Rain and poor signal.

Hello Friends.

I was going to post some photographs of today's cruise, but we only have a GPRS signal and it is only just creeping along, so I could end up old and grey before a photograph has loaded. So sorry no piccies today.

Yesterday ended with us chatting to some people hiring a boat from Gayton. At first it did not bode well as one of the couples was having a row, which was loud enough for me to hear. The wife was not at all happy that her husband was taking sides with the friends they were sharing the boat with. She most definitely wanted him to know how upset she was and then said "I am going to say no more about it" But went on to say lots more and then repeated that she was going to say no more. Obviously things were a little icy on their boat. When we got chatting to the couple later on, it was clear she was not happy with the boat, the moorings or the work the locks take. I get a feeling she will not be doing it again.
As the afternoon moved into the evening Jenny and Colin pulled in on NB Kismet. They had been at The Village at War with their son Michael who owns Historic working boat Victoria. We stood having a good old natter about the weekend, before realising it was time to walk Paddy and do dinner. Time lies when your having fun. No sooner Keith was back with Paddy, we closed up the boat to the evening chill and sat down to dinner in front of the TV.

Awake nice and early this morning, after what was a lovely nights sleep, we were up and ready to head off at 8am. First destination was to turn on to the Leicester Line at Norton Junction and head to the Watford Flight of locks. When we got there, I stepped off with the centre line, which I wrapped around a bollard, which Keith bought the boat into the mooring. I then walked up to find the Lock Keeper who was sitting in his office wrapped up against the rain, which was falling steadily, but was no where near as bad as the forecaster had said last night. I was instructed to come up the first two locks and wait in the lay-by for the two hire boats to come down. As instructed we started up the first two locks and I then took the centre line off and pulled the boat into the lay-by. With the bow and stern ropes secured, we waited for the hire boats to come down through the staircase. It was not long before we were on our way. As we exited the top lock a boat was coming in the opposite direction, so we left the lock gate open ready for them. We waved to the Lock Keeper as we passed, he was still in his office, sitting in the warm and dry and yet contractors were outside mowing the grass and strimming the edges in the rain. Rain never really bothers me. The only time it can get on my nerves is if I get cold as well. Then it is time to go down into the back cabin for a warm.
Despite the weather, this part of the canal still looks pretty. We were hailed by a couple of boats requiring coal, so we pulled in and unloaded several bags of coal. I carried one bag on my shoulder, whilst Keith took the rest on the sack truck. Coal delivered and paid for, we were now heading for Crick, with a hope that we could moor up, so that I could get some shopping from the Co-op. We had the tunnel to ourselves, not even the bats came out to greet us. As we exited the tunnel the sun came out to say hello which was very welcome. What was not so welcome was the fact that there was no room on the 14 day moorings and we could not get into the bank on another mooring, so we decided to moor up on the Winter moorings opposite Crick Marina, which are normally 14 day moorings. But from the 1st of Oct to the 31 March they become Winter moorings, so not for visiting boats. I took off to the Co-op whilst Keith stayed on the boat, just in case anyone should come and complain. When I got back, I did us a quick lunch and we set off once more. I cannot understand why the Crick Winter moorings start on the 1st Oct, when other British Waterways Winter moorings usually begin on the 1st November. They take up such a long stretch, which visitors need to use, especially if, as today the 14 day moorings are full. It will be interesting to see how many take up the Winter Moorings this year because British Waterway's are doing it on a first come first served basis. We are now moored opposite the new Yelvertoft Marina where we are just about in enough that we do not need to get the gang plank out for Paddy. He can leap off of the boat through the engine room door tonight for his walk. NB Naiad pull in for some coal and a natter, before heading off to their mooring at Welton. Tonights dinner is cooking in the back cabin stove and I am feeling everso slightly shattered. As I draw to a close on this posting, the contractors are mowing the grass outside of our boat. There is a lovely perfume of mown grass coming in through the engine room doors. Ok I am off now. Have a good evening.

Trains, Boats and Christmas Cards.

Hi Friends.

