New Routines

Friday 24^th January to Sunday 26^th January 2014

Now that things were back to normal, we started getting back to normal – as you can imagine, with the time apart, Diane had fallen into a routine which suited the needs that she had and there were routines that developed as time went by, so it was just natural to continue these – one of these was an early doors coming together at The Exchange on a Friday afternoon.
Very pleased to say that definitely needs to continue – we walked into Stone with Dot and Gordon and after a bit of shopping, the table in the front window at The Exchange was then occupied by us – not long after we were joined by Lynn and Phil and then by Sue and Andy - pleasant times – only Elaine and Paul were MIA.

Eventually we made it back to the marina and home, thanks to Sue whose sacrifice of a drink is muchly appreciated.

There is one thing that happened whilst I was away which I have not yet mentioned.
For quite a while we thought (and knew) that the inside of the boat was in need of taking on a lighter appearance – to some extent we resolved this with the insulated lining paper, but the darker curtains a still detracted from this.
Whilst I was away, Diane was coaxed to spend some of the hard earned on fabric to be eventually made into new curtains for the boat – I think that Joan and Lynn may have been accomplices in this, but with Joan’s expertise, we now have a lovely new set of curtains throughout the boat and it definitely looks much brighter and a special set of matching cushion covers as well – so very special thanks to Joan.

This little fellow has found a home on the side of the toaster - now named Claude (clawed)

Saturday came and with the BBC showing the Ladies Final of The Australian Open there would be no other place for Diane than perched in front of the TV in the warmth of the front room and so she assumed that position.
Breakfast served up for her,  I headed off to Aldi with Dot to pick up the items that we needed.
After returning we all headed up to the café for coffee – not long after we joined by Elaine and Paul and the boys.
Very shortly after that Paul and Elaine were greeted by three people – Keith, Anne and grandson Sam – bearing camping information – turns out they have bought nb Rock’n’Roll – and will take possession 1^st March – previously they had nb Forever More.

Around the table in the usual boaters mode

We all had a chat about boat things and camping in England and Europe – very lovely people and we look forward to meeting up again with them sometime.
I must say we were all pretty impressed with Sam (the grandson) -a very nice young lad.
After all of that Paul and I needed to urgently return to our boats – the football was on TV, and you know that you cannot miss that, so we were off.

The remnants of the hail storm

Sunday was a pretty miserable day in itself and the mens final was on, so Diane was in her usual position – it was a bit unfortunate for Nadal to get an injury, but Wawrinka deserved the victory and a first Grand Slam.
Walk the dog and get the paper in between downpours and then settle in again for more football on TV and dinner after all of that – but by 8:30 I was asleep in front of the TV – the boat was just too comfy and cosy – I don’t think it was from doing too much that made me so tired.

From Nice to Ice and how nice it is !!

Thursday 16^th January to Thursday 23^rd  January 2014

I made mention that I was looking forward to the cooler/colder weather and getting back, but I neglected to also say that of equal eagerness was the return of Mitch and Sara from their holiday time in the US – visiting and catching up with family there.

They returned with a sort of look of being tired and refreshed – in any event it was great to see them back.

And then so it was time to start the journey back to Diane.

Goodbyes, aside there was little that needed to be done – the cut on what made it into the cases and what didn’t was completed – still ended up being 1.7kg over, but the lovely young lady (aren’t they all) behind the desk eventually let me through free of charge.

Luckily she didn’t see the 2 laptops that I also needed to take.

The flights were uneventful – for the first time in a while I wasn’t able to sleep all that much.

Dubai airport continues to expand – this was the first time that I needed to actually change terminals – the complex, at present has five enormous terminals – who knows how big it will eventually get.

A 50 minute journey through immigration/baggage collection/customs was very quick – gotta love Birmingham airport –and I was out.

The good lady wife was there to make sure that I found my way back to the boat.

What a quick trip it all was – the short monorail trip to Birmingham International train station, followed by a direct train through Stafford and the wonderful Phil there to pick us both up and drive us back to the marina.

From landing (at the airport) to stepping onto the boat was less than 2 ½ hours.

The usual realignment of body clock with local time took place. A reintroduction to The Exchange was the Monday assignment, but it did allow Elaine to join us – at this late stage she couldn’t risk too much exposure to the cold.

