Bank Holiday Monday.

Good Evening.

It is a rather soggy Bank Holiday Monday and tinged with sadness as we heard of the death of a fellow boater and all round lovely gentleman Bob Wakely, who owned and ran Chiswick. He will be very much missed by all who knew and loved him.

So here we are on Bank Holiday Monday and we have a couple of things to do today, as we did nothing much yesterday. I did get more washing and drying done, but then we had to move out of the basin again to let Tench out, so she could go out on to the towpath ready for her trip to Middlewich. Late in the afternoon my friend Tina came round for a coffee and a ride on the boat back into the basin, once the boat moving was over. Whilst out on the towpath, we had a battery cut-off key fail, whilst in the switch. It is mounted under the floor of the boatman's cabin so has not been knocked. It snapped across where the brass key passes through the plastic body, which is a little odd, so we had no power. Keith soon found the issue and thankfully we had a spare key, so was soon fixed.

Bank Holiday Monday.

It was pouring with rain when we woke up, so I felt little need to hurry myself out from beneath the duvet.

Paddy got walked in the rain, which did not please him at all, as he hates getting wet and even as I type this he is still sulking in his bed.

Job for the day, was to take the toilet out of the bathroom, to redo the sealant around the toilet and to give it a good old fashioned clean, but like with any job on a boat, it took twice as long to do, because we then found out that most of the screws holding the toilet in place were either loose or had come out completely. Having wrestled with the toilet half a dozen times, I sealed all around the toilet and up the corner of the bathroom, where it was difficult to get the grout into when the toilet was first fitted. I then wrestled the toilet back into place and after some twiddling with screws, it was securely back in its home.

All's I had to do then was clear up the mess we had left behind. So that was today's job done and there was nothing else on the list. Another wash was done and dried in the drier, all's I have left to do if there is time are the towels. Then we are all washed and dried up whilst on the power.

Paddy has spent the day sulking in his bed, because he is still damp. Marmite has spent most of the day lying on the foot stall on my jumper, which she has taken to because it is warm.

As the morning crept into the afternoon, it was still raining but that did not stop Tina and I going off to do a little girlie shopping. We set off to Stafford retail park, where we went in to every shop, these included Peacocks, New Look, B&M, Matalan and Pets at home. After a lovely 3 hours with my dear friend, we made our way back home in the sunshine.

Whilst we were away, Historic Working Boat Sweden arrived to take on some Lime Stone, so Keith helped out to move boats, this time it was Ilford who moved out of the basin, so we were able to stay put. By the time Tina and I got back to the basin, Sweden was already out on the towpath ready to set off for Middlewich. I had a fabulous time shopping with Tina and came back with a couple of tops for the Summer, that is if we actually get any Summer, although according to the weather forecast tonight, it is going to be warming up this coming week.

It is now just past 7pm and we have eaten dinner and are now relaxing with a coffee. Rain is falling again, which should help top up the rivers and canals.

Spring watch is back on tonight yippee. I love watching it every year and this year I am already watching their webcams (CLICK ME).

Chat soon xx