Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 8

 

Friday 23^rd May to Saturday 31^st May

 Saturday 24^th May

 Today we’re in Penkridge, having travelled the five miles and four locks from Weeping Cross yesterday morning, despite the threat of rain. We were expecting really nasty weather this morning, but it’s now dry. Anyway, we’re here now and we do plan on visiting the market this morning.

 The one thing that stands out as different from recent years is the amount of boats moored at some places, where they would not normally have been. Weeping Cross had just the one space when we arrived there on Wednesday, but we put that down to our late arrival. However, when we arrived here at Penkridge at 10.30 yesterday, once again we were lucky to find a spot. Had the two boats that we followed here not decided to keep going then we would not have been able to stay.

 Just ahead of us is a lock, which leads to much more open aspect moorings but, when Wifey went off to have her hair cut, she noticed that all spaces were taken up there too. This is most unusual and quite worrying.

 Sunday 25^th May

 We walked into town yesterday morning and paid a visit to the market, where we bought a few bits of food, such as cheese and a bacon joint. We then called in at the local Co-op for the rest of our stuff.

 The good news is, that there’s a Dentist here in Penkride. The bad news is that they are closed at weekends and Bank Holidays and we’ll be gone from here tomorrow. Not sure where the next one will be but, if this darned loose tooth would just fall out, I wouldn’t need one.

 We were intending to take a walk around the nearby park home site, but the weather has put a stop to that and besides, we’ve still got lots of paintwork to repair, so we’re in no position to sell up and buy one just yet. I suppose it must be the boredom of sitting around in a marina during the winter months, which gets us thinking about a move. But, once we’re out on the cut and visiting all these different towns and villages, we’re both much happier bunnies. The pace of life is so slow and relaxing when cruising; as it is in the marina; but cruising is not so boring.

 Monday 26^th May

 After a peaceful weekend we’ll be off to Gailey this morning. We’ve had plenty of rain these past few days, but the sky is clear this morning. Trouble is, it’s not yet 6 am so, by the time we’re set to leave, anything could happen. We have six locks and about four miles to go, which will take the better part of 3 hours.

 We popped into The Boat yesterday lunchtime and it no longer even looks like a pub, more like a Bar cum Restaurant. The layout is all wrong too; no longer do they have proper pub seating, just a scattering of tables with armchairs. The décor also leaves something to be desired, battleship grey and white walls and, in the bar, only one item on one wall, a sign that states, ‘A meal without wine is called breakfast’, how droll.

 So, having consumed one pint of Stella, and having no wish to deny myself the second, we walked into town to The Star, much better, a proper pub with proper seating and sensible décor, Sunday lunch for only £5.99. I know where we’ll be dining when we return this way.

 Tuesday 27^th May

 Yesterday morning we intended to go through to Gailey; just six locks and about 3 miles away but, as we came through Bloggs Lock, the moorings there looked so peaceful that we decided to pull in. Sometimes, even though we stop at the same places most of the time, it’s nice to have a change of scenery.

 We watched Pointless in the evening, as we do most days, but were disappointed in their use of Martin McGuinness in their question about Favourite Martins. Surely there are a few more Famous Martins out there, rather than resorting to a still living murdering thug. What happened to common decency? There must be hundreds of people out there; both here and in Northern Ireland; who watch this show and will be similarly outraged and, sadly, be reminded of their lost loved ones.

 I’ve actually been onto the BBC website but, not only are we not able to contact the presenters of the show, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, but in order to contact the BBC it’s necessary to sign up for an account. Bah!!

 Now, since we topped up with water and disposed of rubbish yesterday morning, it won’t be necessary to stop at Gailey for those chores. Instead we’ll be able to go on to Cross Green, another of our usual stops.

 Wednesday 28^th May

 Despite warnings from forecasters that we would have rain yesterday morning, we still spent about 40 minutes walking to the shops and back with no sign of it. The rain didn’t turn up until much later in the day, and then it was only slight. Last night and this morning however, a totally different story, buckets of the stuff. This is a pity because we want to take the bus into Wolverhampton this morning.

 I don’t know why, but I’m having a wee problem getting into my jeans. Last time I wore them I had no trouble at all, nice and snug around the waist. However, I obviously need to lose some puppy fat from around my waist but, in the meantime I’m wearing those lightweight trousers that have umpteen pockets, all down the legs and such. Cargo pants, I think the Yanks call them, which have elasticated waistbands.

 Talking about which, we walked around the market at Penkridge on Saturday and spotted a stall that sells these things. But they don’t have proper sizes on them. They now go by small, medium, large, extra-large, etc. So, since there was nowhere to try them on; except inside the trader’s van; no sale. What’s going on in the Rag Trade these days? Is it because these trousers have elasticated waistbands? Perhaps I’ll find what I want in Wolverhampton today, assuming we get there what with this weather and all.

 Thursday 29^th May

 It’s really chucking it down this morning and I’m hoping it stops before we get going. We’ve been here at Cross Green for two days so far and we want to be in Wheaton Aston for the weekend. With just one stop in the middle of nowhere in between, we really do need to move on today.

 We took the bus into Wolverhampton yesterday and wondered why we bothered. The town centre is much like any other big town or city, clothing shops, fast food, banks and not much else. There’s not one really useful shop in these places, except perhaps Gregg’s and other bakeries. And yet, there always seems to be masses of people shopping there!! Confused.com.?

