archiveseptoctober2007

September 4

The two day stop at Polesworth was rather more enjoyable than we expected. The main mooring there is not among our favourites with the high bank on one side cutting television, radio and telephone reception to bare minimum. But the town itself is very friendly with the inevitable question "Are you off the boats?" repeated as you progress from grocer to butcher to chemist. People actually wave from the other side of the street to say good morning or to tell you that the local chippy is open at lunchtime and evening. And the highlight of course was the expected visit of John Thorpe and Linda Pelc from Derbyshire who arrived early Saturday evening bringing a splendid New York cheesecake, fresh strawberries and cream to follow another of Liz's superb lasagnes. Four hours soon passed in eating, supping and chatting about old times and old friends brought up to date.

Still, we were quite ready to move on next morning even though it was a Sunday, and within an hour or so we were more contentedly moored out in the "wilds" near a golf course about half a mile above Alvecote. And by Monday morning we were ready to return to well-established patterns and set off at 6am to make an early descent of the two Glascote locks. The bottom one was appallingly slow to fill and we could understand the frustration of one boater who had told us a day or so earlier that he had queued for three hours behind 10 other boaters making an afternoon ascent. As we finally entered the bottom lock, a BW employee walked past en route to work but when Liz mentioned the problem to him he shrugged noncomittally and went on his way.

We paused briefly at Fazeley for water and to dump rubbish and by early morning were moored at Hopwas, about 100 yards below Dixon's Bridge, a reasonaby quiet spot where I can sit out the weekend while Liz travels from Lichfield to Norwich on Thursday to spend a few days with Jonathan, Jenny and Sienna. She'll leave me a couple of helpings of chicken curry and I'm a few minutes walk from the Red Lion and its excellent Bombardier and Pedigree on the pump, so I will neither starve nor thirst before she returns on Monday and we beat our way northwards at a (comparatively) faster pace.

A few days ago we received another cheering message from Sarah Levick and Andy Jury on Arcadia which can be seen in From Our Friends.

September 7

We are still at Hopwas - Bess, Molly and I - while Liz is spending the long weekend with our son and his family in Norwich. It's quiet here but I have plenty to do on the boat and if the weather continues as sunny and warm as the last couple of days then some of it might get done.

In the meantime, we have had to rethink our plans for the winter. Before we left the Macclesfield canal Liz spoke to one of the owners of Macclesfield Canal Centre who had been so helpful last winter, taking in the boat for the two weeks that we spent in Ashford in the Water over Christmas and the New Year. Liz was assured that a place could be found for us to leave Snecklifter for five or six months so that we could go back to live in Ashford while we decided whether to sell the boat in Spring or return to it for the summer season. Two days ago she rang the Centre to "touch base" and talk about actual dates, only to be told that they could not find a berth for the boat and "no-one could have told you in Spring that there would be room."

Feeling very let down, we contacted Barton Turns marina where we spent a very happy first winter before we had developed enough experience to stay out on the towpath for the next four winters. We were immediately booked in from mid-October to the end of March 2008 as non-liveaboards so there was great relief all round. Obviously the drive from Barton to Ashford is longer than that from Macclesfield but we'll probably hire a van to carry all we'll need for the winter rather than ferrying smaller amounts in Liz's car when she gets it back in October. And we'll know that the boat will be just as secure as it would have been at Macclesfield.

Before then I'll have to make a decision about whether to continue this website, even on the reduced fortnightly update routine followed in previous winters. I would not want to lose touch with all those many boaters who email us but I can't see that our life in the Peak District would be of any real interest to readers whose priority is life on the Cut, in all its manifestations!

Until then a reminder on the left and below of why Liz was so keen to do the "grandmother bit" over the weekend - Sienna grows more delightful every time we receive another batch of photographs.