It has been a manic day in many ways. Keith had his check-up at Kettering Hospital with his Urologist, so we knew it was going to be a busy old day. Our day began early as I set the alarm for 6.30am on the clock and as a back-up I set my mobile phone alarm as well, just in case the clock alarm did not go off, or the battery ran out, which would have been my luck. At 6.30am sharp my phone woke me to the tune of "Hey Sexy Lady". and then the alarm clock followed, as it was we were already awake.
Up and about and all jobs done, including walking the hound, we downed our breakfast and a cuppa and then walked round to David and Viv's boat. David very kindly dropped us off at Market Harborough's Railway Station. We bought our tickets, which would get us to and back from Kettering. Having been stood on the platform for 15 minutes the 8.42am train arrived on time and we climbed onboard the train like everyone else. It felt a little bit like being herded into a cattle truck. Some 10 to 15 minutes later we were at Kettering Station. We then had a 20 minute walk to Kettering Hospital. The hardest part of the walk is the up hill bit to the hospital, it certainly gets the heart pumping. You would not want your blood pressure or heart rate taken as soon as you got to the hospital after that climb. We arrived half an hour early, but booked in anyway. We had only been sat down for around 10 minutes when we got called into the Consulting room. Thankfully the news was excellent. Having had his operation in May, the test results came back clear and Keith was signed off by the Consultant, who was very pleased with his progress. Keith still has xanthogranulomatous prostatitis, but it is under control at the moment and not causing him any pain thank goodness. We have been told that it could flare up at anytime, but at least we now know what we are dealing with. With that news that we no longer need to go to the hosptial, we celebrated with a meal at our favourite Chinese Buffet Restuarant Lee Garden. We then did some retail therapy, which I am sad to say included buying Christmas Cards and some lights for our small tree.I did try to resist from buying Christmas things so early, but they were a bargain and I am always happy to bag a bargain. Arghhhhh Christmas is coming folks. All the shops we went into today have their Christmas stock either on the shelves or being put out. After a lovely few hours in Kettering, we caught the train back to Market Harborough and the boat. We checked to see if we had any mail, as my dear friend Tina had posted our mail to us. We also received a new battery to replace the faulty one which was under a year old. Before we settled down to a bit of peace and quiet, we connected the new battery up, under the floor of the back cabin. This ment taking the Rag Rugs and the floor up, but the job was soon done. It was then definitely time for a coffee. It has been a great day all in all and I am now looking forward to a good nights sleep. I hope that you have had a wonderful day??

It is not as quiet as you think.

Hi Folks.

I have no idea what was going on last night, but it sounded like we were either getting a fly past or war had begun without any notice, because at about 8.30pm Air Force jets flew over us several times. Even Keith remarked "Has war begun".

Having had an indifferent nights sleep, we were awake early to the sound of dogs barking like loonies. No idea what these dogs bark at, but they do like the sound of their own voices. I got up and made us a cup of tea and as we sat in bed drink our tea and chatting about what we would be doing for the day, the Sheep in the field over the road began to kick up a rumpus. There was a clanging of gates and the noise of a vehicle, so we could only assume that the farmer had either come to check his flock, or was taking the Sheep elsewhere. It all happens in the countryside. I was born and bought up into farming and belive me the countryside is a noisy old place. I have known many townies who move to the country for a quiet life and then complain about all the noise from the animals, such as Cows, Sheep and such like. I knew one person who actually complained because the cows were calling in the morning and he asked the farmer if he could shut them up. Another family moved into a country house near me, which is also near an Army and Air Force base. On a regular basis they go out on maneuvers, which I grew up with. One this one particular night the Chinook Helicopters were flying over on maneuvers and the gentleman of the family rang the Air Base and asked if they could stop flying over his house because the helicopters were keeping his children awake. The countryside is not as quiet as people think.

Breakfast over and dog walked, we set off for Market Harborough on a short jaunt, which took us just under 2 hours. There are some stunning views on this stretch of the canal and at this time of the year when the leaves are falling, you get to see so much more. When we arrived in Market Harborough basin, we winded and pulled up on the sanitary station to empty the cassette and get rid of rubbish. We then moved out on to the 48 hour moorings, which were very quiet for a change. Having moored up, we took the wheels off of the sack barrow and Keith went off to find somewhere to get them fixed. I headed off down the town to buy fruit and veg and to get a couple of items which did not arrive with our Tesco delivery. The walk down into the town is easy peasy because it is down hill, but it is always a bit of a slog back up to the basin and today I would make that trip twice as I went back down the town to buy some bits for the business. Keith came back from his shopping trip with bits and pieces for the boat, having been into Homebase. He left our wheels at ATS as they need to order new tyres, so we have to wait for a phone call from them. Apparently the tyres were only 4 ply, so he is going to get us some extra strong ones, which should mean they will be up to the task of helping me deliver coal. It is nice to be back in Market Harborough, it always means we get to catch up with friends David and Viv on NB First Fruits and I dare say we will catch up with others over the next couple of day. I now have to think about tonights dinner and what we are going to have, so I will draw this posting to a close and wish you a good evening.

