we found a mooring spot quite close to the junction and we’re now on the Trent and Mersey canal, with the River Trent running below us and alongside the canal. In this position we have phone, Internet and TV access, none of which can be had further down the canal. Even a few yards further on would have no TV signal at all and we’ve never been able to figure out why.

 The weather has also been kind to us for the past couple of days, so we have no complaints so far. No doubt it will all change in the fullness of time. Yesterday we also managed to watch some tennis and were amazed at how many players retired due to injury. Sharapova complained that the court was dangerous, having slipped on more than one occasion, whilst Tsonga retired due to a damaged knee. There we several others who retired, but the court officials insisted that the courts had been prepared in the same way as usual. Something is obviously wrong somewhere, but let’s hope we don’t lose any more players.

 I have now returned to one of the first pastel projects I started but cast aside simply because it was much too difficult at the time. There was a time when, if I laid a grid upon both the original photo and the watercolour paper, I was able to sketch in the basic details. This was many years ago when I had a dabble at scraper-board art. But now, well, having tried this method I found myself somewhat wanting, but I have found a much easier method of copying the basic picture to my paper. Once I am happy that it is effective enough on all types of picture, I may pass it on. So far the picture I’m painting, which is of the Trip Boat at Llangollen, along with the Shire Horse and its driver, is coming along quite nicely.

 Friday 28^th June

 Well, Wifey and I have reached another milestone, our 33^rd anniversary and herself is now an official pensioner, that’s assuming you ignore the changes made by this government.

 We’re at Great Haywood and will be off to the pig farm later this morning, although it may not be possible to moor there, because we think those religious boaters may be there for their annual meeting. No matter, if they are taking up all the room, we’ll simply move on to Brindley Bank, which is just this side of Rugeley, then we’ll go on to Rugeley on Saturday and Morrison’s shopping, then on to Handsacre for the weekend. This is so that we can enjoy a pub lunch on Sunday.

 Yesterday, as we were walking towards the boat, having returned from Stafford, along strolled Andy, with his dog Taz. In his puppy days Taz was a bit of a devil, so they named him after the Tazmanian one. So, Andy, Sandy and Taz are now out cruising, although Andy has to get back to his workshop to do some work on Chris’s car. Goodness knows how Chris and Josie would have managed without our Alfa to fall back on.

 Now, as the weekend is almost upon us and I’m not sure where we’ll get to today; it’s raining quite heavily now; I suppose I’d better post this.

 Take care folks and have a great weekend.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 14

Wheaton Aston to Penkridge

 Tuesday 18^th June

 Yesterday morning, rather than enter anything into the blog, I attempted to start another pastel. I had already tried passing a sheet of A4 watercolour paper through the printer, but without success, so I was trying to trace the picture through with graphite paper. This was OK, but I fear it may show through in the finished picture.

 There was a time when, having laid a grid on my paper, I could copy a picture with some success but, having tried this over the weekend, the result was somewhat disappointing.

 We moved on from Wheaton Aston yesterday and spent the night between bridges 7 and 8 and were intending to stay for two nights. However, it seems that the new Canals and Rivers Trust have overlooked this area; and much more of the Shroppie; where mowing and strimming are concerned; because the grass is so overgrown that, if we let Rusty loose she would disappear! So, instead of staying here for two nights, we’ll be moving on to Cross Green.

 Sadly, even though the forecast was for bright and warm, this area of the country is building up some quite heavy clouds, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find us cruising in the rain this morning. The wind seems to be picking up too, and the combination of both is not something I look forward to.

 Wednesday 19^th June

 Cross Green has a pub close to the canal, a Co-op, a butcher and a baker but, aside from the pub the rest are about a mile away as the crow flies, more like a mile and a half by pavement. So, having arrived here at about 10 am, we moseyed on down to the Co-op for the paper and milk. We then moseyed on back to the boat. Simple!

 We’ve decided to stay for two days because Wifey wants to be a Penkridge in order to pay for our next instalment of the car tax, which she will do online and, since they the DVLA will not send to an address other than where the car is registered, I will have to send an envelope to Alan, with the address of the person who’s looking after the car, then he’ll have to send it on. Isn’t bureaucracy marvellous?

