2021

 Basically another relaxing boating year for me.  With a lot of cycling thrown in.  

108trips of which 52 were me going shopping from the boat!  A total of 1089 miles.  Sadly I did not achieve my target of 1416 miles because I didn't do any cycling in May at all.  I have set a more realistic target of 1200 miles for 2022 and already have 185 under my belt.

April was spent on my mooring, generally just chilling.

 

Then I set off to meet friends to do Birmingham in May and tackle the Walsall Canal Challenge.  First time of doing a challenge and I doubt I will do another single handed!  Also the first time I have spent any time at all boating in Birmingham.  Normally it is just a through route, head down stop one night etc.  But I thoroughly enjoyed it, it makes a huge difference having friends on their boats nearby.  

After the Walsall Canal and the Wyrley and Essington Canals we went through Netherton tunnel and I could not believe how different the scenery was on the other side!  Down to Stourport then back up the Staffs and Worcester canal.

Once I had had my second vaccination it was down to see my parents.  I had not seen them since August 2019.  They were safe and well.

July August and September I drifted around the Leicester ring.  So quiet and peaceful up there so it was a shock once I was back on the Trent and Mersey how busy everything got!

2022 is the year of getting things done on the boat like the BSS, blacking and some engineering works so the boating aspect I envisage will be a few shorter journeys here and there.  Onwards and upwards.

 

2020 - well that was a weird year.

 Started off sadly with an expected death in his family and basically never really recovered.

We heard vague rumblings of Covid-19 while we were in NZ but it seemed to be like the SARS which never really took off in the West.  What it did mean for NZ was that Chinese New Year was very quiet.  We were on the South Island on a motorbike trip just the two of us in early February so were quite pleased as the chinese drivers are not the best bless em.  When we returned to the North Island his sister and her family went to the South Island on a tramp so no internet etc and we moved up the hill to house sit and keep an eye on the cat and the chickens for them.  The world went mad while they were incomunicado and it amused us that the first text she sent us was - the world has gone mad can you get us some loo roll?  Since we were living there we knew full well that they had none in and had bought a four pack to keep us going but himself went out and got them a nine pack and so we too became part of the problem!  Yes even in NZ there was the rush on loo rolls.

As our return flight loomed we were getting increasinly worried as airlines were shutting down left right and centre.  His nephew had taken a sabbatical from studying to be a doctor for a year to travel and cycle/run up mountains etc  He left in February planning to finish up in Portugal in September. He managed one event in Chile but then he had to abandon South America and his bicycle as he caught the last flight out of Peru and into NZ before they shut the airport.  He then had to self isolate at his parents in a tent in the garden.  Luckily for us Singapore Airlines was still going and we caught all our booked flights and all connections.  We even managed to go out of the airport at Singapore to our hotel and we were let back in again the next day.  They took our temperatures at every possible occasion.  Very slick.  The planes were crowded with people who had been shunted off their flights.  But the toilets were scrubbed clean every hour or so by the staff.  One Danish girl who had been travelling in Bali was on her fifth flight into Heathrow so was facing yet another night in an airport. Before hopefully getting a final sixth flight back to Denmark. Her luggage had been taken off her in Bali and she had no idea if it was ever going to catch up with her.  We gave her all our snacks!

Heathrow airport was eerily quiet. Only our flight landed and that was an hour ahead of schedule because we clearly didn't have to circle around waiting for a landing slot.  We spent the night with my son on his narrowboat then the next day 22nd March we caught the coach back home.  Son and his girlfriend opted to spend lockdown up north with her family and poor souls they are still there as they can't return to the boat during lockdowns.  Our neighbours had sweetly bought us milk, bread and eggs and bravely fetched us from the coach station.

Lockdown 1 - strangely I enjoyed it.  April and May I had the best sleep I have had for years.  I think it was because nothing was expected of me.  Shame that I appear to have reverted to the not sleeping well since.

End of April I took up cycling and racked up 1260.4 miles to 31st December.  Once I got onto the boat in early June to move it from the old mooring location to the new one I continued with the cycling.  687 of my total miles were done on the old boat bike and the rest at home on the ebike.  (There are lots of hills at home).

Took my time moving the boat and I chose a route with the fewest locks so that I didn't have to touch things others might have touched too often.  I found it very relaxing as normally I am a head down get the miles in kind of a girl.  So I didn't get to go to Ellesmere Port or Chester or even back up the Llangollen as had been the plan.

