She's flown off again and I get hit!

Saturday 17^th September to Fiday 23^rd September 2016

A day that had been “ringed” on the calendar, but not a day that we especially had to be up early for.

The packing had been almost completed and the timetable set – we would be leaving latish in the morning but still plenty of time to relax before heading off – where to, you may ask.

Well it wasn’t a combined trip; Diane would be off on her own to meet up with our daughter, Sam. This time it would be in Barcelona, so now she only had to get there.

 

Ready to go.

I dropped her off at Victoria Station (we took the tube, I didn’t hire a car or anything like that) and after a coffee she caught the Gatwick Express and then a flight to Spain.

Luckily for her, Sam was there to meet her at the other end – Diane had only found out a day or so earlier where they were staying, but that then changed as well – so, mother and daughter let loose for fun and tapas.

All of the following I have, has come arrived in dribs and drabs.

Breakfast the following morning was a hearty one – well a well balanced meal was available, but Diane chose the churros and a couple of strawberries on the side – it was apparently the one to bulk up on before the walk with cases to the ship.

 

By adding a little fruit, it does not become healthy

They were off on a 7 day cruise around the Med – stopping at Naples, Rome, Livorno, Cannes, Marseilles and then back to Barcelona.

This one will do me - hurry back

The weather was slightly warmer than back in London; there was the mention of an alcohol-included package that had been arranged and apparently they were trying out the Black Russians (the drink, not well-tanned Cossacks).

Naples and Pompeii was quite exhausting; Rome much the same, but I suspect that the latter was due to some running by both to get back to the bus before it left without them; they decided to have a rest day in Livorno and get the spa treatment on board and today they have arrived in Cannes where disembarkation is via the tender – hope the sea is calm for them.

The weather has been wonderful for them – around 23-25C, sunny and no rain – gee, another summer for Diane.

Meanwhile, I have been trying my best to get enthused about the list that has been left – I know for sure that it won’t be finished.

I stayed on in Alperton for a few more days after Diane left – most of the boats that stop around here are now mooring on the new rings (west of Bridge 11A) and closer to the new elsan point, but I preferred the usual spot outside Sainsbury’s – it has been lovely and quiet.

I moved along on Tuesday to Old Oak Common (near Bridge 7B) and apart from the odd sound from the railway lines below, it has been very quiet and, of course, the sun has been out most of the time – along with a bit of rain.

It is easy to see the autumn is with us; the boat is a little colder in the mornings and the condensation is starting – before we know it there will be snow on the roof.

Now this is not the start of a joke but there was a Grenadian, a South African and an Australian talking about boats and being in Britain, and there was general agreement amongst us all about a lot of the same things that we had all seen, heard and experienced whilst we had been here - none of us had been born here, none of us were wealthy, but none of us were collecting any benefits either - we had been supporting ourselves all of the time - we concluded that we must not be true immigrants, but then none of us could recall meeting anyway who was from outside Britain and who was in this country and not employed and working.

And we all agreed that there were some strange practices here, that we wouldn't entertain or tolerate back home.

Had a bit if a nasty incident on Thursday morning - decided to take a walk down to the Sainsburys near Porta Bella bridge - the pathway is nice and wide - good width of concrete pavers have been laid and then a strip alongside - easy wide enough for pedestrians and bikes - and then grassy bits on each side - widest towpath I recall seeing.

It is used by a lot of cyclists - going both ways - many of them at speed as well, but with due care - no problems.

Anyway, I am on my way back to the boat - it is after 9am and the level of cyclists has dropped off a bit - about a hundred metres away I see a cyclist coming down the same side as I am on; a couple of cyclists appear from behind me and are on the concrete paver pathway. This lone cyclist is coming closer and I could tell that it was quite fast, so I stopped and waited for them to pass.

I had been talking to a cyclist just the previous day and commented about the number of bikes and he said that everyone is in a hurry and if you are walking and it gets a bit awkward, then just stand still, it is better than trying to move and the cyclist is not sure where or what you are doing or going.

So I did - closer and closer - until it became evident to me that I was the target, so harking back to me Aussie Rules days, and knowing that the hit is coming, I braced myself.

It was a hard glancing blow - my left arm was a little sore, but the cyclist got the worst of it.

Their was a lot of swearing from the bike and telling me I should have got out of the way - certainly not the way you would expect a young woman to behave - yes, a woman.

She was decidedly lucky to retain control of the bike and not crash - for me, I was fine - I have been hit harder by Diane.

Funny though, all of the guys have been good; in fact the vast majority of cyclists were great - bell ringing, slowing down - but there is always one and she was it!

I saw her again this morning as she passed the boat - I think she may have learned her lesson - going much slower and a bit more polite to other users - she didn't say anything; she may have recognised me.

Today it was a case of moving the boat along again, this time down to Little Venice and onto a mooring at Rembrandt Gardens for a week.

The two girls will be back on Monday, so there should just be enough time to get the boat back into shape and all tidy again.

It was a lovely slow cruise down to the Pond, then around into Paddington Basin, winded and back to the new water point - nice to have another one around, but it is flippin' slow - 350 lt in about 90 minutes.

Anyway, being a lovely sunny day and on the warm side I was happy just to wait for a bit - a lovely young girl (at my age they are all young) came up with her dog and wanted to talk about boats, so who am I to say no - nothing else to do - she had a small Tjalk (35') for a year and wanted to just know a bit more about things in general - nice day for some - well nice day for me then!

7 Miles

YTD:  609 Miles (980 km) , 358 Locks, 6 Tunnels, 14 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4404 Miles (7088 km), 3057 Locks, 118 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges

Life Continues, but Diane misses the football

Friday 19^th August to Thursday 25^th August 2016

It has been a particularly tough week just gone – not too many moments have drifted by without at least one of us thinking about Elaine and of course Paul, but there have been so many wonderful memories of times spent together with them and with so many friends that you cannot help but smile at what has happened over the time that we have known them.

Our plans now are for getting together with Paul and saying our goodbyes to Elaine – just such a wonderful lady – Paul, you certainly were punching above your weight there!

But as we all know, the sun comes up the following morning and we have things that we have to get on with.

We stayed at Willow Tree Open Space until Monday, with a few longer walks to different areas that we hadn’t seen before and just generally relaxing a bit -  a bit of rain accompanied our time, but it didn’t give away the change in weather that we were about to face.

Cruising on Monday was very pleasant to begin with – a bit of a chill in the air until the clouds let some blue show through and that yellow thing in the sky and after filling the water tank at Black Horse we decided to head into Paddington in the hope of a mooring in the basin.

Sadly, all moorings were full, but we had made a mental note of possible other mooring points on the way in. Surprisingly, there were at least 3 available out in the stretch of Little Venice, very few boats were breasted up, so we knew we could get in along there; Diane in her infinite wisdom surmised that the set of rings closest to Bridge 2 were in fact for a public mooring – she had seen other non-permanent moorers there; there were no signs saying otherwise; and most importantly, there wasn’t a boat there.

So after cruising into the basin and then winding we pulled into the aforementioned spot and we have been here since.

OK, it is a little noisy in the early evening, but actually we have got a bit used to some of it and during the night it is not too bad.

The only problem that we have encountered is that infernal sun shining just too brightly and the temperature that goes along with it.

We came here to escape the heat and here it is with us again.

Careful management of the boat – closing curtains to keep the heat out; open windows on the shaded side to allow cooling breezes in has meant that it has not been too hot inside, except when we have had it closed up whilst we have been out.

Tuesday was time for a stroll through Regent’s Park day – which is not very far away at all.

We had never been there and it never ceases to amaze at the vast areas of public parks that are set aside for the benefit of the people of the capital.

Never-the-less, if you were a boy (or girl) between the ages of 8 and 15 and you wanted to kick a football around, then forget it in here. The land we saw was all reserved for organised games (with a fee payable).

