Cruise 2016 # 10

Friday 16^th September to Monday 26^th September

Sunday 18^th September

On Friday morning we took the bus into Lichfield but, having visited all the shops that sell coats, we weren’t able to find what we wanted. Sheila is not quite as fussy as me; for a start she doesn’t mind hoods on coats, I hate them. Even having said that, she wasn’t happy with the coats on offer. Perhaps it’s too early for the full range of winter warmers to be in stock. Whatever the case, nothing suitable was found. Not to worry though, we’ll be at Fazeley Junction on Tuesday and will be able to take the bus to Ventura Park, where there’s a Black’s clothing store.

Now, yesterday was a pretty fine day and so, after walking to the paper shop; which has been closed for a while, apparently; Sheila popped next door and found that the Mini-Market had taken over newspapers. That done, we headed back to the boat, where, much to my surprise, Sheila volunteered to get down the engine bay and remove all that spilled oi. I have to confess, I wasn’t looking forward to that particular task. My back is still aching from my last foray into that place.

Anyway, since some of this spilled oil had been contaminated with odd particles of other muck, we decided to remove at least some with old tea towels and cloths, putting those she collected into an old paint kettle. However, after a while she thought perhaps the amount of oil there was too much for just old cloths, so out came the oil remover thingy. This is a bowl, with a thin tube attached, that can be pressurised and, with the tube shoved down the dip-stick hole, engine oil can be sucked up under pressure.

That idea became a non-starter almost immediately, because the tube became clogged up. So, more cloths and more time and, eventually, all the oil had been removed. We now have a paint kettle full of oil and soggy cloths, along with more oil soaked rags, all in a black bin bag. In fact, since leaving Great Haywood we have accumulated three bags full of rubbish, which we’ll dispose of when we get to Fradley Junction, probably tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks to my thoughtful wife, job done.

This morning we have a clear sky and no wind, so we may be lucky and be able to spend an hour at the local watering hole.

Monday 19^th September

Supposed to be going on to Fradley but, as it’s raining, and very well may continue to do so for the rest of the day, that may not be the case. However, it was a great day yesterday and we did manage to enjoy our usual hour at the pub. So, that’s alright then!

Wednesday 21^st September

We finally made it to Fradley Junction yesterday morning and, much to our surprise, found very few boats moored on the Coventry arm. That soon changed later in the day though.

Anyway, as normal when we’re at Fradley, we took a walk through the Wildlife Park and, on the way back, called into the local café for ice creams. Other than that, we spent a peaceful day.

This morning, bright and early, we made our way to Whittington, where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and then walked to the shop for a few odds and ends. We’re now resting our weary bones.

Tomorrow, we’ll go on to Fazeley Junction where, on Friday morning, we’ll take the bus to Ventura Park, where there’s a Black’s store and where we hope to buy winter coats.

Thursday 22^nd September

It’s the Autumn Equinox today, which means that the daylight hours are the same as the night time darkness.

We should be going on to Fazeley, and will probably do so, if the rain stops. Otherwise we could be here for an extra day. Whittington is fine for a couple of days, so it would be no hardship to stay and we could still get to Ventura Park on Saturday.

I’ve spent a lot of time recently, searching for my next car. The Alfa is now 14 years old, so I’m hoping to find something younger. It’s a habit some of us get into, trading in for a newer model!!

 Now, as a hard and fast rule, I hate diesels, simply because they are so damned dirty. However, for the sake of economy, I have set aside that hatred and have narrowed my search down to the Jaguar X Type, Classic, SE, or Sport 2.0 diesel, all of which are pretty economical on fuel and all of which have only £145 Road Tax.

Then there’s the SAAB 9-5 Vector Sport 1.9 TiD, which has slightly better fuel consumption, but a higher Road Tax, at £185.

The trouble is, I also like the Mercedes C180 and the Jaguar S Type, so I’m twixt a rock and a hard place. In years gone by I’ve ignored running costs and have simply gone for what I like or fancy. However, since this will probably be the last car I buy, I’m being a bit picky.