Tuesday was Christmas Day for Diane and I - we could not be together on the usual date so this was a good day to have a lovely dinner and we were very lucky to have Dot and Gordon join us. Games ensued once the cook dispensed with the dishes – naturally we had to keep playing until Diane had won – she’s a good winner.

Wednesday was tidy up day – we finally had a chance to sort out the contents of the cases that had come back; it was also back to work day – but by the end of it all, the Xmas decorations were all packed away; the suitcases were away; the lounge and dinette were once again tidy and if only we had a cat there was enough room.

Whilst I was away Diane has kept immaculate records of the use of the diesel stove and working it all through, the usage per hour is about the same as we found in October/November, but interestingly with the weather being much colder over December than the earlier period the cost of keeping the boat warm and cosy was relatively inexpensive. The stove used 180 mls per hour of use, which came out almost 3.2 lts per day and at marina rates meant an expenditure of about £18.50 per week

We had made some visits to drop off things that had been added to my list of things to bring back; we had seen just about everyone that we needed to – everything was back to normal and I was home.

Summer Daze

Tuesday 7^th January to Wednesday 15^th January 2014

Diane might have her countdown on facebook which is keeping track of the number of days until I come back, but I have my own – how many days until the heat disappears.

Tuesday 14^th – 43.0C and relative humidity of 10-15% - very hot and dry

Wednesday 15^th – 41.9C – so a bit cooler, which was a great “relief”.

And overnight the minimum was 29.2C

Don’t anyone dare say that it was nice warm weather –there is nothing b____y nice about it – it is the type of weather where the windows and doors are closed early; the curtains and blinds the same; and then about mid-morning the air-conditioning goes on and stays on –it is a cave-dwelling hibernation existence. And you definitely do not want to go outside at all.

We did manage to get out on the weekend when the weather was definitely more reasonable and way down below the “let’s fry some eggs on the bonnet of the car” temperatures.

Saturday was a pleasant visit to the Victoria Markets where it is just a delight to simply wander around and take in the sights, the sounds and the smells – of course there are things to buy as well, which is exactly what I did.

The familiar facade - only ever seems to change from a paint job

Beautiful leafy Elizabeth St - trams and traffic together

Fresh fish everywhere....

... and shoppers....

... and our favourite deli - love to sample Dianne's Delights,
but don't tell my Diane

...fruit and vegetables as well

and a Melbourne icon - hot jam donuts - any time of the year
but especially on your way home after the football

Sunday was a lovely drive up the highway to Geelong –Victoria’s 2^nd city – for lunch with Brenda. A view over the bay from a shaded verandah at the restaurant made for a very enjoyable way to spend time over lunch. Sam had recovered from her jetlag and joined us, as did Gail, a friend that Brenda brought with her.

A stroll along the waterfront rounded off a lovely day.

oh my goodness gracious, a marina - what I wouldn't give...

just to be by the water

There are quite a number of these carved and painted characters
along the foreshore in Geelong

But for now it back to the heat, some measure of sleepless nights and looking forward to getting back to cooler/colder weather – oh and back to the missus too!!

A New Year? What was wrong with the old one?

Saturday 28^th December 2013 to Monday 6^th January 2014

With Xmas being over I at least had a chance to see a few people that I had been meaning to get to.

First on the list were Bruce and Robert – we have now known them for just on 8 years.

They don’t seem to have altered too much at all – Bruce has lost a bit of weight and Robert has made a concerted effort to give up smoking – and all encouragement to him.

Bruce on the left and Robert on the right

NewYear’s Eve and New Year’s Day both came and went without any interference from me – for yet another year – in bed before 10pm and up by 6am – not what you would call a party animal.

The weather has not really set any records so far this summer – so few hot days in fact, that I wish now that I had packed another jumper.

I have however managed to find a few more hidden facts about the house-keeping skills of the favourite son – but I will see what answers come forth when I discuss it with him when he is back next week.

Still managing to clear more stuff that has simply been left here by people who have stayed in the house over the last 6 months – might be issuing a black list of people not staying again.

 

I found this old photo of Banjo when he was just 9-10weeks old.
Wasn't he cute then - gee how things change!

