8 miles to the facilities at Sutton Stop where we filled both boats with water got rid of the accumulation of rubbish and emptied all the toilet cassettes. Richard arrived about an hour and a half later just as we were finishing up filling with water and continued on round the corner to fill up with water there.
Once we had completed our activities at the facilities we cruised a bit further and moored up at a location that would accommodate all three of us. I removed, cleaned and replaced two of the window seals that were getting a bit loose.
Frustrated with both of my tablets that refuse to tell me where I am I decided to see if they would tell me where the other boat is. As soon as I stepped out of Dennis they both beeped to tell me they know exactly where I am. Guess the GPS signal just cannot get through the thick skin of Dennis. Dab radio doesn't work well on Dennis either.
Changed a gas bottle and checked the diesel on both boats, 21 inches on Iowner, 16 inches on Dennis
Before setting off I swapped the new table that I had made for the one on Dennis that needs sanding and varnishing. Cruised along from Sutton Stop to Bridge 3 on the Ashby. Looks good for doing the preparation on Dennis prior to painting. While I was waiting for Richard, who arrived about 2 hours later, I started sanding the old table, I think it will come up nicely. my travelling companion arrived shortly after Richard. She had been looking for somewhere that would be ideal for both preparation and painting but settled for here.
Richard's batteries are running low, it seems that his alternator is not charging them very well. I offered to let him borrow my 4 amp battery charger so he could charge his sleep apnea battery from my invertor. We didn't have a long enough extension between us to go the distance so gave that one a miss. Richard contacted Dave, a boater he had met at Brinklow, who drove along to collect Richard and take him back to Brinklow to get his car. Meanwhile I cruised along to my mooring, winding 200 yards ahead of it and reversing back, saved me 5 miles cruising and about 1½ hours. Richard met me at my mooring and we went into Hinckley to collect Richards solar panel bits and pieces from Argos, so we took the opportunity of shopping at Sainsbury's which houses Argos. A little more shopping at Screwfix and Toolstation. Back to the mooring where we left Richards car I sorted out a very long extension lead that had been left there by the previous occupier and cruised back to Bridge 3 just in time to retain the space between Richard's boats and my travelling companion's boat before the later evening rush of moorers grabbed it. As soon as we were moored up the only remaining spaces in both directions were filled.
Rain, rain and more rain. my travelling companion washed Dennis prior to me starting the preparation for painting.
Took the battery charger along to Richard who sorted out the multiple extension leads. It turned out that they were about four feet too short. The cheeky bugger only wanted me to move my boat closer to his. "Hey mister, can you move your boat so I can use your electricity". I suggested he move his boat nearer to mine. He spent the next three hours making up and even longer extension which he intended to dangle along a rope tied between the two boats. I wasn't having any of that, much too dangerous in my opinion. He moved his boat, it took all of ten minutes.
Sanding, wire brushing and grinding preparation to the other side of Dennis.
Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner followed by England beating Ukraine 4 - 0.
Late start today. got a coat of varnish on the table. Prepared the left side of the rear deck for painting an managed to give it two coats of paint.
Transcribed more of the 2016 diary and relived the trip from Gloucester to Tewksbury in the process.
Loads of preparation wire brushing, flap wheeling and sanding on Dennis, used five battery charges.
Chilli con carni for dinner.
Took pictures of the space for the lathe and the lathe in place. Still waiting for the drive belts to arrive.
Richard made a shield to protect his drive pod, I mean a real shield like would be worn by a knight in armour.
Spent the day transcribing the diary and sanding, scraping and cleaning Dennis. my travelling companion said she could smell gas at the back of my boat, but I couldn't smell anything and we decided that it was probably the grated cabbage I have in the fridge.
Leek and potato soup for dinner.
A low down workbench opposite the lathe so that I can put my power tools on it and work safely. The table saw folds away underneath and hinges out for use. Lots of storage under.
my travelling companion got the first coat of primer on Dennis.
Took Iowner along to the mooring today so that Richard could go back to Witney for a few days so took the opportunity of going shopping in Sainsbury's. Got four litres of petrol for the chain saw. Back to where we are all moored up and spent some time transcribing the diaries. Watched Italy beat Spain in the Euros.
The table saw is just visible under the worktop. I find the chop saw invaluable for cutting lengths of timber. It always gives a square cut and is exactly repeatable for several lengths of wood. Perfect when cutting twelve upright's and twelve cross pieces for the table.
7th
my travelling companion got second coat of primer on Dennis.
Finished transcribing the 2016 diary, now to get it up on the web site.
8th
my travelling companion got first coat of green undercoat on Dennis.
Took the back doors off, quite a palaver as the hinges are hidden behind the door and frame and there is only just enough room to get my fingers in the gap, not enough room for a normal screwdriver. Used an angled screwdriver to loosen them, but that wasn't easy either as I could only give each screw about 150 degree of turn and they are ordinary screws, not cross head. Once they were all off I replaced them with cross head screws that can be turned by 90 degrees at a time and get the screwdriver in for the next turn. All ready for tomorrow.
my travelling companion got second coat of green undercoat on Dennis.
I took the back doors off Iowner as they are showing their age. D'fer has made his mark by scratching to get in and the years have taken their toll bleaching the paint and drying out the ply. Removed the hardware, and gave them a good sanding, thank goodness for power tools. Gave the back doors a coat of primer and two coats of undercoat. The original colour was blue and then this was over coated with yellow. I am planning to paint them blue again.
The previous owners painted almost all of the boat with Dulux Weathershield County Cream, durable, but gets dirty very quickly and impossible to shine. All the horizontal surfaces have been given with a nonslip treatment. It is textured so will be impossible to prepare for re-painting without complete removal, which I intend to do one day. In the mean time I am waiting for the weather to remove as much of it as possible. It is working.
10th
my travelling companion got first coat of green gloss on Dennis.
Gave the back doors three coats of Gloss.
11th
my travelling companion got second coat of green gloss on Dennis.
Re-hung the back doors.
England lost 3-1 penalties to Italy, real score 1-1.
12th
my travelling companion got first coat of undercoat on gunwale.
Made a jig to support squares of wood while I round it off and reduce it for the lathe.
Painted back doors.
Richard returning today so I need to be at the mooring by three pm. Set off at half eight to turn around at Marsden Junction and cruised to Hydes Lane facilities to get water. Someone else beat me to it and pulled in to the water point just before I got there. No point in waiting there so I continued on to Nutts Lane where there was a space. I moored up and promptly set off to Sainsbury's to do some shopping. That done, straight back to Iowner and off to Hydes Lane to fill up with water. While the tank was filling I had a bite to eat. With the tank full I set off to the mooring and arrived there just after three, good timing. Rang Richard for an ETA which was to be at about four fifteen so wandered around the local area. Apparently the fishery has 22 acres of land which I am able to wander around. Didn't get to do all 22 acres but did ascertain that the piles of wood laying around are good for nothing except burning, nothing suitable for making things from. Richard arrived at about half four, loaded Iowner with the solar panels and the rest of Richards stuff and set off for Bridge 3. On the way I got Richard to take the tiller while I got dinner on. I had purchased a chicken that had been reduced from a price (obliterated by the sale sticker) down to £6 and then reduced again down to £3. Worked out at about £2 per kilo, too good a bargain to miss. First roast dinner for a very long time.
my travelling companion got first coat of undercoat mixed with gloss on gunwale.
14th
Haven't yet had my refund from Toolstation so logged on to their web site to find out where I have to contact them and decided to try their chat facility. Got hold of Megan and explained what had happened. She contacted the branch concerned and organised the refund while I was still chatting to her. Works for me, but I still won't believe it until it arrives in my account. Checked my email later on in the day and found a notification of the refund being issued.
Telephone appointment with the asthma nurse at my doctors practice at ten a.m. She actually rang at three minutes to ten and I was in the middle of something else and fumbled the phone when trying to accept the call and lost it. Rang the practice to explain and was told she would ring me back, which she did about ten minutes later. Very happy with the way my asthma seems to be under control, so that's good. Spoke briefly about a Blue Badge and she is sure that they can provide any evidence that I need to get one.
One of the things that Richard brought back with him was a piece of rubber about half an inch thick and a foot wide by eighteen inches long. Took the gennie out of it's hiding place and cleaned and washed the area. Removed the old vibration dampening base (a piece of polystyrene between two pieces of ply) and replaced it with a nice wooden frame that the gennie feet slot into and thick rubber pads under each corner. Now the gennie sits about an inch and a half higher up, which means that it sits about three inches further back into the recess. Now I can put a proper door on the area without having a hole in it for the cable to come through. Made a cover for the gennie space.
While I was doing this I had the chicken carcass simmering on the stove with a muslin bag with carrots, onions and celery in it. Managed to get one one litre Mason jar and two half litre Mason jars of stock out of it.
Supervised the installation of Richard's solar panels on his roof and connecting them up to the controller. By the time that was finished it was dusk with the sun setting behind the hedge, but he was still getting some charge.
my travelling companion got first coat of gloss on gunwale.
15th
Richard's solar panel array (4 of them) working really well, by ten a.m. his main battery bank seemed to be fully charged and the secondary bank was beginning to charge. By the end of the day both banks were well topped up.
Spent most of my day working on the web site, so much to do to make it consistent and readable.
my travelling companion got first coat of gloss on gunwale.
16th
my travelling companion has run out of gas now, so not only does she not have water (it is turned off so as not to dribble on the new paintwork) but she's run out of gas.
Did two loads of washing on Iowner in preparation for going cruising. Started fitting that new carpet that we purchased a month ago. We had decided not to fit it till the painting was done. Got as far as fitting the main portion and cutting the off cut to fill the eight inch gap by the wall under the table and bookcase end. Glued the edge of the main bit of carpet.
Very late dinner of boiled eggs and salad.
17th
Well, here we are, I have caught up with this years narrative entries so I can post them on the web site, pictures to follow.
Finished fitting the carpet, which entailed gluing the edges of the two strips that fit against the wall and then joining them all together with carpet tape. As my travelling companion says "If a blind man on a galloping horse can't see the mistakes it's good enough". In reality it is difficult to see the join at all.
18th
Set off about half six to turn around at Marsden Junction, total journey 1 mile. Back at the other two boats by quarter past seven. Settled in for a hot day. Did a couple of loads of washing.
Used the remaining pieces of carpet as rugs to go in front of the fire to stop the carpet itself getting burn holes in it from the fire. Glued the edges of the rugs so they they don't unravel.
More work on re-instating the web site. I have decided that it is not important that any one actually reads it. I can read it and I have thoroughly enjoyed recapping all the adventures that I have had, mind you, nostalgia is not what it used to be.
19th case.sharpness.cliff - Triumph Factory - 5½ miles
The intention was to set off early, fill up with water, do some shopping and get my medications and moor up close to the Triumph factory before the heat got too bad.
my travelling companion set off first as she had to turn around at Marsden Junction. I set off at half six and arrived at Hydes Lane to get water exactly on schedule. Unfortunately just as I was pulling over another boat swept into the water point and moored up while I was still approaching the bank, while another boat behind me was pulling over for water as well. Not a major problem, the guy in front was a hire boater and only took about twenty minutes to fill up and the guy behind would just have to wait. Meanwhile I watched my travelling companion go past as I was preparing my breakfast. Grated white cabbage and carrots, half a red pepper half an onion and a stick of celery - finely diced, some freshly podded peas, some chopped green beans, a hand full of raisins and mayonnaise to bind it all together.
Breakfast ready, I started filling up with water. Breakfast over I put some glue on the edges of the spare rug to fill time while waiting for the water.
Tank full I set off for Nutts Lane where I moored up. I had pulled over and was manoeuvring the boat along the mooring to the end when a boat coming in the other direction barged in front of me and asked me to move back because they could not manoeuvre. No way. I finished mooring up and helped then to go past my boat and moor up. Apparently they think that their fan belt has broken as the engine is overheating. I checked that they had a spare, which they did and continued on with my mission. Got my rucksack on, closed up the boat and set off. Put my hand in my pocket - bollocks, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks, my wallet is on Dennis, three miles further along the canal.
Back to Iowner to continue on my journey. Met up with my travelling companion a mile or so further on, moored up and decided that we could have corned beef mash and mushy peas for dinner.
Set off reasonably early again. We had a shared ownership boat in front of us and they were going more slowly than I would have liked but it was still OK. We were approaching a particularly narrow bit so they slowed down even more. Got past the shallow bit and the helmsman gestured for me to go past. I checked and asked "Are you sure?" and got the affirmative in response, so I did. Now the only was to pass a narrow boat that is not moored up and still moving forward (however slowly) is to really give it some welly. I opened the throttle nearly all the way and I surged forward. As I drew level the forces of moving water took over and the boat I was going past started to surge forward with me due to my wake pushing them. Open the throttle a little more and I was past them before their prow came across the canal to tap my rear end. Half a minute later my travelling companion did the same. The best way to let another boat go past is to pull over and hold your own boat on the ropes.
Got to the facilities at Sutton Wharf and pulled over. There was barely enough room for me to get in and the front of Iowner was overhanging the mooring space by quite a lot. Managed to tie up and get rid of the accumulation of rubbish and set off again before the boat that was filling up with water finished.
Carried on to Battlefield Moorings where we pulled over and stopped under some trees to avoid the blistering sunshine for the rest of the day.
I have just discovered about 1500 photos that I need to look at and see if they are useful, that will take me the rest of the day and some.
While we were waiting for dinner to cook a lady told us that a couple of lads were taking photographs of the boats. Hmm, a little unsettling. That night before locking up and going back to Dennis I made it difficult to enter Iowner in the dark. At least anyone breaking in should fall down the steps and break their leg.
Not an early start today as we only have a couple of miles to go to get to Market Bosworth where we are due to collect a parcel and visit with Pippa and Shona and perhaps get a supermarket delivery.
Set off just after nine and cruised comfortably with only a couple of minor mishaps with other boats too close to each other. When passing a boat on the canal the wash of the other boat inevitably pulls your boat in towards it, resulting in both boats heading towards the left hand bank (boats pass on the right). Usually there is enough time to correct this drift before reaching another boat, UNLESS the other boat is too close. In this instance collision with the following boat is almost inevitable. Approaching bridge 40 there was a boat coming through so I held back, but there was another boat sniffing the exhaust of the one in front. Passing the first boat (a hire boat) was not a problem but I only narrowly avoided the following boat. I said to the helmsman "The other boats wash dragged me over." and he replied "I thought it might." So why didn't he back off? Am I becoming a grumpy old man?
Approaching Market Bosworth my tiller started to rattle abominably, so much so that I could not hear the engine above it. No moorings at Market Bosworth, no moorings at Carlton Bridge so carried on to Lliffe Bridge where I spotted a couple of vacant moorings in a space for four boats, one at the beginning and one at the end. So my travelling companion and I will just have to be a couple of boats away from each other.
Once moored up I removed the back boards and took the weed hatch cover off in preparation for diving under the propeller and checking the bearing at the bottom of the tiller post and effecting a repair if I could. I wanted to leave the engine to cool down for a while before I climbed into the engine bay.
An hour or so later I popped my head out of the boat and noticed that we had scared the other two boats away so I pulled Iowner back to join Dennis.
Put on the long gauntlets and down the weed hatch only to discover a bicycle tyre wrapped around my propeller along with various bits of rope and a heavy duty zipper, Hmm maybe that's my problem. Re-assembled the weed hatch and cover, started the engine and spun the propeller, no rattling on the tiller, good.
It's the first time I have used the long gauntlets and I discovered that they have a tiny leak in the left glove. Glued that up with some latex glue, hope it works. The leak was barely enough to be worried about, a couple of drops of water after being immersed for several minutes.
22nd drank.willpower.gallons - Congerstone - 1 mile
Cruising much more comfortable with all that debris removed from the propeller. Just a couple of miles to a location where we might be able to get a delivery, that's the next thing to check out.
A boat beat me to a bridge hole so I held back to let them through and in the process drifted across the canal. The guy on the other boat waved at me (indicating that he wanted me to keep to the left rather than the right I think), so I waved back! As we passed I told him that if he waves at me I will wave back, if he taps his chest and points, then I will know exactly where he is going and can take the appropriate action. He said "I'll take that on board, thanks"
Once we had settled down I checked on line to see which supermarkets, if any, could deliver locally. The only one that could in a timely fashion was ASDA, so we are expecting a delivery tomorrow around midday. Each time I place an order at a new location I have to register a new address with each supermarket, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, ASDA, Waitrose, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl, M'nS and the Co-op to see if that address falls within their delivery area and then check to see if they have a slot within the next few days. I usually pick on the one with the earliest delivery slot. Tomorrows delivery address is
close to Wild Bunny Arts.
Down to my last container of orange juice. Looking at the news with all the food industry workers getting pinged because Bluetooth detects another phone from around 20 feet away instead of the safe social distance of 6 feet I'm wondering if we will actually get a delivery tomorrow and if we do, will everything be on it?
my travelling companion ran out of gas a week ago, and I have been using my last bottle for a couple of weeks and BP are saying that they have issues getting fuel deliveries done. I bet gas will have gone up in price AGAIN by the time we get to replace the empties.
Tried to get a picture of the sun in the bridge hole.
Had a lay in this morning because the food delivery was not due until eleven at the earliest. As it was it turned up at half twelve with only one substitution, a white loaf with seeds instead of a wholemeal loaf with seeds. Tried to send it back but the delivery driver credited it and then told us to try it anyway. my travelling companion was pleasantly surprised and will probably finish it.
Food for the next week sorted out we set off for Market Bosworth, which involved going to Shackerstone and turning round to go back. No moorings at Market Bosworth so we had to carry on for about a mile before we could find a mooring big enough for the two of us. Some friends at Market Bosworth have a parcel for me which should contain the drive belt for the lathe so I really want to get it and try out the lathe before we go cruising on Dennis for a few months.
24th
Walked along to Bosworth Marina to see Pippa and Shona. Shona broke her leg about six weeks ago and we have been trying to get to see her ever since, hence the attempts to get in to a mooring at Market Bosworth. Had a long chat and two cups of tea (orange in my case) and a couple of pieces of cake, a real social occasion after all this time. Pippa gave me the parcel that Nikki had left with them for me. It is the drive belts for the lathe.
Back at Iowner I fitted the drive belt to the lathe and turned a small knob for the belt tensioner. All good, the lathe works.
Sitting at my desk working on the web site I noticed a boat going past out of the corner of my eye. I turned round to get a better view, I like to keep track of boats going past, and was surprised to see no one on the tiller. I leapt up and rushed to the back of the boat to watch it crash into the bridge a few yards from where I am moored, but it negotiated the bridge hole perfectly. I walked along to Dennis and my travelling companion was on the back saying that she was watching it too. It must have been being driven from the front by remote control of some sort, but from a spectators viewpoint that has not seen the front of the boat it was quite unnerving.
25th
Cloudy with sunny spells. Took the day off and did very little except work on the web site. I am beginning to realise just how massive a project it is.
my travelling companion tried the bilge pump - it did not work. I climbed down into the bilges and had a good look. Removed the bilge pump so I could check it out more thoroughly. The motor would not turn, it was clogged up well and truly. It looked as if it had never run at all and had accumulated ten years worth of dust, dirt and grease. Investigated a new one but ours is discontinued but there was one web site that detailed its direct replacement. I'll have to get one and fit it when I can.
26th secretly.repelled.promotion - Ashby Marina - 6 miles
Just before we set off my travelling companion turned the water on in anticipation of filling up the water tank and noticed that the water pump was cycling every two minutes. This is an indication that there is a leek somewhere! The first thing to check was the pipes going to the taps, they were OK. Then I checked the calorifier, the tank that holds the hot water. I could see no stray water anywhere near that. Popped outside and checked the overflow that had been blocked up to stop the water spoiling the new paint. Aha, a constant dribble of water. More research and I decided that it must be the safety relief valve on the hot water tank.
Set off to the facilities and made good use of them. We arrived just as a boat was leaving so there was room for both of us and almost straight away another boat started hovering, waiting for us to finish. By the time we were ready to leave there were four boats waiting to use the facilities so I am glad we got there when we did.
Off to Stoke Golding for the night and moored up close to Ashby Marina. I walked along to Ashby Boats and saw Mark who had my pressure cap for the engine that he ordered for me a couple of months ago. He can replace the Safety Relief Valve for us tomorrow morning.
Bangers and Mash with broccoli for dinner.
27th nurse.trunk.oils - Goodacres Bridge - 4½ miles
Spent the first part of the day moving all the perishables from Iowner to Dennis, along with pots and pans, food containers and various sundries that we will need on our cruise. Then along to Ashby Boat Co where our engineer took hold of the Safety Relief Valve and twisted it lightly at which point it broke off in his hand. I'm so glad I didn't do that. It would seem that the Polish workers had fitted a malleable iron tee piece to the copper cylinder and over time, due to galvanic action, the malleable iron bit had just rotted away. A good reason to not mix metals. He managed to rectify the situation by cleaning away the remains of the rusted thread and fit a new Safety Relief Valve.
Filled up with diesel and got a new bottle of gas and away we went. I called in at Nutts Lane to go into Hinckley to get my prescription. While I was there I called in to a couple of charity shops but it was quite hopeless. As soon as I entered and put my mask on my spectacles steamed up and I could see nothing. Didn't happen in Sainsbury's or Iceland so it must be that they have a much drier atmosphere. I don't know if that is better for controlling the spread of viruses or not, but I would err on the side of caution and say it is.
Got some goodies and some frozen trout and along with four bottles of wine and three bottles of Cravendale my rucksack was quite heavy.
I was sat at the bus stop on one of those narrow plastic seats with a little old lady sat next to me and the rucksack on the seat beside me. When the bus arrived I slid along beside my rucksack and started the process of getting first one shoulder strap on and then the other while the rucksack is still on the seat taking the weight. At this point the little old lady said "Let me help you with that" and bodily lifted it up so I could don it that much more easily. And so back to the boat. It did try to rain a little bit while I was in Iceland.
Cruised for a little under an hour till I reached Dennis and moored up just in time to miss the heavy downpour and thunderstorm.
Did one lot of washing while travelling and one lot when I was moored up so hopefully everything is clean before we set off on our journey.
28th misty.belly.poem Lliffe Farm Bridge - 2 miles
Overcast and cloudy. I set off and got to the lockup/moorings early so that I could collect the bits and pieces we wanted, some rope for fenders and the anchor chain and rope. my travelling companion has an anchor but no rope or chain for it so we will be taking mine. Did the last minute cleaning and tidying, especially cleaning and emptying the fridge. my travelling companion collected me and we cruised for about an hour before we decided that it would be silly to tempt fate any longer so we moored up before the heavens opened.
I made four new fender ropes to replace the ones that were too short ans settled the anchor chain and rope in the cratch with my travelling companion's anchor. We will need to get a new shackle to hold the chain to the anchor as the one we have is too small for the anchor.
Later in the afternoon the heavens opened as predicted and, as usual, there was a wonderful rainbow. Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner.
29th bits.signed.mandolin - Atherstone - 8 miles
I'm still on my coleslaw for breakfast regime and I am constantly looking for somewhere to weigh myself. When I called in to the pharmacy a couple of days ago to collect my medication I asked them if they had somewhere I could weigh myself but they said no.