Of course, the other consideration, is the age of the car. With the Mercs and jags, I’ll be lucky to find one with an 04 plate. Whereas, with the SAAB, it’s not uncommon to find an 07 plate. That’s probably because SAAB are no longer in business. But, that should not be a worry, since there are quite a few mechanics out there who specialise in SAABs.

Well, it looks like the rain has stopped, so we might get away this morning.

Friday 23^rd September

Lucky old us, no rain to spoil our trip to Fazeley. In fact, the day turned out rather good, all bright and sunny.

One unusual happenstance occurred on our way here though. As we were approaching Hopwas, a fellow boater, who was coming towards us, called out to be aware that there was a dead body on the towpath ahead, and that the police were there. Sure enough, as we came out of the other side of the village, there was a blanket lying there and the shape of a body underneath it. Of course, there were police everywhere, some of which seemed to be conducting house to house enquiries.

Today we’ll definitely be taking the bus to Ventura Park to see about warmer jackets. There’s a definite chill in the air this morning, so Autumn is approaching. Thankfully, our fire is throwing out the heat, so we should have no problems on that score. In fact, now that the fire ropes have been replaced; courtesy of my good wife; the coal is burning much more slowly, or so it seems and, provided we clean the chimney on a more regular basis, it won’t get blocked up again.

Later……

Managed to find the ideal winter coat at Black’s. I’m right chuffed with this coat, for three very good reasons. One, only one zip-catch at the bottom, where most of these have two, ostensibly to allow for riding a bike!! Also, no Velcro, instead it has press-studs and, finally, no hood. I hate hoods on coats. All in all, a bargain at just £42.00p.

From Black’s we went across to Sports Direct, where we found a coat for Wifey. All the bells and whistles, including fur-lined hood, which she just loves, although she’ll probably remove the furry bit. At just under £50.00p, another bargain. Bring it on!!

Tomorrow, Polesworth for the weekend.

Sunday 25^th September

Yesterday, thank goodness, dawned bright and calm and so, after topping up with water and disposing of rubbish, we headed off for Polesworth. This was a straightforward trip, and was only broken by stopping off at Alvecote for coal and a 5ltr. container of engine oil. Now, since we’re probably staying here tomorrow too, perhaps the weather will be kind enough, to allow me to change the oil again.

Yesterday, after arriving at Polesworth and imbibing the obligatory cup of coffee, we took a walk into the town for groceries, and then settled in for a lazy day. We had planned on taking Alex for a walk around the local park, but the wind blew up quite strong and rain threatened, so we decided against it.

This morning, well, at the moment it’s raining but, when I got up, it was teeming down. It eased off just long enough to get the pooch out for a pee.

Monday 26^th September

Thankfully, the rain did stop yesterday and we had a very pleasant day, although the wind did spring up quite strong later. Unfortunately, that meant we had to sit inside the Bull’s Head for our Sunday tipple.

This morning started out dry and cloudy, but it has now progressed to wet and cloudy. We had intended to move along a few miles and up a couple of locks today, but we may not be able to. We just hate cruising in the rain, even though we do have waterproof gear.

Well, I think that will do for this blog. Have a good week folks.

Dave, Sheila and Alex.

Cruise 2016 # 9

Cruise 2016 # 9

Thursday 8^th September to Friday 16^th September

Thursday 8^th September

My sincere apologies for forgetting to include the finished colour cartoon of my daughter, Teresa. This I will do when I post this one, Promise!!

Teresa's Cartoon Portrait

I do believe we had some rain last night. Although, I didn’t hear a thing if it did.

Yesterday we took Alex over to the field for a run around, which he thoroughly enjoyed and which wore him out. The field in question spans the two rivers that run by the canal and, as far as we are aware, serves as a flood plain.

Today, weather permitting, we’ll be off to Tixall Wide again and will take a walk into Great Haywood later in the day. We might even stay there for the weekend and then, on Monday morning, take the boat along to the marina, where we can top up with diesel.

Now that the warm and sticky spell has broken, we’re expecting it to cool down, so I suspect we’ll be lighting the fire soon. At least the chimney is clean, Now, all we have to do is reseal the door.

Later…..

After walking down to the nearest newspaper shop; sits just opposite the entrance to Queens Shopping Centre; we got back to the boat, only to find it started raining. So, rather than travel in the rain; especially with the building wind speed; we sat around for an hour and finally left at 09.30.

Fortunately for us, the rain stayed away and we arrived at Tixall Wide at 11.00. We have no great rush to be anywhere in particular; well, not until the 1^st of November; so we’ll probably stay here for the weekend.

Tomorrow we’ll walk into Great Haywood for shopping and, on Sunday, we’ll walk I again for the pub.

Monday? Who knows? Who cares?

Saturday 10^th September

As expected, we had high winds later in the day. However, it did stay dry for the most part. During the night we had rain, but that has stopped now and so has the wind. After brekky, assuming the weather is still on our side, we’ll take a walk into Great Haywood for some shopping.

Whilst we’re still OK for diesel, we’ll probably leave topping up until we get to the pig farm, outside of which is a fuel barge. This is just the other side of Rugeley and we should be there for Tuesday.

We are planning on taking the bus into Litchfield, but that won’t be until we reach Handsacre, on Thursday or Friday. We’re hoping to find a couple of decent winter coats. Ours are now too small, due to some success in losing weight. I also want to get a new strap for a watch.

Later……

Immediately after breakfast, we took a walk into Great Haywood for stuff. Our walk took us past the rubbish tip, where we did just that, then on to the paper shop and Post Office, then back to the Farm Shop, where we, once again, spent lots.

Once back at the boat we enjoyed a cup of coffee, and a well-deserved one at that.

After coffee, out came the laptop. Now, saving emails is a fairly straightforward procedure. However, when following that procedure, as set down by Microsoft’s Outlook programme, the resultant emails must still be opened with Outlook. But, being the ornery cuss that I am, I don’t want to do that. I would rather simply save them and open them, without having to also open Outlook. So, I looked online and, lo and behold, all that’s required is to make a new folder somewhere on the laptop, and drag the email that needs to be copied, into the new folder. It’s then a case of simply double clicking on the email that’s been saved.

Why do I want to save emails once they have been read? Well, many of them, especially from my RAF pal Alan and Sheila’s Sister-in-Law, Sandra, contain jokes, photos and links that I wish to keep. Saving them all in separate folders means I can then delete them from Outlook, which has the added benefit of speeding up the loading process.

Monday 12^th September

A pretty good weekend, with fair weather yesterday, which allowed us to walk along to Great Haywood and enjoy an hour in the pub garden. Other than that little outing, Sundays are for resting. Although, Wifey chose Sunday to replace the fire bricks and seal the doors on the solid fuel burner. Job done! Now, after this week’s fine weather, we’ll probably be lighting the fire. It does get rather chilly inside the boat in the mornings, and again once the sun goes down.

We’ll be moving along and making a call into the local marina for diesel and then, if we can do so, moor up in Great Haywood.

Tuesday 13^th September

Yesterday was interesting, for several reasons. We left Tixall Wide at about 8.15 am and made our way to Great Haywood and we were fortunate enough to get in on the water point.

After topping up with water and disposing of rubbish, we then carried on the Great Haywood Marina, where we were again very fortunate in being able to go straight on to the diesel point.

After filling up with diesel, we left the marina and made our way back to the Great Haywood moorings. We noticed as we passed under the bridge, on our way to the marina, that there was a mooring space there and hoped to moor there. Wouldn’t you know it? Just as we were approaching that spot, another boat pulled in. So, we carried on and under the bridge.

That boat, that stole our intended mooring space, actually did us a favour because, as we passed under the bridge, we spotted a much better mooring point, just past the water point and junction. This is an ideal spot, for two very good reasons. Firstly, we have our stern to the junction, with nobody behind us, so we can virtually run our engine without disturbing our neighbours. And, secondly, the Wi-Fi transmitting tower is directly opposite, ensuring a strong signal.

After the obligatory cup of coffee, we took a slow meander to the local shop and then on the way back from there, called in at the Farm Shop. As mentioned before in these blogs, they do sell some pretty yummy goodies.

