Almyne journeying in 2008
Thu, 1 May 2008
Up at five nineteen, couldn't sleep for the noise (Taz snoring). Dry but overcast and a little windy. Wandered around the site trying to teach D'fer
to walk to heel without his lead. The site is waterlogged. Apparently the tent was meant to be erected on Tuesday, but that got delayed to Wednesday and on Wednesday it rained fairly heavily so the tent got put up over the waterlogged grass. At the moment the whole site is under an inch of water and more in places. The only hope is that the sun comes up and the wind starts to blow to dry everything out.
There were so many exciting things for D'fer to sniff, like sheep's' droppings and mole hills that the walking to heel was not very successful and after an hour or so I returned to the camping area.
Don wasn't in the ambulance (he had slept in Wolfe's tent as the ambulance was still chokka with stuff, mead, amplifiers, lights, computers, CD players, all the stuff need to run a good bar) so I found everything necessary to make a cup of tea, except for the water. I looked for a water pipe but none to be seen and although there was water everywhere, none of it was suitable for drinking. Eventually people started to surface and I found some water and got the kettle on for tea all round. After two cups a piece I suggested corned beef and beans for breakfast (as I knew I had some in the picnic hamper) but Richard
had organised breakfast at a local cafe where we would all repair to as soon as we had worked out where the bar was going. Trying to work out where the bar would be sited inside a 100ft by 70ft marquee with a tape measure was to say the least a little difficult. OK to measure everything but actually visualising it was not actually working so I got all the bench seating and placed it on the ground to represent the bar. That worked quite well and before long we all had a pretty good idea of how big it would be and where it was going in relation to everything else. The first placing made it stick out too far into the tent, so we just jiggled about with the benches making the bar shorter, but wider, until everyone was happy with it.
Off to the cafe for breakfast where Richard, Don and Taz had the medium breakfast (the large breakfast that they had eaten on the previous day had apparently been too much, even for their large appetites) and I had a small breakfast, still a bit big for me.
Drizzled and rained on and off all day, not helping the ground conditions and Taz spent a good part of the day pulling various people out of the mud when they got stuck with his Land Rover.
I got the frames of the two large army tents erected and Don and Taz helped put the canvas over during one of the drier spells. These tents are to perform the function of a cellar, complete with coolers and pumps and all the other paraphernalia needed to serve cool beer on a warm day. They need to be functional fairly soon as the beer is due this afternoon along with the bar. Richard and I went to Asda's for food for the evening, french sticks, ham, lettuce, carrot, tomatoes, cucumber and some tins of fruit salad and loads of tubs of pot noodles for quick snacks.
Got back to the site and I made everyone a ham and salad sandwich, which by that time was most welcome after a long arduous day.
Put up my two small one-man tents between showers and got all my stuff out of the way. Stacked the mead and the cider in the army tents and on a pallet in the bar area. With the ambulance and the transit empty at last, Don and Richard had somewhere to sleep tonight.
Early night as exhaustion descended on me like a ton of bricks.
Fri, 2 May 2008
Stuck in the mud
Stuck in the mud
Bright sunshine and a stiff breeze, just what we need for the ground to dry out.
Up at six, got tea ready for everyone. By now the kitchen area had been sorted out so the big double burner and the six pint kettle was in place and tea was easy to arrange. Off to the cafe for breakfast, small breakfasts all round as the mediums were still too big, but I had a child's breakfast, just right for me.
Back to the site in time to do some more preparation for the arrival of the beer and bar lorry. When it arrived the driver gaily drove off the main roadway onto the field and promptly got bogged down. Two land rovers and a long bit of rope got him nowhere so the farm tractor was called. The farm tractor got him nowhere, so the beer and bar had to be off loaded from the lorry on to a trailer which the tractor managed to bring round to the beer tent where it was off loaded into the army tents and the main marquee. This took several trips.
Instead of eight bar sections there were only five and two of those were broken. Richard measured up a bar section and shot off to one of the local DIY stores and purchased a couple of sheets of eight by four cut to size and screws and hinges.
While that was happening the good bar sections were assembled and put into position. The large empty barrels put in place and the heavy (three inch thick) bar tops put on top of the barrels and then loaded with stillages (the things that beer kegs are put on so that they tilt slightly and self adjust the tilt as the beer is drained so that all of the beer can be dispensed without disturbing the sediment) and the kegs put on them ready to be broached.
While we were having one of the frequent tea breaks, Martinez and Liz arrived. Martinez, a punk rocker with a wonderful orange Mohican hair cut bounced straight over to D'fer and put her arms around him and gave him a big cuddle. She was most surprised when I explained that this was not Arfur, but D'fer, but she took to him straight away anyway and asked if she could walk him, no problems. They got on like a house on fire and there were times when I was a little concerned that I might have lost him to her charms. Liz and Martinez had a cup of tea and went and put their tent up.
It was at about this time that I was asked to go and collect 'The Three Wenches' and Lurch from Kidderminster. Taz and I drove over there and we loaded all their camping gear into the ambulance and the three wenches rode back with Taz, while Lurch came back with me.
Back at the camp I was feeling a little superfluous as I was not capable of the heavy work need to shift the beer kegs around (some 60 or 70 of them) so I started assembling the new bar section. Glad to have a power screwdriver as there were loads of screws to put in and although I made one or two mistakes with the placement of the hinges I got it right in the end. With that assembled I tackled one of the broken bar sections and got that assembled by repositioning the hinges and screwing back the bits of wood that had broken loose.
With the correct number of bar sections available they all went in the right places and were screwed together in a U shape to provide stability, one of them being positioned up against a tent pole, again to help stop the whole thing moving.
There must have been twenty beer pumps mounted on the bar in total and it was only now that I appreciated the skill and thought that had gone in to the design and placement of the bar sections. I could just see ten bar staff all pulling a pint at the same time on the same length of bar to see that if it were a straight line they would simply pull the whole thing over on themselves.
The rest of the afternoon was taken up with technical stuff like getting the coolers to work (beer has to be kept cold even in a tent in the middle of a field) and connecting the miles of pipe work up to the beer barrels and the coolers on the two army tents that were storing the spare beer barrels. Putting the music system in place and cabling that up, putting lights up in strategic places, supplying power to the stage right at the other end of the tent, putting up the stage and making sure that it was not going to sink in the soggy ground when the band put all their equipment on it and then climbed up on it themselves, sighting the generator so that we had the power but the noise it made was not intrusive and a myriad of other little tasks.
Glyn, Trudy and Debs turned up around eight and I helped them assemble their tent (the biggest tent I have seen for a long time) and the partying started.
Off to bed for a well earned rest.
Sat, 3 May 2008
Up early again. D'fer, by this time was used to having an early morning scavenge around the site and wandered off for an hour or so to see what was what. I had corned beef and beans for breakfast and a cup of tea. Rested quietly while others gradually came to. With the big kettle on the go tea was available for everyone as they surfaced. Apparently most of them did not retire till well after three. I just cannot keep up with that.
Martinez took D'fer for a walk and since this was sort of my day off I wandered round the market to see what was what. Loads of interesting stuff. You could kit yourself out as a person of almost any rank from any type of society from any era, from roman right up through the ages to Hastings, Cromwell and Round heads, the battle of Waterloo, the American Civil War and much more. All the accoutrements for living were available, right down to cooking pots and arrow heads.
I came across a stall selling, amongst other things, skins and the one that attracted me most was the Timber Wolf skin, complete with head and teeth. I wondered how D'fer might react to it. Got talking to the proprietor of the stall and found out that the skin was being sold at £600, too much for me by half, but he had others available that were not nearly as expensive.
Found Martinez and D'fer and took D'fer back to the fur stall. I showed him the wolf skin and his hackles rose and he sniffed it cautiously and sort of backed off, but kept a very wary eye on it. Obviously not the one for him. He worked his way along the coyote and prairie dog skins, still not keen on them. When he reached the sheep skins he was much calmer, but not very interested. When he got to the deer skins that was another matter. He liked them and sniffed each in turn, gently prodding the odd one with his paws to get a better idea of it. Eventually he picked one out and dragged it out of the pile and rubbed his nose along the length of it and rolled over on to his back and rubbed himself up and down it. So, guess what, he now has his very own deerskin rug to lie on.
Although Jo, the organiser, had several times mentioned that she had some security fencing that we could use to cordon off our area nothing had appeared so I went up to the organisers area and got permission to take what I needed. The previous evening loads of people had used 'our' loo, the one that we had purloined for the use of the bar staff, and we wanted to keep it away from the general public and the drinkers.
I started to peg put the area that we wanted enclosed and then hang up the fencing. After a while one or two of the others joined in and before long we had our own little enclave fenced off.
Sitting the beer tent taking a rest with D'fer on his new rug some Red Indians sauntered across the tent and came up to us. D'fer jumped up and started barking at them. I told him not to be silly and one of them came over and introduced himself to D'fer. D'fer calmed down then and became interested in their garb, which was of course made from skins of all sorts. The one Indian had a quiver of skunk-skin and D'fer would not leave it alone.
My evening shift started at half six and my only duty was to stop people leaving the marquee through the staff entrance into our enclave and to stop them using our loo. One guy came wandering towards the staff exit and when I told him that it was for 'Staff Only' he said that he only wanted to throw up. 'Not on my tent you don't' I said, at which point he did find another exit to do whatever he wanted to do.
As I was being paid in beer, whenever my glass was empty I simply went behind the bar and poured myself another. I have no idea how many I had but as each glass was only three quarters full it was not as many as I counted. There was no need to make sure it was a full measure, after all it was free.
Sun, 4 May 2008
Overcast but dry most of the day. I got up about eleven, I'd had more than my fair share of beer last night. Three cups of tea and a breakfast later I sort of surfaced. Wandered around the site close to the Napoleonic Wars demonstration with loads of musket and cannon fire. D'fer wasn't at all bothered by it. On the way back to the beer tent I stopped off and had a game of chess with a monk.
Sausage sandwich, several cups of tea and a relax with some Red Indians. D'fer still not sure about them but soon settled down when he recognised the skunk skin quiver.
Before I knew it, it was time for my next shift as doorman again, where does all the day go? Nick, Nick and Ian insisted on buying me drinks all evening, so although I had decided to have a comparatively sober night it didn't turn out that way. I had an early night, we ll early in comparison to the rest of the crew who were still carousing at half four, only an hour and a half before I woke up.
Mon, 5 May 2008
Some time during the night it rained and with D'fer and I in a little one man tent one of us must have slept up against the wall. One of the mattresses was wet on the underside where the rain had seeped through the inner tent and run down the walls.
Overcast for most of the morning, brightening later.
Jade, one of 'The Three Wenches' was also an early riser was up by about six fifteen so I put the kettle on and started brewing up.
While the kettle was heating up I took all the rubbish to the skip and because at six in the morning there was no-one around I left D'fer to his own devices. He wandered off and scavenged all the burger van areas and then did the same to all the little encampments of American Civil War reenactors. I caught sight of him every now and again in the distance just mooching about and since he wasn't obviously annoying anyone or getting in to trouble I left him to it.
By the time the kettle had boiled others were rousing and I had to go in search of mugs. Ordered breakfast as soon as the burger van woke up as they are still having trouble with the gas pressure.
Made tea all round and took orders for another three breakfasts.
D'fer's breakfast, the leftovers, looked bigger than a normal complete breakfast and he tucked into it with relish, after which he fell asleep. I think it was a combination of two hours of wandering the site, scavenging and a hearty breakfast.
The busiest day of the weekend for the public. The market was throbbing and the enactments were well attended. I got to see several of the battles and it was enlightening to see how battles were actually fought in those far off days. Most of the time seemed to be spent on posturing and manoeuvring with the odd engagement to test the opposition before the battle itself commenced.
The evening arrived and died a death. All the public melted away and the enactors packed up their tents and simply disappeared. Before long there were only the traders and the organisers left and the packing up party was a bit of a disappointment for Richard as it was so poorly attended. Those who were there had a good time and it was another late night.
Tue, 6 May 2008
Time to go. Party's over and it is time to pack everything up and go home. No food left so no breakfast. The caterers had already packed up and were no longer cooking so breakfast was out of the question but about eleven the caterer next to the beer tent, who we had helped out several times, donated a couple of dozen burgers, tomatoes, lettuce, rolls and onions, so we did get to eat after the brewery lorry had been.
The idea was to get everything packed away today and set out early tomorrow to drop off everything in the right places on the way. Don's leg had been playing him up all weekend and Taz had things to do on Wednesday so it was decided to just pack up and go today. Easier said than done. It took all morning just to dismantle the bar and pack that on the brewery lorry, along with the unsold kegs of beer and lager, we couldn't really dismantle anything else until that was done because the beers and lagers needed to be kept cool.
Bar and beers out of the way we had lunch, burgers with salad all round. We then packed up the coolers, beer pumps, kitchen, spirits, soft drinks, fridges, lights, public address system and everything else. Sounds easy, but we were still doing this well after dark, by the lights of the generator. We eventually set off shortly before midnight and arrived at The Eagle Inn just before four am.
Tumbled into bed and slept - forever.
Wed, 7 May 2008
Richard had asked me to give him a nudge at about eight, so I did, went downstairs and made a cup of tea. Moved all the plastic glasses upstairs to be stored and then went to the cafe for breakfast. Back to the Eagle for half ten when Richard and Danu surfaced. Danu was off to Swindon to look for something to wear to Glen and Trudy's wedding and Richard was off to drop off the generator, while I babysat the pub till the barman arrived to open up for the afternoon. The barman came and went and Danu arrived back around five. Richard seemed to accomplish most of what he wanted to do and we set off to get back to Hungerford around six.
Arrived back at Almyne and Richard and I sat on the back off the boat having a well earned rest and a couple of beers. Richard left well after dark and, once again, I fell into bed to sleep, forever.
Thu, 8 May 2008
Thursday, a day of rest and preparation. Dentist tomorrow and setting off on Saturday, so today is the day for washing all those clothes that had got covered in mud at Rockingham. Up early again, sometimes I wonder if D'fer just wakes me to torment me. Nothing on board for breakfast so off to Somerfields to get some eggs and bacon. Came back with eight pork loin chops, reduced to £4.50. Two for breakfast, well one for me and one for D'fer and put four in a pan with some Bolognese sauce to simmer for a few hours, they taste great like that and are really tender.
Spent the rest of the morning doing the washing. The washing machine is good, it does everything that I need it to but it is laborious. Being a twin tub I have to watch it all the time. Put the washing in the washer part, fill it with water, put in the powder, top it up to the correct level and switch it on. When the wash cycle has finished I have to drain the water and fill it with rinsing water, remembering to change the setting from 'drain' to 'wash' otherwise all the rinsing water just drains away straight away, which I have done more than once. When the rinsing is complete, and sometimes I need to rinse more than once because I can be a little heavy handed with the washing powder, and the water drained I have to lift it out am only just beginning to appreciate the effort it must have taken do do all the washing that I generated as a child, and that is just me, let alone the rest of the family. Of course the next task is to get it dry. I have a drying horse that I set up on the bank and it works just fine, as long as the wind does not blow it over. I just know that I have some tent pegs somewhere to pin it down with but could I find them, no. Fortunately it only fell over the once before I found a way of tying it to the fence.
Wandered into Hungerford during the afternoon to get some cheese (for supper) and called into the hotel for a drink because the day was so hot and had a long chat with some guy about dogs (he had a beautiful cream Alsatian). It turns out that he knows Marcus
very well.
Back to Almyne, pork chops with potatoes, onions and beans for tea, well one chop for me and one for D'fer, took my first Diazepam and off to bed.
Fri, 9 May 2008
Friday, dentist day. Mostly a bit hazy. Chrissy
and Glen off to Kintbury today so they will be gone when I return.
Blynda
arrived well in time and took me to the dentist. As we were walking to her car Patrick arrived with a friend Lewis, to continue his journey towards Newbury .
After the dentist, Blynda took me to mums where I relaxed and recovered. During the afternoon there were violent thunderstorms and hailstones as big as marbles. Peter
took me into Trowbridge where I purchased a new keyboard, my old one had lost the shift key and it is sooo difficult to type using the 'caps lock' for capitals and impossible to get all those other keys that use shift. Peter called into another shop to get some pumpkin seeds and while he was there I wandered around their cheap book section and picked two books that I quite liked for £5 and went outside, through the door we had entered, and found a convenient bench to start my new book. Peter left the shop via another door and since he could not see me went back to the car to wait for me. He eventually came back for me and we returned home for Pork chops in Bolognese sauce all round for tea and an early night.
Sat, 10 May 2008
3 miles 3 locks
Lazy start to the day. Breakfast and a look at the weather. Sorted out all the little problems with the computer and typed up all my notes and emailed them to myself.
Mum and Peter took me back to Almyne early afternoon and stopped for a cup of tea. When they left D'fer followed them to the car. I called him back and he came to me and sat down. I think he must have heard the car start up, because he shot off and would not come back to me. Off I went to look for him. Not along the tow path, not on the roadway up towards Somerfields, and then I spotted him the other side of the railway line. I called, but he seemed a little confused and was darting this way and that. Then the crossing barrier went down, D'fer on one side and me on the other and he spotted me. Fortunately the barrier goes close enough to the ground that he could not squeeze under, although I think if I had not kept telling him to sit and wait he would have forced his way under. Several people on the other side called to him and eventually one of them caught hold of his collar and calmed him down till the train pulled in to the station and the barrier went up again. He gets so attached to people who we visit or who visit us.
