Welsh Surf n Turf

It has been some time since I last ventured west to visit my matey Paul in Wales.
We couldnt meet up last weekend as he was in Paris watching the mighty Welsh Rugby team lose to France.

We have been close friends for the last 20yrs.
Paul managed to escape from London and return to the land of his fathers several years ago. He found an old barn in Monmouthshire which was being converted into a house and within a few months had finally moved in and settled down to enjoy the fine views across the Wye Valley.






I arrived at Pauls about half past 8 friday evening and was greated by his two dogs Wellington and Katy.
A few sherberts later in the local hostalry saw us sitting up till the early hours talking and catching up on each others news. Katy however was ready for bed well before we were



Saturday dawned bright but breazy and our plans were to drive to the coast so that Paul and another friend called Jeff could show off their Surfing skills.....in march!!!.....We loaded up the car with 2 surf boards on the roof, large bags of wetsuits 2 dogs and 3 blokes.

They both regaled me with tales of daring do while riding the surf. I was impressed and firmed up my driving with much anticipation.
As we approached Cardiff the weather had turned and was now drizzling. After a two hour drive we finally arived at Ogmore beach with yells from the dudes of " yeah, lets surf" They jumped from the car skipping and leaping towards the sea wall where spray could be seen being whipped away on the wind. They came to a sudden stop. Their shoulders dropped as they looked across at the sea crashing against the cliffs and rocks and not a square of sandy beach in view. The tide was in. Being brave sufer dudes, not fearing wind or rain, they now huddled down into their jackets and we slouched back to the car and the heater.

Paul viewing the waves




Not to miss out on their water based activities, Paul suggested another beach further up the coast. We piled back into the car and headed a few miles further west. Upon our arrival, both Paul and Jeff surveyed the waves.



All seemed well until Paul spyed the Parasurfers and realising that their image might not stand up to the scrutiny of these aparant professionals we again retired to the car with excuses of "its too windy"



One final choice...Porthcawl near Bridgend. Very unlikely to have any snobby para surfers and the boys would finally be able to impress the local girls with their skills on the boards....Not....The tide was still high, the wind whipping the spray as the waves dashed against the rocks.








The intrepid adventurers gave the dogs a run across the cliffs and we then drove the 2 hours back home and headed off to the Pub to impress the locals of our tale of excitment and adventure.
After much quaffing of ale and long tales we finally returned home and enjoyed a fantastic barbeque of huge tiger prawns, and steak...it was only midnight and the night was still young.

A fantastic weekend. Our journey to the sea, although not a surfing success was actually a great little road trip with the three of us thouroughly enjoying the day.
I can recomend the Wye Valley beers and to top off the trip, Paul agreed to be Bestman this coming september.
Back at home now and the back cabin conversion resumes tomorrow.

Emblem again

When I sold Emblem I had some engine spares for the old Gardner 4L3W

For months they had been sitting in my mates stable in Wales and then in the boot of my car waiting for the new owner to arrange collection.

Eventually I got fed up of waiting and managed to lodge them at my daughters hse in Ramsgate thinking i might as well try and sell them on Ebay





Imagine my suprise when i gat a call from Ludwig, the new owner of Emblem asking about the engine bits...It turns out he's been very ill and was unabke to reply to my messages.

At last, I pleased to announced the parts will be going to Emblem to keep her running.

Time is catching up

It seems like everthing on board Lady Elgar is giving up the ghost just about the same time it was fitted aboard.

Last week the Loo cassettes finally had enough, and yesterday the washing machine decided it no longer had the energy to run a spin cycle.

On top of that, the grill on the oven no longer wishes to grill and one ring on the gas hob has decided it no longer wishes to remain lit.


Anything else?....oh yes.....the water pump is playing up.

Not to be down hearted we decided the gas oven and hob can keep us going till next year, the water pump is still just about working so we've ordered a new one as standby incase this one finally sighs its last breath. The washing machine however has had to be replaced.

We went to currys in Slough and chose a rather nice silver dryer model within our budget which had, written on the label......"last one instock...take home today"

The lady who came to our assistance informed us, we could have it delivered tomorrow (thursday) and take advantage of free delivery which also ends tomorrow, so we said....."oh yes me old hearties"

She then handed us over to her assistant who promptly made a complete hash of the whole affair. He told us it couldntbe delivered till next week....not a big problem....but when we asked..."how about if we take it now" he said "there isnt any in stock"....i took him and showed him the label on the machine we wanted and he said" that shouldnt be on there"....yet his collegue said it was in stock and we could take it today if we didnt like the delivery date!

We eventually agreed on a date next week and he swiped our debit card and then told us it needed authorising....after several attempts at getting through to the authorising phone number he then told us our card had been declined!!!!!!
It was our boat account and we had over £1000 in CREDIT!!

He then tried to tempt us to pay with a credit card but we pooh poohed his suggestions and we high tailed it to the bank and told them the story.....the bank clerk informed us there wa nothing wrong with the card and our account was healthy.

We then decided to return home and order our choice on the internet...I typed in our post code and model number and was informed that we could order our selected machine for collection at either the Slough branch or the West Drayton branch.

Not wishing to deal with Slough anymore.....having been told by them it wasnt available......i clicked on the West Drayton branch and the message came up that it would be ready for collection in 1 HOUR!!!!!

I then spent the next hour disconecting the old machine and sure enough...we went to the West Drayton branch and collected the reserved washing machine.....we use the same account card and it cleared without any request for authorisation at all.

7PM saw the new washer installed and going through its first wash with a minimum of fuss....I must admit however, If it hadnt been for a kind chap offering his help at the boatyard to lift the damn thing, It would still be sitting in the car even now...cant expect Laura to do lifting things.