The rest of the day was spent doing much of nothing.

Today we’re expecting the start of a mini-heatwave. We’ll see!!

Wednesday 14^th September

Yesterday started out bright and sunny and we managed to go for a couple of walks. However, later in the afternoon, we had severe thunderstorms with lots of really heavy rain. Apparently, so did the rest of the West Midlands. OK, this morning though, so perhaps we’ll get to the pig farm without a soaking.

Friday 16^th September

A few weeks ago, I don’t remember where, we bought oil and filter for the boat, in preparation for a pre-winter oil and filter change. We usually have a proper service carried out, by a professional – Dave Hull – prior to leaving for our summer cruise.

Anyway, this Wednesday just gone, was the day I decided to get down into the bowels of the engine bay, and do right by this boat. All went well and, having run the engine to check for leaks, I was happy to run it again in the evening, as usual. We lifted the lid yesterday morning, prior to setting off for our current moorings, at Handsacre. All was well and no additional oil was found. Happy days! Or, so I thought!

Having only a short way to go before our shopping stop at Rugeley, we left somewhat later than normal but, within about 20 minutes, on cam the oil pressure warning light and on went the accompanying siren. Oh bugger, I thought.

So, we pulled in just as soon as we could, lifted the engine bay lid and were confronted with a great pool of oil. Not quite the five litres I had poured in, but not far from it.

On went my grotties and down I climbed into the engine bay. After emptying that nice, new oil and removing the nice, new filter, I then felt around the holding screw thread and, lo and behold, out came the o/ring from the old filter.

Now, this o/ring is solidly fitted into a slot and, were you to try removing that o/ring from a new filter, even with a pair of long-nosed pliars, you would not find it easy. However, this one had come adrift, when I removed the old filter, and I didn’t notice it. So, no amount of tightening of the new filter, was going to prevent a leak. The trouble her is, that I had only run the engine on tick-over and I really should have run it under pressure.

So, be warned, anybody who hasn’t done so before. If you’re doing this for the first time, do check that the o/ring comes away with the old filter. Because I didn’t do so, I not only have an engine bay swimming with oil – now being soaked up with sundry, soft items – I also have a mixture of old and new oil in the engine and will have to buy some more oil, remove that mixture and refill with new oil.

In my defence I must say that, for all the times I’ve done this simple task, I’ve not had this happen to me. We live and learn.

Now, on to today’s events. We are; assuming we don’t have to suffer those predicted heavy rains; taking the bus into Litchfield, to see if we can find some new winter coats. Due to some weight loss; I am now down from 14 stone 9 pounds to 12 stone 12 pounds, and Sheila now sits at a little over 9 stone; we find our coats are too big. So, a shopping we will go.

And that, as they say, is that. Another blog completed and ready to post.

Ta ta for now and enjoy your weekend, whatever you have in mind to do.

Dave, Sheila and Alex.

Cruise 2016 # 8

Friday 26^th August to Thursday 8^th September

Saturday 27^th August.

We arrived here at Stone on Tuesday, planning on staying just a couple of days. However, it’s now Saturday and we’re still here, with no plans to move along any time soon.

After seeing Alan and Chris on Wednesday, and because we’re on 14 day moorings, we decided to see the Bank Holiday weekend out and turn around on Monday or Tuesday morning. We’ll have to turn around on Monday anyway, because we’ll probably run out of water by Tuesday, and that wouldn’t be at all funny.

Stone is a really busy Staffordshire town and this weekend; or rather on Monday afternoon; there’s a parade on to welcome home their Gold Medal Winning Olympic Champeen. So, it’s got to be worth staying. Besides which, there are a few decent pubs here, where we can enjoy our Sunday lunchtime drinky poos.

When we do leave here, we’ll be heading back to Great Haywood and then taking the Staffs and Worcester canal through to Stourport on Severn, where we’ll turn around and make our way to Market Bosworth for the winter.

Tuesday 30^th August

We’ve spent the entire Bank Holiday weekend here at Stone, and very pleasant it has been too. In fact, we arrived here last Tuesday, so we’ve been here a whole week, which we have never done before. I suppose we just wanted a lazy week.