September 11

I repeat - we are still at Hopwas but this will probably be our last day here. Liz returned from Norwich last night, tired but full of the joys of having been a working grandmother for four days. Each visit she finds that Sienna is more interesting and also more demanding - but at least she found a ready listener for her singing. Today she is back to the routine of liveaboards and is catching a bus into Tamworth to pick up enough basics so that we can stay out in the country for another week. Then we head up towards Rugeley where the dogs have their annual date with the vet.

We don't want to rush things because we are waiting for some new panels for our side hatch that are being made by Barrie Kirby and hand-painted by his wife Carole. We've met them before and admired their traditional bargeware when their narrowboat High Calypso and their butty boat Fox were moored at Wheaton Aston, but this time had a chance to natter. Barrie came down to Snecklifter to take measurements, loaned me some filler and some scumble paint when I had removed the old panels and has been generally very helpful and generous with his time. The only problem is that they are so much in demand at the moment that it could take a week or so for our panels to be finished. Still, we have so much time in hand before going to Barton Turns for mid-October that we will follow them slowly up to Fradley.

Email update: When we were at Braunston we were hailed in passing by Tom and Jan Jones from Australia. They have now emailed us :"We were disappointed that we couldn't stop and chat with you when we passed you moored at Braunston. Our hire boat had developed a leak and we were heading for their base before the carpets became too smelly. All we could do is wave, tell you we read your blog and give our names. The problem with the boat was a failed float valve in the header tank (I didn't know there was one!). Anyway, I couldn't believe there was a concealed open topped tank by design in the boat. The water was running down the inside of the hull and eventually making its way to the

bilge where I was pumping it out three times a day. No wonder we thought the boat was taking a large quantity of water each time we filled the tank. Something to remember for inclusion in our boat specification.

"We are now back in Adelaide, South Australia where weather is sunny and mild. Great for BBQ's and chilled white wine. Keep writing..... and we'll keep lurking." A few days later Tom confirmed that it was okay to use their email and signed off "Today I'm in the corporate office in Sydney overlooking the harbour and the Opera House on a beautiful sunny day." You can't help envy at times, can you?

We've also received an entertaining email from long-time correspondents Gerrard and Jane Cox on Belle which can be seen in full on From Our Friends.

September 13

If we have another season of cruising when this winter's break back in Ashford in the Water is over, we plan to travel very, very slowly from Barton Turns to the Staffs and Worcs canal, up the Shroppie, along the Middlewich branch and down to the River Weaver before turning around and retracing our route. No more big trips like the Thames, the Severn and Avon or the K & A to Bristol - just living quietly on board, for six or seven months, staying here for a fortnight, there for a week.

I repeat all this because, since hearing that we could not return to the Macclesfield canal, we've had a taste of this already. After more than a week at Hopwas (mostly waiting for Liz to spend her long weekend in Norwich) we cruised a few miles up the canal to a mooring a hundred yards or so below Tamhorn Farm Bridge, turning the boat in the winding hole there so I could more safely remove the side hatch doors. Through the afternoon I sanded down the wooden panels and gave them two coats of varnish.

This morning we turned the boat again and cruised for another hour to Whittington where I've been able to get another two coats of varnish on the panels. They are now ready for the smaller hand-painted panels when Barrie and Carole Kirby have finished them. In the meantime we will probably stay here for the weekend in a spot that is quiet but close enough to Whittington for our friends Tony and Jenny Miller to drive over on Saturday from Barton Turns where they live on their boat Jenny Rose II. It seems ages since we last saw them so there'll be plenty to catch up on.

When we leave here we'll toddle the short distance to Huddlesford, then up to Fradley and Rugeley before heading back to Barton. It will be a far more leisurely five weeks than even we are used to enjoying.

September 21

The sudden realisation that I have not updated this site for over a week has set me thinking - do I have any excuse to offer, other than I'm getting into practice for the winter? It certainly feels as though the end of this season is approaching as we travel more and more slowly to pass time in as pleasant a way as possible.

