Wet and Windy

We have just come back from 8 days on the boat during which we managed to do all the jobs that needed to be done. The only thing we didn't do was take the boat out for a trip. The weather can only be described as bl......y awful with strong winds and heavy rain showers every day - except the day we came home!!!! anyway it was still very nice to be back on the boat.

Whilst we were in NZ I had a continuing problem with my right eye which was still playing up on my return. To cut a very long story short I had an operation for a detached retina 2 weeks ago. The NHS have been fantastic with the operation carried out at the Brighton Eye Hospital a week after I first saw them. I have a gas bubble in my eye which will be replaced over the next 2/3 months by vitreous fluid which should give me back the majority of my sight. The only down side is that I cannot drive and Anne is acting as my very good chauffeur. Therefore no long gtrips this year as I need to go back to the hospital so that they can check progress.

We went to visit Pip & Richard (who spent a few days last year with us on the Llangollen canal ) on their new boat Fino on the River Nene at Oundle Cruising Club

The lovely new boat

Whilst there we walked over to Upper Barnwell Lock with its refurbished Mill restaurant.

No spring trip yet

We have not been up to the boat since February as we have been in New Zealand for 7 weeks and also seen Tokyo and San Fransisco -we both had a fantastic time. You can see our trip details at our travels blog site.

Hopefully we will go up to BB soon to get her ready for a 2 month trip in June/July- so please keep an eye on this site.

Wintery pictures

The frozen canal from the bridge by the Folly Inn Napton Jan09


Napton Junction bridge from the entrance to our marina with the canal frozen over about 4inches thick Jan 09

Simon and Debs had three of my pictures - two from last year trip and one from our trip down the Thames in 2005 - framed for our Christmas present probably to go in the hall or the dining room at home.

Looking down the Grand Union from Bucky Top Lock which shows how deep these ponds are so that they have sufficient water for the flight of wide locks. I went looking for my lost mooring hook but couldn't find it- somebody got there before me.

We did see a few moorhens around and I wondered how they coped when the canal is suddenly emptied, as the drop from the sides is a good 4/5feet in places. Do they suddenly wake up from their overnight nest spot and fall to the bottom wondering whats going on - where's the water ,nobody told me I must contact BW!!!!!!

Winter trips to the boat

Due to illness - man flu for me and a cold for Anne we didn't manage to get to the boat between Christmas and New Year. We eventually came up on Sunday 4th January - it was very cold minus5 inside the boat and the marina frozen solid with it going down to minus8 during the night. Didn't take the boat out but did manage a few jobs although we need to do some serious restaining/waxing where condensation has marked the light oak wood.

We went up again last week 12 February when it was not as cold inside the boat only 0 but the marina was still frozen and lots of snow still on the ground.

I will post a few photographs of the frozen surroundings and some of the dewatered Buckby flight which is closed until the beginning of March09.

Mobile cappuccino could be solved

During our three month trip I reported on the number or lack of good cappuccinos that could be found within walking distance of the canal. It showed the very bad state of good coffee around the country. Well our son was given a Bialetti Mukka Expresso (from Amazon) cappuccino maker by his girlfriend that could be the answer to our prayers. It makes 2 cups of superb cappuccino just by placing it on the hob with no messing about with milk steamers at all and only for £47.50., a great bit of Italian engineering to solve a serious problem. This could solve Andrew Denny's issues as well on Granny Buttons. This is going to be a must buy before our next trip for the occasions when I cannot find a land based one!

Mice strike back in unusual place

How about this for a weird event.

I went to top up the screen wash today, in the car that we used to go up to the boat the other week. There is a cup like indent above the shock absorber struts on each side and in one of them were about 30 red berries. They could not have been blown or washed in by wind or rain as there is a bulk head in the way. They are not berries from home, they are like the ones near the car park at the marina. They must have been put there by somebody or something- its about 2ft above ground level and you couldn't reach it with your hand. It must be a winter stock of food for MICE- aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Plans did not go to plan

We went up to the boat last Sunday to hopefully go out for a few days during the week - but boating never always goes to plan.
On arrival the temperature inside the boat was -3c, we had mice visiting and our main water pump which supplies the taps and toilet was playing up.

Soon got the fire going and the temperature soon increased and stayed alight for the rest of the week.

We had moored the boat with the stern towards the reeds last time we were up and I noticed that there is a gap at the bottom of the rear doors which is probably how the little perishers got in. Mouse traps were purchased in Southam and set. As I was doing this I disturbed a field mouse that had decided to nest in the bucket hanging up in the electrical cupboard- unfortunately I was not quick enough to catch it. The traps were set and over the next four days we evicted 6 !!!, and turned the boat around so that the bow is now into the reeds -but no further sightings or signs of them during Thursday or Friday night. Hopefully we have seen the last of them but just in case have left the traps in place.

On investigating the pump it was wet around the pump and the floor in the cupboard. My plumbing skills are zero but after talking to the marina manager I decided to have a go and disconnect it. The pipe joints were all ok it was a seal within the pump itself. A common fault it would appear on Shurflow pumps, luckily I had a replacement ( as I had identified it on my critical parts list) so swopped them over. I will try and repair it to use as a spare in future.

With all this excitement we had stayed in the marina and with Wednesday weather not looking so good we decided to do some shopping and therefore over several days visited Banbury, Northampton and Stratford upon Avon. The redevelopment around Stratford basin is really coming on and they have just completed the topping out of the RSC building with landscaping due for completion next summer and the theatre due to open in 2010.

So no trip out but a very pleasant time as always spent on the boat doing boaty things and back home Saturday afternoon.