Mon 19th Feb. 2007

Toot-toot, Sarah-Kate went, as she slid past the bedroom window. Mike pulled in behind us and hopped it to Crick for the shops. At 8:30am it’s time I got up and put the place to rights because V’s back in a few of hours and it looks like I’ve had friends round.

With cooked breakfast over it’s now time for elevenses with Mike on his return from the shops with scrummy cakes.
Natter-natter, as you do, and we parted, Mike through the tunnel and me to washing up two days of dirty dishes.

“Hello, how are you, put your feet up, cleared the list of jobs and I expect you’re ready for a cup of tea”. V’s home again. Phew, nothing out of place.

Sarah-Kate steamed back through the tunnel and parked up. Pizza was split three ways with Mike, to be followed by more nattering aboard Balmaha until well into the evening.
Jo – we can vouch for him over these two days, after that he has to make his own excuses.

Tues 20th
Departed Crick, following Sarah-Kate, heading north towards Welford and Foxton.

Getting to know the area a little better we noted the footpath over Crack’s Hill to May’s Crick Boat Show should we decide to attend without booking space outside the marina.

This is the other side of Crack’s Hill upon which will appear someday a small Stonehenge. Apparently, the stones will give an indication of the time of year. Presumably the trees will have gone so that walkers will need another form of season indicator. Four mirrors on top of the stones will be too high at 3.5 metres to be of any use for those of a clothes conscious nature and, providing naughty boys can’t reach and destroy, will visually mark the calendar points when the sun breaks through the clouds.

Bursts of white appear in the woods as we pass carpets of snow drops. Daffs are already showing opening buds in gardens bordering the canal. Haven’t seen wild primroses yet but there are plenty of the cultivated kind in pots amongst the winter pansies.

We caught up and passed Sarah-Kate (our turn to toot-toot) and continued to bridge 60 before stopping for the night.

Some days one sees funny things and today was one of them. Sitting down with a cuppa we heard an engine at high revs somewhere behind us. Looking out the stern doors we saw a boat reversing out of the bushes on the offside. The steerer must have lost concentration on the bend and buried his boat in the thorn bushes. This boat, a private one, was the same one we’d seen having “problems” at Watford locks the other day, only now it had different occupants.
It must be the boat.

Wed 21st
Up and about before the others we dashed for Foxton Locks. A short wait for two boats ascending and we were off down, accompanied by a lock keeper (the one who doesn’t exist – Milton Keynes) and a couple out with their grandchildren. Together we were down in no time at all and the children enjoyed pushing and pulling the gates while I enjoyed being in charge.

It was good news from Locky, MK have asked him to stay after giving him the elbow. Good, hope he stays on, he’s blooming useful for boaters.

Straight out of the locks and up to Debdale where we filled with diesel (gone down to 44p / litre – YES) and we booked a hull blacking slot in October. They pull her out, remove the crud and we slap paint on like there’s no tomorrow. A couple of days later we’re back in the water and scraping it off on the steel piling along the Leicester Arm.

What a day. Heading back south towards Market Harborough we found more wood for the fire. No one about this time so we whizz it out of the bushes and onto the stern deck. Down to three bags of coal so this will help a lot.

Dredging is still going apace, they’re working 7am to 7pm and this is winter. You wouldn’t recognise the canal now, nothing like the summer months when we couldn’t see over the reeds.
We used to have to post a lookout for other boats and all you could see was a head skimming the reeds in the distance. If it bobbed up and down it was a walker, if it didn’t bob then it was Bob the boater so watch out, slow down. One day we turned the corner and found two canoes, nearly had them both. But those days are gone, the canal here on the Harborough Arm, is wide and deep (well, almost deep).

Our usual stop-over between bridges 8 and 9 was calling. Dived below because we’d been pumping engine cooling water into the bilge. Doesn’t seem to have been leaking from the filler cap so high pressure isn’t to blame (thoughts of Vic’s blown cylinder head on No Problem came to mind), so wrapped paper around the hose connections as a ‘tell-tale’. Must look at that in a day or two’s time.

