January 1 2004	We saw the New Year in last night aboard Snecklifter and early this morning set off to Sutton Wharf to wind before returning to Bath Piece just for the day.  Our friends from Ashford - Clive and Joy Thrower and Linda Pelc - met us for a pint at the George and Dragon and we then came down to the boat for lunch and to spend the afternoon catching up on their news.   If the weather is not too bad tomorrow we hope to take on diesel in the morning and then return up the canal to spend the next week or so cruising.  There are times when it's good to stay in one place for a while but after four or five days we are ready to move on again.  Doubtless we will return to the joys of Stoke Golding sooner or later - especially the warmth and friendliness at the George and Dragon (see Latest pictures ).
January 4	As planned we set off early on Friday and after dieseling, cruised just short of Sutton Wharf.  The following morning we headed for Shackerstone to meet our friend Lynda from Wi'Mopson, a marvellous journey despite the cold and the flurries of snow - again largely thanks to an almost deserted canal.  After a day and a half of travelling we passed our first two boats on the move a mile of so south of Shackerstone and they were just a couple of hundred yards apart.  Lynda joined us on Snecklifter about mid-day for a cuppa and then suggested we drive in her car to the Globe at Snarestone which we didn't expect to visit again until all threat of ice was past.  I had a lovely pint of Speckled Hen and we met a couple of other boaters whose friendliness assured us that if we were "trapped" at the top of the canal by ice we could depend on them and others for help in shopping etc. So this morning we took a risk (not a great one because the forecast is mild and damp for the next week) and came up to Snarestone, travelling through the tunnel to wind and then mooring in our preferred spot a few hundred yards back down the towpath, clear of the trees and in the open air.  It would have been another enjoyable cruise except for one problem - a few miles short of Snarestone there was a fishing match on and for the first time in nearly two years we clashed with the anglers. I slowed the boat to tickover and stayed in middle of the cut as per BW advice and all started off okay with the third in line beckoning us a bit closer. I steered a little closer to the bank only to have the first angler tell us to stay in the middle.  We passed another dozen before it began again with anglers beckoning us closer and asking us to stay in the middle.  I shouted back I was in the middle and then was assailed with shouts of "You'll never hit the bullseye".  I suggested they came aboard and looked because from my angle (right in front of the dartboard) I was aiming correctly.    Not a pleasant five minutes but it is the only unfriendliness we've met on the Ashby and only the first of several angling matches we have cruised through on different canals where we have been shown hostility. Each of the anglers who shouted - not all, by any means - seemed as if they needed to say something, anything.  As we passed under a bridge and the last of the anglers, Liz said "We've obviously had the bad luck to meet up with the militant wing of the angler's association" and the fisherman smiled.  Wish they had all been the same.  Today we rest, catch up on washing and, no doubt, visit the Globe again.  Tomorrow our friends David and Ruth Tomlinson are coming for lasagne and dominoes.  Finally, a note of thanks to Andrew Edwards for his complimentary words about this site when he emailed us before Christmas.  Andy's boat Khayamanzi is moored at Trinity marina and he has his own website at www.khayamanzi.moonfruit.com as well as helping run the website at Weddington Primary School, Nuneaton, where he is ICT co-ordinator.  On top of all that he is involved with www.UKcanal.com which,he writes, "is trying to develop a wireless broadband service within marinas with the hope of extending along as much of the canal network in the future as possible and also allowing boaters to roam or 'hot-spot' around other marinas."
January 6	Rain delayed our departure from Snarestone yesterday morning but by 9.15 we were on our way as the dark clouds gave way to sunshine that stayed with us for the rest of the day.  The journey was another memorable one - a few more boats about but also more wildlife enjoying the Spring-like weather.  As well as the usual moorhens, mallards and herons we saw two kingfishers, a kestrel, a sparrowhawk, various blackbirds and a large flock of lapwings that wheeled above the fields flanking the canal near Congerstone. It was also good to spot a vole swimming out towards the side of the boat It turned around quickly when it realised we were in its way and headed straight back to the safety of the weeds along the towpath side. Water rats are certainly getting rarer because it's the first I've seen in many months.  We stopped at Market Bosworth long enough to take on water and for Liz to catch a bus up to the shops before we cruised to our present mooring on the newish jetty at Sutton Wharf.  It's the first time we've tied up here but not the last - it's quiet, the countryside around is green and pleasant with Ambion Wood a a short walk away and the Sutton Wharf facilities are comfortably close.  It was an ideal spot for our friend Ken DeVille to pick Liz up early this afternoon and take her back to Derbyshire where she'll sing at the folk club in Little Longstone tonight.  Tomorrow she'll come back with Pat and Ralph Paulett who are putting her up tonight at their house in Ashford in the Water - we'll no doubt end up at the Hercules for lunch and then head back to Stoke Golding for the weekend.  Our stay at Snarestone was as enjoyable as always, especially the last evening when David and Ruth Tomlinson duly turned up for a meal followed by several different games of dominoes.  One of our Christmas presents from Jonathan was a set from Spain which had dominoes numbered up to nine, instead of the conventional six, and we thought we'd impress our visitors with them.  They brought with them a set from Canada with numbers up to double 15 - more than 130 in the set - and they taught us a couple of new games that we hope to play again, although only one of them is possible with our double nine set.
January 13	It doesn't feel as though nearly a week has passed since this diary was last updated but time passes quickly etc.   We returned to Stoke Golding at the weekend, in time for Liz to prepare for her five-day trip back to Derbyshire. She duly set off on Monday morning, driving a hired car and if her regular phone calls are anything to go by she is enjoying herself immensely, visiting old friends and colleagues.  This is now my second day on my own - except for Bess and Molly, and, of course, all the cooking, cleaning and miscellaneous boat chores - so I have not yet started to really miss her, though that will probably happen tomorrow or Thursday, and then I'll be wishing away my time before Friday arrives.   Meanwhile, I'm free to go to the pub whenever I want, except that it rained yesterday, and today the high winds haven't let up so I've stayed on board - apart from walking the dogs.  I'm also free to listen to my jazz CDs at as loud a volume as I want, except that I've been sat in front of the tv watching old episodes of Cheers and films recently videod.  If the weather improves tomorrow, however, it could be Bass and Basie.