 Friday 30^th May

 Once again we made it to our next stop without getting wet, well, apart from a little drizzle. We’re now on the Shropshire Union canal between bridges 7 and 8 and, compared with other years, these moorings are a mess. It’s not like the Shropshire Union Canal Society to let these moorings become so overgrown. Although, Wifey reckons she remembers having to lift Rusty over the long grass last year. However, when we came through Autherlry Junction lock, it soon became apparent that nothing was being done to tidy up the towpath. There are a couple of stretches of the Shroppie that look as though they narrow down to just one boats width, but it’s only where the foliage on both sides is encroaching on the canal. Take that away; as they should be doing; and there’s a big difference.

 Today we’ll leave later than usual because we’re only going a couple of miles to Brewood, and we want to leave enough time for late starters to leave us a space. It’s not that we need much at Brewood, except perhaps some of the really great bread pudding from the local bakery. It’s just that we don’t want to be in Wheaton Aston until Saturday morning. The moorings there are only 48 hours and we want to top up with diesel on Monday morning. There’s a garage by the side of the canal; only higher up at road level; but they do have a pipeline down to the canal, through which they supply red diesel and, at about 78p per litre, they’re just about the cheapest on the cut. We could save as much as £20 there because we have about 150 litres to put in.

 Saturday 31^st May

 For those of you who know nothing about our Inland Waterways, there are many private landowners; especially farmers; who rent out their canal side land to boaters. On our way here to Wheaton Aston yesterday morning we passed such a place and, in amongst the line of canal boats was the smallest one we had ever seen. Sadly Wifey didn’t have her camera with her, so I can’t include a photo here. Let’s just say that the boat in question was much lower in height, no more than 15ft in length and nowhere near the 7ft 10inches in width. We’ve seen short boats and some normal boats that sit low in the water, but this tiddly thing really took the biscuit!!

 Actually, we didn’t intend coming all the way through to Wheaton Aston yesterday. We were going to stay at Brewood, but the moorings there are pretty dark and dismal, besides which the towpath there is prone to mud after even a short spell of rain. So, we walked into the village for essential shopping and then came on to Wheaton Aston. Sadly no bread pudding this time.

 Had we stayed at Brewood, then we would have spent the weekend here. Instead we’ll top up with diesel, buy a couple of bags of coal and wend our merry way to Gnosall Heath. The moorings there are also 48 hour, but we’re going to chance our arm and take the bus into Telford on Monday morning.

 And that’s it for this time.

 Take care and have a great weekend.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 7

 

Friday 16^th May to Friday 23^rd May

 Friday 16^th May

 A terrific start to the day and looking like a very warm one. Yesterday was spent out in the open and so it became very warm inside the boat but, when we get to Fradley we should be somewhat cooler as there are trees both sides of the canal there.

 I recently learned that a certain friend of mine; no name, no pack drill; has been learning to play the keyboard. Now, I’ve been something of a grasshopper when it comes to music. I have two guitars; one classical and the other steel strung; and I also have Ukulele, both of which I tend to switch between. As a result I haven’t really learned to master either. Well, now I intend to put that right and unearth my classical guitar from under the bed, and follow some tuition from Mike Herberts.

 I have a couple of DVDs from Mike, one called Chordaoke and the other a classical piece. However, I also have some lessons that I downloaded some time ago, and it’s these that I have unearthed and which I will now devote some time to. Here’s hoping!!

 Saturday 17^th May

 What a gorgeous day yesterday, all sunny and warm and, for the first time since leaving Crick, we were able to cruise without a coat on. Lovely!

However, later in the day it became a little too warm for my liking, so we wandered up to the shop and indulged in an ice cream. Not that it made a lot of difference, but it was most enjoyable all the same.

 Quite a few of the tiles behind the fire have come loose. In fact, some have even fallen off the wall and need re-attaching with the proper sticky stuff. So, since it was so warm yesterday, we decided to let the fire go out last night; much to the detriment of my wellbeing this morning. Blooming chilly, so it was. Still, my cardigan warmed me up, so I’m not complaining.

 We are hoping that this warm weather will stay with us until Tuesday, by which time we should be at Rugeley, where we can probably buy the sticky stuff at the local Wilkinson’s. We’ll give the chimney another clean first, then fix the tiles and black the grouting. After that, the weather can do as it pleases, ‘cos we’ll then be able to light the fire again if we so wish.

 Today we’ll be off to Handsacre and will stay there for the weekend but, since the pub we usually frequent when we’re there, doesn’t sell a decent lager; I’ve gone off the Guinness due to tummy trouble; we’ll try The Crown, which is right by the side of the canal and just a short walk away from the moorings.

 Sunday 18^th May

 Last time we moored here at Handsacre, the nice man in the house opposite almost smoked us out with his bonfire. Of course I thanked him for his consideration. In fact, if memory serves me, we actually moved on and moored above the locks just before Fradley.

 This time however; after cruising for two hours, through three locks, enjoying a cuppa and then walking up to the shops and back; out came his petrol powered strimmer. The noise was horrendous, but this time we decided to grin and bear it. After all, if a man works all week and then decides to work his weekend too, who are we to complain?

