Almyne 2009
Sun, 1 Nov 2009
Slept late, nearly eleven before I surfaced. Off to Wrexham to collect the children and put some stuff in the garage.
Kath
had collected the key from her friend yesterday so today is an opportune time to do some more swapsies with stuff on the boat and stuff at the garage.
Arrived there and tried the key - ooops, wrong one.
Hey Ho, life's like that.
You know, once upon a time, if that had happened to me I would have thrown a right royal wobbly and ranted and raved for hours, if not days, but maybe I have grown up a little since then.
Visited some more people, collected the children and returned to the boats arriving just before midnight.
Mon, 2 Nov 2009
As the car does not need to be back till five this evening we decided that we would go and have a look for the Herb Centre that we had spotted on the way back last night. Set off about ten and had only gone about six miles when I turned a corner, changed from third down into !, hang on a minute, I am sure that there should be at least one gear in this gear box. No. Check again. Still no gears.
This can't be right. Pulled over and tried again, definitely no gears. Can't go forward and can't go back.
Rang the hire company. They referred me to the breakdown service that they use.
Twenty minutes later up rolled the AA.
This man could, he opened the bonnet and had a wiggle of the gear linkages. You're right, there are no gears.
Went to his vehicle and got some cable ties, stuck his head under the bonnet and fiddled around for a while then popped up and said that if I drove carefully I should make it to the hire company.
Off we went, with the AA man in tow, well just following us really. If anyone was going to tow anyone, he would be towing me.
Back at the hire company they swapped the car and off we went to the herb centre and it turned out to be really worthwhile.
Kath has been trying to get a lavender called Katherine for several years now (guess why) and although they did not have it they will be getting some in for spring.
Since we will still be around in the spring she ordered it.
She also managed to get a couple of other herbs that she has been after, so all in all a better day than it looked as if it might be.
Managed to get the car back to the hire company in time and then settled down on the boats to try and do some catching up.
I was busy updating the site when I decided to pop along to Destiny for one reason or another and as I poked my head out of the hatchway a fighter plane flew overhead so low that I felt I could almost touch it. Needless to say I didn't, but I did duck all the same.
On Destiny, Kaia
threw herself on the floor as it went past, while both Scott
and Kath
ducked as well.
Tue, 3 Nov 2009
Seems sensible to stay here a while as we are getting another car next week end and if we move it will be a different office that I get it from.
Spent a goodly portion of the day updating the site, over two weeks behind, so quite a task.
Scott has decided to make a hide in the woods beside the boats and has spent most of the day collecting bits of wood and such to construct it.
Kath and I prepared the floor in the galley ready for the vinyl tiles and then spent some time cogitating on the requirements for the double glazing film and the best way to fit it.
Wed, 4 Nov 2009
Major definite purpose today is the fitting of the double glazing film over the windows. It's beginning to get a little chilly of a night time.
This requires thoroughly cleaning the windows, inside and out and the removal of the previous draft proofing strip. Replacing the old draft proofing with new, it only last a year or so and then preparing the inside frames so that the sticky back Velcro will adhere.
Sticky back Velcro on the frame (inside) and then the clear plastic film stuck on with sticky back Velcro. Careful to make sure that the hooks are on the film and the loops are on the frame. This way, when the film is removed we won't be sticking to it as we walk past.
Managed to get four windows complete by the end of the day, another of those ten minute jobs that takes all day.
Thu, 5 Nov 2009
Did some more to the double glazing today. There is not enough Velcro to do all of it so the job comes to an end with window number five.
In between helping Kath with her task, I decided that some washing would be in order. Since Kath's spinner on her twin tub gave up the ghost, we have been using mine on Destiny. With the purchase of a bath and mentally re-arranging Destiny to take the bath, we came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to turn my shower area into a laundry room.
To this end I moved the washing machine back onto Almyne and arranged the shower area to cope with it. Set the washing machine up and started filling it with water from the shower head. Couldn't get any hot water to come through and spent several minutes trying to work out why. There is not enough pressure to get the cold through the pipe AND turn on the instant water heater, so guess I'll be washing in cold water. Returning my attention to the washing machine I noticed that it was taking a long time to fill and there was water on the floor. Ooops, left it in the drain position again, so it's draining into the shower base as quickly as it is filling.
Switched on the shower pump and fortunately I had replaced the fuse that I had removed some time previously to use for the lights, so it did work after all.
With the washing machine full of water and the requisite amount of washing liquid in it I filled it with clothes and turned it on. Nothing. Dead as a door nail. Tried again, a little action from the agitator and then nothing.
Now if someone were asking me to trouble shoot their computer I would ask lots of very basic questions first like, "Is it plugged in?" and "Is it switched on", but now it is me with the problem and all those things go out of the window, because of course it is plugged in and switched on.
I plugged Kath's old machine in and the washer worked OK. I tried several other things, all to no avail and was about to admit defeat and use Kath's machine for the wash and mine for the spin, so tried t he spinner on mine. Nothing.
Perhaps the inverter is not man enough with the extension I'm using.
I was about to disconnect the washing machine and take it through to the back deck when I noticed that the plug had come about a quarter of an inch out of the socket,
Pushed it back in and hey presto, everything works. Silly me.
Fri, 6 Nov 2009
Collected car just after one, and drove back to pick up Kath Kaia
and Scott
along with the two dogs, D'fer
and Rowan
.
Headed off towards Burbage and gave Richard
a ring. He was in at Whitney, so we called of to see him on the way.
Scott was presented with an electric guitar which is just about his size while we were there.
Continued onto Burbage where we had a cuppa and then drove on to see mum
for the evening.
Back to Burbage and a comparatively early night.
Sat, 7 Nov 2009
Up early, off to Worthing.
Scott and Kaia
were cradling the contents of two money boxes all in two penny pieces anxious to give them all to a penny arcade machine somewhere.
Since the day looked fairly clear with bright sunshine I decided to go over Portsdown hill, just to see what he view was like.
As it turned out the air was so clear we could see Chichester cathedral off to the east and Fawley power station off to the west, way past Southampton. Directly in front of us we could see Portsmouth, Hayling Island and Gosport and over the water the Isle of Wight, from one end to the other. I have never seen it so clearly.
Arrived at Worthing and dropped everyone off at the fun fair while I did my bits and pieces. When I picked them up a couple of hours later they still had loads of two penny pieces left, so we all spent another hour trying to give them to various machines.
Set off in time to get to the top of Portsdown hill by seven and were only just in time to find a parking spot. Many many people had decided to watch the fireworks from up here, and it was well worthwhile with individual garden displays and major group displays all over the place. We even saw some good fireworks going off on the Isle of Wight.
Back to Burbage for the night.
Sun, 8 Nov 2009
Late start to the day, got involved watching Forest Gump, a lovely film.
Called in to see Glyn
and Cath
for a chat as we missed them when they did their Grand Union trip.
Popped in to see mum again and when we arrived Blynda
was there so we had a good old natter about this that and everything else.
The journey back was much easier than I had expected and we only got lost the once, but were still back in time for a cup of coffee before bed.
Mon, 9 Nov 2009
5 miles
Off to Leamington to return the car and do a little shopping during the morning and then off to Braunston , we are in need of water and a pump out.
Arrived at Braunston a little after four and after finding the facilities at the BW place we found that the nearest place for a pump out was at the marina some seven hundred yards toward the tunnel.
Now we have checked on the stoppages and although there is a winding hole by the tunnel it is only 45 foot, much to small for Destiny so Kath carefully reversed Destiny all the way, no mean feat.
With Destiny neatly tucked up in the marina by the pump out and the laundry we checked if it was OK to stay there the night. The owner did not have a problem with that, so Kath carried on with the laundry while I went back to collect Almyne and bring her along in the dark.
That sorted we could rest easy while the washing was drying.
Tue, 10 Nov 2009
3 miles
Short journey along towards Hillmorton locks today, moored up in the middle of nowhere and settled in for a day of rain and wind.
Wed, 11 Nov 2009
Another day of rain and wind, mind you, not particularly bothered as I have man flu and don't really want to do any travelling right now. Nor do I really want to plough my way through all the paperwork that I have retrieved from Burbage , but hey ho, it has got to be done some time.
Thu, 12 Nov 2009
2 miles
Slow travelling, but we will get there in the end. Although the rain has been holding off the wind and general miserable weather conditions are not conducive to lengthy journeys.