Thurs 22nd Feb
Cruising on towards Union Wharf at Harbro’ we passed the old glue factory. For ‘old’ we should say ‘new’ because the old smell has long gone and the old factory ironwork is replaced by shiny stainless steel pipes.

Not long after Gartree prison was built (1960’s) the distinctive smell of bone processing at this factory was addressed and virtually eliminated. A taste of what it must have been like can still be detected on hot sultry days as one cruises alongside the factory yard.

Pulling in at Harbro’s visitor’s moorings (yes, the last space) we get a visit from No.1 daughter Kass who’s working in the area. Natter-natter, cups of tea and she’s off again but not before we get a knock on the roof from Tim.

Tim, who tested the icy cold canal water in these parts just after Christmas, popped in to say hello and share the news. Especially good was to hear how hot it was in Greece. Then he was off for a good night’s sleep on Emerald Dream ready for his cruise down south.
A special “Hi” to Jill who wasn’t with Tim today.

Oh, and a funny request came by email from those nice people at GOBA (Great Ouse Boating Association). They want to use our Blog pictures taken in the Fens for the new issue of GOBA News. Bit flattered really.

Fri 23rd
Saw Tim reverse down to the services point and then set off on his travels aboard Emerald Dream. If you see him going south on the ‘Oxford’ towards the Thames then invite him in for tea and get to know him. He’s a lovely guy.

Walked to the shops in Harbro, yes walked, yes me.

As a special treat we have moved onto moorings inside the basin alongside the hire boats so we can get our hands on the electrikery. This is mostly to do with giving the batteries a boost. It also means we can play computers, watch tele and leave lights on. And we have a water point right next to the boat, in fact they all have a little tap and a lecky point right by the mooring rings – brilliant.

Sat 24th
It’s good fun watching Canaltime boats come back to base and watching them spin in the basin before reversing into their little slots beside us. Some seem to whack us no matter how many ropes they have over the side. Then it’s scrub, scrub, scrub and they’re ready to go out again.

An older couple had watched the video and weren’t sure about their boating skills and their weed hatch and bilge pump responsibilities so they decided to stay in the marina to experience the boating sensation (ah bless). If only we had time to take them out and show them how much fun they were missing.

Today’s a ‘dear diary day’. I’m also commissioned to write an article for a member’s magazine. Not easy for me because I’m a maths person not a literature person. Good job I’ve got help by my side.

Spoke to Sue (No Problem) her computer is still away for repair. The new boat sounds like it’s coming on well, with a new coat of paint to follow and then the bruise-cruise, where the new paint gets tested.

It’s also a Six Nations Rugby afternoon. Turn the aerial for best picture and no one speaks until half time.

Sun 25th Feb 2007
We moved out of the boat basin at 10.30am to finish our time on the visitor’s moorings in readiness for the hire company’s influx of weekend hirers. And in they came, in dribs and drabs at first then one after the other with only minutes between them.

And it’s a treat day for us, Mike and Pat called in on their day out. Bearing gifts and loads of laughter we caught up with life in their new house and compared differences with floating homes like Hyper-onion and Balmahaha.
Lovely to see them enjoying life (decorating, carpet laying, fitting LED lights) and taking advantage of broadband where it’s offered. My lips are sealed.

Last of all, well fed and watered, there’s no incentive to do anything else but sit around and catch a few rays while the sun shines, oh, and write the Blog.

Tomorrow we’re off again. This time we’re going north to Leicester in time for the new round of Bash Defra meetings on March 4th. This gives us a chance to shop in town if we need to before we head out to the sticks and maybe the start of an exciting cruise across country.

Sunday 11th Feb 2007

Still sat on the canal side at Brinklow. It was quiet yesterday, which was a surprise considering it is the start of half term school holidays, Overnight we shared the moorings with just two other boats. Today there are dozens of them about and this evening they swarmed on our piece of canal bank, lights went on and chimneys smoked as they all got down to evening meals and tele. I counted eighteen boats by 6 o’clock.

12th Feb
We crept away early, at least we thought it was early but there’s always someone who manages to beat us and the first was on his travels by 8 o’clock. We headed south towards Rugby where we stopped for a short shop in Tesco before continuing on our way.

Met a funny fella at Newbold Tunnel water point, he was hobbling about on a broken foot and within ten minutes we knew so much about him, his confrontations with boat builders, his spell ‘inside’ and his boat problems. His infectious laugh, whenever he mentioned his various misfortunes, was catching and we left him with a sense of gratitude for our lot in life.

We watched a kestrel fly along the canal and swoop up onto a branch over our heads as we chugged along a wooded cutting and further on saw a beautiful yellowy-green woodpecker climb tree trunks next to an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rugby. Unsure which model he was but I’m assuming he’s the little lad on the left, a grey-headed woodpecker because he didn’t have the bright red cap like the green woodpecker.

The forecast isn’t good and they promise us a lousy week of rain and cold so we’re making as much of these dry grey skies as we can, pushing the boat further south.

Didn’t get far before a shower caught up with us. The shower turned to rain and the temperature dropped. Fingers got cold and water was getting into my shoes so an umbrella went up. Passing under the M45 east of Coventry we’d had enough. As often happens we closed down and stoked the fire, hanging shoes and wet clothes inside the stern doors just as the sun came out. Marvellous isn’t it.
The evening was dry with a glorious sunset.

13th Feb
Off to Braunston today, destination Crick. Don’t know why but I always check my neck when I hear that name.
Saw a delightful little house on the Braunston flight, all narrow and tall and not too many windows.

Took the next picture as we left the lock at the side of the house because I’ve gone off it all of a sudden – looks like he might have a damp problem in the cellar.

Further on we stopped to pick up wood from the bushes and got chased off. This wasn’t BW’s trimmings but the landowner’s firewood so after apologising and promising to return it he relented and insisted we take what we wanted if we helped him demolish a fallen tree. All ended happily and with a fresh log store, whistling a happy tune we continued on our way.

Braunston tunnel was a doddle, no one in there. The usual waterfall just before the exit but we side stepped most of it and came out into a patch of bright sunshine.
Clumps of gorse at the field edges are filling with yellow blossom which reminds me of the journeys I used to make across the New Forest on the A31 years ago and the ribbons of yellow gorse early in the year, followed by its unspiky cousin, the broom.

14th Feb
Arrived at Watford locks to find notices still posted saying no entry without seeing the lock keeper. Both the boat at the top and us at the bottom agreed we shouldn’t wait for their return in March so we both set off, planning to meet at the passing bay. No sooner were we tied up and helping the boat coming down, but another boat popped into the lock behind us. Feeling generous I let them know this was awfully bad practise as someone would have to reverse down the locks again. “Didn’t know staircase locks were different to normal ones” she says, and “What is the difference between those red and white ground paddles?” she asked. Oh dear, it really is time someone at Milton Keynes nailed some instructions up for the holiday makers.

As if that wasn’t enough we entered Crick tunnel and saw a boat inside heading towards us flashing his light on and off. Oh dear, has he broken down? Better proceed with caution. Flashed my light back acknowledging him and he flashed again. As we passed each other the fella on the hire boat was heard to remark “I didn’t know you could do that”.
I wonder how long he’d been waiting at the other end for boats to clear before he started in.

Jolly wet inside Crick tunnel today.

Finished with engines close to the wharf at Crick and one of us went to the Post Office. Came back grinning with a “Guess what!” our boat is featured in Canals & Rivers magazine. Sure enough there is Balmaha as she was in March 2006. Cor, looked a whole lot tidier then than she does today.
The article must have affected me because I polished the roof vents, they were in a terrible state. Must check the umbrella, it’s sure to rain. And it did, that night.

15th Feb
Took a call from Mike (ex nb.Hyperion). He and Pat have transferred to a house and sold their boat. I bet they’re still sad about it because we are. It won’t be the same not having them plodding around the canal network 24/7 like us. Thanks for keeping a few bits for us Mike, we’ll treasure them and maybe get them engraved with your names, perhaps not the fanbelt.
Their boat is on sale at Used Boat Co, Hanbury Wharf and a real bargain. Someone will save tens of thousands when Hyperion sells.

It’s a painting day and an anode experiment day. Bench tests prove the forced anode theory works, now to test the real thing.

16th Feb
It works!! A magnesium anode suspended below an inflated fender and connected to a battery through a fuse and series resistor plates the hull with magnesium. Rusty scratches just below the waterline change to a black coating at first and then to a greyish white finish. Looks like we can delay hull blacking for a while.
I should explain. A movable anode only hits the rust near the water surface, the stuff that the fixed anodes don’t reach. Actively forcing the magnesium with 12 volts does the job in 24 hours and is much faster than passive plating.

Talking of rust, thought we’d stumbled upon a new trial of plastic paddle racks on a lock we saw earlier.

Had to get up really close to see what material was being used because it looked just like plastic or bakelite. Of course it turned out to be made of iron and was rusting nicely, waiting for the rack guides and cogs and a fresh coat of grease.

It’s time for battery tests and a look-see at voltages. Capacity has halved from what we were getting this time last year so it’s time to see what’s going on. Articles in journals advise us to expect up to 50% drop in available power in very cold conditions and these batteries are effectively outside because of the cruiser stern. Nothing to report on the terminal voltages, they’re all the same. Electrolyte above the plates in all the cells and gently gassing as the charge current levels out at 4 amps. Must be ‘liveaboard’ syndrome.

I never tire of watching the birds on the nuts and seeds feeder in the bushes. We have great tits, blues, robins, finches and even a sparrow, those rarest of things. When blue tits pick out the seed they want from the feeder they throw what they don’t want onto the ground. This suits the moorhens which wander in and out of the ground ivy picking up the discarded seed.

17th Feb
On my own today. V’s gone visiting and I can do what I like. Lynyrd Skynyrd gets turned up loud for a start. I can eat when I like which usually means it’s late. The fire goes out and no one cares, there’s wires and bits of electronics left out all over the boat, washing up waits until it needs to be done and I go to bed when I’m tired.
By the evening all the boats on this section of the canal have left, barring one and I think he is working away. Don’t they like noise or what?

I’m reminded that Tina at Ringwood called last week. She and her Mr. are planning a narrowboat build. Well done you two, take your time, research thoroughly and ask everyone all the questions you can think off before ordering.

18th Feb- Sunday
I’m still on my own and there are no boats around here. What’s the matter, didn’t I wash this morning?
The weather has changed for the better so the paintbrush is out again. I wire brushed the steelwork next to the anode experiment and can’t find any rust. Tomorrow it will move down the boat a little way and we’ll see if the rust reappears.

Here’s one for the book - moorhens love sultanas.

Looked at other Blogs and Sue hasn’t posted for a while. Guess she’s not got No Problems. Chas on Moore 2 Life confirms suspicions – Sue’s computer is down so No Problem won’t be reporting today.

Ducks are head bobbing like mad and chasing each other above and below water. Must be spring.

6th Feb 2007
Sunrise over Rugby, a sheet of ice covers the canal. Everyone is waiting for someone else to break the ice before moving away from these 24 hour moorings.

With solid ice around us we lock up and walk to Tesco for supplies.

Browsing the shelves we bump into Jo Edwards, Mum in Law and husband Mike (lying low in the café) from nb.Sarah-Kate. Mike tells us that our next DEFRA protest is booked for the first weekend in March at Leicester.
A boat blockade and a banner parade should make our feelings known to the Press and local MPs.
Back at the boat for an early lunch we spot a narrowboat quitting her moorings and heading south. Smashing the ice around us and breaking its grip on Balmaha we take the opportunity to slip out into deep water, heading northwest towards Brinklow.
Passing a boat coming the other way we can enjoy an easier cruise through the channel he’s cut in the ice.
The coloured lights in Newbold Tunnel mark the outskirts of town and we enter the silence of a wooded cutting before breaking out into open countryside again.