 Mother Nature too is rather marvellous and in some cases pretty weird. Yesterday evening, as is my wont on most evenings after seven, I was relaxing in my armchair listening to Radio 2. It was pretty warm at the time and as I was gazing out of the window, I saw something I had never seen before. I saw pairs of tiny flies rising up, apparently from the canal. Had it been just one pair I would have put it down to coincidence, but this phenomenon happened time and time again. I’m no expert in things of a wildlife nature but, if I had my druthers, I would look upon this behaviour as a mating ritual. There are, after all, certain species of bird that behave in this manner. Most odd, and I’m completely flummoxed by it all!!

 Now, a few days ago Wifey received an email from Yahoo, that told her that her account had been showing suspicious behaviour and they advised her to change her password, which she immediately did. It seem that someone had hacked into her account and sent messages to people on her contact list, which puzzled the two people who actually received these message, before Yahoo spotted what was going on.

One of these messages went to an old colleague of hers from Pitney-Bowes, whilst the other went to Cooper’s of Stortford. The one from Cooper’s was replied to and suggested that they would look into whatever it was she had supposedly asked about. The question is, why would anybody want to send messages to her contacts, especially as it doesn’t appear to have been of a criminal nature? Most odd!

 Obviously there’s lots of odd stuff going on around the Chamberlain household, or should that be boathold?

 So, today we will spend at Cross Green and, if the forecasters are right about tomorrow, we’ll stay here for another day too.

 Thursday 20^th June

 Oh boy, the rain is coming down with a vengeance, so it might be a good idea to stay at Cross Green for another day. It’s much cooler too, so it might mean lighting the fire again.

 Sadly, nothing of note happened yesterday, except perhaps another walk into Coven, for the paper and some milk. How exciting, eh?

 Today, if this rain stops and the wind holds off, we could make our way to Gailey but, since we want to be at Penkridge for the weekend, Gailey can wait until tomorrow.

 Meanwhile, another walk into Coven for the paper, then play it by ear.

 Friday 21^st June

 Well, so much for summer! So far this week we have had 2 days of sun and 2 days of rain, with this morning showing heavy cloud. But at least it is dry, which bodes well for a 5 mile run to gailey.

 After 3 attempts this morning, I finally managed to renew my Road Tax for the Alfa. Even though I correctly entered all necessary details, my details could not be located until the 3^rd attempt. So much for modern technology!

 Now, having spent 3 days here at Cross Green, come hell or high water, we’re off to Gailey. Must get to Penkridge for Saturday, if only to do some shopping, although the pub beckons for Sunday.

 Sunday 23^rd June

 It’s raining again, with a fairly strong wind.

 We’ve been at the Penkridge top moorings since Friday, which is only 48 hour, so we really should move down the lock where the mooring do not have a time limit. But, if this rain persists, we might just stay here an extra day.

 Yesterday we walked into town to visit the Saturday market, but came away from there without buying anything. When we came through here a few weeks ago, we snapped up some pretty good deals in cheese and bacon joints, but these items were priced no better than Sainsbury’s and the Co-op yesterday, so we did our shopping at Sainsbury’s.

 Lunchtime today, if this rain persists, we’ll just walk to the nearest pub, otherwise we’ll traipse along the towpath behind us to the Cross Keys.

 Monday 24^th June

 Well, after all the rain yesterday; which stopped before we went to the pub, then started again after we got back to the boat; it’s looking much better this morning. Although there’s quite a bit of cloud about and a light wind, it doesn’t look too threatening, so we’ll be off to Acton Trussel this morning.

 The Cross Keys pub, which always has a friendly atmosphere, is quite a walk away but, as it looked like rain and we didn’t fancy a walk into town, that’s where we went. This time, unlike our visit on the way through, it was much busier and had a group of middle-aged guys standing at the bar laughing and joking. A much merrier atmosphere all round.

 The Cross Keys is the only pub we have come across in all our travels, where they have metered delivery of draught beer. On our last pass through here, and not realising that the Guinness was being served in oversized glasses, I actually questioned the ‘short’ measure, but immediately realised what was going on. Despite my advanced years I did actually remember to keep my mouth shut.

 So, off to Acton Trussel and, since I have no idea if I’ll be able to get online there, I’ll post this edition now.

 Take care and have a good week.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty.

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 13

Market Drayton to Wheaton Aston

 Tuesday 11^th June

 Yesterday we made our way towards Shebdon Wharf but, as we are wont to do, we stopped at Goldstone instead, which leaves us eight miles to go to Norbury Junction.

 It’s raining this morning and we’re supposed to be setting off for Norbury Junction, where we’re hoping to pick up a water filter. We’ve had problems of late where little black specks have been coming out of the cold tap in the shower room, which we’ve put down to said filter breaking down. The filter is in line before the kitchen cold tap, which is why we’re not having the same problem there.

 We’ve also got a problem with the hot water from the calorifier; boiler, to you landlubbers; whereby the water from there is pulsing, rather than coming in a steady flow. We think the expansion tank may be playing up, or it could be it’s now gunged up with some of the rubbish from the aforementioned filter. Whatever the case may be, we’ve got to try to get them both fixed.

 In the past when we’ve had the pump continuing to run on after shutting off the tap, all we’ve had to do was to pump the tank up and increase the pressure, but this hasn’t worked this time. My best bet would be to phone Andy for advice but, since we have no phone signal here I’ll have to wait until we get to Norbury.

 Wednesday 12^th June

 I think Sheila and I are a bit slow off the mark, because it took us a while to realise that the problem with the flow of hot water was more to do with the filter breaking down, than the expansion tank playing up. It suddenly became patently obvious that the wee bits of charcoal were blocking the control valves.

 Anyway, whatever the case, we had to get to Norbury and buy a new filter and so, come rain or shine, off we went, after first phoning the chandlery to see that they had one. We were lucky, they did and they promised to put it aside for us.

 So, eight miles and rain all the way later, we arrived at the junction and, rather than spend the rest of the morning fitting the new filter, we buoyed ourselves up with a cup of coffee. On the way to the chandlery I phoned Andy and asked if there was any way of clearing out the debris in the pipes. “Give it two or three weeks”, he said, “and it will eventually flush itself clear. Otherwise you’ll have to dismantle the water system”.

 I won’t go into all the grisly details here but, suffice it to say we had no end of trouble fitting the new filter and had to return to the chandlery for a couple of plastic inserts for the fittings, after which all went well.

 We also found that the water pump was pulsing when Wifey filled the washing machine, so the valve leading to that must also be blocked up, and I’m certainly not about to try heaving the machine out of the boat to get at the valves.

 Unfortunately we’re in a dodgy position here, both for telephone and Internet signals which is why I had to phone Andy on the way to the chandlery, and is why I am unable to download emails today. We’re currently moored just before the bridge but, after topping up with diesel later this morning, we’ll moor up again further along the cut where the signal is stronger.

 The good news is that we bought a new chimney, but only a normal black one, not the £30 dearer stainless steel variety, which we’ve decided to leave until later in the year. We’ve had far too much expense of late and are trying to minimise rather than splash out. However, once a week while the fire is still being used, we’ll be cleaning the new chimney out. Hopefully that will prevent it from disintegrating as quickly as the old one. These things are so poorly made nowadays that we’re virtually replacing them twice a year.

 Thursday 13^th June

 Oh boy, another disastrous happenstance yesterday morning but, thankfully, the rest of the day was pretty normal.

 Around about 9 am Wifey walked to the chandlery to buy a paper and see if the way was clear for us to top up with diesel. As luck would have it the last day-boat was about to pull out, so off we went for our diesel. Now, unlike garage pumps, which carry on pumping until you have filled your car, chandlery pumps usually cut out at 100 litres and have to be re-zeroed. I fully expected this at Norbury, because I was expecting to take in about 150 litres or so.