Welford to Foxton.

Hello Dear Readers.

I would firstly like to say thank you anyone who pops in from time to time to read my ramblings. I do try to make them as interesting as possible.

The weekend begins here as it is Friday and the weather must have had that Friday feeling, because as I opened the cabin door this morning, the fog greeted me. Before we set off from the Welford Arm this morning, we had to take on some water, empty a cassette and get rid of rubbish. So after breakfast and our first cuppa of the day, we pulled the boat over the water point, just as we were mooring up an other boat pulled in front of us. Now the water point has two taps on one post and we both connected up our hoses to fill our tanks, but the water pressure was so slow, with us both using it, we disconnected and tried the tap on the sanitary station, which greatly improved things. Whilst the tank was filling, I prepared a Chicken to go in the back cabin oven, so it will be nicely cooked by the time dinner comes around this evening. The other boat which had taken on water winded and left in front of us. They were already going down in the lock as we approached it. We left the Welford Arm at 10.45am and set off towards Foxton. The fog was getting thicker and the temperature was on the cold side. Even in Husbands Bosworth Tunnel it was foggy. So much so that we could not see the exit portal until we were 300 metres from it. Our boat was pushing the fog through the tunnel, it was fun to watch. The only boats we saw this morning were the hire boats from Market Harborough, it looked like all the private boats stayed moored up due to the weather. Even the wildlife were in hiding. At Bridge 49 near Lodge Farm we always see this old Collie. He seems to patrol the towpath between bridges 49 and 50. Maybe he has taken retirement from herding and now thinks he should herd the boats instead.
We arrived at our destination having travelled 8.6 miles in 3 hours 39 minutes and I only worked 1 lock. We moored next to Gumley Road Bridge No.60, just above Foxton top lock. The moorings look full up in front of us. The Chicken in the back cabin stove is cooking nicely and there is a lovely smell coming from the back cabin. The passers-by will be made to feel very hungry as they walk past our boat. Having been followed by the grass cutters yesterday, I reckon most of the mown grass is inside our boat, so I need to get the broom out. Even Paddy has been bring it in on his paws. On saying that, it is nice to see the towpaths and edges cut properly. The contractors have done a good job this year.

Has anyone seen this boat about on the system?This Canal boat has an airlock for doors, a periscope that goes up and down, but isn't quite finished yet, and 360-degree video monitors that enable it to be steered from inside. It has sonar and radar systems, infra-red lighting and storage for dummy torpedoes where the sleeping quarters are. It is certainly going to grab the headlines.

Almost on home ground.

Hi Friends.

I thought before I do a piece on today's events, I would talk about losing pets on boats. As many of you know we have a Cat and a Dog onboard. Since we have been on this boat neither of them have ever been lost. Paddy did get lost once on our other boat, but that was not his fault. He was called off of the boat by someone else and then he wandered. he has not done it since. It is far easier for Cat's to get lost or worse drown in the canal. We see so many posters on posts asking if anyone has seen a Cat. As we have cruised up this section of the Grand Union, this poster is on almost every post. This black Cat Shadow was lost in June and the people are desperate for news. It actually breaks my heart to read posters like this. We took the decision when Marmite was 12 weeks old to put her on a harness and lead when she wants to go off of the boat. She is now over 3 years old and knows no difference. Some people have questioned me as to why I keep her on a lead and as I tell them, I do not want to lose her. Last Summer we saw two Cats floating in the canal, they had both drowned. I would hate to be sat waiting and hoping for news of Marmite. A friend recently lost her dog and she was beside herself with worry. Thankfully he did turn up at a stables. We do have friends who have Cats on boats and their Cats wander and then return to the boat, but they can spend hours waiting for their Cat to return before they can move off. Having any animal onboard a boat should be really thought about carefully. We are lucky that our animals have adjusted to their lives onboard and are extremely happy, but this is not the case for all pets.

