Shiralee: Cruise 2014 #2

Friday 18th April to Saturday 26^th April

 Friday 18^th April

 We have another fine start to the day, which is just as well because we have a 6½ mile cruise to Market Bosworth where, if Wifey wants a paper she’ll probably walk into town; about a mile and all uphill; while I get on with some paint repairs on the roof.

 Saturday 19^th April

 Having cruised the 6 ½ miles from bridge 23 to Market Bosworth in 2 hours yesterday morning and, after enjoying a well-deserved cup of coffee, we started out for that god-awful walk up the hill to the town. But, as we topped the slope from towpath to road, we spotted a bus at its usual turn around point. It was close to his setting off time at this point, so we hurried along to the bus stop and enjoyed a free ride up the hill.

 The walk down the hill is far easier than the climb up it, and that’s for sure.

 Anyway, having completed the small amount of shopping that was needed, we strolled back to the boat.

 Now, last year when we moored here, we noticed a great deal of building activity adjacent to the canal, on the towpath side, which we assumed would be a new marina. Sure enough this marina is now well under way, with all the pontoon supports now in place. We reckon it will be full of boats by the time we return next year.

 I managed to prepare some more of the roof yesterday afternoon and applied some undercoat. Whether it gets painted green this weekend is a different gether altomatter, as we’re expecting rain soon.

 Sheila will take a walk up that hill this morning, for a few items we didn’t get yesterday, like bread and a fresh pork pie from the butcher’s, and then we’ll be off to Shackerstone, which is only a couple of miles away and where the Rising Sun beckons for our Sunday repast.

 Sunday 20^th April

 Ah, Sunday, the best day of the week, all lazy and relaxed and with a couple of beers at lunchtime. What could possibly be better?

 Now, Saturday morning, Sheila took her walk into town while I did the difficult job of preparing ‘Shiralee’ for departure. Of course, I then had to await Wifey’s return, either because I’m so darn quick at preparing for departure, or she’s a slow walker!!

 With Shackerstone only about three miles away; which would only take an hour or so; it was just as well to set off later than usual, so we left at about 9.15. But, even then we only just managed to find a mooring spot when we arrived and we settled down to a coffee and newspaper.

 I did manage a wee bit of rubbing down on the roof, but didn’t stay out there too long as the wind was a wee bit chilly, and besides it’s the weekend and a Bank Holiday one at that, so there’s no sense in overdoing it. Looking at the sky this morning I don’t think we’re in for a pleasant day. Well, it is Easter, so what can you expect. (I do remember, in a past life, actually going camping at Easter and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. We lasted just two days and came home.)

 Tomorrow morning we’ll be heading on to the end of navigation, to Snarestone, where I’ll do some rubbing down on the other side of the roof, assuming the weather will let me.

 Tuesday 22^nd April

 Yesterday morning, after arriving at Snarestone and enjoying our coffee; sadly no newspaper; I carried on with the paintwork on the roof. Having cleaned up and applied the undercoat, I then thought about applying the black non-slip, but Wifey talked me out of it, suggesting instead that we do that when we get back to Shackerstone this morning. Well, it is now peeing down with rain and, not only are we not moving from this spot, but we won’t get any painting done today!! Great!

 While I’ve been sitting here at the laptop I’ve noticed my little security icon nagging at me, so I had a quick shufti and discovered, much to my dismay, that my Avast Anti-Virus programme had been switched off. Not only that but, when I attempted to follow normal procedure in turning it back on, I simply couldn’t do so. (As to why, I have no idea) Eventually, after much faffing about through my settings, I did manage to get it switched back on. But, how did it get turned off in the first place? Thereby hangs a mystery but, since I have now contacted Avast, I’m hoping they will be able to tell me.

 Would you believe it, it has now stopped raining? This means we may still get back to Shackerstone; dinner at The Rising Sun; but we won’t be doing any paintwork because the roof will still be wet. Ah well, I suppose I’ll just have to sit back and relax today. Shame!!

