Sunday, 31 May 2015

We have the power!

Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May 2015

A couple of nice relaxing days at Alperton was what we needed - Diane has not been feeling the best - her asthma has surfaced and she is not doing too well as a result.
For anyone who thought that these house-boats never move - this one did -
admittedly not under it's own power!

It generally takes her a few weeks to get over it fully; it is imperative that in that time that she does not get a cold as well, so with warm weather we are fine.
 
Diane particularly liked this evening shot - I have to agree with her

We  didn't do much at all during Friday and Saturday - a walk down to Halfords for oil and Wickes for a drill extension to clean the Reflecs (thanks to Tom's sugestion on nb Waiorou).
Back to the boat and a general engine and battery check was all we did for Saturday morning.
 
These two boats cruised past whilst we were just doing not much at all




Diane had listed a Chinese luncheon - so back to our favourite East PanAsian Restaurant at Alperton - another excellent meal - I can highly recommend the chicken's feet.

We were back onto the boat to avoid the sudden drop in temperature in the afternoon; a few more sets from the French Open before we settled down to watch the FA Cup.

What an anticlimax it all was - Arsenal outplayed AstonVilla - I think the witches hats would have done better.

Over the last week or so we had recorded a few programs and we managed to catch up on some of these on Saturday night before finally saying it was time for bed.
 
Thought the days of horse-drawn boats were gone - but here, on the roof, the
hay was ready.

Sunday morning comes along; we have a need/plan to move - what happens - it has rained virtually all night and pretty heavy in the morning - aaarrrrggghhh!!!!

Anyway, after breakfast it starts to ease off and eventually it stops completely - hooray.

Not long after 10am we head off; Diane is confined to indoors on my orders - for once she obeys - I suspect it is only because she had the washing machine going and she could keep an eye on it - I don't care why she agrees but it is better for her indoors where it is warmer than outside where it is weather for cows.

We need to empty a couple of cassettes and fill the water tank - with a boat just starting to fill their water tank at the Little Venice services we reluctantly moor just in the narrow part by the bridge - empty the cassettes and dump the rubbish.

A wide-beam is waiting to come through but shows us another water point by the cafe boat so we basically swap places and they are on their way and we are filling with water - the back section of the boat, which is open, is protected under the bridge, as it suddenly pelts down and continues to rain quite a lot - only easing and stopping when we have a full water tank and ready to go.

With the rain stopping, the temperature had also increased and Diane was able to sit outside and enjoy the Regents Canal - a lovely stretch in any location, but especially lovely in the centre of London.

Down through the fishbowl which is Camden Locks - the rain has reduced the normal crowds - we also took the opportunity by Bridge 27 to pull in, I held the boat (no where to tie up ropes) and Diane popped into Costa - why is there no cruise-through lane?

Onward to St.Pancras Lock - met up again with the commodore (we had seen him when we were last through there, a mere 9 days ago); we also saw nb Water Song who had breasted up with us in Paddington Basin - all-in-all we have now built a relationship with the commodore and a few suggestions from him may come in handy further down the line - the old adage "what goes around comes around" has appeared - I like to think that just being nice costs nothing.

Finally we made our way into Battlebridge Basin for our mooring at the London Canal Museum - you need to book it and arrival time is around 4pm and you must be gone by 10am.

For ₤8 per night you get power as well - so someone (aka Diane) has been beating the hell out of the washing machine and the television.

We are comfortable ensconced here - a crowbar may be necessary to remove us - eventually.

When you have the power, you have the power!!

10 Miles, 4 Locks, 1 Tunnel
YTD: 395 Miles, 211 Locks, 9 Tunnels, 2 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges
Totals: 3289 Miles, 2332 Locks, 107 Tunnels, 36 Lift Bridges, 162 Swing Bridges

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