January 20	Liz returned to the boat on Thursday, a day early, after enjoying her trip to Derbyshire and Sheffield. With most of a day to go before she had to return the hire car we took off on Friday to Ashby - our third attempt.  We had tried a couple of times before to catch a bus from Snarestone but the buses failed to turn up each time. Ashby turned out to be an excellent shopping centre, especially for fresh fruit and vegetables.  Since then we have stuck fairly close to Stoke Golding, moving our mooring a few times while we run down our diesel before having the tank cleaned out next week.  We've been having a recurring problem with fuel failing to get as far as our agglomerator, a problem cleared quickly by blowing back through the supply pipe. We suspect a piece of leaf or rust or other floating debris in the tank is getting caught at the entrance to the pipe. This has caused few difficulties on the Ashby canal but we have to solve it before setting off in March for the Thames.  Losing power mid-stream would not be a good idea.  Meanwhile we've heard from some other boaters, two of them old friends, the others new acquaintances. Mandy and Stuart Cooper have been in touch regularly, keeping us up to date with the progress on their shared boat.  We received the following a week or two back:  "Thought we'd give you the latest update on Strait & Narrow - it was lowered into the water at Penkridge on the Tuesday before Christmas, and the official naming ceremony was on 3 January, complete with almost frozen Champagne in plastic cups. It was the first time for us to meet some of the other owners, but more importantly, we had the chance to see the finished interior.  The boatbuilders have done a really good job and we are delighted with it.  We now only have to wait 28 weeks and 5 days until we go on board again."  We know all too well that barely suppressed excitement - especially the waiting bit!  Strait & Narrow is heading for the Macclesfield Canal in mid-March and we'll being looking out for it when we return there some time in August/September.  Meanwhile over the last few days two boats have hailed us as they passed, the first of them Khayamanzi from Hinckley whose owner Andy Edwards emailed us first just before Christmas. He was obviously out for a weekend and we managed to have a shouted conversation as he travelled up the Ashby one day and back the next. We failed to get on to his website because it required a special file - Flash 6, I think - and he said he'd try to get a copy of it to us as soon as he can.  Then on Sunday I poked my head out of the side hatch to ask a passing boat Even Balance how thick the ice was that they were breaking through and was greeted by Julia Cory and Steve Bacon with the now fairly familiar but still cheering words "We follow your website."  I had chance only to say good and to suggest they email us before they travelled out of earshot.  Sure enough on Monday Julia sent us the following: "Good to see you yesterday as we were moving the boat from Shackerstone to Trinity Marina. It was our first cruise as we had the boat transported from Hanbury to Shackerstone by low-loader on Friday. We had a super few days on the Ashby despite the freezing temperatures.  It  really is a beautiful canal. I can see why you are spending  winter there."  They hope to be back up this way in mid February for a four day trip so we will be looking out  for them. As I've said before it always perks Liz and me up when we hear people have been following the site - it reassures us that we are not writing in a complete vacuum.
January 29	Snow fell yesterday, though no more than a sprinkling, and this morning there was a fair covering of ice on the canal.  But we could tell how cold it had turned because there was ice rather than water condensation on the inside of our windows this morning - despite the warmth from our solid fuel stove which is constantly burning.  Still, we are in a beautiful spot which is not as isolated and far from Stoke Golding's facilities as the new photograph suggests (see Latest pictures), and our diesel and water tanks are full, we have two full cylinders of gas and our lavatory cassettes are almost empty.  So we are ready to face any deterioration of the weather if the tv forecasts of rain and milder conditions are wrong.  I had not intended leaving this update as long as this but over the weekend I had another bout of the vertigo that laid me low last October, a couple of days before bringing Plodder up from Aynho with Dave and Susan Lane.  But in one way it was reassuring to see how quickly I was seen by the local medical practice after Liz mentioned my symptoms during a routine visit on Monday. I would have been happy with an appointment late in the week but they slotted me in on Tuesday morning and the doc was able to reassure me there was nothing more sinister than labyrinthitis - infection of the inner ear.  The combination of not being 100 percent and the icy conditions, however, have made us content to stay here and relax even though we're looking forward to cruising up the canal again next week.  In the meanwhile I must thank some of our correspondents who have been in touch with us during our brief website "blackout," especially Sarah Levick whose boat Arcadia Carrying Company is having various jobs done at Streethay while she recovers after breaking her leg playing football last December.  She and her husband Andy, both in their early 30s, are keen collectors of unusual beers - we can't wait to meet them and compare notes!  We also heard from Derbyshire folk-singer friends Kath and Geoff Deighton who are hoping to visit us on Sunday, from Pete Adcock whose work has meant we've not seen much of him as we'd have liked even though his boat Tiger M is at Willow Park marina a few hundred yards away from us, and from loyal supporters like Rose Philpott who we hope to meet in Spring when we cruise to Lechlade with fellow boater Mike Hecken on Ronarasa.
February 3	With my health measurably improved and a spate of weekend visits over, we have come up from Stoke Golding to stay overnight at Sutton Wharf before cruising on up the canal - at least as far as Shackerstone where we'll wind and return to one of our favourite moorings at Bridge 50 for a couple of days.  We are due back at Stoke Golding for Liz's routine visit to the doctor on Monday morning and we must be close to good access the previous day to meet Roger and Sue Morgan of n.b Ballard for lunch.  Otherwise we can please ourselves.   Last weekend was fairly hectic for mid-winter with three lots of visitors on Sunday - but fortunately the terrible rain and high winds of Saturday had given way to reasonably mild weather.  The first of our callers, Alan and Daphne Binns from Derbyshire, stopped off for morning coffee on their way to meet friends for lunch near Hinckley.  Soon after their departure, son Jonathan arrived from London for a 24-hour stay and by mid-afternoon Geoff and Kath Deighton - two of Liz's fellow folksingers from the Packhorse in Little Longstone (and various other venues) had found us at Bath Piece moorings which have ready access to the road.  We persuaded Geoff to sing a couple of his own songs that Jonathan had not heard and later repaired to the George and Dragon for a pint of Bass and a half of Navvy for me, all Navvy for Geoff and Pedigree for Liz.  The others drank lager which deserves to remain nameless!  Yesterday we saw Jonathan off on his return drive to London and then waited around at the mooring for a delivery of coal.  As soon as that was safely on the roof we warped across the canal to a quieter, towpath mooring from which the dogs could run freely, and then set off early this morning for five days in which our activities will be limited only by weather. Tomorrow we hope to be at Market Bosworth in time for the weekly market.
February 10	We are another week nearer setting off on our travels again and the drier, almost Spring-like weather of the last couple of days has given us an itch to move.  In the meantime we've left Stoke Golding for a day and are moored near bridge 33 with lovely country views on both sides of us.  We return to SG tomorrow to have lunch with Trevor Cooper-Tydeman of Zungeru but then we'll turn around once more and head up to Snarestone where we will be joined on Sunday by our "surrogate" grand-daughter Danni Thrower who will travel with us for four days while her mum and dad are in Turkey.  Since my last update it has been an enjoyable week.  We cruised up to Shackerstone as planned, winded and moored at bridge 50 and then returned slowly back to Stoke.  On Sunday Roger and Sue Morgan duly turned up and took us out to the George and Dragon for a most enjoyable lunch and as usual we spent most of the time happily talking about canals and boats.  We hope to meet up with them again as we beat our way south via the Oxford and will certainly see them during our planned couple of months on the Thames.  That last depends on our solving our fuel problem, of course.  Regular readers will remember my mentioning that every now and then diesel fails to get as far as our agglomerator, a problem cleared quickly by blowing back through the supply pipe. We thought a piece of leaf or dirt in the tank was to blame so we had the tank completely drained a fortnight ago.  Six days later it happened again, and although there has been no repeat over the last eight days we are not confident that the probem is solved. If any of you technical wizards out there have any suggestions we're ready to try anything before setting off towards the Thames in March!    Finally good news from Derek and Dot Canvin in New Zealand whose boat is being built by Heron at Mirfield. According to their recent email: " Gypsyrover is now nearly complete except for the upholstery etc.   She has been moved out of the workshop into the carpark."   We won't be able to get to the launch on March 5 but will be sending the Canvins all our best wishes and hope we'll meet some time in the next couple of seasons.