That incident over, I popped into Somerfields and got some sausages for tea, a pack of eight lasts me at least two meals, as long as I don't share them with D'fer.
Couldn't see any point in hanging around so I did the engine checks and set off towards Newbury after winding (turning around) Almyne and topping up with water and emptying the porta pottie.
Arrived at Kintbury just after half seven, sausage and mash with beans and onions for tea and got stuck into my new book. As usual I cooked too much, I cannot manage four sausages, so D'fer had one as well as my left overs.
Sun, 11 May 2008
The best equipped boat on the cut
I do NOT spoil my dog
4 miles 6 locks
Bacon and egg on toast for breakfast. Since the doctor has told me that my cholesterol is a little bit high I only had one egg and did not use butter on my toast.
The sun came up early and got hot quickly so decided to travel early rather than late so put all the ingredients in the bread-maker and set off.
Stopped off at a lock to have a cup of tea and a sandwich and a rest. While I was resting another boat arrived so it seemed prudent to go through the lock with them.
People have always taken notice of Almyne, something to do with the name and the painting along the sides, but today there seemed to be even more interest. It was not until I was going through the lock with the other boat that I realised what was catching their interest. The guy on the other boat pointed to the beer pump and asked me if it was connected to a barrel. 'No' I said 'I am waiting for a delivery'. He said 'I have got to get me one of those'. Perhaps I have started another craze. I hadn't the heart to tell him I use it as a bilge pump, but I must admit, it does look good.
Made good time and stopped early afternoon one lock before Newbury , there is no rush. The sun was so hot there was no point in travelling any more. Put up the brolly for D'fer, he prefers to sit on the bank because he can stalk other dogs as they arrive and because he had been swimming again I put out his deerskin to lie on. I don't really spoil him, just occasionally.
Did a little fishing and caught a few and thought about emptying the water out of Almyne Too as there was nearly three inches of water in the bottom, but it was too hot to drag it out and turn it over.
Sunbathed on the back of Almyne till tea time when I had sausages and mash again, one for D'fer and went to bed at dusk.
Mon, 12 May 2008
Andy in Almyne Too
Sliding In
Load of canoeists
Off they go
Rolling
Over the weir
Don't get too close to this
1 miles 1 lock 1 swing bridge
Bacon and egg on toast for breakfast with the loaf I made yesterday. The bread is really good and so easy to make while travelling. I forgot to say yesterday that the aroma of fresh bread cooking while travelling is just marvellous.
Arrived at Newbury by ten, too hot to travel any further even if I had intended to.
Popped in to Newbury to check on the camera battery. The girl in Curry's just did not seem to understand my question. I kept asking how long the camera battery should last and she kept telling me about eight hours. So when I explained to her that I would have to charge the battery in the morning, leave it on the side and when I wanted to take a picture that evening I would have to charge it up again she kept saying no.
This went on for some time until she suddenly clicked that the camera was not being used all day so the battery should not run down in eight hours, but should last several days. She called a manager and he offered to send the camera back to the manufacturers to have it checked out. When I explained that I was on a narrow boat, 'of no fixed abode' and that it could not be posted back to me he was at a loss. I asked if I could simply buy a new battery, but Currys do not stock them, but that Jessops down the road might have one.
Off to Jessops, they stock them but not at all branches and guess what, not at this one. They have one in Reading so I might get one there.
Off to Tesco, I noticed that they do a nice red wine (3 litre box) for under a tenner. Purchased two boxes (I cannot carry any more with my tennis elbow) and a Jif lemon. I am not too bothered about the lemon, it is the squeezer I want so that I can use it as a water pistol on D'fer to try to stop him barking at the locks. Shortly after I returned to Almyne a young lad and a couple of girls wandered up. The lad asked if he could have a row in Almyne Too and I could think of no real reason to refuse so said he could. He was both surprised and delighted. We unhitched Almyne Too, after I explained that it was a very small and unstable little dingy, but he was game and leapt in and tried rowing it around. He enjoyed that for a good half hour and then told me that they were off to the slipway to have a swim. I decided to accompany them as they said it was a good place for D'fer to have a swim. We got there and D'fer thoroughly enjoyed himself, leaping in with absolutely no restraint and swimming strongly both with and against the current of the river.
Back to Almyne for a bit of lunch. Decided that I would splash out and get a pastie from the pastie shop, so off into Newbury again. Ate the pastie sitting in the garden of what used to be the lock keepers cottage (which is no longer there). There is a plaque dedicated to him, John Gould , who I remember with affection from when I launched my first boat on the canal in 1973.
The butchers had closed by now, so I went back to Tesco for dinner, lambs liver and pigs kidneys and some vegetables and their last box of red wine. After carrying that back to Almyne I set off for the marina to see if I could get a manifold gasket for the engine. When I scrape out all the muck between the cooling fins of the engine I have to remove the manifold to get to them and you can bet that if I haven't got a new one I will break the old one. They haven't got one but will investigate to see if they can get one.
Since I had been instructed to pop in to 'The Stone Building' (which is a cafe come souvenir shop for the canal) at Newbury wharf by Vicki
to give her regards to Tracy, I wandered over the river and found it. There was no sign on the door to say 'No Dogs' so I walked in with D'fer on a very short lead. The woman at the counter apologised and said 'Sorry no dogs' so I took him out and took his lead off to tie him up to a post. True to form, D'fer smelt food and before I could replace him on his lead, he rushed to the back door of the cafe. The woman was there holding a carrier bag with a big bone in it.
I dragged D'fer back to the front of the cafe and tied him up and went inside and said to the woman 'Vicki has told me to come in here and give her regards to Tracy. 'I'm Tracy' she said 'And you must be Chris'.
So we started chatting and the first thing she did was to give D'fer the bone. She had been saving it for the first dog that she saw, lucky D'fer. Tracy
lives at Aldermaston and catches the train into Newbury each day, so I have arranged to pick her up after work, about midday, tomorrow and take her for a trip on the boat. There might just be enough time to take her all the way to Aldermaston. Vicki had explained that Tracy likes narrow boats and spends as much of her spare time as she can on them, availability allowing.
Back to Almyme again as the afternoon is wearing on to evening and started writing up my notes when there was a commotion at the lock a few hundred yards away. It seems that the local youth club goes canoeing on a Monday evening and there were many many canoes being dropped in the water. As I looked out of the hatchway one of them was in the process of going over the weir just for the hell of it. I wandered down and took a few piccies and then returned to get my evening meal. It has been a long day and I think I might just have an early night again.
Tue, 13 May 2008
1/4 mile 1 lock
I have had my 24 hours above Newbury lock, so just going below the lock to Victoria Park, where I can stay for 48 hours. Set off at 8:20 and arrived at 8:51, not much of a days travel.
I have a superb internet connection so it is a good place to stay while I try to sort out the web sites. I think that my provider has gone down the tube, after all the hassle that I had with not being able to use their new control panel it now seems that all my sites have gone down and there is NO access to anything, sites, email, control panel, help desk. My only solution as I see it is to find another provider, but the problem is I have no email. But then I don't have problems, only challenges.
Spent the morning setting up an email address so that I can be contacted with information about the new provider. Found a new provider and set up an account. Started transferring all the data, which took the best part of four hours.
Tracy was meant to be accompanying me to Aldermaston , where she lives, but her boss arrived and wanted do do a stock check or something, so that got postponed so I spent the afternoon testing what I could on the sites, but it generally takes between 24 and 48 hours for the new location of the web sites to propagate over the whole world and it is not until then that it all goes live again. The business sites are live, but my personal sites have not yet propagated, so it will be a little while before anyone can read what I am doing and where I am.
By tea time there was nothing else I could do today, so had liver and kidneys with onions and peppers in red wine, with mash and carrots and leeks.
While I was eating a young lady, Donna, walked by and fell in love with D'fer and spent the best part of an hour playing with him in Victoria park. After that we sat on the back of Almyne for several hours chatting and drinking a beer or two.
Very pleasant end to a very trying day.
Wed, 14 May 2008
Buttercups
8 miles 10 locks 4 swing bridges
Tracy arrived at half nine to say hello and stayed for breakfast. She is off to see her grandsons today, but told me where she lives, which is right next to the canal at Aldermaston , so I am going down there today.
Set off just after midday and waited at Greenham lock for another boat to come along. One did, the captain is the guy who picked up my chopping block at the bottom of the Caen Hill flight last year. He did offer to return it when we met in Devizes, but finders - keepers.
Anyway, he was giving a lift to two guys who are heading for Oxford and they are working their passage by operating the locks, so I got a free ride, well sort of. They did all the locks and because I was out first (they had to pick up crew) I did all the swing bridges and set some of the locks ready for their arrival.
Arrived at Aldermaston by half six, shattered. Moored up at the four hour, facilities moorings and by the time the four hours was up it was too dark to go on any further. I had prepared dinner for Tracy during the journey, well the pork chops in Bolognese sauce, but when she turned up it was to tell me that she had to go to a meeting of some kind to do with the K & A trust. She took my saucepan to put in her fridge so that we can have it tomorrow. Had to find something else for dinner in the end.
One of the swing bridges had no operation moorings, so having tied the boat to a tree to open the bridge, once I was through there was nowhere to stop and close it for several hundred yards. The people waiting to cross when it was closed got quite irate. D'fer also decided to jump off the boat as I was untying from the tree and got left behind. He got quite irate too.
The next swing bridge needed two people to operate it and I was lucky that there was an elderly gentleman willing to help.
The next swing bridge kept blowing closed in the wind. Every time I opened it and went back to the boat, it swung closed. In the end I had to tie it open to a tree across the tow path.
Took some pictures of buttercups at a lock side as mum
tells me that she hasn't seen any for ages because Peter gets rid of them from his lawn.
Thu, 15 May 2008
1/4 mile 1 lock
Sauntered along to Reading Marine where I asked if they had any washers for the fuel pump on the SR2 (the engine) because I had a slight leak. They sent a man along to Almyne who had a look and removed the old washers, took them back to Reading Marine and found some to do the job. Came back and fitted them while enjoying a cup of tea. Returned to Reading Marine to pay and to check on the availability of some other bits and pieces that I need.
Back at Almyne I waited for a boat to come along to share the lift bridge with. It is electrically operated and is on a fairly main road, so I did not want to obstruct the road traffic for too long, which I would do if I were on my own. Moved down one lock because I had spent my four hours on the limited moorings.
Tied up just below the lock so that Tracy would not have too far to walk to find me this evening when she returns with my pork chops for dinner. Scouted around for some branches to cut up for firewood. Logs are too big and last too long, coal lasts much too long. At this time of year I just need a quick boost to the heating to make it comfortable so small stuff works well.
Found two and cut them up into suitable lengths and then chopped a couple of blocks of 4 by 2 into kindling. That's the heating sorted out for a couple of days.
Spent most of the day working on the web sites, but the connection from here is really not good and everything is taking far longer that it should. Lit the fire about half five. Got to half six so I poured a glass of wine, not a good idea on an empty stomach, so by the time Tracy arrived, during a light shower, at seven ish with the pork chops I was already a little tiddly. I like tiddly. The vegetables were already prepared so I just put everything on to cook and Tracy and I sat there chatting. She was so pleased with herself because at the meeting last night she stood up for herself and refused to take on the post of 'chair' at future meetings, something that she has been trying to pluck up the courage to do for some time. She also told them that she was taking the weekend off to go on a trip with some friends that live in her block of flats, she has not had a holidays or a weekend off for nearly four years.
Ate dinner, chatted some more and walked her back to her flat, left her at her front door and returned to Almyne to continue trying to resurrect the web sites (sorry if the web sites are getting boring).
Fri, 16 May 2008
2 1/4 miles 3 locks 1 swing bridge 1 lift bridge
Need shopping, out of eggs and tea. Looked at the map, Aldermaston village is a couple of miles away to the south along a main road. Started off but the traffic was just too much, I could not walk more than a hundred or so paces before another vehicle came rushing past and with no footpath I didn't like it. Back to Almyne to look at the maps again. Woolhampton has a shop and looks to be only a bout a mile away, so set off walking along the towpath to there. It was nearer two and a half miles, but the walk was much more pleasant and the phone signal improved considerably along the way. Spoke to Richard and arranged for him to take me down to Worthing tomorrow to see Church. Spoke to Church and told him of my plans.
On arriving at Woolhampton I met Chrissy and 'eza
walking toward me. We chatted and she told me where the shops were and accompanied me to them. She continued on the the pub and I returned to Almyne after getting the eggs and tea bags.
Winded Almyne by hand and started back to Woolhampton. Fortunately there was another boat going through the swing bridge under the tutelage of Reading Marine so that was OK and the crew of the hire boat worked the swing bridge and lock at Woolhampton for me. I told them to carry on out of the lock and that I would tidy up as I was going to be mooring up just above the lock.
Moored up and settled down to work on the web sites again, much better signal here and it went much more smoothly.
Had a text from Hermione, she graduates on 24th July and has invited me. Rang her back for a chat. She is fed up with all the revision for university and will be pleased to see the back of it but is enjoying her life, which seems to be very exciting at the moment with so much going on and so many good friends.
The journey, although not very far, was against the current as most of it was on the Kennet river so the engine got a good workout (instead of just ticking over all the time) and the batteries were well charged, enough for me to work till well after midnight. With the fire going to keep me warm and the radio on in the background I totally lost track of time.
Sat, 17 May 2008
Richard had
asked me to ring him before nine to make sure that he is on his way. Rang him and he was approaching Abingdon , so told him where I had moved to. Kicked my heels for a while, D'fer nipping my heels for a while too. He has not had much activity for a day or so and seems to have stored up all his energy. Got his lead out and walked down towards the swing bridge just below the lock where I expected to meet Richard. He had just arrived and D'fer bounded up to him, overjoyed. D'fer would not leave Richard alone all the way back to Almyne. Had a cup of tea and set off for Worthing.
Uneventful journey to Worthing and met Church at his local, went back to his house and sorted out the bits and pieces of importance.
Arrived back at Almyne shortly after six, after stopping in Arundel for lunch and then calling in at the supermarket to do a little shopping. Nattered with Richard for a while about storage for all the Beer Trix stuff and he may have come up with a solution to make the transport and storage of all the bitty stuff for the outside bar. I walked Richard back to his vehicle and bid him safe journey and wandered back to Almyne to put the shopping away and start getting dinner. I caught site of D'fer rushing off down the towpath. Called to him but he was obviously intent on something. Followed him at a walking pace, I don't do 'run' and eventually caught up with him at the car park where Richard had left us. D'fer was simply going to look for a friend. I think I might have to start keeping him tied up to the extending lead as this is the second time he has decided to look for people who have recently left the boat after visiting.
Had half a quiche (I used to call them quickie, but that got me in to trouble when I asked women at the delicatessen for a quickie) with a couple of slices of bread and butter for tea and spent the rest of the evening working on the web sites.
It got a bit chilly during the evening so lit the fire with the 'small stuff' which burns quickly and gives a good heat for just a short time. That is all that is needed to make the boat comfortable at this time of year.
Bed just before midnight.
Sun, 18 May 2008
Almyne Too on top
Up at half nine, had a wonderful lie-in, watching the sun stream in through the window. D'fer was quite content to stay asleep and not bother me. Breakfast of bacon and egg on toast with a cup of tea. Since I used the last of my small wood for the fire last night I decided that my first task of the day would be collecting more firewood so set off up the towpath looking for likely candidates for use, after starting the engine, I will need all the power I can get today for the computer.
Found several branches that were old enough to be reasonably dry but new enough to not be rotten. Dragged them back to Almyne and sawed them up for the wood store.
As I have not yet got 'tender to Almyne' on the back of Almyne Too I decided that it would be best to put her on top of Almyne for the trip up the Thames . Spent the next half hour re-arranging the top of Almyne to take Almyne Too and getting her on top.
That done, on with the resurrecting of web sites.
Still having trouble with Business Alert, but it is the most complicated of all of them.
Spent most of the day working on the sites, but did take time off to taker D'fer for a walk along the towpath so that he could go swimming. Needless to say, when we returned to Almyne he promptly went inside to shake, even though I had given him plenty of opportunity outside.
Pork chops, chips and beans for dinner and a late night.
Mon, 19 May 2008
1½ miles, 1 swing bridge (twice)
D'fer woke me this morning at about five by pawing at me, I slapped him cause his claws are sharp, so he started prodding me with his nose, cold and wet. I eventually capitulated and got up about quarter to six, had breakfast, washed the floors, rinsed the washing I had left in soak, checked the engine and set off to turn around by eight. Back at moorings by half nine, but facing the right way this time.
I know, boring , boring , boring, still working on web site. Mind you I think I have cracked it (where have I heard that before). I have had to rewrite a whole chunk of software to fit in with the new provider and I eventually got it running properly just after midday, so it spent the whole afternoon creating password protected directories for a whole bunch of people. Still some to go, but I have cracked the back of it.
While the computer was working for me I blacked the stove, my my it looks good now, and thoroughly washed the whole area around it. Took the carpets out and gave them a good beating, better than beating the dog anyway.
