Creoso i Cymru

Land of our my Fathers my Mother-in-Law


Monday 9th May to Sunday 15th May 2011


29 Miles, 12 Locks, 1 Tunnel, 7 Lift Bridges – for this week
Totals: 424 Miles, 404 Locks, 11 Tunnels, 8 Lift Bridge, 9 Swing Bridges

The week didn’t start in the best way with Diane waking up on Monday morning with some terrible back pain – nothing new to her but debilitating – but as she has done usually she took her wonder drug pain killer and felt remarkably better – she needed to be as we had planned to get as far as Grindley Brook but moor below the locks.

Everything was fine until we hit Povey’s Lock and we were hit with a downpour which all but soaked us; we carried on to where we had planned but alas no signal for the phone – only course of action was to get through the 6 locks at Grindley Brook. A bit of a wait for the staircase but we were in and as soon as we were, we were hit with another storm – this time including hail; the temperature plummeted and the wind came up.

All in all we were glad to moor at the top, dry off and settle down – and a good signal – Diane and her back had come through a trying day.

Tuesday was a gentle cruising day and by lunch we decided that we had had enough and moored up at Whixall Moss – the weather came down immediately afterwards but we were content with our morning.

Diane’s scone making is definitely of a high standard and we delighted in the very nice afternoon tea, snug inside with our feet up.

Later in the afternoon we availed ourselves of the lovely area with a walk around – along the trails that had been set out to show the raised bogs of the region – apparently the third largest of such in England – it was an extremely enjoyable walk.



A woman on a mission - to pumpout or not (what are you talking about, of course we need it)

Next it was off to Ellesmere, but we were desperate for a pumpout – serious leg crossing was involved; reached the marina and emptied the tank and then around into the town arm and a very good mooring near the Tesco.

It also happened to be someone’s birthday and she has decided that the birthday count will commence a backward trajectory, so now we are counting down in years and she has just celebrated her 7th birthday (that would of course be the case if we counted in dog years).

A very lovely dinner at The Black Lion in Ellesmere, recommended to us by our new neighbour Owen aboard Guilt Free Indulgence.

It was apparent that this was a week of ups and owns – Thursday saw a serious glitch with her laptop again and we decided that we should go into Wrexham to the TechGuys and see about getting it back to operating condition again.

We found the bus timetables which involved a trip bigger than Burke and Wills crossing Australia from south to north – 2 buses, confusion with tickets and about 2 hours to travel probably 15 miles in total original distance to Wrexham.

We then needed an interpreter to help us get anywhere – all of the signs had some crazy language where someone had forgotten to buy a vowel, but with help from some kindly people we found the Techguys, who could help us; lunch next door at Frankie and Benny’s and back to the shop only to reach the conclusion that it probably needed to be completely wiped and start fully again – so we left the laptop there.

Now a trip back to the boat, this time the navigator suggested going by train and picking up a bus at Gobowen – sure said I – arriving at the station to get the tickets – there was that same language problem again and this time it was increased because the announcements were in “dalek” or “klingon” – certainly wasn’t recognisable. At least the lady doing the tickets spoke English and understood my predicament – I say mine as the apparent language was the mother tongue of “she who must be obeyed” even if she can now only count to ten in it.

I was pleased however to see that Wrexham had anticipated our arrival and were flying flags everywhere that included a picture of my mother-in-law on a lovely white and green background.

We had gone past the local University – I am sure that it was straight out of the Harry Potter novels – at least the name looked familiar.


Translate roughly to Griffindor University - Harry Potter et al

Back to the boat and a chance of a bit of a rest.

We continued to explore Ellesmere then away we had to after using the services at the junction – we cruised a bit and then moored up around lunchtime and set the antenna to allow us time to ready ourselves for the big match – Stoke let us down by failing to score and letting Citeh win the match, but we reconciled ourselves with the knowledge the Rooney’s 73rd minute penalty allowed United to reach 19 league titles.

 

The very beautiful "The Mere" (got to admire them - they have a way with naming things)

Sunday, was our day to move again through a couple of locks, helping two hire boats and explain to the crews how the locks work and what they need to do – I cannot understand how hire companies can afford to not do this themselves – they leave a boat worth thousands of pounds in the hands of inexperienced crew and wonder why there are problems.



New neighbours - everywhere surrounded by cows

But we made it to Chirk and assessed the best way to travel to Wrexham for tomorrow including a walk over the aqueduct before settling into the Poacher’s Pocket for a very enjoyable Sunday lunch.