 Leaning over the back rail when filling up can be pretty uncomfortable, to say the least and so, as soon as I heard the pump click off, I fidgeted around a bit trying to find an easier position when, all of a sudden, out spurted the diesel. Sadly, just at this point the nozzle hadn’t quite made it back into the tank and yours truly copped a face full. Not only that, but my jacket and jeans also received their fair share of the stuff.

 So, being virtually blinded with diesel, I called out to Sheila for something to wipe myself down with but, what with her chatting to the lady operating the pump, and the noise of said pump, she didn’t hear me, a fact that made me kind of mad and set off an explosive blast of, ‘why do you never listen to me?’, or words to that effect. Fortunately, being an understanding wife, she immediately fetched me an old towel and, what’s more, she wasn’t reduced to a fit of laughter, unlike some folks I could name!!

 In purchasing a new, but cheaper chimney, we were trying to cut down on expenses. Instead, I now find I need a new waterproof jacket. Not that the now mucky one has been much use in heavy rain, but it’s now completely ruined. Indeed, had I not been wearing my glasses at the time of this mishap, I could have suffered some serious eye damage.

 Of course, with our luck running at a low level of late, we decided to spend the rest of the day chilling out and left cleaning the boat for another day. In compensation for my stupid behaviour we wandered back to the chandlery later and bought ice creams, which went some way to pacifying my overheated stress levels. We also bought a new, and much bigger, black, plastic tunnel light. The so-called brass object that currently adorns the front of our cratch, has tarnished pretty badly but, rather than try cleaning or painting it, we’ve bought one that won’t need cleaning.

 Now, what was that about economising?

 I phoned Alan later in the day and he solemnly promised to send us some sunshine, but I was even disappointed in that, because we had heaps of rain instead. Can nobody keep their promises these days? Oh, and I received very little sympathy regarding my earlier plight. So much for love and affection from your nearest and dearest, I can just imagine him chuckling over my misfortune. And, as for the other Alan, well, it’s just as well he wasn’t close to hand at the time, as I have no doubt he would have been rolling about on the floor.

 Friday 14^th June

 We left Norbury at about 10.30 yesterday morning, somewhat late for us but, with only two miles to go to Gnosall, it wouldn’t have paid us to leave any earlier. The trick to finding moorings at the spot you want is to give boaters at your destination enough time to move on, thus leaving a space.

 The stretch of canal that runs through Gnosall; or rather Gnosall Heath to give it its correct title; covers about 100 yards before the Navigation Inn, then under a bridge and a further 200 yards or so to another bridge, beside which lies The Boat Inn and then under that bridge for about another 100 yards of moorings, give or take. We managed to find a space before the Navigation Inn and arrived shortly after 11 am, which means we can top up with water on our way out in the morning.

 Today we’re catching the bus into Stafford for a bit of shopping, mainly to find me a shower proof coat because, even though my old one has been through the washing machine, it still reeks of diesel and besides, it won’t be waterproof now.

 Saturday 15^th June

 Today, as was forecast, we have rain again, so we’ll probably get a soaking on the way to Wheaton Aston. Thankfully it’s only 5 miles and doesn’t include locks.

 Yesterday we took the bus to Stafford and, along with shopping at Sainsbury’s, we managed to find me a waterproof jacket, so even if it does rain today I won’t get wet, I hope. We’ll stay at Wheaton Aston for the weekend and visit the only pub there on Sunday.

 Sunday 16^th June

 Wheaton Aston is one of our favourite spots for mooring along the Shroppie, although the moorings themselves are pretty dim due to being in a valley, with houses above us on one side and trees lining the other. However, it does have a pub by the side of the canal and it also has a couple of shops and a Post Office.

 We arrived here at about 10 am and, after the now obligatory coffee, took a stroll to the nearest shop for the paper. The pub is called The Hartley Arms and is only about 100 yards away, so that’s where we’ll be at lunch time today. There is another pub called The Coach and Horses, but that’s at the other end of the village. Perhaps we’ll give it a try on another trip.

 We seem to have succeeded in reducing the amount of time between Rusty’s tummy upsets, as she now goes a week or more. Naturally we’ve tried cutting out certain foods, the main culprit, we feel, has been the sausages, which can be bought at some pet shops. The other thing is that she seems to have an awful thirst these days, could she be diabetic? Do dogs get diabetes? Must look that one up on the I!

 And that’s it for this blog. Take care folks.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 12

Nantwich to Market Drayton

 Monday 3^rd June

 We have another really bright start to the day and, according to those in the know, it’s set to stay this way for most of the week. This is just as well, because we have lots to do on the boat.

 After walking into town early for shopping, rather than wait until we can use our bus passes, we will be heading for a really pretty stretch of moorings called Cool Pilate. This place also has park benches to sit at and, I do believe some barbeque settings but, since we’re not into such fripperies, we’re hoping to get one side of the boat polished as the paintwork is looking rather dull of late.

 We also want to sand down and varnish the back doors, prior to attaching our new panels. So, lots to do that all depends on the weather. The two jobs mentioned above are just the start. We didn’t get around to re-painting the roof last year, due to bad weather, so we’re hoping for improvements and plenty of dry days this year.

 Yesterday was also pretty good weather wise, but it was also very windy, so I didn’t bother with the sanding down of the back doors. However, we did pay a visit to the Oddfellows pub at lunchtime. This pub, which is just a short walk towards town, looks pretty small from the front, but actually has loads of room and it also seems to have been refurbished fairly recently.

 The rest of Sunday was just a case of chilling out and taking it easy. Well, why not, we’re retired and can choose when to ‘work’.

 Tuesday 4^th June

 Wow, did we have some sunshine yesterday? It was blazing all day, which made it too uncomfortable to work on the boat. That’s my excuse and you’re stuck with it.

 This morning has also turned up with a clear sky, so it could be a proper flaming June day, in which case we probably won’t get much done, unless we do so while it is still early.

 Last night, for the first time since leaving Mercia, we didn’t bother lighting the fire. This was not a good idea as the interior of the boat was like an ice box when I got up this morning and there was no point lighting it then, because we would have suffered for it later in the day. Even with all windows, doors and hatch open, it would be like a furnace in here.

 So, we had lunch sitting at one of the park benches yesterday and spent some time out there later in the evening. I’m not too sure that it would be wise to stay here another day, if it gets really hot, as the forecast suggests, we’ll be in for a roasting.

 Wednesday 5^th June

 Well, after two really scorching days, we now have cloud cover but, for me this makes for a more comfortable day.

Yesterday, at last, we tidied up the back doors; which involved sanding down and re-staining and varnishing, fitting new hardware – shoot bolt, vents and handles; then we fitted our silly panels. I have to say, they’re looking pretty good, even if they don’t conform to the normal castles and roses. Dare to be different, I say.

 Today we’re off to Audlem, where we can buy some milk, which we’re getting rather short of. Even though we usually have plenty to spare, no doubt due to this hot weather, we had to throw some away yesterday, so we’re down to our last pint.

 Thursday 6^th June

 Yesterday morning, bright and early and in somewhat cooler weather conditions, we took our time in travelling the 2 miles and 2 locks to Audlem. We only stopped here in order to fill out a prescription and, had we been able to do so, no doubt we would have gone through the other 13 locks. But, since most chemists do not stock the test strips I use, we have had to wait until this morning to collect them, and that won’t be until 11 am.

 If the weather remains calm today we will probably make our way to the bottom of Adderley locks, where we’ll stay overnight.

 As for the rest of yesterday, well, since we had worked so hard on Tuesday, we felt the need to recuperate, so we rested up and did a lot of reading.

 Friday 7^th June

 Wow! What a morning, completely clear sky and looking to be warmer than yesterday, so we’d better make an early start if we’re to avoid the rush. We want to get to the bottom of Adderley Locks this morning and we have 13 of the Audlem Locks still to do, but first we have to top up with water.

 Yesterday, after walking into the village to pick up a prescription and a few other bits and pieces, we decided to stay another day. It just didn’t seem worthwhile to start out when half the day had already gone.

 We’re hoping to get to Shebdon Wharf for Sunday where there’s a pub called The Wharf Inn, which is only open evenings and weekends and which we’ve not managed to visit yet. According to a boater who moors at the Wharf, this is worth a visit. But first we have to get through Market Drayton.