Started on making 'Turks Head Knots' for each end of the tiller arm, with red, white and blue cord, if nothing else it will cover up the ugly aluminium bar that is the existing tiller arm. It will take several days to tighten it all up, but what else will I have to do while the computer is working for me?
Chopped loads of kindling again, so the kindling box is full to bursting and chopped some more branches, Put those in the coal bucket so as not to spoil the appearance of the nice clean floors and walls and stove.
Made spaghetti Bolognese with the mince, which made a nice change and I will use the left overs (one pound of mince is much to much for me for one meal) to make a cottage pie and I'll turn the remains of that into chilli-con-carni.
Took D'fer for a walk, as he has had a boring day, but I wouldn't let him go for a swim as I want the floors clean for at least a day.
Since I was up so early I am having an early night tonight.
Tue, 20 May 2008
Heading for trouble
1½ miles, 1 swing bridge (twice)
Up at six with the sun streaming in through the windows again. Lazy breakfast and got ready to go. Set out to travel the 50 yards to the lock at half eight. Got there and waited for another boat to come along, with the computer working away for me.
Another boat did come along. It was a BW dredger being pushed by the daintiest little tug you ever saw. I let them in the lock first and helped them through, as much as anything because I wanted to see how they coped with the strong current just below the lock. See all the pictures.
They had a great time fighting the current, getting pushed on to the opposite bank and using the bucket to hold themselves in the current and then manoeuvring on to the near bank. Once there they detached the tug and used the bucket to turn around and then drag themselves against the current to where they wanted to be to start dredging.
That fun over they helped me through the lock and then tried opening the bridge for me to carry on, but it was broken again and I had to sit on the tail of the lock for nearly an hour for it to be fixed.
Once it was fixed the rest was plain sailing, I shot out of the lock tail and raced past the dredger, hauled over on the tiller and swung around to line up with the bridge hole, shooting through like I was riding the rapids on the Colorado river. Well that's what it felt like, quite scary. Gave Chrissy and 'eza a hurried wave as I shot past and carried on a little more slowly towards Aldermaston . Arrived at Aldermaston lock and set it to go in. Once inside I could not close the lock gate. I think the walkway was jammed on the grass beside the lock and try as I would it just wouldn't move. I got a rope out and looped it round the gate and myself and leaned into it with all my weight. Still wouldn't move. Decided that I would have to wait for someone else to come along to help and jumped onto Almyne to make a cup of tea. One cup of tea later and no-one in site I gave it another try. Well, blow me down with a feather, it just swung closed as sweet as anything, amazing what a cup of tea will do.
Through the lock I moored up at the four hour moorings again and got rid of all my rubbish, topped up with water and had another cup of tea. Wandered across to see if I could raise anyone at Tracy's block of flats to return her cooking pot but got no answer. Checked the phone and I had a signal, so rang Tracy to explain what I was trying to do, she told me she was on her way back and would be here in about an hour, so took the pot back to Almyne and out a quiche in the oven for lunch.
Tracy eventually arrived at sometime after four and we had a late lunch consisting of quiche, pickled peppers, pickled onions, mushrooms on oil, and pickled gherkins and courgettes, with another cup of tea.
Tracy had never tried pickled peppers before and was enchanted by them, she wanted to know where to get them, so I told her. Another pleasant evening chatting and Tracy returned home with her cooking pot and I was free to continue my travels, tomorrow.
Wed, 21 May 2008
The gates control the level
Launching a boat
Turf sided lock
6 miles, 7 locks 3 swing bridges 1 lift bridge
Woke up at about six to hear someone emptying the lock and went back to sleep again. Even though I wanted to go through the swing bridge with another boat it was too early for that.
Woke again nearer half seven, got up and made breakfast, ate it and prepared the boat for the days journey, including setting up the bread-maker. Shortly after two boats came through the lock together so I tagged on behind them and went through the swing bridge. It looked a bit congested ahead and the boat immediately in front of me pulled over to pick up crew. The boat in front of them carried on but seemed to be wandering a bit. Then I spotted why. Reading Marine at Aldermaston were launching a boat, well craning it in, so had moved loads of boats out of the area and clogged up the canal a bit.
The boat in front pulled over and moored up and I carried on to the next lock where I got it ready. The first boat came along and we shared locks and swing bridges until Tyle Mill lock, where we both pulled over to replenish water stocks. They went first and when they were full carried on with their journey. I then filled my tanks, had a cup of tea and a bite to eat, dumped off all the rubbish I could find on the boat in the disposal point, emptied the porta pottie and by this time the bread was cooked, so tipped that out of the cooker to let it cool off and set off again.
A couple of locks further on a guy was sitting watching the world go past and we chatted briefly. Peter Clark (for that is his name) has recently celebrated his seventieth birthday and decided to do something, so set out to walk from Bristol to London, game on, he was going to get there before me.
As I am a little bit worried about mooring up in or near Reading I decided to pull over at The Cunning Man , a place that Geri
and I stayed the night on our journey down. The Peter Pan cafe, where we had breakfast the following morning is no longer open so I will have to cook my own breakfast.
Walked D'fer a short way back along the tow path so he could swim for branches and to tire him out a little. Took him back to Almyne to dry him with his towel, I sometimes think that he thinks this is the best bit, getting dried.
Had a quick pint in the Cunning Man and went back to Almyne for a nap, I was absolutely shattered. Slept till nearly six and got up and turned the Bolognese sauce into chilli-con-carni. I didn't have any raisins to put in it so improvised by cutting some dried prunes up small and putting them in, It was just as good as raisins.
Went back to bed and slept the sleep of the righteous.
Thu, 22 May 2008
Don't forget to pump the bilges
I only wanted to empty the bath
look Fobney lock tail
look Fobney lock tail
Goslings
Goslings
3½ miles, 3 locks 1 set of traffic lights
Even though I had a nap yesterday afternoon and went to bed early I still slept in till gone eight. Leisurely breakfast, engine checks and I set off by half nine. The first thing I saw was a boat that was a little low in the water with some goslings swimming around it. Someone had forgotten to pump the bilges on a regular basis, a good reminder to me not to forget.
On the other hand, perhaps someone had forgotten to put the plug back in the bath after washing!
Carried on towards Reading and reached Fobney lock . There are warnings about this lock in the canal guides to I thought that I was prepared. However as I left the tail of the lock to go to the mooring point I was swept out into the river. I put the engine in reverse and gunned it as hard as I could, swinging the boat out of the current and slowing it down. I pulled clear of the main rush and slowly but surely crept toward the landing point with the engine racing and roaring. I almost missed it entirely but got the back end far enough in to the landing point to throw a rope over one of the bollards. Now I had a bit of a purchase I managed to get out of the boat onto the landing stage and with the help of the engine, still in reverse, pull the boat back to moor up. All this just to go back and close the lock gates. Well that is what each boater is meant to do to conserve water.
It was really rather exciting in it's own way.
As I reached Reading I moored up just outside town on some 'permit holder only' moorings. It was only going to be while I sussed out the route through Reading and where I had to turn off to get to the 24 hour moorings hear Homebase. Walked the towpath and followed it right through to Blakes lock, where the river Kennet meets the river Thames . Found out where the turning off to the 24 hour moorings is. If you don't know where it is you could easily miss it, especially as you are travelling quite fast with the current and you only have a couple of seconds to make the turn. (Sounds like you are in a racing car).
As I was walking along a guy stopped D'fer and started to make a fuss of him. Needless to say D'fer jumped up, as he does, and I think he caught the guy on the eyebrow or nose. He asked me why D'fer did that and I explained (I always seem to be explaining why D'fer does this or that) that he was just excited to have someone making a fuss of him. We had a brief chat and we both went our own ways.
Having got to Blakes lock I quizzed the lock-keeper about the whys and wherefores of travelling the Thames and he gave me the literature and a price-list. Walked back to Almyne.
I was just preparing some of the photos that I had taken for uploading to the web site when the guy I had been talking to earlier walked past, this time with his dog. He was surprised to see me on a boat and enquired if it was mine, 'Oh yes' I said, 'Almyne'. He laughed and told me that he was interested in getting a narrow-boat to live on, so I offered to take him in to Reading (one lock and half a mile) for the experience. He was really surprised and told me that he would love to but he was going to take his dog home first as two dogs on the boat could be a bit excitable.
Well, Eddy
(that is his name) took his dog home and rushed back to Almyne. By this time I had the engine running and had shut down the computer so we were ready to set off immediately. I told him just to sit on the back and enjoy the ride and I would do all the work.
The first lock was just a few hundred yards away, but was across the river and there was a strong current, but I managed to moor up really rather well considering the circumstances. Into the lock and operated it. Immediately past the lock is the set of traffic lights, so I had to pull over just outside the lock. In retrospect I would have been better off staying in the lock while I pressed the button to allow me to 'walk' through Reading. The current just past the lock was horrendous and I had great difficulty holding the boat and getting it to the bank to moor up, but I succeeded, with a little help from Eddy on the back of the boat.
Through Reading to the 24 hour moorings. Eddy was in his element while we were travelling. He was waving at everybody, both the people he knew (and there seemed to be a lot of them) and the people he didn't. The smile on his face said it all, he was having a great time.
Pulled over and moored up and Eddy jumped off Almyne and greeted the two people on the boat just behind me and introduced me to them.
Laurie
and Josh
who are in the process of refurbishing their boat. They are young enough and fit enough to be able to do that amount of work.
Spent an hour or so updating the site and then went shopping in Reading for some bits and pieces. Now I have the bread-maker I seem to need to go shopping far less often.
The people in the street were rushing around as if there was not a second to lose, or perhaps the devil were after them. I had to keep dodging out of their way and every time I reached a side road I went a short way down it, just for the respite. It reminded me why I hate big cities, or even small ones.
Got to Sainsbury's and who should be coming out of the door but Eddy, we greeted each other and Eddy said that he knew we would meet again.
Did my shopping, eggs, tomatoes, disinfectant wipes and tea bags and headed out into the rushing throng again. The streets were simply teeming with people and I almost started to join in with their madness and walk instead of strolling, but kept my head and continued to stroll back to Almyne. Even so, I felt quite stressed by the experience.
Chilli-con-carni again for tea, as I wasn't going to carry a big bag of potatoes back to Almyne all that way, I will wait till I can get to a store that will deliver to the boat.
I want to be at Blakes lock by half eight in the morning to get a good start along the Thames, the weather for Friday is good both in Reading and Oxford, but for Saturday it is raining in Reading and just overcast in Oxford, so another early night after reading a few chapters of my book.
Fri, 23 May 2008
The house to die for
Shillingford Bridge
From ten to twelve
Steaming down the Thames
Grebe with chick
31 miles 9 locks
I think that this has been both my worst day on the journey so far and my best day on the journey so far.
The engine has performed superbly running at three quarter throttle for almost ten and a half hours continuously without a hiccup. I had been concerned that because the engine rarely gets run at much more than tick-over it might baulk at such heavy usage.
I also have performed superbly, running myself at three quarter throttle for thirteen hours with only the occasional hiccup, I made a bit of a mess of mooring up at a couple of locks and had assistance from the lock keepers. I rarely get used at much more than tick-over nowadays.
Up at half six and breakfast over before quarter past seven. Engine checks, walk D'fer and set off at seven forty. Through Blakes lock, the last on the Kennet and Avon canal, and on towards the Thames . Nearly went the wrong way at the junction of the Thames because there are no signposts. Carried on up the Thames for another half mile till I got to Caversham lock, arriving at twenty to nine. I had to wait there for the lock keeper to arrive at nine to get my Environment Agency license to travel on the Thames.
Took the opportunity to shave my neck and have a last cup of tea for the day.
The lock keeper arrived promptly at nine and let me into the lock and then told me to pay at the following lock. Off I went. Four miles later I arrived at Mapledurham lock, where I purchased my license for two days, I hope to make Oxford in two days.
The current on the Thames seemed almost negligible, less than that on the Kennet, or perhaps that was because it is so big and wide and deep. Even at three quarter throttle I was only doing about three knots and my average for the day was just four lock miles per hour and with the lock keepers doing all the work and having the locks ready for me, the locks were quick.
The noticeable difference was that the locks were fierce, they filled quickly throwing Almyne around and they emptied quickly as well.
I tried taking a picture of a Grebe carrying its baby on its back, trouble just as I was ready it turned to face me, if you look closely you can just make it out.
At Wallingford a little steam boat went the other way, it looked to calm and serene and was very quiet. I can see the fascination for them,
I carried on throughout the day, surviving on chocolate digestives, hula hoops and bitter lemon, no time to stop off for lunch, or even a cup of tea. Ten o'clock and I was enjoying myself, but by twelve o'clock, although I was still enjoying myself, I was beginning to get a little tired.
Got a shot of the mooring at Shillingford Bridge where Geri and I stayed the night on the way down and the swans and ducks kept Mabel awake all night. Shortly after that I spotted the 'house to die for'.
D'fer was getting fed up with all the travelling and having to stay on Almyne all the time, even in the locks, and around three o'clock he showed his displeasure by going to bed, just popping out occasionally to see if I was all right or perhaps to see if we were going to stop sometime this year.
Carried on through Dorchester Oxfordshire , Little Wenham, Burcot , Clifton Hampden , past Didcot power station with the cooling towers that can be seen for miles in every direction, through Long Wittenham , Appleford-on-Thames and eventually mooring up just before the lock at Culham , exhausted.
Beans and corned beef for tea with my last two slices of bread.
All boats are meant to turn off their engines in the locks on the Thames, but only one lock keeper asked me to do so. Had I known I would have baked a cake, no loaf during the journey. Perhaps I will do that anyway tomorrow as the batteries have had their best charge ever and should put up with baking a loaf even without the engine running.
Sat, 24 May 2008
Oxford Pastime
My welcome to Oxford
I had to move over
11 miles 6 locks
Apart from being up early so that I could have breakfast, walk D'fer, set the bread-maker going and prepare the boat to go into the first lock at nine, I had a maudlin sort of start to the day. It might have had something to do with the conversation I had yesterday with one of the lock keepers about his wife dying in February or it might have been something to do with remembering how Geri enjoyed racing
down the Thames . The melancholy passed and and
I soon got stuck into the journey again.
I did not have quite enough flour for the recipe and although I had been told that it works well if you follow the recipe exactly there was no point in wasting the ingredients I had put in the bread-maker so started it anyway. When the loaf was finished it was better than the recipe loaf. Is was slightly more moist and much softer, more to my liking, so perhaps a little less flour is called for for me.
Fairly uneventful journey through Culham lock, Culham cut and along past Caldecott to Abingdon, where the lock keeper had the lock waiting ready for me. Then I had a four and a half mile run, which seemed to take forever, before arriving at Sandford lock. Although the Thames had only a slight current, much like a true canal, I was at this point both excited that I was only two locks from the Oxford canal and also anxious, remembering how fierce the short run from the Oxford to the Thames was when we came down in 2006.
Easy passage to Iffley lock, where a guy started talking to me while I was trying to moor up. I didn't really take any of it in because I was otherwise pre-occupied, making a mistake in a lock on the Thames could result in disaster because the locks are so fierce. He put a piece of paper on the gas locker and wandered off to talk to the lock keeper.
With the lock safely full I looked at the piece of paper. It was a set of instructions on how to navigate from Iffley lock up to Osney lock while the 'Oxford University Rowing Club Regatta' was in progress. Basically 'keep as far over to the right as you can until you get to 'The Gut' and then keep as far over to the left as you can, obeying individual marshals instructions on the way'.
There were boats everywhere, in front of me coming towards me, behind me coming towards me, rushing alongside in front going away, behind going away and any and all of them turning around at any moment.
At one point I had to go into reverse very hard to avoid a boat coming around a blind corner, good job I was travelling slowly anyway, and then I heard over the Tannoy a message for me to move in to the centre of the channel as the next race was along both banks. Well that was not on the piece of paper I had been given.
And then I saw my welcoming committee, and what a welcome to Oxford, all those people waiting for me for goodness knows how long, because I did not know when I would arrive. I waved furiously and some of them waved back and posed while I took a picture, made me feel really good.
Motored on past the start point, past a typical 'Oxford day out', up through Osney lock and on to the channel that leads to the Oxford. Negotiated that just fine and into Isis lock, the first on the Oxford. Through that, moored up and D'fer was free. He jumped off and ran, and ran, and ran, and jumped in the canal, and brought me a stick to throw, which I threw and threw and threw. Eventually he calmed down, soaking wet and a little more relaxed. 'Oh thank you for letting me off the boat, I was getting sooo bored'.
Took a short walk into Oxford, but soon realised that it is just as crowded as any other town, if not more so, so returned to the tranquillity of Almyne. Walking back to Almyne yet another woman remarked how good looking D'fer was, so starting a conversation. Explained that I had been looking for a shop but that Oxford was too crowded for me and the only supermarket type place that I could identify was too far away. She explained that there was a nice little local 'Londis' a bit further along the tow path and offered to show me where it was.
Looks like rain till Friday! I probably won't be going anywhere for the rest of this week!, mind you, I am glad I got off the Thames before the rain arrived, it could make the going difficult against the raised level and the current.
I am moored up about 200 yards from the train station and just a bit more from the centre of town so everything should be convenient, except for the rain.
Will give me time to work on the site.
I have spent the evening correcting a whole bunch of spelling mistakes and re-reading what I have written has been entertaining, occasionally, just very occasionally it makes me laugh, and I was the one who wrote it!