So, what was the final thing to go wrong?
The bathroom light fitting gave in......is it because everything was fitted at the same time?......who knows....is it because Lady Elgar knows peanut is on the way and she want to have everything working prior to his/her arrival?

As you mayve guessed, my work in the back cabin has come to a stop due to all the other things suddenly needing attention, except that is for the Boatmans stove which is now sitting in the shed waiting for our neighbour simon to take possession

Pennies from Heaven

Aint t grand when you suddenly have a crisis, and you have to fork out for something which doesn't fit into your budget. Then, all of a sudden you remember 'Piggy' sitting on the shelf which, for the last few months has swallowed all your £2 coins.

On counting 'Piggies' contents this morning we found we had enough to replace the 'Elsan' porta loo plus spare cassette and a new water pump.

The 'Elsan' cassette's have a large handle at the front which one pulls out in order to dump the deposit into the holding tank.

We had in total 3 of these cassettes on board Lady Elgar which mustve been about 15 years old. well, the last one finally gave up the ghost yesterday when the handle finally sheared off.

Piggy to the rescue and a quick visit to Denham Marina, coz Highline and Uxbridge are closed on mondays, and we are now the proud owners of a Thetford465 plus spare cassette.

The water pump....well....its been getting slower and slower so tomorrow i will pop into Highline and order a new pump, again courtesy of piggy.

I like Piggy Banks :)

Its still winter

Time has just flown by since I last posted.

Below is a pic of the sofa/futon/bed we had in the saloon.




We now have so much more space ready for Peanut and the Stove has once again become a feature of the room rather than just a heat source




I have to confess my time on the PC has been taken up playing an old game of mine that i recently upgraded. Its a WW2 submarine simulation called Silent Hunter 3.....very addictive and time consuming.

So to combat the time spent in front of the PC we took a trip to Reading over the weekend and visited the Hobby supermarket.

I bought some Hessian sheets and a Rag Rugger with the intention of making a Rag Rug or two. I delved into my wardrobe and removed all clothing that I hadnt used for over a year ready for cutting into strips for the rug.


Laura decided she would try her hand at Latch Hook crochet and cross stitching,

Here is her Latch Hook masterpiece so far




After several hours work she has completed half of her picture. She has, thoughout those several hours had a go at me requesting to see how my rug is coming along.....Alas, those several hours have been spent cutting and stripping clothes ready for the big rag rug event....ps...the co-op cloth bags that you have to buy these days instead of plastic carrier bags make ideal rag bags to keep your strips of cloth in.

Rear cabin has now been measured and my plan is forming for converting it into our master bedroom. Work is due to commence at the end of this month.

Peanut's next scan is 23rd Feb. That will be the 20 week scan.

Current size is a small Grapefruit

Pics

The above pics show the saloon in its original plan and the top one shows the Boatmans stove and drop down table.

In my plans Im going to try and keep the artwork from the table but no idea yet how its going to work out.

Ive now got 5 days off and work will begin on stripping the backcabin ready for the rebuild.....it all goes downhill from here

Retro fit

When we first bought Lady Elgar the saloon was open plan, with a book shelf/sideboard along one side, a fixing for a removable table on the other side and 2 single leather reclining chairs for the crew.

Within 3 months of being in board, the chairs, which were Ikea jobs and very very comfey decided to give up the ghost after their 15 year life on board LE.

Our choice of replacement was a metal framed futon style sofa bed, the main reason being it was handy for when my daughter and grandaughter visited to be able to have a decent sized bed for them all to plonk themselves down on.

The downside for us was the ammount of space the sofa/bed swallowed up.

So, With the impending arrival of Salty Jnr we today decided to go retro and return to two single reclining chairs. The space now available in the saloon is fantastic, ideal for a small baby type person known as Peanut to be able to mess around and faff to his or her hearts content.

The next job on the list is......which cabin is going to be the nursery?
Last week we spent a couple of hours in Mothercare pricing up items and choosing bits and bobs that we need.
We have two choices. Our cabin is placed centrally in the boat and is a cross bed which we put up and take down each night, but gives us 6'2 x 6' bed space in which to slob about on, assisted by a tv/dvd/free sat telly for those cold winter nights.
Now, our only other cabin is the traditional boatmans cabin at the very stern of the boat. this is complete with Trad boatmans stove and table, however, we never use the thing except for taking off our coats in winter and hanging space for washing.

So, do we convert the Boatmans Cabin into a nursery and leave our centre cabin in tact, or do we convert both cabins, the back for self and Swmbo leaving the centre cabin free as a nursery......Ill post some pics to give a general idea.


ps peanut is now the size of an orange but will remain forever peanut to his/her parents

A very Merry Christmas

The festive period is well and truly upon us.

People are getting into the christmas spirit with Job Parties ranging from office 'do's' to disco's on Thames cruisers and theamed dress-up affairs where Henry the Eighth throws a christmas turkey leg across the dance floor for effect.

Our own works 'do' was organised for last Monday which alas, Laura and myself didnt attend due to family commitments. But we heard all about the usual goings on when we all returned to work on Wednesday...to be honest, im glad we didnt go

So, We ourselves have been looking forward to our first proper Christmas, off work together.
We have 4 days off ending on Christmas day then back to work Boxing day for 5 days then off again for New Years eve for 5 days........or so we thought.

Yesterday, The management decided to inform Myself and a few others that, due to bad planning they have cancelled my days off on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, and to make matters worse.....its without any compensation!!!!!!!