 We also need to stop at Norbury Junction for a new chimney and, if we can get to the diesel point, top up with fuel. We’re now down to about six inches of fuel, which probably equates to about 11 gallons and we don’t want it going so low that the engine starts sucking up sludge.

 We’re waiting until Norbury because, unlike the chandleries on the rest of the Shroppie and the Llangollen, they don’t charge an arm and a leg for the stuff. On our way through here several weeks ago we topped up at Wheaton Aston, where diesel was about 80 pence per litre and Norbury are only a couple of pence more.

 Saturday 8^th June

 Another scorcher yesterday and, after topping up with water, we managed to get started on the 13 locks at Audlem by 8 am. The only problem was, we had two fellows on a boat in front who really didn’t know what they were doing. It turns out that they only picked the boat up the day before. As luck would have it a boater from the long term moorings took it upon himself to help them through the first few locks, which did save some time. Apparently the owner of the boat; the bloke steering it; lived in Spain and only had a couple more weeks there, so he had bought the boat to live on when he returns to UK.

 We finally arrived at the bottom of Adderley locks at 11 am, so not a bad time for all those locks and the 3 miles in between.

 The rest of the day, as you can imagine, was a case of relaxing and trying to keep cool.

 Later in the evening after dinner and once the sun had gone down enough to cast a shadow, we had our folding chairs out and sat in the shade. Our neighbours on the boat in front also had their chairs out and, after a few minutes Roy came along to have a chat, telling us all about his boat and Overwater Marina, which is where they moor it. Sadly, although he described it as a really great place, it’s far too far away from Harlow for us to consider and besides, they don’t actually live on their boat, so they can’t really judge what it’s like to do so.

 Today we have 5 locks to go through and then we’ll be at Market Drayton, but we won’t be spending the weekend there, instead we’ll move along to Shebdon Wharf on Sunday morning and give the pub there a try. You never know, we might also take it upon ourselves to have a pub lunch.

 Sunday 9^th June

 Our intention yesterday, when we left the bottom of Adderley Locks, was to stop at Market Drayton, do some shopping, stay overnight and then move on to Shebdon Wharf. But, having walked into MD and made stops at various Charity Shops, we had filled the shopping trolley almost to full capacity and so, rather than lug full shopping bags back to the boat, we decided to continue our shopping spree this morning. Besides which, there is a pub in town that we haven’t used yet, so The Wharf Inn at Shebdon will have to wait for another day.

 Actually, we were very lucky yesterday with our charity shop visits, as we found several books by Wilbur Smith whose books we only recently started reading. We found one book called Monsoon, that’s absolutely ginormous, and which will take me at least a week to get through.

 The other bit of luck was at Smith’s, where we found the final book in the Stieg Larssen trilogy. If you like crime novels you really should read these. Larssen was Swedish and died at a very young age, but he produced this trilogy; about a woman named Salander; and they are called, in order of writing, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, which has been made into a film, ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ and ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’.

 I do believe, having read up on him at Wikipedia, that he produced several other books, but that they have yet to be published. I don’t know how true that is though.

 So, today we stay at Market Drayton and tomorrow we’re off to Shebdon Wharf and, since the pub there only opens evenings and weekends, we’ll try it some other time.

 Monday 10^th June

 Yesterday, after all that walking for shopping, we decided to use the nearest pub, The Talbot, rather than walk into town again. So many changes this week, I don’t know hoe you lot keep up!

 Well, a week ago we were at Nantwich and in that time we have travelled a massive eight miles, all of which took us just under six hours of cruising. Hmm, we don’t seem to be making much headway of late. But then, that’s why we spend so much time cruising, we’re retired and have the whole of summer to play with. I can think of no nicer way of whiling away the time in my twilight years. How about you?

