Common sense prevails

It was good to read nb Freespirits blog and find out that the problems on The Ashby Canal have been resolved. It appears that the local fishing club who resent the yearly canal Rally had claimed it affected their right to fish and complained to Natural England that boats were causing damage to the reed beds and wild life habitats on the canal. After a meeting with Canal and River Trust and Natural England it was agreed to put 200 meters of temporary nico-spanning to protect the reed beds during the rally. I would imagine that the Anglers are still not happy , but then when are they ever happy with boaters.

We pulled pins on Tuesday at 09.15 in beautiful sunshine and soon passed this Heron soaking up some rays.

The maintenance on a lot of the infrastructure on the canal system is certainly lacking and this lock is a good example. The lock leaks so badly that every time you leave the lock it has to be left with a paddle up so the lock is always empty when not in use.

Yet again poor maintenance. This is the Elsan Disposal point below Berkhamsted. There has been no water supply for a long time according to a local boater who was on the water point, and you wouldn't believe what it looks like around the other side where you empty your cassette. But with Elsan points so far apart you have no choice but to use it. I have sent an e-mail of complaint to Canal and River Trust , so lets see what happens now.

With inches to spare we just made it on to this mooring opposite the park in Berkhamsted.

After mooring it was straight into the Town and Carolyn's lunch out… Oops that look again….  “What's this !! you promised me a lovely restaurant” says Carolyn . When you get an 8oz Sirloin steak with chips ,peas ,tomatoes , Mushrooms and a pint for just over 8 quid and your middle name is Mr Thrifty you just can’t go wrong, and I'm pleased to say this visit to Wetherspoons was a lot better than the last one.

With Molly and Hamish booked in for some treatment at the local vets on Wednesday we will spend another day here and then on Thursday move up to Tring summit and start locking down hill again after coming up 45 locks from London .

                                                                                 Happy Days

We pulled pins from our mooring in Berkhamsted on Thursday morning after a couple of days there. We both like the Town as it has so much to offer ,with good shopping and a very friendly atmosphere. The only downside is that the moorings are within 100 yards of the main Railway line,and with trains every couple of minutes it does tend to get on your nerves. I would imagine if you were here long enough you would become oblivious to them. What made it worse was that they were carrying out track repairs throughout the night and the Trains sounded their horns as they passed through all night long.

This is becoming a familiar sight on our travels. They are prized for their wool and apparently their meat tastes very good , although i have never seen Alpaca steaks in Tesco.

Nearly at Tring summit and we pass this lovely old canal cottage.

I guess this boat has some connection with Cornwall , as they use silly words like Dreckly down there.

Yet again we just couldn't pass the entrance to The Wendover arm without turning into it. And Yet again we couldn't get around the corner next to the Flour factory. The level in the canal was so low and even though the pumps were running we had to do several shunts forwards and backwards to get around.

Yet again we are so lucky to pick up this mooring. We absolutely love it here. It is so peaceful and tranquil and it has to be one of our favourite places we have discovered on our journeys.

Finders Keepers ….    This is just a few items that we have found on our travels in the past few months. It seems people just leave things on the towpath for us to pick up. I must admit that it is mostly Carolyn that spots it. She has an uncanny knack of finding things including money. She is always picking up coins in the streets and sometimes its even paper money. I just wish she could be luckier with the National Lottery.

With good weather forecast for the weekend we will stop here and chill until Monday and then continue on our journey to who knows where next …

Still up the Wendover arm and we still can’t believe how quiet it is. We have seen a few boats come up to the end and turn and one or two of them have stopped the night, but mostly we have had it all to ourselves.

But all good things must come to an end and its time to move on again. On Monday morning after a superb weekend we pulled pins at 10.00 and could see that the level was down on the arm. As we passed the pumping station two pumps were pumping flat out .

It has certainly been a good year for wild fruit and look at this lot. Only trouble is that they were in someone's garden. But we have done very well with Blackberries and Carolyn is now making her second batch of jam. With the crab apples coming on it will soon be time to start gathering them for some of Carolyn's delicious Crab Apple jelly.

