Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways: Saltisford Canal Trust

Hello Friends and Followers.

The Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways production is coming to the Saltisford Arm on 4th June 2017 and is being performed by Alarum Theatre.

A double bill of theatre, poetry and music to whisk you back to the days of World War II when a shortage of crews to keep the working boats going brought a new breed of boater to the canal.

Young women, later nicknamed ‘Idle Women’, took on the challenge of managing a pair of 72ft narrow boats and 50 tons of cargo.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the start of the women’s training scheme, Kate Saffin and Heather Wastie will bring Isobel’s War and Idle Women and Judies to waterside (and nearby) venues, recreating the journey the women took (London-Birmingham-Coventry-London).

Travelling with the show will be historic narrow boat Tench steered and crewed by women.
Watch the video to learn more…
Come and enjoy Isobel’s War (Kate Saffin) and Idle Women and Judies (Heather Wastie) in this beautiful setting!
There will be refreshments available and the show starts at 2pm. Bring a chair.
And more about Alarum and the tour on the website:
www.alarumtheatre.co.uk
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Free entry with a requested donation

DATE AND TIME

Sun 4 June 2017
13:45 – 16:30 BST
Add to Calendar

LOCATION

Saltisford Canal Trust
Birmingham Road
Warwick
CV34 5RJ

Catching Up.

Hi Friends and Followers.

Just when you think things are on the up, something comes along and kicks you in the teeth. In my case not literally, but I have not felt right for a few days, so sorry for not posting. The men will now turn to another page at this point, because this is women talk and more importantly the Menopause and its joys.
I have been going through the Menopause since about 2007 and yes I am still going through it. About Three years ago, I decided enough was enough and I would go on HRT, because I was finding the joint pain to much to put up with. I could cope with the night sweats and the other delightful things the Menopause throws our way, but the joint pain was the thing which tipped me over the edge. I have been doing pretty well and most things have been under control, but of late I have developed a new problem, which has me needing the loo more and more. It comes and goes and at the moment it is here and annoying. I have felt rubbish for a few days and unlike me I have been nodding off during the afternoon. Yesterday I did very little, in fact I spent most of my day nattering to boating friends or visitors to the Arm, which was lovely because it took my mind off needing to visit the loo. I am quite sure it will all settle back down, but I wish I knew what was triggering it off if it is not the Menopause. The only other explanation is one of my allergies and I can only think I have been having too much Nickel in my diet of late. So to test the theory I am not drinking any tea or having any chocolate, because they are full of Nickel and I do like them. I usually only have a cup of tea in the mornings, whilst watching the BBC news in bed, but of late I have had a couple of cups a day, so it maybe that I am overdosing on Nickel. I will let you know whether my theory pans out.

This morning (Friday) it is raining Hooray. I know you are probably thinking argh we do not need the rain, but we definitely do. The canals, rivers and our garden needs some water. It will be nice not to have to water the plants for a few days. Last night I took Paddy out for his last wee of the night and the Petrichor in the air was fantastic. There is nothing like it when rain falls on dry soil and the smell of freshly mown grass is another lovely smell. So please do not moan about the rain, because it is going to help keep us a step further away from a hosepipe ban and canals having restrictions on them.
Update on the generator. The poorly one is definitely coming out hopefully next week. Simon our engineer is trying to find a local firm for us to go to, so we can look at and hear the generator we have decided on, which is a Warrior. If we like it, then we will sort out having it fitted, with of course making sure it is fitted to the Boat Safety regulations. I will keep you posted on the progress.

That Sunday Feeling.

Hello Friends and Followers.

I am not sure how I approach Sunday’s. As a child Sunday’s were always a day of going to church to sing in the choir, Sunday roast lunch and then either watching films or out with friends. As the years have gone by and age has crept upon me, it is clear we all think of Sunday’s differently. I am not a church goer and roasts on a boat is pretty much a luxury for the Winter. I still enjoy the Sunday movies and any day is a good day to go out with friends. I think with the laws changing for Sunday shopping, our shopping habits have changed. Peoples idea of a relaxing Sunday these days is retail therapy. I have to say I am not really a Sunday shopper, well not unless it is an emergency. The Sunday Trading Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing the right of shops in England and Wales to trade on a Sunday.  The act came into force on 26 August 1994 and for many everything changed. I know that was a little deep for a Sunday, I think I should lighten the mood, just in case you switch off .

So Sunday morning and all the usual stuff took place. Paddy got his walk, then he and Marmite got fed. I had the luxury of tea and toast in bed, which was of course made by me. I like to still bake on a Sunday, so for lunch I made a Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pie.

This will last us a couple of days, along with the Rhubarb Crumble I made on Friday. Whilst the oven was on, I also make some Raisin Muffins.

The sun shone from early doors, which is always lovely, but we are also crying out for some rain, because already the media is predicting a drought, if we do not get some substantial rain fall. I have to agree we do need rain, because not only are the rivers already low, but the garden is crying out for water. I am loathed to use the hosepipe and if the canals are going to suffer I will not be using that either. I will however use my washing up water. So lunch sorted with a pie made, it was then onto the task of getting rid of rubbish and emptying the toilet cassette. At least I made the pie before I did the toilet cassette, although I did wash my hand thoroughly .