We are the CHAMPIONS (almost)

Monday 2nd May to Sunday 8th May 2011

16 Miles, 9 Locks, 1 Lift Bridge – for this week

Totals: 395 Miles, 392 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 1 Lift Bridge, 9 Swing Bridges

We had imagined a quiet week this past week, even though we had some plans, but in essence revolved around spending a bit of time in Nantwich, a day in Manchester and the start of the Llangollen canal.

Well that was the plan, and it started off very well with the cruise from Calvely to Nantwich; found a lovely mooring on the embankment within a very short walk of the services and around a bit from the boat yard.

on the approach to Nantwich lookout for the wooden horse - made from old lock gates

Popped over to the chandlery to pick up a few bits and pieces as they become needed along the way, and also to see if there was a TV repair shop in town.

We had had some problems getting the TV working – not just properly – but at all. It seems that when I was doing a wee bit of tidying up behind it to sort out the cords and clean up a bit, I must have forgotten exactly how these cords all connected back together between all of the bits of kit that we had – oh, as well as this we also had found out that someone fancied our satellite dish and nicked off with it – this was before we had arrived back.

So with the address of the TV shop (Nantwich TV Centre – Welsh Row) we walked off into town – about a kilometre in all but it was not all that hard – found the shop, spoke with the guy and arranged a time for him to come out. We continued on into town found an Aldi and completed the first half of the list that she had – couldn’t complete the second part as we would not have been able to get it all back – even with the trolley.

Whilst I was busy working a couple stopped on the towpath outside the boat – the towpath is a pebbelcrete path – no signs of any dirt/mud with grass on either side – a real pleasure to see. Anyway, the gentleman spoke through the window after he had recognised the boat and asked if we were the Aussies with the blog.

Dashing outside, we met Heather and Roger – a couple of Aussies from just a few miles from us in Melbourne – well a good 50-60kms at Warrandyte. They have a part share in a boat over here – Celtic Kiwi – and are here for the same time each year.

A pleasure to make your acquaintance and look forward to seeing you both again.

We repeated the shopping trip the following day – this time to Morrisons.

I have to say that Nantwich is a very pretty town – a lovely town square and church.

as pretty a town square as you are ever likely to see



the church in the square, dating from the 13th C - the lampost is early 20th

Our TV guy arrived at the appointed time – he had severe doubts about my change of career to a TV service person – I think that I managed to get the power plugs into the correct sockets but not much else.

Anyway within a few minutes he had everything working just a treat and explained to us how to set it up properly – we now have the opinion that with all of the digital/freeview channels and given that we don’t want to watch a great deal of TV that we can just make do with this and not have to worry about satellite.

He could have struggled a bit – but he just made it look too damn easy – the male ego took another battering.

Not long after he had left we then set off for a day trip to Manchester – this being 4th May. Off to the bus stop for the No 84 into Crewe, friendly bus driver dropped us off as close to the train station as he could – short kilometre walk to the station; then only a few minutes wait for the train into Manchester Piccadilly – out into Manchetser to do some shopping and off to Old Trafford and with over 74500 others we were there to see United win it 4-1 over Schalke 04 (6-1 on aggregate) and into the Champions League final.

We reversed the travelling and got back to the boat at about 1am – a very long day.

Thumper on the lookout for that extra ticket - he eventually gets in via Diane's handbag

....and the teams come out - this was the closest it was all night

Friday came and we were off from the moorings and heading towards Wales – firstly through the Hurlstone Locks (fenders up please) – the Lockie told us it was a very quiet morning – we were the fourth boat through for the whole morning – we cruised up and moored overnight at Ravensmoor – a walk through the fields only to find the pub was not open (12 to 3pm and 6:30 to 11pm) – 5pm would not do it !

On Saturday we cruised a bit further along to moor at Wenbury – complete with two pubs – both open all day; a small co-op/post office – stocked well enough.

We visited both pubs to decide on the which one we would patronise for Sunday lunch – The Cotton Arms won out as did we with a very full lunch – well cooked and overflowing on the plates; fire crackling in the background made for a very pleasant lunchtime – Diane made use of the wifi to chat to her sister Vivienne back in Sydney.

Rain came and went over the weekend in varying degrees of volume and the temperatures which had been quite warm a week ago have dissipated to low teens.