 The gentleman concerned lives in a house that lies sideways on to the canal and, since he has two young children, he wisely erected a fence between the house and the canal, leaving a gap of about six feet or so. To give him credit, rather than leave the gap between house and canal to grow wild; which would deter idiot boaters from mooring there; he tries to keep it tidy, hence the burning of rubbish and the strimmer. He still has a few nasty roots to dig up, but I’m hoping he’ll leave his matches and strimmer inside today.

 Today we’ll give The Crown pub a try. We’ve used it in the past and, since it is beside the canal and the weather looks to set fair for today, we’ll sit in the garden, rather than walk up the hill to The Old Peculiar.

 Monday 19^th May

 It’s been a great weekend weather wise and far too hot to be working on the boat. We enjoyed an hour in the pub garden yesterday and our main meal of the day was somewhat different to a normal Sunday.

On Saturday evening Sheila popped along to the nearby chippie and bought fish and chips, along with mushy peas for me. Now, down south, when you order fish and chips, you tend to get enough chips for one person. The further north you go, or so it seems, the more chips you get for your money. Unfortunately Wifey forgot this and ordered 2 pieces of fish and 2 portions of chips. The pieces of fish were OK; although, I didn’t think much of the batter; but the chips were enough to feed an army.

 Anyway, to get back to our Sunday meal. We had a huge plate of chips left over from Saturday and, rather than throw them away, we saved them in the fridge and re-fried them, along with a couple of eggs. Lovely!

 Incidentally, I didn’t think much of the mushy peas, which were a really dark green colour. To my mind, if you are going to make mushy peas, you should do so with Marrowfat Peas. Goodness knows where the chippie bought his, but they must add too much colouring. Dreadful things, they were.

 So, a somewhat cooler start to today and we’re off to Rugeley for shopping, then straight on for about another mile, where, if we’re lucky we’ll get some more paintwork done. We don’t moor up in Rugeley any more since they allowed a Macdonald’s to be built close to the canal.

 Tuesday 20^th May

 Yesterday was another scorcher and we left Handsacre for Rugeley quite early. Shopping done and stuff with which to attach those loose tiles, then it was off to one of our favourite spots, the pig farm by bridge 69, where we stopped for the day.

 Thankfully, despite the forecaster’s threat of rain, it stayed dry for me and I managed some more painting; just the black, non-slip stuff; on the bits I’d rubbed down and treated with rust preventer and undercoat. I did intend to let that dry and add some grey undercoat before topping with green. But, as with the best laid plans, it rained later. Still, it’s a fine morning and, if we’re lucky we’ll reach Great Haywood without getting wet. Sadly, no TV, Internet or phone there, so we’re incommunicado for a couple of days.

 Wednesday 21^st May

Yesterday morning we had rain, lots of it, but it had stopped by 8 am so we headed off to Fradley. We’ll be staying here for today and taking the bus into Stafford.

 Unfortunately, because it had been raining and the boat needs to dry out properly, I didn’t get any painting done. However, we did manage to clean all the tiles at the back of the fire, and Wifey stuck them all back on with the sticky stuff we bought at Rugeley. But, what with Fradley being somewhat sheltered from the sun for much of the day, and what with more cloud and rain later in the day, this metal tube became rather chilly yesterday evening.

 We couldn’t light the fire because, had we done so then Sheila would have had problems filling the tiles in with grouting. Also, we didn’t want to put the heater on, just in case we depleted the batteries and didn’t have enough power to run the heater this morning. Well, you can’t have everything, now can you? And besides, we wanted to watch Happy Valley last night, and that’s getting pretty exciting, I can tell you. Only two episodes to go!!

 Today promises to be fine and warm, so I’m hoping to get some more roof painting done when we get back from Stafford.

 Thursday 22^nd May

 Yesterday didn’t go according to plan, oh no, we had one of those days. Off we trotted to the nearest bus stop, which stands outside the local pub; about 10 minutes away from our moorings. The bus was due to arrive at about 09.50 and, while we were waiting, a charming, little lady came along and said, “Are you waiting for the bus, only I don’t think it stops here anymore?” After we confirmed her suspicions, she then told us that she thought it now bypassed the village and stopped further up the road at the next bus stop, coming at it from a different route.

 So, we walked up to the next bus stop and, sure enough, there was a notice on the timetable, which stated that the route had been changed about a month before. Wouldn’t it have made sense to affix the same notice to the now defunct bus stop? After all, there are quite a few boaters passing through Great Haywood, who moor up and take the bus into Stafford, the same as we do.

 Anyway, we were far too late for the bus by now; which would now stop there at 34 minutes past the hour; so we decided instead to buy the paper at the nearby shop and get back to the boat. By the time we got back it was approaching 10.30 and a wee bit late for us to go cruising, but we decided that, since it promised to be a sunny and warm day, we would head off to Weeping Cross, about five miles and two locks away.

 I say that this is a wee bit late for us, because we like to arrive at our destination at about that time and usually find easy moorings. By arriving nearer to lunchtime we ran the risk of being unable to find a place. However, luck was on our side and we slipped into the only space available and settled in for the day.