Perhaps I should rename the site - no what I will do is change it once I have reached Wheaton Aston to 'Letter from Almyne' or maybe not, I have quaffed a few glasses this evening.
Richard just rang, he is delivering my wine tomorrow, if I can let him know where I am.
Settled down for a well earned rest and to update the site and another early night.
Sun, 25 May 2008
Trick Cyclists
Going nowhere today. With fully charged batteries I can spend most of the day working on the site and getting the back entries updated and working on the maps.
Got the fire going about half an hour ago - a fire and it is nearly June!, but I don't want to catch a chill.
Washing, I have a backlog of washing to do but there is NO WAY I will be able to get it dry, so it will have to wait. I might even have to turn my pants inside out as well as back to front if it keeps up much longer. On the other hand maybe I will find a launderette!
If it gets any warmer in here I will open some more windows and take my fleece off, but still not enough room to dry loads of washing.
I am still going through all the entries for the web site correcting spelling mistakes and making slight additions and alterations and as soon as I have finished that I am off into Oxford to see if I can get the Nicholson's I need.
Took a break around lunch time after finishing all the spell checking to see if I could get a copy of Nicholson's guide to the canals, No1 (covers Oxford canal) and although Oxford is a university town and has some of the best and most complete bookshops in the country none of them had a copy. They had all the others, but not the one that covers Oxford. I am told that I might get one at the marina five hours away. Can't miss it, there are no turnings off the canal till after I get to it.
On the way back I spotted a couple of trick cyclists and tried to get some pictures, but they were too quick and too far away. I walked over the road and asked one of them if he could repeat the trick while I took pictures, he agreed and did it twice because I missed him on the post the first time, I missed him on the post the second time as well because it is so brief, but I couldn't ask him to do it yet again.
I've got sausages for dinner again tonight, but maybe, just maybe, if I can work up the energy, I will make Toad in the Hole.
Temperature up to a comfortable 76F, so no worries here. I wonder if I can toast some bread on the fire, I suppose if I leave the door open and hold the bread close to the embers it might work, will have to try it one day, then I can have Marmite on toast.
The thing about Marmite on toast is that you put the Marmite on first, quite thickly and them try to cover it with butter to take the sting out. That means oodles of butter, (not good for the cholesterol but) so tasty.
I've got over my hunger I just finished half a packet of chocolate digestives and feel a little sick.
I am spending the afternoon updating the maps and then I might get around to updating yesterdays and today's entries.
I was thinking of doing a roast dinner this afternoon, roast chicken to be precise, but I have the sausages to finish off, unless I use them to stuff the chicken.
Maybe I will do the roast chicken tomorrow, if I can find somewhere to buy one.
Can't use the sausages to stuff the chicken the way I do it, there is no room.
Recipe, take a 440ml can of your favourite beer, drink it
Take a bottle of your favourite wine, one third fill the beer cap with the wine.
Carefully place the chicken over the beer can, the can filling the cavity where the stuffing would normally go and stand upright.
Lightly salt the bird and rub in some olive oil.
Place in oven standing upright and cook.
The oil and salt seals the skin and makes it crisp, all over, because it is not sitting in its own juices.
The wine suffuses through the flesh and cannot escape because the oil and salt has sealed the skin.
A moist succulent flavoured bird for you delectation, but no stuffing.
My only good news is that Richard has just visited to top up my stores.
He is off to Somerset now, the reason he was late is because he wanted to see the Formula One race. When I asked him about it he related the whole race in minute detail - he really enjoys it.
I ended up with three sausage sarnies, got so involved with updating maps. I am just about to put in the last one, where I am right now, so give it a minute and it will be there.
I suppose now I will have to start putting in pictures of what is outside my window??
Mon, 26 May 2008
2½ miles 1 lock 1 lift bridge (plus 1 lift bridge permanently open)
Spent the morning doing not lot at all, it was raining and there is no way I am travelling in the rain, nor was there any point in cleaning the boat. Had the last on my bacon for breakfast so will need to get some more soon. Cold enough to light the fire, with coal to keep it going all day long.
The rain started to ease off towards mid day, but still wet enough not to travel. Got to half one and the rain had stopped, not even drizzling, so did the engine checks and set off at ten to two. Only travelled for one and a half hours, but it was enough to make me feel as if I were achieving something. Moored up just above Perrys lift bridge at Wolvercote and took D'fer for a walk to look for a shop. Spoke to a gentleman walking in the opposite direction and he told me where the shop was, so set off to find it.
I found it, but it was closed, bank holiday Monday. Not urgent, so returned to Almyne and put some potatoes wrapped in tin foil on the top of the fire with a saucepan over in preparation for baked potatoes with tuna and sweet corn for tea. No mayonnaise so must put that on my shopping list.
After tea I wandered up to the next lock to see if there were any challenges on the way. Yes a lift bridge operated from the opposite bank to the tow path.
At the next lock a boat called 'Serendipity' was just going in. I got chatting to the skipper and it turns out that I did recognise it. He purchased it in Hilperton just eight days ago and is taking it up to Norfolk, where he lives.
Back at Almyne I decided to ring Pasquale because I had not heard from him for some time and he was meant to be coming to visit this weekend. It appears that three weeks ago he lost his phone, along with all the numbers stored on it. He had tried to contact me through the web site, but of course that had gone down and his attempts there were unsuccessful. Anyway he now has my number again and will be visiting next Saturday, wherever I am.
Spent the evening doing sudoku puzzles and listening to the radio for a change and crawled into bed just before midnight.
Tue, 27 May 2008
2½ miles 3 locks 2 lift bridges.
Late start (late night) got up around half ten. No bacon so didn't bother with breakfast (big mistake). Set off just before eleven and arrived at the lift bridge. Nosed Almyne up to the bridge on the opposite bank, keeping the stern in to the near bank. (The Oxford canal is quite narrow so this is possible.)
Climbed out of the front of the boat with a spare rope, tied Almyne to the bridge ring so she would not wander and hauled the bridge up, tied it in the up position with the spare rope. Untied Almyne and clambered back on to her on the front. Walked through to the back and got off on the tow path side. Took Almyne through the lift bridge, stopping with the stern just past the bridge, backed up so I could get off, tying Almyne up to a tree. Let the lift bridge down, climbed back on to Almyne, untied the rope from the tree (it was deliberately a slip knot) and set off towards the lock.
Approaching Dukes lock, where there is a junction off to the Thames , there was a boat waiting to go in and a boat in the lock coming out, with another lined up behind it. The boat waiting to go in was not moored up and was going backwards and forwards seeming to be trying to get in to the bank. The boat waiting to come out of the lock, quite justifiably, was waiting until the other boat was no longer a danger. All this time I was holding Almyne well back and, because it was such a mess ahead, I pulled over to the bank and held Almyne by the centre rope to make sure I was not going to add to the confusion.
Eventually the crew of the boat coming out of the lock assisted the other boat to get in to the bank so that the boat in the lock could come out, which it did and then turned off along the Thames branch.
I waited my turn while the boat ahead went in and out, the boat waiting at the other side came in and out and then it was my turn, what a palaver.
At the next lock I got stuck going in. Apparently the gate does not open properly I have since found out. On going in Almyne just stopped and it was obvious that with the gate just a little bit open there was not enough room for me to get in. At first I thought that something had got jammed behind the gate, but whatever the reason I had to get back out of the lock entrance. I put her in reverse, that didn't work. I pulled on the middle rope, bracing myself on the lock-side, that didn't work. I went back to Almyne ready to phone BW, but had a cup of tea first. I am beginning to wonder what is in the tea, as when I had finished it and tried again, out she popped. Cleared all the debris from behind the lock gate and tried again, this time a little more slowly, in fact I pulled her in by hand instead of with the engine. Stuck again but managed to pull her out more easily this time. While I was cogitating on my next move a boat crew came along from above the lock and told me that the gate doesn't open properly. Explained my dilemma and they agreed to lean heavily on the balance beam while I came in to the lock. This time it worked.
After that it was plain sailing and I moored up at 'The Jolly Boatman' just after half two. Wandered up the tow path to Thrupp, noting the mooring restrictions on the way. At Thrupp I got a little map of the area and found out where my nearest shop is.
Went shopping at the Coop, but it was so expensive I only got the very basics, a loaf of bread and some mince for tea, a couple of quiches, cause they are nice for lunch, but no bacon, I could not afford their prices.
Kidlington is another mile or so further on so I might walk in there tomorrow, or even catch a bus!
Got some more of the Business Alert site working and uploaded several thousand back issues.
Beef-burgers, chips and beans for tea, mixed some of the mince with finely chopped onions and bread-crumbs, and added an egg to bind it all together.
Read till late while the computer was working for me.
Wed, 28 May 2008
Another slow day. Up just after nine and breakfast of beans on toast. Started the engine as I ran the batteries down last night with all the computer stuff. Drizzling all morning but at about eleven it seemed to stop, so I got out my rucksack and set off into Kidlington. When I arrived I went straight to the fishing tackle shop to get some maggots so that I could fish if the rain held off long enough. Then off to the supermarket, where I purchased some tissues (I ran out a few days ago), carrots, a Ginger cake, some tomatoes, chocolate digestives, honey and a bottle of lemon. (Forgot the most important item of all, bacon. Will have to get that tomorrow.)
Couldn't find any soap I liked but there was a pound type store and the owner was unloading stock from his vehicle into the shop, so I asked him if he had any coal tar soap (the one I like) and he went into the shop and returned with a 4 for the price of 3 pack.
Wandered back to Almyne, the whole round journey took just under two hours. Got back just in time for the rain to start again, it kept up for some time and when it eased off I re-arranged the top of Almyne, putting Almyne Two back in the water, and then washed the top on the side nearest the tow path. The rain had done all the hard work of making it wet and I just had to scrub it and rinse off.
Tried fishing for a while, but the rain returned with a vengeance, I needn't have rinsed the top of after all.
Another break in the rain and I took D'fer for a walk in the newly created Thrupp Community Woodland. It is nice to see that amenities like this are being created for the use of the public.
Jim on NB Waltzing Matilda is moored up two boats along from me, I first saw him just outside Hilperton Marina a couple of years ago.
Received an email from Netta checking on my whereabouts so replied straight away with my location and a link to a map so she could find me easily, so she might turn up tonight, lit the fire just in case.
Do you remember I met a man walking from Bristol to London, well he has sent me an email. His name is Peter Clark and we met on the fourth of his six day walk. Having achieved that, his next 'Thing To Do Before I Die' is to walk from from Birmingham to London on the canal bank.
I hope he gets there, and who knows we may meet along the way.
D'fer has discovered a new way to attract my attention. I have four cases of wine on the floor against the hull. He has decided that they make a really good table for him to chew his toys and bones on. Trouble is, he has ripped open the tops of the cases so his toys and bones fall inside. He then scrabbles inside the boxes to retrieve whatever he has dropped inside, rattling the bottles against each other. It sure attracts my attention, so I remove the offending article and return it to him.
And he puts it back on his 'table' to chew and drops it back inside the box again.
Thu, 29 May 2008
Relaxing in the sun
The comparative rest yesterday must have done me good as I was awake and raring to go by half seven. Scrambled egg on toast for breakfast and off to Kidlington for some more shopping. The sun was shining and it looked like being a nice day.
D'fer insisted in jumping in the cut to retrieve sticks, now he has learnt to swim he just loves it and throws himself in after sticks. When I say he insists, what he does is find a stick and batters me with it until I throw it in - who is training who?
Yesterday when I tied D'fer up outside Tesco's he was good and didn't make a fuss, today, as I left him and went into Tesco he started shouting at me, or maybe it was the world in general, 'Don't leave me here to die, I have been a good dog, I don't want to be a rescue dog, I promise to behave, I need water, somebody, anybody, help'. I could hear him right at the other end of the store.
Got my bacon and some more Daz to do my washing and topped up with more tissues (they will always be useful) and a bottle of Dettol. If I have to carry everything back to the boat I might as well make it worthwhile.
When I came out D'fer was waiting for me, overjoyed that I had listened to him. He bounced about jumping up to say hello and explaining that 'I have been here waiting patiently for seven hours now, I am thirsty and hungry but I still love you, when are we going to the canal so I can jump in, I want to go for a run, what have you got in your bag for me'.
It took several minutes to calm him down enough to release him from the pole he was tied to.
Walked back to Almyne throwing sticks into the canal whenever it was safe. (Sometimes the bank is 'piled' and if D'fer went in he would not be able to get out again, but I think that he has realised that.)
Back at Almyne I got the Gazebo out of the cratch and erected it on the stern to protect me from the blazing sun and the rain should it decide to go that way again, and spent most of the afternoon relaxing, fishing and generally enjoying life as it should be enjoyed.
Had an early dinner of spaghetti Bolognese, with far too much spaghetti. So D'fer had his weekly portion of pasta. He purposefully devoured all the pasta from his bowl before finishing off his proper dog food. It was funny to see the way he slurped the spaghetti up, pushing his biscuits out of the way to get at it. As usual when he finished his meal he gave a loud belch, it is beginning to become a routine with him.
He has another little quirk. Whenever I go to the loo I leave the door open, sort of to make sure it does not close and leave me locked in. D'fer invariably appears from wherever he may have been and brushes past the door closing it on his way. Maybe I can use this as a way of getting him back to the boat when he goes walkabout.
After dinner a family walked past and the children asked if D'fer played, so I let them throw sticks for him for a while. When their parents called them for dinner (at the pub) he chased after them, not wanting to stop playing. Eventually he came back and slumped down on his deerskin, shattered, and has left me alone all evening.
Fri, 30 May 2008
Cloudy all day, but at least it is dry. Netta, my younger sister visited and updated me on all her news, which was quite a lot, and marvelled at the changes to Almyne as she has not seen it now for two years.
I wanted to show Netta the web site while she was here, but every time I tried to log on to the internet I had no signal, maybe it was the overcast that was clogging it up. Every other time I have tried to log on I have had a terrific signal. Gave it up and just showed her what I had locally.
We had corned beef with tomato and lettuce sandwiches for lunch, Netta brought along a nice fresh loaf of bread, and the key on the corned beef tin broke off so we had to gouge it open with a big knife.
When she had left I tried the internet again and, hey presto, it came up as quick as winking with a strong, fast signal.
Kept the engine running most of the afternoon as the computer was doing some good stuff for me, but the batteries were still a bit low by the time eight o'clock arrived, so had to knock that on the head, will continue tomorrow morning before Pasquale arrives.
Yesterdays spaghetti Bolognese for tea, I always make too much for one, but D'fer enjoys the left overs. Tonight he had some spaghetti, some sauce and the remainder of the corned beef.
He spent much of the day fetching his ball from the canal, he now leaps into the water making a great splash as he lands, or retrieving it from a field of long grass beside the woodland. When retrieving the ball from the grass he leaps in the air like a gazelle, bouncing as high as he can to see where the ball is going. The higher he leaps the longer he is in the air, the more chance he has of seeing where the ball lands. The grass is taller than he is. Very entertaining. One day I will get some video clips and post them on the site.
Sat, 31 May 2008
Yesterday evening I sat on the bank for a while brushing D'fer and removing loads of loose fur, it works well when he is wet. Later on after I had done some internetty stuff, I switched off the computer and watched a little TV, most unusual for me and after a few minutes I could smell that acrid pungent aroma of burning wiring. Oh oh, I thought, something's wrong, so I switched everything off and started wandering around Almyne sniffing. D'fer though that this was a great new game, everywhere I sniffed, he sniffed. The smell was definitely coming from the area of the back door, where most of the electric cabling goes, so sniffed more carefully. Then I identified it. I had discarded a cigarette in the ash bin and it had fallen on some of D'fer's fur. That was a relief.
Switched the radio on and read a book for a while. There was a brief snippet on the radio about 'longevity' in the UK and it appears that Cornishmen live on average longer than anyone else in the UK. Set me to thinking, again.
'The Pace of Life', apparently is measured by how fast people walk, Londoners walk very quickly (6 - 8 feet per second), people in other cities walk nearly as quickly (4 - 6 feet per second) and Cornishmen dawdle (2 - 3 feet per second). and 'The Pace of Life' reflects stress levels.
It is not surprising that Cornishmen live longer, they are far less stressed. I am glad that I decided a long time ago that I would dawdle through life.
Ended up listening to 'Sailing By' and the Shipping Forecast, so soporific I was soon asleep.
Up about nine, breakfast and then on with the day. It was beginning to get a bit crowded with boats both going past and trying to moor up. There was a gap behind me big enough for a 40 footer to get in and before long a 50 footer tried getting in. It backed in very gently, pushing Almyne about and out into the main channel. They were very polite about it and did ask me if I could move up just a little. Moved Almyne up towards the next boat along (Waltzing Matilda with Jim on board) and lifted Almyne Too out of the water. They still only just got in.
Pasquale rang to say he would be here about one, so set to and tidied the boat, didn't actually take long as with the weather being good it stays fairly clean.
Pasquale and Kerry arrived just after one. Cup of tea and lots of chatting, catching up on news. Pasquale had brought 'supplies' with him so we had ham, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for lunch. Afterwards we walked all the dogs around wood, they had a wonderful time.
Pasquale and Kerry left about 4 after arranging to meet again when I am nearer Coventry .
Very quiet evening letting computer work for me.
