Bankers are Fl****g *ankers !!!!

Monday 19th September to Sunday 25th September 2011


18 Miles, 28 Locks, 1 Swing Bridge – for this week


Totals: 796 Miles, 668 Locks, 24 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 15 Swing Bridges

We left Berkhamstead last Monday and arrived in Watford on Wednesday and started the process to get a bank account sorted out and doctors registration done for Diane.

You would have thought that we were there to raid the country. Diane is still a UK citizen – with valid passport – and with the explanation that she had arrived back in the country and did not have her own address.

Trying to open a bank account with a passport was easy peasy when I came here last year – and I am Australian. All she wanted to do was to put her own money into an account and withdraw her own money out of the account; she wasn’t looking for any bank interest (as if there would be any) – wasn’t even that concerned when she told it could only be cash withdrawals from an ATM.

But no, she was declined by the bank for an account and they would not even explain why – let’s just call them Bank B (for Barclays). Then they wanted a photocopy of her passport for their records because she had made a request to open an account – she told them where they could go.

The doctor local to the address that we have, was the next – we both presented ourselves – essentially for Diane to register – but because she had no proof of address (like a bank statement) she couldn’t register. The clincher was that I could – I had the bank statement and the passport. The irony of it all.

The long walk from the moorings at the bottom of Cassiobury Park into Watford town centre started to have an effect on us after the third or fourth trip in – the legs and feet were deteriorating and we were a wee bit knackered from it all.

We have taken a few steps forward but a few less steps backward this week and will need to spend a little bit more time in finalising everything.

Diane did manage to find a new android phone that she liked and after duly purchasing and going through it with the very helpful Ian at T-Mobile she was set – just like a kid with a new toy – well at least like any teenager walking down the street and pressing buttons on the phone – completely oblivious to anyone or anything around her – just as well she was on her lead and I could guide her along – even if she had to apologise to others along the way for obstructing them.

No amount of playing however prevented her from needing further help and we returned to T-Mobile the next day after discovering that there was a problem with the phone - it wouldn’t allow text messages to be sent or received – so another helpful person Fraser, resolved the situation – the SIM card needed to be replaced.

(Her picture is now up on the noticeboard at T-Mobile under the heading “Beware of this woman”).

She has cometh

Monday 12th September to Sunday 18th September 2011


24 Miles, 24 Locks, 2 Swing Bridges – for this week


Totals: 778 Miles, 640 Locks, 24 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 14 Swing Bridges

The last part of my journey to reach the point from whence I would pick up Diane was reached on Tuesday. Thought that it was Fenny Stratford, but I miscalculated the roads after that so I needed to travel just a bit further down to Bridge 98 – on Tuesday – and precisely 15 seconds after I left the heavens opened up – all of this at the Fenny Stratford lock with its quirky swing bridge in the middle of the lock – usually a nice exercise to enjoy, but in a downpour it was not the first thing on my list of wants for that day.

Still, that behind and moored up – all was well with the world.

After that all went like clockwork and reached Birmingham airport at 12:20pm and at about 12:40 Diane appeared from the arrival hall – she had returned.


Of course she had returned, but I have to say that the fitness level indicated that just a wee bit too much of the “off-season” jaunt back to Australia had not left anything in the fitness tank.

I wasn’t going to let her wallow over her jet-lag – we moved from Thursday – and have made it as far as Berkhamstead for the Sunday roast at The Crown; then movement up to The George to see the end of Tottenham demolish Liverpool 4-0 and then Man United beat Chelsea 3-1.

Saturday had also been a day of watching the football and we caught the end of the 4-3 Blackburn win over Arsenal and the 3-0 QPR win over wolves – this time in Tring – just a short 1.5 mile stroll from the canal.

It will be a fairly well travelled couple this week as we head further south and with me being on annual leave from work, it will be even more enjoyable.

The weather certainly is starting to turn cooler/colder the days progress toward the end of September, but we are looking forward to enjoying this time and the time to come as we can finally embark on the journey that we have planned for so long.

Life is Good !

The Agony, the Ecstasy and the Apprehension

Monday 5th September to Sunday 11th September 2011


33 Miles, 21 Locks, 2 Tunnels – for this week


Totals: 754 Miles, 616 Locks, 24 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 12 Swing Bridges

The heater was finally reinstalled last Monday and really works well, not that it didn’t before, but it sounds as though it does – more from relief that it is back and running than from any sound idea that it really is better. Nice to know that it will (in all likelihood) give us good service over winter.

These are for Elly and Mick - the restored
Dover - as seen on TV

Heading off from Braunston on Tuesday, after a lengthier stop than originally planned, I met a group of Australians that I had spoken to last week (amongst the many that I had talked to) and they had not been through a lock before so as I explained to them how it all worked, we quietly and gently worked through the 6 locks at Braunston and then I followed them through the tunnel.



Up on the hard stand at Braunston

We became separated at the top of the Buckby locks due to a boat already waiting, and I bid them farewell and teamed up with an older couple – Sheila and Colin on a converted tug - I say older and by way of example Sheila offered the information that they had been married for 51 years. So a single-hander and two older people worked down through the 7 Buckby / Whilton locks in pretty good time - I moored up for lunch and they continued.


I was heading for the moorings at the top of Weedon, which were duly achieved and I settled there for a couple of days before heading down to Stoke Bruerne where I hadn’t quite decided on how long I would moor up there.

As is the case, I again met an Australian family (we are everywhere) just being gongoozlers– wife and husband and there three boys over here to see her sister who had married a farmer and settled in the area – not her first trip her, but the first for the rest of the family.

I had decided that I would head off the next day, but thought I would just walk Banjo before going and I met up with Anne (and Chas) on NB Moore-2-Life and of course Molly – it was then that I heard that a boat had come to grief in the lock above us – caught on the cill, with the bow underwater and the front saloon with a fair degree of water.

I ventured up to take a look at the scene – something I can’t forget – the sheer agony of seeing a boat lying at such an awkward angle – fortunately the two owners as well as their 20 year old cat were safe (and fairly shaken). BW were on the scene trying to work out the best way to rectify the situation.

The obligatory dog photo for Sam and Vivienne

They certainly determined what needed to be done and came down to advise the people on the 5 or 6 boats in the long pound that they would need to take their boats down from this pound and maybe down through 2 locks as they drained this pound to remove water from the lock.

We were all held up no matter which way we were heading as they wanted to keep the water levels in all of these lower pounds up for the additional boats in each.

Met another lovely couple Marian and Richard on NB Eleni Mae and we shared a few hours together waiting for the time to go – 5 hours after the initial problem we were able to move down through the remaining tow locks and were off to Cosgrove.


The boat had been refloated and the water had been pumped out in a way to minimise any further damaged – a good job done by BW – well done guys.

Eventually I have made my way to Milton Keynes and moored up on the city side of the canal at one of the four 48-hour moorings – a rare find indeed – and as the elderly person on the boat following said “I’ve only ever managed to get in their once in my boating experience) – the sheer ecstasy of it all. Not saying that the other side is not good – this is just better.



Beautiful countryside viewed from the Cosgrove Aqueduct



Part of the mural in Milton Keynes - too big for one shot

So as of tonight there are just 3 more sleeps until Wednesday and my beloved will be returning, but I have a dilemma, how do I explain to her that as thrilled as I am that she has returned, ITV1 has the 1st game in the Champions League that night and Man United are playing Benfica – maybe she will be tired and won’t notice – I don’t think so – sounds like a bit of a scheduling problem.

No absolutes; no absolutions; no ablutions

Monday 29th August to Sunday 4th September 2011


10 Miles – for this week


Totals: 721 Miles, 595 Locks, 22 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 12 Swing Bridges

Earlier in the week it looked likely that the most exciting thing that had happened was going to a pumpout and fill up with diesel and turning the boat around to come back to Braunston, but as the week went on and I sat down and thought more about what had actually happened, I really saw that all of the things that we all espouse to about what is great about being on the water was what had happened and what I should be most pleased about.

For me (us) it is about being relaxed; doing what we want to do; meeting and talking to perfect strangers; having a freedom to explore new places and to truly enjoy all of this – and that is what has happened this week.

Yes, there are still needs to be satisfied, like getting the pumpout; like filling the diesel and water tanks; and the shopping for food and of course removing the rubbish.

But this week I have had so many different and varied conversations – not the standard ones about toilets and engines but more about nature and history and family and people.

I met a couple who had been on their boat for 28 years and it has only been in the last 8 years that they really have had a chance to spend extended periods of time on it and be able to travel further than what a week had allowed; how it is not just movement for movements sake, but enjoying the location where you are. The dog laid down in boredom until he got some tidbits from the lady of the boat.

A casual conversation introduced me to a couple who were with friends on holiday back to the UK from whence they had moved 30 years ago to Australia – Perth to be precise. How much they all enjoyed the canal lifestyle – the more relaxed that they were, after even a day on the water. The man was an ex-lockie from the Braunston area and I was listening to someone who was able to talk about the way of life from many years ago and how the canals were; what they were all about – the dog of course couldn’t have cared less – he just wanted to go for his walk, but as usual he showed great patience as I listened.

A meeting with a woman waiting for her daughter to arrive for a couple of days afloat and she told me about how much she loved thunderstorms and her desire to be one of the storm chasers in the American mid-west; her dog was more patient. Her husband intermittently wandering back from the road way to say no sign of them yet. Banjo started the whining act but I wasn’t listening.

Discussing an upcoming talk on canals with the man posting the details on the noticeboard – he was 76 years of age and didn’t look it, had had a stroke which didn’t show and had spent 30 years as a liveaboard prior to all of this before he bought a house right along side a lock and was involved with the Braunston History Society; the dog gave up and went to look at the water in the lock.

And in-between all of these there have been so many numerous short conversations along the tow path about things of inconsequence but all of which give a chance to meet and talk to total strangers.

Nowhere is there a system as large as this one where people cruise along, walk along and talk along and seemingly wander aimlessly through each day, but at the same time experience the unique qualities of another person; engage them in sometime deep conversations or just simply discuss where they have been or where they are going.

the building on the left is the Admiral Nelson pub at Lock 3
the building on the right a private cottage - no problems
with the drive home - and all flanked by a lovely lock setting

No, it may not have been an exciting week in terms of what most people would call exciting, certainly not from our kids point of view, but, yes, an exciting week in terms of the people that I have met.


part of a pathway we discovered leading from Lock 6
back to Lock 3 - flanked by plane trees

Now, off to clean up after the dog who has really been bored witless!

The Cows !! – BW Cut Costs

Monday 22nd August to Sunday 28th August 2011

11 Miles, 3 Locks – for this week

Totals: 711 Miles, 595 Locks, 22 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 12 Swing Bridges

It used to be that when you were younger, the day after you got a haircut was always a lot colder than the day before and because of the haircut you thought you were freezing; well the boating equivalent was this week – Richard from RML Services (Mobile Marine Engineers) came on Thursday to take away the diesel heater for a service in preparation for winter – what happened the next day? – Winter arrived – well, Friday was a very cold and wet day and probably would have been a day when the heater would have been on, but it wasn’t there – in fact Thursday was a fine and sunny day up until 5 minutes after he disappeared around the bend below the Hillmorton locks – then it got colder.

Thursday was also a memorable day, as earlier on it seemed to me that BW must have read my blog last week and seen the two guys mowing the towpath grass, when we were moored at Hawkesbury Junction – at Hillmorton we had a mother and child double act achieving a similar result but at a much reduced cost (see pictures); so I am thinking, were BW the real instigators of this escape from the adjoining field to get the grass trimmed on the cheap.

"not quite my best side"

"try that again - I forgot to smile"

Back to being a single-hander means that locks are a potential place to hold up other crews and I was aware that the Hillmorton locks with three relatively close together should be traversed early; with this in mind I set off on Saturday rather early but quietly; I also needed to fill the water tank so a stop at the water point – the one nearer to the locks than the other – knowing that the boat in front (on the long term moorings) was empty – hadn’t seen anyone there at all and it was all locked up – I gently and quietly pulled in – obviously not quiet enough for some. The woman from the boat 50 metres back poked her head out and whilst I could not hear all of the words, the ones that I did told me that unlike the name of the boat I might be wrong to say she was lady-like.

Seemed strange to me, because standing at the back of my boat I could clearly hear the noise from a major road nearby and the trains from the line – both of which were more audible than the engine on the boat.

For my favourite sister-in-law, Vivienne, I have including these pictures of Banjo as she has requested.



Looks just like a gremlin before he is fed after midnight

The left-ear up, right-ear down technique

This is the same dog that this week has achieved the following:

1. decided that he would lie on his back and scratch it on the grass on the towpath – on the towpath grass that was sloping down to the canal – the same grass that was still wet from the overnight rain – the wet grass would have been fine – the splash into the canal gave him away – yes – slid down the grass and straight in – he did manage to scramble out himself

2. as I was about to exit the top lock at Hillmorton and before I had engaged the prop, the sounds and the water splashing onto the back deck gave him away again – despite telling him to stay on the boat he has decided to jump on/jump off on either side of the boat – I guess this time he mistimed – he had a few more miles to think about what he had done.

3. has decided that canal water tastes better than fresh water from the tank on board

Moving along the part of the canal shared by both the Oxford and the Grand Union a sad sight for those whose interest lie in the boating heritage – a boat moored on the bottom



Someone will see value in restoring it
- not me

NB "Iceberg" - 90% below the water

A walk into Braunston on Saturday, was followed by a thunderstorm on the way back to the boat and not just the lightning and the thunder but we had hail as well – result was a drenched dog; my umbrella protected all of me but my shoes.

He is a bit cleaner now after the bath – a pastime he decidedly doesn’t enjoy.