IM not a happy bunny
So....in order to make me feel better and spread a little good news at this time of year it is with Great Pleasure and Happiness that Laura and myself, announce that we are expecting the arrival of our first child this coming July

Mother and Peanut (for that is its size) doing well

Roy Orbison

Original Post 28/06/08

Day 21

ITS OVER.
Our original plan for this day was to cruise down to Denham Country Park and find a little spot for 1 final barbie before doing the last 3 and a bit hours back to base camp. The day dawned overcast and very breezey and a few showers accompanied our meanderings through the locks.

At Batchworth we were aided by orange lifejacketed children who were visiting the canal centre and getting instruction on locks and boats....Geoff, one of the staff was telling Nora that when these groups were being shown around the motorboat 'Roger', the question was asked of them what they thought the boat wouldve carried in its hold. Not one of them thought of Coal, Televisions being the favourite guess. I guess not many kids these days have any concept of coal. Funny the way the world changes.

It was about 3pm as we descended Widewater lock and onto the Denham stretch, Looking at the sky we decided to plod on towards the Slough Arm.

At Cowley Peachey juction, my turn was restricted by a boat moored a few feet too close to the opening so a bit of jiggery pokery was needed to complete the swing onto the arm while the boat owners enjoyed the spectacle from the comfort of their chairs on the towpath.

Just over half an hour later saw us at Highline. We decided not to continue up to the winding hole as is our usual thing, but to tie up for a change on the outside of Herbie as Neil and Cath are heading out for the River Wey on sunday and being alongside the bank will be better for them loading up etc.

Our neighbour Lydia waved us in and kindly took the stern rope and we were promptly visited by 3 of her cats who had apparantly been missing their treats due to a lack of Lady Elgar being alongside.
All finally secure and engine shut down and shore line connected saw us relaxing with a chinese takeaway.

All in all it was an excellent trip with fantastic weather. We met some lovely people, maffi and bones by name others just as faces. Visted some excellent pubs and eating places. Enjoyed the drama's of boaters antics and behaviours which although sometimes are frustrating, they are nothing compared to the behaviour of people on our roads, and what may seem like moans by me about folk, are not really moans...just observations on different behaviours, as im sure other folk would observe on our behaviour.

Valuable hands on knowlegde was learned re the boat such as the starter problem and the prop shaft, but even those incidents all added to the enjoyment of the trip and the experience of owning and running your own boat without the need to call on expert help.
These problems were really very minor, the starter problem only being compounded by the fact we were on the Thames and had to shut down the engine at every lock.

Laura's highlights of the trip were the hundreds of baby fowl and animals that all benefitted from her tesco value bread bag, The Blisworth tunnel. Having her hat rescued by the lockie at Brentford and the memory of the Garlic Mushrooms at the Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton.

For me, just being together in our home cruising through varied and changing landscapes is enough. No bad memories and thats for sure.

The log shows the following data
Engine Hours 132
Distance 250miles
Locks 175
2 Tunnels

back to work Wednesday

Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren

Original Post 27/06/08

Day 20

The morning broke dry and lovely. Following a couple of brews we fired up and cast off, Nora working the swing bridge and 1st lock while we kept looking behind us in the hope of seeing a boat coming down behind us who we might share with. Its wasnt to be so we slowly dropped down the heavily locked Hemel Hempstead section and arrived at the santary station at Apsley to take on and drop off fluids.

A boat had decided to chain themselves up to a large portion of the services mooring so we pulled in behind them and in turn took up a portion of the lock mooring. Knowing it would probably be a long fill, I toddled off over the bridge to nip into Sainsburys for a quick top up on supplies. Rather wish I hadnt as it mustve been pension day and the checkout women were more concerned with chatting to each other about Sandra's 30th wedding anniversary than getting me through with my meagre items.

I eventually exited the store and as I crossed the bridge saw 2 motorboats going up in the lock and a couple of boats just exiting the lock above and Nora looking stressed.

Typical, we'd not seen any other traffic all day then it becomes busy just as ive been a bit cheeky and gone shopping while taking on water.

As it happens, it appears no one wished to use the services while Nora had been using them, the two motorboats decamped from the lock and headed on towards the next lock and the two boats coming down started hammering pins into the ground to tie up, so we fired up, packed away the hose and dropped down the lock.

The next lock at apsley mills was obviously in our favour and the two motors had left both gates open, probably re-living old times. I deposited Nora on the starboard side and brought Lady Elgar to a stop on the portside so we could both close a gate each. I then saw a chap emerge at the steps by the bottom gates and could see the roof of his boat just infront of the bottom gates.

Thats gonna get lively when the paddles are raised thought I and as soon as both top gates were shut, this chap began winding. he then darted across to the other paddle and began winding again, wthin seconds two loud crashes occured and I could see both gates bouncing as this chaps boat began to ram into them.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME. He very quickly ran back across the gates and down to his boat, then all I could hear was the sound of an engine being rev'd very hard, obviously in an effort to excape from the draw of the gate paddles. Nora then dropped both gate paddles and some normality returned and the chap managed to reverse away from the gates.

Paddles up again and gate eventually open. This chap now placed himself in front of the open gate as I was exiting. The boat was only about a 40 footer at the most and painted in camoflague. He didnt wait for me to clear but came steadly forward. I managed to just get out of the way avaoiding some very nast looking spikes that he had on the front of his Bow, Obviously used for when attacking the Carthaginian fleet.

Once Id got Nora back on board we agreed that he was obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. Apparantly, it was the spikes on the front of his boat that had got trapped in the gates preventing him from being able to reverse away from them.....what a strange fellow.