After seeing Alan and Chris on Wednesday, we kinda chilled out for the rest of the week. On Sunday, of course, we paid a visit to the nearest pub, The Star, and sat in the garden with our drink and snacks.

Yesterday, since we knew we were getting low on water, we moved down to the water point and topped up our tank. Then, since Wifey will insist on doing at least one wash per week, we took the boat up a couple of locks, but, because somebody was already on the waste disposal point, we continued up another two locks; which we would have had to do anyway, because we wanted to turn around; Turned around at the nearest winding hole, and came back down two locks, once again to use the waste disposal facilities. After that, another two locks down and back to our previous mooring point. And, here we stayed for yesterday.

Yesterday was a very special day for Stone, because their hero Kayaker, Joe Clarke, was being paraded through the town and being taken to the big field just behind the moorings. This field, is, essentially a playground, with a Gymnasium, tennis courts and kiddies play area. This was all roped off for that special welcome only we Brits know how to conduct.

Further away from that particular field, is another big field, which we used on several occasions to let Alex off his lead. He does enjoy a good run around when he can. Sadly, those opportunities don’t present themselves very often but, when they do, he goes potty and wears himself out from running in huge circles.

I can happily state, that we’ve quite enjoyed our stay at Stone.

Today we’ll be moving along to Weston, but that won’t happen until we’ve done a bit of shopping. We particularly like the local baker’s multi-seed G.I. bread. Yummee!!

Wednesday 31^st August

Yesterday, after popping into town for some of that GI bread and the paper, we headed off to Weston, at about 9 am. After five miles and two locks, we settled in and moored a short way before the village.

The day was really quite hot, so we didn’t do very much exciting. However, I did finish off Teresa’s pastel cartoon portrait. All I have to do now, is mount and frame it and it will be ready for posting.

Our next stop from here, will be Great Haywood, where we’ll buy a new gas bottle and then turn onto Staffs and Worcs canal, stopping off at Tixall Wide again. We’ll probably walk back to Great Haywood for the paper.

Tomorrow, assuming the weather is kind to us, we’ll make our way to Weeping Cross and, from there we’ll take the bus into Stafford. Our wee pooch is moulting quite heavily at present and, despite regular brushing, he continues to do so. Whilst out cruising, the only way to remove his hairs from the carpets, is on one’s knees with a dustpan and brush.

Unfortunately, using our hoover is out of the question, simply because it draws too much power from the batteries. So, off we go to Stafford to see if we can buy a carpet sweeper at Argos. We would prefer a cordless one, that can be charged up whilst the engine is running. It should then be easier to sweep up those hairs.

Later:

Arrived at Great Haywood at 10 am and, luckily for us, there was a space open on the water point. So, having topped up with water and bought a new gas bottle, we decided to head for Tixall Wide. However, before we could do so, we spotted a boat that was about to leave the nearest mooring point to the junction, so we slipped in there. This meant we could go and get the paper and, later in the morning, take a walk up to the Farm Shop and spend some more cash. Fruit, sausage rolls, pork pie, etc.

So now, tomorrow morning, we can go on to Weeping Cross and visit Queens Shopping Centre, where I’ll pay another visit to Hobby Craft and, if the Asda Home Store stocks them, we’ll also buy that new carpet sweeper. If they don’t, then we’ll take the bus into Stafford later, or the next day and call in at the Argos store.

Today, after a cloudy start, the weather has turned really warm and, just as soon as Wifey has finished brushing up dog hairs – for the last time, we hope – I’ll make us a cuppa. Goodness knows that lady certainly deserves one.

Thursday 1^st September

Well, according to those BBC weather people, today is the first day of Autumn. Now, I do like Autumn weather. Misty in the morning; like this morning; and plenty of colour in the trees. However, it’s only the first day of Autumn for those weather people, but since the trees haven’t started shedding their leaves yet, I’m still on Summertime, so there. And besides, the clocks don’t go back until the last weekend in October, so that’s when my Autumn starts.

