She who must be obeyed returns!

Friday 10^th February to Friday 17^th February 2017

I had a very important engagement on for Friday morning and certainly could not afford to be late – simply to make it to Birmingham Airport to pick up my lovely wife – nothing could be easier – could it?

In my defence, just let me say that when I arrived she had only just come through from Border Control and Customs – the plane arriving 30 minutes earlier than scheduled – but all appeared forgiven (and the bruising has now subsided to a dull yellow).

Naturally Diane was a bit tired after coming all the way through from Brisbane in the 23 hours – but with some sleep on the first leg of 14 hours – she had managed about 5 hours, being able to stretch out in her unoccupied row.

She was remarkably awake and lucid – more so than usual – but we had a busy weekend planned, with a trip to Manchester; a two-night stopover; a visit to Old Trafford and catching up with "Mad-Eye" Paul Macey.

 

A frosty and cold sight to wake up to - it had snowed during
the night, but we were snug and warm inside the hotel

There certainly was snow on them thar hills

Macclesfield behind us and the snow had melted away to leave a bit of slush around

Even the local constabulary got into the swing of things -
there's Paul between two nags

just part of the action on the field

and some after match celebration - at least Paul was happy

It was just so great to see Paul again - it didn't matter about anything else

It really was a super weekend and we had a great day on Saturday – well at least Paul and I did – with Man United beating Watford 2-0 (we didn’t say too much in the car on the trip back for fear that we would have each got a good clip around the ears from the lone Watford supporter in the back seat – Diane – but she was a good sport about it all).

Follow that match up with a lovely meal out at Paul’s favourite Thai restaurant in Macclesfield and it was a great day.

Paul’s main visit back to the UK started out as a desire to see a game at Old Trafford, but it was tinged with sadness to begin with – his mother was in hospital and would not have too many more days left (as it transpired she passed away on the following Thursday morning).

We had met Margaret on a number of occasions whilst we were moored in Bollington a couple of years ago and got to know her reasonably well and understand how determined and strong willed she was – a trait that Paul had with the women in his life – and now she is no longer with us.

It has not been a good start to the year.

Sunday came and this meant the trip back down to Rugby where we had left the boat – we didn’t meet up with Paul – he was already on the road to see his mum – but we took the opportunity with having a car to pop in to meet up with Dot and Gordon at Aston Marina where they were moored up for a couple of months.

An obligatory trip to The Echange in Stone and a couple of drinks (sitting at the old table in the window – our favourite) before back to their boat for a wonderful meal and just simply enjoying the company of two very good and lovely friends.

 

Back in their favourite seats The Exchange

There never seems to be enough time and so it was again – we needed to get back in time to run the engine and charge the batteries on the boat before the 8pm curfew – which we made.

Monday and Tuesday were occupied with mundane things like Diane unpacking and putting stuff away; shopping to more fully replenish the pantry and fridge; sorting out a few things in town before the inevitable cruising would begin.

We said our goodbyes to Carolyn and Gary (nb Inca) who had kept an eye on the boat and again compared our cruising schedules for the year to see where we could catch up again (and there are times and places in there).

Finally we untied on Wednesday morning and started heading south, making it as far as Braunston for the day, where we moored up – took a walk up into the village for Diane to visit the butcher; Thursday we continued on our travels, turning right at the junction, filling with diesel along the way and negotiating the Calcutt Locks and moored up outside Ventnor Marina – we had never moored here before – such a lovely, nice and quiet place – would like to do it again; finally Friday and we were off again, this time down the Stockton locks before settling for a mooring below the end of the flight.

Back cruising again - it was still quite chilly out

She hasn't lost it - still able to control the boat as usual

Just a lovely shot of the sun over Braunston, the church
on the right and the tree reflected in the canal

Some years ago we were in the village for their annual beer festival, which I think no longer happens, and wandered around taking in the sights – it has been a while and took us a little time to sort out where everything was but it was a lovely day anyway with the sun shining just to wander and enjoy.

It sadly is just another village to us without the hustle and bustle of a festival and something for the locals but we enjoyed the walk and the drink at the pub before retiring back to the boat.