 Ok, let’s get this thing posted. Have a good week folks.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 11

Platt Lane to Nantwich

 Tuesday 28^th May

 Well, I don’t know if we’ll get away from Platt Lane this morning, but it’s not raining at the moment and we don’t have the high winds of yesterday. We’ll either go on and stop at Whitchurch, or carry on to Grindley Brook. If we stop at Whitchurch, this will give Wifey the opportunity to give the other side of the boat a clean. We could also take a walk to the new Sainsbury’s there, although we’re not desperate for anything that can’t be purchased at Grindley Brook. It all depends on the weather really.

 Well, what a day we had yesterday! We left Platt Lane at 7.45 and, despite the slight drizzle to begin with, we managed the 5 miles, 4 lift bridges and 6 locks at Grindley Brook in just 3 hours. But, once we had settled in, had a cup of coffee and walked up to the garage for the paper, down came the rain, and it didn’t stop for the rest of the day and evening.

 At the moment, as promised by the forecasters, it is calm and dry, so we may just get to Wrenbury this morning without getting soaked.

 I’ve also had a bit of fun with the laptop this morning. Firstly I downloaded my emails and found one from Absolute, my email provider, telling me that my account was 95% full and asking me to empty some messages from the site. This has happened in the past and I’ve never had a problem complying with this request. However, when I tried logging on to my account, an error message came up telling me my login info was incorrect.

 Now, I have two logins for Absolute, one of which is for accessing emails and the other for accessing my account in order to make alterations. I could not access either of these and have now had to contact them for a reason and a solution.

 When this happened some time ago, Absolute told me that I should access my account and ensure that, once emails have been downloaded to my laptop, they are cleared from the site. They also said I should ensure that all spam and junk mail is automatically deleted on a regular basis. Both of these suggestions I did actually comply with, but I still have this problem and, until I can log in to may account, there’s nothing I can do to correct the situation.

 The next problem I had was with Typeitin, my web and email address programme. As you may recall, I had a problem with the laptop a short time ago, whereby it insisted on carrying out a check of my hard drive, which resulted in all the info in Typeitin being lost.

 So, over the past couple of weeks I have been re-entering all that info. Yes, there is quite a lot of it. Anyway, after using the programme to go to Absolute, up popped a nag screen telling me I had been using the programme for 16 days and would I please pay for it.

 Oh dear, here we go again. This time though I was prepared because, having run into this before after a crash, I knew where the necessary info was stored. Voila!, all is back to normal, I think!

 Now, we have been travelling for about 4 weeks since filling up with diesel at Wheaton Aston, where it costs just 79.9p per litre. Having checked the price along the Llangollen and found it to be £1.04 per litre, there’s no way we’re filling up along here. Thirty five pence difference! What a bunch of crooks! So, before we leave this canal I’m going to dip the tank and see if we can make it back to Wheaton Aston, or at least to Norbury Junction, where the price is only a couple of pence different.

 Thursday 30^th May

 We moved on yesterday morning and managed to reach Wrenbury without getting wet.

 Another fun day yesterday, this time with my emails. It seems that my email quota was at 93% and I was in danger of being unable to send and receive, unless I removed some of the emails sitting on my server at Absolute Email. So, being the diligent gent that I am, I immediately tried to log in to my account in order to rectify the situation.

 This was when things started to get tricky. I could not log in using the address and password that I KNEW to be correct. So, having also tried to log in to my account, which has a different password, and failed in that attempt too, I then sent a message to Absolute asking what the problem was.

 This morning I received a message from Absolute telling me that neither of my passwords was correct. Hmmm! Now that is odd, very odd.

 Anyway, I then had to change my account password, log in to my account, change the password for my emails and then, as if that wasn’t enough, I had to go to Outlook 2010 and change my password there. Whoopee, everything now appears to be OK.

 To add to the misery, we now have rain and sunshine, which probably means we also have a rainbow somewhere. I think we’ll be staying here at Wrenbury.

 Friday 31^st May

 The coldest spring in 50 years! No wonder we’re fed up with the weather.

 But, we think we’re in for a bright weekend up here, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. We have four miles, five locks and two lift bridges to get through before we can settle down at Burland for a cup of coffee. Hopefully Wifey will get up early enough for an early start.

 Saturday 1^st June

 At last, summer is here and the end of spring came with loads of sunshine. Hopefully we’ll really have some summer this year.