So we have settled in for the long weekend – a long weekend signifying the end of summer – I think that arrived last Thursday at 11am.

Sunday was a chance to have a day off from work and anything else to worry about – first real day off in two months – a phone call from James on Friday to see where I would be on Sunday and then another this morning to make sure of where we should meet – The Boathouse (on the canal) – walked into the pub at just after 12 and didn’t have time to even order a beer when he was there – neither Debbie nor the two girls – Rachel and Kathryn – knew anything about it and were very much surprised to see me walk out to the car to greet them.

Had a really nice day – walked back to the boat so that they could spoil Banjo; talked a lot and then back to the pub to have a meal – they left about 5 hours after arriving, but it was such a good afternoon.

Above everything else for this week the very best news of all is that Diane has booked her return ticket and will be back in mid September – so we now only have to count the days off the calendar.

Can you hear the hum, Fernando?

Monday 15th August to Sunday 21st August 2011

12 Miles, 1 Lock, 1 Tunnel, 1 Swing Bridge– for this week


Totals: 700 Miles, 592 Locks, 22 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 12 Swing Bridges

The newest crew member has had a very good week continuing to learn about boating life and sleeping in a bit past 4 am when he came to check if I was awake – I pretended to be sound asleep – I am sure he wanted to go out for a pee – have to hold on for a bit longer

We had moored almost at Hawkesbury Junction – well only 500 metres away.

Over and back many times across the lock gates at Sutton Stop Lock – a old dab hand at this he has become.

So an easy walking area with a nice towpath – not muddy or really that dirty – plenty of boats moored along the line – as is always the case.


we didn't actually cruise past this but did walk past it a few times -
bridge decoration on the way into Coventry

Banjo’s attitude this week during the regular 3 times a day walks was to poke his nose into everyone’s cratch if it was open and, if he could get away with it, walking onto the back deck to see what was happening.

The ducks have not caused any concern – he walks along and really without deviating from the towpath, they seem to want to go onto the water.

The first encounter with a swan went well – well it went well for the swan who reacted, as could have been predicted, when a dog gets too close; raised itself to full height with loud hissing and didn’t back off an inch when the dog was barking – the dog however wimped out of it.

The Greyhound has become a firm favourite with him especially around lunchtime – seems something finds its way from the plate directly to him and usually other dogs around to get to know.

not only police travel in pairs -
 how many does it take to cut the towpath grass

why does it seem to cost double to cut the grass

The moorings are pretty good here really, the only thing that could be said against them was the constant humming from the M6 motorway which is only about a kilometre away.

Inside with all of the doors and windows closed, it can still be heard quite clearly through the mushroom vents and is a constant in the background when outside; further down the towpath and near to the crossover point it can be quite noisy, so not sure how the natives feel about it.

Moved just a few miles on Friday down onto the North Oxford – still the continuing hum of the M6 in the distance; he alternated equally between the roof, the back deck and the seat.



that pesky M6 - funny that it was noisy only on one side
- after we passed underneath the noise disappeared
- must be uni-directional mufflers on the trucks

Don't get me wrong, the hum is not causing any problems to me, it is just that I wonder about the people who live around and near the motorways and the fact that there is enough traffic in the early morning to be causing the hum that it does.

A pleasant morning cruising down to Rugby, where we caught up with Geoff and Jackie from nb Benson, whom we had met at Hawkesbury Junction – we chatted again for quite a while and Geoff took no pity on the woman from nb Suant when she was enquiring about some porthole covers – stirred her unmercifully – she took it all very well.

Sunday – a day of rest – that would be nice – but I did manage to find out how to carefully remove the windows from the boat – Steve on nb Vivien Anne was doing two of his – removing any underlying rust, painting and resealing, so very much an instructive day – now all I need to do is be confident enough to put the theory into practice.

Banjo is finding his place when moving; has found his place when moored; and will find his place pretty quick again at 4 in the morning.

If the dog floats, does that mean he is a witch?

Monday 1st August to Sunday 14th August 2011

25 Miles, 2 Tunnels– for this fortnight

Totals: 688 Miles, 591 Locks, 21 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

I decided that for the first week there really wasn’t anything worthwhile talking about – just a lot of time spent working, no travelling and nothing really worth disturbing anyone’s napping time.

A family of swans "terrorising" the end of the Ashby



The highlight this week has been the arrival of our dog, Banjo – a gold spoodle, now 10 years old. He flew in by Qantas and arrived on Wednesday morning at Heathrow.

No trouble with duty-free or declarations and no rabies either. No need for quarantine as he had his paperwork and vet certificates in order. So a trip down to the Animal Centre at Heathrow to pick him up.


Do you ever wonder what has gone wrong when you encounter a government run department that actually runs efficiently; is friendly; and ahead of time? Well you will have a lot to be wary of regarding the Animal Centre because all of these apply – I arrived a bit ahead of time – about an hour – you can never be sure of traffic; I entered the door which was marked for pick-ups; followed the instructions on the inner-door. A person appeared within 10 seconds; asked me my name and the name of my pet; within 2 minutes was back with the paperwork – I only had to sign that I had received it and then a further 5 minutes and Banjo was out.

From the time I stopped the car in the carpark until I drove out, the elapsed time was no more than 20 minutes – surely these people are able to run a whole country – on that basis England would be out of the mire in which it finds itself.

But I guess they are different to the politicians – the animal people are sticking to something they know about.

So the rest of the week was taken up with acclimatising Banjo to his new surroundings; making sure that he got used to the sounds of the boat; starting up, stopping, getting up and down the back steps – not an easy task for a small dog.

Later in the week we moved the boat; let him get the wind in his hair and then moored up; long walks to let him familiarise himself with the English smells.

Saturday was a longer cruise and involved mooring up for water, so we needed to start working on where he should be and he was fine; he was almost mesmerised by the sound and flow of the water from the prop and laid down on the back deck to watch it – the ducks did not deter his concentration and he wasn’t concerned about much else.

After a while he decided to move up onto the roof and wander back and forth to see what was happening around him.

All went well until…..

Being a single-hander, there is always a time that comes for the need of a natural break (as they say in cycling) – you can’t just duck downstairs and spend a penny; I needed to moor up and ‘do what I gotta do’.

Well, anyway, I couldn’t quite get the back of the boat in close to the edge – well it was out a fair way – so far that I needed to move down the gunnel to midway to jump to the towpath and tie up.

It was during this process that Banjo decided that he would emulate what I had done; so he walked carefully down the gunnel, got to where I had jumped from. It is worth saying that he is not the type of dog that is really gung-ho about doing things – in fact he is pretty timid. Not on this occasion – and jump he did.

He is not known as a dog that jumps far and he didn’t astound me on this score – straight into the canal; but no panic, he was on the water, not under and it was only a matter of quickly pulling him out.

Looking like a drowned water rat, he shook himself off and I tied up and went below, leaving him on the towpath.