 I’m now back to the guitar and following one of Mike’s fingerpicking lessons. It’s slow going right now as I don’t have the dexterity in my left hand, but I’ll get there. I’ve also dug out the Noad book on Spanish Guitar playing, simply because I’m familiar with the lessons there and know that I can play some of them through without problems. I’m hoping this will loosen up my left hand fingering.

 The problem I have with the Spanish Guitar is my tummy. I like to sit at our dinette when practising, but my stomach gets in the way. I either need to lose weight; not easy at my age, believe me; or I need a thinner guitar. I do have one, a steel string Eko from the 60s, but I prefer the wider fret board of the Spanish one. I once asked the salesman in the Harlow music shop, why steel strung guitars don’t come with wider fret boards, to which he remarked, “Because you’re the only person who’s ever asked for one”. Yeah, right!!

 Friday 23^rd May

 Yesterday was a bit wet, to say the least but, as usual, by the time we set off to catch the bus into Stafford, it had stopped. Not only that, but it stayed dry throughout the morning and started up later in the afternoon, by which time we were back at the boat.

 The weather forecast for tomorrow is lots more rain; as if we haven’t had enough of it last night; and it’s still raining this morning. The forecast is for even worse weather tomorrow, so we’re going to gird our loins and head for Penkridge this morning. What fun that will be if this weather keeps up!

 Cheers for now and enjoy your Bank Holiday.

 Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 6

Friday 9^th May to Friday 16^th May

 Friday 9^th May

 It is now almost 6.30 am and, despite my dire warnings of nasty weather, the sky seems to be clearing. We may yet be lucky and enjoy a dry cruise to our meeting point. The wind is still pretty strong, but perhaps it will pass the clouds over quickly.

 Saturday 10^th May

 We were most fortunate yesterday morning, the rain stayed away and we managed the seven locks and three miles to our meeting place in a little under two hours. We immediately struck up a conversation with another boater and learned something about the BCN. For example it isn’t necessarily safe to moor at Gas Street Basin because, quite simply, he experienced young drunks running across the top of his boat late at night.

 The had a meeting of all boaters on this trip and, much to our surprise, there will be at least one occasion when we will have to buddy-up, three abreast. I did ask Stuart about moorings for 20 boats, in an email sometime before we joined, but he said they’ve never had problems. Well, to us at least, buddying-up is a problem.

 There’s also the problem of long cruising days. We have at least two days of six hours and one of eight hours, and all because of the locks involved. To cap it all the weather isn’t up to much, promising wind and rain all over this weekend. In short, we’re not even sure if we’ll continue with this trip. Several people have already cancelled, for one reason or another.

 Even as I sit typing this, the wind is picking up and we have been warned of heavy rain later this morning, and this will be just about the longest day of all. Also, despite the fact that we will have some assistance with the locks, in the form of volunteer helpers, I’m not keen on Wifey clambering over locks in the rain.

 Any boaters reading this will, I have no doubt, think we’re blaming the organisers for our decision, so, before tearing us off a strip and calling us a pair of whingers, don’t! The organisers; Stuart and Marie; are a great couple and have been doing this for several years and deserve all the success they can get. I’m afraid it’s all down to me.

 Later………………

 Well, after much hemming and hawing; mostly on my part; we finally decided against completing the BCN cruise. There were several reasons for this, not least of which was the 3 long cruising days and the buddying-up three abreast on at least one occasion. How they ever managed with 25 boats on previous trips, goodness only knows.

 So, we’re now on our way back to Fazeley, from whence we will probably take the bus into Birmingham and then go on to Hopwas and Handsacre. Ah well, c’est la vie!!

 Sunday 11^th May

 We are now back at the Marston Farm Hotel moorings, well, actually, about 100 yards short of there. Bearing in mind that it was a Saturday when we arrived, and that the hotel has a huge marquee in the grounds, we decided not to moor up outside, just in case they had a wedding, or other celebration going on. Sure enough, even from 100 yards away we could hear the thumpity-thump of music. Hopefully they all had a whale of a time.

 At the talk on Friday evening, we were all asked to take note of the boat in front and the one behind, and keep our mobiles topped up and to hand. This was to ensure that, should we need a hand at any time, we could call on the assistance of the nearest boater. Later yesterday afternoon I received a text message that said that there was a blockage at lock 10 on the Perry Barr locks, and that CRT had been called out. If that’s what can happen on the first day of cruising; and one of the longest ones at that; we’re happy now that we turned around.

 We were warned, of course, about the possibility of shopping trollies barring our way, and to allow our boats to ‘drift’ through bridges with gears disengaged. Apparently this is a common problem on the BCN. I doubt very much if we’ll ever bother taking this route now.

 Now, hopefully the weather will clear later and we can take a walk down to The Dog and Doublet pub. At the moment it’s chucking it down, so it’s not looking good. But we have had to miss out on our Sunday pub before, so it won’t hurt to miss it again.

 Mouse trouble!! Once again my wireless mouse is playing up and I’ve had to dig out the one with a tail. I always switch the wireless one off when I’ve finished and only replaced the batteries a short while ago, so I suppose I’ll have to look out for a new one when we get to Birmingham.

 My driver’s licence:

 I’m still waiting. My first renewal application was sent in; by guaranteed next day delivery; on 25^th February. DVLA then responded with a request for a new photo, which I duly sent off. After about two weeks they then decided they needed a medical questionnaire completing, this despite the fact that they already had those details. This I submitted on 26^th March, which they received on 27^th. In that questionnaire they also asked if I would agree to them contacting my GP and asking for my medical records, which I also agreed to. To date they have not asked for those records, at least, not from my current GP.

 From 26^th March to 11^th May should be ample time for them to complete and return my new licence, especially since they have not asked for my medical records. I have now emailed them again, asking why there has been such a long delay. I now have visions of them saying, “Oh, but we posted that on to you last week”, or some such nonsense. I am very worried at this moment in time. Mind you, having no licence would save me an awful lot of dosh in terms of petrol, insurance and other stuff, such as MOTs and repairs. Hmmmm!

 Monday 12^th

 Once again we managed to move along before the rain hit us. We left our moorings, about 100 yards above the Marston farm Hotel, at about 8 am and arrived at the lakes a couple of hours later and just in time for our cup of coffee. Just a few minutes later the heavens opened up. Someone up there must be smiling down on us, which is more than can be said for those on the BCN cruise. No, I’m not gloating, but we do think we made the right decision.

 There’s still a lot of work to do around these lakes, much of which seems to be about flood defences, so we couldn’t walk around some of it. However, we did see a flock of Swifts, which I first took to be Swallows; until my dear Wifey pointed out my mistake. These birds had darker undersides and longer, forked tails. Don’t you just love these clever clogs? There are also several small, man-made islands in the lakes, all of which have been adopted by nesting Black-Headed Gulls and Terns. Once finished these lakes will be well worth a longer visit.

 Today we’ll be heading back to Fazeley Junction, where I’ll be on the lookout for a dentist. I have a loose tooth in my front, lower jaw and it’s giving me hell when I’m eating. In theory, of course, if I kept it there I could lose weight, but it’s a wee bit uncomfortable, so it’s got to go.

 From Fazeley we’ll make our way to Handsacre where, hopefully we’ll meet up with Andy and Sandy.

 Thursday 15^th May

 Still at Fazeley Junction, and we have been since Monday, but we’ll be leaving this morning for Whittington. No dentist in sight though.

 On Tuesday morning we took the bus into Birmingham, which took almost an hour. We didn’t go for anything in particular, only to say we’d been. We wandered around the Bullring, had a cup of coffee and a cake, then wandered around some of the rest of the town. Disappointed!! Couldn’t find a butcher’s shop anywhere, but I did manage to get batteries fitted to two watches, so that was a result.

 Upon our return from Brum, we discovered that Fazeley had had quite a lot of rain. How lucky is that?

 Yesterday we had planned to take the bus to shopping park on the way to Tamworth but, since we didn’t really want anything from there, it seemed like a wasted journey, so we stayed put and enjoyed the fine weather, which is set to stay with us until the weekend, by which time we’ll be at Handsacre, where we intend to try the local fish and chips on Saturday evening.

 Friday 16^th May

 Thursday morning saw us making our way to Whittington, which is about five miles from Fazeley and into open countryside. The only problem with it; once we’ve passed through the residential area; is the nearby train line, which can be pretty invasive, especially on a very warm day, as it was yesterday, with all windows and other orifices open wide. Fortunately Wifey walked into Fazeley for the Mail before we left, so there was no need to trudge into Whittington. However, if we want the Mail today, that will be Wifey’s job while I prepare the boat for departure.

 The weekend is almost upon us and we’ll be spending today at Fradley and then, on Saturday we’ll turn left onto the Trent and Mersey canal, up about five locks and on to Handsacre for the weekend, where we should have been meeting up with Andy and Sandy. Unfortunately they’ll be visiting family instead, so we’ll see them at a later date, possibly the following weekend.

 So, that’s about it for this blog. Enjoy your weekend, whatever you may be doing.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 #5

Friday 2^nd May to Friday 9^th May

 Friday 2^nd May

 I seem to remember us talking about taking the bus into town this morning; either Tamworth or Nuneaton; before moving along and down another four locks. But, are we still going to do so, that is the burning question of the day?

 Wifey has now finished designing her cushion cover, which is of Rusty and is being done in cross-stitch. We found a small shop in Atherstone yesterday morning, that stocks the silks that she needs but, as they didn’t have a big enough backing upon which to make the cover, she decided not to buy the silks there. Such is the female logic!!

 Anyway, there’s a huge, out-of-town shopping centre near Nuneaton, that we can bus to from Fazeley and which has a big craft shop, so we’ll probably find everything she needs right there. This cross-stitch of Rusty has thousands of stitches in it, so it’s likely to take her the rest of this trip and quite a bit of our next stay at Crick.

 Talking of Crick, we don’t even know if we’ll get a place there, because Noel refused to take a deposit when we left, instead asking us to phone him in September. So, we could end up at Yelvertoft, or even Debdale Wharf. I already have a hospital appointment for next January, which is in Rugby and which I really don’t want to miss.

 Saturday 3^rd May

 Yesterday I decided to make a start on a new pastel, this one of a photo taken along the Llangollen. It started out as an A4 size, but I soon realised it would probably look better at A3 and so, with that in mind, I prepared my bits and pieces last night, in readiness for a tracing session this morning.