Our intentions are to head into Birmingham, so we will be heading that way – how long it will take us we cannot be sure; how long we will stay there we cannot be sure; where we will head to afterwards is something we do know.

Our cruising schedule for this year will be the tidal Trent taking in the canals and waterways that run off from it; we will be heading further northwards to York and then west over the Pennines (somewhere) to do the Ribble Link (and the Lancaster Canal) before a last trip into Liverpool docks – after all of that we are not exactly sure, but we do intend to be somewhere around Stone for Xmas.

19 miles, 16 Locks

YTD:  60 miles (97 km), 21 Locks, 2 Tunnels, 2 Swing Bridges

Total: 4692 Miles (7551 km), 3172 Locks, 126 Tunnels, 66 Lift Bridges, 174 Swing Bridges

To there and back again

Saturday 11th April to Monday 13th April 2015

Boat was prepared; bags were packed; goodies ready for the trip - we headed off at about 8:30, first stop was Tesco to fillup and then we were really off - straight up the M1.

I guess being a Saturday morning, and in the middle of school holidays for some we should have expected a fair amount of traffic, but we were all moving as usual - trucks in the left hand lane along with other slow movers; 70mph drivers next out from them plus the others who couldn't be bothered moving to the left; and then progressing to the real idiots in the right hand lane.

Why is it that with cars fitted with indicators, it seems impossible for drivers to show that they intend to change lanes by simply flicking a little lever on the steering column?

Anyway the variable speed signs soon enough brought everyone back to one speed as not one, not two, but three "incidents" (they used to be called accidents) slowed those in front so that they could gongoozle at someone else's misfortune.

As with most other times that we hire a car, we had decided to pay a visit to a National Trust property -  this time it was Calke Abbey at Ticknall in Derbyshire.
 

Lovely on the outside...

It is advertised as the "un-stately home" - the reason being that it is the only NT property that has not and will not be restored to its original grandeur.
Why? When it was given to NT back in the 1980's it had been going through the process of falling into decay over the previous 100 years and it was conciously decided to preserve it that way as an example of many other stately homes that had gone through similar decline.
 

...and in some rooms inside...

...the animals belonging to the heads weren't all shot...

...the heirs were fascinated by natural history...

...but just stored things everywhere they could.

top right hand corner - you can see the deterioration starting...

...and it continued...

...into most rooms.

more stuffed birds - stuffed into rooms

It was a statement that demonstrated the conditions that the heirs of the estate were living in - eccentric as they were.

some areas were quite good...

...very good in fact.

but the views were still lovely.

It achieved the desired result.

After spending a few hours there we were once again on the move, although not too far at all.

We were in Derbyshire, and only a few miles away from a place very dear to our hearts.

Lord Melbourne, after whom the wonderful city of Melbourne (Australia) was named was from this area and another location of the same name was within virtual sight - we couldn't go without a visit - so off we went.
 

Perhaps not quite as large as our own home city or a place synonymous with great sporting events, this particular Melbourne has its own unique charm and character which attracts and retains its visitors and inhabitants.

The road to Bollington was one of three choices, of which we selected the more picturesque - through the Peak District - along with narrower roads - narrower winding roads - not really Diane's favourite, but very much the choice for the driver.
 

the drive was great, as was the countryside

We pulled up in the car park at Bollington a little over an hour later - one of us exhilarated - the other not too shaken.
Elaine and Paul were already home from their adventures south in the new motorhome - Paul almost recovered from his cold and sore throat; Elaine looking as lovely as always.

Whilst the Chinese order was being cooked, Paul and I ducked across the road for a quick Guinness - it certainly would help with any residual illness - according to any good Irish medicinal book.

We did have a late night for us - Diane had already headed off upstairs, not long before I had fallen asleep mid-way through MOTD - in my defence I did wake up to see the second half.

Needless to say, I was not awake early in the morning, Paul beat both of us.

After a traditional Bollington continental breakfast, and a walk with the dogs, it was about time to undertake one of the main reasons for the visit.
The short 40 minute drive into Manchester for the derby match between United and City  the crosstown losers.

After our previous effort of arriving just on kick-off time, we left a lot earlier; found a parking spot right near where we wanted to be, but able to have a drink before the match at a United pub - The Quadrant.
It was heaving when we got there, but through a stroke of good timing and a lot of luck we ordered drinks immediately we got there.
The early game between QPR and Chelsea was being shown, but the real enjoyment was seeing the crowd and listening to the singing going on amongst all of the supporters - quietly confident of a red victory.
 

at The Quadrant, we were the lucky ones...

...waiting for a drink.

The walk down to the ground is about 15 to 20 minutes, which allowed us a chance to look through the club store; have something quickly to eat; time enough for Paul to use the outside conveniences; and pick up the tickets.
 

It was a peaceful walk to the ground...the horses in the background co-operated
for the picture

We then made our way to the entrance - Paul and I had no problems - we were without any bags; poor Diane had to turn the taps on to convince the steward that she wasn't going to leave the bag containing the camera and iPad at any bag depot - apparently they have stopped people taking cameras and tablets into the ground - cannot understand why.

She is a marvel at getting her own way - I should know it has been happening to me for over 30 years.

Our usual seats at the Stretford End - the place was noisy early - we hadn't seen it like this before, but this was our first derby.

Then the players were filing out; handshakes; a quick run around and they were lined up for the kick-off - and underway.
 

before the action began

getting ready...

...go

Devastating first 10 minutes and we were 1-0 down; then the scores were levelled and after that we we not headed either on the scoreboard or on the pitch.
This was the best I have seen them play in over three years - there was purpose to every move; the full width of the pitch was used; the creativity was there and there were no passengers.

Hardly surprising that they finished ahead and with the score line at 4-2 (only inflated for City's benefit by a very late meaningless goal) it now almost certainly means Champions League football for Old Trafford next season.

We thought we would wait a bit for most of the crowd to leave the stadium before heading off, thinking it would be less crowded on the walk back to the car - not so, Sir Matt Busby Way was completely packed from the ground to the main road.
 

Happy faces after a great win.

Just the crowd to contend with.

The journey home was an easy run and we just caught Elaine's brother Trevor as he was leaving; Elaine, herself, displayed her usual enthusiasm for the game and scoreline - "4-2, is that a good score?"  - Paul you have failed that girl by not instilling the understanding of sporting events.

Diane and I had a cuppa and a bit of a relax, and resisted the offers of another night's stay - we do like to be back where we must be when we wake up rather than a morning trip back; there was the usual break after a couple of hours driving to refresh; avoided the possible crash when an outside lane car ignored my indicator that showed I was changing out by 1 lane and just moved in 1 lane - no indicator necessary apparently to the driver.

We made it back to Ferndale just a little after 12:30am - and managed another morning of sleeping in.

The car needed to be returned; work needed to be done; and an overdue blog also was required.

Now that it has all been completed, I can rest easy until tomorrow.

Also I can be reassured that our marriage will apparently last forever.
As I was writing the blog, Diane was gong through an on-line quiz that she found on Facebook - "How long will your marriage last?"
After filling out all of the answers it came back that we are perfectly suited and we will be together for the rest of our days.

That might have been the case had I not said, just a little too quickly "it seems like that already."

over 400 miles by car

A bit of train spotting....

Thursday 5th February 2015

We were up reasonably early today because we were going into Manchester today to look into getting a new visa or better.

So it was a bus from Bollington to Macclesfield and after weighing up carrying on with the bus all the way we decided on taking the train into Manchester.
The bus simply would have taken too long (just on 2 hours) against a much shorter train trip (20 minutes or so).

As we were a bit early - now that's strange for us - we walked from Manchester Picadilly to the lawyers and still were 30 minutes early - coffee and danish just around the corner and then into go through the process.

It's nice to be individual but when the lawyer you are speaking to says she has not seen one like this and is very complicated - and she needs to consult others before being able to give a definitive answer, you know this isn't going to quick.
And it doesn't look like it may end happily.

There are things that she has to do and things that we have to do, but we will be back there again next week - hopefully with some answers and better news.

Might have to start planning a trip back to Australia and a lengthy stay - wait and see.

Whilst in Manchester, Diane had a list of things that apparently we needed, so we managed to cross off most of the list.

Pretty soon we were back at the station ready to head home - 2 trains stopping at Macclesfield and the first just about to go, so we hot footed it to the platform just as the doors were being closed and it was heading off.