In August I took delivery of son's cat and she spent the month with me on the boat while he and his girlfriend managed a much curtailed travelling acting tour of Britain.  It should have been for the whole of the Summer from May to October but a month was better than nothing.  Cat and I meandered down the Coventry Canal to meet up with some friends on the Ashby Canal and we did social distanced chatting on the towpath.  We even travelled in convoy into Coventry Basin.  Thoroughly enjoyable. I then meandered back up the Coventry canal and left the boat on its new mooring in the middle of October.  A much shorter boating season than normal early June to mid Oct instead of March to Nov but probably more days in total on the boat.  As once I was on it that was it.  I picked a good year to choose to retire it turns out.

Lockdown or not lockdown we haven't altered our habits for the whole year we have basically shielded ourselves at home or on the boat not seen anyone, not had anyone visit.  (other than son and even then it was no hugs, elbows only) I have made many masks.  Cloth ones and plastic bottle ones.  We have both worn masks for shopping since the 23rd March and as the first incarnations were made out of some gazebo material I had lying around they definitely protected us from them as didn't, as well as protecting them from us.  I have taken up lots of different crafts, painting, crochet and my latest craze is tablet weaving.  I am not very good at it but I am determined to get the hang of it.  Made my own loom and everything out of stuff from home or the skip opposite!

Christmas was hard simply because our heating packed in on the 23rd December and today 4th January the plumber came and fixed it.  Our heating is generated by a Stanley cooker (like an AGA) so cooking a full roast dinner using one induction hob, one camping gas ring and a combi-microwave oven was a an amazing feat carried out not by me but by himself.  A week ago the immersion heater decided it too wasn't going to play the game so not only no heating but no hot water either.  And it snowed.  BAH HUMBUG!!

Still I am hoping that that is all behind us now and 2021 can only improve.

The ecobricking continues.  I am waiting for himself to finish another 2 litre bottle so I can finish all the 2020 generated non recyclable plastic before I feel that we have totally put 2020 to bed.  (He had actually saved me enough bottles while I was away but I turned three of them into masks.)

I went on a walk near Christchurch NZ and kept coming upon these little mot juste.  Eventually I came upon the explanation.  They had been written by a young woman coming to terms with terminal cancer.

RIP 2020

2019 in a nutshell

Boxing day to 8th January 2019 was spent rushing my boat down south for Small Boy to live on it AGAIN while he finished his Drama Degree.

February, March and the beginning of April spending time with family in New Zealand including a fabulous packhorse ride on the South Island which involved taking the horses from a completely isolated station across Lake Wanaka on their enormous flat bed barge.

To give you an idea of scale the builders working at the station

 had come over on the barge with 5 concrete mixers, a bulldozer and a couple of vans.

Hauling the very heavy mooring rope

April May looking for and buying a boat for said Small Boy as he is now a convert to boat life.

June fixing his boat and getting it ready for him in the form of proper two pack blacking, making the engine bay more accessible etc.  I also did some work.

July I solo boated his boat down to London for him.  And painted one of his galley windows to give additional privacy in case you nipped to the loo and forgot to close the door between the bathroom and the galley.  I know no one could actually see through the gap between the blind and the side of the boat but looking out from your seated position you could see them soooo clearly it was quite offputting!  He requested a view of Mount Sunday from his trip to New Zealand.

End of July and the beginning of August we swopped possessions back and forth and he broke the rudder of my boat (after I had broken down because the engine dropped all it's coolant into the bilges) by dragging me backwards to a suitable location for RCR to find me and we hit an underwater obstacle.

 

Luckily Uxbridge Boats Centre did a rear lift and sorted out the 8 inches of bent tiller in an afternoon.

Rest of August I solo boated up the Thames (apart from the Tidal bit when I made him accompany me)  The first week on the Thames I was suffering from vertigo.  Not ideal when you are on your own.

September Himself joined me for the trip up the Oxford Canal including a brief sojourn in Banbury awaiting a new alternator.  Then up the Hatton Flight on the Grand Union and to the top of Lapworth Flight. Where I was abandoned by Himself.   I then continued solo down the Tardebigge. Pleased to say this took me a total of 6 hours,  That clearly wasn't enough so I spent the next day helping Chamberlain Carrying Co (fuel boat with butty) down at least 20 of the locks.  I waited for Himself to rejoin me for the trip via the Droitwich canals and up the Severn.  However, whilst waiting the rains fell in that there Wales so after getting stuck in Droitwich for four days as we also couldn't return the way we had come either, we finally gave up waiting for the river to drop, returned under the M5 and went back UP the Tardebigge.  This time in 3.5 hours.

I reached my destination by the middle of October.

Now I did do eco bricking whilst on both boats and Himself very sweetly saved all his non recyclable plastic for the 3 and a half months I was away.  Sigh.  I have just this minute finished packing it all into bottles.

So pretty much a year has passed since I started ecobricking and here is the result.

The top row were validated etc before I left in July.  The second row are what I bricked since July and the third row is a just started bottle.  It looks full but that is because the plastic likes to fight back in the early stages of stuffing.  I have added up the weight of each bottle and the two of us have saved a total of just over 7kgs of plastic from going to Landfill.  Very pleased with that.

Further point on the journey along the plastic free highway, and a detour down the zero waste lane.

So for the plastic that cannot be recycled and that we cannot prevent from entering our home we have started Ecobricking.

 https://www.ecobricks.org

Unfortunately for us we only had a 2 litre bottle in the house (and we had to wait 2 weeks for it to be emptied and ready for use!).  These are much harder to fill to the correct weight especially when you are beginning your ecobrick workout.

So this is the bottle and currently it weighs 342gms.  There is a small amount of plastic in the metal waste bin waiting to go in and the white length of pipe is my current poking stick.  The wooden ladle will be used once I have smaller bottles to fill.  (might have to search in hedge bottoms for one though)  The bottom half is pretty solid but there is still room in the top half (looks full because the plastic bounces back to fill the space)  I hope to have reached the minimum target weight of 666gms by Christmas.

Once you start this process it really makes you think about just how much we throw away.  But the other benefit is that you no longer feel guilty when you buy something that comes in a non recyclable wrapping, because you have a way to deal with it.

We missed the landfill collection last week - but in fact the black bin outside is empty and the one in the kitchen barely a quarter full so not a problem.  We started saving the plastic wraps etc when we put the last bin out two weeks earlier.  And pretty much all that plastic is in that bottle.

IN OTHER NEWS

I have made myself a pair of trousers out of a pair of curtains from a charity shop.  Mainly to practise as I have some material that I bought years ago that I don't want to make a mistake with.  I have been hankering after a pair of highwaisted trousers, that fit me.

Curtains

Unpicking

Not perfect as I decided last minute to add a front zip and waistband, on top of the original waistband from the bottom of the curtains.

The pattern for a front zip rather than a side zip is slightly different (you have to allow for the placket).  Plus I was going for an elasticated waist in the beginning anyway, since I didn't want an outside seam which is where the side zip could have gone.  But I had extra capacity in the material department once I had sewed the legs together because I had overestimated just how big I was so decided last minute to insert a zip instead of the elastic.  (Better than underestimating I guess)

So the next pair will not be so bulky around the waistband which will help the poor sewing machine!

Very comfortable, and with an untucked top no one will know!

I am not a natural seamstress but have a have a go attitude!  I have become a huge fan of you tube.

Whilst researching how to make a pair of trousers without a pattern etc I came across a blogger that is trying to not send any of her unused sewing material etc to landfill.  So she saves every clipped bit of thread, snippet of material and projects that didn't work and reuses them at a later point.  She has some good tips.  One of them being that she found a use for all that dross as stuffing for a cuddly toy.  Would work with cushions too.  I would put a link but I can't remember her name!  She also made eye masks using the bra cup infills as the padding.  I have some of those lurking around so I might just make myself an eyemask for the airplane.

Plastic Free (well as much as is possible these days)

After watching several progammes about the plastic in the oceans and in the landfills I am endeavouring to not intentionally buy any more plastic stuff that I can easily find an alternative for.

So far I am trying to use

Kitchen
washable kitchen scourers rather than a sponge.
washable kitchen cloths once the current j-cloths have been used
I like using paper towels (these probably have plastic in them too knowing my luck)
and once we run out of the current batch of plastic washing up brushes I will buy wooden handled ones.  I have source some online that only cost £1.25 so won't break the bank.  If I look hard enough maybe Wilcos have them in stock anyway.  We will see.