 Yesterday we left Wrenbury nice and early at 7.30 and, just as we were passing through the first lift bridge, we spotted a boat on the other side turning around to head in the same direction. A couple of hundred yards ahead is another lift bridge and, rather than have them open it, I suggested that Wifey do so, thus allowing them through first, since they were ahead of us anyway.

 Having passed through both bridges I then found myself behind the slowest possible boat on the cut, even their cruising speed was slower than ours, so I was forced to give them a blast and get them to allow us to pass. Goodness knows how long our trip to Burland would have been had we stayed behind them as we also had five locks to contend with. In the event, we made Burland by 10 am, which is not bad going on a four mile stretch with five locks.

 The remainder of yesterday was fine and sunny, so we measured up for our back panels. In doing so we soon realised that if we intended fitting them any time soon, then we would have to clean the back doors up and replace the hardware. Fortunately we already have new handles, so all we need to do is sand down the doors and re-varnish them, and replace the shoot bolt and air vents, all of which we can probably buy at Nantwich chandlery, which is where we’re heading this morning and it’s looking like another bright day.

 Our first port of call is Nantwich itself, where we’ll pick up a few bits and pieces and visit a few charity shops. I’m particularly interested in buying a pack of paint filled brushes from Smiths. This pack holds 30 ‘brushes’ and cost about £5. I already have a pack of fibre tipped pens, but they apply too thick a coating of ink. What I’m hoping is that the brushes will behave like watercolour, only without having to mix colours on a palette and I won’t know that without buying them. Who knows, this may be an even better method of painting.

 When we return from Nantwich we’ll pop down to the chandlery for our bits for the doors and then I can get cracking on sanding them down. It’s gonna be a busy day today.

 Sunday 2^nd June

 Ahhh, Summer is here at last and yesterday proved to be a very pleasant trip to Nantwich. Unfortunately, just like last year when exiting the Llangollen canal, we got stuck in one of the locks, this time the bottom of the four. After Wifey opened the two bottom gates and I started moving forward, we seemed to jam solid, just stopped dead. At the same time as that happened, another boater came along from below, hoping to prepare for her boat once we had gone. The only thing I could think to do in this situation was to have both women open the top paddles and let some more water through. It took a bit of high revving of the engine, but eventually our Shiralee popped out.

 We know for a fact that the lock keeper at Hurleston has to open all the paddles early every morning, so as to ensure that there is plenty of water in the pounds between each lock. The problem seems to rear its ugly head when several boats go down, without boats coming up to replace them and replenish the water in the pounds, which results in insufficient water in the locks and gets worse the lower down a boat goes. Last year it was the 2^nd to last lock that we got stuck in.

 Anyway, having finally exited the last lock, off we went to Nantwich and we were lucky enough to find a mooring space. This is quite a long stretch of 48 hour moorings and there’s usually plenty of room to spare but, with this being the last weekend of half term, it was almost full.

 After a quick cuppa we took a walk into town for a small amount of shopping. A small amount! We managed to fill Sheila’s shopping trolley to the brim. As it happens, we were planning to make the trip again on Monday morning before we leave, so trundling one trolley back to the boat was no problem.

 Today has dawned bright and sunny again, ideal cruising weather, but we plan on staying the full 48 hours. We’ll probably walk to the nearest pub this lunch time, which will add another new one to our list. It’s already getting pretty warm inside Shiralee and I’ve had to open the hatch to let some air in. It could turn out to be a rather warm day.

 Finally, we think we may have solved the problem of Rusty’s continuing tummy upsets. We like to keep a stock of treats for her so that she doesn’t feel left out when we eat. Amongst these treats are small sausages, which come in a string and which we usually buy from a pet stall in Derby Market.

 These sausages have a very thick casing, so it’s difficult for any of the contents to leak out. However, some time ago I noticed fatty stuff oozing out and, knowing how fat can congeal and go rancid, we decided to stop giving them to her. The result, no upsets for over a week now. In future we’ll buy those that come in a packet, either at Morrison’s or Sainsbury’s.

 Take care folks and have a good week.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty.