They're here!

Saturday 24^th September to Monday 26^th September 2016

A quiet weekend was planned; a few trips down to the pub to watch some football; final clean-up of the boat; fill with water – before the explosion hit with the return of the girls from their cruise – well the return of one and the arrival of the other.

All started off well and good; went down to The Fountain Abbey to watch the Man United v Leicester game; I got there after the first goal had been scored and the second had just gone into the net, and then there was a mad frenzy with two more in the time it took to order a drink – what was this 4-0 before half-time.

In the end it was a great win and hopefully a sign of matches to come.

The rest of the day was quiet; it is amazing what time away from work can do for you -  I had already started and finished three books in the last week and that was whilst I was still working, so I started a fourth one that afternoon.

Sunday arrived, clear as a bell, fine and sunny, so started with a walk around to get the body working again; a message arrived on the phone via the blog that Marilyn and David were in London and seeing if I was still in Rembrandt Gardens – yes I was – we eventually met up and were cheerfully chatting away – we had not met in person before but have had a lot of contact back and forth for a couple of years now, but it was so lovely to finally meet.

We headed off to lunch at the aforementioned public house – and had a very fine time – took a couple of hours for us to get through it all and really had a great time with both of them.

 

Crazy kids!

Marilyn and David needed to head back to their lodgings in Pimlico and so we bid farewell to one-another and I headed back to the boat; I was tempted to stay and watch the next game at the pub but thought better of it.

Monday was D-day and everything was basically ready for their return which finally occurred late morning – there they were and I was so very pleased to see them both. Even though it was just over a week for Diane, it had been 2 years since I had seen Sam.

It was a great Monday having them both on the boat.

Diane decided that with all of the washing that they had brought back with them, it would be good to get most of it done; I thought that since we needed the engine on anyway, we may as well take the boat for a bit of a run – Sam had not cruised with us before – and we could just head down to the top of Camden Locks and then come back.

As it turned out, the trip was long enough for Diane to get two full loads of washing done – oops, I am starting to sound like other bloggers who talk about the use of the washing machine, but the end point is that as we were cruising, there were some ominous dark clouds seeming to follow us.

As we approached the top of the locks at Camden, a few spots started to fall and then after some centimetre perfect winding, the heavens absolute pelted down – the two girls ducked below decks quicker than I have seen them move before; all that remained out the back was a drowned water-rat with glasses, which is where they left me until I was soaked and the rain had disappeared – but once you are wet you may as well stay there until you moor up.

But at least the washing was done, which made her indoors very pleased indeed.

6 Miles, 2 Tunnels

YTD:  615 Miles (990 km) , 358 Locks, 8 Tunnels, 14 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4410 Miles (7097 km), 3057 Locks, 120 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges

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

A Single Act of Kindness

Friday 26^th August to Sunday 28^th August 2016

Another warm to hot day saw the start of Friday but for us the day really shone brightly with the arrival of Dot and Gordon for a few days mooring at Rembrandt gardens.

We had missed them a bit – even though it had barely been 10 days.

After they had moored up, it was time to be away – we had lunch to have in Vauxhall – at Zeitgeist, a German pub with a lunchtime serve-up that was highly recommended by D and G.

The number 36 bus took us to Vauxhall bus station and a 15 minute walk got us to the pub – large one in side with quite high ceilings and the doors were open, so that any breeze would be caught.

It made it bareable sitting for lunch, which was a self-serve affair with plenty to satisfy us all – I did over-indulge with the mushroom and cream sauce that was available – suspected of containing garlic and onions – I paid for the luxury later that night.

Pleasing as it was to stay in the pub and just have a couple more drinks we needed to get back to the boats, so another bus trip back in the heat – why are they not air-conditioned?

  

Saturday, and we were off to Bermondsey to check out a butcher there and also to enjoy the sights and smells of the market.

When we Googled the location of the
butcher the information came up as above.
Note the misspelling of the Chinese coffee
place - should have been Fu-ckoffee

The butcher was found without problem, a lovely little coffee shop was also found – the donuts were literally to die for – the fillings – chocolate; lemon; jam; butter-scotch; and others, were just too tempting – well, at least Gordon resisted.

 

Yeah, silly people in front of a camera(phone)

I have to draw the line at this - peanut butter one of the
great tastes (not) and should be banned

After that we split up, with D and G heading back towards Stockwell to catch up with their grandson, Jamie, whilst we headed towards the O₂ arena – Diane wanted another ride on the Emirates Air Line across the Thames – after which we used the DLR and Jubilee line and Circle line to get back to the boat.

Ready to fly

High above the Thames

Part of the Old Roman Wall of Londinium on the left; the Tower of  London
on the right and a beauty in between

We were pretty knackered again – feeling hot and just a little sweaty – the humidity is what gets you the most.

Plus I wanted to see the Man United v Hull match on BT Sport via the iPad – now that we have access we want to make the most of it – a very late goal saw us remain with full points so far in the season, but a great and gutsy performance from Hull.

It was especially pleasing to wake on Sunday morning and have a few clouds around – it made a welcome relief from the last week.

We were heading off early towards Limehouse Basin and had sorted out with Dot and Gordon to take our spot – they want another week in Paddington and can do so where we were.

So a quick 6:45 am switcheroo – which is the way the London boaters do it all of the time – they were moored for another week, we were on our way.

Stopping for a Costa coffee at bridge 27 and water at St.Pancras Cruising Club, we made pretty good time.

At lock 5, I was talking to a young couple enjoying an early coffee and something to eat; they were admiring the boat and our way of life – hopefully thinking of doing it themselves when we were joined by another boat – 4 young guys with the boat belonging to the parents of one of them – they had it out for the weekend and were moving it from pont A to point B

It was here that something truly wonderful happened.

We noticed that the guys all had lovely looking danish's to go with the coffees they were drinking – Where did they get them – right there at the café beside the lock.

We asked the waitress if she would bring us a couple and we would pay for them then – she said she couldn’t and we would need to moor up and come back – we said “thanks but no thanks”and then settled to move through the lock.

Just then the young man who had been sitting talking with us at the table handed us a bag with two lovely danishes and would not take payment – he simply said to return the favour with someone whom we meet along the way.

We just could not believe how lovely and kind he was (and his partner) – the world will be in good hands if they have something to say about it.

We were simply amazed, astounded and just a bit humbled.

 

These two lovely people deserve to be happy and proud of what they had done.
Thank you for your kindness.

have to say - they were delicious

The two boats continued on until after Lock 8 where we went straight ahead, the others veered off along the Hertford Union.

All was going well until we reached Lock 11 – the pound below the lock had disappeared. Not that the cutting wasn’t there, just the water wasn’t there,

Diane ventured down to Lock 12 (the one into Limehouse Basin – our desitination) – just 2 locks and a ½ mile.

Someone had left one of the gate paddles on the bottom gates open by about 8” – enough that it would drain the pound – most probably overnight. It may very well have been that the paddle gear was stiff and tight and they thought that it was down – anyway we couldn’t go ahead.

the pound is down - no not the UK one just this one

Put a call into CaRT who had just heard about it 5 minutes before we called. The guy looking after it came by about an hour later and explained that he would need to bring water down from above Camden locks and it could take 5-6 hours before we could through the lock.

We opted to go back to the Hertford Union and go around – an addition 5 miles and 4 locks.

Anyway we finally arrived at 16:30 about 4 hours after we thought we would be there; but it was only about an additional 3 hours travelling.

Our new route via the Olympic Stadium - oops sorry West Ham's new
home ground

the water looks lovely and clean - but somehow we still managed to
pick up plastic bags and other rubbish

what can I say

When we walked over to check how the pound was filling it was still about a metre lower than normal, so I think that we made the right decision.

All moored up in Limehouse Basin and enjoying a nice hot shower and a cold drink – we would not have been here yet if we stayed where we were.

We don’t think it was deliberate, neither does CaRT – just one of thise things.

We noticed the first boat coming down through the lock was at about 8pm - long after we arrived and certainly long after we had hoped to arrive.

Fortunately for us it was a reasonable day to travel; it was noted by many of the people that we met along the way – they all seemed to be glad to have a day without the heat that we have been having and the humidity we have endured.

We also know that some people seem to think that we are complaining about the sunshine and the summer – as short as it is – that we are not.

Anyone who knows us, will know that we simply do not like such heat and humidity – it is how we are – a lot of people in this country like to cook themselves until they are lobster red and all blistered – good luck to them – which leads to……

I do not like the heat, that is true

But I think that is for me not you

High heat and humidity makes me sweat

Of this it is right you can surely bet

If you like to not sleep at night

Then certainly you have the right

Summer does not mean only blazing sun

High humidity does not make for any fun

Warm days, quiet nights and lazy breezing

Make summer forget the days of freezing

These are the days that make us glad

And be pleased to say it aint half bad

It is your right to like what you like

But mine to write of what I still like

Summer is not the time that I enjoy most

Wish I do not to spoil your time as my host

You are born to a land that is always more cold

But you wish to stay here to where you hold

Glad to complain about the weather

Losing sight that you stay under tether

Not making that step to try something new

But preferring to criticise those that will do

I do come from the land down under

Where I enjoy the sounds of thunder

I like to hear the drops on the roof

When the rains comes, that is the proof

Green lands here from sun and the rain will abound

In equal share, the growth will astound

I do not wish to see the lovely summer end

But the excess heat does my mind round the bend

But if wish to be always on heat

The smell will not always be so sweet

I respect your to right to say what you feel

But mine too remains as I say to reveal

It should not be something of which to “get a grip”

The voice should be of kinder words for my hardship

All comments I, of course will certainly publish

Even those that I think are a load of old rubbish

16 Miles, 16 Locks

YTD:  530 Miles (853 km) , 338 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 14 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4325 Miles (6960 km), 3037 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges