I am IN

woo hoo what a relief it was flat calm this morning so I slipped into my winter mooring at Barton Turns with barely a ripple.  And most importantly no half term gongoozlers at that time of the morning.

I thought I had misjudged the turn to reverse into the slot but in the end it worked out brilliantly.  Anyone watching would have assumed I had intended to do it that way, even though I was actually muttering oh dear oh dear (or words to that effect) as I reversed back towards my slot because as soon as my stern reached the opening the bows had sweetly carried on turning so I was then straight back in - how lucky was that?

So the mug tug can breathe a sigh of relief I didn't smash all the crockery after all!

THAT'S ALL FOLKS !

The boys are back in town

Dearly beloved is back safe from his trip to Morocco on his motorbike and Small boy visited with his girlfriend in order to pick up his new computer which he had had delivered to our home (he lives in large block of flats).  I took them out for a meal and a warm in the pub for which they were suitably grateful.  Small boy is currently acting duty manager at a sports centre  -  I am so proud.

Still waiting for earliest date to go into Marina for my winter mooring and chances are it will be blowing a hooley then.  So I will  probably leave it till next week before I cause mayhem in an enclosed environment.  On the plus side it means I can stay on the boat longer than I normally do as it is much warmer here than at home.  Dearly beloved has strict instructions to get the oil tank reconnected to the central heating asap!!!

Tsk

run out of water and I didn't want to move until Thursday I will have to move tomorrow instead.

How inconvenient - does anyone know how to recalibrate an electric water level gauge? (WEMA)

It tells lies to me by insisting the tank is still half full but the water pump disagrees with it.  And frankly if the water pump says no then it means no.

Two different weekends

London with the girls

Mosaic course.  Only one is mine - can you tell which one?

wolverhampton news

Victims pushed into canal during attacks

A gang of thugs who kicked a pensioner into a canal have struck nine times in the past two weeks, police revealed today.

Officers have stepped-up undercover patrols around the towpath near to Wolverhampton Racecourse in Dunstall following a spate of attacks.

Victims have ranged from 40 to 71. Cyclist Christopher Fitzgerald, from Parkfields, and pictured below, was kicked into the canal and was left freezing in the water for 20 minutes as the thugs taunted him on September 13.

But it emerged today that the 71-year-old was the victim in one of nine attacks on people using the route, with one man suffering a shattered kneecap when he was shoved in the water.

Pc Joe Trusselle and Pc Gavin Plumridge have arrested three youths after making inquiries with local schools in the city.

PC Trusselle said: “These attacks have quite understandably shocked and disgusted the local community.

“Never in all my time in the police have I seen such brazen acts of malice on completely innocent members of the public, for seemingly no other reason than getting a sickening personal kick.

“I hope these arrests will reassure people that action is being taken, that we’re confident of putting a stop to the assaults.

“High-visibility patrols will remain in place across the city’s towpaths until we are entirely confident we have caught the offenders.”

The spate of offences began on September 12, when a 40-year-old cyclist was pushed into the canal near Gorsebrook Road in Whitmore Reans.

The group struck again just an hour later, this time pushing a 51-year-old man off his bike and into the water. He suffered a shattered kneecap.

On September 13 the group attacked four more people – aged 72, 33, 61 and Mr Fitzgerald. They suffered a range of injuries from cuts on the leg, to cracked ribs.

A 15-year-old boy and two 14-year-old boys, arrested on suspicion of assault have been released on police bail.

Towpath thugs leave a trail of injuries

* September 12: 40-year-old cyclist shoved in the shoulder and fell into the canal.

* September 12: An hour later the gang pushed a 51-year-old off his bike and into the water. He suffered a shattered knee cap.

* September 13: A 72-year-old man suffered a nasty cut to his leg when he was pushed into the water.

* September 13: Christopher Fitzgerald was left with two cracked ribs after he was kicked off his bike and into the water.

* September 13: A 33-year-old man was targeted but was not pushed in the water. He was racially abused.

* September 13: A 61-year-old man was pushed into the canal.

* September 14: The gang tareted a 49-year-old man was attacked and pushed in the water.

* September 19: A 62-year-old man had his glasses stolen and thrown in the canal.

* September 19: A short time later, the gang targeted a 72-year-old man.

September 18th (that was my turn but luckily for me only one lad)  Wonder if he was one of the three in which case he is the runt of the litter!

Wolverhampton

A seriously weird and sad place.  I moored overnight on the 24hr moorings below the ring road that you can't actually leave.  Nice and safe.  Locks are lovely and easy to use, paddles can be wound up and down one handed but every single one has the anti vandal lock on which gives you some idea of the locale.

Not one person offered to help with gates.

Few returned my smiles and hellos.

Nearly all had a tinny in their hands from 10am in the morning - including mums and dads (or grandparents - difficult to tell these days) pushing pushchairs.  Further down the flight of 21 some got a little upmarket and had a glass bottle of beer/lager.

Under one bridge a lad lurking in the shadows smoking pot.

At tail of one lock what I thought was a hoody so was getting a little concerned but it turned out to be a girl doing some school work.  You just can't tell what a person is going to be like and what they wear is no indication.

But I had no real problems until lock 20.  Cute black lad of about 10 with a football.  We exchanged hellos, was this my boat, yes, was I on my own - I lied and said no my boyfriend was on the boat.  Can I say hello? No he is in bed with a migraine.  Imagine my horror when the lad stepped onto the boat and shouted hello through the hatch at which point I abandoned the paddles and ran up the towpath brandishing my windlass and shouting 'get off my fxxxxxg boat' he leapt off and ran away. I could have caught him as I was so fired up but as I passed the boat I realised the scrote had put the boat in reverse gear (hard) so I jumped on before it got too far away and put it in forward before it got to the end of the line.  The line was long because that was how I had left it so it never went taut.

I'm afraid that if I had caught up with him I probably would have broken his arm with the windlass because I was so angry.  At the very least he would have been thrown in the canal.  I don't often lose my temper but when it goes it goes.  You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

I am still thinking it is a shame that he didn't slip getting off the boat and hit his head (and or get mangled in the propeller) it would have been entirely his own fault.

For the rest of that lock and lock 21 I was hoping he would come back so I could deal with him.  Took me two hours before I had calmed down.  But as you can tell I am still angry.  I have turned into a fascist.  Wolverhampton should be raised to the ground ...

photos from the phone

the boat I got a ride on to Brinklow.  I know how to travel in style!

Night time at Gas Street Basin.  Please note the kink in the shape of the towpath edge.  At precisely 10pm (I had just turned George Gently off) there was a terrific bang to the side of the boat followed by a splash.  I in the boat stood like a startled meerkat.  Outside I could hear "you ok mate?" followed by a bit of a struggle to extricate whoever had fallen in between the boat and side!  Some laughter and then blessed silence.  Now I don't know if they were about to do something stupid and got their cumuppance, or they simply tripped over the ropes in a drunken stupor or indeed were just walking in a straight line next to the boat when the ground disappeared!

View the next morning as I made my second excursion to find a postbox.  Surprisingly there are none near the Mail box!  People in Birmingham do not send post I finally found one off Lower Marshall st.

Junction on the BCN (I forget which)

Rush hour on the BCN (there is a boat in the distance and there was one behind which turned up one of the arms)

Smethwick New Pumping Station.

Oh and didn't I have good weather?