As I finished there was this strange scratching noise on the outside of the boat – yes – he had tried to jump back on again and missed. Plucking him out again and onto the roof; getting clear of the dog spray as he shook, I untied and got under way again.

Banjo was left to think about what he had done and, not being too cold, he dried off relatively quickly during the rest of our cruise.

In his defence I can say that he has mastered everything else that he has been asked to do – he is very good at getting off and getting back on – when the boat is right along side the towpath.





Evidence of Things not Seen

Monday 25th July to Sunday 31st July 2011


14 Miles – for this week


Totals: 663 Miles, 591 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

No cycling this week, football hasn’t started yet (well that’s only if you don’t count the SPL), the Olympics are a year away, so what is there to do for watching any sort of sport – well I didn’t count the European Darts Championship as truly a sport – only in the sense that the training revolves around drinking alcohol and eating – it’s a bit like saying the jockeys are sportspeople because they weigh next to nothing and can steer a horse – in my mind it’s the horse that actually does the running.

But I did poke my head into the realm of the aforementioned darts this week – now I know how to throw a dart or two, but not with any sort of accuracy, but I saw something that had the commentators in ecstasy about yesterday – what was the equivalent of a perfect 300 ten-pin bowling game (another “sport” based on alcohol and food) – the 9-dart leg – reaching 501 on a double with only 9 darts – you find something new everyday and now I can cross this one off my list of things I must see in my life – and I didn’t even know that I wanted to see it.

However, one of the things that I did want to see and I did (in fact) see it – or not see it – not quite sure.

The Ashby runs along side the Battle of Bosworth area, so I went for a bit of a stroll (long walk) to see it all.

The exhibition in the Battle Centre is very good and explains a lot of the history surrounding this period in England’s past, but with the re-examination of the area in the last 5 years, it was still unclear to me where exactly the actual battle took place – I know that they are in the process of moving the commemorative stone and signs and that this does take time – it just means I will have to go back again to see the battle site for sure.

The weekend had for a little while, been assigned as the time for re-varnishing the two sets of back doors and the frames of the wardrobes – it had taken a little while to actually be able to get what I wanted and it would take some time to apply the necessary number of coats of the varnish.

The varnish in question is a marine-grade waterborne polyurethane satin – very low odour and suitable for exterior as well as interior use.

Preparation and removing everything in the area took some time and then on Saturday it was into it – 4 coats in the day – 2 hours between each coat. Sunday came and time for the second round of varnishing – I consulted the data for a second time for recoating information – mmmm!! – one says the maximum recoat time is 6 hours and the other says ….. 6 days ??? - both sets of glasses said the same thing
Took the advice on the can and resanded before reapplying.

After all of that it was off for Sunday lunch at The Globe which was excellent by the way.

Where emphasis is placed on the result, without the public necessarily associating the people in the same way as you would an athlete or swimmer – what was SkySports showing – Formula 1 and Superbikes.

Let Yellow be the Colour

Monday 18th July to Sunday 24th July 2011


7 Miles – for this week


Totals: 649 Miles, 591 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

More work, less miles, but a few other things have dominated this week.

It has been an interesting study in the movements of boats, especially when you do not move yourself and just how many boats do not slow down.

When you are moving yourself and then moor up I believe the tendency is to think that a boat going past is going much faster than they should be – simply the change in your speed (down to zero) suggests that the other boat is going too fast.

Having had the chance over the last few weeks of not moving so much, I have observed the following

• Hirers do not speed by as much as we would believe – in fact they are most likely to slow down.

• Older people (over 70) in their own boats are less likely to slow down

• People do not understand that you need to slow down long before you actually reach a moored boat – many wait until they are actually at the moored boat before they slow.

• Day boats rarely slow down

I was actually hit twice by passing boats during this time – one was a hirer, going slow and before I had a chance to say anything they were apologising profusely; the other was a boat owner with a particularly smug looking better half – they couldn’t have cared less – I have your boat name.

Moved onto the Ashby Canal, so at least I made a decision on that one, but again I have moored up at a place where it is very peaceful, very tranquil and again has good TV reception.

There were two events this week that would normally be described as good news but which have a much greater impact.

The first is that the reason for Diane having to return home has finally been resolved and essentially in her favour; she now has a great weight taken off her shoulders and there is much relief in the household.

An agreement and significant settlement with the hospital (where she had been employed), 10 minutes before the case was to go into court, allowed them not to be told by the court that they were wrong and should have been ashamed of their treatment of her.

Now we only need to wait until the legal people finalise all of the paperwork and then she will be able to return to the boat.

But she can now start to plan her return and also arrange for our dog to make the trip – it will be a little while yet, but the end of this unnecessary saga is almost upon us all.

The second is that after a 20-year dream, Cadel Evans has finally won Le Tour de France with a performance of such magnitude in the individual time trial as well as two heroic performances on the previous two days on Galibier and Alpe d’Huez. For anyone who has followed this event for any time they will be aware of his struggle and seeing the two climbs will also know how good they were.

Let yellow be the colour.


One very piece of sad news has come from Al and Del on Derwent 6 – Del’s dad, Len, has now been diagnosed with a tumour on the brain and has limited time.

Our thoughts are with everyone there.

Late news: I know that there are a number of people that have followed the trials and tribulation of the build of NB Waiouru but for those who haven’t please have a look at their blog to see how badly things can go.

Holy Merde Batman

Monday 11th July to Sunday 17th July 2011

8 Miles, 5 Locks – for this week


Totals: 642 Miles, 591 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

I would not have really thought it possible but I have travelled even less this week than last and it is entirely work related – well almost – I have still done a lot of work, spending a lot of hours getting the project finished a week ahead of schedule; but I have also been quite satisfied with spending extra days in places where, well to be frank about it, the TV reception was very good – Vive le Tour!

I even managed to get an oil change done in that time.

Moving on from Atherstone last week I made it to the top of the flight with the help of quite a few people, although I was a bit nonplussed by one guy – who was helping me with his wife and when I got off the boat to help with the gate was a bit upset that I spoke with an “old” lady and her grand-daughter whom I had met about 20 minutes earlier down the flight – this guy had a go at me for not helping him – not much I could do – the lock was still filling (they are slow to fill on the flight) – he did later apologise putting it down to being a bit cranky, but it just took me bit by surprise.

Moored up just after bridge 33 with lovely views over the valley (if you are on the roof and can see over the hedgerow), but it was a very pleasant spot to stop – so I did.

Finally I needed to move for water and decided that I would just go a few miles down to Nuneaton.

Like many other places, Nuneaton doesn’t project itself as a spot to stop, but it is a very pleasant place with good shopping and markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays – quite big markets in fact – but woe and alas – not a very good picture on the tele.

So I had to move and just a mile down the way – I had so many services on the TV that it took me 10 minutes just to scroll through them and that is only the normal digital ones – no satellite.