February 13	Despite drizzly but warm weather we have cruised for three consecutive days (only a few hours each time, of course) and are moored several hundred yards below Snarestone tunnel in a quiet spot that we always enjoy.  The journey itself would have been uneventful but for another engine conk-out just after we had exited the long straight stretch past Bosworth Field mooring.  We were quickly under way again.  Several of you have emailed me suggesting there might be a blockage in the breather hole that allows air into the tank as the fuel is used, preventing a vacuum.  That can't be it : after I have blown down the fuel pipe to clear whatever is causing the blockage I then blow back down through the breather hole to get the fuel moving quickly into the filter and back into the engine.  But many thanks for the suggestion - good to know you are thinking about us out there.  Meanwhile, we've received a couple of emails from Wolverhampton Boat Club friends, Martin and Jenny Howes, which shows we can all get it wrong at times, even those with long experience.  I'm delighted they are happy for me to pass on the following cautionary tale:  "After New Year’s Eve in the club, six boats set off on New Year’s Day up the Shroppie to Norbury and back, taking full advantage of the four days. We had a problem at Gnosall on the way back, when, being sociable, we had 14 people on the boat, which took the  exhaust under water. Being raw water cooled, the outlet is low, and I have thought for 14 years that there was a non-return valve in the system.  I found out there was not when we drew water into the engine. We were towed back to the club, where the situation was easily rectified.  "Two weeks after the escapade, we went down to Compton and no-one would set foot on Ashted, despite the fact that we were well and truly aground. One of our friends had even printed tickets: ASHTED Admit one. Last weekend we had another little excursion up to Wheaton Aston, where once more there were ‘Thirteen at Dinner’, although this time we were a little better distributed. The only eventful occurrences were down to the howling gales which put a complete new twist on the term ‘winding’."  The only helpful suggestion I have been able to make was that Jenny and Martin either shed a few pounds or a few of their friends - but neither option is a happy one!
February 16	Since Tuesday we have been without an engine to top up batteries, thanks to a failure in our electrical system - probably the regulator that controls the alternator.  This is being repaired but in the meantime I cannot spend much time on the internet to update this diary or answer emails.  So please forgive me and be patient if you are owed a reply.
February 25	At last we are back at Stoke Golding with a new alternator, hot water on tap, and just two weeks to relax before we leave the Ashby canal for our Spring and Summer travels.  So much has happened since my last full update this will have to be a fairly concise summary.  Still at Snarestone, our first guest Danni arrived on the Sunday and stayed with us until Thursday when her grandparents Clive and Joy Thrower arrived at Sutton Wharf to collect her.  She thought our breakdown was hugely amusing and for a while so did we. During our stay there and our journey back towards Sutton Cheney we were passed a couple of times by Even Balance and Khayamanzi but we hadn't a chance to do much more than shout a few hellos to Julie and Steve on the first and Andy on the second.  We had a longer chat with Pete and Val on Tiger M because they were moored close to us at Snarestone.  On Tuesday night of last week, Pete from RCR arrived at Sutton Wharf within a couple of hours of our SOS, took away our alternator for a thorough bench check and returned next day to report it was fine.  He then removed the separate regulator which was causing our problem and checked it out on the internet to find a supplier.  The trouble was it turned out to come from the USA and would take weeks to reach us. So we opted for a new alternator with built-in regulator that was supplied by an Isuzu agency and then sat back to wait.  It finally arrived in Leicester on Tuesday afternoon, Pete drove out to us straight away and it was installed and running by 7 o'clock last night.     In the intervening days our friend from Derbyshire, Lesley Swain, spent a couple of days with us, happy to be quietly moored at Sutton Cheney and to ferry us to the nearest garage to pick up petrol for our Honda generator. (The first time we've used it since buying it last winter, it has performed extremely well, charging up our batteries just enough each day.)  And then on Sunday, regular email correspondents and visitors to the boat, David and Ruth Tomlinson invited us for lunch at their lovely house on a hill overlooking Melton Mowbray.  We devoured a splendid meal, looking out of their window at an impressive variety of birds eating from hanging nut-baskets etc.  They included a male spotted woodpecker - the closest and longest sighting I've enjoyed of this comparatively rare visitor.  They are going to miss their house when they move on to their narrowboat next year but they are obviously looking forward to becoming live-aboards.  This morning we took on water at Sutton Wharf and set off for Stoke Golding - and not even a thin coating of ice was going to stop us after a week of enforced idleness.  First stop was the George and Dragon which we hadn't visited on a weekday for over four weeks, partly because of my illness a month ago and then our travels up to Snarestone and back.  It hadn't changed and the Bass was as good as usual.  P.S.  It just started snowing.
March 1	We had planned to stay at Stoke Golding until Wednesday when we are both booked in for a routine check-up at the local doctor's surgery but the weather was so fabulous today that when we set off for our after lunch walk with the dogs we suddenly decided to cruise for an hour or two to make the most of the sun.  A BW working boat passed us this morning, breaking up the ice, so we had a fairly clear run up to Sutton Wharf, where we will spend tonight and tomorrow morning, returning to Stoke in time to moor late afternoon.  The short but enjoyable trip was all the more important to me because Liz spent the weekend back in Derbyshire visiting friends while I stayed on board looking after boat and dogs and even though the sun shone while she was away it was bitterly cold so I hardly strayed outside except for dog-walking and a quick bus trip to Hinckley on Saturday.  Otherwise it was quiet, with only a few walkers passing by to disturb the winter solitude.  Although we are still enjoying our time on the Ashby I will be glad be travelling again in a week or 10 days time.

    

March 9	Another busy week has passed and we are still not ready to leave the Ashby - we're expecting a second alternator to be fitted before the end of the week so we should be heading south by the beginning of next week.  Since my last update we have returned to Stoke Golding to meet up with our old friends Mike and Sue Richardson of Shania (twice, in fact, because they were back the next day with some special "putty" that hardens like metal for me to do some repairs), cruised back up to Market Bosworth and then Sutton Cheney for a few days and this morning came back down to Stoke Golding.  Seems a lot of messing about but as we are having to run the engine for so many hours a day to give us battery power we decided we might as well travel as much as possible, especially as the days have been so sunny.  Mike and Sue have been based at Hartshill for most of the winter and their recent visits were made in the camper-van they bought last year. They've now left it with family for the summer and before they set off for their new season they are coming to see us again - this time by boat.  Coincidentally, Trevor Cooper-Tydeman telephoned yesterday to say he has a few days in hand waiting for some work to be done on Zungeru so he's heading this way as well.  Both are due tomorrow or Thursday and it will be something of a happy reunion - all three boats met up at Gargrave in May 2002 when we were just a month or two into our four-year voyage of discovery (wish now I had made that a five-year voyage from the start - it would have made us sound more intrepid!)