Top
Up at five nineteen, couldn't sleep for the noise (Taz snoring). Dry but overcast and a little windy. Wandered around the site trying to teach D'fer
to walk to heel without his lead. The site is waterlogged. Apparently the tent was meant to be erected on Tuesday, but that got delayed to Wednesday and on Wednesday it rained fairly heavily so the tent got put up over the waterlogged grass. At the moment the whole site is under an inch of water and more in places. The only hope is that the sun comes up and the wind starts to blow to dry everything out.
There were so many exciting things for D'fer to sniff, like sheep's' droppings and mole hills that the walking to heel was not very successful and after an hour or so I returned to the camping area.
Don wasn't in the ambulance (he had slept in Wolfe's tent as the ambulance was still chokka with stuff, mead, amplifiers, lights, computers, CD players, all the stuff need to run a good bar) so I found everything necessary to make a cup of tea, except for the water. I looked for a water pipe but none to be seen and although there was water everywhere, none of it was suitable for drinking. Eventually people started to surface and I found some water and got the kettle on for tea all round. After two cups a piece I suggested corned beef and beans for breakfast (as I knew I had some in the picnic hamper) but Richard
had organised breakfast at a local cafe where we would all repair to as soon as we had worked out where the bar was going. Trying to work out where the bar would be sited inside a 100ft by 70ft marquee with a tape measure was to say the least a little difficult. OK to measure everything but actually visualising it was not actually working so I got all the bench seating and placed it on the ground to represent the bar. That worked quite well and before long we all had a pretty good idea of how big it would be and where it was going in relation to everything else. The first placing made it stick out too far into the tent, so we just jiggled about with the benches making the bar shorter, but wider, until everyone was happy with it.
Off to the cafe for breakfast where Richard, Don and Taz had the medium breakfast (the large breakfast that they had eaten on the previous day had apparently been too much, even for their large appetites) and I had a small breakfast, still a bit big for me.
Drizzled and rained on and off all day, not helping the ground conditions and Taz spent a good part of the day pulling various people out of the mud when they got stuck with his Land Rover.
I got the frames of the two large army tents erected and Don and Taz helped put the canvas over during one of the drier spells. These tents are to perform the function of a cellar, complete with coolers and pumps and all the other paraphernalia needed to serve cool beer on a warm day. They need to be functional fairly soon as the beer is due this afternoon along with the bar. Richard and I went to Asda's for food for the evening, french sticks, ham, lettuce, carrot, tomatoes, cucumber and some tins of fruit salad and loads of tubs of pot noodles for quick snacks.
Got back to the site and I made everyone a ham and salad sandwich, which by that time was most welcome after a long arduous day.
Put up my two small one-man tents between showers and got all my stuff out of the way. Stacked the mead and the cider in the army tents and on a pallet in the bar area. With the ambulance and the transit empty at last, Don and Richard had somewhere to sleep tonight.
Early night as exhaustion descended on me like a ton of bricks.
Fri, 2 May 2008
Stuck in the mud
Stuck in the mud
Bright sunshine and a stiff breeze, just what we need for the ground to dry out.
Up at six, got tea ready for everyone. By now the kitchen area had been sorted out so the big double burner and the six pint kettle was in place and tea was easy to arrange. Off to the cafe for breakfast, small breakfasts all round as the mediums were still too big, but I had a child's breakfast, just right for me.
Back to the site in time to do some more preparation for the arrival of the beer and bar lorry. When it arrived the driver gaily drove off the main roadway onto the field and promptly got bogged down. Two land rovers and a long bit of rope got him nowhere so the farm tractor was called. The farm tractor got him nowhere, so the beer and bar had to be off loaded from the lorry on to a trailer which the tractor managed to bring round to the beer tent where it was off loaded into the army tents and the main marquee. This took several trips.
Instead of eight bar sections there were only five and two of those were broken. Richard
measured up a bar section and shot off to one of the local DIY stores and purchased a couple of sheets of eight by four cut to size and screws and hinges.
While that was happening the good bar sections were assembled and put into position. The large empty barrels put in place and the heavy (three inch thick) bar tops put on top of the barrels and then loaded with stillages (the things that beer kegs are put on so that they tilt slightly and self adjust the tilt as the beer is drained so that all of the beer can be dispensed without disturbing the sediment) and the kegs put on them ready to be broached.
While we were having one of the frequent tea breaks, Martinez and Liz arrived. Martinez, a punk rocker with a wonderful orange Mohican hair cut bounced straight over to D'fer
and put her arms around him and gave him a big cuddle. She was most surprised when I explained that this was not Arfur, but D'fer, but she took to him straight away anyway and asked if she could walk him, no problems. They got on like a house on fire and there were times when I was a little concerned that I might have lost him to her charms. Liz and Martinez had a cup of tea and went and put their tent up.
It was at about this time that I was asked to go and collect 'The Three Wenches' and Lurch from Kidderminster. Taz and I drove over there and we loaded all their camping gear into the ambulance and the three wenches rode back with Taz, while Lurch came back with me.
Back at the camp I was feeling a little superfluous as I was not capable of the heavy work need to shift the beer kegs around (some 60 or 70 of them) so I started assembling the new bar section. Glad to have a power screwdriver as there were loads of screws to put in and although I made one or two mistakes with the placement of the hinges I got it right in the end. With that assembled I tackled one of the broken bar sections and got that assembled by repositioning the hinges and screwing back the bits of wood that had broken loose.
With the correct number of bar sections available they all went in the right places and were screwed together in a U shape to provide stability, one of them being positioned up against a tent pole, again to help stop the whole thing moving.
There must have been twenty beer pumps mounted on the bar in total and it was only now that I appreciated the skill and thought that had gone in to the design and placement of the bar sections. I could just see ten bar staff all pulling a pint at the same time on the same length of bar to see that if it were a straight line they would simply pull the whole thing over on themselves.
The rest of the afternoon was taken up with technical stuff like getting the coolers to work (beer has to be kept cold even in a tent in the middle of a field) and connecting the miles of pipe work up to the beer barrels and the coolers on the two army tents that were storing the spare beer barrels. Putting the music system in place and cabling that up, putting lights up in strategic places, supplying power to the stage right at the other end of the tent, putting up the stage and making sure that it was not going to sink in the soggy ground when the band put all their equipment on it and then climbed up on it themselves, sighting the generator so that we had the power but the noise it made was not intrusive and a myriad of other little tasks.
Glyn, Trudy and Debs turned up around eight and I helped them assemble their tent (the biggest tent I have seen for a long time) and the partying started.
Off to bed for a well earned rest.
Sat, 3 May 2008
Up early again. D'fer, by this time was used to having an early morning scavenge around the site and wandered off for an hour or so to see what was what. I had corned beef and beans for breakfast and a cup of tea. Rested quietly while others gradually came to. With the big kettle on the go tea was available for everyone as they surfaced. Apparently most of them did not retire till well after three. I just cannot keep up with that.
Martinez took D'fer
for a walk and since this was sort of my day off I wandered round the market to see what was what. Loads of interesting stuff. You could kit yourself out as a person of almost any rank from any type of society from any era, from roman right up through the ages to Hastings, Cromwell and Round heads, the battle of Waterloo, the American Civil War and much more. All the accoutrements for living were available, right down to cooking pots and arrow heads.
I came across a stall selling, amongst other things, skins and the one that attracted me most was the Timber Wolf skin, complete with head and teeth. I wondered how D'fer might react to it. Got talking to the proprietor of the stall and found out that the skin was being sold at £600, too much for me by half, but he had others available that were not nearly as expensive.
Found Martinez and D'fer and took D'fer back to the fur stall. I showed him the wolf skin and his hackles rose and he sniffed it cautiously and sort of backed off, but kept a very wary eye on it. Obviously not the one for him. He worked his way along the coyote and prairie dog skins, still not keen on them. When he reached the sheep skins he was much calmer, but not very interested. When he got to the deer skins that was another matter. He liked them and sniffed each in turn, gently prodding the odd one with his paws to get a better idea of it. Eventually he picked one out and dragged it out of the pile and rubbed his nose along the length of it and rolled over on to his back and rubbed himself up and down it. So, guess what, he now has his very own deerskin rug to lie on.
Although Jo, the organiser, had several times mentioned that she had some security fencing that we could use to cordon off our area nothing had appeared so I went up to the organisers area and got permission to take what I needed. The previous evening loads of people had used 'our' loo, the one that we had purloined for the use of the bar staff, and we wanted to keep it away from the general public and the drinkers.
I started to peg put the area that we wanted enclosed and then hang up the fencing. After a while one or two of the others joined in and before long we had our own little enclave fenced off.
Sitting the beer tent taking a rest with D'fer on his new rug some Red Indians sauntered across the tent and came up to us. D'fer jumped up and started barking at them. I told him not to be silly and one of them came over and introduced himself to D'fer. D'fer calmed down then and became interested in their garb, which was of course made from skins of all sorts. The one Indian had a quiver of skunk-skin and D'fer would not leave it alone.
My evening shift started at half six and my only duty was to stop people leaving the marquee through the staff entrance into our enclave and to stop them using our loo. One guy came wandering towards the staff exit and when I told him that it was for 'Staff Only' he said that he only wanted to throw up. 'Not on my tent you don't' I said, at which point he did find another exit to do whatever he wanted to do.
As I was being paid in beer, whenever my glass was empty I simply went behind the bar and poured myself another. I have no idea how many I had but as each glass was only three quarters full it was not as many as I counted. There was no need to make sure it was a full measure, after all it was free.
Sun, 4 May 2008
Overcast but dry most of the day. I got up about eleven, I'd had more than my fair share of beer last night. Three cups of tea and a breakfast later I sort of surfaced. Wandered around the site close to the Napoleonic Wars demonstration with loads of musket and cannon fire. D'fer
wasn't at all bothered by it. On the way back to the beer tent I stopped off and had a game of chess with a monk.
Sausage sandwich, several cups of tea and a relax with some Red Indians. D'fer still not sure about them but soon settled down when he recognised the skunk skin quiver.
Before I knew it, it was time for my next shift as doorman again, where does all the day go? Nick, Nick and Ian insisted on buying me drinks all evening, so although I had decided to have a comparatively sober night it didn't turn out that way. I had an early night, we ll early in comparison to the rest of the crew who were still carousing at half four, only an hour and a half before I woke up.
Mon, 5 May 2008
Some time during the night it rained and with D'fer
and I in a little one man tent one of us must have slept up against the wall. One of the mattresses was wet on the underside where the rain had seeped through the inner tent and run down the walls.
Overcast for most of the morning, brightening later.
Jade, one of 'The Three Wenches' was also an early riser was up by about six fifteen so I put the kettle on and started brewing up.
While the kettle was heating up I took all the rubbish to the skip and because at six in the morning there was no-one around I left D'fer to his own devices. He wandered off and scavenged all the burger van areas and then did the same to all the little encampments of American Civil War reenactors. I caught sight of him every now and again in the distance just mooching about and since he wasn't obviously annoying anyone or getting in to trouble I left him to it.
By the time the kettle had boiled others were rousing and I had to go in search of mugs. Ordered breakfast as soon as the burger van woke up as they are still having trouble with the gas pressure.
Made tea all round and took orders for another three breakfasts.
D'fer's breakfast, the leftovers, looked bigger than a normal complete breakfast and he tucked into it with relish, after which he fell asleep. I think it was a combination of two hours of wandering the site, scavenging and a hearty breakfast.
The busiest day of the weekend for the public. The market was throbbing and the enactments were well attended. I got to see several of the battles and it was enlightening to see how battles were actually fought in those far off days. Most of the time seemed to be spent on posturing and manoeuvring with the odd engagement to test the opposition before the battle itself commenced.
The evening arrived and died a death. All the public melted away and the enactors packed up their tents and simply disappeared. Before long there were only the traders and the organisers left and the packing up party was a bit of a disappointment for Richard
as it was so poorly attended. Those who were there had a good time and it was another late night.Tue, 6 May 2008
Time to go. Party's over and it is time to pack everything up and go home. No food left so no breakfast. The caterers had already packed up and were no longer cooking so breakfast was out of the question but about eleven the caterer next to the beer tent, who we had helped out several times, donated a couple of dozen burgers, tomatoes, lettuce, rolls and onions, so we did get to eat after the brewery lorry had been.
The idea was to get everything packed away today and set out early tomorrow to drop off everything in the right places on the way. Don's leg had been playing him up all weekend and Taz had things to do on Wednesday so it was decided to just pack up and go today. Easier said than done. It took all morning just to dismantle the bar and pack that on the brewery lorry, along with the unsold kegs of beer and lager, we couldn't really dismantle anything else until that was done because the beers and lagers needed to be kept cool.
Bar and beers out of the way we had lunch, burgers with salad all round. We then packed up the coolers, beer pumps, kitchen, spirits, soft drinks, fridges, lights, public address system and everything else. Sounds easy, but we were still doing this well after dark, by the lights of the generator. We eventually set off shortly before midnight and arrived at The Eagle Inn just before four am.
Tumbled into bed and slept - forever.
Wed, 7 May 2008
Richard
had asked me to give him a nudge at about eight, so I did, went downstairs and made a cup of tea. Moved all the plastic glasses upstairs to be stored and then went to the cafe for breakfast. Back to the Eagle for half ten when Richard and Danu surfaced. Danu was off to Swindon to look for something to wear to Glen and Trudy's wedding and Richard was off to drop off the generator, while I babysat the pub till the barman arrived to open up for the afternoon. The barman came and went and Danu arrived back around five. Richard seemed to accomplish most of what he wanted to do and we set off to get back to Hungerford around six.
Arrived back at Almyne and Richard and I sat on the back off the boat having a well earned rest and a couple of beers. Richard left well after dark and, once again, I fell into bed to sleep, forever.
Thu, 8 May 2008
Thursday, a day of rest and preparation. Dentist tomorrow and setting off on Saturday, so today is the day for washing all those clothes that had got covered in mud at Rockingham. Up early again, sometimes I wonder if D'fer
just wakes me to torment me. Nothing on board for breakfast so off to Somerfields to get some eggs and bacon. Came back with eight pork loin chops, reduced to £4.50. Two for breakfast, well one for me and one for D'fer and put four in a pan with some Bolognese sauce to simmer for a few hours, they taste great like that and are really tender.
Spent the rest of the morning doing the washing. The washing machine is good, it does everything that I need it to but it is laborious. Being a twin tub I have to watch it all the time. Put the washing in the washer part, fill it with water, put in the powder, top it up to the correct level and switch it on. When the wash cycle has finished I have to drain the water and fill it with rinsing water, remembering to change the setting from 'drain' to 'wash' otherwise all the rinsing water just drains away straight away, which I have done more than once. When the rinsing is complete, and sometimes I need to rinse more than once because I can be a little heavy handed with the washing powder, and the water drained I have to lift it out am only just beginning to appreciate the effort it must have taken do do all the washing that I generated as a child, and that is just me, let alone the rest of the family. Of course the next task is to get it dry. I have a drying horse that I set up on the bank and it works just fine, as long as the wind does not blow it over. I just know that I have some tent pegs somewhere to pin it down with but could I find them, no. Fortunately it only fell over the once before I found a way of tying it to the fence.
Wandered into Hungerford during the afternoon to get some cheese (for supper) and called into the hotel for a drink because the day was so hot and had a long chat with some guy about dogs (he had a beautiful cream Alsatian). It turns out that he knows Marcus
very well.
Back to Almyne, pork chops with potatoes, onions and beans for tea, well one chop for me and one for D'fer, took my first Diazepam and off to bed.
Fri, 9 May 2008
Friday, dentist day. Mostly a bit hazy. Chrissy
and Glen off to Kintbury today so they will be gone when I return.
Blynda
arrived well in time and took me to the dentist. As we were walking to her car Patrick arrived with a friend Lewis, to continue his journey towards Newbury .
After the dentist, Blynda took me to mums where I relaxed and recovered. During the afternoon there were violent thunderstorms and hailstones as big as marbles. Peter
took me into Trowbridge where I purchased a new keyboard, my old one had lost the shift key and it is sooo difficult to type using the 'caps lock' for capitals and impossible to get all those other keys that use shift. Peter called into another shop to get some pumpkin seeds and while he was there I wandered around their cheap book section and picked two books that I quite liked for £5 and went outside, through the door we had entered, and found a convenient bench to start my new book. Peter left the shop via another door and since he could not see me went back to the car to wait for me. He eventually came back for me and we returned home for Pork chops in Bolognese sauce all round for tea and an early night.Sat, 10 May 2008
3 miles 3 locks
Lazy start to the day. Breakfast and a look at the weather. Sorted out all the little problems with the computer and typed up all my notes and emailed them to myself.
Mum and Peter
took me back to Almyne early afternoon and stopped for a cup of tea. When they left D'fer followed them to the car. I called him back and he came to me and sat down. I think he must have heard the car start up, because he shot off and would not come back to me. Off I went to look for him. Not along the tow path, not on the roadway up towards Somerfields, and then I spotted him the other side of the railway line. I called, but he seemed a little confused and was darting this way and that. Then the crossing barrier went down, D'fer on one side and me on the other and he spotted me. Fortunately the barrier goes close enough to the ground that he could not squeeze under, although I think if I had not kept telling him to sit and wait he would have forced his way under. Several people on the other side called to him and eventually one of them caught hold of his collar and calmed him down till the train pulled in to the station and the barrier went up again. He gets so attached to people who we visit or who visit us.