Carolyn has decided she wants more practice in handling the boat . This morning she did 5 locks down on the Marsworth flight and didn't she do well , not a scratch on Inca.

With the temperature well into the twenties and after 3 hours of travelling we picked up this mooring next to the Marsworth reservoir.

After mooring we decided to take Molly and Hamish out for a walk and it wasn't long before we passed this house. Carolyn had a good laugh , but i just didn't get it. I seem to remember passing a boat with a similar name not long ago and i didn't get that either.

How do you pass a village pub on a hot day ? The answer is you can’t its impossible, especially when you have nothing better to do.

We will spend the night here and then an early start tomorrow morning as we have 15 locks and about 6 hours of cruising to get to our next destination. More about that in our next post.

                                                                Happy Days

After arriving at Aylesbury and not knowing if we could moor or not we decided to just go for it and see if anybody says anything to us.

We pulled over on to the pontoons in front of the new building work that is going on around the basin. Once moored up and Molly and Hamish had been walked we decided to have a look around the town.

Four Candles please …Me and Ronnie Barker taking in the sights.

This is what me and my new mate Ronnie were looking at . Its the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre which is right next to our mooring. Ronnie Barker was born in Bedford and started his acting career in 1948 at the Old county theatre in Market Square Aylesbury. .

From the Theatre it is a short walk up through the Arches and into the town.

Its Market day so her ladyship is happy.

What a mess ! . After a couple of days of spending all of my money Carolyn started work on all of the foraging she had done on are way down The Aylesbury arm.

But look at the results . We have 2 jars of Damson jam and 3 jars of Blackberry jam. Just the Ticket.

We have enjoyed our stay in Aylesbury and (Carolyn) spent a shed load of money as she we always do when we visit a big town . Once all the building work has been completed in the basin i am sure it will be a great place to moor for a few days. A lot of people don't bother with Aylesbury because of all of the locks on the arm , but it is well worth the effort as the canal itself is a pleasure to cruise and the town of Aylesbury is an absolute delight to visit.

Tomorrow (Friday) we intend to pull pins early and try and get to Pitstone for the night.

                                                                                     Happy Days

Does anyone ever take notice of these signs that are all over the network ????

                                                                               Happy Days

On Friday morning we pulled pins at 08.00 and the first job before leaving Aylesbury was to empty the cassette in the Elsan and then off to the first lock of the day. Just what you need at your first lock of the day, a dirty great tree. We managed to move it and secure it to the bank away from the lock ,so good deed of the day completed.

With Carolyn still wanting to steer she kindly let me operate a few locks while she continued taking all a little tiny bit of the paint off of Inca’s hull.

Looking good on the helm.

We had intended to use this Marina which is just outside of Aylesbury. It had been recommended to us by several people, but having found the new moorings in the town more than satisfactory we used those instead and saved a few more quid .

Some serious under pinning is required on this bridge. The bricks are in the bottom of the canal and you can feel them scraping the bottom of the hull as you pass under the bridge. Just another job on Canal and River Trusts long list of jobs to do.

With Carolyn back on the windlass we get to another lock where the gate will not open because of all the build up of rubbish.So its out with the pole and Carolyn pulls out as much as she can so that the gate will fully open.

Further along and we pass Bates boatyard and this has to be one of the largest collections of old wooden built Narrowboats we have seen.

This is the closest we have come to seeing an Aylesbury Duck. Not the best looking duck in the World though.

If you can not have a garden next to your boat then you just as well have one on your boat.

After seven and a half hours of cruising we pick up this mooring just before Pitstone. The long day was mainly down to low pounds again on the arm and continually going two or three locks ahead and having to let down water to fill the pounds. With The Chiltern Hills in the background and good TV and Internet this will do us for a day or two.