Last weekend began very pleasantly indeed when Tony and Jenny Miller arrived on Saturday afternoon bringing their traditional flowers for Liz and a surprise clutch of Snecklifters for me. We whiled away a couple of hours drinking tea and eating Liz's homemade shortbread biscuits and bakewell tart, and although we will not be staying on the boat in Barton Turns marina for more than a few days, it was fascinating to hear about all the changes there, including a new pub. That we will definitely try out before heading for our winter stay in Derbyshire. It was also a bonus when Tony said he would keep a watching brief on Snecklifter while we are way - I'd never have dreamed of asking him but his offer was reassuring, even thought the security at the marina is very high indeed.

On Monday morning we set off again up the canal, passing slowly through Huddlesford but not stopping this time for longer than the few minutes it took to greet old friend Ronnie Slater and ask him to join us for tea at our preferred mooring near bridge 88 on the Coventry. We got to know him when he lived on The Robert Mylne but were surprised to learn that he had sold the boat and now lives on another called Joanna. He arrived for a meal about 6pm and stayed for a couple of hours to update us on his life and universe. Early on Tuesday we cruised on to Fradley Junction where we found Barrie and Carole Kirby on High Calypso moored on the 48 hour stretch opposite the BW offices and shop. They had finished the six hand-painted panels which I have just mounted on the side hatch doors. You can see how splendid they are on the right - modelled by Liz and Molly!

The next morning we returned to our summer routine (well nearly) and set off at 6.45am up the three locks above the junction, tying up by 9am about half a mile south of Handsacre, another favourite rural idyll. The one drawback here is you have to use pins into comparatively soft ground and so many boats sped past us (private owners even worse than holiday hirers) that at one stage the two pins forward and the two at the stern were completely torn out. But that's modern-day boating for you.

On Thursday we cruised to Rugeley, a little trepidatious about not finding room to moor so that we could top us our supplies at Morrisons and pick up mail from the local post office. Surprisingly the long stretch of mooring was virtually empty and though a number of boats moored above and below us during the day there were only three of us left there overnight. This morning we continued our shopping before leaving at 9.30 to cruise in a high wind to this lovely mooring near bridge 69 (though not quite as perfect as it used to be thanks to the roadbuilding which can be seen and just heard across the open countryside leading to Cannock Chase). We were relieved to tie up after battling the cross wind, however, and here we will stay until Monday. Then it's on to Great Haywood for a night or two before turning round to head for Barton.

September 23

Our third day near bridge 69 and this could be the last day of "summer weather" according to BBC forecasts. Wonder where the rest of it was? Certainly nowhere near Snecklifter for more than a week or so. Still, this is a splendid mooring which fills through the afternoon and then empties the following morning. We should vacate our spot tomorrow when we head for Great Haywood.

Yesterday we had another enjoyable day when our good friend Trevor Cooper-Tydeman and his dog Ziggy turned up on a newly-painted Zungeru and then joined us for one of the best chicken curries that Liz has prepared in quite a while - they're always good but this was first rate. As was the wine Trevor produced (we always get the good stuff from him) and the conversation that ranged across most aspects of boating and life in general.

Friday evening was also special, if only for the marvellous sunset. My photograph of it can be seen above and a larger version appears on Latest pictures. The pic on the right is that of another visitor to the boat, captured early morning after a rainy night.

September 29

As always, our plans changed while we were at bridge 69. We did cruise up to Great Haywood but turned around and came straight back to the stretch below bridge 69 where we stayed until Friday morning. The reason? (And knowing us, do we need a reason?)

Liz had arranged for our mail to be collected at Rugeley sorting office but for the first time in nearly six years our friend in Derbyshire forgot to post it. There was also an added and even more convincing impetus to reach Rugeley rather than Fradley on Friday - she had learned that Friday was the last working day of the month when post offices renewed car tax. If we were to collect our car from Derbyshire by mid-October this was her only chance so we set off from our mooring about 9am, tied up at the main Rugeley visitor moorings by 10 am and walked into town to collect mail etc and top up our dwindling supples. We reached Handsacre by 12.30 in time for a splendid haddock and chips from Michael's fish and chippery next to the Crown Inn and then continued our journey to this quieter spot in the country. It will now be Monday or Tuesday before we reach Fradley, depending on the weather.