Fri, 13 Nov 2009
1 mile
Made it to Hillmorton locks today, well nearly. Moored up above the locks and stayed put again. Today Kath has my man flu.
Sat, 14 Nov 2009
Steve
came and collected Kaia
this morning and Kath
decided that she would tackle the galley cupboards today.
We have been discussing the overall accommodation on both boats and they are somewhat crowded with all the stuff that we have accumulated and kept on board, 'just in case'. We both need to work from one end of our respective boats to the other identifying items that we have not used or a year and such to put them into storage.
There could be an opportunity in the near future for transport to make the transfer possible so we should grasp it to make the most of the offer.
Sun, 15 Nov 2009
Sunday, day of rest.
Lots to do, especially catching up on the web site. What is happening? I seem to be missing updating the site more and more often.
The truth is that with the colder shorter days by the time we have done our daily duties and Kath has got a meal I am either too lazy or too tired or too cold to want to go to Almyne and light a fire (not working in the cold) get Almyne warmed up, run the engine (my batteries are failing and I need to run the engine to keep the computers safe) and then spend the rest of the evening squinting at the screen, keyboard and the navigation books (I still have not got a pair of reading spectacles to replace the ones that D'fer knocked into the canal at Caldon) in an effort to update the sight.
I must find a better way.
On top of all that, I have had a cold this past week and Kath caught it off me and has been under the weather as well.
I had Man Flu, you know, the one where you need lots of sympathy, cuddles, cups of tea, feeding with something every ten minutes and generally lots of attention. When I passed it on to Kath it changed to woman's flu. She just wanted to bed left alone to sleep, but I made sure that she got as much attention as I had needed, keeping her supplied with cups of coffee, biscuits, tucking her sheets in when she had thrown them off and generally looking after her to the best of my ability.
She only stayed in bed for half a day! my care must have worked really well.
Mon, 16 Nov 2009
1 mile 3 locks
Set off middle morning and took Destiny down two locks to the marina. Kath skilfully reversed Destiny into the marina entrance and the owner came along and looked at the pot belly stove and gave her a price for fitting it, complete with flue, collar and hole cutting.
Got a pump out at the same time. Somehow during the night the pump out lever was placed in the up position. This meant that it flushed all night, filling the pump out tank and emptying the water tank.
That sorted and agreed we set off again through the next lock to moor up so that I could go back and get Almyne.
Pulled over and topped up with water. We only needed to move about three boats along for a proper mooring which took longer than it should have done, due to the wind.
Kath got Destiny into the bank and I jumped off and went to the front to grab the rope there. With the back end under control I gently pulled on the front rope to bring Destiny's prow into the bank and found that the ground underfoot was more like a pan of grease than grass that it looked like.
One second I was leaning gently back against the pull of Destiny and the wind and the next I was stood in the canal up to my neck leaning gently back against the pull of Destiny and the wind! Now how could that have happened?
I climbed out of the canal, holding on to the rope, stood up and was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not even a little bit chilled. Pulled Destiny in to the bank and tied her off.
Meanwhile Kath Scott and Kaia
were flapping around, concerned for my well being (and quite rightly so).
With Destiny secure Kath rushed inside Destiny and sorted out some dry clothes for me while I stood on the stern of Destiny stripping off. I did not want to drip all over the bed just inside the back door.
Naked, apart from my underpants, I went into Destiny to dry off and put on dry clothes. Emptied my trouser pockets removing some paper money from my back pocket and my mobile phone from a front pocket. Set the phone on the table to dry out. I have heard that if you just let them dry out naturally they will sometimes work after being dropped in the canal, not like when dropping them in the sea.
Decided to leave getting Almyne till tomorrow now as it was after dark before everyone was settled down after my little escapade so I decided to cut some kindling to light the fire. On Almyne I use a bill hook, long blade so that it is easy to hit a piece of wood with it. On Destiny Kath has a hatchet, short blade so one needs to be accurate with the first blow. I hit the log squarely in the middle and it flew up into the air, straight up.
It came down right on my pate. I continued to chop wood only to have my vision obscured by blood dripping onto my spectacles and down my neck.
Got the fire going though and then cleaned up, again, before settling in for an evening meal and an early night.
Tue, 17 Nov 2009
Off to get Almyne. As the locks and mileage was recorded yesterday it does not seem appropriate to put them in again.