Not long after mooring who should turn up but Jules and Richard on their coal boat, Towcester. We try to support them and get all of our Diesel ,Coal and Gas from them when we are in their working area . We ended up taking on 122 litres of Diesel , 1 gas cylinder and 6 bags of Homefire ovals coal (ouch ! that hurt the wallet) . Before setting off they couldn't resist the offer of some of Carolyn's lovely scones, made with Devon clotted cream and some of Carolyn's homemade blackberry jam….by the look on their faces I think they enjoyed it !!

And Finally

  Best wishes to David (one of the best Process controllers at SWW) and Sarah who get married on Saturday the 20th down in sunny Devon. We hope you both have a brilliant day and enjoy many happy years together. We will be raising a few glasses of the red stuff aboard Inca to toast your special day.

                                                               Happy Days

Last weekend has to be one of the busiest we have had since we have been on the Grand Union Canal and everybody seemed to be in a hurry. In the end we got so fed up with being bumped about that we put springs on our moorings both fore and aft. The rule of the waterway is to pass moored boats at tick over speed, but you wouldn't believe the amount of ignorant gits people who don't abide by this rule.

There has been so much wild fruit this year and Carolyn just can not stop picking it all.

But with Blackberry crumble and Devon clotted cream like this it is well worth the effort. And yes it tasted as good as it looked…..Well done Carolyn !!!

I never realised that there would be so much maintenance to do on a Narrowboat. I like the boat to be polished and looking good at all times, but it takes such a hammering as we are constantly cruising ,so its good to have a few days where i can really get to grips with it. I now have the port side Polished , Waxed and the Gunnels painted. I now need the towpath to change sides so that i can tackle the Starboard side.

On Monday morning we pulled pins at 08..20 with the intention of getting somewhere close to Leighton Buzzard . After passing Pitstone wharf we came across this sorry looking boat. Still the same as last time we passed this way.

After passing close to where the Great Train robbery happened at Cheddington in 1963 its not long before we then pass the famous Whipsnade Lion which was cut into the chalk in 1933.

The rule with locks is that when you leave a lock you leave it with all gates and paddles closed unless instructed otherwise. We followed this boat down through six locks and at every lock they had left the gates and the paddles open . I just managed to snap this picture of them and shout a few expletives before they disappeared around the corner, unfortunately i don't think they heard me.

Yet another Alcohol themed boat name.

After 4 hours of cruising we tried to pick up a mooring above Church lock but there were none available so we carried on down the next two locks and moored for the night below Grove lock.

Tuesday morning and it was an early start as we wanted to fill with water and then get onto the Tesco moorings in Leighton Buzzard. As you can see the approach to the water points is a little overgrown.

After spending yet another fortune in Leighton Buzzard it was a short cruise towards a mooring at Old Linslade and then meeting up with our good friends Stewart and Fran on nb The Boat. Molly and Hamish were just as pleased to meet up with their mate Jeb. We may have the odd drink or two or three or four, but it will sure be fun catching up with each others news.

                                                                Happy Days

We are currently moored 2 miles north of Leighton Buzzard and are with are bestest friends on the cut, Stewart and Fran (Striking the pose) from Narrowboat The Boat. We have been joined by Gary the Coal boat and every morning we meet up to discuss the day ahead. Carolyn and Fran sort out their shopping forays in Leighton Buzzard and us men sort out the days Carp fishing. We have bet a vast amount of money on the heaviest caught fish of the day.

With us each putting 10 pence into the pot it is a very serious competition to catch the biggest fish …………..Lets catch fish.

One day we will probably wake up and discover that this is all just a dream, But until then we will just carry on living the dream !!!!!

                                                                           Happy Days

We are currently moored 2 miles north of Leighton Buzzard and have Gary on his coal boat and butty moored behind us.His boats were built by Harland and wolff (Builders of the Titanic) in 1936 and are Town class boats. They are named Ascot and Beverley. Gary supplies Coal, Gas and Diesel and we always try and support him when we are travelling through the area that he covers.

Sunrise on the Grand Union Canal…..Just Perfect !!!