Our longer stay at bridge 69 had its benefits, however, including a return visit to Trevor's boat Zungeru for a very tasty Shepherd's Pie and some more of his excellent wine, followed by fruit pickled in all sorts of spirit.

We also had a brief visit from Gerrard Cox on Belle who was on his way back with his wife Jane and their five dachsunds to their mooring at Barton Turns marina (see their earlier dispatch in From Our Friends).

Liz and I walked back to their boat to see their two most recent additions - standard dachsunds Bodie and Ozzy, the latter only 11 months old and absolutely delightful. The pic on the right shows how beautiful they both are. Another photograph will be added when Belle finishes her journey and Gerrard emails his account of their trip down from the Shroppie.

In the meantime, we've had an amusing email from Steve Clark and Lucy Sendall on Serendipity who were so helpful and supportive during our winters on the Macc. They would have been two people we would have missed by not returning to the Macc this year (Brian and Anne Marie on nb Alton and Wendy and Ken Brown at Gurnett are others) but Steve and Lucy now have a mooring on the Llangollen. So we would not have seen them anyway.

Steve wrote: "Just a quick note to let you know that we have finally made it to our new mooring on the Llangollen canal. We managed to complete the trip in four days which I think is a minor miracle. We normally only cruise for about six hours a day but, as time was against us we had to do 10 - 12 hours a day. Whoever says that this boating lark is relaxing hasn't had to do that many hours at a time. I must admit, at the end, Lucy and I were bloody knackered. The only rested ones were the dogs. No surprise there.

"We only got held up once on the trip when something got stuck behind a lock gate so no one could open the gate to let out the boat which had just come down the lock. A quick phone call to BW and a man who can, with the aid of a big rakie thing, came to pull the obstruction out. It turned out to be an old tree root. We only got held up for a couple of hours which was just as well as it turned out. While I was wandering up and down the towpath offering, probably unwanted, advice and talking to anyone who just glanced at me, Lucy was getting her ear bent by a man who because, when he stepped off his boat to join the queue stood in a bed of nettles, was going to sue BW - they should have cut all the nettles down according to their veg pledge. Then he was going sue BW again because this delay was going to ruin his holiday. Then he started on the fact that BW shouldn't have let the lock get jamed up in the first place etc, etc. His wife, according to Lucy, seemed to have received the gift of temporary deafness. There's nothing like meeting fellow happy boaters.

"Anyway, I suppose I had better sign off now as it's late and as you probably will testify, I need plenty of beauty sleep."

And a couple of days later came this postscript: "We are currently having a rest period, well from cruising anyhow. We are giving the boat a bit of TLC after working so hard. The poor old gal ain't used to working so many hours as we had to run her. Normally we only cruise as far as needed to charge up the batteries. I will, of course, keep you both informed of our travels/experiences around the big sheep country."

October 5

As you'll see from the front page dateline we've had a busy week - all the way from Handsacre to Barton Turns in less than a week! We had intended taking three weeks over it, calling in at the marina briefly to check out our winter mooring that had been booked over the telephone, and then carrying on down to Branston water park and Shobnall to spend the rest of the time out on the towpath before coming in to the marina on October 14.

Instead, we arrived here, saw that we would be in an excellent spot on the visitor moorings and made the decision immediately to tie up for the rest of our season,. We have not regretted it so far. We are plugged in to mains electricity, the shower, toilet, laundrette, shop and elsan facilities are first rate and we are moored next to Keith on Coleford who was a near-neighbour on pier 2 when we spent our first winter here in 2002/3. Yes, it is still a bit noisy with the A38 not far off, but with the windows closed on these autumn nights you hardly notice it - we've been spoilt by being out in the country most of the time. And the new pub, the Waterfront, is only 100 yards away from us. Good for a lunchtime drink when we don't feel like walking over to the Barton Turns Inn which is still our preferred watering hole, especially now that it has been transformed without being ruined. The draught Pedigree served flat to our taste is excellent.