That incident over, I popped into Somerfields and got some sausages for tea, a pack of eight lasts me at least two meals, as long as I don't share them with D'fer.
Couldn't see any point in hanging around so I did the engine checks and set off towards Newbury after winding (turning around) Almyne and topping up with water and emptying the porta pottie.
Arrived at Kintbury just after half seven, sausage and mash with beans and onions for tea and got stuck into my new book. As usual I cooked too much, I cannot manage four sausages, so D'fer had one as well as my left overs.
Sun, 11 May 2008
The best equipped boat on the cut
I do NOT spoil my dog
4 miles 6 locks
Bacon and egg on toast for breakfast. Since the doctor has told me that my cholesterol is a little bit high I only had one egg and did not use butter on my toast.
The sun came up early and got hot quickly so decided to travel early rather than late so put all the ingredients in the bread-maker and set off.
Stopped off at a lock to have a cup of tea and a sandwich and a rest. While I was resting another boat arrived so it seemed prudent to go through the lock with them.
People have always taken notice of Almyne, something to do with the name and the painting along the sides, but today there seemed to be even more interest. It was not until I was going through the lock with the other boat that I realised what was catching their interest. The guy on the other boat pointed to the beer pump and asked me if it was connected to a barrel. 'No' I said 'I am waiting for a delivery'. He said 'I have got to get me one of those'. Perhaps I have started another craze. I hadn't the heart to tell him I use it as a bilge pump, but I must admit, it does look good.
Made good time and stopped early afternoon one lock before Newbury , there is no rush. The sun was so hot there was no point in travelling any more. Put up the brolly for D'fer, he prefers to sit on the bank because he can stalk other dogs as they arrive and because he had been swimming again I put out his deerskin to lie on. I don't really spoil him, just occasionally.
Did a little fishing and caught a few and thought about emptying the water out of Almyne Too as there was nearly three inches of water in the bottom, but it was too hot to drag it out and turn it over.
Sunbathed on the back of Almyne till tea time when I had sausages and mash again, one for D'fer
and went to bed at dusk.Mon, 12 May 2008
Andy in Almyne Too
Sliding In
Load of canoeists
Off they go
Rolling
Over the weir
Don't get too close to this
1 miles 1 lock 1 swing bridge
Bacon and egg on toast for breakfast with the loaf I made yesterday. The bread is really good and so easy to make while travelling. I forgot to say yesterday that the aroma of fresh bread cooking while travelling is just marvellous.
Arrived at Newbury by ten, too hot to travel any further even if I had intended to.
Popped in to Newbury to check on the camera battery. The girl in Curry's just did not seem to understand my question. I kept asking how long the camera battery should last and she kept telling me about eight hours. So when I explained to her that I would have to charge the battery in the morning, leave it on the side and when I wanted to take a picture that evening I would have to charge it up again she kept saying no.
This went on for some time until she suddenly clicked that the camera was not being used all day so the battery should not run down in eight hours, but should last several days. She called a manager and he offered to send the camera back to the manufacturers to have it checked out. When I explained that I was on a narrow boat, 'of no fixed abode' and that it could not be posted back to me he was at a loss. I asked if I could simply buy a new battery, but Currys do not stock them, but that Jessops down the road might have one.
Off to Jessops, they stock them but not at all branches and guess what, not at this one. They have one in Reading so I might get one there.
Off to Tesco, I noticed that they do a nice red wine (3 litre box) for under a tenner. Purchased two boxes (I cannot carry any more with my tennis elbow) and a Jif lemon. I am not too bothered about the lemon, it is the squeezer I want so that I can use it as a water pistol on D'fer
to try to stop him barking at the locks. Shortly after I returned to Almyne a young lad and a couple of girls wandered up. The lad asked if he could have a row in Almyne Too and I could think of no real reason to refuse so said he could. He was both surprised and delighted. We unhitched Almyne Too, after I explained that it was a very small and unstable little dingy, but he was game and leapt in and tried rowing it around. He enjoyed that for a good half hour and then told me that they were off to the slipway to have a swim. I decided to accompany them as they said it was a good place for D'fer to have a swim. We got there and D'fer thoroughly enjoyed himself, leaping in with absolutely no restraint and swimming strongly both with and against the current of the river.
Back to Almyne for a bit of lunch. Decided that I would splash out and get a pastie from the pastie shop, so off into Newbury again. Ate the pastie sitting in the garden of what used to be the lock keepers cottage (which is no longer there). There is a plaque dedicated to him, John Gould , who I remember with affection from when I launched my first boat on the canal in 1973.
The butchers had closed by now, so I went back to Tesco for dinner, lambs liver and pigs kidneys and some vegetables and their last box of red wine. After carrying that back to Almyne I set off for the marina to see if I could get a manifold gasket for the engine. When I scrape out all the muck between the cooling fins of the engine I have to remove the manifold to get to them and you can bet that if I haven't got a new one I will break the old one. They haven't got one but will investigate to see if they can get one.
Since I had been instructed to pop in to 'The Stone Building' (which is a cafe come souvenir shop for the canal) at Newbury wharf by Vicki
to give her regards to Tracy, I wandered over the river and found it. There was no sign on the door to say 'No Dogs' so I walked in with D'fer on a very short lead. The woman at the counter apologised and said 'Sorry no dogs' so I took him out and took his lead off to tie him up to a post. True to form, D'fer smelt food and before I could replace him on his lead, he rushed to the back door of the cafe. The woman was there holding a carrier bag with a big bone in it.
I dragged D'fer back to the front of the cafe and tied him up and went inside and said to the woman 'Vicki has told me to come in here and give her regards to Tracy. 'I'm Tracy' she said 'And you must be Chris'.
So we started chatting and the first thing she did was to give D'fer the bone. She had been saving it for the first dog that she saw, lucky D'fer. Tracy
lives at Aldermaston and catches the train into Newbury each day, so I have arranged to pick her up after work, about midday, tomorrow and take her for a trip on the boat. There might just be enough time to take her all the way to Aldermaston. Vicki had explained that Tracy likes narrow boats and spends as much of her spare time as she can on them, availability allowing.
Back to Almyme again as the afternoon is wearing on to evening and started writing up my notes when there was a commotion at the lock a few hundred yards away. It seems that the local youth club goes canoeing on a Monday evening and there were many many canoes being dropped in the water. As I looked out of the hatchway one of them was in the process of going over the weir just for the hell of it. I wandered down and took a few piccies and then returned to get my evening meal. It has been a long day and I think I might just have an early night again.
Tue, 13 May 2008
1/4 mile 1 lock
I have had my 24 hours above Newbury lock, so just going below the lock to Victoria Park, where I can stay for 48 hours. Set off at 8:20 and arrived at 8:51, not much of a days travel.
I have a superb internet connection so it is a good place to stay while I try to sort out the web sites. I think that my provider has gone down the tube, after all the hassle that I had with not being able to use their new control panel it now seems that all my sites have gone down and there is NO access to anything, sites, email, control panel, help desk. My only solution as I see it is to find another provider, but the problem is I have no email. But then I don't have problems, only challenges.
Spent the morning setting up an email address so that I can be contacted with information about the new provider. Found a new provider and set up an account. Started transferring all the data, which took the best part of four hours.
Tracy
was meant to be accompanying me to Aldermaston , where she lives, but her boss arrived and wanted do do a stock check or something, so that got postponed so I spent the afternoon testing what I could on the sites, but it generally takes between 24 and 48 hours for the new location of the web sites to propagate over the whole world and it is not until then that it all goes live again. The business sites are live, but my personal sites have not yet propagated, so it will be a little while before anyone can read what I am doing and where I am.
By tea time there was nothing else I could do today, so had liver and kidneys with onions and peppers in red wine, with mash and carrots and leeks.
While I was eating a young lady, Donna, walked by and fell in love with D'fer
and spent the best part of an hour playing with him in Victoria park. After that we sat on the back of Almyne for several hours chatting and drinking a beer or two.
Very pleasant end to a very trying day.
Wed, 14 May 2008
Buttercups
8 miles 10 locks 4 swing bridges
Tracy
arrived at half nine to say hello and stayed for breakfast. She is off to see her grandsons today, but told me where she lives, which is right next to the canal at Aldermaston , so I am going down there today.
Set off just after midday and waited at Greenham lock for another boat to come along. One did, the captain is the guy who picked up my chopping block at the bottom of the Caen Hill flight last year. He did offer to return it when we met in Devizes, but finders - keepers.
Anyway, he was giving a lift to two guys who are heading for Oxford and they are working their passage by operating the locks, so I got a free ride, well sort of. They did all the locks and because I was out first (they had to pick up crew) I did all the swing bridges and set some of the locks ready for their arrival.
Arrived at Aldermaston by half six, shattered. Moored up at the four hour, facilities moorings and by the time the four hours was up it was too dark to go on any further. I had prepared dinner for Tracy during the journey, well the pork chops in Bolognese sauce, but when she turned up it was to tell me that she had to go to a meeting of some kind to do with the K & A trust. She took my saucepan to put in her fridge so that we can have it tomorrow. Had to find something else for dinner in the end.
One of the swing bridges had no operation moorings, so having tied the boat to a tree to open the bridge, once I was through there was nowhere to stop and close it for several hundred yards. The people waiting to cross when it was closed got quite irate. D'fer
also decided to jump off the boat as I was untying from the tree and got left behind. He got quite irate too.
The next swing bridge needed two people to operate it and I was lucky that there was an elderly gentleman willing to help.
The next swing bridge kept blowing closed in the wind. Every time I opened it and went back to the boat, it swung closed. In the end I had to tie it open to a tree across the tow path.
Took some pictures of buttercups at a lock side as mum
tells me that she hasn't seen any for ages because Peter gets rid of them from his lawn.Thu, 15 May 2008
1/4 mile 1 lock
Sauntered along to Reading Marine where I asked if they had any washers for the fuel pump on the SR2 (the engine) because I had a slight leak. They sent a man along to Almyne who had a look and removed the old washers, took them back to Reading Marine and found some to do the job. Came back and fitted them while enjoying a cup of tea. Returned to Reading Marine to pay and to check on the availability of some other bits and pieces that I need.
Back at Almyne I waited for a boat to come along to share the lift bridge with. It is electrically operated and is on a fairly main road, so I did not want to obstruct the road traffic for too long, which I would do if I were on my own. Moved down one lock because I had spent my four hours on the limited moorings.
Tied up just below the lock so that Tracy
would not have too far to walk to find me this evening when she returns with my pork chops for dinner. Scouted around for some branches to cut up for firewood. Logs are too big and last too long, coal lasts much too long. At this time of year I just need a quick boost to the heating to make it comfortable so small stuff works well.
Found two and cut them up into suitable lengths and then chopped a couple of blocks of 4 by 2 into kindling. That's the heating sorted out for a couple of days.
Spent most of the day working on the web sites, but the connection from here is really not good and everything is taking far longer that it should. Lit the fire about half five. Got to half six so I poured a glass of wine, not a good idea on an empty stomach, so by the time Tracy arrived, during a light shower, at seven ish with the pork chops I was already a little tiddly. I like tiddly. The vegetables were already prepared so I just put everything on to cook and Tracy and I sat there chatting. She was so pleased with herself because at the meeting last night she stood up for herself and refused to take on the post of 'chair' at future meetings, something that she has been trying to pluck up the courage to do for some time. She also told them that she was taking the weekend off to go on a trip with some friends that live in her block of flats, she has not had a holidays or a weekend off for nearly four years.
Ate dinner, chatted some more and walked her back to her flat, left her at her front door and returned to Almyne to continue trying to resurrect the web sites (sorry if the web sites are getting boring).
Fri, 16 May 2008
2 1/4 miles 3 locks 1 swing bridge 1 lift bridge
Need shopping, out of eggs and tea. Looked at the map, Aldermaston village is a couple of miles away to the south along a main road. Started off but the traffic was just too much, I could not walk more than a hundred or so paces before another vehicle came rushing past and with no footpath I didn't like it. Back to Almyne to look at the maps again. Woolhampton has a shop and looks to be only a bout a mile away, so set off walking along the towpath to there. It was nearer two and a half miles, but the walk was much more pleasant and the phone signal improved considerably along the way. Spoke to Richard
and arranged for him to take me down to Worthing tomorrow to see Church. Spoke to Church and told him of my plans.
On arriving at Woolhampton I met Chrissy
and 'eza walking toward me. We chatted and she told me where the shops were and accompanied me to them. She continued on the the pub and I returned to Almyne after getting the eggs and tea bags.
Winded Almyne by hand and started back to Woolhampton. Fortunately there was another boat going through the swing bridge under the tutelage of Reading Marine so that was OK and the crew of the hire boat worked the swing bridge and lock at Woolhampton for me. I told them to carry on out of the lock and that I would tidy up as I was going to be mooring up just above the lock.
Moored up and settled down to work on the web sites again, much better signal here and it went much more smoothly.
Had a text from Hermione, she graduates on 24th July and has invited me. Rang her back for a chat. She is fed up with all the revision for university and will be pleased to see the back of it but is enjoying her life, which seems to be very exciting at the moment with so much going on and so many good friends.
The journey, although not very far, was against the current as most of it was on the Kennet river so the engine got a good workout (instead of just ticking over all the time) and the batteries were well charged, enough for me to work till well after midnight. With the fire going to keep me warm and the radio on in the background I totally lost track of time.
Sat, 17 May 2008
Richard
had
asked me to ring him before nine to make sure that he is on his way. Rang him and he was approaching Abingdon , so told him where I had moved to. Kicked my heels for a while, D'fer nipping my heels for a while too. He has not had much activity for a day or so and seems to have stored up all his energy. Got his lead out and walked down towards the swing bridge just below the lock where I expected to meet Richard. He had just arrived and D'fer bounded up to him, overjoyed. D'fer would not leave Richard alone all the way back to Almyne. Had a cup of tea and set off for Worthing.
Uneventful journey to Worthing and met Church at his local, went back to his house and sorted out the bits and pieces of importance.
Arrived back at Almyne shortly after six, after stopping in Arundel for lunch and then calling in at the supermarket to do a little shopping. Nattered with Richard for a while about storage for all the Beer Trix stuff and he may have come up with a solution to make the transport and storage of all the bitty stuff for the outside bar. I walked Richard back to his vehicle and bid him safe journey and wandered back to Almyne to put the shopping away and start getting dinner. I caught site of D'fer rushing off down the towpath. Called to him but he was obviously intent on something. Followed him at a walking pace, I don't do 'run' and eventually caught up with him at the car park where Richard had left us. D'fer was simply going to look for a friend. I think I might have to start keeping him tied up to the extending lead as this is the second time he has decided to look for people who have recently left the boat after visiting.
Had half a quiche (I used to call them quickie, but that got me in to trouble when I asked women at the delicatessen for a quickie) with a couple of slices of bread and butter for tea and spent the rest of the evening working on the web sites.
It got a bit chilly during the evening so lit the fire with the 'small stuff' which burns quickly and gives a good heat for just a short time. That is all that is needed to make the boat comfortable at this time of year.
Bed just before midnight.
Sun, 18 May 2008
Almyne Too on top
Up at half nine, had a wonderful lie-in, watching the sun stream in through the window. D'fer
was quite content to stay asleep and not bother me. Breakfast of bacon and egg on toast with a cup of tea. Since I used the last of my small wood for the fire last night I decided that my first task of the day would be collecting more firewood so set off up the towpath looking for likely candidates for use, after starting the engine, I will need all the power I can get today for the computer.
Found several branches that were old enough to be reasonably dry but new enough to not be rotten. Dragged them back to Almyne and sawed them up for the wood store.
As I have not yet got 'tender to Almyne' on the back of Almyne Too I decided that it would be best to put her on top of Almyne for the trip up the Thames . Spent the next half hour re-arranging the top of Almyne to take Almyne Too and getting her on top.
That done, on with the resurrecting of web sites.
Still having trouble with Business Alert, but it is the most complicated of all of them.
Spent most of the day working on the sites, but did take time off to taker D'fer for a walk along the towpath so that he could go swimming. Needless to say, when we returned to Almyne he promptly went inside to shake, even though I had given him plenty of opportunity outside.
Pork chops, chips and beans for dinner and a late night.
Mon, 19 May 2008
1½ miles, 1 swing bridge (twice)
D'fer
woke me this morning at about five by pawing at me, I slapped him cause his claws are sharp, so he started prodding me with his nose, cold and wet. I eventually capitulated and got up about quarter to six, had breakfast, washed the floors, rinsed the washing I had left in soak, checked the engine and set off to turn around by eight. Back at moorings by half nine, but facing the right way this time.
I know, boring , boring , boring, still working on web site. Mind you I think I have cracked it (where have I heard that before). I have had to rewrite a whole chunk of software to fit in with the new provider and I eventually got it running properly just after midday, so it spent the whole afternoon creating password protected directories for a whole bunch of people. Still some to go, but I have cracked the back of it.
While the computer was working for me I blacked the stove, my my it looks good now, and thoroughly washed the whole area around it. Took the carpets out and gave them a good beating, better than beating the dog anyway.
Started on making 'Turks Head Knots' for each end of the tiller arm, with red, white and blue cord, if nothing else it will cover up the ugly aluminium bar that is the existing tiller arm. It will take several days to tighten it all up, but what else will I have to do while the computer is working for me?
Chopped loads of kindling again, so the kindling box is full to bursting and chopped some more branches, Put those in the coal bucket so as not to spoil the appearance of the nice clean floors and walls and stove.
Made spaghetti Bolognese with the mince, which made a nice change and I will use the left overs (one pound of mince is much to much for me for one meal) to make a cottage pie and I'll turn the remains of that into chilli-con-carni.
Took D'fer for a walk, as he has had a boring day, but I wouldn't let him go for a swim as I want the floors clean for at least a day.
Since I was up so early I am having an early night tonight.
Tue, 20 May 2008
Heading for trouble
1½ miles, 1 swing bridge (twice)
Up at six with the sun streaming in through the windows again. Lazy breakfast and got ready to go. Set out to travel the 50 yards to the lock at half eight. Got there and waited for another boat to come along, with the computer working away for me.
Another boat did come along. It was a BW dredger being pushed by the daintiest little tug you ever saw. I let them in the lock first and helped them through, as much as anything because I wanted to see how they coped with the strong current just below the lock. See all the pictures.
They had a great time fighting the current, getting pushed on to the opposite bank and using the bucket to hold themselves in the current and then manoeuvring on to the near bank. Once there they detached the tug and used the bucket to turn around and then drag themselves against the current to where they wanted to be to start dredging.
That fun over they helped me through the lock and then tried opening the bridge for me to carry on, but it was broken again and I had to sit on the tail of the lock for nearly an hour for it to be fixed.
Once it was fixed the rest was plain sailing, I shot out of the lock tail and raced past the dredger, hauled over on the tiller and swung around to line up with the bridge hole, shooting through like I was riding the rapids on the Colorado river. Well that's what it felt like, quite scary. Gave Chrissy
and 'eza a hurried wave as I shot past and carried on a little more slowly towards Aldermaston . Arrived at Aldermaston lock and set it to go in. Once inside I could not close the lock gate. I think the walkway was jammed on the grass beside the lock and try as I would it just wouldn't move. I got a rope out and looped it round the gate and myself and leaned into it with all my weight. Still wouldn't move. Decided that I would have to wait for someone else to come along to help and jumped onto Almyne to make a cup of tea. One cup of tea later and no-one in site I gave it another try. Well, blow me down with a feather, it just swung closed as sweet as anything, amazing what a cup of tea will do.
Through the lock I moored up at the four hour moorings again and got rid of all my rubbish, topped up with water and had another cup of tea. Wandered across to see if I could raise anyone at Tracy's block of flats to return her cooking pot but got no answer. Checked the phone and I had a signal, so rang Tracy to explain what I was trying to do, she told me she was on her way back and would be here in about an hour, so took the pot back to Almyne and out a quiche in the oven for lunch.
Tracy
eventually arrived at sometime after four and we had a late lunch consisting of quiche, pickled peppers, pickled onions, mushrooms on oil, and pickled gherkins and courgettes, with another cup of tea.
Tracy had never tried pickled peppers before and was enchanted by them, she wanted to know where to get them, so I told her. Another pleasant evening chatting and Tracy returned home with her cooking pot and I was free to continue my travels, tomorrow.
Wed, 21 May 2008
The gates control the level
Launching a boat
Turf sided lock
6 miles, 7 locks 3 swing bridges 1 lift bridge
Woke up at about six to hear someone emptying the lock and went back to sleep again. Even though I wanted to go through the swing bridge with another boat it was too early for that.
Woke again nearer half seven, got up and made breakfast, ate it and prepared the boat for the days journey, including setting up the bread-maker. Shortly after two boats came through the lock together so I tagged on behind them and went through the swing bridge. It looked a bit congested ahead and the boat immediately in front of me pulled over to pick up crew. The boat in front of them carried on but seemed to be wandering a bit. Then I spotted why. Reading Marine at Aldermaston were launching a boat, well craning it in, so had moved loads of boats out of the area and clogged up the canal a bit.
The boat in front pulled over and moored up and I carried on to the next lock where I got it ready. The first boat came along and we shared locks and swing bridges until Tyle Mill lock, where we both pulled over to replenish water stocks. They went first and when they were full carried on with their journey. I then filled my tanks, had a cup of tea and a bite to eat, dumped off all the rubbish I could find on the boat in the disposal point, emptied the porta pottie and by this time the bread was cooked, so tipped that out of the cooker to let it cool off and set off again.
A couple of locks further on a guy was sitting watching the world go past and we chatted briefly. Peter Clark (for that is his name) has recently celebrated his seventieth birthday and decided to do something, so set out to walk from Bristol to London, game on, he was going to get there before me.
As I am a little bit worried about mooring up in or near Reading I decided to pull over at The Cunning Man , a place that Geri
and I stayed the night on our journey down. The Peter Pan cafe, where we had breakfast the following morning is no longer open so I will have to cook my own breakfast.
Walked D'fer
a short way back along the tow path so he could swim for branches and to tire him out a little. Took him back to Almyne to dry him with his towel, I sometimes think that he thinks this is the best bit, getting dried.
Had a quick pint in the Cunning Man and went back to Almyne for a nap, I was absolutely shattered. Slept till nearly six and got up and turned the Bolognese sauce into chilli-con-carni. I didn't have any raisins to put in it so improvised by cutting some dried prunes up small and putting them in, It was just as good as raisins.
Went back to bed and slept the sleep of the righteous.
Thu, 22 May 2008
Don't forget to pump the bilges
I only wanted to empty the bath
look Fobney lock tail
look Fobney lock tail
Goslings
Goslings
3½ miles, 3 locks 1 set of traffic lights
Even though I had a nap yesterday afternoon and went to bed early I still slept in till gone eight. Leisurely breakfast, engine checks and I set off by half nine. The first thing I saw was a boat that was a little low in the water with some goslings swimming around it. Someone had forgotten to pump the bilges on a regular basis, a good reminder to me not to forget.
On the other hand, perhaps someone had forgotten to put the plug back in the bath after washing!
Carried on towards Reading and reached Fobney lock . There are warnings about this lock in the canal guides to I thought that I was prepared. However as I left the tail of the lock to go to the mooring point I was swept out into the river. I put the engine in reverse and gunned it as hard as I could, swinging the boat out of the current and slowing it down. I pulled clear of the main rush and slowly but surely crept toward the landing point with the engine racing and roaring. I almost missed it entirely but got the back end far enough in to the landing point to throw a rope over one of the bollards. Now I had a bit of a purchase I managed to get out of the boat onto the landing stage and with the help of the engine, still in reverse, pull the boat back to moor up. All this just to go back and close the lock gates. Well that is what each boater is meant to do to conserve water.
It was really rather exciting in it's own way.
As I reached Reading I moored up just outside town on some 'permit holder only' moorings. It was only going to be while I sussed out the route through Reading and where I had to turn off to get to the 24 hour moorings hear Homebase. Walked the towpath and followed it right through to Blakes lock, where the river Kennet meets the river Thames . Found out where the turning off to the 24 hour moorings is. If you don't know where it is you could easily miss it, especially as you are travelling quite fast with the current and you only have a couple of seconds to make the turn. (Sounds like you are in a racing car).
As I was walking along a guy stopped D'fer
and started to make a fuss of him. Needless to say D'fer jumped up, as he does, and I think he caught the guy on the eyebrow or nose. He asked me why D'fer did that and I explained (I always seem to be explaining why D'fer does this or that) that he was just excited to have someone making a fuss of him. We had a brief chat and we both went our own ways.
Having got to Blakes lock I quizzed the lock-keeper about the whys and wherefores of travelling the Thames and he gave me the literature and a price-list. Walked back to Almyne.
I was just preparing some of the photos that I had taken for uploading to the web site when the guy I had been talking to earlier walked past, this time with his dog. He was surprised to see me on a boat and enquired if it was mine, 'Oh yes' I said, 'Almyne'. He laughed and told me that he was interested in getting a narrow-boat to live on, so I offered to take him in to Reading (one lock and half a mile) for the experience. He was really surprised and told me that he would love to but he was going to take his dog home first as two dogs on the boat could be a bit excitable.
Well, Eddy
(that is his name) took his dog home and rushed back to Almyne. By this time I had the engine running and had shut down the computer so we were ready to set off immediately. I told him just to sit on the back and enjoy the ride and I would do all the work.
The first lock was just a few hundred yards away, but was across the river and there was a strong current, but I managed to moor up really rather well considering the circumstances. Into the lock and operated it. Immediately past the lock is the set of traffic lights, so I had to pull over just outside the lock. In retrospect I would have been better off staying in the lock while I pressed the button to allow me to 'walk' through Reading. The current just past the lock was horrendous and I had great difficulty holding the boat and getting it to the bank to moor up, but I succeeded, with a little help from Eddy on the back of the boat.
Through Reading to the 24 hour moorings. Eddy was in his element while we were travelling. He was waving at everybody, both the people he knew (and there seemed to be a lot of them) and the people he didn't. The smile on his face said it all, he was having a great time.
Pulled over and moored up and Eddy jumped off Almyne and greeted the two people on the boat just behind me and introduced me to them.
Laurie
and Josh
who are in the process of refurbishing their boat. They are young enough and fit enough to be able to do that amount of work.
Spent an hour or so updating the site and then went shopping in Reading for some bits and pieces. Now I have the bread-maker I seem to need to go shopping far less often.
The people in the street were rushing around as if there was not a second to lose, or perhaps the devil were after them. I had to keep dodging out of their way and every time I reached a side road I went a short way down it, just for the respite. It reminded me why I hate big cities, or even small ones.
Got to Sainsbury's and who should be coming out of the door but Eddy, we greeted each other and Eddy said that he knew we would meet again.
Did my shopping, eggs, tomatoes, disinfectant wipes and tea bags and headed out into the rushing throng again. The streets were simply teeming with people and I almost started to join in with their madness and walk instead of strolling, but kept my head and continued to stroll back to Almyne. Even so, I felt quite stressed by the experience.
Chilli-con-carni again for tea, as I wasn't going to carry a big bag of potatoes back to Almyne all that way, I will wait till I can get to a store that will deliver to the boat.
I want to be at Blakes lock by half eight in the morning to get a good start along the Thames, the weather for Friday is good both in Reading and Oxford, but for Saturday it is raining in Reading and just overcast in Oxford, so another early night after reading a few chapters of my book.
Fri, 23 May 2008
The house to die for
Shillingford Bridge
From ten to twelve
Steaming down the Thames
Grebe with chick
31 miles 9 locks
I think that this has been both my worst day on the journey so far and my best day on the journey so far.
The engine has performed superbly running at three quarter throttle for almost ten and a half hours continuously without a hiccup. I had been concerned that because the engine rarely gets run at much more than tick-over it might baulk at such heavy usage.
I also have performed superbly, running myself at three quarter throttle for thirteen hours with only the occasional hiccup, I made a bit of a mess of mooring up at a couple of locks and had assistance from the lock keepers. I rarely get used at much more than tick-over nowadays.
Up at half six and breakfast over before quarter past seven. Engine checks, walk D'fer
and set off at seven forty. Through Blakes lock, the last on the Kennet and Avon canal, and on towards the Thames . Nearly went the wrong way at the junction of the Thames because there are no signposts. Carried on up the Thames for another half mile till I got to Caversham lock, arriving at twenty to nine. I had to wait there for the lock keeper to arrive at nine to get my Environment Agency license to travel on the Thames.
Took the opportunity to shave my neck and have a last cup of tea for the day.
The lock keeper arrived promptly at nine and let me into the lock and then told me to pay at the following lock. Off I went. Four miles later I arrived at Mapledurham lock, where I purchased my license for two days, I hope to make Oxford in two days.
The current on the Thames seemed almost negligible, less than that on the Kennet, or perhaps that was because it is so big and wide and deep. Even at three quarter throttle I was only doing about three knots and my average for the day was just four lock miles per hour and with the lock keepers doing all the work and having the locks ready for me, the locks were quick.
The noticeable difference was that the locks were fierce, they filled quickly throwing Almyne around and they emptied quickly as well.
I tried taking a picture of a Grebe carrying its baby on its back, trouble just as I was ready it turned to face me, if you look closely you can just make it out.
At Wallingford a little steam boat went the other way, it looked to calm and serene and was very quiet. I can see the fascination for them,
I carried on throughout the day, surviving on chocolate digestives, hula hoops and bitter lemon, no time to stop off for lunch, or even a cup of tea. Ten o'clock and I was enjoying myself, but by twelve o'clock, although I was still enjoying myself, I was beginning to get a little tired.
Got a shot of the mooring at Shillingford Bridge where Geri
and I stayed the night on the way down and the swans and ducks kept Mabel awake all night. Shortly after that I spotted the 'house to die for'.
D'fer was getting fed up with all the travelling and having to stay on Almyne all the time, even in the locks, and around three o'clock he showed his displeasure by going to bed, just popping out occasionally to see if I was all right or perhaps to see if we were going to stop sometime this year.
Carried on through Dorchester Oxfordshire , Little Wenham, Burcot , Clifton Hampden , past Didcot power station with the cooling towers that can be seen for miles in every direction, through Long Wittenham , Appleford-on-Thames and eventually mooring up just before the lock at Culham , exhausted.
Beans and corned beef for tea with my last two slices of bread.
All boats are meant to turn off their engines in the locks on the Thames, but only one lock keeper asked me to do so. Had I known I would have baked a cake, no loaf during the journey. Perhaps I will do that anyway tomorrow as the batteries have had their best charge ever and should put up with baking a loaf even without the engine running.
Sat, 24 May 2008
Oxford Pastime
My welcome to Oxford
I had to move over
11 miles 6 locks
Apart from being up early so that I could have breakfast, walk D'fer, set the bread-maker going and prepare the boat to go into the first lock at nine, I had a maudlin sort of start to the day. It might have had something to do with the conversation I had yesterday with one of the lock keepers about his wife dying in February or it might have been something to do with remembering how Geri
enjoyed racing
down the Thames . The melancholy passed and and
I soon got stuck into the journey again.
I did not have quite enough flour for the recipe and although I had been told that it works well if you follow the recipe exactly there was no point in wasting the ingredients I had put in the bread-maker so started it anyway. When the loaf was finished it was better than the recipe loaf. Is was slightly more moist and much softer, more to my liking, so perhaps a little less flour is called for for me.
Fairly uneventful journey through Culham lock, Culham cut and along past Caldecott to Abingdon, where the lock keeper had the lock waiting ready for me. Then I had a four and a half mile run, which seemed to take forever, before arriving at Sandford lock. Although the Thames had only a slight current, much like a true canal, I was at this point both excited that I was only two locks from the Oxford canal and also anxious, remembering how fierce the short run from the Oxford to the Thames was when we came down in 2006.
Easy passage to Iffley lock, where a guy started talking to me while I was trying to moor up. I didn't really take any of it in because I was otherwise pre-occupied, making a mistake in a lock on the Thames could result in disaster because the locks are so fierce. He put a piece of paper on the gas locker and wandered off to talk to the lock keeper.
With the lock safely full I looked at the piece of paper. It was a set of instructions on how to navigate from Iffley lock up to Osney lock while the 'Oxford University Rowing Club Regatta' was in progress. Basically 'keep as far over to the right as you can until you get to 'The Gut' and then keep as far over to the left as you can, obeying individual marshals instructions on the way'.
There were boats everywhere, in front of me coming towards me, behind me coming towards me, rushing alongside in front going away, behind going away and any and all of them turning around at any moment.
At one point I had to go into reverse very hard to avoid a boat coming around a blind corner, good job I was travelling slowly anyway, and then I heard over the Tannoy a message for me to move in to the centre of the channel as the next race was along both banks. Well that was not on the piece of paper I had been given.
And then I saw my welcoming committee, and what a welcome to Oxford, all those people waiting for me for goodness knows how long, because I did not know when I would arrive. I waved furiously and some of them waved back and posed while I took a picture, made me feel really good.
Motored on past the start point, past a typical 'Oxford day out', up through Osney lock and on to the channel that leads to the Oxford. Negotiated that just fine and into Isis lock, the first on the Oxford. Through that, moored up and D'fer
was free. He jumped off and ran, and ran, and ran, and jumped in the canal, and brought me a stick to throw, which I threw and threw and threw. Eventually he calmed down, soaking wet and a little more relaxed. 'Oh thank you for letting me off the boat, I was getting sooo bored'.
Took a short walk into Oxford, but soon realised that it is just as crowded as any other town, if not more so, so returned to the tranquillity of Almyne. Walking back to Almyne yet another woman remarked how good looking D'fer was, so starting a conversation. Explained that I had been looking for a shop but that Oxford was too crowded for me and the only supermarket type place that I could identify was too far away. She explained that there was a nice little local 'Londis' a bit further along the tow path and offered to show me where it was.
Looks like rain till Friday! I probably won't be going anywhere for the rest of this week!, mind you, I am glad I got off the Thames before the rain arrived, it could make the going difficult against the raised level and the current.
I am moored up about 200 yards from the train station and just a bit more from the centre of town so everything should be convenient, except for the rain.
Will give me time to work on the site.
I have spent the evening correcting a whole bunch of spelling mistakes and re-reading what I have written has been entertaining, occasionally, just very occasionally it makes me laugh, and I was the one who wrote it!