 Wednesday 23^rd April

 Through some very light drizzle, we made our way to Shackerstone yesterday morning. There was nothing we could do to the paintwork, so it was just a case of relaxing for the day until it was time for our evening meal at The Rising Sun.

 We both had the mixed grill, which was pretty spectacular; nothing microwaved either; all cooked to order. Mixed grills do tend to vary from place to place and this one varied with the addition of liver. The rest consisted of a gammon steak, a beef steak, 2 sausages, 1 fried egg, a great bowl of chips, kidney, tomato and a lamb chop. Like I said, pretty spectacular and, at only £7.95 each the price was right too.

 Today we’ll be returning to Market Bosworth, which is about three miles away.

 Thursday 24^th April

 Well, we didn’t go on to Market Bosworth yesterday, mainly because I was suffering tummy problems. However, I did get some more work done to the roof.

 We should be moving on this morning though, but that depends upon whether the fog lifts.

 Yesterday evening, just as we were about to watch TV, we heard a loud bleating, which seemed quite close to the boat. When we looked, sure enough there was a sheep swimming past us, but on the opposite side of the canal. A couple of years ago we came across the same thing, but unfortunately we were unable to help that poor creature; although we did hear that somebody else had stopped and dragged it out of the water.

 Anyway, there we both were, dressed in indoor clothes and carpet slippers but, being the brave souls that we are we decided to do our best to rescue the animal.

 At first the stupid thing headed towards our side of the canal but, the farm from which it had escaped has a short slipway; for the use of local folks to launch their wee noddy boats and such; so, whilst Sheila raced around the other side – in the pouring rain, I might add – I stood on this side and kind or herded it towards the slipway. After much faffing about, trying to drag the sheep towards the aforementioned slipway; which it didn’t seem too keen to do; my wife girded her loins, gave a big heave and dragged it out of the canal. Then, without so much as a thank you or a by- your-leave, of she trotted – the sheep, not Wifey – to the comfort of a nearby barn.

 That wasn’t the end of the matter though. After taking our big brolly out of the cupboard and escorting her back to the boat – kindness personified, that’s me – and after drying ourselves off, she then phoned the local pub and left them to advise the farmer of the situation. And, as they say, ‘all’s well that ends well’.

 Friday 25^th April

 We do like Market Bosworth; which is where we cruised to yesterday morning; not least because they have a really brilliant butcher’s shop. After arriving here yesterday morning, and before taking the bus into town, we managed to get the local coal bargee to deliver us a couple of sacks of coal, which will save us stopping at bridge 23 later this morning.

 This stretch of canal is too shallow for the coal barge to moor up at, so he couldn’t deliver diesel just then, because he wanted to go shopping. Instead he stayed moored up at the water point – naughty boy – but only temporarily.

 Now, as we arrived back from the shops later on, there he was just pulling away, heading towards Shackerstone. Luckily for us though, he came back later in the day and, after much faffing about, he managed to tie up alongside and deliver 80 quids worth of diesel, which will see us safely through our BCN cruise next month.

 Today we’ll probably go on to Stoke Golding, where I’ll be able to finish the paintwork repairs to the roof on the port side. When we finally get to Hinkley Wharf, or maybe Lime Kilns, I’ll get the starboard side done. It will then just be a case of painting over the whole lot with Donegal Green. After that we’ll still have plenty of other paintwork to repair, but the roof was our main concern this time out.

 Saturday 26^th April

 Hopefully this early morning rain will stop before we set off for Hinkley Wharf, because we are on 24 hour moorings at Sutton Wharf and need to leave here, rain or shine. Besides which, we also need to collect some mail from the Post Office at Hinkley, so we really don’t have much choice.