When I was in England we would watch the BBC news most nights and I have remained constantly surprised/annoyed at how few stories (and none of them from overseas) that they actually get through for what is effectively a 1 hour news service; so I decided that I would just check on what we get – Channel 9 do a 1 hour service which includes ads and not including the weather report, I counted 42 separate stories – local, national and international – there was none of this getting opinions on one story from 10 different people – it was straight reporting of the facts. You have to bear in mind that there were including in those 42 items, 5 sports stories which took all of 6 minutes – given the nature of one of the sports items it was incisive and to the point.

Not a word Reggie - as they say a picture is worth a 1000 of them!

It's Bah Humbug time again!!

Sunday 8^th December to Friday 27^th December 2013

OK, so it has been a while since I have sat down and put fingers to keyboard.

Life in a regular house and neighbourhood does not provide the same diversity as one in a boat (even one not moving).

There are more usual things that need to be done each week and work does not have the same feel as it does when on the boat.

Actually going into work once a week is a bit of variety, only in terms of the travel – trains and commuting in general -  but don’t get me wrong – I certainly do not want to go back to doing it every day or even every week.

What has happened then in the last 3 weeks?

Not very much.

Mitch and Sara have flown off to the USA – to Dallas in particular for a holiday/Xmas/family wedding and in the process catching up with plenty of football over there.

They are having a good time and beginning the process of setting up their lives for the future and we say good luck to them both – they have a plan and are pursuing it – and we support them 110%.

I have ventured off by train to see my aunt in Warrnambool and mighty happy to see Brenda again – it has been about 20 months since we were together and she remains the favourite aunt.



Brenda - not about to face the camera - just like the teenage
brigade - far too interested in the phone.

Buddy (Brenda's dog) - he has turned out to be a really good dog

We went off to Port Fairy to visit another aunt and uncle – Heather and Ron – who do at times follow the blog – so if they are reading this – hello to you both.

Ron - obviously concentrating on something else

Cousin Fiona - cheesey grin and all

...and the delightful Kitty Rose - only 3 but clearly is much older
by the way that she speaks

For the past 29 years we have really enjoyed the kids visiting Santa for the obligatory photo - we did give the stipulation a few years ago that whilst they live at home then this was a requirement. It pleases us a great deal to say that they do not need any reminding to go and get it done - in fact we think that they may just enjoy it.
Certainly it seems that Mitch likes the tradition - this year apparently he got all of the photos out from previous years to show Sara - there is now about 32-33 of them (some years like this there are two photos as they are in different places).

Sara and Mitch

... and Sam too (American style)

The weather, for this time of the year, has been rather coolish with plenty of colder winds and conditions – but it hasn’t been completely so – Thursday last week (19^th) – reached up to 40C – mighty glad it didn’t stay that way.

It will not be an especially joyous week to come – this will be the first Xmas that Diane and I have been apart, but for us it simply is another day and we will have the usual fayre when I return to the boat in January – in the  meantime I will be working right through every day. Time off will come later.

I am very thankful to the guy still staying with us – Speedie – he is one of Mitch’s mates who lives here and he is such a nice guy and pleasant that it makes a great deal of difference. With Mitch, Sam and Diane not here it would have been less than enjoyable to be without all of them – Speedie has helped quite a lot.

Speedie - in his natural habitat - and this was on a good day too

I am looking forward to the next week – at least the holidays and weekends will mean that there will not be the usual hour-to-hour rush requirements from customers – it will still be busy – but by the end of it all, 2013 will be at an end and then it will be just over 2 weeks to go.

The effort that has been put in to bring the house back up to scratch has had its effect; the list of things that I needed to source for bringing back with me has been almost completed; the sorting out of paperwork for the last 20 months has been done.

One more highlight of the week – perhaps the best – Dorothy turns another year older – that is Diane’s mum – I cannot disclose her age but it is more than 60 and less than 100 – so the phone call went through and she is very well and ready for a special lunch – Happy Birthday!!

Given the situation this year – with Diane still being on the boat in Stone and me here in Melbourne – I was mighty happy to spend it on my own and not have to endure people commiserating with the two of us not being together.

Boxing Day was the same, but I have occupied myself by being able to work and then take the days in January.

So here I am, Friday night and have just spoken with the favourite in-laws – well I did manage to get a few words in edge-wise – at least after I had spoke loudly. Millie (Dot) does like to sometimes take a breath whilst talking – but only sometimes. Never-the-less they are both well and as I have said before doing very well with the computer based stuff – and continuing to learn all of the time.