March 15	Our last night on the Ashby Canal.  Unless the weather is dire tomorrow we intend making an early start so we can reach Brinklow on the North Oxford for our next mooring.  We had planned to reach Hawkesbury Junction today but a combination of high winds and finding Trevor moored on Zungeru at Bridge 3, which has traditionally been our first and last stop on this marvellous canal, persuaded us to stop a couple of hours early.  We've spent much of the last four days moored close to Trevor, in fact. As expected, Mike and Sue on Shania arrived at Stoke Golding on Thursday, with Trevor not far behind them.  The next morning Dave, the engineer from Isuzu agent Bob Knowles, was at the boat early despite the snow and made an excellent job of fitting a second alternator - a 110 amp which now charges our six leisure batteries, leaving our 70 amp to concentrate on the starter battery.  As soon as he left at lunchtime, Mike and Sue, Liz and I walked up into the village and met Trevor in the George and Dragon where we downed a pint or two of Bass to toast our new season.  Next morning Liz and I took off for a last visit to Sutton Wharf, spent the night there and returned through high winds to Stoke Golding yesterday afternoon.  This morning we set off about 8am, took on diesel and gas at Ashby Boats and then cruised down to Hinckley where Liz used the marina's laundrette to wash a large pile of dirty towels etc.  As we arrived, we were greeted by Mick and Barbara Hill off Vavara and chatted with them for a while before eventually setting off for lunch at the Lime Kilns - splendid food and excellent beer.  We've visited the pub every time we've cruised up or down the Ashby and never been disappointed.  Pedigree and guest beer Hobgoblin today.
March 16	Despite a brisk wind (but no rain) we left the Ashby before 8.30 this morning, following Trevor on Zungeru to Hawkesbury Junction where he stopped to take on water and we got rid of rubbish before locking up to the North Oxford canal.  By the time we had gone a slow couple of miles, Trevor caught up with us and we soon found ample mooring at Ansty to tie up for a pint of lunch at the Rose and Crown.    The wind seemed worse in the afternoon and at one stage we were ploughing through choppy water.  By the time we reached Brinklow there were already a fair number of boats there and Trevor unselfishly pointed out a good 60ft gap and went on himself a few hundred yards to the next space.  Unfortunately, by the time he reached it someone else coming the opposite way had whipped in so Trevor was obliged to moor alongside concrete instead of grass. And the wind was so fierce on the corner there that I had to hold Zungeru while he tied up to pins.  Tomorrow we are leaving early so we can get to the Tesco at Rugby before cruising on to Hillmorton Locks. Trevor is coming with us as far as Rugby then winding.  He has a few days to kill before meeting his wife Janet at Braunston on Monday.  We'll be sorry to leave him again - he's always good company - but that's one of the attractions of life on the Cut : you meet old friends, spend a few days together and then move on.  And it's certain we'll meet him agaim sooner or later.  Since our first brush at Gargrave we've been destined to see Zungeru (and Shania) regularly - they might even say doomed!
March 17	Shortly after I updated this diary last night, Trevor rang to say he had decided to stay a little longer at Brinklow (can't say I blame him) so we left alone this morning at 7.30 am and by nine were pulling in at Rugby. We made rapid progress again in the afternoon so cruised on to Braunston, called in at the Isuzu agent for a new air filter, winded and set off along the Grand Union towards the junction with the south Oxford canal, mooring close to bridge 100 - lovely views and as it turned out, excellent neighbours on a boat called Haversham.  We chatted for a while with Erika Petersen (an American whose English husband Jim was on board preparing a fire.)  A few minutes later their guest Dubliner Seán Quigley came back to Snecklifter bearing two cans of Guinness so we could celebrate St Patrick's Day with him - a splendid way to end a very eventful and tiring day.   Our soft four months on the Ashby are rapidly taking on a dreamlike quality but at least we are well on our way to the Thames.  I realise that those of you who are used to our leisurely progress must be wondering what's possessed us but I assure you we'll slow down again as soon as we reach the Duke's Cut.

March 20	Despite almost gale-force winds and driving rain we reached Banbury yesterday, just five days after leaving Stoke Golding - a tough schedule made necessary by getting here in time to receive some electrical equipment that has followed us around from Hinckley.  The only reason this diary was not updated yesterday was that we were both very, very tired. Thursday was not as hard a day - at least we were able to stop for a lunchtime pint at Fenny Compton, reaching Claydon Top Lock late afternoon.   The first lock was set against us,however, and the rain was torrential so we stayed put.  Next morning we set off at 6.30 am but stopped again at eight - just holding the boat against the wind through the five Claydon locks and then the two locks after the flight was bad enough, but when the rain came bucketing down we paused for a long breakfast that extended into lunch.   Shortly after midday, the sun appeared so we set off again and fought the wind until we moored mid-afternoon at Castle Quay, which we had forgotten was only 24 hours.  This morning we backed a few boat lengths off the main Quay to tie up on a 48 hour mooring which will give us until midday Monday. Just as well, because the mooring warden here is very keen and has checked our licence each day we have been at Banbury.  Today has been a welcome respite, with plenty of retail therapy, and Liz has indulged herself in another afternoon at the laundrette.  If the long-awaited equipment arrives on schedule we should be on our way by early Monday afternoon, which will be something of a relief for at least one of us : we like Banbury a lot but television reception here is abysmal.  Last night we tuned in a total of zero channels so if anyone out there saw the last episode of Sex and the City could they please let Liz know who Carrie ended up with!
March 23	The electrical equipment arrived as promised (excellent service from Panasonic), the weather brightened a little and yesterday we set off after lunch, glad to leave Banbury and moor out in the countryside again.  We didn't travel very far but spent a reasonably quiet night before resuming our journey early this morning through several more locks, passing through Aynho without stopping.  Faced with heavy showers and a cold wind blowing we packed it in for the day on a splendid stretch of open country near Somerton in the Cherwell Valley.    I spent the afternoon cleaning the boat and, during several long sunny spells, blacked the starboard front side where it had been battered and bruised last year and through the winter.  The flanks of the boat are not marked as badly but when we eventually moor on the other side of the canal I will have to black the port front side to the water level. That should keep us going for the next few months until we return to Burton on Trent in July for a complete bottom blacking by experts - I know it's cheaper to do it yourself but life is too short, we'd rather pay.  Liz dozed through most of this, "worn out" perhaps by her busy weekend and by a trapped nerve in her shoulder that has not been helped by the locking.  We had had a bit of a nervous time when she realised she hadn't renewed our insurance (Liz is our financial director) and cover ended on Saturday.  That was rectified over the phone first thing on Monday morning, hours before we needed to move.    The stress was largely offset, however, by the surprise appearance of our son Jonathan who caught a very early train from London to Banbury on Sunday morning to take her out for a Mother's Day lunch - I would have joined them if it had not been for that insurance.  We decided not to leave the boat unattended that day. He set off back to London in the early afternoon leaving his mum to glow for the rest of the day.