Bathroom
I have bought some bamboo toothbrushes.  I was sceptical that they would be any good as I prefer an electric toothbrush and since my mains one died I have been using the oral-b ones with a battery.  Do you know?  My teeth actually feel cleaner with the bamboo version although with muscle memory I find I can't stop cleaning until I have turned it off!  I am sure that will fade eventually.  The bristles are still plastic and you either snap the whole head off or pull the bristles out before disposing of the handle in the compost.

Toothpaste comes in a plastic tube - never really thought about that so I have bought some truthpaste (peppermint and wintergreen) which comes in a little jar like the miniature jam jars you get in hotels.  Works fine although I think it should come with a tiny wooden scoop / spoon.  You mustn't get it wet so poking your toothbrush in the jar is probably not a good idea.  Currently using a toothpick.

I have bought some dental floss - made of charcoal (don't ask me how this is possible!) which comes in a tiny glass dispenser you can then buy more floss to refill said dispenser.  This is actually better than the normal floss as it doesn't slip through your fingers.  Very pleased with this.

I bought a 5litre container of Castillian Soap a couple of months ago to reduce parabens blah blah which is the basis of most other soaps shampoos etc and am currently using it for washing my hair and hands, also in the washing machine.  My hair is squeaky clean.  I still have plenty of bars of soap to use up before I am solely on this but getting there.  I can then reuse the 5 litre container in the compost toilet on the boat!  Sweet.

On the boat I have plenty of the various shower gels etc received as christmas gifts over the years to get through before I can go completely plastic free in this area.  At least I wasn't the one doing the buying.

For when I go travelling I have bought some soap in a bar that is also a shampoo.  That will reduce the 100ml problem.  Not used this yet so can't comment.  I will make a little bag for it out of that plastic mesh you buy some vegetables / oranges in so that I am at least reusing the damn stuff and it doubles up as a scrub and you hang it up and the soap dries.  Win Win.

Teabags
We tried to dispense with bags but we drink so much tea that I am afraid we have slipped in this department.  We are not perfect!  This is not a Royal We there are two of us.  One of us is embracing this ethos more than the other!

Shopping
Loose vegetables and fruit where possible. 
Would prefer supermarkets to have paper bags by the loose rolls section and while I am quite happy for my carrots to be handled by checkout staff for some reason I am not keen on them handling my bread.  And no I do not wash the carrots when I get home so no real reason for this phobia!
Starting in October himself has promised to only buy meat from the butchers rather than the supermarket so we can take our own containers and reduce some of the plastic entering the house.  Less of a problem for me as I could easily be vegetarian, but I am not.
I have made a couple of shopping bags out of an old sheet.  Plenty of king sized sheet left to make more so each time the plastic long life shopping bags die we will not be swopping them in for replacement ones, just returning them to be recycled.  I jazzed up the shopping bags using scraps of more colourful material left over from dismantled shirts etc.

If we buy water in a bottle then we reuse it for as long as possible before finally putting it in the recycling.  I know there are problems with plastic water bottles but we very rarely have to do this, so the risk is fairly low.

So there it is.  Me trying to do my bit to reduce the amount of plastic that I potentially send to the oceans/landfill.

Don't get me wrong we have loads of plastic lidded containers etc that we will continue to use, the point being that we might still buy plastic but we want to reduce the stuff we throw away because we have no use for it. The unwanted packaging.

Lets see how this pans out.

Back dated news of my latest shenanigans

Well I did the Cavalcade in New Zealand and it was quite the best adventure I have had.  Loved it all despite:

Being thoroughly and completely traumatised on the first day by the sheer number and steepness of hills (up and down) that we did, the interesting and challenging terrain we covered, the 10 hours of riding, the breaking of the breast strap leading to the coming off the horse on the steepest of hills I have ever encountered at 8 hours in. Basically by the time we arrived at our first night stop it took two men to physically haul me off the horse (one to push from one side while the other caught me and propped me up against a hay bale.   One and a half hours later after lots of sweets and lemonade my legs and arms stopped fizzing and I was pronounced fit to continue.  I have never been so physically and mentally exhausted.