Whatever the case, it looks set to be a fine day today, so we’ll be off to Weeping Cross. We’re hoping to get as far as Stourport, but will turn around when necessary and head for Market Bosworth for the Winter.

Friday 2^nd September

Did you know, the weather forecasters work in 3 monthly blocks and, as far as they are concerned, Autumn started yesterday. Similarly, Winter starts on 1^st December, Spring starts 1^st March and Summer starts on 1^st of June. Me? I like to think that Autumn starts on 1^st of November, which is when we moor up for the winter months. What’s more, our Summer starts on 1^st of April, because that’s when we like to leave the marina. Spring and Autumn don’t exist for us. So there!

Today, we’ll take the bus to Stafford and then, if the weather is kind to us, move along to Acton Trussell.

Saturday 3^rd September

Well, we moved along to Acton Trussell, and then we carried on to Penkridge, arriving at about 10 am.

Coffee was first on the agenda, then a short walk for Alex, then a walk into town, initially for some ‘dirt’ for the top boxes; which we bought from the farm shop. In addition, we called into the Butcher’s, naturally, and also bought a big, padded envelope from the Post Office, in which to post Teresa’s cartoon portrait. I know, I know, far too much information. But, such useless info does help to fill the pages.

For the rest of the day, we did absolutely nothing. Today will be a different story, because we will visit the market and, in order to make use of the dirt we bought yesterday, Wifey will buy some plants for the flower boxes on our roof. We’re also hoping to buy a new, winter coat each. If not, then we’ll take a bus ride into Stafford on Monday.

On Sunday, assuming the weather is kind to us, we’ll spend an hour in the pub garden.

Sunday 4^th September

Wifey settled on violas for the flower boxes and, with a little help from yours truly, she emptied out the old, stagnant soil and planted them. Our rooftop now looks much prettier.

Today is pretty dismal, with heavy clouds and very little sun. But, so long as it stays dry, we’ll have our hour at the pub.

Tuesday 6^th September

It is now exactly 10 years since we took to the water. Happy Anniversary to us. We still haven’t covered all that the Inland Waterways have to offer. But, we’ve done a fair chunk of it.

We took the bus into Stafford yesterday, again, and I managed to find a new, shower proof jacket, whilst Wifey found her carpet sweeper and, after getting back to the boat, put that item to good use.

Today we’ll be going up one lock, here at Penkridge, and turning around, to head back towards Great Haywood. (We changed our minds about going on to Stourport.) We’ll stop at Acton Trussell, assuming the weather doesn’t put a stop to that plan.

Now, instead of buying a new frame for Teresa’s cartoon portrait; which I couldn’t find in Stafford anyway; I have ordered one from eBay, which will be sent directly to her. All I had to do yesterday, was post the picture to her. Job done! Now I’m looking for another project, which will probably be a landscape.

Thursday 8^th September

Yesterday was yet another of those, rather scarce, hot, summer days. We arrived at Weeping Cross at about 10 am and, after supping our usual cup of coffee, we set out for the new C0-op, up that steep hill. After a bit of shopping, we decided to try a different route back, feeling pretty sure of our bearings, Wrooong!! What a mess we made of that! We finally ended up three bridges short of the boat and must have covered a good two miles.

Today we’re staying at Weeping Cross and will be taking a walk down to Queens Shopping Centre, where there’s a Hobbycraft shop and where I’m hoping to buy some oil pastels. I’ve been advised by my pastel expert, Emma, to only purchase a small pack and to experiment, which I’ll do.

After that and a cup of coffee, we’ll take our wee pooch for a run around the local field.

Tomorrow morning I’ll do my best to post this blog and will include a copy of Teresa’s colour, cartoon portrait.

Later………

We finally took that walk to Queens Shopping Centre and found a box of 25 oil pastels, for the princely sum of just £3.00p. Now, assuming they are easily blendable, that’s a bargain. If not, then we’ll wait until we get to Fazeley Junction, where we can catch the bus to Ventura Park, where there’s another Hobby Craft and where I can probably buy a much better set.

And that, as they say, is that.

May I wish you all a very pleasant weekend to come.

Dave, Sheila and Alex