Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 24

Tuesday 16^th September to Wednesday 24^th September

 Wednesday 17^th September

 Yesterday morning saw us taking just two hours to reach Wheaton Aston; a trip of just five miles. After indulging in our usual cup of coffee – not that instant muck – we trotted off to the local shop for a paper.

 Later in the day, at Wifey’s instigation, we walked to the furthest mini-market possible, just to buy into the National Lottery. We don’t normally bother but, as it’s a rollover she decided to do so. You gotta be in it to win it!!!

 This morning we’ll top up with diesel at the nearby garage which, at just 70.9p per litre, is just about the cheapest on the cut. We’ll then take our time and go just a little way past Brewood and stop for the night.

 Thursday 18^th September

 Once again e didn’t win anything on the Lottery. Shame!!

 From Wheaton Aston and on to a long stretch of moorings between bridges 7 and 8, took just 2 hours over the five miles and 1 lock. We arrived when there were just 3 other boats moored there but, by the time late evening arrived the whole stretch was full.

 On the way here we spotted a pair of Kingfishers, sitting on the rim of a canal-side overflow. It’s not that unusual to see one of these delightful birds, but this is the first time we have seen two together. This is another good reason to always have a camera to hand when cruising, which we didn’t. Yet again we missed a golden opportunity.

 We’re off to Cross Green this morning, which is six miles away on the Staffs and Worcester canal. From there we can get the bus into Stafford or Wolverhampton but, since we’re meeting Alan and Chris in Stafford on Monday, we’ll possibly go to Wolverhampton. Maybe!!

 Friday 19^th September

 Well, it seems that my cancellation of payment to Avast for the Secure Line programme has been successful, because I haven’t received notification of payment. I’ll still have to look out for the renewal of Grime Fighter, but that isn’t due until next August.

 Yesterday we took a gentle cruise to Cross Green, which is a stretch of moorings a short distance from the village of Coven and, after our obligatory coffee, we sallied forth for the Daily Mail and milk.

 Just after exiting the Shroppie; through the stop-lock at Autherly Junction; we turned left onto the Staffs and Worcester canal and, about half a mile or so further on, we came to that very narrow cutting between Marsh Lane and Forster bridges. We’ve been through this cutting on several occasions and, almost always come face to face with another boat. This time we were lucky and didn’t meet anyone until we were almost through. There are a few passing places along this cutting, so it’s not usually too much of a problem.

 I had hoped to find some reference online this morning to the Scottish Referendum, but there has been nothing yet. No doubt we’ll hear all about it on the radio later.

 So far our plans for meeting up with Alan and Chris are going well, and we should be in Penkridge for this weekend and Monday. However, the weather looks set to change soon, which could throw a spanner in the works.

 Friday 20^th September

 Our six mile trip to Gailey yesterday morning, took exactly two hours. Gailey Wharf, as it is more correctly known, consists of a long stretch of long term moorings with some 48 hour moorings at the far end. It also comprises a hire boat company, water points and waste disposal. The Watling Street A5 runs across the canal at the top lock. The main point of interest though is the round, toll keeper’s watch tower, which has been a small shop containing souvenirs of canal ware and such for quite a few years now.

 From here it’s just five locks and a couple of miles to Penkridge, where we can forget about cruising for three days. We’ll be taking the bus to Stafford on Monday and will be meeting up with Alan and Chris. But first, as it’s market day, we’ll take a walk into town and do a bit of retail therapy.

 Crick:

 As you are all aware by now, we have opted to take on a permanent mooring at Crick Marina. The main reason for this was because Noel, the site manager, was unable to guarantee us a winter mooring. However, since we now have a full time mooring spot there, we intend to take full advantage of this arrangement.

 The first difference will be shorter cruises, interspersed with cottage holidays at some of our favourite destinations from past times. However, before all that can happen we’ll be carrying out some much needed paintwork repairs and, at Wifey’s suggestion, a full spring clean of the inside of the boat.

 The spring clean can be worked at throughout the winter months, but the paintwork must wait until springtime, when we hope the weather will be dry enough.

 Sunday 21^st September

 The Nicholson’s Guide to our waterways tells us that it’s five miles and five locks to Penkridge. That may be so, but by the time we had moored up here, we had passed through seven locks and more like six miles. What made this trip most uncomfortable was the drizzly rain. In fact, at one point we had a pretty strong downpour and had to raise the big brolly. Under these conditions my so-called waterproof is anything but and I soon changed to my bigger and heavier winter coat.

 Anyway, as it was Saturday we took a walk into town and paid a visit to the market, where I found a cheap waterproof; more like a Pac-a-Mac of old. I’ve shied away from these plastic things, because they tend to make my arms sweat, but this one seemed to be a wee bit more comfortable and so, at the princely sum of £7.99, I decided to for it. Sadly, although it did the job it was intended to do, it also made my arm soaking wet by the time we had returned to the boat. However, I now know that I’ll keep dry on future wet cruises, even if my arms don’t.

 From the market we stopped off at the local butcher’s and then on to the Co-op for a few bits and bobs. Then since there were no books that we needed at the charity shop, back to the boat strode we, where nothing untoward took place for the rest of the day, unless, of course, you take into account Wifey chasing a Daddy Long Legs around the boat. The trouble with these harmless critters is that they are so sneaky, because, just as soon as you miss catching them, they disappear and hide for a while. You then have to wait until they surface again before having another go at catching them.

 Monday 22^nd September

 A wee bit cooler this morning, even with the fire going, but still not cold enough to run the heater.

 We decided on a visit to The Star pub for lunchtime drinks. This must be one of the nicest pubs we’ve visited in our eight years of cruising. It’s quiet, the staff are friendly, there’s no TV and the radio is set very low. There are few pubs around the cut that can boast all those features.

 Today we’re off to Stafford, where I might indulge in one of those wax jackets we saw on our last visit. We’ll also be dining with Alan and Chris in The Bear Grill.

 Tuesday 23^rd September

 We caught the 10.13 No 76 bus to Stafford yesterday morning and arrived almost the same time as Alan and Chris; about 10.40.

 Our first port of call was an outdoor clothing store, where I once again checked out their wax jacket. First impression? Great. Just what I needed. However, as Wifey pointed out, the inner sleeve lining, which was probably nylon, would probably make me sweat too easily. So, we shelved that idea and will now wait until we can visit the big store near Rugby. Looking on the bright side, I saved myself £100.

 After wandering around town for a short while, we arrived at The Bear Grill but, for some reason that escapes me, we decided against dining there. It wasn’t the prices that put us off, but we carried on looking and  found a pub down a side street, which boasted about its excellent food; home-made and all that; so we called in there.

Now, Wifey is not one to moan about poor food; probably because she knows I’ll complain to management; so she didn’t say anything about the baked spud until we had left. Apparently it wasn’t as hot as you would expect had it been cooked while she waited. However, it certainly tasted ok and she simply put up with it. Chris also had a baked spud, but she made no mention of the fact that it wasn’t hot enough.

 Alan had the gammon steak and egg, whilst I sampled the steak and ale pie and we were more than satisfied with our meals. In fact the pie was pretty darn good; loads of meat and excellent pastry; so no complaints from me.

 After lunch Alan pointed us towards the local park, where we sat and chatted and visited the large greenhouse which, much to my surprise had no insects about. I’m still somewhat mystified by that, because I would have expected to find spiders, if nothing else. Still, what do I know about greenhouses? I’m only a man after all!!

 We arrived back at Penkridge at about 3 pm having enjoyed our final visit with Alan and Chris for this year. They’ll be going back to Germany in mid- October, then jetting off to Malta in January.

 Wednesday 24^th September

 After three days at Penkridge we were happy to move along and so, after Wifey trundled off for the paper, I prepared Shiralee for cruising. We left at about 8.30 and, with just three locks and three miles to go; with a stop at Midland Chandlery along the way; we arrived at Acton Trussel at about 11.30.

 Midland Chandlery is situated at Park Gate Lock but, having arrived there just after 9 am, we had to wait until they opened at 9.30. Sadly, not only did they not stock the paint and therefore the colour chart that we wanted, they didn’t have a spare cassette either. Also, much to their chagrin, their tills were down so they could only accept cash for purchases. This problem didn’t only apply to this particular chandlery; it affected all of the Midland Chandlery stores.

 We came away from there with only three of the items we sought, so we’ll have to wait until we reach Braunston, where we’ll put in an order for the cassette and hope they stock an eye plate too, so that we always have one in reserve.

 Acton Trussell, although quite big in area, doesn’t appear to have much going for it. It seems to be chock-a-block with modern housing but, as far as the Nicholson Guide is concerned, has no shops, just a church whose west tower dates from the 13^th century, which is topped by a spire, which was added in 1562. We suspect that it may have a shop or two, if only a newsagents and convenience store, but since we moor some way outside the village and don’t know where they may be, we ‘re not prepared to walk around the place to find them.

 Having settled in and enjoyed our coffee and read of the Mail, Sheila then grabbed a bucket of soapy water and gave the port side a good clean. Once she gets stuck in to a job of work, she becomes like a beaver and presses on with something else. In this instance she removed the stern deck cover from the top box, and gave that a good clean too. This cover runs around the stern rails and shields us from draughts when there’s a following wind. We originally had it fitted in order to keep Rusty on board when we were inside, thus preventing her from wandering along the towpath. However, since she showed no inclination to even lay on the deck whilst we were not with her, it never got used for that purpose.

 Now, we should be moving on to Great Haywood this morning, and that’s seven miles away and includes two locks. However, after all the rain we had yesterday afternoon and last night, I’m none too sure if we’ll even manage to get away from here today. Also, since we know that the Internet is not always available there; depending upon where we manage to moor up; I’ll post this now and wish you all much pleasure for the next week or so.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 23

Saturday 6^th September to Tuesday 19^th September

 Sunday 7^th September

 After a short run and two locks yesterday morning, we’re now at Audlem, and we’re exactly where we wanted to be, just short of the water point and only a short stroll into town.

 There are three pubs here, one of which is the Bridge, a pub we’ve visited only once in the past. However, they now have a notice in their window, inviting folk singers to play on Monday evenings. This appears to be an open invitation, so there’s no guarantee as to who will turn up, so we’ll be popping in there to find out. You never know we might just stay an extra day here and enjoy two trips to the same pub.

 Sadly, the nights have grown cooler and we’ve had to relight the fire and I’m pretty sure it will stay lit for some time to come.

 Tuesday 9^th September

 We had outstayed our 48 hour welcome at our spot in Audlem, below lock 14, but we wanted to stay on another night, so we moved up another two locks. Unfortunately the stretch of moorings between locks 11 and 12 has a ledge running along under the water; quite common along the Shroppie; so we do tend to get banged about a bit, especially when boats pass by.

 Anyway, having paid a visit to The Bridge pub and discovering that they hold a Folk Night on Monday evenings, we decided to check it out, hence the move.

 We turned up just after 8 pm, at which time there were about six people there and so we joined them and watched as they sang and played various instruments. During the course of the next hour their numbers increased, until there were about nine or 10, some with instruments along with a couple of women, who simply added their voices.

 The first thing I noticed about this group was that they sang songs I had never heard before, which came as something of a surprise. In addition to that was the variety of instruments, two of which I’d never seen before either. One of which was a Hurdy Gurdy and the other a Psalter; the one played with a bow, rather than being plucked. The Psalter, in its original form, was a book or Psalms, so I can only assume that the instrument of the same name would have been used as an accompaniment.

 

Hurdy Gurdy

 

Psalter

 There were several guitars, of course and a couple of fiddles, but no ukuleles, which also came as some surprise. Apparently, this group used to meet at the nearby Shroppie Fly pub but, for whatever reason, now meet at The Bridge. From what we hear the Shroppie Fly has had many changes of management in recent times, so it may be that one of the managers didn’t particularly like folk music.

 Anyway, we had a very enjoyable hour or so in their company and left them at about 9.40, for a cup of tea and so to bed.

 Today we have 11 locks to do and will stop at the bottom of Adderly Locks.

 Wednesday 10^th September

 From Audlem we worked our way up the remaining 11 locks and three miles to the bottom of Adderley locks, a trip that took us just two hours. Once again we enjoyed a warm and calm journey.

 We’ll be in Market Drayton later this morning, where we were planning to take the bus to Hanley and meet Alan and Chris. Unfortunately they seem to have a few problems with the electrics in their flat and, along with a couple of other commitments they are unable to make it. So, instead of staying at Market Drayton for two or three days, we’ll do some shopping and move on again tomorrow morning and make our way to Gnosall for the weekend. From there we can take the bus to Stafford and meet up there instead.

 The powers-that-be are now trying to de-criminalise the avoidance of non-payment of the TV Licence. Instead they want to make this a civil offence, which leaves the ball firmly in the BBC’s court.

 To my mind there shouldn’t even be a TV Licence, because Auntie BBC has a policy of self-serving advertising; both on radio and TV; so much so that we shut off the TV sound when they come on. Unfortunately we can’t do the same for the radio, more’s the pity. So, with all that programme advertising, surely it would not make one iota of difference if they went fully commercial!!

 I may have a few more emails to deal with tomorrow morning, as I am unable to get a signal here. Funnily enough we are both able to use our mobiles, which is something that can’t be said for some of the other boaters moored here. Sheila has noticed a couple of them walking along the towpath with phones to their ears.

 Thursday 11^th September

 We didn’t realise it; probably because we tend to arrange our mooring at Market Drayton for a weekend; but their street market is really big on a Wednesday. Their Saturday market doesn’t have anywhere near the stalls that the Wednesday one does. As luck would have it, we needed to walk right up to the main street, because we needed to pick our medication up from Boot’s, otherwise we would have missed it.

 Apart from that it was pretty much an ordinary day on the good ship Shiralee.

 Friday 12^th September

 Yesterday was rather a long day for us. We headed for Shebdon Bank, eight miles and five locks away, which should have taken no more than three hours. In the event, mainly due to a very slow boater ahead of us, this trip took us four hours, so we were pretty miffed by the time we arrived. And, as we didn’t leave Market Drayton until 8.30, we arrived at 12.30.

 Even then we were lucky to find a spot to moor up at, because there was a long line of boats already there. Later on; as we found out when yet another boat arrived and squeezed in between us and the one in front; this was a gathering of some kind.

 However, the rest of the day went well and we had no disturbances from those other boaters. Not that we expected any, you understand, most boaters are pretty considerate of others, but you never know what to expect from any bunch of people when they are together.

Saturday 13^th September

 We left Shebdon Bank an hour later than usual yesterday morning; about 9am; because it was only 3 miles to go to Norbury Jinction, which would have taken only an hour of cruising.

 Upon our arrival at about 10ish, we pulled in to the first vacant spot just before the bridge, then walked over to the chandlery cum tea shop for the paper. Whilst there we found just one of those Eye Plates that we’ve been looking for since the last one was torn off when we went through Ellesmere Tunnel on the Llangollen. Since that time we’ve only had the one fender on the starboard side. Not that they do a lot of good, especially with holiday boaters, many of whom treat boating akin to dodgem car racing.

 After getting the paper and eye plate, we moved further along the canal because the spot we were at; as we know from past experience; is not a good signal area for mobile and WiFi.

 Now, this morning we’ll be leaving late again and setting off for the one mile to Gnosall Heath, where we’ll stay for the weekend and take the bus into Stafford on Monday morning. I know, we’ll be overstaying the 48 hour mooring limit here, but Sheila needs to change some items she bought at an earlier M&S, so needs must when the Devil drives, as they say.

 Sunday 14^th September

 During the summer months, as you would expect, there are plenty of hire boats around, especially during the school holidays. What always amazes me is the lack of them once the schools go back.

 There are some places that are so popular with boaters, that we sometimes struggle to find a mooring spot, and Norbury Junction is one such. But, when we arrived there yesterday morning it was almost like a ghost town, there were so few boats moored up.

 The same can be said for the moorings here at Gnosall, which has three separate mooring stretches of canal, all three of which were almost empty. I’m not complaining, you understand, just surprised.

 As usual, after we had seen a cup of coffee off, we trotted along to the local butcher. This is one of our favourites and we highly recommend him to all who pass through. He closes early on Saturdays, but unlike most butchers, opens on Mondays. He does steak and onion pies to die for and his pork pies knock spots off those from Melton Mowbray.

 So, having parted with about £17.00 at that shop, we plodded along to the local mini-market and spent a few more quids. As mini-markets go this one could do with a bit more space, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in some of its produce. Fresh bread and rolls, cakes and buns, sausage rolls etcetera, all make this another place worth a visit.

 Today we’ll try one of the three pubs here. Not sure which one yet, that’s to be decided later. Then we’ll be off to Stafford tomorrow morning.

 Monday 15^th September

 Yesterday we decided on The Royal Oak pub, which is quite a walk away from the canal, but is the best of the three pubs in Gnossal. Besides which, I haven’t taken a decent walk for a couple of days, so I needed the exercise. Guinness there at £3.50, a little bit expensive, but still worth it for the ambience of the pub; quiet and friendly.

 Today we’re taking the bus into Stafford and will be looking out for a decent café or restaurant. We’ll be meeting Alan and Chris there early next week and we would prefer not to go to a pub, just for a change.