 We arrived here at about 09.30 yesterday morning, fully intending to just dispose of rubbish, fill up with water and keep going. However, Sutton Wharf boasts a café, which we have never used in all the times we’ve travelled this canal, so we decided to stay and sample their wares. Their opening hours are 9 to 5 and, since 5 pm is a tad early for us to have dinner, we stayed for lunch and enjoyed a very tasty fish pie and baguette. At £7.95 each, plus coffee at £2.25, we saw the better part of £20 disappear. A wee bit expensive, but most enjoyable. Remember the Rising Sun, a mixed grill for the same price as that fish pie and it had much more on the plate?

 And that’s it for this blog. Enjoy your weekend.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 #2

 

Thursday 10^th April to Friday 18th April

 Thursday 10^th April

 For last year’s entire cruise we were, as you may remember, experiencing problems with our electrics. The main problem being the lack of power first thing in the mornings and being unable to get the heater to fire up.

 You are also aware that Simon carried out an engine service and, most importantly, sorted out the heater. Thus far this cruise we haven’t needed to run the heater and, what is even more amazing we have always had enough juice in the batteries to charge the computer in the mornings.

 This could be due to the change of lighting, from Halogen to LED, but it could equally be due to Simon’s discovery of a poor connection in the heater circuitry. Whatever the reason, we now find we can run the engine much earlier in the evening and still have ample hot water the following morning, along with plenty of power in the batteries.

 We reckon the poor connection was draining the batteries, but we won’t know for sure until we try to run the heater in the morning.

 We’re staying here at Newbold today and taking the bus into Rugby as we are rather short of victuals. I’m also looking to find an electrical shop; although neither of us can remember seeing one there; where I can have a 12 volt lead made up for the TV. If we can plug it directly into the 12 volt socket, then there will be no need to turn the invertor on when watching our usual programmes. This will save even more power and thus preserve the batteries.

 However, prior to going into town, I really must check the universal joint for loose nuts. That’s another problem we’ve had over the years, those four nuts do tend to work loose, despite the fact that they are Nylok nuts and shouldn’t come loose. Simon had to replace one of them, because it had sheared off, and we don’t want that to happen again. What I really need to do, is wire-lock them, but that’s a pretty difficult job in situ. The nuts really need to be held in a vice to drill the holes for the wire to run through.

 Friday 11^th April

 Great fun this morning, my mouse refused to work. It seems to get through batteries like they’re going out of style and, since we only had one AA battery in our drawer, there was no way I could get it going again and I hate the built-in pad on the laptop.

 However, sneaky David always keeps a spare mouse for just such eventualities and I was soon up and running again. The old mouse is not a wireless one, so I do have a USB lead attached to the laptop. But, at least I am able to use the laptop, if only until Wifey gets some more batteries when she goes for the paper.

 Incidentally, I checked those UJ bolts yesterday morning and discovered, much to my surprise, that Simon had replaced quite a few and that they were still nice and tight.

 Sometime, back in March, I sent in a Driving Licence Renewal, because under the rules, once you pass 70 it has to be renewed every three years. This rule also applies to diabetics, so I’m liable twice, if you see what I mean.

 Anyway, having submitted the first one, they then asked me for a current photo. Having received the photo the wallies at DVLA Swansea then decided they wanted a medical questionnaire filled in, which I duly sent off. That was on 26^th March and I’m still waiting. It may well be that they have also requested information from the GP at Crick and they may also have requested my full medical portfolio, to which I say, “Good luck with that”.

 One thing is for sure, having sent all requests by Guaranteed Next Day Delivery, and having tracked that delivery, they can’t say it wasn’t received.

 Today we leave Newbold, for pastures new, which will be somewhere between here and Hawkesbury Junction, which is where we intend being for the weekend.

 Saturday 12^th April

 I received a reply from DVLA, who told me that my renewal application had been forwarded to the relevant department, which is no more than I expected. The good news is that, I can continue to drive whilst the renewal is being dealt with, provided I am able to satisfy a whole bunch of criteria. The bad news is, I’m cruising and can’t use the wretched thing anyway. Ah well, they’ll complete it when they complete it and have until November to do so.