7th Feb
We’re iced in again, the canal has frozen over.
Our windows are covered in Jack’s frost and condensation has formed ice beads on the aluminium frames. Stoking the fire warms the cabin again and we run the gauntlet under the roof hatch drips.
Outside it is very picturesque with a deep frost covering the ground. A black and white cat off the boat behind us explores the towpath as smoke rises lazily from boat chimneys.

The sheep seem to be coping well, a spell of lying down is followed by more grazing. No lambs to be seen in these parts.

The weather forecast warns of snow tonight so it’s time to split logs and pile them in the bow, under the cratch canvas.

Persuaded to walk the odd mile or so to Stretton Stop before the towpath puddles melt, I got a chance to look around the Chandlery and came away with two reels of wire, ready for a bathroom lighting job.

Sometime in the night a coal boat smashed its way through the ice but although it went fine in a straight line it gave up the struggle at the bend and was forced to moor up for the rest of the night.

8th Feb
We’re snowed in, about 2” thick. Temperatures rose a fraction during the day but it’s jolly cold outside today. Our fire is burning nothing but wood as we try to keep the heat flowing through the boat. Again it’s a real snowy picture outside but the sheep don’t seem to be bothered. Rabbits can be seen scampering around a grassy hillock and occasionally making a run for it across the field to someone else’s burrow. Wagtails have taken to walking on the ice picking at the duck’s breadcrumbs, the ducks keeping to a tight timetable appearing twice a day, morning and evening, pecking on Balmaha’s side as they pass.

There’s no point in going outside so chipped away at the jobs list by burying a couple of loudspeakers under the gunwales and testing them with a Lynyrd Skynyrd double album discovered at Tescos in Rugby. ‘LS’ takes me back to our time aboard chemical tankers crossing the Pacific between west coast US and Japan. I’m now looking for a ‘Best of Ted Nugent’ to complete the memories.

9th Feb
Snow-sleet-snow all day. Temperatures have hardly moved, so the picture outside hasn’t changed. We’re really getting through the wood now, glad we stocked up at Foxton and again at Watford. Thanks Roger.
We’re experimenting with a magnesium anode in an effort to tackle the rust below the water line. Can’t report an instant success and it’s back to the drawing board.

10th Feb - Saturday
Bit of a grey day, occasional light rain and absolutely no point in doing much outside apart from battery checks that are due this week.
All the ice has gone and boats are taking advantage of the ‘warm’ spell to fill water tanks at Stretton Stop, about a mile away.

Fitted an extra light in the bathroom, to banish the darkness on one side of the mirror. It does the job with a 10 watt lamp but it will be changed one day for low power consumption LEDs.

Just north of Rugby we watched rugby.
England played Italy, 20/7. Not terribly exciting.
Scotland played Wales, 21/9. Short on brilliance but lots of slog.
Commentators didn’t think a lot of either game. Scrappy they said.

Temperatures have risen and both the ice and snow have vanished. Another log hits the fire and the rain starts again.

The days are so short, light has gone by 5 o’clock. You might think nothing much is happening out here in the countryside, but the beauty of it all is the peace and quiet, nature’s subtle changes in the seasons, the variety of feathered visitors and the smiles and greetings from walkers and boaters as they pass our windows.
But at the same time we’re looking forward to barbeques, shorts and tee shirts and rosy red sunsets at 10pm.

Tuesday 6th Feb

Happy Birthday Kass

Could it be only yesterday you were sitting on my knee on our last boat?

How did you get to be 29 all of a sudden?
Ahhh, those were the days, we were all young then.

Enjoy your day and don’t do anything your mother wouldn’t.