Up early to brilliant sunshine and an al fresco breakfast on the rear deck. Set off by half nine and arrived at Atherstone shortly after twelve, a quick bite to eat and off to town to do some shopping. I wanted to get a 5Lt bleach from the hardware store and see if Aldi had any decent green vegetables. First off I called in at Lloyds pharmacy and managed to weigh myself, down 2 kg, so perhaps the regime of coleslaw for breakfast is working, at least it has encouraged me to persevere with it. On to the hardware store who have discontinued 5 Lt bleach but directed me to their sister store that does stock it. Got some. A couple of charity shops but still the challenge of seeing things of interest with steamed up spectacles so gave up on them. Into Aldi, bit no luck there. I did get a couple of items the I needed and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have installed self service checkouts that are extremely Covid friendly (is that the right expression).
Back to the boat for an afternoon nap. I don't think we will be going anywhere tomorrow as the forecast is for heavy rain and strong winds.
30th
Woke early to almost clear skies. Breakfast, a cup of hot orange and then the rain started. I wanted to go shopping sometime today if for no other reason to take my empty inhaler containers to the pharmacy for recycling. Come elevenish the rain stopped and the skies seemed to be clearing so off I went. The pharmacy took the inhalers and on the off chance I asked them if they sold 'Lotil' my favourite hand cream. I have been using it ever since my nails started cracking and I found out that was because I was doing too much washing up. The trick is to wear rubber gloves and use hand cream.
Off to the coop via the Factory Outlet shop where I found a pair of slippers to replace the ones I have been using for the past four years. They should have been replaced many moons ago but what with Covid and all that. I also found a pair of sandals to replace the pair that fell to pieces last summer. I have been wearing a pair of beach shoes for the whole of this summer as they are the only footwear I can get on with the swollen ankle.
Some raspberries (reduced), fresh cream and a cabbage in the Coop. Good quality green vegetables are hard to come by at the moment. Got back to the boat before the second tranche of rain fell.
I was using my tablet to see what was in the area when I noticed the caravan shop. I had rang them several months ago because they supposedly stock the TV I am interested. Gave them a ring. Yes they have the TV on display, no they do not hold them in stock, they order on request yes I can have the display model. Off I went to investigate.
my travelling companion was out for a walk so I gave her a ring to let her know what I was doing. Set off and met my travelling companion om the way. Got there and had to wait about half an hour for the guy to sort out the remote for the TV so I could play with it. The TV was mounted on the wall above a doorway along with three others. Had a good play, the EPG worked the way I like, the sound was good, we decided we would take it. Then the fun began, first the guy could not find the box it came in. He found another TV box and announced that this model is wall mounted only as it is designed for caravans. I pointed out that the picture on the box showed the TV on a stand. He tried again and found a box with a stand in it, not the right box but a box with a TV stand in. Ha said that it would take him a couple of hours to get the TV down from it's fixings and find the correct box and and and. We decided that we would give it a miss. The good thing is that at least we now know that the TV is worth purchasing if we can find one.
On the way back to the boat we passed a chippy and the smell was so enticing we went in and got some. Gorged ourselves on fish and chips. A very early dinner but we finished off about sevenish with the raspberries and cream.
31st lamppost.tried.soccer - Atherstone Bottom Lock - 3 miles 11 locks
After a quick shop at nine am for rubber gloves we set off and entered the first of eleven locks at half nine. There were four volunteer lock keepers manning the locks this morning and as a boat had just come up the flight all the locks were in our favour. We completed the first five locks in under thirty minutes. After that we were on our own. Having said that there was a plethora of boats coming up the flight so again all the locks were in our favour although we did have to wait a short time at one or two of the locks for the rising boat to come out of the lock. All in all we completed all eleven locks in two hours and moored up just below the last lock for the rest of the day. A good decision as it started raining just after one o'clock even though the forecast was for a dry day.
As the day wore on we gradually became inundated with flies. I think they might have been a left over from the river just a few yards away from us. Both my travelling companion and I constantly had a fly swatter of some sort in our hands. At one point the neighbours must have thought that we had a drum kit on board with the rhythmic staccato beat of paper on table or wall or window. Overnight they seemed to be replaced by midges on the windows.