Day two was better but my legs still wouldn't work as the thigh muscles were still jumping around like a bag of frogs and my knees were shot from Day one.  Less in the way of hills but we had to travel in strict single file through the trees in the Bush by the side of the Clutha River.  Steep drops down into the grey swollen water and a narrow path I wouldn't want to have been walking on let along riding.  This day was highlighted by a wasps nest.  Luckily I was at the back of the group of 70 horses so our section took a detour and never met the wasps.  Other people were not so lucky, horses and folk covered in up to 30 stings each!  The other 'highlight' was me encountering a low branch fixed at both ends that concertina'ed my neck and body down until I slid backwards off the horse (breaking the reins in the process).  As my neck is already suffering from previous accidents as I was being pushed down I really thought "this was where my neck would finally break!"  Another 10 hour day.

Day three was the best, fabulous river crossings, rolling hills, sunshine, an appearance in the South Otago Newspaper.  Only 8 hours.

Day four to save my horses back I took this day off from riding and joined the back up crew in transporting everyones gear to the next night stop.  Great fun with a lovely bunch of people who support their wives/husbands/friends in being able to ride the cavalcade and have their accommodation, horse paraphernalia etc miraculously appear each night.  On this day I missed the excitement of one girl who fell backwards off a rearing horse, thoroughly breaking her arm etc that required a helicopter ride out.  But I did get to have a shower!

Day five we reach the sea, we don't need to have packed lunches as the catering crew meet us at the seaside and provide a wondrous feast.  What a change from soggy sandwiches and hard boiled eggs.  The sea mist never lifted so we missed the view of the lighthouse.  The farmer had especially cut a swathe we could ride on four abreast through the bush such that we would round a corner and be faced with the most magnificent view.  Nah we could barely see two horses in front!  And while we could hear the sea below us on the cliffs we couldn't see it.  Which I was quite pleased about as I could ignore the potential 'plummeting'.

Day six only a half day with more riding along the beaches.  An encounter with a sea lion that split the group in half.  The only way past him was achieved by one large group of folk going into the sea while the rest of us went into the dunes.  The sea lion couldn't make his mind up as to who to chase and as he darted left and right we slipped past in ones and twos.  A bit further on another sea lion scared a young horse and one of the wranglers came off backwards and was crushed.  He was unable to remount so we had to send a local back with a quad bike to bring him to the road for the ambulance.  Lunchtime we joined up with all the other trails (4 horse riding, a light wagon trail, a heavy wagon trail, two walking groups and a cycling group) and paraded through the host town.  Over a 1000 horses passing down the high street make a lot of mess!  The host town locals tie balloons outside their houses to indicate that here you can turn up and be provided with a towel and use of their showers.  BLISS.

I will definitely be doing the cavalcade again - but maybe with the light wagons as that will be less 'challenging'.

I only took photos when I felt it was 'safe' to do so.  Wish I had taken a go pro or similar and got photos/videos of the really gnarly bits.

See the slope to the right we went down that (and much steeper ones)

A brief clearing in the bush

We got our feet wet.  You can see how deep it got by looking at the riders at the front.

My little pony.  He was NOT AMUSED

Sea Lions before they decided they didn't like us!

Did I mention I was awarded the Awesome Sash on the Friday Night?

I got to wear it on the Parade!

Everyone else had been awarded it because they had a) been really helpful, b) been shoeing horses before and after doing the days ride, c) generally being amazing.

I was awarded it because I had come the furthest to be traumatised.  ;)  Plus they liked my poetry!

I have also completed the swimathon.  2.5km in 1 hour 26 minutes.

Swimming Outside the Box

Since I have been enjoying the 

Get Fit 

(for the Horse Riding Cavalcade in New Zealand)

Swimming 

what I have been doing recently, I have decided to take it up a notch.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katherine-watts1

I may regret it but it feels good to have another goal to aim for.

As I might be doing some training swims in the River Great Ouse please do not run me over with your boat!

Feliz Natal

Have a good one everybody.  

I am hopefully cat sitting in London 

provided the keys are found still under the mat of the person entrusted to hand them to me by my son!

Thespians - who would have thought they couldn't organise a puiab.

hey ho the cat should be pleased to see us, small boy left on Tuesday and we get there 2pm today.  Poor thing.

Toodles and see you all in the New Year.

It is like riding a bicycle

You never forget how to do it.

Although I imagine when you are older riding a bicycle might get a little tricky as your balance could be affected.