Worked Almyne through the tree locks and moored up behind Destiny. Kath went to start Destiny only to find that she would not start. A quick look revealed that the stop cable had broken leaving the engine disabled in the stop position.
Dismantled the cable assembly and set off to the marina to get a new one. They did not have one the right length, but supplied a very long one to cut down to size.
Back to Destiny and fitted it. Oh dear, the guy at the marina had explained that this cable would last much longer than the old one as this one was multi stranded and much more flexible than the one that had been removed that had a solid inner able.
Now I know why. The very flexible cable would shut down the engine but would not push the cut off into the on position, it was so flexible it just bent out of the way. The older solid core cable worked as a push as well as a pull.
Dismantled it all again and back to the marina where we explained the situation. "I'll be along in twenty minutes to sort it out for you" said the owner.
But this is canal time, so an hour and a half later he turned up, only to discover that I was correct in my findings and that he would have to supply another cable.
The cable that we want is at their Rugby boat yard and would be available for us tomorrow morning. Well, it was too late tonight to set off, so I guess we will be doing that tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe the day after. We are on canal time.
Wed, 18 Nov 2009
4 miles
The intention is to get to Rugby , do some shopping and make it to the marina to get the cable sorted.
With high winds all night and strong gusts this morning we are going to wait till the wind dies down a bit before we move off. Travelling in the wind with a 64 foot sail can be a little difficult, especially when trying to pass between rows of moored boats either side and only about three boats widths between them.
Set off early afternoon and arrived in Rugby in time to get to the supermarket before dark, well got there before dark but didn't finish shopping till well after dark, so the boat yard will have to wait till tomorrow again.
Thu, 19 Nov 2009
Here we are at Rugby , waiting for the wind to die down so we can go to the marina and get the stop cable sorted.
Fri, 20 Nov 2009
Another miserable day, well the weather is miserable, we are all as happy as pigs in mud.
Hung around doing not a lot at all waiting for the weather to break, which it did late in the afternoon. Walked along to the boat yard and fortunately Chris, from the other boatyard was there, so we swapped the stop cable over and returned to the boats.
With a supermarket close to hand shopping i no problem so we are eating fresh food all day every day.
Will fix the cable another day when the rain stops.
Sat, 21 Nov 2009
1 mile 1 tunnel
Fixed the stop cable, now Kath can shut down the engine properly instead of having to lift the bottom boards and grope around in the engine compartment with pulleys turning very fast and belts flying all over the place. Not as dangerous as it sounds, but still bot a good idea, perhaps this is why she gets me to do it.
Moved along the canal a little way, through Newbold tunnel. Kath took lots of pictures as it is the only tunnel, to my knowledge, that is lit up all the way through.
Sun, 22 Nov 2009
With all this time on our hands we have been thinking about how to make the current accommodation more user friendly and have decided to move the spice rack from it's present position to the wall next to the cooker. This will leave a blank wall on which to put some shelves, thereby giving us more storage space. You know how it is, get some boxes to hide all the stuff in and you have space for more stuff.
Anyway, today I moved the spice rack, tomorrow I will get some wood for the shelves and start putting them together.
Mon, 23 Nov 2009
Kath spent most of the day on Destiny with the children. She was trying to catch up on her course and the children were doing their Home Ed stuff.
I spent most of the day on Almyne trying to make some sense of the clutter and mess that still prevails.
I did manage to get the shelves cut and varnished so things are moving in that direction.
Tue, 24 Nov 2009
The workmen are still dredging the canal some 50 yards ahead of the boats, but I don't think that they want us to move on just yet.
Nearly out of wood, we have used up all the logs that have been cut and as both chain saws need attention, probably new blades, I don't intend using either of them till they are pronounced safe, don't want to lose my spare arm just yet.
Cut up the smaller logs with the bow saw.
Wed, 25 Nov 2009
Mooching around, waiting for the boatyard at Hillmorton to contact us about fitting the pot bellied stove to Destiny. Patience is a virtue.
Thu, 26 Nov 2009
2 miles 1 tunnel
Still not heard, so we turned around and went back to Rugby , so as to be near a car hire company for the weekend.
Fri, 27 Nov 2009
Picked up a car just after midday and set off to Llangollen. Arrived in time to enjoy the Christmas festivities at Ellesemere, a jolly time was had by all.
Kath purchased some edible glitter to put on cakes and biscuits, quite novel.
Sat, 28 Nov 2009
Spent the day visiting people and finding a store that would fix the chain saws for us. They will take a day or so, which means we will be without them for a couple of weeks till we get back there again.
Sun, 29 Nov 2009
Sunday, a day of rest. Well, this time it was, well almost.
Jackie
cooked dinner for us all while Kath
and I just rested. Probably the least active day we have had for a long time.
Picked the children up from Steve just after seven and were back at the boats by nine, quite a good journey.
Mon, 30 Nov 2009
3 miles
Returned the car and purchased some wood to act as shelf supports, I will get the shelves up.
Set off back towards Hillmorton and arrived at the water point just below the locks as it was getting dark. Topped up Destiny, but it was too dark to top up Almyne as well, so moved Destiny back and then double breasted Almyne against Destiny. At least this way we are not completely blocking the water point.
Slept late, nearly eleven before I surfaced. Off to Wrexham to collect the children and put some stuff in the garage.
Kath
had collected the key from her friend yesterday so today is an opportune time to do some more swapsies with stuff on the boat and stuff at the garage.
Arrived there and tried the key - ooops, wrong one.
Hey Ho, life's like that.
You know, once upon a time, if that had happened to me I would have thrown a right royal wobbly and ranted and raved for hours, if not days, but maybe I have grown up a little since then.
Visited some more people, collected the children and returned to the boats arriving just before midnight.
Mon, 2 Nov 2009
As the car does not need to be back till five this evening we decided that we would go and have a look for the Herb Centre that we had spotted on the way back last night. Set off about ten and had only gone about six miles when I turned a corner, changed from third down into !, hang on a minute, I am sure that there should be at least one gear in this gear box. No. Check again. Still no gears.
This can't be right. Pulled over and tried again, definitely no gears. Can't go forward and can't go back.
Rang the hire company. They referred me to the breakdown service that they use.
Twenty minutes later up rolled the AA.
This man could, he opened the bonnet and had a wiggle of the gear linkages. You're right, there are no gears.
Went to his vehicle and got some cable ties, stuck his head under the bonnet and fiddled around for a while then popped up and said that if I drove carefully I should make it to the hire company.
Off we went, with the AA man in tow, well just following us really. If anyone was going to tow anyone, he would be towing me.
Back at the hire company they swapped the car and off we went to the herb centre and it turned out to be really worthwhile.
Kath
has been trying to get a lavender called Katherine for several years now (guess why) and although they did not have it they will be getting some in for spring.
Since we will still be around in the spring she ordered it.
She also managed to get a couple of other herbs that she has been after, so all in all a better day than it looked as if it might be.
Managed to get the car back to the hire company in time and then settled down on the boats to try and do some catching up.
I was busy updating the site when I decided to pop along to Destiny for one reason or another and as I poked my head out of the hatchway a fighter plane flew overhead so low that I felt I could almost touch it. Needless to say I didn't, but I did duck all the same.
On Destiny, Kaia
threw herself on the floor as it went past, while both Scott
and Kath
ducked as well.Tue, 3 Nov 2009
Seems sensible to stay here a while as we are getting another car next week end and if we move it will be a different office that I get it from.
Spent a goodly portion of the day updating the site, over two weeks behind, so quite a task.
Scott
has decided to make a hide in the woods beside the boats and has spent most of the day collecting bits of wood and such to construct it.
Kath
and I prepared the floor in the galley ready for the vinyl tiles and then spent some time cogitating on the requirements for the double glazing film and the best way to fit it.
Wed, 4 Nov 2009
Major definite purpose today is the fitting of the double glazing film over the windows. It's beginning to get a little chilly of a night time.
This requires thoroughly cleaning the windows, inside and out and the removal of the previous draft proofing strip. Replacing the old draft proofing with new, it only last a year or so and then preparing the inside frames so that the sticky back Velcro will adhere.
Sticky back Velcro on the frame (inside) and then the clear plastic film stuck on with sticky back Velcro. Careful to make sure that the hooks are on the film and the loops are on the frame. This way, when the film is removed we won't be sticking to it as we walk past.