Nothing much coming up in the next week – apart from work – so as I started off this blog – life at the moment is just a bit different to being on a boat.

This fellow was hanging around waiting for his photo to be taken

Man Heaven

Saturday 30^th November to Saturday 7^th December 2013

After a week of hot weather, although fortunately the humidity wasn’t too high, what do we get on Saturday – when I am due to fly out – lashings of rain.

The drive down to the airport was wet and then more wet, but we got there without incident.

After a relaxing coffee, I said goodbye to Dot and Terry – it was a week worthwhile – next time when we are both back in Australia it will be even better, but it was good to see them both in reasonable health.

So now off to Melbourne and stepping off the plane after a very uneventful flight, there were Mitchell and the lovely Sara to meet me.

He has done well, the boy has; Sara is such a delightful bubbly girl and such a fun person to be around – she has coped well with a new country and has taken in the essence of Australia and retained all of the nice things we associate with American culture.

This is Sara - the boy has done
well for himself

and then there is Mitch - here is he in in his natural
habitat - on the couch

The house was still standing when we got home; the general impression was that it was all fine and no problems – later the situation of 4 under 30’s living together appeared, but I have to say I am pleased with the way everything was.

As cold and wet as Brisbane was on my departure, Melbourne was hot and dry and if I had any doubts about returning to Australia in summer they were reinforced – I DON’T LIKE THE HEAT.

It doesn’t take long to fall back into life in familiar surroundings and quickly it was thus again.

This time is revolved around work and also my own fussiness about how I like things to be – so I am slowly doing some neatness work and more cleaning to how I like it.

Melbourne has always been a delightful city to live in – if only for the changability of the weather and it didn’t take long to live up to it’s reputation – from 34C on the weekend and early on in the week to 16.8C on Wednesday with rain that night – the coldest December day since Christmas Day 2006 which was just 14.5C.

More rain followed and then the cycle continued with the temperature increasing for the weekend.

As with Brisbane, I have a list of things to be looked at, sourced, checked out and bought – this list being from she who must be obeyed and who seems to be frequenting the pubs and searching for mulled wine.

It is never easy being away from the one whom you love so much and the present is just that, but as she has a countdown on her facebook page each day is one day closer.

For the moment it is about work, new computer, some training, cleaning and seeing the kids and friends.

Our dear friend Helen, from across the way, informed me that she had been diagnosed with cancer – this time breast cancer but appears to be beating it, so we hope for the best outcome.

In my adventures as far as finding things that we need, I stumbled upon the new extra-large Bunnings hardware store – the old one, which was plenty large enough has been supersized with a new one just 300m up the road.

This one is massive – occupying easily 3 acres and with a full sized upper floor – that’s right two floors – so let’s say 6 acres – and as well as that there is a huge area outside for gardening – plants etc etc.

And not only that but there is a well stocked café, so here is almost the ultimate man heaven – easily able to wander around here all day plus be able to get sustenance as well – just need to get a liquor licence and we are well set.

Diane sent this one through to me of a lovely sunset at the marina

The flying is the easy part - just try the training

Thursday 21^st November to Friday 29^th November 2013

Having made the trip numerous times and with both of us doing a fair amount of travel this year, the staff at Emirates check in Birmingham provided a breath of fresh air – so simple to go through the whole process – less than 5 minutes in total – and all done with a smile and friendliness that we had seen lacking with our October trip.

Landing in Dubai and clearing through to the transit area – which is really the whole terminal, I had a chance to have a shower and refresh and then off for a coffee, I managed to glimpse some of the action in the first test – having seen the first day score of Australia 8/273 it was very satisfying to find that England were 7/91.

Not long after we were off on the second leg of 13 hours albeit with a delay of 90 minutes.

Arrived in Brisbane – no not to see the cricket – off into the city to sort out a sim card for the phone and other things, and then to take the train up to see Diane’s parents.

What should have been a 90 minute trip turned into a 4 ½ hour exercise in frustration.

The initial delay was cause by an unfortunate fatality – no details known, but sad situation whatever the reasons. What followed was out of some comedy.

The driver informed us of the situation and that the train would be terminating; then it wasn’t and we moved to the next station where it would; then it wasn’t – next station and it did – we were all off and had to wait for buses – after a 45 minute delay, one of the other passengers rang to find that no-one even knew we were there; then another half hour and buses were coming – three duly arrived, but full of passengers from other stations – no room at the inn.

Then we were back on the train to the end of the line for that train – I still had a bit of a way to go – but as well as many others the story given to us was that we had a 60 minute wait for another train (from platform 1) – 5 minutes before it was due the platform was changed to number 2 and along with a number of others with luggage following international flights we had to negotiate the railway bridge.

Special thanks to Queensland Rail for their “kind” (of) consideration for their paying customers – if I don’t need to use their services again then I certainly won’t be doing so.

Dot and Terry were both there to meet me and bundled me back to the new house – smaller than the last one but still very nice – at their age they needed something more manageable.

Like any newer house there are things that need changing and after 3 days the garden is essentially finished and looking pretty good – the muscles and bones of this poor old fellow have been well exercised.

Just be careful - the wand is in her right hand behind her back
and she can quickly turn you into a newt

Forgot to say that luggage wise, I was spot on the 30kg limit; the carry on was a little over and yet I seem to have little clothing available to me – a single pair of boots; a spare pair of jeans; a pair of shorts as well as a few shirts and smalls.

Why so little you may ask? There was an extraordinary amount of things that needed to come back to Melbourne and had to go now – I didn’t get much of say about it – Sam would need her stuff in January and Diane had things that needed to go.

So it is day-to-day wear for a little while.

There are times when you think it is safe to go back into the water – I thought that I had finished the work listed out for me for a while, but I had forgotten the power of the mother-in-law – I had a list awaiting for me – aaarrrrggghhh!

The back garden is a bit smaller than the previous one, but
needed a bit of work to bring it up to scratch...

...and a bit more work to bring it up to mother-in-law satisfaction.
But job done and both are pleased with the outcome

But now as the week draws to a close this list has been done; and I have had a very good week with the favourite in-laws.

They have joined the rest of the world – we have passed on Diane’s laptop for them to use and they have been connected to the world-wide web, so emailing and google searches have rapidly become part of their language now.

They are doing very well and being in their late 70’s you indeed have to admire their desire to learn something new and so foreign – Good on ‘em.

So it will soon be off to Melbourne to see Mitch and to at last meet Sara

Cruising – Nil

Flying – 20,000 km (approx)

The list has disappeared

Friday 8^th November to Thursday 21^st November 2013

She was busy – I could see it – the sweat on her brow -  thinking and more thinking – what else could she add to the growing list of jobs that I needed to get done and out of the way before I had to leave.

In the end it wasn’t that long really and none of the jobs were particularly difficult – well they usually aren’t all that difficult – it only gets hard when you actually start trying to achieve the desired result.

But they are all finally done – except for one last item – and that is what I am doing now – updating the blog.

There is nothing nearly as satisfying as having a list and being able to draw a line through each item as it gets done – that ain’t gonna appear again, you say to yourself, and then cross your fingers that you have done it correctly.

There were even a number of things that I added myself – whilst I am in the mood for some creative/non-destructive adventure, why not get a few more things achieved and also a bit of transferring of skills and knowledge.

Diane now knows how to bleed the radiators; she knows how to check the batteries; the Xmas cards are done (for Australia).

There will be no more discussions about which is the best type of toilet – we have one of each – after deciding to drag out the cassette toilet which has been in storage beneath the dinette seat for over 2 years. Not so much a his/hers but more a hers/hers – since she will be the one using and emptying it – she has decided that it is definitely easier to lug a cassette to the Elsan point than to take the boat for a pumpout and then try to get it back on the mooring – on her own.

We had to learn together about how to use it; how to get it apart and then I left it to her to learn how to empty it.

The small hole in the cratch cover where a bridge jumped out in front of the boat (albeit whilst the lady of the boat was in charge) has now been fixed.

The wiring and switch for the fan above the diesel heater has been properly installed – I am most pleased with the outcome of this – almost looks professionally done.

Probably the least pleasant job was to clean out the drain pipe from the kitchen sink – normally in a landbased house, there would be some kind of caustic drain cleaner that would rip the skin off your arms at 10 paces, that you would shove down there and then flush it out after the designated time – usually after the smoke and fumes clear.