After leaving bridge 69 on Monday morning we cruised to Fradley Junction and spent a night there opposite the BW offices before continuing to Alrewas, where we met up for lunch with old friends George and Kate Harper who used to live on nb Lady Kate but now have a splendid bungalow in the village. The last time we met them on land was the day before leaving Barton Turns early March 2003 (we've met on the Cut several times since, of course) when we helped Kate celebrate her birthday on St David's Day - George took us all out for dinner in Barton under Needwood. By a remarkable coincidence, Tuesday October 2 was George's birthday and once again he paid for our lunch, this time at the George and Dragon. We've promised him that when we leave next April we'll stop again at Alrewas and next time the meal's on us!

Now, we face a busy couple of weeks preparing for our winter in Derbyshire. I've been doing some outside painting in this lovely sunshine - while Molly, bored with the crossword, has just been lying about on the dinette seat making the most it in her own way.

I've also started packing up DVDs and CDs that we'll need over the next six months and Liz has indulged her favourite canal pastime, catching up on our washing in the laundrette. More of all this later!

October 9

The weather has continued sunny or at least dry and I've been able to finish a lot of the rust-treatment and painting outside the boat. Until today, that is. As I write this it is pouring down outside and Liz has had to walk the mile into Barton under Needwood for a routine appointment with a doctor before a repeat prescription can be issued. I'm going to use this "quiet" day to catch up on computer work and packing.

The highlight of our first five days in the marina was our meeting in the new Waterfront pub with Tony and Jenny Miller of Jenny Rose II. Over a pint of Fuller's London Pride followed by a pint from a small independent brewery in Burton, we caught up on news and talked about the future. The next morning they left the marina for a week's cruising, their holiday coinciding (I hope) with our arrival and not a reaction to it! (See left).

A second visit to Barton Turns inn yesterday introduced us to another new pint from Jennings called The World's Biggest Liar and I can say without contradiction that it was fantastic, stupendous - but not as good as Sneck Lifter or Cocker Hoop. And that's the truth. Today, if the rain eases, we hope to meet up there with our good friend and drinking mate, Ralph Freeman of Grey Nomad.

October 13

This is our last day at Barton marina before we leave the boat for five and a half months. It's also the last update to this website until we return at the end of next March. Sometime before then we will decide whether to enjoy another seven-month season on Snecklifter or to put her up for sale. In either case we will come back to the boat and I will resume the website until/or if we leave her for the last time.

Yesterday we moved most of the stuff we'll need over the winter in Ashford in the Water, filling (and I mean filling) the back of an Astra van hired from Enterprise, a company that has never failed to impress us with their service, their professionalism and their value for money. I hope that sounds like a good advertisement for them because it's meant to be.

Today we are getting together our last few boxes of food, toiletries etc and tomorrow morning we'll load them and the two dogs into Liz's car which she has retrieved from its summer home in Derbyshire. Our last lunchtime today will be spent in the Barton Turns inn enjoying a second helping of Davina's home-cooked chicken curry, outstanding at £4.95 each. (No, we are not suddenly taking on paying sponsors!)

Finally, a word of thanks to all our fellow boaters and would-be boaters who have followed our journey over the last five and a half years. Liz and I hope you'll continue to email us from time to time and we will certainly send an email to all those on our mailing list to let you know when the website is resumed.

p.s. As I write this we have just heard from Jenny and Jonathan that our second grandchild is beginning to make his/her appearance at their home in Norwich. Somehow Jenny found the strength and patience between contractrions to talk to Liz. The birth could be some hours away yet, of course, but if we hear anything definite before we finally sign off tonight we'll add a pps.

p.p.s. A second grand-daughter, Camille, was born at 14.20 today.

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