March 25	We arrived at Thrupp yesterday afternoon, immediately renewed acquaintance with The Boat (Greene King bitter), and settled down for a quiet evening before catching a bus this morning into Oxford.  We topped up on leaf teas at an excellent shop in the market, treated ourselves to a duck and orange pie for our meal tonight and then returned for a quick lunchtime pint at the Boat.  Last night we had talked to the landlord, Trevor Grainger, about our trip to Oxford and today he asked how we had got on.  Liz mentioned that we had failed to get some Oxford Blue, a wonderful cheese that is my second favourite after Rocquefort - and it's cheaper.  He told us about his favourite, Blue Wensleydale, and said he'd get us some when he went into town this afternoon.  That's the kind of pub it is!  Elizabeth's trapped nerve is beginning to ease,a relief to both of us.  But it turned out well in one sense : because of the pain in her shoulder she took the boat through most of the locks coming down from Banbury giving me a much desired chance to do some locking and regain fitness lost during the winter.  The only trouble was our role change happened just in time for some of the heaviest bottom gates on the Oxford canal, as well as a lift bridge a little above Thrupp that was so heavy I had to bounce it three or four times before I could drag it down to sitting-on level.  A couple of hours cruising tomorrow morning and we'll be on the Thames again.

March 26	We are back on the Thames and delighted to be here - still cannot understand why some boaters either dislike the Thames or are uncertain about trying it.  Our first few hours after joining the river via Duke's Cut and King's Lock have taken us through some of the less attractive parts of the river but from here on it just gets better.  And few sights can be more impressive than the wide expanse of water at Binsey with the Perch on one side (we couldn't get to it at lunchtime because of a locked gate) and the open meadows with its dozens of wild horses on the other.  Disappointed about the Perch, we pressed on and after negotiating Osney Lock - where we had problems with the fast-flowing weir at its entrance until the lockie came to our aid and helped us tie up - we moored briefly above Iffley Lock right outside the Isis.  Ostensibly this was to give the lock-keeper at Iffley time to finish his lunch, but we liked the pub so much we decided to stay the rest of the day and night. And now that our race down the Oxford is over we can slow down and we'll be making more spur of the moment decisions like this.  One of the main joys of cruising down the Thames is that you're pushed along by the flow of the river so that at times the boat seems to be flying along at only 1600 revs.  I'm enjoying it all the more this trip because I've stopped worrying about my macho image and am now wearing a life-jacket all the time instead of just on the tidal Thames.  I've never been a strong swimmer and have always counted on the advice we were given in the Navy - better to float for hours rather than wear yourself out swimming - but I wouldn't bet my life on my ability to keep my head above water, literally.  Liz has joined me, even though she is a far better swimmer than I.  Whether it's just to give me moral support or not, it certainly makes me feel more at ease.  Today is our second anniversary of living on Snecklifter.  We came aboard to bring some personal belongings and just stayed.  We didn't start our "four-year" trip, however, until three days later, on the 29th.
March 27	We arrived at Abingdon just before lunchtime after a fairly rapid transit of three locks and five miles of river, most of it in a fine drizzle.  We now intend to blob out for the weekend and recover from the unusual (for us) pace of the last fortnight.  Normal service will be resumed next week.
March 29	Only a short run this morning through two locks and over five miles but we arrived above Day's Lock early afternoon and decided to stay the night - this is where we spent five days last years when Liz was ill so the mooring is familiar.  The weekend in Abingdon was very enjoyable, moored above the bridge with open parkland for the dogs to run in.  It is certainly among the most welcoming towns we have come across during our travels.  They are obviously keen to make it easy for boaters to stop, with stacks of moorings above and below the bridge and all of them free for up to five days at any time of the year. We were virtually on our own for a couple of days if you discount the hundreds of small boats rowing past us yesterday (part of a regatta) and the almost constant flow of walkers/spectators on the towpath side.  But apart from those busy few hours it was mostly quiet and the nights were peaceful.  Until today we had seen only three or four narrowboats moving on the river (a few others on short and long-term moorings, of course) and even today, at the start of the Easter holidays in this area we have been passed by only half a dozen or so. May last year was not exactly busy on the Thames but this seems the best time of all to come and spend a month here - we've almost got it to ourselves.  Traffic will increase later this week but once Easter is over it should be back to a few hardy boaters and the prolific wildlife.  As you may have noticed from the dateline on our Home Page this is the first day of our third year of cruising.  We're half way through!

April 1	Although the bank is high and there's a gap of varying width between us and Pangbourne meadow, this is a lovely mooring, just 10 minutes away from the shops.  Pubs?  We haven't found one open yet.  The neigbours are fascinating.  A pair of Great-Crested Grebe - they seem to be as prolific on the Thames as Moorhens are on the northern canals - were joined yesterday by a couple of Mandarin ducks circling close to us looking for food.  Other than that, a single plastic cruiser tied up above us this morning, the first boat we have seen on this long open mooring.  I spent much of yesterday continuing to cover up the ravages of last year's cruising - on the boat that is, not on myself.  And today Liz has attacked the inside with determination, leaving little unwashed, unhoovered or undusted.  Tomorrow we continue our trip down below Reading, hoping to be at Henley for the weekend.  Meanwhile we heard from Susan and Dave Lane on Plodder yesterday.  They are back at their mooring after a trip down the Andertown lift to the River Weaver, where they had a splendid time during which they met William and Pam Pughe on Chickasaw (their photograph, taken when we met at Tixall Wide, can be seen on Well Met on the Cut
April 4	As we set off from Pangbourne on Friday morning we spotted River Otter, home of Steve and Pat Ryan-Bell who welcomed us last year when we arrived at Henley.  They are more or less based at Henley where Steve has the mooring fees franchise for a good stretch of river either side of the town but they enjoy long trips out of season like the one last autumn when we met them at Huddlesford on the Coventry.  Although we tooted as we passed there was no sign of life on the boat (Steve was apparently in the shower) and we thought we would miss them.  But a couple of hours after we arrived at Henley, River Otter showed up,in company with Paul and Wanda Glaze on Alice from Red Bull Basin, a distinctively painted white narrowboat. So we were able to renew auld acquaintance with Steve and Pat and meet the Glazes who have been living on their boat several months longer than we have. (See Latest pictures ).  Henley itself is as attractive a town as we remembered it - even the charity shops are very posh - and the mooring, with a wide, long meadow for the dogs to run in, is one of the best on the Thames, even though television reception is abysmal.  Mind you, high winds and rain last night didn't help, blowing the aerial into the Thames, luckily between the boat and the bank.  Even when anchored down it twisted about, losing what little signal we could get.  Still, this was a very small minus that was easily dismissed this morning when we woke up to many pluses that included blue skies and a calm river, and Liz loves the bustle of activity you always get on the Thames, especially at weekends.  Today I intend finishing off a bit of above-the-waterline blacking and we'll resume our voyage down-stream tomorrow if it's decent weather.