Unfortunately, no further excitment occured and we made the steady descent sharing the lock work a couple at a time. It was about half four by the time we reached Lady capels lock and our intention to moor opposite the golf course was thwarted by boats there before us so we dropped down into Cassiobury park and eventually tied up just below Iron bridge lock.

Another BBQ was set up rather quickly as the sky was darkening and the wind freshening, and sure enough, just as Nora had watered the plants and I was finishing off caramalising the Lamb chops, the rain began to fall and we shut up shop and settled down to eat while watching series one of Phoenix Nights.A very pleasent days cruising of 6 hours and 19 locks.

We are now within the M25 boundary and already the thought of having to return to work looms.

ADAM ANT

Original post 26/06/08

Day 19

According to the Log, we started up the Perkins at 11.30am after I had cleaned away the BBQ from the night before and taken down the Sky dish. The weather didnt look at all promising and there were spots of rain in the air.

Sure enough within 10 mins of setting off a couple of very heavy squalls washed everything down and blew everything about. Then out came the sun for a bit and all was calm again.

Just after passing the flour mill a heavy squall hit us again just at the same point as I saw the nose of a narrowboat come into view. The Wendover arm is very narrow and shallow so trying to see through the rain we slowly passed each other and it turned out to be Ralentando who I think we shared leighton lock with a couple of days earlier. A second boat then passed and out came the sun again this time for good although the wind gusted most of the day.

Turned back onto the main line at bulbourne junction and set off towards Cowroast armed with sausage butties for sustanance. We needed to dump rubbish and the Elsan at Cowroast and as we approached the lock I could see a boat in, about to go down. the gate then opened and it appeared that they would wait for us, which is nice, but I signalled my intention to pull over to use the services and saw they understood by the gate slowly closing.

We pulled over and tied up and were approached by the chap going down the lock.....It was our chums from yesterday on Megan, He said he'd wait at the next lock for us so it was with good company that we descended down to Berkhampstead where we waved goodbye as they stopped to visit waitrose. We didnt need the bank any more as we had solved our problem 'online' earlier.

The wind was still giving it large in gusts but the sun shone throughout. A number of large boughs had obviously been brought down in the strong winds but nothing that blocked the canal. We eventually arrived at our destination, Winkwell swing bridge and the Three Horseshoes pub and moored in the pound just a few meters away from where Lady Elgar once had an old willow tree collapse on her back in 1995.

The guide book states that the Three Horseshoes is haunted by two ghosts. A highwayman and an old lady, So after our very excellent meal we repaired to the tack room and sampled some black sheep ale and a pint of broadside. Although Nora was convinced she had her arm tweeked and saw a shadow in a corner (in a shadowey room) no shouts of STAND AND DELIVER disturbed our evening.

ABBA

original post 25/06/08

Day 18

We departed the Globe in lovely sunshine and in anticipation of the 18 locks ahead of us.

A planned short stop at Tesco in Leighton Buzzard refilled some cupboards and fluid cabinet however the waterpoint proved to be defective. It doesn't take long to leave the town behind and after Grove lock the rolling hills and fields open up again giving excellent veiws over towards Woburn.

We filled the water tank at the top of slapton lock and noticed a boat just entering the lock behind us. Goodie, if they dont stop for water we can share the climb up towards Marsworth.

Sure enough Megan and crew caught us up as we were preparing the next lock and we spent a very pleasent afternoon working the locks together. Im gonna have to start carrying a pen on the back with me so I can write peoples names down, My memory is shocking. Both the chap and lady were lovely people.We waved goodbye to Megan at Marsworth and we carried on up the seven locks to Bulbourne.

Nora steered the flight. Nothing much worthy of note except when I arrived at the third lock it was half empty or half full depending on your point of view.

I saw a couple of people at the top gates of the next lock but saw no activity to suggest anyone was coming down so I raised the paddles and emptied the half lock of water in our favour. I then saw the next lock being emptied so there was something coming down. They had exited their lock and were holding just in front of ours by the time our lock was nearly full. I think the lady on the narrowboat thought we had deliberatly emptied the lock which was in their favour as my hello was returned by the couple on the cabin cruiser but not by the Nb. Sorry folks, but it really was half an half. I still felt guilty though.

No other traffic saw us at Bulbourne and we turned onto the narrow winding Wendover Arm.
At the terminus 4 boats were in the prime positions but one of which was also moored in the winding hole which the wind managed to lay us alongside nicely. Nora managed to push the bows off and we eventually swung round and plonked ourselves in the same spot we had used last October. Nora made a lovely potato salad with scally onions and chives and I offered up the burt offerings to the BBQ Gods.The Wendover really is a lovely little canal and the moorings at little tring farm are fantastic and quiet.Slow speed on the internet here so no picsToday we start the long descent towards home.

Oh yes, MONEY MONEY MONEY. must vist the bank in Berkhampstead later

Bucks Fizz

Original post 23/06/08

Day 17

Late start today as we only planned to go as far as the Globe. Hadn't topped up the fuel tank since Reading and knowing how hard we had been forced to punch the flow of the Thames I was keen to top up again and see what we had used.

Milton Keynes marina was the first services so we turned in and approached the fuel landing. It all seemed very quiet. I had managed to get far enough into the marina to make getting out awkward when a chap called out from a boat that they were shut on mondays. Pooh!

Never mind, managed to turn without hitting anything and we set off towards Willowbridge.

At Fenny Stratford lock, Nora kept asking....."whats the point of it?" well, its a lock, and it has a swing bridge across it, and, well, what is the point of it?

We took on 69 litres of the red stuff at Willowbridge at I think 86ppl. We shared the first two of the Soulbury three with a boat who were going to wind above the 2nd lock and as we were coming up the third, a chap waiting to come down mentioned he had almost bought Lady Elgar a couple of years ago. It turns out he is a forum member and we chatted for a short while about his Harbourgh boat...one of my favourite hulls they are, So Globetrotter a pleasure to meet you sir. Hope you manage to find out more info on the old girl.

Our destination finally approached and I was hoping that we wern't too late to get a mooring as ive never been here before when it hasnt been packed with boats. Imagine my surprise when, We came under the bridge and not another boat in sight, we had a choice of the whole length. yes folks, MY CAMERA NEVER LIES.

A short afternoon siesta and showered and dressed saw us plonked at our table in the Globe. Food as always was absolutly fantastic. There are no words to add. The Ale was good too.

We think so far The Admiral Nelson and The Globe have been the best eating spots, The Boat at Stoke B was also excellent but was very arty and a totally different type of eating house. The Wharf?.....well, just go along for amusment value really, not for culinary delight.

Nora did hear one bloke at the Globe tonight ordering a bar meal moaning....He was telling the barman that it was a right rip off selling the same weight Sirloin Steak as the same weight Rump Steak for £2 dearer......well you dont have to order it!...nobber.

Long day tomorrow...hope to get to the Wendover arm for a Barbie.....nighty night

Electric Light Orchestra

Original post 22/06/08

SUMMER AND LIGHTNING, all around us.

I think it mustve been about midnight that the electric show began in the sky followed by loud rumblings of thunder across the valley. The rain was so heavy that the plants on the roof took quite a battering so when we woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine evrything seemed so much better, except that is for the howling gale blowing from the sou'west.

The plant pots didnt stand a chance and after the 2nd time of putting them back in place, the third time they blew over...over they remained.

We did the remainder of the Stoke Bruerne flight alone, the wind making us contact the side rather more than we wouldve liked but got through unscathed, I suppose if time was no object and we didnt have to be back for work it wouldve been a perfect day for not moving at all....sigh....maybe one day,

Crabbing sideways was the order of the day and trying to avoid moored boats while slowing down enough not to cause them too much problems .

As we neared Cosgrove, a couple on a Wyvern Boat passing us called out " How far is it to the aquaduct?"I smiled at them and said " Youve already done it.....just before the lock"

They looked longingly behind them.....never mind folks, look out for it again on your way back.

The approach to Cosgrove lock was interesting, Once passed the line of buildings and approaching the sanitary station the wind found its way through gaps in the trees and blew us towards the moored boats, I could feel the hull tilt to port as the gusts hit us, so it was a bit of wellie on the revs and regain some control. The mouth of the lock however has no tree cover and as we slowed to stop we were slammed into the side and held there.....who needs ropes when youve got wind power to hold you in position. All we need now is to fit up some form of Gaff Rig and some Lee Boards down the sides and we'd save a fortune on diesel.

Our planned stop was for Great Linford so we carried on past Cosgrove moorings and approached the aquaduct over the Great Ouse. Being in Wyvern country I could see one approaching ahead of us. As they entered the aquaduct and lost the shelter of the trees the wind caught them and slammed them into the side of the trough. Always nice to see what your gonna have to cope with before you have to do it, so, as we entered, I kept well over to the right and as soon as the tree line finished, i steered to starboard and just managed to avoid clanging the sides....with a bit of power of course....Nora was going to take some pics of the crossing but she just confessed that she was actually more concerned with clinging on for dear life.

Finally arrived at Great Linford and was a bit surprised to see a large gathering of boats on both side of the water. Some tents and marquee's then came into view along with throngs of people all enjoying what turned out to be the "Great Linford Waterside festival."

We tied up just before the bridge and did a very quick shop to stock up on milk and booze and bread and then headed off to see what was going on.

A few stalls, a few childrens rides, a large stage with rock bands making a sort of noise and the usual eating establishments. We milled and thronged with the rest of the population of Milton keynes and then...oh joy of joys......a stall selling stuff and things and there, hanging at the back was a Peg Bag. Not just any old Peg bag but a Peg Bag that obviously had our name on it......Ive been looking for one for ages, No longer will our pegs have to hang on the rotary line awaiting the next load of washing, They can now rest easily between loads in their own splendid Peg bag.

We even found a couple of pegs on board to start the collection

We purchased some rather fine fudge. Rum an Raison for me and Chocolate for Nora and Choc and orange for both of us, and you cant pass the customery burger bar with out sampling the wares, which in actual fact, were probably the best burger i have ever had from a van .....far better than the cardboard I forced on myself at the Crick Boat show.

We got back on board and both sat down listening to the noise of the band on the stage, We were then passed by 7 teenagers with their Lager cans and Jugs of cider and decided maybe we will move up a bit for the night, so we cast off and cruised for an hour and found ourselves a little spot which will suit for the night.

All in all a good days cruise made even more interesting by the wind. Tomorrow will hopefully see us alongside the Globe Inn. We have booked a table for 8.......pm that is....not for 8 people....unless anyone cares to join us

Supertramp

Original post 21/06/08

Day 15

Opening the blinds this morning revealed drizzle and then some more drizzle. It was morning as well, about 6am. We knew we might get a bit of noise from the mainline railway nearby but hadn't bargained for the sheep with megaphones.

Actually we did manage to drop off again and eventually arose about 10am....still drizzling...so a couple of cups of coffee and watched Takeshi's Castle.....Love the High Rollers.We cast off around about 11am with yours truly fully decked out in wet weather gear.