Only problem though is it about a 2 mile walk into town – most along the towpath and I continue to be utterly amazed at the amount of people who walk their dogs and leave the excrement on the towpath – now I know that there are a great many people who always do the right thing but believe me it was very much a case of watching closely where to walk – much more difficult to find a place to step than not to step.

Stone the crows Batman - it was disgusting.

It is either Hinkley or Curdworth where I have seen stencilled on the footpaths a ₤1000 fine for people not picking up after their dogs – the enforcement officers might not catch everyone, but it would make you think about it before leaving it.

Where to next – no idea – I will think about it tomorrow (or maybe the day after)

By Dickens !! – It’s a Tale of Two Pubs

Monday 4th July to Sunday 10th July2011

11 Miles, 8 Locks – for this week

Totals: 634 Miles, 586 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

This has been a unbelievably busy week and I have at least one more ahead of me – I can hear someone say that those figures above do not show that it has been very busy at all and you would be right.

Let me rephrase it – It has been unbelievably busy at work this week. With more than 300 documents to get written for a customer in less than 3 weeks – it has been a very busy week – hence the lack of miles and locks but not the lack of things interesting.

I moved on Monday down to Fazeley Junction and then locked myself away for a full two days to get this work started – only interrupting to watch le Tour and for meals.

After this it was further movement down to the Samuel Barlow pub and whilst work took an absolute priority, there was time to wander over to the pub and catch up with Paul and the boys, hearing about the Working Boat Rally to be held there on this weekend – sadly I would not be there – work was a priority and I removed myself from all temptation.

The pub has just got busier and busier and speaking to Paul he is not sure why, but all of the boys had no problems in explaining it – Paul is a very engaging guy (being an Aussie would it be any different) and his style has been very well received as well as his cooking.

But still the two days I was there was very good – catching up with Swifty and Robbie as well as Tim Davis (the Harbourmaster) – I will be back again soon.

Just a bit further down the cut and I moored again for a couple of days just above Lock 8.

My only problem, apart for the workload, was a diminishing space in the grey tank and therefore a need to find a place to have a pump out – this was achieved on Sunday morning at Barry Hawkins Boatyard where the lovely Jane (Barry’s wife) was able to help out – pumpout achieved and replacement gas battle in hand - I only needed to go up the one lock and moor up – afterall it was Sunday and the traditional roast beckoned – this is all under the general heading of research.

Whilst Diane is away I needed to keep the information going into the book containing knowledge of “all things Sunday and roasts”.

Of course I must say that I had a lovely phone call from the very wonderful “she who must be obeyed” to see how I was and I suspect to find out how the list of things to be done was progressing. Such a wonderful lady – always concerned about my health and well being (and how much I can get done).

I have been to and moored in Atherstone on 2 previous occasions and by pure coincidence both were Sundays – The Kings Head provided a very good meal (2 courses) on both occasions and one was extremely tempted to continue with the run of success, but in a town with 9 pubs it would be remiss of me not to seek out other establishments which could be of equal standing or maybe better.

To this end I was prepared to go further afield, and after purchasing a newspaper, I decided to try The Red Lion, based on no other fact than it was the closest pub to me after I bought The Sunday Times.

It was very well appointed inside and I bought a beer and sat down to contemplate the menu and the sport pages with equal attention. Soon enough the decision was made and the order placed.

I was engaged in relaxing, having a drink and reading the paper – glass emptied, another ordered, back to the paper – suddenly I realised that it had been an hour and a quarter and the starter had not appeared – I looked around and others who had not long been there before me were finished. Second beer finished and my response to this was to vote with my feet – went up to the bar paid for the second beer and said that was all I was paying for – certainly not for the meal that hadn’t exited from the kitchen and then I was out of there.

Down the road was a less salubrious hostelry – The Clock - into which I entered; ordered a beer and 2 course meal (they apologised for not having the mashed potatoes – I was very “disappointed”) – sat down at the table, reopened the paper and within a few minutes a well endowed plate appeared with a well presented and extremely satisfying main course; a little longer for the dessert, but this really wasn’t a problem - no complaints with this at all – we can certainly add this to the “will visit again” list.

There is no doubt about it – pubs are certainly like books – you simply cannot judge them by their external appearance and like the Dickens classic these two certainly could have been in two entirely different cities.

Alone Again (not naturally)

Monday 20th June to Sunday 3rd July 2011



46 Miles, 48 Locks, 2 Tunnels, 2 Swing Bridges– for this fortnight

Totals: 623 Miles, 578 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges

I have been a bit slack this fortnight and Vivienne will not be happy at all with me

She has now left me - Diane has returned home to Australia.

No, she hasn't had enough of me just yet; this was pre-planned - there are things that she needs to finalise back there and then she will be back

After our long haul into Birmingham we spent a few days moored outside the NIA – some will say that we had overstayed the allowed time – but I will say that whilst it says 48hr moorings it also says that 5 pounds will be charged for each extra day – so not limited to 48 hours – that is only the free period, and as no-one came around to charge us the fee, then all I can say is that is their problem.

We did put our time to use – doing the 3 canal loops remaining off the New Main Line – all were very clean and no problems encountered.

On the minus side we had two incidents whilst moored – the first was a young guy hovering around the boat and then decided he wanted to see what was on the top of the boat and stepped up onto the gunnel – I had my eye on him, but Diane yelled out to me to check him out – I was on my way already – ready to take the hockey stick and ask him what he was doing – but on her voice he beat a hasty retreat.

The second was a group of touristy types wanting to have photographs taken of each other, but not respectful enough to understand that stepping onto the back of the boat without asking if it was OK first was likely to get people a bit upset about their impudence – explained to them that it was similar to me trespassing on their property and that they needed to ask first – not sure they really understood the cranky old b____r.

We made our way out of Birmingham via the Farmers Hill Locks and then the Ashton Locks to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and moored up at Minworth Greaves.

That simply is one of the problems going into Birmingham – it takes such a long time in and also going out with so many locks and miles to go, but the centre is very much worth all of the effort.

The pull of the Dog and Doublet was irresistible and further encouragement from she who must be obeyed did not get any resistance from me that we should moor up after just 2 hours.

We made our way to the junction but not before we pulled in for a pump out and for fuel at the Fazeley Mill Marina – just too darn friendly they are there. We asked about shopping there and were told about the retail park up along the road from Bridge 76 (heading north) – with Sainsbury, M&S, Homebase, ASDA and Halfords we were set, but it is a bit of a walk from the canal – but well worth the exercise.

That same day, we thought we would move away from the junction a bit, but the shallow edges meant that we didn’t moor up until we were at Hopwas – the neighbourhood looked a bit dodgy with Piston Broke (Lynne and Paul) as well as Tranquility (Betty and Graham), but we thought that we should be friendly to the locals – went to the Tame Otter for a meal with all of them – a very good night and good food.

Saturday was a day out as we ventured into Lichfield on the bus – just about 25 minutes and we were in the centre of town – we have been to Lichfield a few times before and we very much like the town – no exception this time.

