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.

Bag

So I spent the weekend on a leather bag making course.

The curly stuff is the lacing and the small piece bottom left is how to start and finish - apparently.

and I appear to have come away with some meccano!

I am a bit cheesed off if I am honest.  I wanted a bag, I designed the bag before I got there, I was hoping to come away with the finished article.  However the whole of Saturday morning was spent listening to him talk about all the tools and different types of leather etc etc Saturday afternoon we made templates for our bags out of paper for stapling together to make sure we had our dimensions correct before unstapling ready for him to cut the patterns out of the half a cow.

However there were 5 of us and only 1 cutting board.  A lot of wasted time.  Very, very frustrating.

So Sunday morning I was there bright and early (9.30) as were two others bit more chat and discussion and then he laid all the pieces out on the hide to work out the most efficient cutting and keeping the spine for straps etc.  It was about 11.30/12pm before the first pieces were handed back to us for trimming.  We now had two cutting boards - the second one was big enough for maybe three people to use but still only two cutting implements.  And then for punching holes - only two implements.  Aaaarrgh.

The course finished at 4pm.  At 3pm I was really beginning to panic.  I was nowhere near done as I had an inner pocket in my bag.  The course leader said he would punch my holes while I worked out where they should go.  In the panic I made a mistake with my straps thinking there should be a buckle at the other end so had to cut off a bit more off the length (hope they are still long enough).  At 4.30pm I finally left (the last person) without it turns out punching any holes in my straps, without finishing the leather (nobody did), without having any colour on the leather (one person did) and without doing any lacing (nobody did). 

Now we knew we might be lacing at home but to not have had time to tidy up the edges and do any dyeing is a bit much.

In my humble opinion he should have cut out the patterns from the cowhide Saturday evening ready for us to do what we had to do on the Sunday morning.

Now for those others on the course that had an interest in leather making before and therefore had some tools at home, going home with unfinished leather is probably ok.  But for those like me that haven't ...

Anyway I popped into Matlock with my 'bag' and visited a leather place to buy some dye and finishing stuff and they very kindly lent me a punch set so I could do the last set of holes.  How brilliant was that?  I have done them and will return the set tomorrow.  They also gave me information on how best to finish the leather off without buying loads of equipment I may never use again.  So I am feeling a little better about how this bag may turn out.

Not convinced that I have sufficient lacing to do all that has to be done but the course leader only lives in the next village and he said no problem if more was needed.  But a lot of work still needs doing before I can assemble my meccano.  I will show you the finished article as and when but don't hold your breath

We are on the road again, wearing different clothes again

So I spent last night on the boat amidst utter chaos. 

This morning I attempted to locate stuff that I really didn't need on the boat while the car was right there next to the boat and generally make room.  Of course with emptying the engine room at the beginning of winter for the work that never got done you can imagine delving into cupboards and hidey holes was tricky.  No doubt I have missed loads but hey the girl can carry it for another year!

I have treated myself to a lovely new mifi EE (Argos annoyingly didn't have the O2 one in stock) and good job too.  I had to do the last lot of wages for 2015/2016 today.  It works brilliantly so far.

I have done my first bit of boating for the year by heading East and turning around. 

This year, my son, I am mostly going West.

I put my painted portholes in this morning and I am very pleased with how they look.

Chuffed I am, chuffed.

Right off to finish de winterising and putting stuff away.

Success and disappointment

Last week me and a bunch of single handed women met up and walked the Wey and Arun canal.  The path deviates from the canal a fair bit and is called the Wey South but all 7 of us completed it and we enjoyed the route.

Day one is pretty much either along the old railway line and across fields with occasional crossings of the canal.  That was okay as there was a lot of chat and catching up to do so not having to pay too much attention to the route was a bonus.  Although the advance party did get mislaid at one point and we had to retrace our steps.  When we caught up with the two stragglers (who had the guide book) there was some comment on the hare and the tortoise!

Day two was the longest but mostly along the canal and a good few miles of the canal were in water with boats.

Day three was the hardest as it involved a good few bridle paths which were very churned up and made it difficult to walk.  Especially for those with dodgy knees and or hips.  Plus a good few hills.  South Downs you know.

36 miles walked in total.

The beginning

There was a boat moored just beyond the bund that had been put in so they could repair the bridge.  Definitely a continous moorer!

View of a lockhouse (much extended)

We spoke to a couple living in part of the above lock house and he was a South African and she it turned out was also a boater and she was moored next to the son of one of the women!

Small world hey

This picnic area is made up of lock beams supported by sawn up lock ladders with a table made out of the paddles.

Lunch on day two with three boats in the background.  Dayboat, narrowboat and a broadbeam!

The visitor centre is behind this pub.

  

  

The Pickupstuffers

Like we didn't have enough to carry.  One of us has a proper working boat and she has been looking for ages for some milk crates as they are perfect for holding the tarps off the top planks.  Apparently.

Water wheel raising water from the river into the canal which then goes over the river in an aquaduct.

 

End of day three lunch time.

Well we had done 10 miles before lunch and none of us could get the enthusiasm to do another 4 miles along the river Arun.  Technically we had done the Wey and Arun Canal and that was good enough for us.  Luckily we had left a car here because one of us was leaving early and needed to leave her bags in the car that would take her to the train station.  Otherwise we would have had no choice but to carry on to where the two end cars were waiting.

Panda and friend.

We stayed 4 nights at the Travel Lodge Billingshurst.  They allow dogs no problem which is useful to know.  Breakfasts were had at 'Billys on the road' and the choice was incredible.  My parents told me it used to be a Little Chef and always appeared to be empty.  Now it is very, very popular.  Open 7am to 7pm.

The disappointment?  No work done on the boat.  I have cancelled it for this year.  Snarpip.

March marches on

and disappointingly still the work hasn't started on the engine room.  It is promised to be done by the end of March but I am beginning to think that maybe it has been left too late.  Very very annoyed as he has had the key since the beginning of December.  Grrrrr.

Still when I visited the boat today I took the opportunity of the lovely weather to make a start on removing the green grime from the roof and back counter.  When we set off Bobcat won't look quite so uncared for.

And then a serendipitous meeting with Geoff ended with a quick lunch in Tesco's of Rugeley where we discussed our route plans for this year.  We sure know how to live!  Toasted cheese and onion sandwich - none of that panini nonsense.

That is the good thing about having an orange panda!  He caught sight of it as he drove by and took a detour to call at the boat and this cheered me up no end.  Roll on April.

Only two days till I start walking the Wey and Arun Canal.  Hope the weather stays like this for it.