Anyway we had a stroll around (I kept the football safely in the bag and out of sight) – I had to placate Diane and divert her attention away from wanting to have a bit of a kick.

 

Ornamental Gates for Regent's Park - these for George V

The large parkland - obviously this was before I told Diane that she couldn't
kick the football - she is still smiling

I couldn't believe this - hourly hire of the deck chairs was
one thing, but a season ticket ?? and 110 pounds at that.
I am sure I could buy my own fleet of chairs for that!

Diane overcame her football disappointment by sneakily
using one of the chairs without paying

On Wednesday we took the No.46 bus from Warwick Avenue up to Hampstead Heath and viewed two National Trust properties.

The first at 2 Willow Road and was a creation of the architect Erno Goldfinger in the late 1930’s.

It showed off the use of concrete as a medium for building houses and how great use of space could be made by careful planning – of course, the concrete allowed greater strength in the structure which meant more flexibility with placement of internal partitions.

We couldn’t take any photos inside the building, but you could certainly see the effect that this would have had on people at that time – some would marvel, others would be horrified.

 

2 Willow Road - not much by our standards today, but in 1939, it was ground-breaking

Our second property was in Fenton House, a little way up the hill – just the thing to do on a bloody hot day, but it was very much in the style of the 17^th century, with some changes down the years.

The more traditional entrance - this time to Fenton House

the backyard - bet you wouldn't have been allowed to kick a football here either.

The view from the top-floor balcony - that is St Paul's there in the middle

A traditional garden, orchard and plot of land for a vegetable patch were part of the property.

 

lovely pattern-cut lawn - but no goal posts

She's a brave girl - getting over the disappointment

At first I though this might have been a barn - but later I think it was stables
on the bottom and servants quarters on the top

The lovely flower shot!!

There seemed to be an incredible collection of pianos and harpsichords in the house, although these were not necessarily part of the original furniture with the property.

 

Did I say that there were a few pianos and harpsichords...

...and some more...

...not the last, just the last you will see

A chinese foo - a guardian over the property

Being a mighty warm day, a couple of quick icy cold pints seemed to be appropriate – at the pub, literally just around the corner, before we faced the bus trip back – no air conditioning and coming onto later afternoon traffic.

 

Watford on her mind even in Hampstead Heath

Spot the mistake with this picture....

....that's right, the car is in the garage - that doesn't happen in this country

On advice from Dot (nb Ewn Ha Cul) we took Thursday to track down a 24-hour bagel salon called the Beigel Bake in Brick Lane, Shoreditch.

We were catching the first train, but heaven knows where the third one was going,
I couldn't see that station on any of the lines.

Took the Underground to Liverpool Street Station and then legged it onto the establishment concerned – yes it is open 24 hours a day, but it wasn’t a service that we needed – although it might have been a bit cooler at 3 am instead of 3 pm.

The bagels were very good – Diane had the Salted Beef and I had the Tuna, mayo and sweetcorn, all washed down at the pub on the next corner with a couple of cold drinks.

Would we go back again – probably, but I think we would need to be moored a bit closer – by the time you add the cost of getting there, the bagels became a lot more than they were priced on the board.

 

Salted Beef Bagel with dill pickles - wrap your
laughing gear around that one

Whilst wandering around there were so many people handing out free samples
- mainly food items - just some of the spoils of the trip

We have been a bit of the centre of attention during these days moored here - on Tuesday, Diane was chatting away to a couple from New Zealand – Shona and Joe – who have been over in this general part of the world for a few weeks but have managed to buy a yacht in Greece which Joe will be sailing back to NZ with his mates; and just this evening, she was at it again, talking with a couple – Sophie and Peter – from Melbourne – who are flying back tomorrow night.

Shona and Joe - there seemed to be a bit of checking it all out for a future adventure,
- a very heppy couple

Peter and Sophie - very surprised about the invitation to look aboard.

Both couples were busy asking questions about life on the boat and everything else that goes with it; they were both delighted when we offered to show them the inside of the boat.