Over my morning coffee, I had a mind to go onto Google Maps and have a look at places I lived as a child to see what had changed. It seems one heck of a lot has changed. The village I grew up in, once had two garages one of which supplied petrol, a Post Office, Church and a Pub.

This was my family home for many years as a child. I left many years ago, but was surprised to see how awful it looked, so I did a little more research to find that it is down for demolition and a new dwelling is to be built in its place. This has made me feel kind of sad, because it was a beautiful all be it elderly home. I lived on a Dairy Farm and my father was the Dairyman, the farm stopped being a dairy farm in the 1990’s and went over to being a Stud for horses. Catherston Stud took the farm over, but they have since moved on and it is now under new ownership again. Both the garages have gone from the village, as has the Post Office.

The Village Infant School went when I was there, so many moons ago. it was turned into a dwelling. The outside toilets building is still there in this photograph, which I would imagine is storage now. It was such a wonderful place. We all got transferred to the Primary School in the next village.

 

It looks like the latest casualty is the village Pub. It is now a dwelling, having been a pub for many years.

This was the pub in 1912 and was known as The Portsmouth Arms. I knew it as The Portsmouth Arms.

I think in 2000’s it changed to The Hurstbourne Inn, but it has now changed to a dwelling. This is what happens when villages get taken over by people who are not particularly bothered about keeping its precious lifestyle. It is all very sad. I very much doubt that many of the families I knew in my childhood, still have their homes in the village. Many original villagers and their children get priced out of the villages, which means they decline and lose the very things which made them all those years ago.

Having saddened myself with my childhood home, I decided that it was a good time to watch a Sunday film. ‘Gullivers Travels’ with Jack Black was on Film4 and whilst I am not a huge Jack Black fan, he was pretty good in this film. Whilst I am sat with my feet up watching films, Keith is outside model making for his railway. Having spent a busy week gardening, my Sunday was a day for feet up, because I most definitely have that Sunday feeling.

The day after the day before.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Well how are things with you all?

Things with me are pretty good having made the decision yesterday to get shot of our poorly generator. I think we have both decided we could not put any confidence in it, even if we spent thousands putting it right. Both of us are much happier now with our decision. The next step is to get the generator out of the engine room and then to find a replacement, which is man enough to do the job.

Yesterday the IWA (Inland Waterways Association) magazine arrived and the photograph I took for the calendar is in there along with all the other photographs which are going on the calendar and cards.

I still pretty chuffed that I will have my photograph in the calendar and hopefully people will buy the IWA calendar.

It never rains.

Hi Friends and Followers.

You may remember me telling you about our generator problems?

Well we had been trying to find someone to help us sort out what the problem was, but it seems no body wants to work on Kohler Generators. Anyway a friend came and gave us a hand and between him, Keith and a Kohler distributor, we have been ploughing through the settings, wiring etc. We had narrowed the problem down to electrical, but today was the day when we got the news that it was going to cost us a lot of money to put our poorly generator right. So much so that it would be cheaper to buy another generator. When we originally bought our in-built generator it came as part of our Victron package, but the generator was about £8,000. It has only done 1,600 hours over the past 10 years, so it has not worked hard, but clearly it has died. So tonight over an Indian meal, we have decided to cut our losses and buy another diesel generator, but we will not be spending as much money on the next one. We are on the look out for another inbuilt generator, which will feed off our diesel tank, air cooled etc.

Because of this problem our cruising season has been cut short. It is just as well we had a quick jaunt out in March. We are not sure when we will be heading out again this year and we have already cancelled going to the Stratford River Festival. Oh the joys. I am very much of the mind that there is little point worry. We have a fabulous mooring and plenty of things to do on and off the boat, whilst we sort the generator out.

This is our finished Pigeon Box, my next painting project will be the slide.

I am being kept busy with the gardens in the Arm. I stripped this piece of the Wildflower bed and I need to plant it out for the Summer.

The Wildflower bed got a new pathway, the bark chippings were supplied by our neighbour. I went with her yesterday to collect them and she helped me lay them down.

Today I have been building a new log pile for the bugs and beasties, so as you can see I am going to be kept busy, whilst we think of a new plan to buy another generator.

Lots to do and get done.

Hi Friends and Followers.

I know it has been a little amiss of me for not blogging, but life has gotten in the way. Anyway I am here now and I am fine. Health wise I am in good fettle. My Costochondritis has settle down for the time being, so I have not been taking any Amitriptyline for a few weeks now, which is excellent. I am still on my Omeprazole two a day, which is not a problem. I almost feel human these days. I think keeping busy helps.