Of well, we will wait for the next one - just 40 minutes - or so I thought.

The suggestion came from "her indoors" and went along the lines of "we can catch the Virgin train stopping at Stockport and this one will overtake the one we just missed and we can then change platforms and catch that one" - at least I thought it was a suggestion, but my mistake was misunderstanding - she was heading off to the platform.

What could go wrong?

Diane pointed out the train that we were passing was the one we missed; arrived at Stockport and got off - I did take the chance to advise the woman using her phone that we were sitting in the Quiet Zone and she really shouldn't be using her phone - "Oh, terribly sorry, I didn't see the signs", as I left "Should've gone to Specsavers eh?".
The train was approaching on the other platform, so we ran down and then up the stairs; the kind man held the train and we made it.

Talking to the lady sitting in front with the cute dog (called Ralph - the dog was, not the lady), we asked how many stops to Macclesfield - "Oooh, I think you have the wrong train - we are going to Buxton" - thank you we said.
So off at the first station - Davenport - and a 30 minute wait for the return train.

Back at Stockport we made sure that this time we asked; got on the right train; and then the bus back to Bollington - by now it was after 4 pm - about a 2 and 1/4 hour trip - just slightly longer than we had anticipated when we were about to leave Manchester.

Later on we got ourselves ready - Paul and Elaine were picking us up - it was Elaine's birthday, so no matter the things that had happened during the day we cheered up for that - off to The Cock and Pheasant (I can almost hear Dot and Sue making comments about the name!).
 

Diane, Elaine, Margaret (Paul's mum) and Paul

Yes, you guessed it - the empty wine bottle was their doing

The food was good and afterwards there was a trivia night on - so we just had to stay for that. Sad to say, that although we finished strongly our first two sets of questions let us down badly - but we managed a creditable 38 out of 60.

Farewell Bridgewatertonians - we now know how to spot you !

Saturday 16th August to Wednesday 20th August 2014

We slipped out of Manchester relatively early, only on account of the weather reports - stopping at the services block to fill the water tank and empty the cassette - essential duties.

Diane single handed until we reached the Junction, allowing me some time to catch up on some work, as is the norm for a Saturday.

After the junction we were both out the back allowing us to say goodbye in full to Sale, Salford and Altrincham together - we shall see you all again early next year as we attempt the Rochdale 9 going up and then the Rochdale Canal in full.
 

"Bandit" country

For now though we were on our way to DunhamTown - planning for Sunday lunch always begins on Saturday morning.

The weather held off until after we had moored up and we were safely inside, but having also done a load of washing on the way there is the question about refilling - especially on the Bridgewater - water points never seem to be conveniently located to fit in with the random acts of cleanliness.

And it was in that frame of mind and again consulting the relevant iPhone app that changed our mind on Sunday morning and we headed off early to water up again - there was more washing as we prepare to leave the boat.

The forecast of random showers fortunately worked well for us, for although we had a couple of showers, the heavy rain came just after we had retreated inside to await the water tank to fill again - this time along side Ye Olde No.3 public house.
As well as the rain the high winds were a real problem and combined, they made it a lot colder than we had had for awhile.

Watching boats passing whilst this was happening reminded us that we have become skilled observers of Bridgewater registered boats.
The critical points to note are:-

·        where fitted, they invariably cruise with the pram hood in the raised position - even in fine weather.

·        usually have all of their fenders down, and

·        they never slow down when passing moored boats - usually passing very close - tickover is a southern word for them

In the time that we have visited these parts - either north from Preston Brook or travelling south towards it, we have always stopped in Lymm - it is one of our must-stop towns and for this day we would stop again and try a different hotel for our Sunday roast.

The Golden Fleece was the chosen establishment; upon entering we noticed that the football was due on shortly.
We settled in, selected from the menu, ordered drinks and watched a bit, chatted a bit, observed a bit.
The match would be Liverpool v Southampton - blimey, with a few players moving from the south to mersey-side it would be a meeting of old friends. No-one could possibly be pleased with a Liverpool game to watch, but we were there.
The meal came and whilst it was good, it would not be a page-turner in the culinary diary; we decided to try dessert and hot drinks - well, the hot drinks weren't really and Diane's dessert needed a second try to get it to lukewarm - a bit disappointing really.