It was still drizzling and it was that fine rain.....you know...the stuff that gets you wet through. At Gayton Junction we took on and dropped off the usual fluids and got chatting to another couple also taking on and dropping off, about sofa's, of all things, We where suddenly whistled at by a boat opposite and asked if we had finished.....ooppps, far too easy to get carried away...sorry folks.

Laura had been looking forward to the Tunnel of Doom at Blisworth and BREAKFAST IN AMERICA/lunch was delayed for it.

There had been quite a fair bit of traffic this morning in spite of the rain and the tunnel mouth had the usual exhaust fumes shrouding its dark depths.

We chugged through and only met one boat coming the other way. I always think to myself what if this is a widebeam that aint arranged a passage, But no. twas a tug style Nb and we hailed each others dark shapes on the tillers as we passed.

No space at the top of Stoke Bruerne so we dropped 2 locks and tied up to cook the breakfast we had missed for the tunnel. The full works except for my black pudding which had been taken over by mico organisms turning it an interesting bluey black colour....Its my fault for it being hidden at the far end of the fridge.

Seeing the state of the sky and the prospect of further wet clothes we decided to set up the Sky Dish and close up for the day. Nora settled down to watch Hollyoaks and I for some strange reason fell asleep for the next 2 hours....

For the evening meal we patroned the Boat Restaurant....An excellent meal of Wild mushrooms and fillet steak for Nora and Crayfish and Red Mullet for me.We skipped pudding and had a pint outside while watching an Alvechurch boat and a Bromley Youth Trust boat negotiate the top lock.Marstons Pedigree was very good.Weather report shows rather promising for tomorrow

our mooring for tonight

The Beatles

Original post 20/06/08

Day 13+14

YESTERDAY saw us moored at Braunston and no phone signal and no Web an Walk signal for the first time this trip so no post was possible.

We cast off from Fenny Compton and negotiated the lovely summit level of the Oxford winding around the hills and farms. Saw loads of young lambs and hundreds of tiny Moorhen chicks all along the level.

Finally Napton windmill came into view in the distance and we started the descent at Marston Doles. Ive always enjoyed doing the Napton flight, the locks fill and empty pretty quick and its got lovely open views. We passed one or two boats coming up and there were about 2 boats following behind us.

Still playing catch up on our sched, we didnt stop at the Folly but plodded on towards Braunston passing the new marina at Wigrams. I also noticed a boat builder had vanished since my last vist....or so i think, Im sure there was a boat builder not far after the bottom lock and before Napton Narrowboats, as we came under the bridge where I remembered it being, there was just a collection of demolished buildings. Perhaps I dreamed it all.

Approaching Braunston We passed the sad sight of Forum member Carlt's boats Usk and Lucy. We really hope he manages to find someone who can rescue them even if its a hard standing place, before BW run off with their remains.

Braunston certainly hadn't seen much change since my last visit unless I go back of course to the days of Ladyline in the Marina. Long lines of moored boats and no space. We eventually found a gap just before the Union Canal Carrier moorings but as I tied up I noticed that the bollards had Wheelchair symbols on the top of them, so I guess they were for disabled moorers, however no sign confirmed this but we wernt happy.

We took a walk up the locks to the Admiral Nelson and saw a couple of spaces suitable in the pounds between other boats. Ive never been keen on mooring in pounds for obvious reasons but thats preferable to being pointed at for taking up disabled moorings.

We eventually tied up between Locks 3+4 and after a shower and a rum an coke livener we mooched over to the Admiral Nelson to try and improve on the night before's meal. We needn't've tried. Just by looking at the menu it was obvious that everything was cooked fresh and all home prepared. Also, Adnams Bombadier and a couple of Ales which I cant remember the brewer....one ale was called Doombar and was very smooth and hoppy. Laura chose the local butchers Sirloin on the bone and I had their allegedly famous Cod and Chips. All was fantastic. The batter on the Cod just flaked off and not a smudge of grease to be seen on the plate. Laura's steak was just sooooo tender......Well recomend the place if you wish to eat out in Braunston.

This morning saw us both up and about by 9am and by the time I had prepared the engine for start up and took down the Satelite pole one boat had already gone up the locks, I saw movement at the lock below us and thought oh goody, maybe we could share with these.

As I held Lady Elgar in the side, One of their crew walked past and asked if we were going up and would we care to share the locks.....smashing...is the pope etc etc.

Our companions for these 3 locks were on a Black Prince Boat but the boat name escapes me. It turns out that as they approached the bottom lock, the boat that had just gone up ahead of us was in the lock and our Black Prince chums asked if they could share the locks, The private boat owners declined stating they were in a hurry!!!!!! there was only 2 of them and 4 of our BP friends. They were in such a hurry that they didnt even bother to close the top gates.

Their loss was our gain and what lovely people these 4 were. They were a day early on their reconning and had decided to go up the flight and go through the tunnel and then wind and go back again as they were not due back at Napton till tomorrow....lol..my kinda adventurers. Lauras first ever Tunnel then appeared and to say she was excited was an understatement. The landslide from last year still blocks the apprach a bit but once lined up we could see the approch of at least 2 boats coming towards us.

The first boat we passed was actually towing another boat which explained all the clanging noises I could hear as we approached. It bounced from side to side in the tow boats wake. We eventually passed 5 boats in all, without incident.

At Norton Junction we teamed up with Narrowboat DJANGO for the descent of the Buckby flight. A lovely couple who where heading down to London after having wintered on the Llangollan. They stopped at Whilton for the chandlery and we waved goodbye.....if they ever read this then I hope you manage to get onto the Thames eventually. We finally came to a stop just past bugbrooke following a provsion stop at Weedon.

We have the smell of a chicken Tikka simmering in the pan at the moment mmmmmmmm

The Beach Boys

Original post 18/06/08

Day 12

Fired up the engine by 10.30am and toddled up towards the windly windly hole come water point at Cropredy. While I held Lady Elgar into the side waiting in the queue, Nora plodded over to the Bridge Stores for some supplies.

I was still queue waiting when she returned, Her bags seemed rather light. She was outraged! " they hardly have anything" said she......"No bread, no veg, no potatos".......I sent her back with instructions for more Coke and Tobacco.

She returned heavily laden and sheepishly said she found a back room this time with all we needed lol.

Finally got our turn at the water point which has water pressure of biblical proportions. After our hose had flown out of the filler hole for the third time searching for suitable victims to drench we resorted to holding it in place. Eventually water tank full and toilet empty we set off up the first lock towards the summit level.

There was a steady procession of boats coming down and at least one following behind us. Intermittant rain and strong winds were the order of the cruise. A young chap working a boat coming down the Lock at Cropredy informed me that he had dropped his windlass in front of the bottom gates at the next lock so if I had a magnet I might get some results. We had a good few attempts at trying to find his handle but eventually the boat behind us came into view so we had to leave it.....so if your in the area with a magnet.....Broadmoor Lock bottom gates may prove fruitfull.

At Varneys Lock we waited for another boat to come down and again the boat behind us caught up just as Nora was steering through the bottom gates. I was just starting to pull the gates shut when, imagine my surprise to hear the top paddles being drawn by Mr Nobby Nobster of Nobbsville. Anyone who has cruised the South Oxford knows that most of these locks have a vicious draw on em so I have always taken the boat right upto the top gates where the water holds her in position. Lady Elgar suddenly shot forward in the grip of the flow and I called out to Nora to go full reverse. This made little difference and LE's button fender smacked into the cill. Nobby Nobster had toddled off back to his boat......I guess he mustve been in a real big hurry.

The annoying thing, When things like that happen, Nora thinks its something shes done wrong and knocks her steering confidence when in reality there is nothing she couldve done to prevent the collision.No visable damage done to either LE or the lock, we exited, and approached the next lock

. As I came in to drop Nora off I put LE into reverse and there was an almighty juddering and shaking from beneath me.....they certainly wernt GOOD VIBRATIONS. So I leaped off with the centre rope and we dragged the boat to a stop. Being so close to the lock we pulled her back off the lock holding area and tied up.

I gave her a quick touch of reverse and the shaking and shuddering happend again with the steering step also vibrating, a short burst of forward gave no vibrating at all. I shut down the engine and had a smoke.

Having read Trevors book 'Living The Dream' I had a slight inckling that the prop shaft had shifted backwards. I just didnt know if there where any sheared bolts or loose nuts. I lifted the floor in the Boatmans Cabin revealing the propshaft and it looked like it had shifted backwards a good half inch or more. What I couldnt see was the connection with the gearbox. There is an access hatch under the Battery box to assist in this so I set to, removing 2 of the four domestic batts to allow access to the joint.With everything eventually undone and 2 batts removed I checked the UV joint and found all secure? very strange.

I went back to the BMC and pushed the propshaft, forward, back into its normal position.....I then tried to pull it back again but found I couldnt budge it.....the only thing I could find to tighten up was a small nut with an allen key head on the rear bearing. Everything else was tight.I reconnected all the batts and restarted the engine.

Forwards gear no probs.......reverse...no probs either....all very strange....The only thing I could think of was that Noras emergency reverse from forward gear direct into full reverse mustve been enough to throw the shaft backwards......We both made a mental note to always pause for a second or two before engaging reverse from forward.
No further problems or troubles and we eventually tied up on the summit just past The Wharf Inn where we had promised ourselves an evening meal in the pub.

Our evening meal proved to be quite amusing.

Nora's starter was described as Mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce.......They turned out to be thinly sliced button mushrooms in an hint of garlic oil. I had Filo Prawns with sweet chilli dip....Being a customer of Costco, I recognised them as coming from that fine emporium..."ya cant go wrong with deep fried stuff" I proudly announced to Nora as she fiddled with her mushrooms.

While waiting for the next course a couple next to us were served their main....He complained that his Sausages in onion gravey ....had no gravey...The waitress said she would bring him some in a jug.

Our steaks finally arrived but not the onion rings...We asked the waitress for vingegar, a fork and if our onion rings where expected...she said, " oh sorry, I normally work the bar, Im sure they will be here shortly, Ill just get your cutlery"

The man next door finally got his gravey as he finished his last sausage.

Our steaks wernt too bad but the chips were oven chips and Nora's veg were Raw, not even Al Dente. However, when the onion rings arrived they were spanking hot...see ya cant go wrong with deep fried food.

I appreciate that they must find it difficult surviving on summer trade but youd think they would at least get a chef who could cook instead of leaving it to Darren in a back room with a Deep Fat Fryer and a large bag of Tesco Value Mixed Salad.

Braunston tomorrow....all being well .

PS its blowing a gale outside and I think ive just heard one of the roof pots of flowers blow over

The Specials

Original post 18/06/08


Day 11

We had cast off by about eleven and chugged through the lovely winding countryside hoping to arrive at Banbury in order to stock up at the supermarket.
The sun was out but a bit of a breeze kept the heat down as we passed through familiar places to me from 15 yrs ago.
Laura decided there was no way she was going to steer in Somerton Deep Lock so that honour was left to me. Its still a great feeling going into that narrow chasm and seeing that huge slab of wood close behind you.