You can’t do that on a boat – so it was a relatively simple matter to take the pipes out; separate them and clean out the individual sections and put them back together.

Note to self – do it more frequently than every 2 years.

Whilst there was a bit of a smell (read as nasty), the job was quite simple and pleasing to know that was not much really in there at all. I have to say that it was decidedly better smelling after the job than before.

We have in this same period been wining and dining and drinking quite frequently with a number of friends – seemingly early Xmas festivities and best wishes for my trip; numerous offers for Diane and Xmas.

Lynn and Phil; Phil and Mandy; Dot and Gordon and especially Elaine and Paul – we thank you for your wonderful company during this last 2 weeks and I wish you a great Xmas and New Year.

I shall miss the snow, the ice, the cold, the rain and everything associated with winter in England – I shall of course not appreciate the heat, the flies, the humidity, the sweat of an Australian summer – but as we say in France – c’est la vie.

I may get around to penning a few short notes of what I am up to back home and post them but don’t rely on that too often; there will be many things that will take up my time back home – things that need to be sorted out; so for now it is au revoir and as Douglas MacArthur said “I shall return”.

And now the list is completed !!


No travel.

It was here one minute and then it was gone

Saturday 2^nd November to Thursday 7^th November 2013

Yet again another week seems to have completely vanished before our eyes and what exactly have we been doing to see it disappear.

Well really not that much.

Friday afternoon and it was down to The Swan for a quiet drink or three - we decided to meet about 3:30 to avoid the crowd which seems to descend on the pub about 5. It was a nice quiet drink - not so sure that the guy on the next table knew what to make of us - he was on his phone - yes actually using it as a phone - but at the same time getting requests from us to take some pictures of the group using our phones - I suppose he had a bit of a laugh at us later on.

the Friday Crew - Diane, Paul, Gordon, Joan, Ray, Elaine, Jim and Dot

If you look closely you will see that
Diane's Mum is never far away -
that's her behind

There had been a planned get together on Saturday late afternoon – it had been planned to converge on Ewn Ha Cul but a last minute change of venue meant that we were all on Caxton (well almost all – no Dot and Gordon – Dot had taken ill with a bad leg and needed to rest up – Gordon was there to make sure that she did – we missed you both).

After that it was off to see the bonfire and fireworks display – Elaine and Paul, Joan and Jim, Sue and Andy (Festine Lente) and ourselves.

from left - Jim, Joan, Sue, Andy, Elaine, Paul and Diane

We thought that the ₤5 per person charge was a bit steep, but in hindsight it was not so bad after all.

The fireworks display was very good and for all of the pyromaniacs in the crowd, the bonfire burnt fiercely and flames were leaping 20 metres into the air. I think that it is well beyond time that we convert the heathens to metric – after all there are only 4 countries in the world that still use miles – UK, USA, Burma and Liberia.

It took Australia 2 years to fully implement the changes in the mid-70’s – we have seen Britain convulse over this change for 20 years and they are just marginally closer than the early 1990’s.

Sunday was a pleasant day which hinted at a chance of rain and a chance of a bit of a breeze.

We were having some problems with the batteries holding charge so we thought it wise to make a dash for the marina and hook up to shore-power.

The batteries will get checked out in time.

We made it back and despite a bit of breeze we managed to reverse into our spot, tie up, hook up, put the hood up just minutes before the rains came down – we were snug and warm inside.

Monday was a trip to Stoke to pick up the new glasses – we managed to get a late start and therefore a late finish, so that accounted for that. Diane did well with the amount of walking that we did – she was suffering from a bad back and was in a bit of pain, but she got through.

Tuesday was a less than brilliant day – weather-wise – and we had a day of dog-sitting – Bombo and Sam were coming – so that Elaine and Paul could take their time doing what they needed to do without having to worry about the dogs – and they were very well behaved (the dogs that is – I am sure that Paul wouldn’t have been so good – he just a little bit mischievous).

Diane was confined to bed for the day with her back – she didn’t have her bell to beckon the first footman, cook, bottle washer and dog walker – but somehow she was able to get my attention when needed.

Wednesday and the patient was still in a bit of pain, but able to at least get up out of bed for a bit – she is gradually getting better but ever so slowly – and typically for medical people, she is less than the ideal patient – thinking that she is better than she really is.