Lastly we “listened” to the United v Chelsea game on Sunday afternoon – again United came out winners – the perfect end to a very busy / very quiet week; had to watch Match of the Day on BBC2 to catch up on the match itself – the Champions have triumphed again – just 3 matches to go – Blackburn, Blackpool and Barcelona.

Boat Fitness and Hindsight

Monday 25th April to Sunday 1st May 2011


6 Miles, 6 Locks – for this week

Totals: 379 Miles, 383 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges

The painting exercise is finished for a bit longer – both sides have had a coat of primer and two coats of colour from the blacking up to the gunnels and I must say it looks infinitely better than before.

But is does raise the question of Boat Fitness and how just a few months of living the easier life ashore can have such a detrimental effect on the body and make one so lacking in any fitness.

We are slowly re-acclimatising to the more physical parts of life aboard, not with any disinclination to wish to do so – it is just we would love to be able to do so without all of the soreness and pain that goes with it – the back and the knees are making the transition a little bit more grudgingly than the remainder of the body.

We also changed the back button for a larger one that ensured that there was clearance behind the rudder – this added to our aches and pains as we took a considerably longer time to remove and refit the buttons – Boat Fitness into question again.

Diane’s laptop decided that it didn’t want to play ball anymore and packed it in on Monday, so that meant a trip into Chester on Tuesday to see what was the problem and hopefully be able to have it repaired and back before we decided to depart the marina on Saturday.

We are very pleased to say that the good staff at PC World (in Curry’s in Chester) we not only able to identify the problem quickly but we had the troublesome miss back in our possession that very afternoon – so a very appreciative couple we were on the bus back to the boat.

We did put the time waiting for the laptop to good use – exploring Chester further and Diane found and purchased another narrowboat – not nearly in the same price bracket as the first one, but of endearing value to us – this will be shipped back to Australia.

a narrowboat teapot that we found in Chester

We have found Tattenhall Marina to be very good – the facilities are excellent and kept to a very high standard; the staff are very obliging and friendly in the process; we can recommend the Chester Marine workshop to anyone needing help – Mark and Lorraine have helped us immensely.

The only thing that we have had a problem with and it is more unique to us than most is that without a vehicle it is very limiting on what you can do – there is adequate transport into Chester via the bus and even into Tattenhall (by bus) but if you want to just walk to the pub (nearest is in Tattenhall) then you do take your life into your own hands walking on the road with the hedge-rows close to the road.

We tried our hand at using the public footpaths (rights-of-way) with mixed success – on the first occasion we successfully negotiated our way back to the towpath and thence back to the boat; but our second occasion was less than stunning.

Thinking that we could remove the road problem from the equation, Diane suggested (of course, I am blaming the management) that we try the footpath (marked by the walking man in the small square on the signpost) – through the fields we walked/trudged in the directions as given by the arrows, until we ran out of arrows – too far to walk back – we moved onward – how hard could it be to find the path – the pair of sheep didn’t bat an eyelid at our presence, but the herd of cows (and some bulls) seemed to resent our presence to the point that we very hurriedly backtracked to safer ground away from the rapidly approaching livestock.

Onward we went and found a wayout – very secretively and slowly we moved through some gates and over a fence which were part of the dairy and certainly not a public thoroughfare – and beyond this our reward was a road – never so happy to see a narrow road as this.

The navigator has resigned her commission and any thoughts on her part about veering away from the road are quickly dismissed and then ignored.



Introducing Thumper - a mascot from our daughter Samantha

As one is prone to do with a computer, we update the things with the programs that are recommended to us by the “nice” people at Windows – this was the case with mine and duly updated to IE9 – what a hopeless thing to do –  opened Internet Explorer and had to remove the update – a situation made comical by “her indoors” explaining to me that she had read on someone else’s blog that we should not up date to IE9 – horses bolting and gates that should be closed came quickly to mind - hindsight - such a wonderful afterthought.

After all of this we finally set our course on Saturday and farewelled our berth and moved out onto the cut – wind in our hair, sun in our eyes and looking forward to a bit of cruising and doing some locks – 6 miles and 6 locks in total.


Julie at the Davenport Arms with a cheeky Thumper

We had promised ourselves a lunch out for Sunday which we duly kept at The Tallemache Arms in Alphraham - excellent 3-course meal - I think that we only needed 2 courses, but each was very enjoyable.

After this we walked down to the Davenport Arms at Calvely for the football and a cleansing ale or three (unfortunately Man United lost) .

Did I mention about Boat Fitness?

I have returned - with the missus

Monday 18th April to Sunday 24th April 2011

15 Miles, 10 Locks – for this week


Totals: 373 Miles, 377 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges

We are back on the boat.

After a slightly longer than planned for return trip to Melbourne for Xmas and to complete the things that needed to be done before our full departure, we have this week returned to the boat to begin the next chapter of our lives.

Diane was very pleased to see the boat for the first time and happy with it – a great load off my mind, having been ensconced with the responsibility of selection and purchase.

We flew into Manchester and after an overnight stay in Chester – a city that we both love very much, it was just a short taxi ride to Tattenhall Marina and reopening the doors.

The winterising went very well – no damp, dank smells or leaks – in fact it smelled remarkably fresh; so just had to fill the water tank, close the taps and turn the pump on – a few spurts and we had the water flowing; checked the engine – started first time – the battery charger had done its thing and the batteries are fully charged from the word go.

Thursday saw us venturing out for a short trip down into Chester, with our now obligatory stop at The Cheshire Cat for lunch (the food as usual was very good), through the 5 locks (gee are they ever hard - nothing has changed with these) and moored up just before Bridge 123C.
Diane took the boat through the first two locks to get the hang of it all again and did exceptionally well - I was glad to be able to take care of the lock without worrying about the boat as well.

We had noticed a number of ex-working boats going through and then found out that there was a rally down in the basin – we declined the opportunity to go down to see them. We needed to do some serious pantry shopping and then move back to the Marina – which was all accomplished on Friday – sharing the load through the locks with Claire and Tim on nb Theddingworth.

Diane decided that the boat needed a little reorganisation in the manner in which things were stored – a task which I was pleased to leave to her.

Rob (on nb Hour Time) moored next to us and was in the process of doing some preparations for painting his boat which he had picked up just last December; such a good job he was doing of it that I was shamed into starting the same necessary work on our boat – so one side was sanded back and primed – now ready for top-coating, before that other side gets done.

Thankfully we have some public holidays to get this done.

In amongst all of this there was some time for me to get some paying work done; both of us to walk to and from Tattenhall village and also for a couple of other walks – all-in-all a bit of a busy week

SCOOP - Bumper Ice Cream Harvest Predicted

Monday 1st November to Sunday 7th November

7 Miles, 6 Locks – for this week

Totals: 358 Miles, 367 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges
This week has been another week of mixed bag weather, but much more consistent – invariably the morning to very early afternoon have been brilliant sunshine (cold air) and then about 2:30 to 3:00 the clouds come over and the breeze comes up and then it is inside and close up.

Nothing like a bit of predictability.

Beeston Castle in majestical splendour

Life as a single-handed boater is not the easiest existence in the world sometimes and this was made absolutely no easier when trying to negotiate through Beeston Iron Lock – there is no ladder down to or out of the lock and a footbridge below the bottom gates further enhance the troubles of getting the boat out of the lock - but it was negotiated.

The end of the cruising came as well when I moved onto moorings in preparation for the winter and for preparation of the boat for winter – at Tattenhall Marina.

Sunrise at Tattenhall

Having not previously been in a marina I have nothing to compare this one too, apart from my expectations – I have to say that I am very pleased with everything that I have seen and experienced so far – there are no complaints and only praise for the people who are here.

The Marina

There are a few bits and pieces which will need to be taken care of and Mark the workshop owner has been to see what for and everything is booked in for it to start in a week’s time.

The days have been punctuated by visits into Tattenhall village and also into Chester. The village is only 1.5 miles away but not necessarily the safest distance to traverse by foot – there are no tracks for walking so it is with fingers-crossed (as well as other body parts) that the journey is undertaken – I opted for the bus. It is well worth the visit – 3 restaurants – take your pick – Indian, Thai and Chinese – as well as well stocked supermarket, a local butcher, PO, 2 pubs, good coffee shop and a lot more. I can recommend The Sportsmans Arms pub for good food and beer.

The Chester trip was vital for my sanity – any good Australian overseas will ensure that their stock of Vegemite is never allowed to run out – for 3 weeks I have been having withdrawals and finally was able to restock after a visit to Tesco’s in Chester – and it was on special – you little beauty.

Whilst on good things Australian – the UN Development Program this week announced that Australia was No 2 in the world of top countries in which to live, with our trans-Tasman cousins, New Zealand at 3; who were we behind? – Norway.

Quite rightly Australia is looking to limit EU country migrations, insisting that there are already too many Fish and Chip shops and Pizza places - but with Norway at the top we also won't be looking for any whale kebab houses to appear any time soon.

Went out walking today (Sunday) and came across a rather unique farm – The Ice Cream Farm – just a kilometre down the way – I was assured that they are expecting their best harvest for years – maybe bettering last years efforts and I have pictures to prove it to. So many paddocks and so many different flavours – some with chunky bits as well.

The Ice Cream Farm

Apparently harvesting is best fom the end of January to mid February whilst there is still a lots of snow about - just as the cones become visible.


the Honeycrunch field

Life can become a bit crazy sometimes - but there comes a time to just chill out.

Things of sun, wind, celaphods and pubs

Monday 25th October to Sunday 31th October

11 Miles, 3 Locks – for this week

Totals: 351 Miles, 361 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges

I have spoken to a number of other boaters this week and without exception the consensus has been that the weather this week has been most unpredictable – not in the sense that the conditions have been terrible, but in the fact that the weather on any particular day has born no resemblance to the day before or the day after,

Invariably it has been sunny bright conditions one day followed or preceded by blustery winds and/or rain. Marvellous one day, miserable the next.

Sunset over Middlewich

I have spent time this week just staying put – a couple of days at Church Minshull mornings where it was particularly nice being sheltered from the wind; this was followed by two consecutive days at the moorings above the Venetian Marina; and lastly more stationary time at Calveley.



the beautiful Cheshire plains

I have to say that the last of these gave me further opportunity for more pub research – it has meant that the next time we visit here we have to spend at least two days so that we can visit both pubs.

My copy of Nicholsons only comments on one of them – under the name of The Goldmine Bar and Grill (at Bridge 104) which has been reopened under the new name of The Davenport Arms – good food and beer and I managed to take in the whole of the Blackburn v Chelsea game.

A bit further up the road (a nice one kilometre walk), and iconed but not named in the guide book is The Tollemarche Arms – again good food and beer – I did find myself drawn back to here for the Sunday roast – an excellent meal.




Mist rising

What a difference a day makes

I guess I also need to acknowledge what I would believe to be either the direct or at least indirect efforts of the Shropshire Canal Society – there are vastly more areas where the grass has been kept down, but more importantly where mooring rings have been placed to make it easier and more reliable to moor up and not have mooring pins move about in soft ground that we currently have in most places.

Sunday brought summer time to an end – officially, that is, as I am sure that summer actually ended some time in September, but the resultant early sunset (dark now by 5:30) are equally compensated by an earlier sunrise.

As an early riser, it makes no difference to me whether the clocks are set 1 hour or 2 hours ahead of GMT, but I guess it makes a difference to those who enjoy sleeping in.

The funniest comment that I heard this week was from a woman packing her things from boat to car at the Calveley BW water point when she said “I go home when the clocks go back as the nights are longer” – I know what she meant by this but in thinking about it in the strict sense of what was said – the nights are no longer really that the night before (I know they get progressively longer) – it reminds me of the statement we hear in Australia from Queenslanders who are against Daylight Saving – “more daylight in the evening will fade the curtains quicker” and from country people – “the cows will give less milk”.

Really this is a case of mind over matter – even the news on the radio this morning suggested that the changing of the clocks affected people so badly that some take up to a week to recover from the change – PLEASE give me strength.

That was my rant for this week.

One last comment “Vive le celaphod” – with the passing this week of one “Paul the octopus” and the extra-ordinary predicting powers, we must now reflect on the powers or lack thereof of Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes (nicknamed “the octopus) – if only his hearing had told him that the ref had not blown his whistle. Go ManU.

Cool, Cold, Colder

Monday 18th October to Sunday 24th October



24 Miles, 38 Locks, 1 Tunnel– for this week


Totals: 340 Miles, 358 Locks, 10 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges

It has been about 2 ½ years since I was through Stoke by canal – we actually went through there on 3 occasions – but I was most impressed with the feel about the place – it is lovely approaching Stoke from the south with the width of the canal as it is – feels more like a boulevard.

All through Stoke I was also impressed with the way in which it appears to be showing itself in a much better light towards the canal – parks are fresh and tidy and well maintained; the residential developments which have taken place are directed outward to the water; even many of the older buildings which are remnants of the original industry of Stoke have been tidied up – less rubbish and weeds.

That was Monday and after spending the night moored at Westport Lake – an inviting location, it was off to Harecastle Tunnel – the day didn’t look the best, but after some early showers, the sky looked imminently brighter and so I went.

The tunnel does not hold any worries – this is now the fourth through passage and whilst it was noticeably colder than any previous journey it remains uneventful. Sunshine greeted on the exit at the northern portal and then began the descent of Heartbreak Hill.

These locks are not especially hard and I had planned on getting through the first 12 and then mooring up for the night. After about 6 locks the heavens opened up and it was one drenched boater that then carried on through the remaining 6.

As is usually the case when you have been through heavy rain and the coat has started to leak through and the boots are letting more water out than they allow in, once you moor up the sun then appears to poke fun at you – anyway it was a mooring at Rode Heath. After a hot shower, it was time for some work and then for more pub research and then back to the boat for dinner.

Wednesday morning felt particularly colder inside the boat, than others in this last week – there was a reason for that – a very heavy frost overnight left a white carpet over the fields, the boat, cars in the pub carpark – in fact anywhere you looked. The back cover was frozen stiff and took some time to fold up; the mooring ropes were frozen and there was enough ice on the roof for a winter Olympics.

Even though it was as cold as it was, the sun was out in a bright blue sky – not a cloud to be seen and it was absolutely magnificent cruising along in the cold air and the sun, down the remaining 14 locks to Wheelock.

I was on a mission now – I had perused the BW closures list and found that I need to be through locks by 8th November or else I would miss getting to the marina, so I was going to make sure that I made it with plenty of time to spare.

 Having said that, I find Wheelock a pleasant place and decided that I needed to have a days rest here after finishing descending the hill. After that it was onto to Middlewich and a now having got to here on a Friday, it was necessary to again take some time off.

I had computer files to update and this would take at least half a day on the Saturday; but equally as well there were some long overdue housekeeping and maintenance things that needed doing – so the vacuuming was done; the kitchen and bathroom cleaned; the other side of the boat was washed, checked the battery electrolyte charge, oil checks and cleared the drains for taking water away from the back deck - and I continued on with the polishing – now have half of the boat done – I even had time to bake some scones – which don’t taste too bad.

So that was the week that was – a mixed bag as far as the weather was concerned; a very pleasant one with people met on the towpath and at locks on the way down; a week of hard work and a chance to rest as well.

A problem this week with uploading pictures - so will try again later

Nothing exciting doesn't equate to Boring.

Monday 11th October to Sunday 17th October


17 Miles, 14 Locks – for this week

Totals: 316 Miles, 320 Locks, 9 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges



Rugeley, would by many not be seen as the most likely of places to spend a couple of days, but it is a nice place without being especially brilliant, but it is a very friendly place I found,



Rugeley Power Station - in it's majesty

Most would only know it by the acknowledgement of the domination of the area by the power plant, but in many ways there is a bit of a European feel to the landscape when viewed the right way.



 

Not sure of the good use of time here - blowing leaves away in October?

St. Augustines - Rugeley

The town centre is functional without being elegant. But what appeals now that I have spent a couple of days there is that it is just nice; just quiet; just friendly.





Rugeley town centre

This has been a week of nothing special – nothing defines this week as has done with other weeks – perhaps eventually reaching Stone does say a little about it. Stone was from where we hired a boat in 2008 for 6 weeks and which determined our life to be; so in some ways it was a bit of a homecoming; I spent 3 days here as I knew it well enough to know that most of the things that I would need were here.

View from Aston Lock - back down the canal

I met a guy on the towpath and we started chatting – as you do – and he was telling me about a small business that he has started up called “Food Afloat” – he has 5 boats that cruise around as mobile supermarkets – I am going to get some more details about this; but if you see them, give them a try – helping small businesses helps them to survive.

Saturday was a extremely lovely day after the previous two non-descript days; it was very bright and sunny in the morning and very early afternoon before clouding over.

Mist rising; filtered sunlight; pleasant setting - all seems right with the world

Sunday showed what was to come – with some ice on the roof and front and back covers – very cold; but then a bright clear morning (probably why there was ice). Cruising along with the chill of the air, the freshness of a clear day and the warming sun on my back – this felt good – reminds me of the Mel Brooks line – “It’s good to be the King” and it was a morning to feel like a king.



Mooring up at Barlaston before lunch meant that I could once again visit The Plume of Feathers public house at Bridge 103 for their delicious Sunday roast – did not disappoint – virtually a serve yourself affair. We have been here before and it serves food to its usual standard – very nice.



Sad end to this boat



Imagine

Monday 4th October to Sunday 10th October


27 Miles, 11 Locks, 1 Swing Bridge– for this week

Total: 299 Miles, 306 Locks, 9 Tunnels, 9 Swing Bridges

At the start of any week it is difficult to imagine the way that the week will pan out.
Mondays are unique in the week – they signify the end of the weekend and the return of work time and I remain completely fascinated watching others as they make that journey off to some remote office or worksite on a Monday morning – I say fascinated as it has been almost 7 years since I have trudged (I mean – gone) off to the office on a basis resembling more than even once a week and for most of this year not at all.

Really they are like ants travelling along one behind the other.

By way of saying all of this is that I have reached a level of individuality with which I am more than pleased.

Monday this week was a milestone for me – armed with the knowledge, possessing the right equipment and poised with the desire, I tackled the previously daunting task of changing the engine oil. Again thanks to Steve at Willow Wren, this actually became an enjoyable task, taking a little over an hour to fully complete – the only difficult task was fitting my frame down into the confines of the engine well with a warm engine (thankfully not going).

My previous visit to Atherstone had not realised a lack of suitable coffee shops and I have to say that this visit did not dispel that previous finding. I am sorry to say that it will remain the one point of disappointment about this lovely little town; but I will be returning and I will investigate the 10 or more pubs that I have located – so for now, I say adieu to Atherstone.

Tuesday was a travel day down the remaining 6 locks and a few more miles – I had spotted a likely mooring place when I had come the other many weeks ago, so I was determined to see how this would turn out.

The place in mind was opposite a pub by bridge 59 – Samuel Barlow – named after one of the early working boat fleet operators.



Samuel Barlow pub - by Bridge 59

                                 
The day was fine, if rather breezy, but managed to settle in early afternoon – the measures of a good mooring site were sated – good internet and at least fair TV – both settled for excellent – on that basis alone I will be back.

Wednesday was a chance to explore and also to stretch my weary legs, so off on a bit of a stroll along the towpath – found a Tesco’s to purchase more supplies and then back to the boat to investigate the pub. Over the bridge and through the carpark – started off slowly with a coffee – mmmm better than anything I had had for a while; but wait what that sound that I heard – it was the undeniable tones of a fellow Aussie – the owner of the premises, Paul, was originally from Cairns, via Sydney and Melbourne and had been here for about 15 years.

Sampling of the local product then became an imperative, and of course trading a bit of our life stories went along with that.

After a couple of more drinks a few of the locals arrived and introductions all round meant more people to talk with and to drink with.

A few more hours later I knew it was time to leave and said my goodbyes all.

I needed to return the following day to make sure that I had not embarrassed myself and I was reassured by Paul that all was OK.

I could not recommend this pub highly enough – friendly, passionate, lively – but a word of warning – don’t get to drinking too much with Swifty and Ronnie – they are evil people to the unwary.

Fazeley Junction

Away I must and Thursday saw a short cruise down into Fazely, an overnight stop - I looked back on our past movements and we/I have been through this junction three times now - each time approaching from a different direction and each time exiting in a different direction.
More movement on Friday to Whittington.

Saturday arrived and there amongst my emails was a message from Elly and Mick, two fellow Australians, in fact two fellow Victorians, over here to look at boats and other things in preparation for their trip in 2012 and buying a boat for 12 months ( I say it will be 2 years).

Elly and Mick

                           

We had been in contact and I was looking forward to meeting them and chatting with them. A short cruise to Fradley junction gave them a better place at which we could meet – at least one they would be able to locate; and so we met on Saturday afternoon and chatted over a coffee about where they were up to and what I was doing and a lot of things about boats, banks and getting here.

Such a nice couple who have a plan for there lives and I await there arrival on the canals sometime in the next 2 years. They know that they are going to enjoy it. Catch them on their blog  Narrowboat Dreaming.

Good luck you two.



One for Diane - look at the boat named "Sanity?" - it's the "Fudge Boat"

And finally we come to Sunday and what I thought would be a short cruise rather extended itself to Rugely and mooring here for the night.



                                            

But along the way the evidence of autumn became so much more apparent than I had seen in the last few weeks – the trees are turning in colour, leaves fluttering down, leaves finding their way to the prop, the warm sun on your back and the gloves and coat to keep warm from the cold air – the season has changed and we move forward to what we need to do next in the cycle – for tomorrow will be Monday and the ants will be on their way again.

For those of us old enough to remember the world in 1980 and that fateful day in December when the news flashed with the story that John Lennon had been shot dead - Saturday marked his 70th birthday – what would the world really have been like if he had been lived - we can only imagine.

Yabba Dabba Doo

Monday 27th September to Sunday 3rd October


24 Miles, 6 Locks, 1 Tunnel, 1 Swing Bridge– for this week

Totals: 272 Miles, 295 Locks, 9 Tunnels, 8 Swing Bridges

This has been a week dictated by the weather and other timings. Needing a pumpout and the also to keep the diesel tank topped up I had decided that I would best accomplish these at Willow Wren hire base and they had indicated that Wednesday would be a suitably quiet date – so I did just that and set out on Wednesday morning, stopping to fill the water tank as well – it probably, in hindsight wasn’t the best day to do all of this – the misty rain had that penetrating effect, but there were increasingly longer spells of dry weather during the day.

Prior to leaving Rugby for a second time I saw this unusual little vehicle in the park opposite to where I was moored.

We should also acknowledge the efforts of Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine and native son of Rugby - the picture below is of the commemoration to this pioneer.
                                           

Not a long day cruising and moored up just after Bridge 35 with company from various animals on the other side of the canal. I had settled in for an evening being able to see a Man United game – this one a Champions League match against Valencia away from home – a great 1-0 result in the end, but the highlight of the night came about 8:30 – I could hear and then felt another boat outside breasting up alongside – this was a new and strange experience so I investigated through the window – sure enough alongside was another boat and friendly sounding chap asking for Derek and Dot ( the original owners of Gypsy Rover) – it turned out to be Ian on Gosty Hill who hadn’t heard of the change of ownership, but certainly introduced himself and we had a relatively short chat as he needed to round the bend to moor up.


The view opposite the mooring near Bridge 35

The following day I passed by as he was servicing another customer and briefly spoke – we will certainly be on the lookout for Gosty Hill next time we are back on the Oxford.

Invariably after a day of rain and with a cold night that we had, there is an early morning fog and Thursdays was really quite enjoyable – you just knew that when it lifted we would be in store for a very nice day – no disappointments here. Compare the pictures below - both of the same scene but about 3 hours apart.

                  

Knowing that Friday was predicted to be a very wet day it was important to find a decent mooring spot and I had the intention of making for Hawkesbury Junction and the inviting Greyhound pub. So Friday was a day of peace and quiet save for the trip down the 200 metres past the lock to the pub and return.

This one is for Sam and her affection for cows

The rain really didn’t let up all day until about 5 – 5:30 when the clouds started to clear and we were treated to a delightful sunset.
                                          

A very uninspiring week, this week was and nothing much changed for Saturday with a cruise back onto the Coventry heading northwards – that will be the catchwords for the next month – ever heading northwards.

Through Nuneaton where I briefly moored up before a message from James in Birmingham to sort out Sunday lunch as Debbie was away and he felt the need to encourage me to the pub somewhere – we settled on The Kings Head in Atherstone, only because I had been there before and felt that it was not a bad meal – in fact it had been very good and had a nice relaxed and cosy atmosphere.

This of course meant that I would need to get myself a bit closer to Atherstone on Saturday afternoon to enable a better chance of avoiding impending bad weather on Sunday.

Not a chance of that happening, it started early and didn’t look like stopping any time quickly, so off I ventured – the only people with less sense than me this morning were those involved in a fishing match around Bridge 36.

Finally mooring up just before Bridge 40 for a short walk down to the designated meeting place, it was quite clear that the internet signal was sporadic at best between mooring and pub, and this precipitated the need for a later move down 5 locks to a previous mooring site where it was much better – this latter movement taking place after 5pm and in the dry.

The lunch was very good – the food being suitable, but getting a chance to see James, Katherine and Rachel once again was worth the effort this morning and Saturday to make it there.



James, Rachel and Katherine (she doesn't always look like this - sometimes it is less appealing)

It was very leisurely and after about 3 hours we decided that it was time to leave and say our goodbyes. James and I had a good chance to talk about things that had been happening and were to happen.

Finally I must end with the reminder that this week has seen the 50th anniversary of The Flinstones – a fact which didn’t escape the people at Google – so hope that everyone else had a Yabba Dabba Doo of a time.