If you fancy a canal holiday with out all of the hassle how about this. Its a wide beam Hotel boat and they do everything for you. Its not cheap but what a great way to relax. Mind you Carolyn says Inca is like a Hotel boat with her doing all the work and me as the grumpy guest .

Brandy before the sun rises over the Yardarm.. Oh!! Carolyn and Francis ……What ever next !!!!

We have now been here for nearly a week which is a long time in one place for us, although we have said we need to slow down a bit. The plan now is to reverse back to the winding hole (turning point) turn and then head back in to Leighton Buzzard and re-stock from Tesco and Aldi. Then empty poo cassettes, fill with water and dump the rubbish. We then plan to head south with Stewart and Fran and then climb up to Church lock and hopefully catch a few large Carp .                                               

                                                                                         Happy Days

On Wednesday morning we pulled pins at 07.35 and after winding made our way back to Leighton Buzzard. The best thing here is that Tesco and Aldi are just the other side of the hedge and as it was so early we managed to pick up one of the 2 hour moorings with no problem and then fill the cupboards and wine cellar (Not that we have a wine cellar, but i have considered lifting the floor boards and removing some of the concrete slab ballast and then making a wine cellar in the space left).

Cruising in company. Stewart and Fran on nb The Boat following us out of Leighton Buzzard.

Another good Boat name.

At the first lock of the day Carolyn decides to jump ship.

This boat passed us on the way and its called FUZZY DUCK. I have never heard of it before but apparently its a pub game where you all sit in a circle and one after another you say Fuzzy Duck. If you answer out of turn or say the wrong word you have to have drink an Alcoholic drink. Often after several drinks people get their words mixed up and end up saying Duzzy *uck or *ucky Duzz , sounds like a good game to me.

We are now moored in the long pound above Church lock and will spend the night here, then in the morning we will pull pins early and head up towards Tring summit and then decide what to do from there.

                                                                                             Happy Days

After mooring for the night above Church lock this boat motored by. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw the side of it. Nearly half of the side of the boat was missing . The Plank man that was steering it shouted to me and said that it was extra ventilation.

On Thursday morning we pulled pins at 08.00 and with all this fine weather and a lack of rain a lot of the pounds between the locks are very low on water. Most of the short pounds are so low that you skim along the bottom and stir up all the debris from the bottom. It wasn't long before Stewart picked this up around his prop.

On the way up to Marsworth we came upon this mess. Some idiot that lives on a plastic boat with a tarpaulin over the top decided to have a fire in the middle of the Towpath. This is what gives boaters a bad name and there is no need for it. There are a few people on The Cut that treat it as a cheap way to live and just don't care about anything else except themselves and they have no consideration for other people who live on, and use the canals. Many of these boats are not licensed so are contributing absolutely nothing to our waterways . It also seems bizarre how that Canal and River Trust seems to do nothing about this situation. Everywhere you go you see unlicensed boats and it certainly seems to get worse the nearer you get towards London….. Rant over.

And finally… You may remember i mentioned about Teapots on Narrowboat roofs and did anyone know what the significance of it was. Well apparently it signifies that the occupants could be or not Swingers , and its a secret sign to other Swingers.( Unbelievable or what)… Click on link        http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69835&hl=teapots   and decide for yourself  .We now spend all our time looking on boat roofs to see if there is a Teapot on the top and play a game called , Are they or not…..  And before you ask NO there is not a Teapot on Inca and i can assure you there will never be one there !          

                                                                                                             Happy Days

After a long day cruising and locking and going up a very shallow canal we are so lucky to pick up our favourite mooring at the end of The Wendover arm.

Not long after arriving Stewart soon hooked this beautiful 14lb Carp.

With Carolyn on the Train back down to Devon for our Granddaughters 8th birthday and Stewart and Fran off cruising back on the Grand Union canal, I am now Billy no mates and all by myself for the next few days on the arm. But it will give me the chance to catch up on several little jobs that need doing.

With winter coming and not long before we light the fire its time to get prepared. We bought this new chimney last year when we passed a boat that made them on the Coventry canal and have so far not used it. Although not cheap the quality is first class. The guy tows a small butty around which is his workshop and he produces these Stainless steel chimneys from it. Click on the link to have a look at what he does …..  http://www.littlechimneycompany.co.uk/

With the level on the Wendover arm very low it gave us a lot of problems on our cruise up here. The pumps at this pumping station are running flat out to try and maintain the level.

With most of my jobs done it leaves plenty of time for exploring the local countryside with Molly and Hamish. I was hoping to find some field Mushrooms on my walks across the fields , but they seem to be a bit scarce this year. Maybe the unseasonal hot weather this year has had an effect on them.

One thing that are plentiful around here are Aircraft ,as we are on the main approach to Luton airport.

Sunset over Inca and with the temperature today reaching well over twenty degrees what a brilliant Summer we are having, and long may it last.                                      

                                                                                      Happy Days                                      

With Carolyn back from Devon it wasn't long before she found this haul of free winter heat. Its not a lot but it is a start

We pulled pins from Wendover and left the arm in Glorious sunshine and it wasn't long before we made the tight turn back on to The Grand union and then down The Marsworth flight.

The White Lion at Marsworth is now looking in a real sorry state. Apparently it was a very popular Pub .We did ask a few local people if they knew what was happening to the place , but nobody seemed to know its fate.

After 4 hours of cruising we finally moored behind Stewart and Fran on nb The Boat in the long pound above Church lock. Shortly after mooring Narrowboat Dover motored past us. This boat was rebuilt by a guy called Alan Herd and a TV series was made showing the complete re-build.

With some wood on the roof from Wendover and some more that we have picked up on the way its out with the chainsaw and Axe. With me on the chainsaw Carolyn decided to have a go at splitting the wood with the Axe. But as you can see its just an accident waiting to happen….. Don't worry she has now retired from chopping wood and she is now in charge of stacking the wood on the roof.

Pickle Widge  …    What a brilliant name for a boat. But does anyone know what it means ?. I have looked it up but can find no reference to the name. And look at that canopy , Its part of a car roof box mounted on some timber. I don't think the idea will catch on.

We have now left Church lock pound and are heading back down towards Leighton Buzzard and yet another shop at the convenient Tesco moorings and then back out into the country and pick up a peaceful mooring somewhere.

                                                               Happy Days

We pulled pins in Beautiful sunshine at 07.30 and cruised down to Church lock. After leaving the lock and when Carolyn had shut the gates she then had to descend some very steep steps and squeeze through a narrow gap to get back on board Inca.

The next lock is Grove lock and Carolyn wants to know why is it that every time we pass a pub its closed .

After doing a shop at Tesco and Aldi we picked up a mooring on the other side of Linslade and it wasn't long before we heard shouting and the roaring of engines. The dark blue boat which is privately owned tried to overtake the light blue hire boat just as they were passing us. You can tell how fast he was going by looking at the Bow wave he was making.

After nearly hitting us and nearly pulling our pins out with his wash he carried on at full throttle and eventually forced the Hire boat into the side of the canal. Words were exchanged between the 2 boats and then the hire boat reversed back off the bank and the guy shouted to us that they had never seen Canal rage like that before.It seems like the guy was in a hurry to get somewhere fast and couldn't cope with the pace of the hire boat in front of him.  People moan about how bad some hire boaters are at boating, but there are some useless and ignorant boat owners on the cut as well.

With Gary busy on his coal boat Ascot it didn't leave much room for other boats to pass,and it wasn't long before this hire boat (on the right) went aground when trying to pass.Eventually after a lot of revving they managed to get of the side and continue with their holiday .

The moon over Inca and the end of another enjoyable day on Inca.      picture by Carolyn

                                                                 Happy Days

I have said it before and i will say it again , only an idiot a silly boater takes a narrowboat out in very high winds. Even low winds can make a huge difference to how the boat handles. We have come to the conclusion that anything over about 15 to 20 mph and its just not worth cruising. Its not just about the damage you could do to your boat and other boats, but the danger of someone getting hurt. With winds over 25 mph on this day there were still loads of boats cruising and not being able to control their craft in the high gusts like the one in the picture above who ended up jammed across the canal.

The weather is so changeable at the moment that we are going from one day of high winds to the next morning when we experienced our first frost of the Autumn.

After a few days at Linslade we moved on to Stoke Hammond which is another one of our favourite moorings. How lucky are we again to have it all to ourselves.

Being out in the country it gave us the chance to cut up and log the wood we had .With Carolyn being retired from using the axe it wasn't long before she had all our free heat stacked on the roof.We now have 14 bags of coal and this wood so it should keep us going for a while , but we will still be on the look out for more free wood.

It is a silly time of year for lighting the fire. It is too cold with out it and when we do light it we have to have all the windows and doors open as it gets so hot. We do have the diesel central heating ,but that cost money to use so we would rather be a little too hot and burn free wood rather than have to put the central heating on.

We have now moved from Stoke Hammond and are now moored at Fenny Stratford which is next to the town of Bletchley in Milton Keynes. With a plethora of shops Carolyn is in her element and the old bank account is taking a right hammering ,she much prefers to go shopping without me for some unknown reason . I did go with her to IKEA where she treated me to a 9 item breakfast for only £2.75, i must admit it went down a treat and at that price what a bargain . The only problem was that after that i was dragged around the shop ,I think Carolyn only takes me so i can be her Carthorse for carrying all the heavy items she buys. We did manage to get our Flu jabs done and believe it or not we got them done in Tesco. The picture above was taken in Bletchley town on another shopping trip i reluctantly went enjoyed going on. Bletchley is a small bustling town with a good mix of shops , so I'm told.

We are now starting to get low on water and the full toilet cassettes are starting to build up ,so we will soon have to move again and get to the services at Fenny lock which is about half a mile from where we are currently moored. And then after that we will move on to Who knows where ….

                                                    Happy Days

With an early start it was straight on to the services at Fenny Stratford. We were low on water and had a couple of bags of rubbish and 3 full toilet cassettes to get shot of.

Now then while on the subject of waste. when ever you meet up with other boaters the talk eventually always gets around to toilets as it did yesterday. We can still not make our minds up whether to go down the composting toilet route or not, I have read and read about them and i must admit only having to empty them every 2 to 3 weeks or even longer is very appealing. Well in fact it is only the number two’s you empty every 2 to 3 weeks ,the number one’s goes into a separate container and you just empty that in to a convenient hedgerow when full which would be every 1 or 2 days. I would have thought that you would need 2 poo containers as it would need more time to compost after its last use, so storing a container of you know what for a few weeks could be an issue .We have a total of 4 cassettes with each one lasting about 2 days but have so far never used the 4th one. Another option that has been mentioned is to buy a Porta Potti and just use that for number ones and then use our main Thetford Cassette for number two’s. The problem i envisage with that is trying to empty the cassette after maybe a week of poo when most of its contents are solid, my hands are to small to fit into the cassette and pull it all out but thinking about it i bet Carolyn could get her small hands in so that might work, but thinking about it i don't think that idea will go down very well with her Ladyship . There is also the Bucket and chuck it method, but again were not sure if that is the right way to go. Anyway still no the wiser on what to do.We will just have to sleep on the idea for now.

Going through Fenny lock and we did think about mooring next to the lock ,but as there is an IWA clean up happening soon all of the moorings were taken up and the ones below the lock had no internet so that was a no to stopping here from Carolyn.

This Heron was taking full advantage of this boat to fish from.

This is bridge 84 at Milton Keynes and as you can see its in a bit of a bad way. Carolyn always says go quickly through it just in case it falls down on us. The good news is that it is being repaired in the new year, but the bad news is that the work will mean the canal being closed from the 7th of January 2015 to the 13th March 2015. That will certainly have an impact on our winter cruising plans.

Apparently this stretch of canal just South of Campbell park in Milton Keynes is a reasonably safe place to moor. We were told that certain boaters wanted this area to themselves so put up the sign to scare off other boaters mooring there.

Yet again one or two inconsiderate idiot boaters and it gives us all a bad name.

After a few hours cruising we picked up this mooring just south of the Sizzling pub and services at Giffard Park. There are plenty of parks and good dog walking around here, so with heavy rain on the way we will sit it out and walk it out here for a day or three.

                                                                                       Happy Days

Just a short blog today as it is my Birthday and as most people will know i have never worked or done very much on this day each year for the last 39 years. The sun is now above Inca’s Yardarm so its time to crack open a bottle of the Red stuff..Cheers to everyone .

With a break in the weather its out with the raincoats and umbrellas and a walk around Great Linford. The picture above is of Linford Manor which believe it or not is in Linford Manor park which is next to the canal. The main house was built in 1678 by The Lord Mayor of London Sir William Pritchard.

He was so rich that he had two more houses built opposite the manor house, but actually they were just simple Stables made to look like houses.

Carolyn is well known for having a very good sense of humour ….. up until now !!!

I came up with this simple cunning plan a few days ago. As i have mentioned before at this time of year it is too cold not to light the fire but when it is lit it is so hot we have to open the doors and windows. All i have done is put a brick in each side of the fire and reduced the size of it , simple really. But the amazing thing is that it stays in over night better than it has ever done before. The picture above shows the fire in the morning after being filled to the top of the bricks 13 hours before. The room temperature was 21deg with an outside temperature of 8deg and we could have left it a few more hours before topping it up again. I have now discovered that you can get metal inserts that fit to the sides of the stove that do a similar job. But at £37.70 a pair i think i will stick with my bricks for the time being. We are currently moored in a smokeless zone , so we cannot burn wood. But we are burning probably half as much coal as we normally do . I thought the bricks might crack but so far they are fine.  So a nice few quid saved, just the ticket……….

                                                                                        Happy Days

We pulled pins from Giffard park and headed North towards Cosgrove. After a couple of days of rain and wind it was good to be on the move again.The downside to the bad weather has been having to run the engine to charge the batteries. Its the first time we have had to run it when stood still since April ,so we haven't done that bad. The solar panels still provide one or two amps in cloudy weather , but with the sun getting lower in the sky we are now struggling to get much more than 12 amps at mid day in full sun.Having said that though every free amp from the solar panels is much appreciated.

There's something about this boat that i like. The clue is in the name.

Some of the locals around here are a funny lot.

You can’t pass through Wolverton without admiring the Train mural. Wolverton and New Bradwell were built up around the railways and it was the centre for repairs as it was half way between London and Birmingham.

With good TV and Internet we picked up this mooring on the approach to Cosgrove lock. Its not far from the shop ,so we walked in to pick up a Newspaper after mooring. It was good to meet Sharon and Lew from Nb Midsummer.  We met them last February at Braunston and it was good to catch up with them and have a chat.

On a more sour note. Some one we know who continuously cruises had his car broken into at Grafton Regis. We have always considered Grafton to be a safe place but it seems not so. He parked his car next to the bridge and only left it for a short time ,but when he returned the windows had been smashed and two clarinets worth several thousands of pounds were stolen. We spoke to him this morning and as you can imagine he is absolutely gutted…. So beware !!!!!

As you know Carolyn likes her shopping, and with a good sunny day at last we walked back to Galleon Wharf and a walk around Gdad’s.It sells all sorts from second hand jewellery to furniture.. Guess what ? We didn't buy anything. That's the type of shopping that i like !!!

But what i really liked was the sign next to the door. Can you imagine walking into a shop today and saying “Please can i have an ounce of NOSEGAY”.

We are going to have a few days here and do some more chilling before moving on again. Cosgrove is a small village but a very pleasant place to spend a few days and with plenty of walks Molly and Hamish will be content.

                                                                                             Happy Days