 The mornings, as you may have noticed, are getting lighter already and, around about 5am I can see the light through our bedroom curtains. I usually wake up anywhere between half four and five am and lay back until about 5.15, at which time I struggle out of bed and carry out my ablutions and get dressed.

 This morning was no different, except that I hadn’t reckoned with a clear sky, which made 4.30 seem like 5.30am, so up I got, did the necessary and made a start on my tracing. This is quite a big job with lots of fine detail, so you can imagine my surprise when, having finished the tracing and looking at my watch, I discovered it was still only 5.20am.

 I am not generally prone to such a dumb mistake, but it has been known on the odd occasion, which is why I usually check my bedside clock. This time I didn’t bother and paid for my sins. But, every cloud has a silver lining and this cloud means I get to enjoy an extra hour of daylight. The fact that I am now somewhat cream-crackered is a price I’m willing to pay. Besides which I’ll catch up later in my armchair.

 Now, here’s something that I’m sure you’ll all find amusing, especially the male chauvinists among you. It comes from my good friend Alan Oxley, a man who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time sending and receiving jokes, to and from his old workmates. I’m grateful to him for this little beauty.

  A COWBOY'S TOMBSTONE:

Here are the “Five Rules for Men to Follow for a Happy Life” that Russell J. Larsen had inscribed on his headstone in Logan, Utah. He died not knowing that he would win the "Coolest Headstone" contest.

 

 

FIVE RULES FOR MEN TO FOLLOW FOR A HAPPY LIFE:

1. It's important to have a woman who helps at home, cooks from time to time, cleans up, and has a job.
2. It's important to have a woman who can make you laugh.
3. It's important to have a woman who you can trust, and doesn't lie to you.
4. It's important to have a woman who is good in bed, and likes to be with you.
5. It's very, very important that these four women do not know each other or you could end up dead like me.

Sunday 4^th May

 We left the bottom of lock 9 at precisely 8 am yesterday morning, heading for the last two locks and, because one of the paddles was u/s on the first, it took over half an hour to pass through. This meant that the three mile trip took us almost two hours.

 The approach to Polesworth is by the side of a park and, ever since the park has been open there seems to be a shortage of boats mooring there. I can only imagine the problems this park has caused boaters; especially during the summer months; with drunks and rowdies late into the evening.

 So, not wishing to upset the current trend, we carried on to the other end of the town, only to find it almost full of boats. The problem here is that, despite it being a popular spot for moorers, there are no time restrictions, except the usual maximum stay of 14 days. This means that those folks who are genuine ‘continuous cruisers’; by which I mean that they don’t stay in a marina during the winter months; tend to stay here for the maximum time allowed. Still, we did manage to get moored up, right at the far end, and we had to use our pins too.

 With this being a Bank Holiday weekend, and being aware that the butcher’s wouldn’t be open on Monday, we trotted off into town for a bit of shopping, with greengrocers and mini-market taken in along the way.

 The rest of the day was taken at a very steady pace, but we did learn something interesting from another boater, the pub beside the canal here is, as far as he’s concerned, a pretty good one. Thus far in our previous visits we’ve avoided this pub, preferring instead to walk into town. But, just for a change, we might pop in there today and give it a try.

 We now have just five days before we meet up with the rest of the boats taking part in the BCN trip, so we’ll be off to Fazeley Junction tomorrow morning.

 Monday 5^th May

 A brilliant day yesterday, all sunny and warm and we spent an hour at The Bull’s Head pub, which is just beside the bridge here. The pub has recently been refurbished and still smells faintly of paint, but it’s quite pleasant inside.

This is one of those rare pubs that calculate their GP to the penny. Most pubs don’t bother and round up or down (yeah!) to the nearest five pence. I think my Stella cost me £3.32p, so Wifey had a few coins to put with the others that she keeps and bags up. Me? Well, I save £2 coins. They are slow to mount up, but come in handy by the time we get back to the marina.

 I have one of these Wireless mice – or should that be mouses? – and every so often it suddenly stalls and refuses to work. At first I thought this was the battery running down but, having replaced them only a few days ago, I don’t think that’s the case.

 Anyway, this morning the darn think packed up again and, no matter what I tried, it simply wouldn’t work. So, out came the old mouse on a USB lead, which worked fine at first. And then, just when I needed to move the mouse, to correct a typo, that one stopped too. It started up again when I moved the pointer with the inbuilt roller pad, but it seems that this is a computer glitch and not the mouse. Hmmm! How do I solve that one? Any suggestions – by email please – would be most welcome.

 Tuesday 6^th May

 We left Polesworth at 8 am yesterday morning with a bright and sunny start. Two locks and five miles later and here we are at Fazeley Junction, which joins the Coventry to the Birmingham and Fazeley canal.

 We had intended to take a walk to the nearby shops but, since we really didn’t need anything urgently, we decided to stay put and and partake of a coffee.

 A little later, since the weather was in our favour, out came the Donegal Green paint and brush. Now, that’s the starboard side of the roof all nice and patchy.

 Wednesday 7^th May

 Yesterday morning; in preparation for starting up the Birmingham and Fazeley canal; we travelled about half a mile, to the nearest winding hole, turned around and moored up about 100 yards from the junction, with the port side to the towpath. It was my intention to get some painting done on that side of the roof, but since it was still wet from overnight rain, that was a no-no. It did stay fine for most of the day, but rained again later. That’s one of the problems with repairing paintwork whilst cruising; we’re very much at the mercy of the weather and which side the towpath is.