Love,
Mum and Dad

Monday 29th Jan 2007

It’s time to move south. New lambs have appeared in the fields and they look so delicate. Curious about us, they turn and stare with big eyes and sticky out ears and then their little legs wobble as they scamper off to check out mummy’s tummy.

Crick tunnel was as wet as any we’d seen and we received a black skid mark on our green paint thanks to a road hog on a recently built boat (you know who you are ‘DM’, shame on you).

Watford locks was set for us by Challenger boat nb.Norfolk, thanks, and with no lock keeper we were down in 30 minutes.
The old lock keeper’s cottage looks just the place to call when there’s no ‘blue shirt’ around. There is a sign on the fence but it’s tempting to knock on the door and call out. I bet they get a lot of unwelcome visitors in the winter.

Mooring close to ex - bridge 4, south of the A5, we have a soft south westerly breeze and not a whisper from the M1, A5 and mainline railway. The field adjacent has lost its crop of corn since we were here last year when the helicopter incident happened and now the whole place seems deserted – just how we like it.

Tuesday 30th
This is a quiet spot, in terms of boaters and walkers, just three boats in a day and only one towpath walker.
The bird feeder is doing well in the bushes, chaffinches running around on the ground while great tits and blue tits attend to the bird feeder above them. A lone heron and speeding kingfisher are all the others we have for company.

Fished for one hour, a tiddler almost landed after 15 minutes and then nothing. Must check and see when the closed season starts.**
It’s no coincidence we are here, we’ve arranged to meet Roger and Babs on nb.Megan on one of their extra long weekends. Boaters with years of experience they are our sounding board for new ideas and a wealth of information on boaty things.

31st Jan
The fields are frosty this morning, forecasts are right, the night temperature is dropping and we have frozen condensation on the window frames.
Fitted a ‘rubber duck’ aerial on the bedroom roof for V’s Dab radio. That should ensure the Archers can be heard while the engine is running.

Then the wind turned to the north and we could hear the motorway again and it sounded like the truckers were playing tubular bells with their air-horns, very amusing I’m sure.
This is Northamptonshire county, rose of the shires says the welcome sign and just as dusk threatened to descend a red and green monster from the next county loomed into view as nb.Megan hoved-to alongside.

An easy 5 hours from Napton, Roger and Babs found us a couple of miles up on this Leicester section of the Grand Union, bearing gifts (tree branch) and supplies (LED torch and military music) We shared food and caught up on news until heads nodded and we climbed into cots.

1st Feb, Thursday.
Raking the fire ashes and pulling the blinds started the new month. By 8.30am BW’s contractors caught us up having walked all the way from Crick strimming the hedge rows and followed by two rakers strolling along miming a pendulum clock.

Yet another tree branch arrived at Balmaha. Rog’ has a nose for these things and we are now fully stocked and fit for a repeat of the winter of ‘62.

The odd screeching buzzard circles overhead while the fishing rod produces nothing. While the girls walk to the locks the men chat, eat and drink. This is a day to relax, tomorrow we might do the chores.

2nd Feb
Today it’s the turn of the mower, cutting the tops off the worm casts on the tow path. An hour later the machine returned, followed by a couple of rakers searching for grass. This is simply amazing. A little later Miss/Mrs BW passes us noting boat names and I presume licences. I asked if it made sense to place notices at Foxton and Watford locks when lock keepers were hibernating so that new boaters didn’t get confused by the red and white ground paddles and flood the side pounds. Point noted, Milton Keynes will be advised.

The summer notices “Don’t enter the locks without seeing either Him or Her” are still attached to the locks at Watford. There is no Him or Her in the winter months but hire boats wouldn’t know that would they?

Three of us went for a walk today, returning with more wood for the fire. There’s an excellent dead tree spotter in our midst, is there any stopping him. Is it right to keep him to ourselves, shouldn’t we hire him out to busy stretches of canal in the winter?

Beautifully painted and very modern narrowboat nb.William towing complimentary coloured butty ‘Anne’ passed us heading for Watford Locks. It’s good to see some boat humour in the markings “Rusholme Ruffians, Canal Plagiarists, Strangeways, Here We Come”

Saturday 3rd Feb
Minus three this morning. Brrrrr. Ice on top of ice on top of window frames. Up with the lark we cut loose from the canal bank and convoyed to Braunston with nb.Megan. Braunston tunnel showed its usual wiggle mid way and showered water down one’s neck. Our timing was bad because we hit the marina with the Ownership’s open day in full swing.

Boats in and out, up and down, turning at the junction with the Oxford just as we could do with a quiet hour to moor and shop in the village. Plan B came into force and we spent a few minutes at Midland Chandlers followed by the water point and then down the left hand turn to stop opposite the long termers between bridge 95 and 96.
My turn to walk (someone wanted to see France play Italy) so Rog’ and I called at the marina to sample the atmosphere and then through the remaining chandlers and on up to the village for a few comestibles, arriving back in time to see England play Scotland. Result.

And what a brilliant day, wall to wall sunshine and lots of happy smiling faces. We ate out – R&B ate in. Thanks you two for a lovely evening, super food, super company.

Sunday 4th
Minus 2. Its not so bad today, except the fire went out. Cold weekends keep me fit, turning the bacon, watching the toast, running up and down catching the drips as the roof hatches thaw whilst trying to keep my balance as boats part the waters between us and the plastic fella moored opposite.

Sadly, waved R&B on their way back towards Napton, their boating break is over for a few weeks. See you at Easter if not before. Lovely people.

Walked again, this is a record. Up to the marina, the chandlers and back, stopping to talk about wind generators vs solar panels with nb.Wild Sorrel. Can’t decide which and still need more input. Might talk to Chas again on nb.Moore 2 Life.

Later - Wales played Ireland – what a match (9:19).

Our internet signal isn’t brilliant but it’s time to see how Elsie and Eric are doing after the launch of their new boat Bendigedig, see how Mark and Lorain are progressing with their new build nb.Lorimar and catch up with Vic and Sue as they refit the new No Problem.

Monday 5th
Gert cold, as they say in Bristol. Stoked the fire and retired to bed with a cup of Earl Grey. Put the Eber on for a second hour and counted the Ownership’s boats passing by. The first one at 7:50am was Beeston Castle, followed by Castleber and an hour later you could hardly get a ciggy paper between them, all heading for Napton.

It’s no fun jumping out of bed to see who’s out and about so we got up and prepared to leave.
She walked to Braunston shops while I pootled on down to the water point and met her outside Midland Chandlers. Just had to go in and check for new canal boat gimmicks, nuffink.

Chatted to an ‘old hand at hiring’ about his experiences and the state of his latest Clifton Cruisers boat as we watched our water tanks fill and then headed north for the countryside. There followed a quiet cruise into the mist and drizzle and it almost snowed before the sun cracked the sky open a little on the approaches to Hillmorton locks. We were heading for Rugby just because it seemed the thing to do. Hate hanging around too long and a good few hour’s bash on the canal puts everything right. Jolly cold, the coldest we’d experienced for a long time and it took a few hours to de-chill when we finally stopped at the park opposite Tescos.

A quick walk down to Wickes and Halfords for plumbing bits and loudspeakers and I was done in. Food shopping is less important so we can do that tomorrow (you can tell who's writing this!!).
These Rugby moorings are 24 hours max so we must move on tomorrow. Haven’t decided where we’re going yet, I volunteered Banbury, we both discounted Coventry, may as well sit tight within striking distance of Braunston. The tele says it’s going to snow, so we may have to hibernate for a while and Braunston isn’t a bad place to be.

P.S.
** No need to worry about the fishing on these here canals. Just did a check on EA’s website and there doesn’t appear to be a closed season for coarse fishing on canals as they are “still waters”. Will have to watch myself if we transit Leicester between March 15th and June 15th because the canal turns to a river on route through Aylestone Meadows. Now where did I put those worms?