I am hoping to do a very interesting ride in NZ early next year and having bought some riding tights (I know who knew such a thing existed) I thought I had better see if I could still do it.  I hoiked out my old riding boots and half chaps (discovered they need some stitching but they held together for today) but I wasn't able to use my 'new' hat.  They have changed the rules and you have to wear EU approved hats PAS015 if you are competing and in this case riding someone elses horse.  I was surprised that this hat didn't have that spec as I know the one I was wearing when I landed on my head back in 1997 was a PAS015 (see first entry on this blog for that story) as was the one I bought next.

I booked a two hour ride with Derbyshire-Trekking which is all off road and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  It was a mixture of places that I already knew plus some I didn't. Their immediate surroundings were just on the edge of where I could reach on a long ride from one of the places I used to keep my horse.  It rained the whole time but it was brilliant.  I wont be able to walk for the next couple of days but I am so pleased I have got back on a horse since selling mine 10 years ago (ignoring the bit of riding I did in the Canadian Rockies in 2013).

What I particularly liked about today was that I took my sister in law Ann with me in spirit in the form of her old riding/drover's coat.  It kept the rain off me and I hope she enjoyed the ride as much as I did.

RIP Ann.  We had a good day today didnt we chuck x

Les Biggs and his darling Jaq

May their love story continue to uplift us all despite the inconvenience of Les now being 'there' while Jaq and the rest of us are still 'here'. 

He will live on in all our hearts I am sure, and will be sadly missed.



I have written a final verse to Leonard Cohens 'Hallelujah'

(planning to sing it for everyone at my own funeral party but I think Les can have first crack at it.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q

I want to thank you all for being here
Supporting those that I hold dear
While I pass on to those who went before me
It's been a blast, but it couldn't last
Life is short and it sure went fast
But now is the time for the long good-bye
Arrivederci
Adios
Toodleloo
Good-bye

 http://boatlife.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/death-is-hard-work.html

So this is my small tribute to a lovely man, that I barely knew in real life but from following his blog since 2007, and then Jaq's blog 'So this is Love' I have felt a part of their life. They have certainly enriched mine.

xxx

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope you all have a splendid holiday season, that all your fires are warm and your drinks cold.

Unless of course you prefer a hot toddy.  or indeed a mulled wine.

ok rephrase

that all your fires are warm and your drinks are exactly as you wanted them to be.

😳

Canopy and Ships Cat

Bobcat now sports a very fashionable back canopy courtesy of Kinver Canopies.

and has a new resident Ship's Cat.

Hopefully now that Bobcat is 'small boys home' the canopy will help to keep any drafts out and when the cat is brave enough it will provide her with an outside space to view the world.

Cat survived the very long trip down to the boat on Thursday and last night was brave enough to join us on the sofa lounging in front of the fire and tv. 

Sofa is not really big enough for three in comfort.  Especially when the smallest seems to take up the most space.

Tonight will be Small Boy's first night on board without me to show him the ropes but I am pretty sure he will be fine. 

Plus he will be able to stretch out and relax.

So there we have it - my last post for a while.

Sniff.

 

We are still trying to trace this boat.

Big walkabout today which I can't be part of.  May be a completely different colour but the details will be still be obvious.

Hope you can read the flyer as it wouldn't let me upload a pdf.

This blog will be closed for maintenance until further notice

Well I am lending my boat to my son for him to live on while he is in Drama School.  It will be safely moored in a Marina so he doesn't have to move it at all.

I will be able to visit on occasion and maybe take the boat out for a jolly every so often.  He especially wants me to visit to cat sit while he goes and visits his girlfriend back in Sheffield.

So it has been head down and forwards to get the boat from near Chester to London in the time I have available.  In the end I did take the shortcut through Birmingham up the Wolverhampton Flight.  Dearly beloved joined me and I was jolly glad he did.  Moored overnight in Tipton someone tried to steal our bikes.  However cutting one of the curly bike locks alerted us and the scrote got back on his bicycle and vamoosed.

We had a lovely visit to the Black Country Museum.  Then on to near the Sea Life for our second night in Brum.  This was uneventful although ruined by the fact that though we moored up with a minute to spare to watch the footy England went and lost.  Dearly Beloved not happy. For me the best bit was getting to the Lapworth Flight in one piece.  Dearly beloved had cycled back to Brewood for the car while I boated and he arrived about half an hour before I did!

When I did the Lapworth Flight solo I tackled the first 4 the evening I got back to the boat.  Then the next morning I did three solo before a kind volockie took pity and helped me down the rest of the flight.  However while he went ahead to set the next lock a walker offered to help me pull the boat out of the lock.  I instead offered him my windlass so he could drop the paddle as this was of more use to me.  Not quite understanding my advice of "lift the pawl and do not let go the windlass" due to being German and his english not that great I had to stop pulling the boat and go and show him.  Of couse like an idiot I put my hand through to the pawl from the wrong side and lifted it and he let go the windlass. 

One full revolution later and thwack, ow.  Luckily I have very strong bones or that would have been one broken wrist.  Which would have made getting the boat to London interesting!!!

I will no longer accept help from anyone any more.  they can shut the gates behind me that is all.

Today I let the two boats behind me go ahead at the locks going up from Leamington so I could take my time and enjoy the journey without being pressured from behind.  Interestingly the boat actually tries to get into the lock by herself which is very helpful of her.  Only works on those weird very close to the lock landings where the bollards are in the wrong place for a close securing of the middle rope!  I was joined on the third lock by another boat and she was very interested in what to do as a solo boater!  I think she might have the wrong idea now.

Anyway the upshot is I will not be doing any boating next year.  I will be concentrating on helping himself knock down and rebuild the garage, learning to ride my motorbike properly and maybe going over 40mph?

It might be two or three years before I get my boat back so toodle pip.

Anderton Lift and the River Weaver

We had a lovely few days down on the River Weaver going down and up the lift.  Unfortunately after waiting two weeks in Middlewich in anticipation of spending a whole week travelling the full length of the Weaver we have had to cut the trip short and have only managed the section thro' Northwich to Winsford and back.

It may be a very long while before we can return and finish the trip off including the visit to Chester which was also on the cards but is not happening now.

Ho hum  life as they say happens while you are planning something else.

So I am heading South quite fast (well as fast as you can go on the canal system).  More on that later once I know the details have been finalised.

RANT - rare event but RANT nevertherless

Finally I have succumbed to the dog poo rant.

It really pisses me off when dog owners carefully pick up the dog poo wrap it securely in the bag and then leave the bag at the side or (occasionally) in the middle of the path, draped on fences, hanging by gates/stiles and many other variations.  Worse there is the chuck it out of sight into the undergrowth brigade.

Now I appreciate in their feeble minds they think that they will pick it up on their way back home and the woman who left the bright pink bag on the path two yards from the back of my boat did indeed do just that.  EVENTUALLY  This is all well and good when they do but  often on a walk you don’t come back the same way, you might have intended to when you set off but the day is lovely you are enjoying yourself so you change your mind and do a circular walk instead.  What happens to that lovely parcel you left behind?  Well it stays there, and from the state of the path I walked the other day the bags get absorbed into the path structure when it is wet and muddy until all you see on the ground on a dry day are corners of bags sticking out saying take me home you imbecile.

If you have done the hard part of picking up the dog poo into a bag then carry it with you until you either get home or find a proper dog poo bin.  (and I don’t mean in a discarded trunk left presumably by an equally inconsiderate boater from whence it will never be collected).

For all they say that some bags are bio-degradable they are not really.  What happens is they gradually degrade into smaller and smaller pieces until they are tiny little balls. So we can’t see it any more and therefore it no longer exists.  But it does exist and the sea is full of these floating little darlings.

And as for chucking it into the undergrowth in a bag. . .  Wrong.   

I recently heard of two horses that died and their autopsy showed their stomachs were full of dog poo bags that had been thrown into their field.  Apparently horses are attracted to the cereal content of dog poo and not having opposable thumbs end up eating the whole bag.  If horses are so attracted presumably out in the countryside do are deer and other herbivores.   

So if you are a supposed animal lover and presumably are because you have a dog, don’t throw a bag into the undergrowth.

As far as I am concerned bags are only for removing dog poo from built up areas.   

Where there is a hedge use a small trowel and removing the offending article from the path where someone might step on it, place it out of the way under the hedge where it can decompose naturally.   

On the towpath also remove it from the area between the path and the canal because although you the dog owner are not going to walk in it.   

The likelihood is some poor unsuspecting boat owner will when they are mooring up.   

They have other things on their minds at this point.   