Last week in the Arm we had a gardening day, when a few people got together and helped get some of the jobs done in the Arm. Hedge trimming, gardening and strimming were tackled. We had a lovely sunny day for it. Keith and I spent the day doing the beds. There was lots of weeding, digging and mulching done. I made a Victoria Sandwich, which went down well at break time. Come lunchtime, we all had Fish and Chips, they went down a treat. With the Arm being open to boaters and the public alike, it is nice to have it looking tidy. Keith and I continued the gardening over the weekend, we planted more plants in the Sensory Garden Beds and did more mulching. I also got stuck into clearing part of our Wildflower bed, which will be turned back into a formal bed. We still hove our Wildflower bed, it is just a little smaller and easier to manage.

We are still waiting to get our generator fixed. It appears difficult to find someone to help us sort out the problem, but we are on the case and are hoping that we will be back out on the cut soon. We have the bolts for the propshaft, so that is all sorted out. This is the joys of living on a boat, nothing is ever simple, but I refuse to let it get to me. We have a fabulous mooring and an incredible life afloat. But sometimes things get in the way of us cruising. Our main concern at the moment is, we booked in to a festival and we are worried we will not make it, which means we will lose out booking fee and the river licence fee. But that is life and we cannot change it at the moment.

Of late we have been treated to some nice sunsets. I do love watching the sun go down and come back up again.

The work on the Pigeon Box has continued. I replaced the broken glass in the one porthole and rubbed down and primed the lid of the box. It will not be the perfect paint job, but it will do the job. At some point we will need to have the boat repainted, but as long as I can keep the Red going, we will manage with me doing the touching up.

Did any of you watch ‘Mind Over Marathon’?

I thought it was a brilliant program. It was wonderful to see them finish the London Marathon and what they have achieved. Mental health is something that needs talking about. There is nothing to be gained by keeping it to yourself. 

Baking Sunday.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Sunday and I have been watching the runners doing The London Marathon. I have total admiration for anyone who runs that race. I do not have the knees or legs for running, let alone doing a marathon, so well done to everyone who took part. I hope you all raised a lot of money for your charities.

My Sunday was much more sedate. I began my morning with the usual things, I then put a coat of blue gloss on the pigeon box, which is coming a long nicely now.

Painting done, it was time to bake. I made fruit scones and a coffee sponge, so we will eat well this week. I enjoy baking, but I do not do as much as I used to. There is something nice about baking my own cakes.

The flowers my friend gave me are still going strong and the smell is sublime. We have the scent of the flowers and my baking permeating around the boat.

Whilst putting the paint from the pigeon box away in our bunker, I discovered we had lodgers in the form of Wasps. I find their constructions incredible, but sadly it could not stay in our bunker, so Keith took the nest down. I hope they find a better home else where.

I was out with my camera and spotted the first baby Robin in the Arm this year. I had seen the parents close by and then spotted this little one. You can see the rest of my photographs from today on my other BLOG.

I always think of Sunday as a day of rest, but in fact I think we all probably do more than in the week. I suppose it is a day when you can relax and do the things you want to do and not have to think about work. I am fortunate I do not have work to go to, but I still keep myself very busy, so Sunday is a day to relax and enjoy some me time.

What a Birthday.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Well that is it for another year. I am now a year older and whether I am wiser we will see over the coming, days, weeks and months. One thing is certain, I had a lovely Birthday.

During the morning we went to Wylies Tearoom, because I felt as it was my Birthday I needed cake and Wylies Tearoom does some of the best homemade cakes. I went for their Lemon Drizzle Layered Cake and Keith had Coffee and Walnut Cake and we were not disappointed. We have been in Warwick for over 3 years and this was our first visit to the tearooms in the centre of Warwick. It will not be our last.

Wylies Tearoom is tucked away down a tiny side street. It isn't shabby chic or faux vintage, it is genuinely old, complete with original range odd shaped rooms and peeling paint, but what a find. Yes it's small, unsuitable for buggies etc, and the toilet is outside but the excellent service and a food. In the background the theme to Dr. Finley's casebook and Steptoe and sons is playing in the background, I loved it.

You can keep your Costa’s, Starbucks and Nero’s Wylies is the place to go.

After a quiet afternoon of doing nothing, we headed out for the evening to Warwick Spice. down Smith Street.

This Indian has an excellent reputation and as we like to try new places we thought we would give it a go. It is definitely advisable to book as we did, because it gets very busy.

The food was sublime and the service was excellent. We both had the House Special Biryani as our main and oh my goodness it was amazing. It had Prawn, Chicken and Lamb in it and the Lamb just melted in the mouth. Dessert was a chocolate and mint pudding all washed down with a bottle of White wine. A fantastic evening was had and we will be going again. Warwick Spice is popular with celebrities. In May Willie Thorne the snooker player will be there to help our Molly Olly’s Wishes Charity. Warwick Davis has also eaten at the restaurant, although no celebrities were in last night.

 

For my Birthday I had some lovely cards and these flowers from my good friend and adopted Sister Jack. Keith and I do not bother with presents these days as we only have so much room on our boat and there is no room for useless things. But we always enjoy a nice meal out.