Leighton Buzzard and beyond.

Hi Folks.

So much for watching anything on TV last night. The signal was so bad, we only had BBC1 and that was bad. So we dipped into the DVD collection and watched 'The Dirty Dozen' first and were watching 'The Golden Compass' when the DVD player packed in arghhhhhh. So hubby set up his computer, so we could finish watching the film. After that it was time for bed.

Awake early, as cars and people were coming past the boat. So we were up and ready to set off at 9am leaving the Globe Inn behind once more. Our first port of call was Tesco at Leighton Buzzard. I went in and got a few bits, which hubby stayed on the boat. It was all done and dusted in 30 minutes and we were on the move again at 10am. I put the food away on the move.

On this boat the food is always on the move. In the hutch are Chickens and there were more in a cage on the stern. Fresh Eggs everyday mmmm. I have seen a lot of different animals and birds on boats but this was a first for Chicken's.
Have a look at this photo and tell me what you see or don't see?
We did not see it until the last minute and by then it was to late to slow down to tickover.

It was a year ago since we were on this part of the system. Even in that year there have been big changes. We arrived at Grove Lock and was shocked to see a new Marina above the lock. Grove Lock Marina was finished in December 09 and looks very nice. We got through Slapton Lock and as we left the lock NB Skystone pulled out in front of us. We both got to Horton Lock and I set the lock as the gentleman was single handing. When I say single handing, he was not a lone, he had his dog Sadie onboard. But as he said "I have not trained her to do the locks yet". So it was down to me, with his help once in the lock. Now the plan had been to stop above Horton Lock, which is where we have stopped before, but we could not get in at all. The pound was down about 4 inches, which did not help. So we decided to carry on with NB Skystone. I went down into the galley and made us some lunch, which consisted of Panini Rolls and homemade cake. I was gonna need the energy for the remaining locks of the day. The one thing I really needed was a drink, but there was no time for that. I was in charge of the locks and the one swing bridge. We arrived at the swing bridge and I opened it for our boat to go through and NB Skystone was following close behind. Coming in the other direction, was a small plastic cruiser, which what sounded like a very poorly engine. We passed through and before NB Skystone could cruise through, I heard an elderly gentleman on the cruiser shout "Floor it, go on go for it". They barged their way through, meaning NB Skystone had to take evasive action. Apparently they said that they did not see him, but that was rubbish, because it was on a straight. I hope their boat breaks down in the middle of no where, after what they did.
After a busy day, we are now moored below lock 37, Marsworth pair, 8.7 miles, 10 locks, 5hrs 40mins. Some of the pounds were a little low. It has been another good day though. I know I will sleep well tonight. NB Skystone carried on up the next lock, so we may see him again tomorrow.
Thankfully my shoulder seems to have survived the day ok. I am not in any major pain, which is a blessing. The TV ariel is up and we have a fabulous signal, so it will be a quiet night in front of the box tonight and probably an early night for me, as I am feeling cream crackered right now.

No Chocolate.

Pub Lunch was called for.

Got the hump

Good afternoon.

Whilst moored at Fenny Stratford, we listened to the local radio station and it seems there is a row brewing because of a Gypsy travellers site, which is due to be built near Fenny Lock. A Planning application (09/01942/FUL) has been recieved to develop land at Fenny Lock, just off H10 Bletcham Way to provide 10 pitches where families will be able to stay for most of the year.Each pitch will consist of a hardstanding area for vehicles and carvans and a small amenity block. This site will be similar to the Calverton Lane site (which is currently under construction). It is now hoped that because of the government cuts, this project will be stopped. I am sure that this will run and run, because where they want to put the site, there is a wooded area and this is of course a place of natural beauty. I am not for or against these sites. But I do wonder why they call themselves travellers, when they do not seem to travel anywhere.

We left Fenny Stratford and it has to be said that it was a little overcast. Whilst the other half filled the day tank, I took the TV ariel down, No idea why we bothered putting it up, because the signal was so bad, we could just about get BBC1. Still we got the chance to see some of the news. It was then over to the DVD collection for the evenings entertainment. With the ariel down, fenders up and ropes undone, hubby moved the boat whilst I walked down to the lock to open the swing bridge across Fenny Lock, before opening one of the gates to allow the boat in. There was a boat waiting below on the Sanitary Station, he was coming up. So as we slipped out of the lock, he slipped in and we went on to the Sanitary Station to empty the toilet cassette, get rid of rubbish and to take on water. Having done a couple of washes, I thought I may as well top up the water tank. We were soon on our way, with plenty of boats going in the opposite direction, but nothing going our way, so locks were going to be on our own. There never seems to be anyone around to share with, when we need them ha ha ha.

We got to the Soulbury Locks and still no one to share with, but there were a pair of boats coming down. We got through the first lock and the pound was down by at least two feet, which meant it was going to be difficult for the boat to get into the lock as she is loaded. So I had to open the paddles and allow some water down to enable the boat to crawl over the lock cill and finally into the lock chamber. By this time the pair of boats coming down were waiting to use the lock. I was told by one of the ladies on the boats, that the pound was low all the way, which did not bode to well for us, because we need deep water. We said our goodbye's. I wished them well for their trip and then went on our way. As it turned out the pound was not to bad at all. We arrived at The Globe Inn, Linslade and were able to moored right outside the pub, which was really nice. Whilst I mopped the bow deck down and the gunwales, Hubby was checking out the lunchtime menu, so i saw my chance to say we would eat out for lunch. Yayyyy no cooking tonight. Having locked up the boat, we had a lovely Fish and Chip dinner, for puds hubby had a Treacle Pudding with Custard and I had Pot du Chocolat which was ohhhhhhhhh so yummy. It is always such a treat to eat out. Back on the boat, I have tried to get a signal for the TV, but it is not looking good grrrrrrr. So the DVD collection will come out again.

Boating in the rain.

Hi Friends.

Having had a fantastic nights sleep, I woke up at 7.30am and heard the boat Two Jays heading off from their overnight mooring. Even though I nodded off for another half an hour, I knew that I would have to get up, because Pad needed to go out to do what all dogs need to do in the morning.
I got dressed, put on my shoes and Pad was ready and waiting to go out. Once the bed is put away in the cupboard, he sits and waits by the back steps, ready for me to open the door. With lead on and poo spade in hand, we set off across the park. The one thing that Campbell Park is lacking are Poo Bins. There is not one to be seen anywhere. I am gonna have to write into the Council and suggest they put some bins around the park. I have not even seen any litter bins, and yet the park is very tidy. Walk over, back on the boat Pad and Marmite were given their breakfast and we then ate ours. It was then time to say cheerio to Pam and Mac on NB Mona Lisa, as they were heading off in the other direction. Just as we cast off and left the mooring, some wet stuff began to fall from the sky.
Yippee it was raining.
It was wonderful to feel the wet stuff on my face. I did put on my coat and hat, but did not bother with the waterproof trousers, as it is still humid. To begin with, the rain was only light to begin with. But as we approached Fenny Stratford, 3.7miles 1hr 30mins, the rain started to fall heavily. As we rounded the corner, I was amazed to see that the Fenny Stratford moorings above the lock were empty, so we decided to pull in and moor up. No point getting soaked for no reason, as we are not in a hurry. Not sure what we will do for the rest of the day though. I need to clean the brass in the back cabin, as it is looking a bit dull. But apart from that it will be a realxing time I think.

Baking Sunday and not just the heat.

Hello fellow bloggers or blog readers.


When I went to bed last night, I had no sooner put my head on my pillow, when I heard from not to far away 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor. There must have been a party going on somewhere near. I did see a Circus tent up in the park, so maybe it was coming from there. Then hubby joined me and I heard 'Good Vibrations' by The Beach Boys. I was beginning to wonder if they knew something I did'nt ha ha ha. As it turned out there were no vibrations of any sort, as we were way to hot and tired, but I did survive.

We had a lay in and I did not get up till gone 8.30am. If it had not been for the mutt needing his walk, I could have easily of lay in bed for another hour. But as I am not an owner who just opens the doors and allows him to walk himself, I had to get up and take him for his morning stroll, on what was a very breezy morning. It actually felt like there was rain in the air, with the dark clouds looming overhead, but it did not materialize into anything and soon the sun was shining once more. They say the sun always shines on the good, so this must mean I am very, very, very good......... Not.

After breakfast, I was in a baking mood, so thought before it got to warm, I would bake us a Victoria Sandwich, so got out all of the ingredients and put two sponge tins in the oven for 15 minutes and hey presto a Cake was born.

Now I did not learn that much at school, but I did learn how to make great cakes, even though I say so myself. After the cake was caked and was cooling ready for its Jam and Butter Icing filling, I put a quiche in the oven to cook for tonights dinner. That way we could have it cold with potatoes. There would be no need to have the cooker on then later, making the boat hot inside. With all that done, I spent the next couple of hours chatting to Mac and Pam. Boater's always find things to chat about, there is never a dull moment for us. I made us all a cuppa, because nattering is a thirsty business and it was my turn to brew up. Some of the stories that Pam and Mac tell are hilarious, I could spend all day nattering, but it was then lunchtime and the F1 GP was about to start, so we went our seperate ways for a couple of hours. The race was a fantastic race from Silverstone and congratulations to Mark Webber for winning. It was nice we had Brits in 2nd and 4th. Lewis Hamilton came in 2nd and Jenson Button was 4th, having come through the field from 14th on the grid. Race over and it was back to some more nattering with Pam and Mac. I had asked Pam about making me some porthole lace for 5 portholes and low and behold she had already made me 2 bless her. So I paid her for the 2 and she is gonna make me 3 more and put them in the post to me for October, when we are back on the coal run. I am not in any hurry, these new ones will be spares.

All in all we have had an excellent day. I am so glad we did not move off this morning. I have really enjoyed Pam and Mac's company. We are all heading off tomorrow, we are heading to Fenny Stratford and they are heading back to Cosgrove. But no doubt we will see them again very soon. This evening will be spent in front of the TV watching the World Cup Final between Spain and Holland. I am backing Spain. I just hope that is not the kiss of death on them.

Fast food and great conversation.

Hi Folks.


Well what a fantastic day I have had. We walked into town through the park, which is fantastic. If you have never been to Milton Keynes, you really should come and have a look at the town and the park, it is lovely. Our first destination was looking for somewhere to have a drink, because in this heat wave, which we are having at the moment, taking on fluids is important. We ended up at the outdoor market, having a coffee from one of the cafe vans, which was actually really not bad. The outdoor market is a mixture of fashions, fruit and veg, shoes and bits and bobs. I reckon you can buy most things there. With the heat building, it was nice to get into the shopping centre and the air conditioning. Milton Keynes has a massive shopping centre, which has all the usual stores, but it does not have a Primark, which is a huge disappointment to me. So if anyone is reading this from Primark, please open a store in Milton Keynes. I love Primark.
Why you ask?
Because their clothing is cheap. Living on and working a boat does not warrant expensive clothing, because it gets dirty very quickly and can be ruined in no time. So I either go to Charity Shops or Primark. Mind you some of the Charity Shops have got very expensive of late. I will not name, names they know who they are. You can no longer get a bargain in some of them, which is a real shame.
Having walked around the shops and bought a couple of items. None of them exciting believe me, we decided to go to Pizza Hut for some lunch. Normally we would go for a Chinese Buffet, but we fancied a change and a Pizza was the order of the day, with a nice cold drink. I think the last time we had a Pizza was in Milton Keynes a year ago. That is how much we eat Pizza's lol. Lunch over we wandered back to the boat, through the park and came upon a Cricket match going on at the Milton Keynes Cricket Ground. It was way to hot to be running up and down a cricket ground, that is definite, but the game must go on it seems. We left them to it and were soon approaching the boat, where Mac and Pam were setting up shop on the boat NB Mona Lisa.
As they worked we chatted and drank coffee and chatted some more. Before we knew it, it was time to feed Paddy and run the generator. Pam makes cabin lace and is going to make me some port hole lace, which is great, because it is not easy to get hold of. I am only to happy to pay her for her hard work.
Whilst the generator ran, I did a laundry wash and hung it in the engine room and on the stern. It will not take to long to dry in this heat. Although a nice breeze has got up, so who knows we may get a cooler night.
At this moment in time, we are watching the TV and enjoying another cold drink. I think we must have drunk gallons today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Grumpy Old Woman.

Morning all.

Done my Grumpy Old Woman bit already at 8.15am, with a woman whose dog ran at Paddy growling. Paddy was on his lead behaving himself.
The woman said "Does your dog not like other dogs".
My reply ot her was. "My dog loves other dogs. But I chose to have him on a lead to avoid dogs like yours".
I told her. " Your dog should be on a lead". But she walked off just saying ok in a snide tone.
I was clearly in the right, because Paddy was under control, so why do I feel like I was in the wrong arghhhhhhhh?

It is going to be a scorcher again today. I am so glad we have some shade under trees.
We are going into town this morning for a mooch around the Market and shops. We have already decided we will catch the bus and not walk, because it is already hot out. I am sure as a woman I will come back with something. It will not be shoes or handbags, because I don't do them. I do however need some t-shirts for working in. Boring I know, but needed. I am hoping we may even have some lunch in town, which will mean I do not have to do anything on the boat for dinner tonight. I hate cooking when its hot and we are now getting cheesed off with salads. I think I have done every sort of salad their is. But if you can come up with another idea please let me know, as I am running out of ideas.

I am listening to the local radio and they are talking about a pub, which has already got up their Christmas decorations. Are they totally barking mad, or is this a ploy.
I actually think they are barking mad, but it could work in their favour, because everyone locally is now talking about the pub, so maybe they will get more Christmas bookings due to this ploy. or it could go horribly wrong, and people will avoid it like the plague.

Right I am off. I may post later, if I am not to cream crackered. Have a lovely day.

Good afternoon.

Phewwwww its hot, hot, hot. There was a distinct lack of sleep last night onboard...
It was all due to the heat and no not what your thinking. The boat was not rocking all night. It was way to hot for that. We were both awake to hear the start of the dawn chorus. One little bird started it off and then the choir joined in one by one. It was really quite magical.
We left the Cosgrove mooring having spoken to Hazel the mooring warden. Hazel makes fantastic, Rag Rugs if you are looking for someone to make you one. Other than that we can sell you one of ours lol.
It was nice to see our first Canada Geese of the year with their young. There are non up on the Leicester Section, that we have seen over the Winter. Another bird missing up there as well is the Heron. Maybe they need to come and see the surrounding, they would definitely stay if they did.
With only the one lock to do, which was done with a hire boat, we had a lovely cruise to Wolverton, where we stopped to go to Tesco for a food shop. I got more salad stuff and squash to drink. In this weather we all need to keep our fluid levels up, otherwise we could dehydrate. Back onboard, I unpacked the shopping whilst we moved.

We met the fleet of 7 working boats travelling from Paddington to Atherstone carrying gravel, trust us to meet them at a bridge 'ole! It was fabulous to see them all, doing the job they were built for. The draw back for them and for us as a working boat loaded is the other boats on the cut, who do not have a clue what they are doing. My advice is stay well out of the way of the gravel boats, especially the ones that are towing, because they cannot stop easily. We did not have a problem, because we knew what they were going to be doing, so kept out of their way enough for them to come straight through. Not sure whether the two hire boats behind us, would have known to have kept clear.
Because we had one of the hire boats up our stern having let the gravel boats go through, we decided to pull over at The Black Horse, Great Lindon, and let both boats pass, as they probably had to get back to the hire company. We waved them on and let them pass. What happened next was extremely annoying. No sooner they past us and we moved back out into the channel, they decided to pull in and moor up.

Why oh why did they not shout to us they were going to moor up?

That way we would have just kept going arghhhhhhhhhh. Don't get me wrong I love hirers I really do, but these really annoyed me.

So we pasted them, and went on our way. We are now moored near Gulliver's Milton Keynes. 7.1 miles, 1 lock, 3hrs 15mins. We will be here for the weekend now. I have just made us some salad wraps for lunch with Garlic Mayo, and I think for dinner we will be having burgers in buns, as it is way to hot to cook.