April 6	After a lovely couple of days at Henley the wind and rain blew up on Sunday night, giving us a pretty "rocky" night, but fortunately it had quietened down by Monday morning.  We had a good run down as far as Maidenhead, planning to go straight on through the town and moor in the country, but as we passed the boatyard above the bridge I spotted another Heron boat - Driftwood 75 - and my razor-keen memory said "Bryn Jones".  Not absolutely certain that my memory was really that sharp I suggested Liz phone him immediately and by the time we had cleared the bridge Bryn had answered and we were turning in the river to return to the 24 hour moorings close to his boat.  We spent the next hour in a local cafe catching up on the two and half years since we met him at Whaley Bridge - his was the first Heron boat we visited to see what the build quality was like (see the second entry in our 2002 archive).  Bryn told us he had not been well for some months and had spent the entire winter on the Thames.  When we met he looked pretty good to us (see Well Met on the Cut ).  The Maidenhead mooring, just below the level of the road, was a little noisy but we still slept well and set off early this morning for Windsor, tying up near the railway bridge in time for a lunchtime stroll into the town and a pint of Bombardier at the local Wetherspoon.  Perhaps mistakenly we decided after a sandwich to continue our journey.  By the time we had cleared the extensive grounds and parkland around Windsor Castle the wind had suddenly increased, it rained, it hailed, it thundered and lightninged.  We then had a long wait to get through Old Windsor lock because it had been struck by said lightning and the lockie had to wind up the sluices and open the gates manually.  We are now at the Environment Agency moorings at Runnymede, having both enjoyed a hot shower, and we are about to sit down to a pork chop, egg and mashed potatoes dinner.  We feel we earned it.
April 8	A brief pause yesterday lunchtime at Walton on Thames on an excellent mooring close to three pubs and then we set off straight away to ensure a good spot at Kingston before the Easter weekend.  We needn't have worried because there was only one other boat on the long stretch above Kingston Bridge on the Hampton Wick side of the river.  However, we did find that since our five or six day stay last May new restrictions have been introduced by the Historic Royal Palaces authority - 24 hours free and then £5 a day for every 24 hours after that.  Despite the cost we will probably stay over the Easter weekend - this section of the Thames is likely to be very busy with weekend and holiday boaters and we always prefer to keep well out of the way over Bank holidays.  Besides our daughter in law Sharon is visiting tomorrow and friends from Derbyshire may call in on Sunday so this is a sensible base.

April 11	Perhaps because our visit to Kingston is so much earlier this year, passing river traffic has been surprisingly light this far into Easter.  But we've been busy with visitors - and with the usual boat-cleaning that inevitably precedes the first arrival.  This time our first caller was daughter-in-law Sharon who spent most of Friday with us, eating on board and later strolling over to an excellent pub in Hampton Wick - The Foresters - that we discovered the previous day.  Today our Derbyshire friends Ken and Mary De Ville descended on us - yet again bringing a large hamper of food, wine and beer for a picnic which we ate indoors because it was too cold to sit out for very long. They never come empty-handed but that's not the only reason we are always so pleased to see them. They're great company.  This time their daughter Grace and Mary's father Stan came with them for their first visit to the boat. Grace is studying journalism in Cardiff, Stan (who's nearly 80 years old) served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War so there were common links with both of them (even though I was only national service RN and I started my career in newspapers with the Western Mail in Cardiff several hundred years ago).
April 18	After a delightful stay at Kingston we came up river to Walton on Thames on Monday, intending to stay a couple of days.  In fact we settled here until Friday when we cruised back to Kingston to pick up our son Jonathan on the Saturday morning.  As soon as he was aboard we returned to Walton, a mooring you've probably gathered that we like very much.  We are tied up on a longish stretch popular with walkers and with river traffic but otherwise quiet at night - and only a couple of hundred yards from well-known pub, The Anglers which we visited on our first couple of lunchtimes - good beer and helpful staff.  But we quickly discovered The Swan a further 100 yards away, and that has become our "local" ever since. Again, excellent beer brewed in Wandsworth by Young's brewery and a friendly landlord Jeremy Marley who belies his 60 years of age - tomorrow he starts a 136 mile in four days row from Lechlade to Putney Bridge to raise money for charity.  The Swan has its own claims to fame, including being the meeting place of composer and song-writer Jerome Kern (Show Boat etc) and his wife in 1910.  The to-ing and fro-ing between here and Kingston has at least got us used again to coming up the Thames locks.  We've found that locking down has been far easier, especially for Liz whose comparatively short reach has made it difficult for her to throw the forward rope over the bollards when we've been travelling up the locks.  Please note : If any of you readers out there want to send us an email in future could you ensure you put a meaningful subject heading on it.  Over the last month or so we have been increasingly beseiged with spam and although most of it is obvious and is deleted without being opened, messages from new correspondents could well be accidentally dumped along with the dross.  When you live a nomadic life as we do, you come to depend on regular contact with other boaters and I thrive on missives from new readers who have enjoyed reading this diary and are sometimes encouraged in their own ambitions to enjoy life on the Cut.
April 22	Just below Cookham lock this morning we passed Jeremy Marley and two fellow rowers in their skiff - there was no time to chat as the river carried them towards London, but Jeremy shouted back to us that he was on time to complete his journey at Putney Bridge tomorrow.  We carried on for a short while and moored below Marlow lock in time for lunch and a stroll into the town.  Our journey since leaving Walton on Monday morning has been comparatively uneventful but extremely enjoyable, with nights spent at Laleham, Windsor and Boveney.  Wildlife has been prolific, with cormorants, wood duck, wild parakeets, kingfishers and deer lining the river and towpath for our delight.  Not so pleasant were the large, hairy rats raiding the rubbish bins early in the morning at Alexandra Park, Windsor.    We are definitely getting better at handling the boat as we move into and out of the Thames locks. Today, with the lockie off checking the weir, Liz operated the controls at Boulters Lock while a young woman from the river authority office came out to hold our front rope.  Don't know what the problem was but the heavy rain earlier this week has certainly had its effect on the river, with the current racing past us when we were moored at Laleham.
April 25	Since Friday we've been back at Henley, in our preferred mooring, enjoying sunny weather, sitting out on the river bank watching an almost constant stream of motor boats, skiffs, punts and rowing boats up and down in the weekend heat.  I've done more painting outside the boat, starting the first waxing of the sides this year, and we're now preparing for a visit from our Teddington friends Roger and Sue Morgan of Ballard to arrive this evening for a barbecue.  Tomorrow we'll probably head on up river and spend the week between Reading and Beale Park waiting for May 2 and our meeting with Mike Hecken at the start of our K & A trip.

April 27	The weekend at Henley was delightful - an adjective that covers both the weather and our last couple of days' activities there.  We were able to sit out on the long grassy river bank for most of two days and on Sunday afternoon got chatting over cups of tea with the couple on Hawksbill, the impressively large fibre glass cruiser moored behind us. Michael and Jenny Fordham were out for only a few days this trip but later this year they will be heading for France for an extended cruise.    In the early evening Roger and Sue duly arrived with four delicious steaks which followed our excellent marinaded chicken pieces and Waitrose pork sausages on to the barbecue.  Roger did all the cooking (splendidly), I raced in and out of the boat with various salads etc and when it was all over stayed below to do the washing up while the two women, for a change, sat and did nothing.  Before that we enjoyed an unusual dessert (at least to us it was new) when Roger barbecued four bananas in their skins.  The fruit inside was very hot, very soft and sweet, and a taste sensation that we will certainly repeat next time the weather is hot enough to sit outside to cook.  Today it has been much cooler.  We left Henley yesterday morning, cruised up to Tesco at Reading, topped up our larder and then returned a couple of miles down-river to moor at Sonning for the night - a lovely little village whose ordinary pub was closed when we walked the dogs in the afternoon.  So we sat outside in the gardens of the Great House Hotel choking over a pint and a half of Brakspear at £2.90 a pint, the most expensive so far on the Thames.  We are now back at Pangbourne meadow and Liz has been able to get another batch of washing done in the local laundrette.
May 4	Our stay at Pangbourne was most enjoyable, even though it rained most of the time.  Liz got more washing done, I caught up with some jobs inside the boat and our son Jonathan arrived by train on Saturday.  So we were certainly ready by Sunday, when the weather had improved, to set off back down river towards the Kennet and Avon.  I made one bad mistake when I tried to take the boat straight in to the mooring at Tesco on the edge of Reading, failing to take account of the fast-flowing river and hitting the jetty (I'd done it right often enough over the previous month to have known better!)   But after beating a hasty retreat to turn back upstream we got some shopping done before passing through Blake's lock and returning to the K & A after a year's absence.  By early afternoon we had moored a safe distance above Fobney lock and Mike Hecken arrived on Ronarosa a couple of hours later, having left his old mooring at Newbury on Saturday morning.  Next day we cruised through almost unbroken rain for five hours and arrived at Aldermaston in sunshine, where Jonathan left us to catch a train back to London and to enjoy a long hot bath after all his help with the locking.  Today was almost a repeat, with long periods of rain, though this time they were interrupted by short sunny intermissions.  Again, it was sunny when we moored at Newbury but the rain quickly returned and has continued over the last hour or so.  Newbury was as far as we got last year, of course.    After our gruelling trip up through all those locks late last May we decided enough was enough and turnedback to the Thames.  Many of our friends, including Mike, have insisted we gave up too soon and that things get easier and the canal becomes more attractive from here onwards to Bath and Bristol.  We will soon see for ourselves over the next few days but one major improvement over our last visit can be reported immediately.  With Mike's guidance cruising on a canal he knows well, and with Ronarosa beside Snecklifter in the locks, the workload has been far easier.  Only the weather has detracted from an excellent cruise from Fobney lock and Mike had no control over that !
May 8	All right.  So those of our friends who told us the K & A was a beautiful canal have turned out to be telling the truth.  Soon after leaving Newbury we left the canalised river behind and have spent the last three days or so on proper canal, with walkable towpath, recognisable canal bridges, and locks that have become easier to manage, without leaving any room for complacency.  This canal, say the most dedicated of K & A enthusiasts, is an obstacle course and from what I can see that's the way they prefer it.  Mike Hecken clearly loves these challenging waters with their 120 plus locks (of which 50 still lie ahead) and although he has not entirely converted us yet his ability to picture problems ahead and reassure us by forecasts of comfortable moorings near excellent pubs has made the last several days increasingly enjoyable.  Overnight stays at Kintbury, Hungerford, Great Bedwyn and now Wootton Rivers have been oases of rest after some fairly hard cruising, much of it in heavy rain.  Yesterday was an exception, with a really hot sun encouraging us to strip off several layers of woolly sweaters, though mine all went back on today as it turned wet and cold.   But the countryside has become more and more attractive, the wild-life prolific - buzzards, heron, grey and pied wagtails and several water vole spotted after months in which we have seen none of these increasingly endangered canal-bank animals.  Beers, too, have been high quality, with London Pride a feature in several pubs - I had just ordered a pint today at the Royal Oak when I spotted Wadworth's 6X straight from the barrel but I will sample that when we return to the 16th century pub with Mike tonight for a meal.  P.S.  Meal at Royal Oak was average but beer was nectar!

May 9	An excellent run today - more than five hours of cruising but only the one lock at Wootton Rivers before a 15 mile long pound, broken by a little excitement at swing bridges and trying to dodge wandering day-boats. Tomorrow we rest here at Devizes after a full week of slog and then on Tuesday we will tackle the Devizes flight of 29 locks. Our mooring here is good though a little noisy with weekend walkers and families out for a stroll but I expect it will quieten down when everyone (but us) goes back to work. Tonight we are going to walk into the town, passing Wadworth's brewery - and we'll doff our hats as we do.
May 11	We enjoyed a day and a half's rest at Devizes during which we discovered The Artichoke, a pub with an unlikely name but with excellent sausage, egg and chips for less than £4 - the first I've had since leaving the Ashby canal and good enough to be placed high on my list for a return visit.  Their Wadworth 6X had run out, the weaker Henry IPA was not to be repeated but their seasonal special, Summersault, very pale but strong, was much better.  This morning we set off at 9am down the 29 lock Devizes flight dropping the boat 234 feet in 2.25 miles, the first six of them taking an hour and a half, the main 16 polished off in two and half hours and the final seven in about an hour and three quarters.  The Caen Hill flight itself, dropping rapidly over 130 feet, was spectacular and deserves its reputation as one of the outstanding engineering features on the system.  Mike Hecken and Liz did a remarkable job with the locking, working ahead as much as possible and leaving me to handle both boats in the locks.  Much of the time I was able to close top gates as well, but they did most of the heavy work.  It was a relief then to moor here at Sells Green, as rural as its name suggests, and all has gone quiet as each of us relaxes in his or her way.  A hard day but an experience worth having.
May 13	After an afternoon and evening at Bradford on Avon where we sampled the justly famous Boatman's Breakfast (at 5.30pm!) at the cafe next to the Canal Tavern, we have come down through some magnificent countryside to moor at Bath, where my mother lived for nearly 15 years.  I used to visit the city every year to see her so it's a special pleasure to be here on the River Avon and to see it from a completely new angle - especially the wonderful Poultney Bridge which we admired briefly before winding just before the weir (see Latest pictures ).  If any vestige of doubt remained about travelling through all those locks and swing bridges it disappeared on the way to Avoncliff Aqueduct. This lower part of the K & A is as beautiful as any canal we've so far visited, and that includes the lovely Peak Forest and the finest stretches of the Shroppie. Tomorrow we are resting here for the day before pushing on down the river to Bristol where we'll stay for the weekend before turning round - and facing all those locks again !