Aynho, where we moored and fitted out our old Harbourgh boat had seen quite a few changes. There were now moorings both sides of the canal and not just the offside where we were. Those offside moorings had also seen big improvemnets, In our day the path was an over grown muddly affair but was now neat and gravelled.

Aynho wharf itself seemed a little sad from the days of it being an Anglo Welsh base with all the usual activities but a sign in the window of the Wharf building stated it was under new management so maybe it is up for a revamp.....it looks like boats are still either built or fittedout in the yard so its good to see its still a going concern.

My timings of canal travel never seem to work out properly and it wasn't till half six that we exited Banbury lock into what I can only describe as a GHOST TOWN.
All the shops were shut up, Plenty of boats yes but where was everybody?
We tied up just under the main road bridge and set off armed with our Tesco bags to find Morrisons.This was my first visit to Banbury since it had all been done up and I didnt recognise the place. We wended our way through narrow allys past shops all shuttered up for the night and pubs with lights on but no noise from within, not even the customery smoker outside.
It was as if the towns folk had all hidden themselves away after 6 lest the dreaded Banbury Boggart should take them unawares. The Boggart had also stolen or demolished Morrisons and with nobody around to ask for directions, after half an hour we hotfooted it back to the boat and cast off towards cropredy.

Again, timings and memory failed miserably...I didnt recall it being that far.....we eventually exited Slat Mill Lock at 9pm. The pubs would no longer be cooking and yet again I had managed to avoid buying Laura an evening meal.We found a mooring, set up the Sat Dish ready for Deadliest Catch and settled down for a Fry Bentos steak pudding each......smashing.

Make and Model?

Original post 17/06/08

Day 10

I was up and about by 8am and following the first brew of the day, left Nora sleeping and I set off down the Botley Road to find Halfords armed with my electrical component complete with box and Lucas part number.

I passed a cycle shop on the way and looked longingly at a smashing little folding pushbike in the window but payday is still to far away for toys like that plus the car needs MOT'ing when we get home.

Found Halfords and presented me at the parts desk. I showed them my item and enquired if they had any in stock?..." what make and model is it from?" they asked, "erm...its not, its from a boat" says I. A long sucking in of breath through teeth and shaking of heads brought the response,

"We can only search our records if we have a make and model" "what about the part number? are you not able to look through the store room to see if you have one?"

" Not without a make and model of car Im afraid"

Thankfully they did suggest a local Motor Factors which was another 20 mins walk further along the road....(oh for a folding push bike) so I plodded off and found the place in a little industrial estate. I showed the chap my Item and within 2 mins he was back with a replacement. smashing.

Arriving back at LE, Nora was up and about and not fancying any further exploration of Oxford we cleared the roof of all protrusions above pigeon box height in readiness for navigating under Osney Bridge.Following comments from Trevor, Lady Elgars original owner I decided to hold fire fitting the new part and waiting till we return to Iver to speak with Steve at the yard who has already mentioned his thoughts for the starter problem. Thanks Trevor, will check out your suggestions.

We Cast off and fought against the current towards Osney Bridge. We passed under with reasonable headroom although I did have to crouch down. Once through the bridge and the narrow sections we increased speed on the wider sections towards Godstow Lock

At Godstow lock, The Lockkeeper said he'd remembered our engine from a few days earlier. It appears he likes to have a decko in the engine room doors of passing craft and state he had already seen a 2 cylinder Gardner, an old Lister and now a 3 Cylinder Perkins....It seems he does different locks on a daily basis.

Finally through Kings lock and the sharp right turn towards the Dukes Cut, and then back on to the calm waters of the Oxford Canal.

Nora, having been spoilt by Thames Locks had a momentary lapse of lock working memory and walked upto the top gates of a full lock intending to wind the paddles to empty the lock. I promised her I wouldnt mention it.

Bridge 228 managed to do what Osney Bridge couldnt, All looked good on the approach but as we went under I noticed a nasty sagging bit in the centre. This managed to topple the coolie hat off the stove chimney which luckily plonked itself down onto the roof without going overboard but then the sag collected the exhaust pipe.....just on the top leading edge and brickdust and soot and a slightly bent pipe where the remains of the contact....Think I will use Trevors 'Titch Pipe' for the next days.

At Thrupp we took on water and emptied the lav.We finally tied up just before Northbrook Lock by about 7pm and as the evening was so lovely, the BBQ was fired up and burnt items of meat were offered to the Gods.

a few more pics

Back on the Canal

Hangover

original post 15/06/08

I think we eventually got to bed about 2am. So this morning when the church bells of Abingdon rang out it was a bit of a shock. They wont continue for long thought I, just calling the faithful to worship, but no, It was obviously a campanology convention calling the faithful who had quaffed a skinfull the night before to clamber out of bed and put the kettle on.

Maffi and Bones where already up and about and after the first brew we were ready for the last haul to Oxford. So we waved farewell and passed on our thanks again for such an excellent evening and cast off.

Nothing of real note for the four hours it took to reach Osney Lock except that again the going was slow in places but the sun kept playing on us and making the criuse very enjoyable.

The public moorings above Osney lock had a number of free spaces so we slotted in just past the pub and took a walk into town to get some lunch.

We stopped at the castle and took a table outside one of those grill type places, this one was called Tootsies. They brought the menu's to the table and that was the last we saw of them for 20 mins, So enough was enough and we went elsewhere. Gordon Ramsey wouldve been outraged.

Back on LE sleep overtook us both and our afternoon nap ended at about 7pm !!!!! so its now 12.20am and we are still awake. Tomorrow we'll have a wander round town and also a visit to Halfords to try and get the part for the engine then set off for the canal. if we wake up in time that is