Moving when we want – as simple as that!

Wednesday 8^th March to Saturday 11^th March 2017

We did, in fact, moor up for a couple of days in the environs of the Black Country Museum.

For anyone who has not been here, then do yourself a favour and get your backsides along to it and see how things were 100 years ago – it certainly wasn’t “the good ol’ days”.

The following day we were off again – but only after I had finished my work for the day – off to where? – to Stafford to catch with some dear friends – Lynn and Phil (nb Valentine).

Phil has been a bit unwell lately – so much so that he had a stay in hospital (at the pleasure of the NHS), but is well on the mend now.

having seen plenty of Stafford over the years we have come to
love the town and this alleyway shows off some of the older
buildings

There is no doubt that when we see these two we do have some great laughs and it was no exception this time.

We all met at The Soup Kitchen in Stafford – a well known eating place – excellent for lunches and afternoon teas.

Lynn and Phil - so glad that we have been lucky to have them as friends

We caught up on how everyone was, all of us and the family, saw photos of Lynn and Phil’s new grandson, George, what we would all be doing this year and beyond, and generally had a great time. Oh and the food was pretty good as well.

Just on 3pm we had to say our goodbyes – we had a train to catch back, but it was another lovely day – this week has been full of nice times already.

Wednesday night was 2 for 1 at Mad O’Rourke’s Pie Factory, so not only were we able to sample the wares there, but it was at a reduced rate as well.

Diane had the forethought to ring and book a table, which turned out to be a wise thing to do – we arrived about 6:20 (for 6:30) and whilst it wasn’t full, all of the empty tables were booked, so we might have been hard-pressed to find somewhere to sit.

 

A local institution 

We got some drinks, ordered the pies – she had the 100% Bullocks and I had the Bear Grylls – now good friend Andy (nb Festina Lente) would have rejected them as pies as there was only a pie crust on top and not all of the way around – but we enjoyed them both very much.

The Menu...

For us it was sufficient and we briefly entertained the idea of dessert, but then declined.

Would we return? – yes, I think we would – it is a place with plenty of atmosphere and the food was excellent.

 

...the Fayre - 100% Bullocks...

...and Bear Grylls

It had been a day jam-packed with being on the go and enjoy it all.

We decided that we should move on again on Thursday – we would head down to Merryhill for a few days, and as after moving across the canal to use the services one last time at the museum, we untied and slowly edged our way out of the arm – this time we turned right onto the Wolverhampton Level towards the Gower Arm instead of towards the Tipton Locks.

The locks at Bradeshall, including the staircase, were so easy to use. It is difficult to think that they would get much use, but they are in very good working order – maybe it is because not many use them and therefore less likely to be abused that they are so good.

Anyway it was a bit circuitous to end up on the Netherton Tunnel branch, but we made it – with the sun shining and a bit of warmth in the air, it was definitely the day to be cruising.

 

The Netherton Branch - that is the Wolverhampton Level
Aqueduct that we have just gone under, after having gone
over it less than an hour before

Netherton Tunnel is straight as an arrow - this is the north protal
where we entered....

...Diane has taken the helm and that light is the very same north portal
in the previous photo

The contrast with the coldness of the Netherton tunnel was stark – and a bit wet as well – most tunnels do have that seepage factor so we expect it.

This is not a short tunnel by any means – at 2768m – and I steered the first half and Diane did the other half – this is by far the longest section of tunnel that she has done and I maintain the stance that she is as good as anyone in controlling a boat.

Eventually heading back into daylight, we were out into some lovely peaceful and quiet countryside before encountering surburbia again – we may moor up here on the way back.

 

and now we see daylight and in this case sunshine

The section along to the junction at Blowers Green is, for us, a bit on the slow side – our base is a bit too close to the bottom (as indeed is the top of the water), but it is such a lovely cruise and on such a lovely day, who really cared.

Coming into the basin at Merryhill, there was only one other boat here and a huge choice of places to moor – we chose the one that had the most light and on the opposite side to the the two pubs.

It really is so open here and without any worries at all – the last time we were here was the night of the England v Germany football match in 2014 and although the Sports Bar (now no longer there) was full, there had been no problems, so felt safe in mooring here again.

 

There we are moored up on the right in the basin, but it was a glorious day

The location afforded us the chance to do a bit of stocking up on things that we needed to – a nearby Aldi as well as the Merryhill shopping centre saw to all of that.

We have just simply enjoyed the few days that we have spent here without doing anything special at all – we have taken the time to spruce the boat up a little – a wash and clean was needed anyway.

We have just relaxed and stayed put.

9 Miles, 4 Locks, 1 Tunnel

YTD:  112 miles (180 km),80 Locks, 7 Tunnels, 3 Lift Bridges, 2 Swing Bridges

Total: 4744 Miles (7635 km), 3231 Locks, 131 Tunnels, 69 Lift Bridges, 174 Swing Bridges

Diane’s in the kitchen smelling knickers ‘cause she has new balls.

Sunday 5^th March to Tuesday 7^th March 2017

Sunday morning was really quite relaxing – we settled down with the papers and enjoyed the coffee that went with them and the sun was streaming in through the window – lovely!!

But too much enjoyment does not go unpunished, but on this occasion we opted for the exploring option – walking down to The Mailbox to re-verify what was down there – seems pretty much as usual – a couple of new places have opened up – we tried Tom’s Kitchen – and then it was back to the boat before the rain came.