We had planned to move onto Fradley Junction a day earlier, so it was on Sunday that we were off early as SHE wanted her Sunday roast and The Swan was a suitable place to get that – turned out to be a bargain – very good servings of roast and veges, and then there was dessert and coffee/tea included – all for 9 pounds.

With the countdown for Diane’s return to Australia well and truly into single digits she wanted very much to have a final run of locks and so we headed off early up to Alrewas and back to Fradley – 3 ½ miles and 10 locks on a very hot morning, but we had needed to wind somewhere so it all worked out pretty well.

All that was left to do now was to head back to Hopwas where we had arranged to be picked up for the car hire on the Wednesday – so we managed to get another shopping trip in – with the aid of the car we could get a fair bit more than usual.

You can never be sure about travel times on the roads, or at least we find it difficult to guesstimate them, so in our usual routine we headed off for the trip to Manchester Airport fairly early, but in the end we managed to not have to waste too much time at the other end; before we knew it, it was time for Diane to go through passport control and within an instant she was away.

She got home OK and whilst a bit sleepy for the first day, she seems to be back to normal (almost).

In the meantime I stayed at Hopwas for the weekend – the start of le Tour and coverage on ITV4 had to be worked in with a bit of work and some work on the boat as well a visit to the Tame Otter (again), but it will be 3 more weeks of le Tour and hopefully we can get Cadel Evans onto the top step in Paris.

Saturday late afternoon, a tap at the window and it was Elsie (and Ben) from nb Bendigedig to have a chat – Eric strolled up from the boat shortly after; Sue and Richard from nb Indigo Dream came by a little later, so we all had a good bit of a chat about the usual sorts of things that are spoken of.

Weeding our way into Birmingham

Monday 13th June to Sunday 19th June 2011



52 Miles, 48 Locks, 2 Tunnels– for this week
Totals: 577 Miles, 530 Locks, 17 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 9 Swing Bridges

This week has been a rather satisfying one for us; we have managed to find a marina which meets our needs for a winter mooring; we have made our way into Birmingham; we have sorted out our TV aerial problems; we have experienced 2 new canals.

We left Barlaston on Monday and made our way down to Stone, a town that holds such good memories for us – this is where we commenced our boating experience; mooring above the locks enabled us to have quiet mooring and reasonable TV reception as well as good internet.

A shopping expedition to restock the pantry and a general walk around – checked that Stone station was handling trains again – our last visit 3 years ago saw them out of the loop a bit as work was taking place at the station with the tracks – but good news, the train links ran to Crewe in one direction and London the other way.

On Tuesday it was on down through the 5 locks to Aston Marina where we pulled in onto the visitor moorings; we had a good long chat to the people there; a good walk and look around; spoke to moorers; saw the farm shop, the pub/restaurant; visited the local off-site pub and spent a night there to get a better feel for the place – in the morning we paid our deposit for a winter mooring – this gives us the requirements that we were looking for in a mooring.

Wednesday was back out onto the canal and down to Great Haywood Junction where we turned onto the Staffs and Worcestershire Canal for the first time, mooring at Tixal Wide. A chance to have a bit of a walk around – it is just so peaceful and quiet here – we will be back to spend some more time and walk around a lot more I the future.

Onward to Penkridge and the going was very hard indeed – the canal was pretty shallow in places and any deviation from the centre meant a meeting of boat bottom with the canal bottom – 2 or 3 times we managed to get stuck. Diane also did a fair amount of steering this day, allowing me a chance to do the locks – none of the groundings were during her reign at the tiller.

We had decided that Penkridge would be a suitable place to stop which allowed some respite from the noisy M6 without the need to travel too far.

It was at Lock 39 (Longford Lock) that we pulled up waiting for one boat to go up and then one to come down that we came across Elsie and Eric (and Ben) on NB Bendigedig and had the usual short hellos as we briefly crossed – we will catch up with them sometime.

It is one of the disappointing aspects of this canal north of Autherley Junction – there is so much co-habitation with motorways and busier A roads that inject their level of noise into the peaceful quiet of the canal.

The journey from Penkridge was very enjoyable and the canal had more depth and width – so none of the trials that we had earlier experienced. We had wanted to moor up before reaching the narrows but didn’t find anything suitable, so we ventured through there – only encountering two boats but with the passing placing suitable sited we had no problems at all. Eventually we moored up just past Autherley Junction and as has been our lot recently, the heavens opened up just as we had made it inside - so no chance of walking a half mile back to the pub.

Saturday was the day for us – the Wolverhampton flight of 21 locks and then the long cruise into Birmingham. We have done this flight before (back in 2008) so we had no problems with it – we just knew it would be a long day – longer than we thought.

The locks we great; the paddlegear was easy to use; some of the top gates were heavy to move; the water was crystal clear – you could see the bottom and the fish swimming around; no rubbish around but there was a bit of floating weed along the flight.

We were up the flight in just over 3 hours and had a bit of a break at the top as we took on water and had some morning tea – the facilities are quite good and the showers were hot and refreshing.

Then it was into the troublesome area – two boaters we passed on our journey up had told us about the level of weed after the locks – more than we have seen before and we lost count of the number of times that the shift into reverse was made to clear the prop - there was a need to stop to clear it, and it was the weed fouling things up.

We had decided to try the old line into Birmingham on the Wolverhampton level as we had previously been on the New Main Line and found it quite boring; glad that we did.

After the turn to stay on this level we ummed and aaahed about mooring at the Black Country Museum, but decided to press on as we had planned to catch up with James and the girls at Birmingham.

In hindsight it might well have been better to have stopped.

The journey through the outskirts of Wolverhampton leading into Birmingham on this waterway was indeed very nice; the weed was no where near as bad as earlier – in fact, after Coseley Tunnel the weed dramatically reduced.

The waterway was through a residential area so a bit more to look at and cruising beneath the motorway was opportune as it occurred just as the rain started.

We did not encounter any rubbish until just after the three locks at Sandwell and then it was not an issue.

This will be our preferred course into Birmingham from the west next time – a mile longer but well worth it.

Finally 10 hours after we had set off we were able to moor up just outside the NIA and rest some weary bones.

We had agreed to meet up with James and the girls in Victoria Square at the International Food Fair, but a change in circumstances for them meant that it was not possible – still we enjoyed the food, the music and the cider and beer, but we were very tired and 9 o’clock found us very much fast asleep.

Sunday was a much better day weatherwise and we felt more invigorated; so it was off into the city – why don’t the shops open before 11 on a Sunday and why aren’t the markets open at all.

We managed to find the tourist information and we found Maplins we were able to get a few cables and connections that we needed to install the new omnidirectional digital TV aerial that we had purchased at Midland Chandlery (Penkridge) a few days back.

In just a couple of hours we had installed the aerial on a new pole onto the side of the boat and the digital enhancer box which was able to split the signal between TV and radio and presto – excellent digital TV signal without any pixellation and excellent radio – we had achieved; and we are very happy about it.