Perhaps I should rename the site - no what I will do is change it once I have reached Wheaton Aston to 'Letter from Almyne' or maybe not, I have quaffed a few glasses this evening.
Richard
just rang, he is delivering my wine tomorrow, if I can let him know where I am.
Settled down for a well earned rest and to update the site and another early night.
Sun, 25 May 2008
Trick Cyclists
Going nowhere today. With fully charged batteries I can spend most of the day working on the site and getting the back entries updated and working on the maps.
Got the fire going about half an hour ago - a fire and it is nearly June!, but I don't want to catch a chill.
Washing, I have a backlog of washing to do but there is NO WAY I will be able to get it dry, so it will have to wait. I might even have to turn my pants inside out as well as back to front if it keeps up much longer. On the other hand maybe I will find a launderette!
If it gets any warmer in here I will open some more windows and take my fleece off, but still not enough room to dry loads of washing.
I am still going through all the entries for the web site correcting spelling mistakes and making slight additions and alterations and as soon as I have finished that I am off into Oxford to see if I can get the Nicholson's I need.
Took a break around lunch time after finishing all the spell checking to see if I could get a copy of Nicholson's guide to the canals, No1 (covers Oxford canal) and although Oxford is a university town and has some of the best and most complete bookshops in the country none of them had a copy. They had all the others, but not the one that covers Oxford. I am told that I might get one at the marina five hours away. Can't miss it, there are no turnings off the canal till after I get to it.
On the way back I spotted a couple of trick cyclists and tried to get some pictures, but they were too quick and too far away. I walked over the road and asked one of them if he could repeat the trick while I took pictures, he agreed and did it twice because I missed him on the post the first time, I missed him on the post the second time as well because it is so brief, but I couldn't ask him to do it yet again.
I've got sausages for dinner again tonight, but maybe, just maybe, if I can work up the energy, I will make Toad in the Hole.
Temperature up to a comfortable 76F, so no worries here. I wonder if I can toast some bread on the fire, I suppose if I leave the door open and hold the bread close to the embers it might work, will have to try it one day, then I can have Marmite on toast.
The thing about Marmite on toast is that you put the Marmite on first, quite thickly and them try to cover it with butter to take the sting out. That means oodles of butter, (not good for the cholesterol but) so tasty.
I've got over my hunger I just finished half a packet of chocolate digestives and feel a little sick.
I am spending the afternoon updating the maps and then I might get around to updating yesterdays and today's entries.
I was thinking of doing a roast dinner this afternoon, roast chicken to be precise, but I have the sausages to finish off, unless I use them to stuff the chicken.
Maybe I will do the roast chicken tomorrow, if I can find somewhere to buy one.
Can't use the sausages to stuff the chicken the way I do it, there is no room.
Recipe, take a 440ml can of your favourite beer, drink it
Take a bottle of your favourite wine, one third fill the beer cap with the wine.
Carefully place the chicken over the beer can, the can filling the cavity where the stuffing would normally go and stand upright.
Lightly salt the bird and rub in some olive oil.
Place in oven standing upright and cook.
The oil and salt seals the skin and makes it crisp, all over, because it is not sitting in its own juices.
The wine suffuses through the flesh and cannot escape because the oil and salt has sealed the skin.
A moist succulent flavoured bird for you delectation, but no stuffing.
My only good news is that Richard
has just visited to top up my stores.
He is off to Somerset now, the reason he was late is because he wanted to see the Formula One race. When I asked him about it he related the whole race in minute detail - he really enjoys it.
I ended up with three sausage sarnies, got so involved with updating maps. I am just about to put in the last one, where I am right now, so give it a minute and it will be there.
I suppose now I will have to start putting in pictures of what is outside my window??
Mon, 26 May 2008
2½ miles 1 lock 1 lift bridge (plus 1 lift bridge permanently open)
Spent the morning doing not lot at all, it was raining and there is no way I am travelling in the rain, nor was there any point in cleaning the boat. Had the last on my bacon for breakfast so will need to get some more soon. Cold enough to light the fire, with coal to keep it going all day long.
The rain started to ease off towards mid day, but still wet enough not to travel. Got to half one and the rain had stopped, not even drizzling, so did the engine checks and set off at ten to two. Only travelled for one and a half hours, but it was enough to make me feel as if I were achieving something. Moored up just above Perrys lift bridge at Wolvercote and took D'fer
for a walk to look for a shop. Spoke to a gentleman walking in the opposite direction and he told me where the shop was, so set off to find it.
I found it, but it was closed, bank holiday Monday. Not urgent, so returned to Almyne and put some potatoes wrapped in tin foil on the top of the fire with a saucepan over in preparation for baked potatoes with tuna and sweet corn for tea. No mayonnaise so must put that on my shopping list.
After tea I wandered up to the next lock to see if there were any challenges on the way. Yes a lift bridge operated from the opposite bank to the tow path.
At the next lock a boat called 'Serendipity' was just going in. I got chatting to the skipper and it turns out that I did recognise it. He purchased it in Hilperton just eight days ago and is taking it up to Norfolk, where he lives.
Back at Almyne I decided to ring Pasquale because I had not heard from him for some time and he was meant to be coming to visit this weekend. It appears that three weeks ago he lost his phone, along with all the numbers stored on it. He had tried to contact me through the web site, but of course that had gone down and his attempts there were unsuccessful. Anyway he now has my number again and will be visiting next Saturday, wherever I am.
Spent the evening doing sudoku puzzles and listening to the radio for a change and crawled into bed just before midnight.
Tue, 27 May 2008
2½ miles 3 locks 2 lift bridges.
Late start (late night) got up around half ten. No bacon so didn't bother with breakfast (big mistake). Set off just before eleven and arrived at the lift bridge. Nosed Almyne up to the bridge on the opposite bank, keeping the stern in to the near bank. (The Oxford canal is quite narrow so this is possible.)
Climbed out of the front of the boat with a spare rope, tied Almyne to the bridge ring so she would not wander and hauled the bridge up, tied it in the up position with the spare rope. Untied Almyne and clambered back on to her on the front. Walked through to the back and got off on the tow path side. Took Almyne through the lift bridge, stopping with the stern just past the bridge, backed up so I could get off, tying Almyne up to a tree. Let the lift bridge down, climbed back on to Almyne, untied the rope from the tree (it was deliberately a slip knot) and set off towards the lock.
Approaching Dukes lock, where there is a junction off to the Thames , there was a boat waiting to go in and a boat in the lock coming out, with another lined up behind it. The boat waiting to go in was not moored up and was going backwards and forwards seeming to be trying to get in to the bank. The boat waiting to come out of the lock, quite justifiably, was waiting until the other boat was no longer a danger. All this time I was holding Almyne well back and, because it was such a mess ahead, I pulled over to the bank and held Almyne by the centre rope to make sure I was not going to add to the confusion.
Eventually the crew of the boat coming out of the lock assisted the other boat to get in to the bank so that the boat in the lock could come out, which it did and then turned off along the Thames branch.
I waited my turn while the boat ahead went in and out, the boat waiting at the other side came in and out and then it was my turn, what a palaver.
At the next lock I got stuck going in. Apparently the gate does not open properly I have since found out. On going in Almyne just stopped and it was obvious that with the gate just a little bit open there was not enough room for me to get in. At first I thought that something had got jammed behind the gate, but whatever the reason I had to get back out of the lock entrance. I put her in reverse, that didn't work. I pulled on the middle rope, bracing myself on the lock-side, that didn't work. I went back to Almyne ready to phone BW, but had a cup of tea first. I am beginning to wonder what is in the tea, as when I had finished it and tried again, out she popped. Cleared all the debris from behind the lock gate and tried again, this time a little more slowly, in fact I pulled her in by hand instead of with the engine. Stuck again but managed to pull her out more easily this time. While I was cogitating on my next move a boat crew came along from above the lock and told me that the gate doesn't open properly. Explained my dilemma and they agreed to lean heavily on the balance beam while I came in to the lock. This time it worked.
After that it was plain sailing and I moored up at 'The Jolly Boatman' just after half two. Wandered up the tow path to Thrupp, noting the mooring restrictions on the way. At Thrupp I got a little map of the area and found out where my nearest shop is.
Went shopping at the Coop, but it was so expensive I only got the very basics, a loaf of bread and some mince for tea, a couple of quiches, cause they are nice for lunch, but no bacon, I could not afford their prices.
Kidlington is another mile or so further on so I might walk in there tomorrow, or even catch a bus!
Got some more of the Business Alert site working and uploaded several thousand back issues.
Beef-burgers, chips and beans for tea, mixed some of the mince with finely chopped onions and bread-crumbs, and added an egg to bind it all together.
Read till late while the computer was working for me.
Wed, 28 May 2008
Another slow day. Up just after nine and breakfast of beans on toast. Started the engine as I ran the batteries down last night with all the computer stuff. Drizzling all morning but at about eleven it seemed to stop, so I got out my rucksack and set off into Kidlington. When I arrived I went straight to the fishing tackle shop to get some maggots so that I could fish if the rain held off long enough. Then off to the supermarket, where I purchased some tissues (I ran out a few days ago), carrots, a Ginger cake, some tomatoes, chocolate digestives, honey and a bottle of lemon. (Forgot the most important item of all, bacon. Will have to get that tomorrow.)
Couldn't find any soap I liked but there was a pound type store and the owner was unloading stock from his vehicle into the shop, so I asked him if he had any coal tar soap (the one I like) and he went into the shop and returned with a 4 for the price of 3 pack.
Wandered back to Almyne, the whole round journey took just under two hours. Got back just in time for the rain to start again, it kept up for some time and when it eased off I re-arranged the top of Almyne, putting Almyne Two back in the water, and then washed the top on the side nearest the tow path. The rain had done all the hard work of making it wet and I just had to scrub it and rinse off.
Tried fishing for a while, but the rain returned with a vengeance, I needn't have rinsed the top of after all.
Another break in the rain and I took D'fer
for a walk in the newly created Thrupp Community Woodland. It is nice to see that amenities like this are being created for the use of the public.
Jim on NB Waltzing Matilda is moored up two boats along from me, I first saw him just outside Hilperton Marina a couple of years ago.
Received an email from Netta checking on my whereabouts so replied straight away with my location and a link to a map so she could find me easily, so she might turn up tonight, lit the fire just in case.
Do you remember I met a man walking from Bristol to London, well he has sent me an email. His name is Peter Clark and we met on the fourth of his six day walk. Having achieved that, his next 'Thing To Do Before I Die' is to walk from from Birmingham to London on the canal bank.
I hope he gets there, and who knows we may meet along the way.
D'fer has discovered a new way to attract my attention. I have four cases of wine on the floor against the hull. He has decided that they make a really good table for him to chew his toys and bones on. Trouble is, he has ripped open the tops of the cases so his toys and bones fall inside. He then scrabbles inside the boxes to retrieve whatever he has dropped inside, rattling the bottles against each other. It sure attracts my attention, so I remove the offending article and return it to him.
And he puts it back on his 'table' to chew and drops it back inside the box again.
Thu, 29 May 2008
Relaxing in the sun
The comparative rest yesterday must have done me good as I was awake and raring to go by half seven. Scrambled egg on toast for breakfast and off to Kidlington for some more shopping. The sun was shining and it looked like being a nice day.
D'fer
insisted in jumping in the cut to retrieve sticks, now he has learnt to swim he just loves it and throws himself in after sticks. When I say he insists, what he does is find a stick and batters me with it until I throw it in - who is training who?
Yesterday when I tied D'fer up outside Tesco's he was good and didn't make a fuss, today, as I left him and went into Tesco he started shouting at me, or maybe it was the world in general, 'Don't leave me here to die, I have been a good dog, I don't want to be a rescue dog, I promise to behave, I need water, somebody, anybody, help'. I could hear him right at the other end of the store.
Got my bacon and some more Daz to do my washing and topped up with more tissues (they will always be useful) and a bottle of Dettol. If I have to carry everything back to the boat I might as well make it worthwhile.
When I came out D'fer was waiting for me, overjoyed that I had listened to him. He bounced about jumping up to say hello and explaining that 'I have been here waiting patiently for seven hours now, I am thirsty and hungry but I still love you, when are we going to the canal so I can jump in, I want to go for a run, what have you got in your bag for me'.
It took several minutes to calm him down enough to release him from the pole he was tied to.
Walked back to Almyne throwing sticks into the canal whenever it was safe. (Sometimes the bank is 'piled' and if D'fer went in he would not be able to get out again, but I think that he has realised that.)
Back at Almyne I got the Gazebo out of the cratch and erected it on the stern to protect me from the blazing sun and the rain should it decide to go that way again, and spent most of the afternoon relaxing, fishing and generally enjoying life as it should be enjoyed.
Had an early dinner of spaghetti Bolognese, with far too much spaghetti. So D'fer had his weekly portion of pasta. He purposefully devoured all the pasta from his bowl before finishing off his proper dog food. It was funny to see the way he slurped the spaghetti up, pushing his biscuits out of the way to get at it. As usual when he finished his meal he gave a loud belch, it is beginning to become a routine with him.
He has another little quirk. Whenever I go to the loo I leave the door open, sort of to make sure it does not close and leave me locked in. D'fer invariably appears from wherever he may have been and brushes past the door closing it on his way. Maybe I can use this as a way of getting him back to the boat when he goes walkabout.
After dinner a family walked past and the children asked if D'fer played, so I let them throw sticks for him for a while. When their parents called them for dinner (at the pub) he chased after them, not wanting to stop playing. Eventually he came back and slumped down on his deerskin, shattered, and has left me alone all evening.
Fri, 30 May 2008
Cloudy all day, but at least it is dry. Netta, my younger sister visited and updated me on all her news, which was quite a lot, and marvelled at the changes to Almyne as she has not seen it now for two years.
I wanted to show Netta the web site while she was here, but every time I tried to log on to the internet I had no signal, maybe it was the overcast that was clogging it up. Every other time I have tried to log on I have had a terrific signal. Gave it up and just showed her what I had locally.
We had corned beef with tomato and lettuce sandwiches for lunch, Netta brought along a nice fresh loaf of bread, and the key on the corned beef tin broke off so we had to gouge it open with a big knife.
When she had left I tried the internet again and, hey presto, it came up as quick as winking with a strong, fast signal.
Kept the engine running most of the afternoon as the computer was doing some good stuff for me, but the batteries were still a bit low by the time eight o'clock arrived, so had to knock that on the head, will continue tomorrow morning before Pasquale arrives.
Yesterdays spaghetti Bolognese for tea, I always make too much for one, but D'fer
enjoys the left overs. Tonight he had some spaghetti, some sauce and the remainder of the corned beef.
He spent much of the day fetching his ball from the canal, he now leaps into the water making a great splash as he lands, or retrieving it from a field of long grass beside the woodland. When retrieving the ball from the grass he leaps in the air like a gazelle, bouncing as high as he can to see where the ball is going. The higher he leaps the longer he is in the air, the more chance he has of seeing where the ball lands. The grass is taller than he is. Very entertaining. One day I will get some video clips and post them on the site.
Sat, 31 May 2008
Yesterday evening I sat on the bank for a while brushing D'fer
and removing loads of loose fur, it works well when he is wet. Later on after I had done some internetty stuff, I switched off the computer and watched a little TV, most unusual for me and after a few minutes I could smell that acrid pungent aroma of burning wiring. Oh oh, I thought, something's wrong, so I switched everything off and started wandering around Almyne sniffing. D'fer though that this was a great new game, everywhere I sniffed, he sniffed. The smell was definitely coming from the area of the back door, where most of the electric cabling goes, so sniffed more carefully. Then I identified it. I had discarded a cigarette in the ash bin and it had fallen on some of D'fer's fur. That was a relief.
Switched the radio on and read a book for a while. There was a brief snippet on the radio about 'longevity' in the UK and it appears that Cornishmen live on average longer than anyone else in the UK. Set me to thinking, again.
'The Pace of Life', apparently is measured by how fast people walk, Londoners walk very quickly (6 - 8 feet per second), people in other cities walk nearly as quickly (4 - 6 feet per second) and Cornishmen dawdle (2 - 3 feet per second). and 'The Pace of Life' reflects stress levels.
It is not surprising that Cornishmen live longer, they are far less stressed. I am glad that I decided a long time ago that I would dawdle through life.
Ended up listening to 'Sailing By' and the Shipping Forecast, so soporific I was soon asleep.
Up about nine, breakfast and then on with the day. It was beginning to get a bit crowded with boats both going past and trying to moor up. There was a gap behind me big enough for a 40 footer to get in and before long a 50 footer tried getting in. It backed in very gently, pushing Almyne about and out into the main channel. They were very polite about it and did ask me if I could move up just a little. Moved Almyne up towards the next boat along (Waltzing Matilda with Jim on board) and lifted Almyne Too out of the water. They still only just got in.
Pasquale rang to say he would be here about one, so set to and tidied the boat, didn't actually take long as with the weather being good it stays fairly clean.
Pasquale and Kerry arrived just after one. Cup of tea and lots of chatting, catching up on news. Pasquale had brought 'supplies' with him so we had ham, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for lunch. Afterwards we walked all the dogs around wood, they had a wonderful time.
Pasquale and Kerry left about 4 after arranging to meet again when I am nearer Coventry .
Very quiet evening letting computer work for me.
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