It is Tuesday and the sun has just come out after what was a dull start. The first thing I heard was the roar of the traffic on the Motorway. It is really quite deafening, when you usually have the peace and quiet of the countryside to yourselves. We left our mooring at 8.50am and were straight away were behind another boat nb Annie Rose. As we pulled out behind them, nb Relaine was then behind us. We thought yippee at last someone to share locks with, but our hopes were dashed when nb Annie Rose pulled over below the Buckby flight to allow us past, they were with nb Relaine and wanted to share with them, so we were on our own yet again. The couples on both boats very kindly helped us with the locks though, so my job was made a little easier. The Buckby Flight Locks can be absolute pigs when they want to be, with heavy gates and stiff paddles. It is a gym workout in one coming up the flight.A Virgin train sped on its way. I am so glad I do not do life in the fast lane these days. What with the trains to our left and the Motorway to our right, it was a noisy old morning. The colours of Autumn are becoming more apparent by the day. We arrived at the top of the Buckby Flight and moored up at 11am having done 1.9 miles and 7 locks. A huge thank you to the crews on Relaine and Annie Rose for their help and chatter.
All tied up, coffee was made whilst Keith emptied one of the toilet cassettes. Then the boat jobs began. We have taken off our terrets for the winter. They have been cleaned and put away with the plume. Keeping the Brass work clean during the Winter is much more time consuming, so it is easier to take some of it off and put it away until the Spring. Lunch time was soon upon us, so we took a break from the jobs to have something to eat and drink. After a little light surfing of the internet, we started on the next round of jobs, which included replacing a water pipe on the generator, tightening a leak on the Calorifier. Neither of these jobs was as simple as they sound, because it meant taking everything out of the engine room to get to the jobs in the first place. At least our mooring has a concrete edge, so great for standing things on. There was lots of groaning and huffing before the jobs were complete, I then bled the skin tank to get any air out of the system, theis entailed me emptying the bed 'ole and climbing into the space with a large screw driver and a lead light. Another job done and dusted. The next job was to move coal around in the hold, which of course meant us both getting covered in coal dust. With deliveries to make at the end of this week, I wanted the coal to be easy to get to. It also gave me the chance to tidy things up once again. So all in all it has been a fantastic day for getting things done. Tomorrow we will be heading on to the Leicester Line and that is home ground for the Winter. We are now settled in for the day now and in front of us is Jayne and Ray on nb No Direction. They were also at the Village at War weekend.

Time to say goodbye.

Hi Friends.

After a fantastic weekend of fun and frolics, it was time to wave cheerio to Stoke Bruerne and our friends. We had to head off back towards the Leicester Line, as I have a coal delivery to make at the end of the week. Leaving a head of us was The Cheese Boat and the Fudge Boat, so we followed them into the tunnel. We should have supplied them with earplugs, as it can get rather noisy in a tunnel with us. We had to make a quick stop at Blisworth to tighten up a cooling pipe which was leaking, but were soon on our way once more. We passed by Blisworth Marina, where Roger was standing on the back of nb Windsong, so we gave him a wave. We met Jayne, Roger's wife further along the canal, as she was out walking the dog. It was a quick hello and goodbye, but we did get to chat to them at Stoke Bruerne over the weekend. We pulled in at Stowe Hill Wharf to fill up with diesel. The tank took far more than we expected, some 361 litres infact, but that will keep us going for a few months. It should keep us on the move way into next year all being well. At 68p a litre, it made a large dent in this month's bank balance. No treats for us this month.

These two pooches certainly know how to relax. They were snoozing away the day in the sunshine. It sure is a dogs life.
I took a photo of this boat a few days ago, but did not get the stern in and so I thought I would take this photo. I love the smiley face on the back doors. They have moved out of the wood they were camped in, so I wonder if they have been moved on.
On our travels today we met up with two ladies walking their dogs. At first I did not recognise them, as they were not with their respective boats. It was Jill from nb Matilda Rose and Lesley off of nb. Caxton. We could not stop, but I am sure we will see them again sometime.
I made us some lunch on the move, as it was such a wonderful day weatherwise. If only it had been this sunny yesterday. Because I have the back cabin stove on the go, making drinks is easy because the kettle is always on the boil. I even got out the biscuit box for a change. I had bought the biscuits for the weekend, but we were so busy, we did not get time to enjoy them.
Our journey today ended at Bridge 18, Muscott, have cruised 12.8miles, in 5hrs 35mins. Having moored up, we closed the boat up and then walked up to The Heart of the Shires Shopping Village. The Shopping Village is set around a Victorian courtyard, and is very pretty. They have allsorts of shops there, but there was nothing that either caught my eye or I actually needed. Boats do not need any clutter on them, everything has to have its place. We arrived back onboard the boat and there was an almighty bang outside. At first I thought it was a gas gun, but then the bang was followed by a lot of clattering. It turned out to be a lorry on the motorway. He had blown a tyre. Just as well he had plenty of others on that side to compensate. Even so I watched from the bridge as the motorway maintenance men went to the lorry drivers aid.
Dinner tonight was care of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. On one of his programs recently he gave out a recipe for a Sardine meal, so I made it for dinner tonight. If you fancy making this meal, here's how you do it.

Ingredients.

Butter
2-3 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 small onion, or half a medium onion, finely sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tin (about 120g) of sardines in oil, drained
Dash or two of milk.

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Then, in a small frying pan melt a little butter and gently fry onions until softened. Add potatoes and fry for a few minutes longer. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
2. Grease a small gratin dish or oven-proof dish with a little butter then tip in half of the potato and onion mixture. Top with sardines, then tip over remaining potato mixture. Add a dash or two of milk to the dish, then cover (check if covered with foil) and bake for 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes, until golden on top.

I have managed to get a poor TV signal. But it will do for the news. After that it may have to be a DVD, as watching pictures through a snow storm is not good for the eyes.

I am going to say good evening. Have a lovely evening and stay safe.

A brillant weekend had by all.

Hi Folks.

I have had a wicked weekend at The Village at War, at Stoke Bruerne. There were some truly amazing things to see and experience.
On Saturday the weather was wonderful. The sun came out on an off all day, which bought lots of people out. They like us were not disappointed with the atmosphere and the things going on around us. On the main event field, they did re-enactments and had stalls which had vintage clothing, army clothing and all things to do with the 1940's. It was really incredible to see just how well some of the things had survived.
Keith and I both dressed up for the event. I wore both my dungarees and my 1940's dress, head scarf and apron. Some of the people who dressed for the occasion, had thought of every detail. This couple really impressed me, with their American Army uniforms. Not only did we get all things military, civilians were dressed to the nines as well and all of them adding to the atmosphere. PC Plod paid us a visit and very welcome he was too.
We had lots of visitors yesterday, including Pip and Roger off of nb. Windsong, who are moored at Blisworth Marina at the moment. Today the weather was not wonderful, infect it was pouring with rain for most of the day. It was a day to do the indoor things, but as we are tough boaters, we ventured down on to the events field again, and pottered around the stalls, chatting to folk as we ventured into the tents. Afterwards we went into the Museum as entry was free to ticket holders and on the top floor they had a small quilt exhibition. Low and behold we saw this small quilt by Hilda Goddard. If you look at the middle row, on the left hand side you will see our water cans. Famous again it seems.
Back down on the events field they had a Spitfire and for £35 you could sit in the areoplane and have the engine running. I personally think £35 is a little steep, but I suppose you are sitting in a piece of history.
It has been the most fantastic weekend, we would not have missed it for the world, even with the dodgy weather.

Etiquette Lessons for Towpath Users.

British Waterways has decided it is time towpath users are educated so they have teamed up with etiquette experts Debrett's in a bid to educate towpath users about how to share the capital’s canals politely.
My question is why only London, what about the rest of the system and do they actually think this will make any difference at all?
I fear it is yet another waste of money.
It also appears that they have forgotten the boater yet again. It is no fun trying to moor up and work locks while dodging cyclists racing a long the towpath. I have repeatedly had to stop what I am doing to allow cyclists past because they are going to fast to stop.
Most cyclists are actually very considerate of other users on towpaths but there are a few who really just do not get it and they never will. It costs nothing to be polite, and I always try to think of others. I was taught that as a child. I wonder what some are being taught by their parents.
I really cannot see this making anysort of difference. It may just make some people more angry, because they are being told what to do.
I wonder if this will also include fishermen who insist on having their long poles across the towpaths, making them a hazard. They really are opening a can of worms with this idea.