 We walked around to the local Tesco store after our coffee, armed with a small list of about six items but, when we arrived there Wifey suggested using their trolley and tried her best to fill it up, mainly with special offers. We now have about 10 days-worth of main meals, but since this store doesn’t have its own bakery, she had to make bread upon our return. We both hate sliced bread; only ‘real’ bread will do for us; something that can be cut to our preferred thickness, especially when it comes to toast.

 Thursday 8^th May

 After topping up with water and disposing of rubbish, we made our way up the Birmingham and Fazeley canal and stopped at Drayton Hire Boats for coal and gas. From there we made our way up to the lakes; about two miles further on. Along the way we passed one of the boats that will be accompanying us on the BCN trip, but they we’re going back towards Fazeley Junction, presumably to top up with water and such.

 Having moored up and settled down to our only coffee of the day, down came the rain. So, no painting today either.

 Later in the afternoon that same boat; ‘Go for It’; came past us again, probably to get a few locks behind them before our meeting on Friday. We’ll take a few locks in this morning and make the final leg to the meeting point on Friday morning.

 We’re hoping the weather is kind to us, especially on Saturday morning, when we have a multitude of locks to get through, along with the other 19 boats. How the organisers of this trip are going to work this, I have no idea, but it will probably take all day for all 20 boats to pass through all those locks. I’m not sure just how many locks there are, but it’s well into double figures. I’ll certainly let you know how we did on Sunday morning’s report.

 Friday 9^th May

 Well, since we really did need to get moving yesterday, despite the rain we plodded on through four locks and two miles and stopped outside Marston farm Restaurant.

 This morning, again despite the rain; which is sure to come soon to accompany the high wind; we have another seven locks to go through, along with four miles, in order to meet up with the other 19 boats, one of which has now been moored up in front of us since yesterday afternoon.

 Hopefully we won’t be subjected to even more wind and rain for the rest of this trip. Now, that really would put a damper on thinks!!

 Andy and sandy were supposed to be meeting us at Perry Barr locks, but Sandy phoned yesterday to tell us that their van had failed its MOT and that they would meet us at Titford instead. This is just as well, because we have no idea when we’ll reach Perry Barr.

 Now, with 15 minutes to spare before I wake Wifey up from her deep slumber, I’ll get this blog posted.

 Take care and enjoy your weekend.

 Dave and Sheila

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 #4

Saturday 26^th April to Friday 2^nd May

 Sunday 27^th April

 We cruised the five and a half miles to Hinkley Wharf yesterday morning, mainly because we needed to collect some mail from the local Post Office. (Thanks Bruv)

 After the usual cup of coffee, we then took the bus into Nuneaton, just for a wee bit of shopping. We won’t get another chance until Wednesday, which is when we’ll be at Atherstone.

 Strange to say that, while we’re at the marina for winter, I have plenty of trouble with my painful calf muscles and feet. It’s not as if I don’t get enough exercise while we’re there, what with walks to the shops and around Rugby and Northampton; which, by the way, only has one ‘h’ in it, as opposed to the two that virtually every TV broadcaster uses when pronouncing it. I hate that!! Similarly with Southampton, it’s South-ampton, not South-hampton. So there!!

 But I digress. Today, we’ll stay here and pop into the Wharf Inn at lunchtime, rather than move along to Lime Kilns, which is only a mile away.

 If it stays dry, I just might get some more painting done on the roof this morning. Rain yesterday and Friday, and the roof needs to be left to dry out thoroughly before I can do any more.

 Other than that, I foresee a pretty normal Sunday, which will include the Mail and a coffee.

 Monday 28^th April

 Off to bridge 3 this morning, but I fear that still no painting will get done, the clouds are really threatening this morning. Ah well, I guess I’ll just have to put my feet up.

 I didn’t get any painting done yesterday either, because it rained pretty heavily in the afternoon.

 Tuesday 29^th April

 About a week ago on a visit to Nuneaton, we called into a Maplin’s store and bought a 500Gbt Seagate external hard drive. We already have two, smaller Verbatim drives but, since they have been playing up lately, we thought it best to get a new one. However, having installed the Seagate Dashboard, I now have a nice, new nag screen popping up almost every time I use the laptop. This I do not find at all amusing. In fact it’s getting on my nerves and the only thing I can think to do – since the help files don’t tell me how to switch this pop-up off, is uninstall the Dashboard. Ain’t that great? Anyway, I’m sure I’ll sort it out, but first I’ll go to the Seagate home page and see what they have to say.

 Yesterday we travelled about five miles and stopped at bridge 3, which leaves us just under a mile to the end of the Ashby and on to the Coventry canal. We have until the 9^th of May to reach our meeting place on the Birmingham and Fazeley canal, so we still have plenty of time, because that’s less than 20 miles away. We need to stop off at Fazeley anyway, because we need to go to the local out-of-town shopping centre for Wifey’s cross-stitch threads.

 I also managed to get some undercoating done yesterday afternoon. The plan is that, when we get to Fazely we’ll stop with the starboard side to the towpath and get that side of the roof undercoat finished. We’ll then move along and turn around at the nearest winding hole and face in the opposite direction to finish the port side undercoat. After that it’s anybody’s guess as to when the roof gets a full coat of Donegal Green.