 Having travelled just three miles, from Newbold to bridge 26 on the Oxford canal, we have about another five miles to go this morning to Hawkesbury Junction, where we’ll spend a lazy weekend before continuing on to the Ashby canal.

 Sunday 13^th April

 Do you ever get that tickle at the back of the throat that tells you that you have a cold coming on? Well, that was me yesterday and I made a quick lunge for the Beecham’s Powders. Having a cold at this time of year is very much a normal occurrence for me, but that doesn’t mean I have to put up with it. Whether, after taking two powders yesterday, I’ve nipped this one in the bud, only time will tell. Our mum used to say, ‘a cold will last for about a week or seven days, whichever is the longest’, or something like that. Or was that a fortnight or 14 days? Whatever, if I have my way; and I do beat it sometimes; it will bog off today and not return until October time, which is when I usually suffer my second cold of the year.

 Anyway, back to this year’s cruise. We’re now at Hawkesbury Junction, where we arrived at about 10 am yesterday, only to find very few boats moored here. This is most odd, as we usually struggle to find a space, and that’s usually just about as far away from the pub and shop as you can get. This time; the first in living memory; we managed the very first mooring spot, the one nearest the pub, the bridge over the canal that leads to the shop, and the waste disposal point. What’s more, only a few yards ahead of us lies the water point so that, when we leave tomorrow morning we can fill up again.

 We’ll be partaking of a brew or two at the Greyhound at lunchtime today, and then move along to the Ashby canal tomorrow morning. Hopefully, if it’s a dry day we’ll be able to start tidying the paintwork up when we stop. There’s quite a lot to be done, starting with the roof, which is non-slip and will not prove easy. Still, our home really does need some TLC, and this is the year that she’s going to get it.

 Monday 14^th April

 Hallelujah, my cold has virtually gone now, and it’s all due to those wonderful Beecham’s Powders. All I have left is a slightly blocked nose, no cough, nothing else to worry me.

 Yesterday we enjoyed our usual hour in The Greyhound and then relaxed for the rest of the day.

 Now, we’re heading off for the Ashby canal today and, if the weather stays fine, as promised by the forecaster on Countryfile yesterday, we’ll get cracking on the paintwork. However, we have changed our minds about a new colour scheme, simply because the cratch cover is green and, having re-coloured a photo of Shiralee using ‘Paint’, we don’t think it would match and we don’t much fancy paying for a new cover just to match new paintwork.

 Tuesday 15^th April

 We are now moored by bridge 3 on The Ashby Canal and will be moving on to Lime Kilns this morning.

 After arriving here yesterday morning and settling in with a coffee and read of the paper, I set to with the paint repairs, and I started on the rear roof hatch. This is centrally painted with non-slip green with the edges normal green. We usually have the life belt sitting there, along with a few pieces of thin, perforated matting, which serve to protect the paintwork from damage when we lay the hooks and/or windlasses there whilst cruising.

 Removing loose paint was simple enough and this was followed by a good rubbing down and a couple of coats of non-corrosive undercoat. Later today I’ll apply a good coat of non-slip black, followed by two of green. We do have a cream, non-slip paint, but this is not as thickly impregnated with sharps sand, or whatever they use for non-slip paint.

 Of course, there are similar patches to do all along the roof. We have no idea why these ‘bald’ patches appear, but they do and will have to be attended to. Last year we managed to clean and re-paint the rest of the green, along with the cream trim, but we didn’t have sufficient time to do the roof. So, that and the rest of the green and cream are being attended to this year and if we have the time, we’ll have a go at the maroon sides.

 Earlier in the year, before we left Crick, Andy suggested that we rub down both sides; including the Shiralee logo and wording; give it all a good undercoat, or even two and then, one of us could roller maroon over the sides and the other could follow with a brush. On the face of it this looks like a good idea, but we would then have to arrange for new logo and wording transfers to be made and affixed to the sides.