May 15	We've made it.  We're here at the end of our journey down the K & A to Bristol and are moored up in the floating harbour, busy, noisy, alive with boats of all sizes and with weekend wanderers making the most of the marvellously hot weather.  Although we got away from Bath at our usual start time of 9 am we lost nearly an hour pulling in at Bath Marina for diesel - a long wait for the one chap on duty there (he was extremely pleasant and helpful when he was able to get around to us) and then a painfully slow topping up the tank.  Once the outskirts of Bath were left behind the countryside was again impressive and pretty in turn and the run in to Bristol itself was spectacular.  Photographs will be posted tomorrow with any luck.  Mike Hecken has gone off with family members for a quiet drink this evening and perhaps a welcome break from us.  He has done a marvellous job getting us here as promised - on time and with good moorings all along the route.  We would not have done this alone (will probably never do it again) but the effort has been worth it to reach one of the main centres of England's sea-going heritage.  Tomorrow Liz intends visiting the industrial museum.  I plan a quiet day fettling around the boat.
May 17	We had a remarkable weekend in Bristol - certainly the noisiest mooring we've had in our two years plus on the boat but also one of the most exciting.  Much of the noise came from the buzz of activity that you get around a harbour at the weekend but there were whoops and whistles and horns from passing craft of all kinds and sizes (as well as from the drunks lurching home in the small hours of the morning).  Liz spent a lot of her time rubber-necking in the Industrial Museum and on the ss Great Britain while I walked around the harbour, visited the Shakespeare Inn just 100 yards or so from our mooring and tried to keep out of the heat.  This morning we set off at our usual time, cruised down to the far end of the floating harbour past the Great Britain and the replica of Cabot's ship Matthew in which he and 18 men sailed to America - it is actually shorter than Snecklifter - before winding and travelling back through Bristol. It was a beautiful run on one of the hottest days so far but it was a relief to tie up to the railings which provide the preferred mooring in Bath. Liz set off immediately for the Post Office to collect our mail while I concentrated on the market (for insulating tape) and the smallest pub in Bath, the Coeur de Lion, (for Bombardier).
May 21	It has been an action-packed few days since leaving Bath but I've not been able to update this diary sooner because I've had to completely re-install Windows (hard drives were getting more and more clogged with rubbish and several programs not working properly or slowing down).    Coming up through the Widcombe locks was comparatively easy thanks to the help we received from Bob Wlodarczya, a paid Ranger who walks the K & A between Bath and Avoncliffe checking for problems.  Luckily he was on hand when I seemed to have an engine problem and had to moor between locks, but after cups of tea all round and 30 minutes of thorough checking of engine and gear oil levels etc., we realised the sudden loss of drive coming out of the deep 20ft lock was probably caused by cavitation (Mike Hecken's word for it!) - so much air pumped into the water that the prop seemed to be churning on nothing.  We ended the day in a lovely mooring at Avoncliffe, a few hundred yards from the Crossed Guns pub (picture to be posted later) and set off next day for Sell's Green.  Yesterday we came up the Devizes 29 - easier than going down in fact and spent the night at Devizes before cruising this morning to Pewsey to meet Mike Hale and his wife Jacqui who normally moor their boat Stargazer at Lady's Bridge.  Mike started following this website long before buying Stargazer and contacted me about using a computer and mobile phone to acccess the internet from a boat.  We all set off for a drink at the newish pub on the Wharf and realised another old acquaintance was moored behind us - Eric and Chris Moore on Masquerade, who we first met on the Macclesfield canal at Gurnett aqueduct in 2002.  When we passed them on our way to Bristol last week they hailed us and we shouted a brief greeting so it was nice to meet again with time to talk.  Not surprisingly they joined us in the pub for a longer chat.  PS.  We went back to the Artichoke at Devizes to introduce Mike Hecken to their sausage egg and chips which I had been lauding.  If anything it was even better the second time around with a delicious salad on the side and the marvellous Wadworth 6X was back on tap.  Can't recommend this pub and its food too highly.

May 24	Since Pewsey we have enjoyed a rather more leisurely cruise, stopping early at Crofton to visit the beam engines in the pumping station and admire the skills of the designers of 200 years ago.   In the evening, Mike Hecken's son Lee drove up for a short visit, joining us on Snecklifter for one of Liz's excellent spag bols.  We also arrived early at Great Bedwyn and again at Froxfield, giving us plenty of time to clean off some of the muck we have picked up coming through 60 plus locks.   At Bedwyn, Liz and I popped up to the Cross Keys to renew acquaintance with this excellent pub and over a pint of Wadworth 6X mentally devoured the fascinating pizza menu. The pub specialises in regular blues sessions in its concert room and has named each pizza after a different blues singer.  The landlady Susan McPhilbin asked if we wanted to order and we told her we had been hoping to eat in the evening.  Unfortunately, she said, she would be preparing her boat to leave for a party in Pewsey next day but then said if we came for 6pm she would stay on and cook the pizzas for us. We duly returned that night and enjoyed a Blind Lemon Jefferson (mozzarella cheese with sliced tomatoes) and a B B King (barbecue chicken, mc, peppers etc).  They were real pizzas cooked with imported ingredients and were delicious. At the risk of repeating myself after the Artichoke, I can again say don't miss The Cross Keys and its friendly owners - their website can be seen at www.thexkeys.com).  Today had been a boat cleaning day, Liz working inside, me outside.  Whether we'll get rid of all the thick green algae that has grown rapidly in the heat of the last fortnight I doubt.  The K & A could have a real problem with the stuff - just as the North Oxford had about five or six years ago when we did the Thames ring on a hire boat.
May 26	Three weeks to the day we are back at Newbury with the best part of the K & A behind us.  Before us lies the Thames and our cruise to Lechlade and then we return to the Oxford canal and head for Braunston where Mike Hecken will take Ronarosa to his new mooring. In the meantime we have a couple of days rest.  Mike H left us early this afternoon, took his boat to its old mooring in Newbury and then drove his car home.  He'll sort out some personal matters before his son Lee drives him back to the boat on Friday night and then we'll meet him outside the marina and continue our voyage to Braunston.  So far it has been marvellous (today's rain the first in nearly three weeks!) and Mike's leadership and good company has changed our opinions of this canal completely.  He had some help from the scenery, of course, and we won't forget the sheer vibrancy of Bristol's floating harbour.   But there have been other memorable moments. Last night at Hungerford we joined him on Ronarosa for a marvellous meal of pork steaks cooked under a layer of Bramley apples and cheese. Since we met up at Fobney lock on May 2 he's come aboard to eat with us several times and we've been back to sample his hospitality - usually cold meats and salad because he doesn't bother to cook much - but last night Mike excelled himself. Liz is now on her mettle.
May 27	Still at Newbury we spent the morning shopping, the afternoon washing and waxing the side of the boat. In between we went aboard Masquerade to have coffee with Eric and Chris Moore (see Well Met on the Cut) who caught us up and stopped briefly for lunch. We were able to get a little closer to their two Persian cats and to admire some of Eric's work - he's a travelling artist - as well as Chris's delightful miniature watercolours.  They are heading (very slowly) for Cambridge via Braunston so we will more than likely see them again before we get to the North Oxford.

 

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