Managed to get four windows complete by the end of the day, another of those ten minute jobs that takes all day.
Thu, 5 Nov 2009
Did some more to the double glazing today. There is not enough Velcro to do all of it so the job comes to an end with window number five.
In between helping Kath
with her task, I decided that some washing would be in order. Since Kath's spinner on her twin tub gave up the ghost, we have been using mine on Destiny. With the purchase of a bath and mentally re-arranging Destiny to take the bath, we came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to turn my shower area into a laundry room.
To this end I moved the washing machine back onto Almyne and arranged the shower area to cope with it. Set the washing machine up and started filling it with water from the shower head. Couldn't get any hot water to come through and spent several minutes trying to work out why. There is not enough pressure to get the cold through the pipe AND turn on the instant water heater, so guess I'll be washing in cold water. Returning my attention to the washing machine I noticed that it was taking a long time to fill and there was water on the floor. Ooops, left it in the drain position again, so it's draining into the shower base as quickly as it is filling.
Switched on the shower pump and fortunately I had replaced the fuse that I had removed some time previously to use for the lights, so it did work after all.
With the washing machine full of water and the requisite amount of washing liquid in it I filled it with clothes and turned it on. Nothing. Dead as a door nail. Tried again, a little action from the agitator and then nothing.
Now if someone were asking me to trouble shoot their computer I would ask lots of very basic questions first like, "Is it plugged in?" and "Is it switched on", but now it is me with the problem and all those things go out of the window, because of course it is plugged in and switched on.
I plugged Kath's old machine in and the washer worked OK. I tried several other things, all to no avail and was about to admit defeat and use Kath's machine for the wash and mine for the spin, so tried t he spinner on mine. Nothing.
Perhaps the inverter is not man enough with the extension I'm using.
I was about to disconnect the washing machine and take it through to the back deck when I noticed that the plug had come about a quarter of an inch out of the socket,
Pushed it back in and hey presto, everything works. Silly me.
Fri, 6 Nov 2009
Collected car just after one, and drove back to pick up Kath
Kaia
and Scott
along with the two dogs, D'fer and Rowan
.
Headed off towards Burbage and gave Richard
a ring. He was in at Whitney, so we called of to see him on the way.
Scott was presented with an electric guitar which is just about his size while we were there.
Continued onto Burbage where we had a cuppa and then drove on to see mum
for the evening.
Back to Burbage and a comparatively early night.
Sat, 7 Nov 2009
Up early, off to Worthing.
Scott
and Kaia
were cradling the contents of two money boxes all in two penny pieces anxious to give them all to a penny arcade machine somewhere.
Since the day looked fairly clear with bright sunshine I decided to go over Portsdown hill, just to see what he view was like.
As it turned out the air was so clear we could see Chichester cathedral off to the east and Fawley power station off to the west, way past Southampton. Directly in front of us we could see Portsmouth, Hayling Island and Gosport and over the water the Isle of Wight, from one end to the other. I have never seen it so clearly.
Arrived at Worthing and dropped everyone off at the fun fair while I did my bits and pieces. When I picked them up a couple of hours later they still had loads of two penny pieces left, so we all spent another hour trying to give them to various machines.
Set off in time to get to the top of Portsdown hill by seven and were only just in time to find a parking spot. Many many people had decided to watch the fireworks from up here, and it was well worthwhile with individual garden displays and major group displays all over the place. We even saw some good fireworks going off on the Isle of Wight.
Back to Burbage for the night.
Sun, 8 Nov 2009
Late start to the day, got involved watching Forest Gump, a lovely film.
Called in to see Glyn
and Cath for a chat as we missed them when they did their Grand Union trip.
Popped in to see mum
again and when we arrived Blynda was there so we had a good old natter about this that and everything else.
The journey back was much easier than I had expected and we only got lost the once, but were still back in time for a cup of coffee before bed.
Mon, 9 Nov 2009
5 miles
Off to Leamington to return the car and do a little shopping during the morning and then off to Braunston , we are in need of water and a pump out.
Arrived at Braunston a little after four and after finding the facilities at the BW place we found that the nearest place for a pump out was at the marina some seven hundred yards toward the tunnel.
Now we have checked on the stoppages and although there is a winding hole by the tunnel it is only 45 foot, much to small for Destiny so Kath
carefully reversed Destiny all the way, no mean feat.