Practically dragged into the outer foyer of BBC Birmingham
under fear of extermination

The rest of the day was a mix of work and relaxation – isn’t that a bit what life is about anyway.

Monday was similar to Sunday, weather-wise, except for the prospect of rain. Diane had seen in their blog that Helen and Tony (nb Holderness) were moored just down near Aston University and would be heading up the Farmers Bridge locks the following morning – our services were offered to help work them up.

So, on a text from Helen we headed down – windlasses at the ready – and met up with them at Lock 12 (2^nd lock coming up) and with Helen and Diane filling the locks, letting Tony take the boat out and then chatting all the way up, and with the locks being readied for the boat to go in, we exited the top lock a little over an hour after they had started.

It was a great workout without exhausting ourselves – we got the old muscles working again – just wait until tomorrow and we will feel it.

 

With 13 locks behind, Helen and Tony were glad to see the top - now finished

After mooring up, we joined them on board for a cuppa and a piece of cake before Tony got to it (just kidding Tony) and as we all do, exchanged our stories of what we have been doing and planned on doing – we had last met at Bourne End on the Thames last year.

Both Helen and Tony have volunteered to be part of the celebrations in Hull for this year for the City of Culture 2017 activities that will be taking place – their enthusiasm for all things Hull has convinced us to get our backsides there when we are a bit closer – so Hull will be the place to be.

We agreed to meet later in the afternoon for a drink and maybe something to eat.

It was off to The Wellington with a promise from Tony that they had Titanic ales – like their Plum Porter – he was not wrong and we all had a lovely time in the upstairs bar.

Enjoying - no that should be enjoyed, a drink

It was getting on a bit and no-one felt like having to go back to the boats to eat so on Tony and Helen’s recommendation we all rolled into the Barajee Indian restaurant on Broad Street.

The service and the food were of such a high quality it was pleasantly reassuring to have such a great place to eat so close by – my allergies to onions, garlic and leeks were very ably dealt with and I know that the others enjoyed their selections.

The price was very reasonable as well – so we can all recommend it.

There are times when you wish the night not to end and this was certainly one of those, but we needed to get back to the boats with the promise of seeing Tony’s skills on show as he was reversing the boat back from their mooring to head down to Sherbourne Wharf.

 

All the skills were on show - Helen was at the front protection the new paint job

Clearly the skills were were honed and nb Holderness
cleared through the bridge hole with no problems

The following morning we saw for ourselves that his playing down of the skills was grossly exaggerated – he performed the task with consummate ease and with the disappearance of Holderness under the bridge we waved our farewells – for now.

We had had every intention of spending more time moored where we were, but together we had the epiphany of heading off ourselves and within probably 30 minutes we too were moving away – heading west – in the Wolverhampton direction, not intending to go that far.

It would be a shame to not enjoy a brilliant cruising day in March

A bit of the industrial landscape

...and some of the canal 'scape

We duly moored up, after watering, at the Black Country Museum – Diane had the intention of sampling the wares of Mad O’Rourkes Pie Shop on Wednesday.

 

Just leaving the water point and heading towards that vacant mooring spot
 before anyone comes through the bridge hole

Later on, enjoying the sun and a coffee at the Dudley
Canal and Tunnel Trust's new cafe

Now someone may be wondering about the strange heading for this blog – so here I go to explain it all.

When we were back in Australia over December and January, we tootled along to a street market in Caloundra (Queensland).

I did as I normally, walk along casting a non-discerning eye over the goods on offer – I take in, evaluate and the usually dismiss what I see and move along to the next stall.

Diane is more circumspect and will spend an inordinate time on some things and on other she will just dwell there.

At one such stall was an older fellow selling round, slotted balls with ceramic or nylon balls inside – the promotion/promise was that putting one of these in with the washing you wouldn’t need to add any laundry detergent (powder or liquid) and you would only need to use the rinse cycle. Diane of course could see the benefits; I could see the wallet simply being a fair bit lighter.

As usually happens, the wallet does get lighter and I have something else to carry.

Anyway she wanted to try this on the boat.

So after preparing the machine to remove any traces of existing detergents we (read that as Diane) gave it a go.

The only thing that is said in the literature is that heavy soiled items may need some pre-wash attention – we would have done this anyway.

So washing machine switched on; rinse cycle only; no heating cycle at all – 32 minutes later (it was the longer rinse cycle of the two available) – all done – Diane checked it all out and gave a thumbs up.

Everything passed the sniff test – to make sure that the personal odours had all gone.

We repeated this with the next wash – this time it was a larger wash – normal 6kg load – and on the quicker rinse – 27 minutes later and about a third of the usual amount of water used and virtually no drop in battery level – the machine door was opened.

This time it went through the serious sniff test and here she was in the kitchen sniffing all of the clothes (including the knickers) – all of the smells were gone and the clothes were all clean – all down to her new ball containing new balls.

 

Diane with her balls in hand

So less water, less power, no detergent, less time – we could be onto a winner here – glad that she stopped to talk to the guy selling them.

9 Miles, 3 Locks, 1 Tunnel

YTD:  103 miles (166 km),76 Locks, 6 Tunnels, 3 Lift Bridges, 2 Swing Bridges

Total: 4735 Miles (7620 km), 3227 Locks, 130 Tunnels, 69 Lift Bridges, 174 Swing Bridges