Finally Thursday was here and we managed to get a few things checked off the list of things to do before I head off – Diane continued on restricted duties and finally managed to remember that there was tennis of the TV – that kept her firmly fastened to the chair.

And that was the week that came and went.

1 mile , 2 locks

Totals: 2211 miles, 1653 Locks, 74 Tunnels, 32 Lift Bridges, 145 Swing Bridges

Katz’n’ice, early drinking and lots of friends

Tuesday 29^th October to Friday 1^st November 2013

The highlight for Tuesday would be the theatre-outing for a production of Cats, but we had planned on a dinner out before the show and La Bella Napoli was the chosen destination – their pre-Theatre dinner was very good indeed and with plenty in the restaurant you would almost be forgiven for thinking it was a Saturday night – not Tuesday.

The show was very well staged and presented; the cast very good and the performance was therefore of a high standard.

The walk back to the boat was fortunately downhill but the air was very cold – colder than we had felt for quite a while.

In the morning, the air from the night before was even colder and for the first time in quite a while there was some ice on the roof of the boat – a sign that we are not that far away from winter.

At least the day was clear and we had the task of cruising down to Barlaston ahead of us; and so we were off relatively early and without the need for a water tank top up we were moored up before lunch and just short of a little bit of rain (good timing again).

Diane wanted another trip up to Wedgwood – for another look around, which we did together. Returning after a visit to the café we sort of settled down for the rest of the day and didn’t do too much at all – I should have also said that it was a day off for me – I had worked too many hours for the fortnight so the easy way was to do nothing – which I did.

As with many things whilst we are out on short cruises like this, there is a reason for moving and a schedule of sorts to be met – sometimes I know about it and sometimes I don’t – this time I did – we were back into Stone to prepare for the Fireworks on the weekend.

We have been having a little trouble with the engine actually starting – we are almost convinced that it is switch related and not battery – a few mornings have seen the engine just fail to turn over but after checking the circuitry behind the panel it seems to spring into life when next tried. Another job for Clive Penny when we get back to the marina.

Coming into Stone we texted Lynn and Phil to let them know we would be up to see them; just after that we had a call from Dot and Gordon – they would be in Stone in the afternoon and then we passed Joan and Jim (Two Jays) and let them know that we would walk back up to see them, just as soon as we found a mooring spot closer to The Star and didn’t need to restart the engine again.

The afternoon was a longer than expected enjoyment. First we caught up with Joan and Jim aboard their boat – tea and a lovely slice of freshly cooked cake – Jim, you can hire her out anytime!

Whilst there, Lynn walked past with Freedie, and she did get a bit of a shock with me peering through the window of a different boat – let her know that we were on our way to see her and Phil.

After saying goodbye to J and J we walked on a bit further to see L and P to see how they both were – some more tea and treats; sorted out dates for lunch and then Phil drove us back into town – so nice he is to do that and so very much appreciated.

Diane noticed that we had a couple of messages from Dot – they were just down from the Star Lock – so off we went. In the darkness that had already descended, now that summer time was long gone we found Ewn Ha Cul and the two inhabitants whom we had not seen for so long.

Time in some ways stands still for boaters – especially when you see one another after a long break – was it really that long since we last met.

Over a cuppa we talked of what we had done and what we are planning to do.

Dot brought the results of her labour – two beautiful bedside lamps that we had commissioned and whilst we had seen photos of them previously, they do look quite magnificent (pictures coming soon)

But it wasn’t long before we needed to get back for Banjo – 7 hours is bit longer than the original plan of no more than 4 and he would be in need of a tree or two and his dinner.

So we walked back by torchlight to the boat – the gang is starting to re-assemble!

It was even early by the GLW’s standards but there she was at 7:45am searching the wine rack for a fresh bottle of white wine; just barely out of bed and the bottle was duly passed across for yours truly to open it for her.

Well alright, I will own up she was just using it for cooking – getting an early start on a slow cooked stew that she had decided for today’s fayre (Friday).

Diane, Dot and Gordon along with Banjo walked down to the marina to accompany Elaine and Paul (Caxton) back up to Stone for some general get-togethering (i.e. visiting the pub).

9 Miles, 7 Locks

Totals: 2210 Miles, 1651 Locks, 74 Tunnels, 32 Lift Bridges, 145 Swing Bridges