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

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 11

Saturday 22^nd March to Tuesday 1^st April

 Sunday 23^rd March

 We decided to leave early for the Family Bash and set off just a little after 9am. However, with the amount of traffic on the road; much more than we would have expected for a Sunday morning; we took the scenic route through Milton Keynes, Bedford, Sandy, and on to the A10 and straight down through Ware. This took us much longer than the M1 would have, but our timing was just right, because it gave us time to put the car through the car-wash and grab a cup of coffee at the café in The Stow.

 We arrived at The Fox at about 12.15, after picking Alan and Val up who, much to our surprise, were ready and waiting at the door. Well done you two. Luv Ya!! It was then just down to me to welcome our guests and ply them with drinks, prior to sitting down for our meal and a good old chinwag.

 The event went really well, the meal was good and the chatter kept everything moving quite pleasantly, I thought. After the meal, Bob started organising the photo-shoot, which just about everybody took part in, and just about everybody posed for. We even had one of the staff members taking photos with our cameras. Eventually it was left to Sheila and me to make the move to leave; else they all would have stood chatting until they were eventually asked to leave. I would say the day went well.

 After dropping Aland Val off home, we repaired to the Premier Inn at Harlow Mill, where we rested up and read the Mail until Al and Val turned up later, when we enjoyed a few more drinks together.

 We arranged to pick them up again on Monday morning for breakfast at The Stow café, after which we took them shopping. I think we eventually tore ourselves away at about 10.30 or 11.00 and made our way home to Crick. But, as with travelling the M1 on a Monday, we were obliged to leave the motorway and head for the A5. It seems there had been an ‘incident’ between junctions 11 and 12, which is well before the point at which we would have left it.

 We eventually arrived home at about 12.15 or so and, after a quick cuppa, we set to and cleaned our chimney. We do this just as soon as we are in a position to let the fire go out, such as when the weather hots up or, like Sunday, when we leave the boat for a couple of days. If we don’t do so on a regular basis, the main stack inside the boat is prone to clogging up and, as proved to us last year, it can take an age to unclog, using a long piece of iron rod.

 So, that’s the family bash for another year but, unlike this year we won’t be saving to pay for it. Bob and Steve; Gill’s partner; both offered to put something in the pot, but Wifey had set her heart on paying this year, so we had to refuse the offers. Thank you both, but they do say it is better to give than receive, and we both enjoyed your company, if only for a short while.  See you all again in 2015.

 Now, while I think of it, does anybody out there have any idea how we can get in touch with Ian? If you have an email for his sisters, or if Ian has a new one that we aren’t aware of, please do email me with them.

 We now have just one week before we set off for another enjoyable seven months of cruising. This year we’ll be taking a week through part of the Birmingham Canal System, along with 19 other boats. Several stopovers have been arranged and the week ends with a festival at Titford, after which we’ll be heading for Liverpool. After that, perhaps we’ll make our way to the River Weaver via the Anderton Lift, but this will depend on the weather. Any more flooding and we may have to forget it, again!

 Friday 28^th March

 Yesterday we took the bus into Rugby, only to do a wee bit of shopping and enjoy a coffee and scone; one of the local, back street café’s make their own scones and they are really something. I have asked one of the staff girl’s there to let me have the recipe, but she reckons that, if she did so then she would have to kill me. Shame, they are really great.

 Anyway, sad to say, after faffing around and wandering into several different shops, we didn’t have time for the coffee and scone. However, since we’ll be going into Rugby again on Monday, we’ll make sure we have our coffee/scone fix; it will be the last chance we get, because we’ll be off on Tuesday morning.

Today we have to see the nurse and arrange our prescriptions, prior to leaving. At this surgery, which has its own pharmacy, they are happy to give us three months’ supply and, whilst cruising we only have to phone or email with a request, along with address of the chemist at which we would like to collect our medication, and they will post the prescriptions direct. Magic!

 After seeing the nurse we’ll do our main shopping at Sainsbury’s and then, any odds and sods we need before leaving, we’ll pick up at the Co-op in Crick.

 Roll on Tuesday!!

 Saturday 29^th March

 We both had a medication review with Nurse Sharon yesterday morning, along with blood pressure checks and blood sample from me. We collect our medication on Monday, which will be three months’ worth and which will have to be stored under the bed. Goodness knows how we’ll find enough space for my Insulin. Ah well, we’ll soon be on our way.

 Tuesday 1^st April

 Today’s the day we’ll be on our way, but first we have to settle our electricity bill and buy some more coal.

 Sunday was, as Sundays go, much of a muchness, with the usual lunchtime drinky-poohs at the club. After which we said our goodbyes until November.

 Yesterday afternoon we had a visit from another boater, whose name is Peter and who was on his first day as a boater. Peter lives in Thailand, and is married to a local lady. He’s 69 and has decided to give boating a couple of years and he’s hoping his missus will be agreeable to the lifestyle.

 Anyway, he popped along to get some information about boating, such as diesel and gas usage, WiFi; which he called MiFi for some reason. So, realising that we would need a couple of hours to chat, he came back later in the evening and we went through a few things. We ended up with a guided tour of his boat; which is 57 feet in length and is about 20 years old. I must say, we were pretty much impressed with the condition of the boat, especially since he only paid £38K for it. He’s promised to come and see us before we go, although, once we’ve sorted our own business out, we’ll only be mooring up outside the marina, but only until tomorrow morning, when we’ll be making our way through Crick tunnel and heading towards Braunston.

 So, that’s it for this year’s winter moorings. I have to say it’s been pretty peaceful here, so we’ll be back here in November again this year.

 Toodle pip for now.

 Dave and Sheila

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 10

Sunday 9^th March to Saturday 22^nd March

 Monday 10^th March

 Hopefully those weather people know what they’re talking about because, having told us it’s going to be fine and warm for the best part of this week, we’ve decided to venture out and onto the cut for a few days.

 But first we need to do a bit of shopping at the Co-op and dispose of rubbish. What time we get away depends very much on what time Wifey rises from our pit.

 Tuesday 11^th March

 After much faffing about, emptying rubbish and doing washing, we finally left Crick at 08.45, into what started as a quite mild day. However, after about three miles I found it necessary to don a warmer coat, to keep out the chill from the headwind.

 After almost five miles, we pulled in just past bridge 26 and there we stayed for the rest of the day.

 We did manage to watch DCI Banks at 9 pm and, come 5 o/clock this morning we still had 12.5 volts showing on our electrics panel. Not enough, I suspect, to allow me to put the heater on, nor to switch on the Invertor plug the laptop in. Still, it’s now 06.45 and, with 12.5 volts still showing, I’ve just plugged the laptop in. The power was down to only 18% and I still had this to write.

 Now, when we called in at the club on Sunday, we were pleasantly surprised to be handed an envelope containing a meat voucher in the sum of £10. This voucher is valid until 28^th April and can be redeemed at Joseph Morris Butchers in South Kilworth, which just so happens to be along our current route.

 South Kilworth appears to be quite a walk from the canal but, as it comes before North Kilworth; from where we intend to catch the bus into Market Harborough; we’ll stop there on the way back and collect £10 worth of meat.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make a list of recipes that we could use during this year’s cruise. I then bought some calligraphy pens and an A4 book and have now started to enter the recipes in the book, in posh writing. Now, in with the pens there is an order form for such things as ink cartridges and one item in particular that I think could be useful. This is an Ink Converter, which fits into a pen in place of a cartridge and can be used very much like the old style fountain pens, by simply dipping it in a bottle of ink and filling it by extracting the plunger.

 So, thinking to order a few of these on the calligraphy site, I accessed their website and, lo and behold, no Ink Converters. Oh, goody.

 So, I then emailed the company and discovered that this is one item that they don’t sell from the site!! Great!! Now what? Well, it seems that I need to submit the order form that came with the set, by post no less. Stupid, plain stupid.

 But I have a cunning plan because, when we get to Market Harborough I’ll but a fountain pen, one that comes with a refillable bladder inside and, along with a bottle of ink, the problem will be solved. Hopefully I’ll find one with a wide nib, or at least an interchangeable one and won’t have to bother with the cartridges, which do not flow as freely as I would have expected and hoped.

 Later that evening…..

 So, having left our moorings at about 8 am, we headed off to North Kilworth, hoping to catch the bus into Market Harborough. Alas, at the relevant bridge, we found all available spaces taken up by boats and there was nowhere nearby that we could safely moor up. In the end we actually cruised for a total of 10 miles in just 3½ hours and ended up miles from any known habitation. It may be possible to stop on the way back, but I’m not hopeful, so we’ll probably have to wait until we’re back at Crick and get what I want in Rugby.

 Tomorrow morning we’ll turn around and head back to Crick, which will take us a couple of days.

 Today has been brilliant weather wise, but not until we had suffered the cold of early morning cruising. Tomorrow is another day.

 Thursday 13^th March

 We left our moorings quite early yesterday and, despite the continuous fog, managed to arrive back at our first moorings at 12.15pm. Apart from Wifey washing the starboard side of the boat, we chilled out for the rest of the day.

 This morning we have been greeted by a pea-souper of a fog and can just make out the opposite bank of the canal. We are hoping to get back to the marina this morning, so this fog had better lift soon.

 Sunday 16^th March

 We took a walk up to the surgery on Friday morning and, boy, did I know about it later! My left knee; which has never been 100% right since being replaced; really gave me stick later in the day. Along with the swollen knee, came the swollen and painful calf muscles on both legs. As a result of that walk, I slept badly that night and could barely walk on Saturday morning. This proved to be a nuisance considering the great weather we had, but it couldn’t be helped and we had to stay in all day. Shame!!

 Thank goodness the swelling has now gone down and I’ll probably be able to walk to The Red Lion at lunchtime. Andy and Sandy are coming down from Mercia to join us for lunch, so we’re quite looking forward to that. They’ll be bringing their scatty Border Collie Taz, with them, which could be a disaster, because he’s such a bouncy dog. It’s just as well that The Red Lion is dog-friendly, otherwise he’d have to stay in their van.

 Tuesday 18^th March

 Sunday turned out really great weather-wise and we arrived at The Red Lion just on 12 noon, with Andy and Sandy in tow. Having warned them to be early; because we knew that the place filled up fast; the pub made me out to be a liar and was pretty quiet. In fact it didn’t seem to fill up at and, by the time we left there still weren’t that many tables taken. The food was good, as was the company and we all enjoyed the time together.

 We’ve been worrying ourselves about re-painting the maroon parts of the boat, something we want to do while we’re out cruising this year. Quite a lot of it has been written over, with the name of the boat and our names also and, since the tin of paint that we have is not a good match, we’re concerned about painting over the scratches. However, Andy came to the rescue there by suggesting somebody he knows, who makes self-sealing transfers. All he requires are photos of the parts we want copying, along with measurements. This means that, after keying the whole area on both sides, we can paint over the lot and add the transfers afterwards. All I need now is the name and address of the artist concerned and we can place an order. Sadly, where such things as remembering to send details are concerned, Andy and Sandy are pretty slow. I guess I’ll have to give them a reminder.

 Today we’ll try to find the butcher’s at South Kilworth and redeem our £10 voucher.

 Tomorrow our engineer should be here to carry out the engine service and sort out our electrics and heater

 Thursday 20^th March

 Simon turned up yesterday morning and, after carrying out a thorough engine service, promptly discovered why we had been unable to fire up our heater in the mornings whilst we were cruising. Apparently a small section of connections was hanging loose; having only been secured with a self- tapping screw and had been wired up with the incorrect gauge of wire. So, we’ve been travelling around the inland waterways all this time, with dodgy wiring.

 Our final job before we leave here will be to replace the rest of the halogen bulbs with LEDs, which are all in the bedroom. After that’s done we’ll probably be able to leave all our lights on all day with little effect on the batteries, which we had thought to reduce to just four for our domestic usage. In the end, we decided to keep all six and see how we go and, if we still find we’re low on power at any time, we’ll see about renewing some of them.

 This morning the marina is taking a battering from strong winds and, most probably we’ve had some rain, although I haven’t looked out of the windows yet.

 Saturday 22^nd March

 When I asked Wifey, yesterday morning, what was for dinner that evening, she said we would be having fresh fish. But, she told me, I don’t have any parsley to go with it. She had tried at the Co-op, when she went to get the Mail, but no joy there, so, a good excuse to take the bus into Rugby, and so we caught the 11.40, which is rather late for us.

 ow, having taken the trouble to buy ink and fillers for my calligraphy pens, I then found that they were rather messy; oh for the days of pens with bladders inside, that you just squeeze in order to refill them. So, while we were in town we popped into Smiths and bought a couple of packs of cartridges, one black and one blue, since these are the two colours I use most.

 In case I haven’t told you what I’m using these pens for, it’s to make a manual of recipes that we plan on cooking while we’re away cruising this year. I have to say that the manual is looking good so far. I plan on taking photos of the ingredients and final meal and include them in a final book.

 It’s the big day tomorrow, the Kennett Family bash, so I’ll post this off as a wee reminder.

 Take care all. See you tomorrow at The Fox.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 9

Monday 24^th February to Sunday 9^th March

 Monday 24^th February

 We drove over to Braunston this morning, with the express intention of buying a new water pump but, having explained the problem top the very nice lady there, we didn’t bother. Apparently she has experienced the same problems as we have; the pump running on after shutting down the tap; and suggested it may be our washing machine Solenoid Valve playing up.

 It seems that, if the SV doesn’t shut off properly and the inlet water valve is still open, this can cause a build-up of water in the washing machine, which is what is happening with our one.

 So, taking that information on board – pardon the pun – we turned off the inlet valve to the washing machine and, lo and behold, the water shut down straight away. Unfortunately this happy situation didn’t last because, the next time we used a tap the water pump went into its usual antics.

 So, we then tried adjusting the pressure in the Expansion Tank again, but this didn’t work either. We are now even more confused than we were before. However, when the local engineer deign to contact us to arrange a visit, we’ll bend his ear and see what he suggests.

 Tuesday 25^th February

 A cloudy start today, but turned out much brighter later.

 We drove up to the Co-op and were pretty glad we did, because it started raining soon after we left.

 I’ve now posted my licence off, complete with photo. Hopefully that will be an end to it and I’ll be able to relax for another three years.

 Friday 28^th February

 Today I’m going down to Harlow, Alan has secured a couple of tickets to the Cricket Club, which has a Jazz Night tonight.

This will be my last trip to Harlow before we set off on our travels again, except for the family bash on 23^rd of March.

 Our engineer will be along on Wednesday and will have quite a lot of work to carry out. This includes an engine service, checking our electrics and sorting out the heating system. We’ll also ask him about the water pump but we suspect we’ll have to buy a new one.

 We’re hoping that the weather will be good enough to take the boat out on Sunday, just for a couple of days. We want to see how the power is once the boat is taken off the mains. However, since these things never fix themselves, I’m pretty sure our engineer will have to make some adjustments. Hopefully it won’t entail buying new batteries, because that would be an expense too far.

 Sunday 2^nd March

 The trip down to Harlow on Friday was, to say the very least, a pretty slow affair. Due to the rain and the spray that would have been pretty bad on the M1, I decided to take the A5 down to Milton Keynes, pick up the A421 and then the A603 towards Bedford and then branch off onto the A507, which would take me to the A10 and straight down to Ware and then Harlow by the back lanes.

 So far so good, until I got to the A421 at MK, when I ran into a spot of bother, because, according to our atlas the A507 is almost immediately on the other side of the M1. Alas, this was not the case because, having traipsed along the A421 for what seemed an age, there was no sign of the A603. At this point I then decided to backtrack and continue my journey on the motorway.

 After what seemed another age of circling MK, I then saw the sign for Bedford and Cambridge which was, once again, taking me onto the A421. I then followed this and eventually found the A603. So, yippee, I was finally on the right road and knew where I was going. The whole trip took me 2½ hours, as opposed to the 1¾ by M1 and A414. Not too bad I think, but I’ll only take that route when the weather is bad or I’m travelling mid-week.

 We started our brotherly get-together with a cuppa and sarni, followed by a trip down to Maplin’s for a new TV aerial. I was looking for a high gain, small black thing which, as I’ve been advised by several boaters, is far superior to those that you fix to a mast, or pole.

 The nice man in the shop pointed me in the right direction and I settled for one that is good within nine miles of a transmitter. This was priced at £25 and came with 240 volt to 12 volt unit but, since I want to plug the aerial directly into a 12 volt socket, this same nice man then led me to a rack with jack plugs and cut off some suitable twin cable, with which to complete the job.

 Don’t you just love helpful shop staff?

 As for our planned trip to the Cricket Club and an evening of Jazz, well, that fell through as well. The Cricket Club lies at the bottom end of Chippingfield in Old Harlow and the whole area was full of parked cars. No parking there but, on the advice of Alan’s colleague, who lives close to the club, we drove around to the Fire Station and looked for parking there, but that wasn’t to be either, because the Fire Station is on a bend and I didn’t fancy leaving the car there for a long period.

 So, having failed to find suitable parking, we trotted off back to the White Admiral, which was fairly jumping and noisy.

 During the early part of May this year, we should be going on a cruise through Birmingham, accompanied by another 19 boats. Now, this seems rather a lot of boats and, due to the amount of locks we will all need to negotiate, every day could be rather long and tiring.

 Add to that the need to moor up overnight and, we suspect, we’ll be tying up alongside each other, i.e. double moored, which is not something we are too keen on.

 So, I have now emailed Stuart, the leader of this expedition, to find out just what will be expected of us. Had it been fewer boats; even only 10; we might not have been so concerned. But 20 boats seems an awful lot to contend with, especially if the weather is bad and we spend a lot of time cruising in rain and/or high winds, neither of which we would normally do.

 We will see what we will see.

 Tuesday 4^th March

We took the bus into Rugby yesterday, ostensibly to purchase a new printer. The one we are using at present was given to us by a fellow moorer at Mercia, but it’s rather heavy and we have to lift it out from under the bed whenever we need to use it.

 So, since it’s an HP printer and, since we already have most of the HP software on the laptop, we thought we’d get one of those. Looking through a slim-line Argos catalogue recently, we noticed a couple that were reduced in price. Unfortunately, when we visited the shop, they were out of stock.

 Back to the drawing board then and onto eBay for some inspiration. I’ve now found a few printers; all around the £40 mark; and, most importantly, the replacement cartridges don’t cost an arm and a leg. It only remains to decide which one to order. However, there can be a little catch with some things eBay, one of which is that some printers come without cartridges. These are usually refurbished printers, so we have to be careful here.

 Today, prior to buying the new printer, we’re going to print out everything we need on the old one, because we do have plenty of replacement cartridges for that one and will be dumping it before we leave here, Yes, it is that old and probably unsaleable.

 Tomorrow we are expecting our engineer to come and decide what needs doing to our electrics and heater.

 Wednesday 5^th March

 Our trip into Rugby was successful, I’m pleased to say. After a wee bit of shopping, we called into Ryman’s and, after much hemming and hawing finally bought an Epson XP 212 Printer. We then enjoyed our usual coffee and fruity scone, but the waitress there still refuses to give me a copy of the recipe. She says she would have to shoot me if she did! I’ve only got another few weeks to persuade her.

 After lunch we decided to get some printing done, using the old HP Printer, but that didn’t go too well. We wanted to get as much printing done with that one, rather than use up too much ink in the new one. The cartridges in the Epson are only slim and, since some of the ink in those is used for the set-up, we didn’t want to chance it.

 Alas, the HP played up something terrible; curling up corners and generally jamming up; and we decided instead to set the Epson up. What a palaver! This printer is a WiFi one and this meant setting that up too. While we’re at Crick Marina we use the site WiFi but, since we’ll be cruising soon, we really need the printer to recognise the unit we have with Three.

 Eventually, after much faffing about and waiting for the printer to sort itself out, all was done and all I then needed to do was register the machine. However, when I started filling in the online form, this model of printer was not on the list and so, without that information I was unable to register. Great! I’ll now have to try contacting Epson to find out why.

 Other than those quirks and foibles, the Epson seems to work just fine. I have had one success though, I found someone on eBay who does compatible cartridges; 4 x black and 2 each of colour, for just £6.99, a far cry from the Epson cartridges of 1 each for £26!! Don’t you just love eBay?

 Thursday 6^th March

 Just for a change, it’s chucking it down with rain this morning.

 We had the promised visit from our new engineer yesterday morning. His name is Simon Pollard and, after much discussion regarding the electrics, he seems to confirm our suspicions, that we don’t need six domestic batteries. Technically speaking; as we had already figured out; our alternator, even with the new Stirling Alternator to Battery Charger in situ, cannot maintain the batteries to their full potential. So, we’ll probably do away with two of them and, since the others are all at least two years old and not very well maintained, we’ll probably have to replace the other four. At around £100 each this an extra expense that we could well do without.

 If you are considering the easy and relaxed lifestyle of canal boat living, you might do well to remember that, as with the essential motor car, you will be dipping into your pocket quite a lot.

 Today, having purchased our nice, new printer, we’ll be taking a run over to the Daventry Civic Amenities Centre, or rubbish tip, to dispose of the old one. Sadly, it’s not even worth giving away because it keeps chewing paper up. Still, it’s lasted well, so we can’t complain.

 Sunday 9^th March

 Well, as with the previous printer; which we finally dumped at the Amenities site in Daventry; we found compatible ink cartridges for the Epson, on eBay and, at just £6.99 for 4 x black and two each of the three colours, pretty darn good value for money.

 Why does anybody pay full price for ink cartridges, when the compatible ones work just as well?

 We are now getting pretty close to our leaving day, only 23 days but, before that time we’ll be meeting up with Andy and Sandy – that’s next Sunday – and we’ll be driving down to Harlow on the 23^rd for the family do. We both hope for a dry and warm seven months.

 Thanks for reading our blog and take care

 Dave and Sheila