 But, do we really want to go through all that hassle? We’ve discussed this at length and have decided on an alternate plan. Yes, we’ll clean up and fill in the bad patches along the sides, after which we’ll clean up the maroon within the logos and wording. We can then take our time about rolling and brushing the rest. Of course it will all have to be ‘keyed’ in order for the new layers to take, but we think we can achieve near perfection in this manner, rather than stripping it all down and applying transfers. Besides which, we do have all the necessary paints with which to go over those bits if necessary.

 All we need is some good weather and, if we don’t get it this season, there’s always next year.

 Friday 18^th April

 So, what have we been up to since Tuesday?

 Well, for a start, we’ve had some pretty fine weather.

 So, let’s consult the diary. Well, on Tuesday we find that we moved from Bridge 3 on the Ashby canal to Lime Kilns; about 3½ miles. We first trotted off to the local garage for the paper; no shops hereabouts unfortunately.

 After our coffee I added some black, non-slip paint to the hatch, and that was that as far as painting is concerned.

 On Wednesday morning, which was another bright start, we moved less than a mile to Hinkley Wharf, where we caught the bus into Nuneaton for shopping. Then, having returned from town and read the paper, I slapped some undercoat on top of the black paint. This undercoat is a dense grey colour, which I thought would take the green topcoat easier than the black.

 Later in the day, having noticed some rather flat areas on the hatch, I added more black followed by undercoat later that afternoon. All seems to be going well so far, my only concern being that we run out of the black non-slip before finishing the roof.

 Yesterday morning we moved just 2½ miles on to bridge and the Farm Shop, where a nice man delivered us a sack of coal. Oh yes, despite it being bright and sunny, the mornings still need the chill taken off. Sheila had bought the paper before leaving Hinkley, so we went through our usual, boring routine of coffee and catching up with the news.

 Although my attempts at repairing the hatch have not produced professional results, it certainly looks much better that it did before I started. In fact the roof will look much brighter once it is finished. We’re hoping to complete all green and cream paintwork by the time we get back to Crick, but that all depends on the weather.

 Today we’ll be moving about 6½ miles to Market Bosworth but, since it is Good Friday today and there are no buses out in the boondocks, it will mean a rather long walk, up a very steep hill, if we are to buy a paper. Personally I’m not too bothered, as I’ll be having a go at a small section of the roof, rubbing down and filling in with undercoat and black, non-slip paint.

 And that’s about it for this blog. Enjoy your Easter weekend, we certainly will.

 Best regards.

 Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 #1

Tuesday 1^st April to Thursday 10^th April

 On Tuesday morning, after topping up with water and settling our marina bills, we simply moved Shiralee out to the towpath. Well, wouldn’t want to exert ourselves on our first day, now would we? Happily we spent a very lazy day out there.

 On Wednesday morning, after Sheila popped off to get the newspaper and some milk, we took the bull by the horns and set off for the moorings at Welton Hythe but, as they say about the well laid plans of mice and men, they are apt to go awry. Unbeknown to us, Canals and Rivers Trust – henceforth known as CRT – had been busy dredging the canal there and dumping the mud and yeuky stuff, right where we would normally moor up. So, not to be daunted by their antics, we pushed on to Norton Junction and settled in for the rest of the day.

 Later in the morning; note this, because it is important; we took a walk along to the New Inn and sat on the lock gate for a short time, and then made our way back to the boat. I know it must be 5 o/clock somewhere, but drinking at 11 am is not my usual habit, which is why we sat on the lock gate. The fact that we hadn’t taken any cash with us was neither here nor there.

 Friday 4^th April

 This is my 72^nd birthday, which we will celebrate at the Admiral Nelson in Braunston.

 This morning, at our usual leaving time of 8 am, we set off for the top of Braunston locks, which entailed a three mile trip, taking in Braunston tunnel. And, here we are, enjoying the peace and quiet and birdsong of the great outdoors.

 Tomorrow we’ll make our way down the six locks and into Braunston proper, where we need to purchase a few bits and bobs from the chandlery and enjoy a drink at the Admiral Nelson at Sunday lunchtime. Sadly we will have no mobile signal there, nor will we have Internet access, although we do usually get TV. So, that’s alright then!

 Saturday 5^th April

 Yesterday morning; my 72^nd birthday; I opened my two cards and found a £20 note in one of them, this from my brother Alan. Ta ever so Bruv, much appreciated. I also read a Happy Birthday text from number one son, also much appreciated.

 As you would expect on my birthday and with all that loot to hand, we wended our way down to The Admiral Nelson and had a knees-up. Well, we indulged in a couple of drinks and a sarni each. At first, when we looked at the price, we thought £8.00 was rather expensive but, when it arrived, adorned with salad and a pot of chunky chips, we weren’t disappointed.

Having wended our way back to the boat, stomachs full to bursting, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon and evening. And that was my birthday for another year. I wonder how many more I’ll have!

 This morning we have six double locks to contend with but, as we’re going down, the boat won’t be knocked about too much. Hopefully we’ll find a suitable mooring at which to spend the weekend and, just for a change, we’ll struggle up the hill to the village on Sunday and partake of another couple of drinks at lunchtime. Don’t you just love retirement?

 Sunday 6^th April

 We were in something of a quandary yesterday morning, what time should we leave our moorings at the top of Braunston and still have a good chance of finding a space in Braunston proper? We like to arrive at new moorings sometime before lunch, say between 10.30 and 11.30. But, with Braunston only a mile away, with six locks in between, we figured 1½ hours max. There was also the fact that it’s still early in the season, so we figured we could chance it and leave early.

 Well, we left at 08.00 and arrived at the bottom of the locks at 09.30. Having said it was early in the season, I think we were well out. We passed quite a few boats coming up, and some of those were holiday boats. Early April and the holiday season seemed to be in full swing. But, as luck would have it we found a space just before the marina entrance. Even so, for such an early time in the season, the place looked pretty full further along the towpath.

 Saturday was also one of those days that entailed a lot of walking. So, first stop the local shops, which means a rather long climb uphill and as most of you know by now, the phone and Internet are pretty much non-existent here. However, about half way up that hill his is a bench seat and we know that a phone signal is possible there, and so it proved because I had several messages, mostly birthday wishes, when I sat down.

 At the bottom of the locks here there’s a small chandlery and so, after shopping and a well-deserved cup of coffee back at the boat, we walked back there a bought a few desperately needed items, and that’s another £80 gone! The good news is, that we now have a complete set of LED lights on Shiralee, so we’re hoping for much less trouble with the state of the batteries.

 When Simon serviced the engine and checked out the heating, we told him not to alter the battery arrangement. In the first place we didn’t want to incur any more expense than necessary and, in the second place we felt that, having already replaced most of our lights for LEDs, we wouldn’t have the same problems as last year. Thus far; and it’s still early days; everything seems OK with regards to battery power. We will see what we will see, all in due course.

 Monday 7^th April

 Lots of walking yesterday, so why am I not losing weight?, I mean, blimey, we don’t eat enough between us to starve an ant. First think after breakfast we slogged up that hill for the paper and some milk. We then did it again at lunchtime and paid a visit to The Old Plough, a pub we haven’t been in since about 2007/8, when it was in a bit of a state and needing new carpets and furniture. They have various foodie nights there and, as far as Wifey is concerned we must come back on a Tuesday, so as to enjoy their fish and chips. Hopefully they will be as good as she expects!!

 For the past hour or so it’s been rainy quite hard and I’ve had visions of having to stay another day but, according to the Countryfile weather yesterday evening, the rain should stop soon. We have to get away sometime today, if only to top up with water and dispose of rubbish. We’ll then move along a couple of miles or so and spend the rest of the day somewhere in open countryside.

 Our plan for this week is to moor up in Newbold sometime and catch the bus into Rugby, after which we’ll head on up towards Hawkesbury Junction, which is about 22 miles away from here. From there it’s about three miles to The Ashby Canal, which we also want to cruise some of before we head off to Birmingham.

 Tuesday 8^th April

 The weather didn’t look too good yesterday morning; in fact it was raining for much of the night and still at it at 06.00. However, by the time we left the rain had just about stopped, after stopping for water and disposing of rubbish, we made our way towards Hilmortan. Of course, with Mother Nature being so fickle; as always; she wasn’t about to let us have our own way and, about three miles out she decided to open up the heavens. We therefore spent the rest of the day and last night just past bridge 82.

 This morning is somewhat brighter, so we should make it to the top of Hilmortan locks or, if we’re very lucky and Mother Nature concentrates on some other poor souls, we’ll even get through them.

 Wednesday 9^th April

 Yesterday morning was a wee bit chilly, but we girded our loins and pushed on to Hilmortan and stopped just above the locks, which we’ll tackle this morning. Other than strolling down to the nearest shop for the paper, we did absolutely bugger-all for the rest of the day.

 

 So, what in the world are our so-called ‘rulers’ thinking, when they tell our Queen to invite that murdering scumbag, Martin McGuinness, to her garden party. Having snubbed Her Maj last time she visited the province, why does he, of all people, have any right to be included? Still, what do I know? I’m only a mere mortal and, being a pensioner, my voice now counts for nothing, if it ever did!!

 

 

Now, on to sunnier thoughts, brought about by the fact that it’s bright and sunny this morning and, what’s more, our barometer indicates more of the same.

This morning we have a few locks to tackle before we get to Newbold, where we’ll take the bus into Rugby tomorrow morning. Other than that, well, chill out of course, what else is there to do?

 Well, actually there’s plenty to do, especially with the boat. The battle- scars of continuous cruising, over the past 7 years + has taken its toll. The roof especially needs lots of attention. This is all due to it being non-slip paint, a good idea in itself, but the rain will find any small gaps and seep underneath at an alarming speed. So, that’s our first problem.

 The next area is the stern deck which, as you can imaging, what with all the tramping of muddy, gritty feet, has caused quite a few nasty rust patches, all of which need rubbing down and filling in before they can be painted over.

 In fact, we’re seriously considering a change of colour scheme although, what to we haven’t quite decided. We don’t much like the maroon, which is the main colour on the sides. Any red-based colour is, from what we have been told, absolutely the worst colour to cover. It fades so fast that, even with paint from the same batch, it never looks the same.

 So, what to do! Well, I’ve dug out a few photos of ‘Shiralee’, which we will print out and re-colour in different combinations, until we find one we like. Then and only then, will we get stuck in. Hopefully we’ll find enough dry weather this summer, in which to carry out our plans. You may wish us luck, if you like.

 Thursday 10^th April

 Forgot the crumpets yesterday morning; Wednesday is crumpet day where breakfast is concerned; and I somehow forgot. It was only later in the day that I had a senior moment and remembered, by which time it was too late of course. So, it looks like today will be Wednesday; goodness knows what tomorrow will be!!

 Now, on the subject of boat painting, we saw a boat yesterday, moored at Rugby, which had a dark blue roof and hand rail, light blue trim separating the handrail from side panels, with the side panels a creamy colour. Having downloaded the International Boat Paint colour chart, we now need to decide which blues and creams to go for. But first we need to find a suitable spot to moor up, along with some dry weather, when we can then clean up the existing damage. No doubt something will turn up, hopefully pretty soon.

 And that, as they say, is that for this blog.

 Take care folks.

 Dave and Sheila