 Tuesday 16^th September

 I received a ‘friendly reminder’ from Avast yesterday, telling me that my Secure Line payment will be coming out of my PayPal account in seven days’ time. The curious thing about this reminder was that there was another reminder, this time in red, telling me that should I cancel this payment then I would no longer be secure online. This reminder has never appeared in previous messages and I’m wondering if they already know I’ve cancelled this payment, or do they simply ‘suspect’ after all the times I’ve contacted them about this? We shall see!!

 Now, we took the bus into Stafford yesterday morning and, whilst we were waiting at the bust stop, I texted Alan and told him I would be looking for a decent café or restaurant. He came back with, ‘try Bear Grills’. Of course, I thought he was kidding, so I replied with, ‘road kill? He then texted me again telling us where it was and, lo and behold, we found it along the main pedestrian area. However, it wasn’t called Bear Grills, but The Bear Grill. So, now you know, Bear Grills does not have a restaurant in Stafford, or anywhere else as far as we know.

 My wife doesn’t dream, or so she says. Indeed, I have no recollection of her ever telling me about one. However, yesterday morning, for the first time ever, she related a dream that she had about dogs. So, there she was, walking along the street, with a Jack Russell – not Rusty - in tow, when she was stopped by a woman and her Staffie called ‘Strawb’. Strawb was running around in circles with no lead on and the woman asked Sheila to look after it for her while she popped into the nearby café for a coffee. How strange is that? Perhaps it’s an eerie omen!!

 We’ll be moving the five miles to Wheaton Aston this morning, where we’ll be able to top up with diesel at the cheapest price on the cut.

 Cheers for now.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 22

Saturday 30^th August to Saturday 6^th September

 Sunday 31^st August

 Yesterday, with six locks and six miles to go to Middlewich, was something of a doddle, compared to Thursdays four miles and 14 locks, so why did it take the same amount of time; 3½ hours; to complete? Well, this was partly due to a hold up at Wardle Lock, which is at the junction of the T&M and the Middlewich branch. Other than that I can think of nothing that slowed us down. Still, the main thing is, we got there without being bombarded with rain.

 Despite the lateness of the day, our coffee comes first whatever else we have to do, and we really did need to stock up at Tesco’s. Thus it was that, just after midday we set off for the hike that takes us to Tesco. The road through to the store was rather congested, because the main road through town was being re-surfaced and all traffic was being diverted. Even the buses had to take this diversion, and that must have upset their timetable.

 Anyway, with this being the last Saturday of the month, it was also market day, so even the traffic that would pass through that road was also being diverted, causing an utter shambles for the residents and outsiders visiting the market. The great thing was, it didn’t rain until we arrived back at the boat. It’s just started raining again now. In fact, it’s coming down like stair rods.

 Now, assuming it doesn’t rain when we set off for our usual Sunday drink, we’re going to chance our arms and walk along the towpath to the junction where we’ll turn left and follow the towpath on the T&M to The Big Lock Inn, which is another two locks up. We’ve been to Middlewich on several occasions, but I don’t think we’ve been here at a weekend, so that pub has never enjoyed our custom. However, should it rain again, we’ll take the shorter walk into town and try a different watering hole.

 Monday 1^st September

 At that time of our last visit to Middlewich we called in to the King’s Lock pub. This time around we walked into town, bought the paper at Tesco and then sought out a decent pub. The Vaults, which is just opposite Tesco, certainly lives up to its name, all dark and dismal. The White Bear, or something similar, was all heavy duty oak furnishings, seemingly an attempt at modernity.

 So, not happy with those two; although I’m sure they must appeal to some; we crossed the main road and headed up the towpath towards The Big Lock pub. Along the way there’s another pub called The Newton Brewery Inn, the approach to which is by a long pathway up from the towpath, with a scattering of notices advertising its wares. It also has a huge garden, with climbing frames and such.

 To all intents and purposes this ‘appeared’ to be just the kind of place boaters might go for, but the noise emanating from the place as we approached it gave me pause for thought. I only saw the one bar; although there may have been another one facing the street; but this one was the worst of the three pubs we had looked at, with a sprawling, boisterous, ugly bunch of miscreants taking up all the space and hooting and roaring like a cackling, gaggle of geese. (There’s nothing quite like the sound of a bunch of uglies, to tell you you’re not welcome!)

 Now, I’m no snob, but I do like to take my wife to establishments that have a reasonably comfortable ambience, which none of the aforementioned could boast. Eventually we continued our walk along the towpath to The Big Lock. Ah, that’s better, a nice, comfortable upstairs bar, with a balcony overlooking the canal and the lock after which it is named. By the look of the meal that came out to a young couple who came in later, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this as a pleasant pub in which to pass a peaceful hour.

 We took the long way back to the boat walking down the towpath to King’s Lock, then up the Middlewich branch, stopping off at the hire boat company for an ice cream. All in all, a pretty good lunchtime, not even spoiled by the effort taken in finding a decent watering hole.

 The rest of the day turned out rather warm and, for me, just a little uncomfortable and, with the promise of more such weather to come this week, we let the fire go out. It’s a wee bit chilly this morning, so I did need to don my cardy, but not too cold to light the fire again. Hopefully the forecasters aren’t telling us porkies; else we’ll have to do just that.

 Tuesday 2^nd September

 Having shopped at Tesco on Saturday morning and finding that they had no uncut wholemeal bread, we left it until yesterday morning prior to departure. Believe it or not Tesco, who have two stores in Middlewich, do not sell large, uncut wholemeal bread. They do not bake their own bread, but have it delivered instead, since the stores are not big enough to incorporate a ‘scratch’ bakery. Still, with a population of 13,000 plus, that oversight is somewhat baffling.

 Even more baffling is the fact that the local, independent bakery, Chatwin’s, don’t sell large loaves at all. Figure that out if you can!! We ended up buying a small Hovis at the latter shop.

 The weather yesterday was just a little bit iffy, with drizzling rain, but, since we only had two miles and one lock to go to our next mooring point, we set off at about 9am and arrived at bridge 22 at about 10am. Eventually the rain cleared and we had a decent day. However, this morning, despite the bright start, it was pretty cold inside the boat and we hadn’t lit the fire last night, so on went the heater. Now, despite the promise of warmer weather for the week ahead, we’ll certainly rectify that mistake this evening.

 Wednesday 3^rd September

 After three hours of cruising we arrived at Barbridge at around 11am yesterday. The bus to Nantwich leaves here at 12 minutes past the hour, so we had ample time for a coffee and biscuits before the 12.12 bus. Sadly the bus turned up almost 15 minutes late, but we have loads of time, although sitting in blindingly hot sunshine was a bit of a trial.

 Thankfully the windows on the bus were open and we enjoyed a nice breeze, until some chilly mortal from further down the bus; a young, sour faced woman; came along and closed them all. Nobody said a word of complaint, not even me, but then we were almost in Nantwich, so it didn’t really matter to us as we’d already cooled down.

 Our trip to Nantwich had just one objective, the latest edition of Puzzler magazine’s Sudoku, which came out on 27^th of August. Now, I know we’re a bit late, but there were none on the shelf at Smith’s. This magazine comes out monthly and we can normally rely on Smith’s to still have them in stock, but not on this occasion. I’m now hoping that their store in Chester today will still have some, otherwise we’ll have to go without until next month. I’ll keep trying at other places, but it seems that Smith’s are tightening their financial belts these days.

 We’re not going into Chester just for this magazine, Sheila wants some bits and pieces from the Marks and Spencer store there and, besides, it’s a lovely, historic town to walk around and I’m sure we’ll find a decent coffee shop for a latte and sticky bun.

 The weather has certainly improved and was very warm all day yesterday, so we didn’t light the fire after all. However, it was chilly enough to put the heating on this morning, which meant I got to enjoy a lie-in until 6.15. If this weather continues - and we’re told to expect warmish weather right through to November - then the fire will stay out for some time to come.

 Thursday 4^th September

 We took the bus into Chester yesterday morning, mainly for Wifey’s bits and bobs, but also for my puzzle magazines, both of which Smith’s had in stock. The second of these magazines is a new one called Suguru. We also wanted a large, wholemeal loaf but, once again we couldn’t find a decent bakery, and, even though Wifey overheard another passenger saying they were going to Gregg’s, we didn’t find it.

 We also didn’t find the small coffee shop that we visited last time, so we had to settle for a different one, where we enjoyed a coffee and blueberry muffin, at a cost of over £9.00.

 Sadly we still couldn’t locate a copy of Golden Fox, by Wilbur Smith. This is the last but one in the series, The Courtneys in Africa. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand why some books can’t be found. Almost all of the Wilbur Smith novels can be found in charity shops, but not this one. Neither Smith’s nor Waterstone’s carry it, so I guess we’ll just have to keep looking.

 Unlike yesterday which, although warm for the most part, was also cloudy for most of the day, this morning looks set for lots of sunshine. We’re hoping to get in at Nantwich today and take a walk into town sometime.

 Friday 5^th September

 Yesterday was pretty warm and calm, so we headed off to Nantwich, arriving there at about 9.30am. After topping up with water, and witnessing an argument between two other boaters; one of which had pushed in front of the other to gain access to the aforementioned water point; we easily found a mooring spot and settled down for our coffee and chocky bicks. We then walked into town for shopping and returned by bus. Yeah, I know, lazy huh? Well, not when you have a trolley and bags to tote back.

 Nothing untoward happened to cause excitement for the rest of the day and all was peace and quiet.

 Avast:

 This morning, after much faffing about at PayPal and because Avast have taken no notice of my requests for repayment of overcharges, I finally managed to cancel all future payments to this company. OK, so I’m about £4.00 out of pocket, but at least I won’t lose any more money to these people. Incidentally, since the person who sold me this laptop actually set up the Avast Anti-Virus programme, I don’t think I’ll have any problems with that protection.

 Incidentally, on our visit to Nantwich we called into the local computer repair shop. I told the techie there about this Secure Line programme and asked if he could suggest an alternative. He told us that, so long as we had a decent anti-virus programme installed, we shouldn’t really need it, net even if we’re using an unsecured WiFi system. Hopefully he’s right.

 Saturday 6^th September

 Yesterday was beautiful, unlike this morning, which is cloudy and threatening. One of our favourite mooring places along the Shroppie is Cool Pilate, which is a very long stretch and is where there’s always a guaranteed place. So, at 8am we left Nantwich and took the four miles and two locks at a leisurely pace, arriving here at 10am.

 It’s pretty calm out there at present, but it’s still only 6.15, so anything can happen before we leave for Audlem, where we’ll stay for the weekend.

 Now, I know this is only a short blog, but I’ll post it anyway, because I’m not sure of the signal strength at Audlem.

 Have a great weekend.

 Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 21

Friday 22^nd August to Saturday 30^th August

 Saturday 23^rd August

 We had a very good day with Alan and Chris yesterday. After spending an hour or more nattering over coffees, we took the bus to Tunstall and first wandered around the local market, purchasing pork pies and scones along the way.

 After that lunch beckoned, so we paid a visit to The Sneyd pub, which looked pretty much understaffed. It took quite some time to have our orders taken, and even more time queueing up for our carvery meal. However, the food was pretty good and we left well sated.

 We then took a good walk around Victoria Park and separated into male and female pairs. Goodness knows what we found to talk about, but the chatter only stopped while we found seats and ordered coffees at the café in the park. It was then just a short walk around the rest of the park and then out to the bus stop for our return trip to Kidsgrove.

 All in all, a pretty enjoyable day.

 Yesterday morning I emailed Noel at Crick marina, asking him about winter moorings this year and to give the Alfa a run around. The latter request he has agreed to but, unfortunately, cannot guarantee winter moorings just yet, due, he says, to the demand for permanent moorings. However, if it comes to it, he could possibly offer us towpath moorings, which do not have water or electricity.

 This won’t do at all because, without a landline connection, we’ll have to run the engine twice a day in order to keep our batteries charged up, which means using as much diesel as we do when cruising. We may have to try for Yelvertoft marina, where we’ll still be able to arrange visits to the surgery when necessary.

 Sunday 24^th August

 We had planned on moving along to Rode Heath yesterday; a distance of about three miles and with 10 locks; but, by the time we had moved down two of those locks and disposed of rubbish etc, it was raining very hard, so we stayed put just past the water point.

 Having been warned about the winter mooring situation, we then decide to take the plunge and arrange with Noel to make Crick our home base. We’ve avoided taking up full-time moorings so far, simply because of the added expense of continuing to pay for moorings that we’re not using while cruising. However, it does leave us free to come and go as we see fit. For example, instead of spending seven months cruising, we could split the time up and rent a cottage for a couple of weeks. Or, we could stay at Crick a bit longer and get some of this paintwork done. So, we now have a permanent base.

 Avast:

 I finally got to run the Grime Fighter yesterday; hoping it would do what it says on the tin, speed up the laptop; but I can’t see much difference. The one thing I know needs doing, is tidying up the folders in Outlook. But this doesn’t explain why the WiFi takes so long to come up. It seems to me that I’ll have to empty the hard drive of all unnecessary files and folders, not to mention programmes that I we don’t use much. A dreary and time consuming task, but one that needs to be done and, since Wifey really doesn’t need her flower boxes just yet, I have plenty of time to do so.

 Monday 25^th August

 Yesterday turned out pretty good weather wise and we very nearly decided to move on to Rode Heath, but decide to stay put for another day. Looking at the rain out there this morning, this wasn’t necessarily a good idea. The problem we have is shortage of coal, but when I texted the travelling coalman yesterday, his barge is in dry dock and his van is in for repairs, so he won’t be able to deliver until Thursday or Friday.

 So, in order to make it possible for him to deliver by road, we need to be at either Rode Heath – too early – or Wheelock – just about right, hence the delay in leaving here. Raining or not, we’ve used up our 48 hours, so we will be on our way. If necessary we’ll just move down three locks and moor up in the wilds.

 Tuesday 26^th August

We are a couple of cowards because, rather than cruise in the pouring rain, we outstayed our welcome her at Kidsgrove and stopped here for an extra day. It rained, on and off, for most of the day and, other than walking to Tesco and back, we stayed put. Today promises to be a little better; at least, that’s what the forecasters tell us; but it’s still cloudy and threatening.

 I had considered the Avast Grime Fighter situation closed, but, no, I received another message from them; this time from a different person; advising me to download that programme from a link. I have to doubt their sanity because the problem, as stated by me and which appeared at the top of the message, was all about the price hike of my Secure Line programme. Obviously, where the personnel at Avast are concerned, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Either that or they can’t read English.

 Later……………….

 Very windy and looked like it might rain, so we only moved along three locks and moored up by bridge 135. This was most fortunate because, unbeknown to us there are buses running along the road and over said bridge. One bus goes to Congleton and the other to Nantwich, which means we just might take a bus ride today, Watch this space.

 Later still……………..

 Nope, no bus-ride today! The bus stop is too far away from the bus to Nantwich and the bus to Congleton only runs twice per day and leaves 2 ½ hours in town before return trip. Will probably go to Nantwich when we reach Rode Heath.

 Thursday 28^th August

 Luckily for us it was dry and bright yesterday morning, so we were able to get to Rode Heath in a dry state. However, we did encounter one problem along the way, and this was as I was coming out of the final lock. This is one of a pair of locks that sit side by side and have a dividing wall between them. Coming out of the lock the divider ends in a pointed, concrete jetty, with steps leading up to the lock.

 Anyway, unbeknown to me – and probably most other boaters – what you see at the top of that point is not the end of the jetty. Oh, no, there’s more concrete underneath. To the side of the lock there’s also the usual run-off, which tends to push the bow out as you are exiting the lock. This, in turn, ensures that, if you’re not careful, you end up with the bow stuck in the opposite bank of the canal.

 So, realising that if I didn’t get a move on, that’s what would happen here, I gave the engine some welly, in an effort to avoid this problem. As I did so the prop struck the hidden, underwater part of the jetty, resulting in the engine shutting down. However, it did start again but, as we cruised along towards Rode Heath, we seemed to be moving too slow for the revs but, after a couple of minutes, it picked up and moved along at the usual pace.

 Now, I haven’t checked the prop out yet; leaving that for this morning when I also check the weed hatch; but I’m hoping I haven’t done any damage. I did have a quick look when we arrived here, and could see nothing untoward. But, this morning I’ll have to get down and dirty and check properly, before we go on through 14 more locks to Wheelock, where we’ll be meeting the coalman, some time on Friday.

 Friday 29^th August

 Yesterday, thank goodness, we had a pleasant start to the day, so the approaching 4 miles and 14 locks didn’t look so daunting. Unfortunately, having passed through the first two or three, we came upon a very slow moving boater, who not only seemed to be unable to cope well with locks, but who also left gates open, when he left the lock and also left the paddle locks off.

 Sheila helped him through a couple of locks and then we came up to the places where two locks sit side by side, which made it unnecessary for us to wait for him to pass through. Eventually we actually passed him and finally made Wheelock by 11.30. Even with the hold-up, this was pretty good going for the amount of work 14 locks entailed. Thankfully they weren’t all bunched together, so Wifey had something of a rest in between. Even so, by the time we arrived at Wheelock, she knew she had worked 14 locks.

 Kindly hubby that I am, I gave her a lie in this morning. Aren’t I good?

Anyway, we’re expecting a coal delivery some-time this morning so, since the weather is supposed to be warming up, we’ve let the fire go out in order to clean the chimney. Have no fear though, despite the predictions of fine weather ahead, the fire will soon be re-lit. I refuse to sit here in the early hours, bundles up in a woolly cardigan, when we have a fire and plenty of coal. I could run the heater, of course, but I find the warmth of a solid fuel burner far more comforting.

 Saturday 30^th August

 Yesterday morning, in preparation for the arrival of our coalman, we cleaned the chimney and Wifey painted the back tiles.

 We then received a phone call from our old Mercia friend, Sandy, who gave us quite an insight into the goings-on of that marina. There have been a few new rules put in place there, such as all dogs must be kept on a short lead; none of these expandable ones that allow the dog to roam around a bit. They no longer take winter bookings either and, if you want to spend winter there, you must take your chances upon arrival.

 Apparently, our other neighbours at Mercia, Steve and Sue, have bought a new camper van but, when they asked to register it with the office, were told they couldn’t keep it on site. They are moving to Stenson Marina this weekend. It’s getting like an army camp there these days. So glad we’re no longer there!

 At lunchtime we decide to spend an hour in the local pub, The Cheshire Cheese, and had a meal there. We were the only customers until about ten minutes before leaving, but the meal was O.K.

 Our coalman was due to deliver between 3 and 5 pm, but, due to an accident on the motorway, he didn’t arrive until about 6.15, so he had a pretty long day, which was partly made up for with the extra custom he picked up after he delivered to us. We now have warmth and comfort again.

 I’m still waiting for Avast to sort out the extra payments on Secure Line. However, if I’ve heard nothing from them by Monday, I’ll simply cancel that payment, which goes through PayPal. I already have another programme lined up to take its place, so no problem there.

 After topping up with water and disposing of rubbish, we’ll be off to Middlewich. Meanwhile, with a good, strong signal here at Wheelock, I’ll post this blog.

 Take care folks, and have a great weekend.

 Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2014 # 20

Monday 18^th August to

 Tuesday 19^th August

 Since the day started out bright and dry; a temporary aberration, as it turned out; we decided to risk with the 12 Bosley locks and nine miles back to Congleton.

 As we passed through the 10^th one of these, we saw a holiday boat coming up from the one below and, as is the usual practice with locks that are so close together, I waited inside the lock until they came out and we passed in the middle of the pound.

 These holiday boaters were on their first time out so, what followed didn’t come as too much of a surprise, even though we hadn’t come across it before. After passing through that 11^th lock I then hovered until Wifey opened the gates to the final lock, which should still have been full. However, much to Wifey’s surprise, it was completely empty.

 Now, there are some locks around the system, that leak so badly that, over a good length of time will empty themselves, but the Bosley locks aren’t too bad in this respect. This final lock certainly couldn’t have done so in such a short space of time.

 So, the only solution to this anomaly was that, after filling the lock and passing through it, they then closed the top gates and proceeded to empty the lock again. Goodness knows why they did so, other than perhaps they thought it was normal practice to do so. We’re still puzzled by this!!

 The accepted rule of thumb when calculating how much time it will take to travel from A to B is to add the miles to the amount of locks and divide by three. So, with nine miles and 12 locks we would expect to take about seven hours, which of course is a load of poppycock. With practice however; and we’ve had lots of that over the past eight years; nine miles and 12 locks would have taken about 3 to 3½ hours. However, when you take into account the dreadful state of the Macclesfield canal; which is well and truly knackered, with tall weeds and saplings lining the towpath almost all the way along its 27 mile route; we found ourselves going along very slowly in places, simply because we couldn’t see what may have been coming towards us. Yes, it really is that bad!

 So, having left bridge 46 at 7.45 am, we finally arrived at Congleton at 12.15 pm, only to find a day boat just that little bit too close to the next boat along, making the gap too small for me to pull into. There was plenty of space nearer to me as I approached them, but they were using the nearby bench for cooking up a barbecue, and I really didn’t want the smell permeating our boat.

 Eventually, although they seemed somewhat reluctant to do so, they did move along by just enough for me to squeeze in, but only just. But, we had to wonder why, if they were going to use that bench for their barbecue, they didn’t tie up nearer to the bench. Even my Wifey couldn’t see the logic of it, and she’s usually pretty laid back about such unfathomable behaviour.

 Avast:

 Back to this sorry saga, I regret to say. Yesterday, having received more useless information about how to run this Grime Fighter programme, I emailed them again with reasons as to why their advice would not work. One of those reasons was that perhaps the downloaded .exe file had not completely downloaded, or perhaps it had become corrupted in cyber space. Did they listen? Absolutely not! Instead I received even more useless information and have now advised them that the programme only partially downloaded and asked for a link leading to the download. We’ll see what happens next.

 However, I finally received a reply to my question as to why I had been charged an extra £2 for the Secure Line programme, which is the one we use when we’re at Crick and going online with their WiFi. For some odd reason it is not possible to print out their emails and, when I use the snipping tool on the laptop, to copy the email, I am unable to scroll down the page, so I couldn’t send them a copy of the payment. Instead I have copied and pasted some of it into a Word document and sent that instead.

 But, I have to ask myself, why didn’t they look up my recent payment for themselves? Surely they have the wit to carry out that simple chore. My next payment is due today and, sure as eggs is eggs, that one will be wrong too. I tell you, I’m really getting quite annoyed with Avast and their inability to solve simple problems. I’m even doubtful that the reply I sent about Grime Fighter will even get through, because they normally make it impossible to reply to emails. Instead they insist you raise another ticket through their, so-called, Customer Service. Ye gods and little fishes, what has happened to common sense these days?

 Looking on the bright side, no sooner had we moored up here than it started to rain and our day boat people moved off. Whether they had finished cooking their bar-b we have no idea, but it allowed us to pull our boat back a little, giving us some extra space between us and the next boat.

 Eventually, after all this faffing about, we had our cup of coffee; well-earned in this instance; and took a walk into town. Guess what? We’re doing it again today because it’s Market day in Congleton. Yeah!!

 Wednesday 20^th August

 Avast:

 Yesterday morning I decided to telephone Avast about this problem with Grime Fighter and spoke to a representative. After determining that this number was not a Premium Rate number, I explained my problem and told him that, having checked my recent downloads, the programme had only partially downloaded. I then asked for the link to the download again, so that I might start again. From there onwards our discussion became rather heated, on my side of course.

 Like most people who have a computer these days, we do all our banking and some of our purchases online. We therefore have quite a bit of sensitive information stored on our computers, none of which we want to allow access to by outsiders, not even if they do represent a security company like Avast. After all, I’ve only been using their free anti-virus so far, along with their Secure Line.

 So, when this person suggested that I allow him remote access to my laptop in order for him to determine why I had been unable to download their programme, I told him that I would prefer to re-download the programme and requested the link again. He then suggested that, in that case I should go to their Customer Service page and and…… well, I didn’t get the rest because, out of the blue, our conversation was interrupted by an automated message asking me how satisfied with their service, ‘on a count of five to one, with best satisfied to very unsatisfied’. I responded with ‘one’, to which I heard ‘please respond’. I tried again and received the same message again, at which point I gave up and ended the call.

 Following all that I decided to email this person, Selma, who is currently dealing with the matter of that £2 price hike in my Secure Line programme, and explained my problem with the Grime Fighter and requested that she arrange to cancel my order and repay my fee to my PayPal Account. I received an email from Selma this morning, assuring me that she had now forwarded my information about that price hike to the relevant department. I am still awaiting a response regarding Grime Fighter.

 The good news; if it can be called that; is that, having paid through PayPal, I have 180 days in which to raise a dispute regarding the transaction. So, that’s something I suppose.

 After that disastrous telephone call, we walked into Congleton, did a bit of shopping, stopped for a coffee and sticky bun, then walked back to the boat.

 This morning is looking a bit calmer, weather-wise, so we’ll probably trot along to Kidsgrove, where Alan and Chris will be meeting us on Friday.

 Thursday 21^st August

 Thinking that we only had three miles and one lock to do before reaching the aqueduct at Kidsgrove, we put off leaving Congleton until 8.30 am and, just as we were leaving another boat passed us. This didn’t bode well for a reasonable speedy trip because, ahead of that one was a holiday boat, which was crawling along, with the holiday makers taking photos along the way. Needless to say, a trip that should have taken 1 ½ hours, now took three, in part because there was no space on the aqueduct, which meant another half a mile and another lock.

 After coffee and a quick read of the paper, Wifey suggested we might take a walk up to the shops and so, despite the rain, off we went and spent a pleasant hour walking.

 The rest of our day passed very much as normal until, whilst sitting down to dinner I suggested we might take another walk, this time down to the Red Bull pub, where we enjoyed a pleasant half hour over a drink; Wifey with a latte and me with a lager. Just the one!!

 While checking her emails a couple of days ago, Sheila found one from our son David, in which he told her that he had bumped into my old friend Chris Green’s wife Marilyn. I can’t remember the last time I actually saw Chris and passed some time, but it was certainly long before we bought the boat. Anyway, Marilyn passed her email address over to David, who then passed it along to Sheila.

 On Tuesday morning I emailed Marilyn and, since it hasn’t returned as undeliverable, I assume the details are correct. However, it seems that Marilyn wasn’t in any hurry to hear from me, because she hasn’t replied yet. I’m hoping she contacts me soon, because it would be good to renew an old friendship, even if it is only by email.

 It seems that we are not going to spend our time with Alan and Chris here at Kidsgrove after all. Instead, as Alan suggested, they’re coming here to meet us and then taking us to Tunstall, where we’ll visit the market and lunch at The Snead, whatever that is; probably a local watering hole.

 Friday 22^nd August

 Moored here at Kidsgrove between two locks, we have excellent Internet and mobile access, which is more than can be said for the TV. Apart from the fact that we are sandwiched between a couple of train lines, we can think of nothing else that could cause such a problem, but while we’re sitting here, off stays the tele.

 Anyway, yesterday evening after dinner we decided to watch the third film in the Steig Larson films: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. After wasting time watching three trailers of other films we finally got this film rolling. This film is well over two hours long so, about ¾ of the way through, and much to our surprise, it stopped rolling and inched forwards now and again.

 This was a new and unwrapped disc that we bought during the closing down sales at HMV, so we really shouldn’t have had a problem. The hand set for the TV doesn’t seem to have a Fast Rewind button, so we decided to try watching the rest of the film on the laptop. Luckily the Fast-Forward controls are there and it took several minutes to move it along to where it had stopped. Even then we found we had skipped over that bit, but we did at least get to watch the final and best parts, even if the dialogue was in American English and didn’t follow the sub-titles.

 Avast:

 Finally, after all the fuss and bother I’ve had with Avast, I received an email from a technician with a new link to the programme download. I have now downloaded it again and checked that it is the real McCoy but, from the info that came up on the screen, the Grime Fighting process can take quite some time, so it will have to wait until I have the laptop plugged in to 240 volts.

 A simple matter of providing a link to download has taken about eight separate Help Tickets. I dread to think what will happen if it still doesn’t work.

 Finally for this blog, something strange is happening to my WiFi. When I downloaded the Grime Fighter prog, I immediately double clicked to run it, which was when I noticed that the process of cleaning up the laptop would take quite some time. I now find that, just above the System Tray in the right hand bottom corner, there’s a wee box telling me that I have 3Mobile Internet Access. This doesn’t normally appear once I’m connected, so I must assume that Grime Fighter is to blame.

 Right, enough already. Let’s put this blog to bed and post it.

 Take care folks and have a good weekend.

 Dave and Sheila