 Unfortunately we still have much more to do, both on the green and the cream. As for the maroon colour, well, I doubt we’ll get that lot done this time out.

 Wednesday 30^th April

 Well, that’s our first month out of the way and maybe we can look forward to some decent weather for our BCN cruise, starting on the 10^th May.

 Yesterday morning we took a gentle run down to bridge 24 on the Coventry canal, which is just before Springwood Haven marina. Strange to say, not one other boat moored nearby. We’ve moored here on many occasions and there have always been other boats here. This is the first time that we’ve had no company.

 Anyway, as it rained on us on the way here there was no way I could get any painting done, so that will have to be later today, assuming it stays dry. We’ll be heading for Atherstone this morning, where we have four miles and five locks to contend with. That will be the first set of locks since leaving Hawkesbury Junction and travelling along the Ashby which, when you need a break, is all lock free. We’ll be staying at Atherstone for two days.

 I’m becoming rather concerned at the delay in processing my driving licence renewal. I first sent in my application at the latter end of February, after which the DVLA then asked for a new photo, and they followed this with a new medical questionnaire. Both of these requests were dealt with immediately and were sent by Guaranteed Next day Delivery.

 The questionnaire also asked if I had any objections to them acquiring my medical records; which they would have done by asking my GP at Crick; but, as of yesterday no such request has been forwarded to the surgery. So, do I contact DVLA again and be a pain in the you-know-what, or do I wait a little longer?

 It was reported in the national press some time ago, that DVLA are asking Government to waive the age related renewal of licences until the age of 80, rather than the current 70, simply because they are having to deal with so many. However, when I last submitted a renewal three years ago, it was dealt with pretty quickly. So, you can see why I’m becoming concerned about the delay.

 I sent the questionnaire in on 26^th March and it was signed for on the 27th and it’s now another month.

 After a month of cruising and running our engine for a couple of hours in the evening, I’m happy to note that we’re having no problems with power. This is all down to Simon and his finding that loose connection on the heater unit. All we have to do is ensure we keep the batteries topped up, by continuing with the couple of hours running of engine in the evenings, and we should be OK for the rest of this trip.

 Thursday 1^st May

 Yesterday we took a slow meander along the Coventry canal, from Springwood Haven to Atherstone, taking in about four miles and five locks. After the third of these locks we had to stop for a boat coming up from the next lock. The young woman driving the holiday boat didn’t seem too competent and so, like all good, experienced boaters, we held open the lock gates and operated the paddles for her, which was when we discovered why she was driving the boat, her other half had had the misfortune to fall into the water and was drying himself off. How embarsking for him, what??

 Now, after giving the matter due consideration, I realised that, although it has been over two months since I first applied to renew my driving licence, it’s actually only been a month since I submitted the medical questionnaire. So, since I don’t want to provoke the very nice people at DVLA into revoking my licence, I think I’ll allow them a couple of weeks more. That’s only fair on those hard-pressed government minions, isn’t it?

 With the printer that Chris gave us; which was rather old and decrepit; I could run light watercolour paper through without a problem. Sadly this new Epson is unable to pass the extra thickness through, which means that I can’t cheat with my pastels. Shame! I’ll just have to go with the other method, which entails tracing over the main parts of the photo I want to paint, reversing the tracing and going around it with a charcoal pencil, then laying the charcoal side on my watercolour paper and pressing down. This leaves a faint impression of the picture, which I can then follow with my pastels.

 Since leaving Crick on 1^st of April, we’ve been unable to find a shop that sells postcards. This is probably because none of the newsagents consider their area suitable for holiday makers, which is a shame because the Midlands has a lot going for it. However, as I promised Noel at Crick, that I would send him a gentle reminder once a month about running the car, I’ve had to resort to a Notelet. Fortunately we have some here from the RNLI, so he’ll have to make do with that.

 Today is a shopping and chill-out day. Yesterday we wandered up Atherstone high street in search of books, which we found plenty of at the various charity shops. We actually arrived back at the boat with nine, which must be a record. Unfortunately, the one book that will allow us to continue a Wilbur Smith sequence of stories was still unavailable. We’ve even tried Smith’s and Waterstone’s, but with no luck at either. Not to worry though, we still have many others to get through, but we are wondering where this particular book is hiding.

 Friday 2^nd May

 Another Bank Holiday weekend is almost upon us and we’ll be moving along a short distance this morning. We’ve done five of the 11 Atherstone locks so far and will go down another four and stop way out there in the sticks. If the weather holds up and stays dry for us, we’ll make Polesworth for Saturday morning and spend the weekend there.

 Yesterday we spotted a boat go by that will be travelling with us along the BCN. About a week ago Colin, the owner of that boat, emailed everybody and I replied to it. He obviously recognised our boat yesterday, because he emailed again this morning telling us where they are going today; some lakes or other on the Birmingham and Worcester. Obviously he and his wife aren’t retired yet because, had they been so they probably wouldn’t be travelling all that way in one day, which makes us rather lazy, I supposed.

 Anyway, may we wish you a very pleasant holiday weekend and, if at all possible, have a bit of fun.

 Cheers for now.

 Dave and Sheila.