Single Handed Boaters - The Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly

Monday 6th June to Sunday 12th June 2011



32 Miles, 40 Locks, 1 Tunnel – for this week
Total: 525 Miles, 482 Locks, 15 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridges, 9 Swing Bridges


The weather this week had a huge effect on our travelling this week with two days when we were drenched just prior to mooring up, another where we decided not to move due to rain – sounds more like the lack of play at Wimbledon or Lord’s and reasons why.

But far and above that there were the contrasts between very good behaviour and exceedingly selfish behaviour by single handed boaters.

This is not us having a ‘go’ at single handed boaters – having done this for 4 months last year I know an awful lot about the trials and tribulations of this – it isn’t easy but if you have made the decision to go it alone (for whatever reason) then you accept the challenges and responsibilities for making sure that you do the right thing all of the time (not just when it suits you) – nothing different to there being 2 or 3 or more of you on a boat.

Being on the canals is a privilege not a right and you need to be prepared to work with and help others and to think of other users all of the time.

Travelling through the Cheshire locks is a hard task at the best of times, but setting out from Wheelock we immediately came across a lock which could not fill completely from a pound which was well down on its normal level.

Diane had to walk up the locks for a fair way to let water down in order for us to move out and along. This all took time and we saw it initially as one of those things that goes with lower rainfall – until she found that the lockgate paddles had not been put down completely by an earlier boat and further we were told that it was a single handed boater not closing them

You can accept that it is possible to accidentally leave one paddle not down, particularly if they are stiff and you think that is it down fully – but not at 3 or 4 locks in succession.

Gradually we made our way up the locks followed by two other boats – we reached the M6 as the heavens opened; drenched and tired, there were two single handers in the locks – both coming down at the same time – that’s OK.

One ready to leave the lock, gates open, decided to take his time, knowing that we are there waiting to come up – I was helping him to get through – so the boat is bobbing around in the pound – in the windy pound – waiting and waiting. He then leaves to wait under the bridge out of the rain – the same rain that continued to drench us – but having left the ratchets open on all of the paddle gear – an accident waiting to happen – too lazy by a long way.

The other boater just leaves the lock only bother to close one gate – didn’t even attempt to worry about the other – too lazy by a long way.

Sure it means a bit of extra effort to close it – or he even could have asked if I would close it for him – too lazy by a long way.

A complete lack of empathy for others – “I’m alright, b_____r you" attitude.

The following day we saw the better side of single handed boating – an older man struggled through a set of paired locks as we were coming up; a hire boat in the other; he pulled the boat over to the bollards to moor up to let the other boat through as he was concerned about slowing them down – this is the type of attitude that anyone would want to see – the other boat appreciated the gestured and acknowledged the same.

That’s enough about that for now.

When you pass along a long stretch and catch up with and work through the locks with others you, of course, ask each other where are you heading. I have been surprised by the number who didn’t fancy the idea of going through Stoke at all.

We have been through Stoke 4 times together and I have a further trip to count on my own and only the first one caused us to be concerned and not by anything other than the level of rubbish in the canal – and that was 3 years ago.

This time, as with my previous time, the canal through Stoke would have to be the cleanest that I have seen when going through a large town – in fact cleaner than in most places anywhere that we have been – the amount of effort put in by the people in Stoke to create a user-friendly setting has been tremendous. We have moored up in Stoke over 6 separate nights and had no problems at all – something reflected by others that we have spoken to; so please do not think ill of Stoke, but instead enjoy the environment and enjoy the town.

For now we are sitting quite cosily in Barlaston, after enjoying a very nice Sunday roast at the Plume of Feathers hotel; sitting listening to the rain on the roof and thinking how much better off we are than those on the boats that are cruising past.

Travelling and Tragedy

Monday 23rd May to Sunday 5th June 2011


40 Miles, 28 Locks, 1 Tunnel, 8 Lift Bridges – for this fortnight


Totals: 493 Miles, 442 Locks, 14 Tunnels, 18 Lift Bridge, 9 Swing Bridges

We finished our time on the Montgomery by returning via a revisit to the Queen’s Head and mooring overnight there and in the now disused western arm.

This really is such a beautiful canal and when further sections are opened it will become more of a mecca. We shall return for another visit – just on these 7 miles alone – peaceful, pleasant and perfect.

We had a need to return back to the Llangollen which involved our intention to visit the Crick boat show.

This involved mooring outside the arm to Ellesmere, catching a bus to Shrewsbury and then picking up the hire car from Enterprise.

We were able to offload a case at the Tourist Information point in the bus station for a pound – they looked after it and we were a fair bit lighter.

Armed with a map we did what we usually do – take the walking map tour of the new town where we have found ourselves.

This tour was of the “shuts” of Shrewsbury – shut being a local word for the pedestrian alleyways that were around that ran between streets – it reminded us somewhat of Lyon (France) where they have covered alleyways that provided access to the behind the streets apartment blocks.

Whilst those of Shrewsbury were not in the same league it was fascinating to see some of the areas that could quite easily have been missed.

We are not sure of the standing of a town like Shrewsbury in the mind of most people in England, but if anyone is in the area, please do visit it is so lovely.

The good people at Enterprise duly picked us up at nominated time and place and within a very short time we were on our way – to Rugby.

All went well until we were about a mile from the Junction 1 on the M6 when we came to a sudden halt (no movement of the traffic) – we had been warned just seconds before on the overhead advisement sign that there was congestion on J1.

Slowly we crept forward; all traffic on the other side of the road had been stopped – we knew there was an accident of some type – emergency vehicles using the hard shoulder whizzing past.

Eventually we saw why – an accident involving a small car and a van – helicopter on the road – we had no idea of knowing the seriousness of the injuries, but the ‘copter suggested it was – we hope that those involved are all OK.

Onto Rugby and the Travelodge near the station – seemed well and fine, but – 2 adults sharing a room – one towel, we were lucky as it turned out – same thing for the 2nd day – but they couldn’t get us another towel – they had run out – a breakfast voucher – all OK – but you need to present it to get your cereal bowl and plate (a bit demeaning in this day and age) – 2nd morning they ran out of orange juice, milk for the coffee machine and butter satchets as well.

Overall we were two of the lucky ones – apparently they had overbooked and 4 unlucky people were destined not to be able to even get to their rooms as they didn’t have one.

I don’t think the small saving that we made compared to the Premier Inn where we have stayed before will entice us back here again.

Crick show was very good even if there was a bit of late morning drizzle – all fined up and was quite enjoyable in the afternoon – we saw all of the things that we needed to see – marinas (for winter moorings), window people about double-glazed windows, paint people about wood finishes, bedding people about mattresses and spoke to Wilsons about covers – yes they are still in business, no there is no problems with the company – they have simply merged three companies into two (or was it one).

All our questions have been answered.

We were off early the next morning to Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk to Maggie and Paddy – had a really good day with them even though Paddy was getting over some food poisoning; stayed the night with them and then off about 10am.

On the way back we visited Overwater Marina (near Audlem), as we had spoken to them at the show so thought we should see it I person – we were very impressed with the overall layout; proximity to Audlem and the village itself; what was available on site – this is now top of our list for this winter.

Back to the boat – all OK – moved her into the arm on the following morning and returned the car back to Shrewsbury, via a short visit to Whitchurch.

We moved off the following morning going past Whixall Moss (where we moored again); ventured down the Prees arm (on foot); Grindley Brook (moored).

We had decided to move early from Grindley Brook to avoid the rush and congestion that we saw the previous day at the staircase – so away by 7am in foggy conditions – down and through all 6 locks by 8am.

I was walking between the Willey Moor lock and Quoisely Lock when the guy from the boat in front was walking back – “better slow down and moor up – we have contacted the police – there is a body in the water”

Not a pleasant sight – drifting with the current of the water from Llangollen – a man in his late 50’/early 60’s.

The police arrived after a little delay – they used the boat in front to help retrieve the body and get him onto the back.

Further waiting for them to find a tarpaulin to cover the body; the paramedics to confirm death and then SOCO to photograph and finally for undertakers to arrive.

After a wait of about 3 hours they said that we could carry on – they were still waiting for the undertakers – they had been aware of the need of some boaters to get boats back and the need for others to be underway, but they needed to be respectful of the person who had died and we could not disagree.

They had procedures to follow and had kept us as informed as much as they could – they had given an estimate of about how long it would take and give or take 5 minutes it was correct.

His sister had been at the scene to identify the body.

It transpired that the man concerned had had a traffic accident just over the next bridge – the car was still there – and in all probability had staggered dazed down the towpath in search of help and into the canal.

A sad and tragic way for a life to end.

We each have a limited number of days and we need to make the most of each and enjoy life to the full as we just do not know when it will be taken away from us.

The view from the Aqueduct is decidedly better than from the doghouse

Monday 16th May to Sunday 22nd May 2011


29 Miles, 10 Locks, 2 Tunnel, 2 Lift Bridges – for this week
Totals: 453 Miles, 414 Locks, 13 Tunnels, 10 Lift Bridge, 9 Swing Bridges


We continued our journey from very early Monday morning – we needed to moor up early next to Chirk railway station in order to catch the train to Wrexhem to pick up the laptop.

Diane can find a chocolate factory anywhere

Once we have a plan of what we need to achieve, we generally achieve it – with time to spare. I must say there is an inner feeling of being pleased with ones lot in life when we are waiting for the train knowing that we do not have to catch it to get to work – time is our own.

Into Wrexham once again; a bit of a chance to have a look around – it is quite a pretty place; visited through the markets – both outdoor and the indoor ones (3 in total).

Picked the laptop up (no charge), but forked out for the new printer/scanner and a new TV (the old one has decided not to let the DVD player do its thing). Not a heavy load to get back to Chirk. Enough time to cruise on up to the Froncysyllte Aqueduct (not the famous one).

Tuesday was do-it day – we were determined to complete the journey up to Llangollen – the current against you; narrow canal; shallow canal – there were any number of times that we thought we were actually going backwards – no headway being made at all.


Back home again

Eventually we got to the marina and (self congratulatory time) I managed to reverse the boat into the mooring perfectly – 2 minutes to tie up.

Concentration plus - reversing into the space behind at the right of the picture

Llangollen is such a pretty town but quickly you gain the knowledge that it is very much a tourist town also – the souvenirs; tourist train rides; canal rides; lovely walks – but very glad that we had made the journey to the end.

Horseshoe Falls - worth the walk to see the beauty of the area

We met a lovely couple on nb Longships – Helen and Michael, as well as their daughter Felicity – and sat outside on each day with them chatting as you do when you meet new people. On the second day a fellow wandering past asked me if I was off Gypsy Rover and commented that I couldn’t be getting much of a TV picture – I agreed, none at all – rotate the antenna by 90 degrees to fix it – the polarity from the transmitter on the hill (I could see the thing) was 90 degrees off. Fixed it – thanks Chris (off nb Go Fadalach).

48 hours was our lot there and we set off on Thursday – early as usual – feeling good that the "tide" would be going our way – through the narrows easily and onto Trevor for diesel (87p and self-declare) – we had only used 70 litres in 3 weeks – very happy with that.

Reversing back from the short arm to wind and face the Pontcysyllte we were caught by the wind coming straight over it and couldn’t get around for love nor money – eventually Diane jumped off the front and we were able to pull her around.

Waited a few minutes for the trough to clear and we were then off on the return journey over the famous structure – Diane at the tiller – standing on the port side is much less exposed to the drop on the other side – but she did well overcoming the feeling of being so close to the edge.




Just to prove that she has all of the skills - that is a 120' drop on the left

As with the travelling over it two days earlier the views are magnificent and it really is a marvellous piece of engineering skill and implementation (over 200 years old).

We had decided earlier in the trip that on the return leg we would head down the Montgomery for a look – I was apprehensive as I was not sure of the phone signal for work.

Down on Friday morning, so if there was a problem we could just spend the weekend there – shouldn’t have worried – almost perfect signal everywhere.

Went as far as Queen’s Head – pub was nice and large portions on Friday.

Then down to Maesbury Marsh as Sunday lunch had been highly recommended by Chris the lockkeeper at Frankton – it was nice, but we thought that we have had better value for money – didn’t stop us from enjoying the quality.

Making their home on a new section of watered canal
a good hiss returned to them was enough to allow us to walk past

We had arrived down here on Saturday and went for a walk to see how the canal restorations were proceeding – very well indeed – a lot of hard work has been put in.

the next section nearing completion -
so much work done - so much more still to do

a new bridge hole almost ready for rewatering

There is a wonderful little café about 200 metres down from Bridge 79 on the towpath side where the hot chocolate is the best we have tasted and the scones are to die for – need to be quick as that is how they go – Canal Centre.



A very engaging Welsh fisherman

There really are decent sized fish in there

Watched the end of the Spanish Grand Prix – Webber 4th – disappointing after promising so much with pole); then watched Final Score (BBC1) for the final round in the Premier League – 14 changes of position on the table for the bottom teams trying to avoid relegation – all in 90 minutes – it was exciting stuff.

Match-of-the-Day to see all of the goals and of course to see United presented with the silverware (again) – sad that Chelsea had to sack Ancelotti – that really is the pits.

After a week off work to enjoy the sights it was back to work in the morning.

We did see one funny bit of information that came over twitter (on Monday), that I have to include here.

Our lovely son, Mitchell, adores his sister, Sam, so much and wanted to avoid her feeling bad, that he very kindly waited 4 days before he told her that the bread that she had made a sandwich with, was the same bread that our dog, Banjo, was seen nibbling on – he has found a way to jump up onto the kitchen counter.

My guess is that the doghouse is pretty full at the moment.