We  had not moored in the prime spot - the mooring had all been taken, but instead we moored just before getting into that area, and whilst we were on pins and not rings, it did turn out to be a lot quieter - so now we need not fear that there are no spots on our next visit, we will gladly moor up north of bridge 23.

Next morning, the sun was out, the wind had gone and it was a really lovely morning.
 

Lymm - hotspot moorings full but we were happy just beyond
the bridge

The great thing about the Bridgewater is that the lack of locks means that as needed I can continue working whilst Diane just cruises along.
 

what a day for cruising

We finally agreed on a mooring just north of Moore (by Bridge 8) - it was sunny; it was peaceful and quiet; and it was somewhere we hadn't moored before.
A really nice spot for Diane to sit and rest after cruising and I was left to tap away on the laptop clearing up emails and the like.
Quite restful in fact.

Not so early on Tuesday morning we waved hello/goodbye quickly to Ali and John on nb Triskaideka - whoosh and they were gone away slowly.
 

Funny - north of Preston Brook tunnel the aqueducts become
underbridges

By the time that we had decided to get underway on Tuesday, the calculator was out checking on how far and how long we had to Preston Brook tunnel, so as to avoid a lengthy wait if we missed the passage time. Diane had wanted to visit the chandlery, but in the end it would have to wait.
Calculated time and moored boats (where we ticked over, as usual) gave us a short time of just 2-3 minutes to wait to get through the tunnel - almost perfect timing with that.
The tunnel light was in full working order for this passage - so glad that it is fixed and works all of the time now. Diane didn't need to stand up the front with a lantern - like an undertaker in front of a flowerless hearse.

So skilful was our passage that we made it to the stop lock and it was ready to open and a boat was coming up so no need to shut the gate.

Looking down on the Weaver from the T&M

But around bridge 208 "disaster" struck and we were slowed dramatically - rubbish around the prop - mixed in with it were some of the hedgerow cuttings - the fingers are still a bit sore from the thorns.

Nevertheless we cleared it and moved a bit further on, this time perfectly timing the Saltersford Tunnel and then the Barnton one, and finally moored up just after bridge 201- overlooking the Weaver.
It is a lovely spot and after a bit of a foraging trip on Wednesday morning in search of a cow, we found a lovely little Co-op as well as an interesting Indian restaurant that will need some further investigation next year.

Our time on the Bridgewater had left us a bit sluggish - the lack of locks has a detrimental outcome on the amount that you tend to walk/exercise, so we both decided to give it a full mile individually whilst the other cruised - Diane went first and all the way to the services block where she made sure that the hire boat moored towards one end of the available space and not in the middle - she did say that they were moving that way anyway.

Above Anderton - I cannot recall ever seeing
this without a boat moored here - usually you
cannot get through for the boats.

we have seen this boat before, but strangely we had been
talking about it just a day or so ago

So it was the usual - water tank to fill and this time 2 cassettes to empty.

 

I heard this boat winding - from the sound of it's bowthruster !

Then it was my turn for a bit of walking and it felt good to be able to stride out a bit - a little bit of time off from it and you really do feel it.

Diane did slow down to let me back on board - the oncoming boat through a bridge hole plus the prospect of a narrow section after with moored boats suggested that this act of allowing me back on may have been a bit more for her benefit than mine.
 

I need to include this so that the kids remember what I look like -
only so they will know me at the airport.

Was it really a month ago that we moored up at the flashes with Joan and Jim (nb Two Jays) for a few days - anyway we were now back and probably will spend a couple of nights here.
I have done some more berry picking and another apple/blackberry pie/crumble will be making an appearance in the kitchen quite soon.
It is just so peaceful and quiet - obviously the wind is coming from a different direction as we haven't heard a plane overhead all day - and may it continue tomorrow.

Not Tixall Wide - it's the flash at Brook Farm

 
37 Miles, 1 Lock, 3 Tunnels

Totals: 2819 Miles, 2059 Locks, 97 Tunnels, 34 Lift Bridges, 151 Swing Bridges