Stepping in it is one thing but when your ropes land on a fresh one.  YUK   

Oh and while I am thinking about it could owners of male dogs please stop them from peeing on mooring bollards – especially when there are boat ropes around them, ditto water points, boaters chairs, shopping bags – generally anything upstanding that the dogs might feel the need to scent mark, that either belongs to someone or someone might handle.

The other day walking around a reservoir we saw three identical white bags – clearly someone with more than one dog.  One draped on the fence, later on one at the side of the path and further on still the last one at a junction.  As we were turning around at this point the dog poo fairy (aka my partner) picked all three up and deposited them in the bin back at the carpark.  So the dog poo fairy does exist but he cannot be everywhere.

To balance this I saw a boat at a lock and the woman on board walked to the front of her boat opened one of the front lockers and took out about 20 small bags which she put into the correct bin.  So I know there are some good dog owners out there but I am afraid you might be outnumbered by the wronguns.

And yes I do like dogs - it is the owners that fall short in my estimation.

 

CRT workboat

The other day Bobcat assisted in the removal and replacement of a faulty paddle.

 The paddle would neither fully drop nor raise.  When they removed it you can see why.  You shouldn't be able to see the two rods that run top to bottom.  The lads reckoned that if it had been  left any longer they wouldn't have been able to remove it at all and it would have meant a proper closure.  On a similar paddle elsewhere someone with a long throw windlass had bent the rods forcing it down.  Which meant the paddle indicators would have looked like the paddle was down but actually it wasn't and it was now impossible to remove manually.

Waiting for the replacement paddle to be dropped down to him.

All in all we were in the lock for about one and half hours and that was mainly waiting for the replacement one to be delivered.  They had to remove the old one and measure it before putting in the order!  We provided cups of tea to keep up moral.

T'owd Bag and T'owd Goat

So there it is the old bag.  What with all the compromises it is not the bag I wanted.  The leather is too stiff which is the main thing wrong with it as far as I am concerned.  Still I enjoyed doing it and I took it to work on Friday and the cleaners liked it and I have a commission from one of them!!!  So I will make her a going out type bag,  much smaller, softer leather hopefully she will like it when I eventually make it.


And the old goat.  I forgot to include goats on the previous picture and they were a very important part of my growing up.  I would wander the hills with the goatherd, and the goatherd boy. I would ride on the back of the billy goat (very bony) and play with the kids.  Very Heidi.

So my last painted porthole has of course got a goat eating the licence.

From inside the boat  you can see that the piece of paper is apparently British Waterways headed paper.  However it doesn't show through outside as I put it on at the end and the white paint is very opaque.  Never mind I get to enjoy the joke even if passers by don't.

She is called Geraldine.

The place where I grew up ...

In pictoral form

I lived on a mine in the north of Portugal from the age of 3 to 11.  I loved it there.

So we have the mountain top that we used to go to in the winter to ski.
and we have the dam where in the summer we went to sail the mirror dinghy that my dad made. 

We camped on the various islands just like swallows and amazons.  We even copied their make shift tents.  My parents slept in the proper two man tent and us kids had sheets draped over rope with pockets to hold the stones in at the edges.  Even the dog came too in the dinghy although there was always the danger of a capsize.  She shared a 'tent' with my brother while my sister and I shared the other 'tent'.

On one memorable occasion the dog ate the bacon that had been set aside while something else was cooking on the fire!!!  Well she was a labrador what do you expect?

The rows of houses are where the miners lived.  Most are empty now but the mine is still open 2 or 3 days a week.

I am going back to visit again this year.

Lovely day out yesterday

I had these three lovely ladies visiting (my sisters in law) on the boat for a jolly.

Quite my favourite ladies

The three monkeys

The intrepid one

Instead of a Sunday roast dinner they had to make do with homemade parsnip soup!  However after many family birthday parties held at my house they know not to expect a large spread anymore.  They of course always catered brilliantly with homemade birthday cakes and the obligatory trifle.  I digress.

We didn't go far but it did include one lock and I deliberately  let the boat drift against the weir above the lock.  I casually said to Jill as she was the one sitting on the puppy pad that she had to go and pole us off at the front and blow me she just got up and walked down the roof and picked up the correct pole and did it.  No questions, no quibbling, no worries.  I was well impressed - no action shots as I was busy at the back end.  Her sister managed a couple but as they were of her backside I don't think she would want them published anyway!

The weather was good too so all in all very pleased with the day.  I think they might come visit again.  They are certainly very welcom.