Just nothing like that first look inside a narrowboat – I mean the very first look inside – and seeing how much is in there and how much space perhaps there isn’t or is, depending on how you view it.

Anyway, four people pleased to get a peek inside and have a chat about a way of life that is a bit different to most people.

18 Miles

YTD:  514 Miles (827 km) , 322 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 14 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4309 Miles (6935 km), 3021 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges

Heart over head

Friday 24th April 2015

The clear intention that we had yesterday evening was to move down one lock and moor up before the next lock - less than 1 mile; then to look around Uxbridge a bit more and do some shopping.

We started well - we made it through the lock; as we approached the A40 roaring above us, there was a mention that it would be great just to head into London and hopefully pick up a mooring in Paddington basin and spend some time in London before we were due to come in on the 8th May.
There was no insistence in the voice, just a desire to move off script and let the heart rule the head.
After a bit of checking the Nicholsons - predominantly for locations of railway stations I agreed and so instead of a gentle short cruise, we committed ourselves to a lengthy day of travel.
 

coming down into Uxbridge - this building gives the appearance of a large ship
architecturally speaking of course.

Rubbish - this mess could only have been left by boaters - SHAME

Environmental vandals - sinking of this small boat

another bridge without a towpath through it - just above Cowley Lock

Admittedly after Cowley Lock, where we filled with water and emptied the cassette, it was simply straight cruising all the way in.
 

cheesy grin

back into names on boats - Dorothy for my favourite current mother-in-law

Rebecca - favourite daughter in New Zealand

Mitchell - favourite son anywhere

Just prior to Bull's Bridge Junction we were catching up with a widebeam which was extremely apprehensive going through the wide bridge holes, so they slowed right down.
 

We have been appalled to see so much rubbish around - SHAME

Bull's Bridge and Junction

Eventually they made their way around the junction and just as we prepared to catch and overtake them, BANG!! - we were stopped in their wake.
Pulling over and down the weed hatch revealed a pair of nylon track pants wrapped around the prop.
We were off and going again in 15 minutes, the offending item firmly enclosed in our back deck rubbish bag.
Nothing surprises us any more as to what we are likely find on the prop.

Normal services resumed and gentle easy hard throttled cruising (from Susie Wolff) was the order, until either another boat (widebeam) approached, or a call of nature - whichever was first - after that the water voles had to stop their surfing.
 

red-eared terrapin or red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Parent coots and a chick 

At least we could see many many potential mooring spots should our goal be full.

Passing by Kensal Green Cemetery we think we saw the gate used by Tim and Prue, in their cruising series, to access the cemetery from canal-side.

Not to anyone's surprise the canal was an almost continual line
of moored boats

Lifeboat refugee from a passenger ship somewhere - seen a few of these already

We are still represented here

I don't think that I have seen a heron and a swan so close together before

Favourite feeding spot I would say - waiting for lunch

We came across literally hundreds of kids playing Gaelic football - next will
be Australian Rules Football

We passed over the North Circular roadway, happily spying on the bumper-to-bumper traffic; we found the Little Venice mooring spot that we will have soon; passed by Paddington station.
 

North Circular traffic jam

County crest as explained in Tom's blog on nb Waiorou

Terrace houses lining the canal down to the edge...

... and boats as well

entering into Paddington Basin area

In the basin the only possible mooring spot happened to be directly over the lines of air bubbles pumped into the canal to improve it's health; despite Carol and George advising against it, Diane thought it wasn't too bad - so we moored up.

It was not going to work and so we cast off and moved about 1/2 a mile outside Little Venice to Westbourne Green and found a much quieter spot.

We will need to move off on Monday morning as CRT are preparing for the Calvelcade for the Bank Holiday on Star Wars Day.
This will do us until then and we will move further out

21 Miles, 3 Locks
YTD: 303 Miles, 180 Locks, 6 Tunnels, 2 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges
Totals: 3197 Miles, 2301 Locks, 104 Tunnels, 36 Lift Bridges, 162 Swing Bridges