With Destiny neatly tucked up in the marina by the pump out and the laundry we checked if it was OK to stay there the night. The owner did not have a problem with that, so Kath carried on with the laundry while I went back to collect Almyne and bring her along in the dark.
That sorted we could rest easy while the washing was drying.
Tue, 10 Nov 2009
3 miles
Short journey along towards Hillmorton locks today, moored up in the middle of nowhere and settled in for a day of rain and wind.
Wed, 11 Nov 2009
Another day of rain and wind, mind you, not particularly bothered as I have man flu and don't really want to do any travelling right now. Nor do I really want to plough my way through all the paperwork that I have retrieved from Burbage , but hey ho, it has got to be done some time.
Thu, 12 Nov 2009
2 miles
Slow travelling, but we will get there in the end. Although the rain has been holding off the wind and general miserable weather conditions are not conducive to lengthy journeys.
Fri, 13 Nov 2009
1 mile
Made it to Hillmorton locks today, well nearly. Moored up above the locks and stayed put again. Today Kath
has my man flu.Sat, 14 Nov 2009
Steve
came and collected Kaia
this morning and Kath
decided that she would tackle the galley cupboards today.
We have been discussing the overall accommodation on both boats and they are somewhat crowded with all the stuff that we have accumulated and kept on board, 'just in case'. We both need to work from one end of our respective boats to the other identifying items that we have not used or a year and such to put them into storage.
There could be an opportunity in the near future for transport to make the transfer possible so we should grasp it to make the most of the offer.
Sun, 15 Nov 2009
Sunday, day of rest.
Lots to do, especially catching up on the web site. What is happening? I seem to be missing updating the site more and more often.
The truth is that with the colder shorter days by the time we have done our daily duties and Kath
has got a meal I am either too lazy or too tired or too cold to want to go to Almyne and light a fire (not working in the cold) get Almyne warmed up, run the engine (my batteries are failing and I need to run the engine to keep the computers safe) and then spend the rest of the evening squinting at the screen, keyboard and the navigation books (I still have not got a pair of reading spectacles to replace the ones that D'fer knocked into the canal at Caldon) in an effort to update the sight.
I must find a better way.
On top of all that, I have had a cold this past week and Kath caught it off me and has been under the weather as well.
I had Man Flu, you know, the one where you need lots of sympathy, cuddles, cups of tea, feeding with something every ten minutes and generally lots of attention. When I passed it on to Kath it changed to woman's flu. She just wanted to bed left alone to sleep, but I made sure that she got as much attention as I had needed, keeping her supplied with cups of coffee, biscuits, tucking her sheets in when she had thrown them off and generally looking after her to the best of my ability.
She only stayed in bed for half a day! my care must have worked really well.
Mon, 16 Nov 2009
1 mile 3 locks
Set off middle morning and took Destiny down two locks to the marina. Kath
skilfully reversed Destiny into the marina entrance and the owner came along and looked at the pot belly stove and gave her a price for fitting it, complete with flue, collar and hole cutting.
Got a pump out at the same time. Somehow during the night the pump out lever was placed in the up position. This meant that it flushed all night, filling the pump out tank and emptying the water tank.
That sorted and agreed we set off again through the next lock to moor up so that I could go back and get Almyne.
Pulled over and topped up with water. We only needed to move about three boats along for a proper mooring which took longer than it should have done, due to the wind.
Kath got Destiny into the bank and I jumped off and went to the front to grab the rope there. With the back end under control I gently pulled on the front rope to bring Destiny's prow into the bank and found that the ground underfoot was more like a pan of grease than grass that it looked like.
One second I was leaning gently back against the pull of Destiny and the wind and the next I was stood in the canal up to my neck leaning gently back against the pull of Destiny and the wind! Now how could that have happened?
I climbed out of the canal, holding on to the rope, stood up and was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not even a little bit chilled. Pulled Destiny in to the bank and tied her off.
Meanwhile Kath Scott
and Kaia
were flapping around, concerned for my well being (and quite rightly so).
With Destiny secure Kath rushed inside Destiny and sorted out some dry clothes for me while I stood on the stern of Destiny stripping off. I did not want to drip all over the bed just inside the back door.
Naked, apart from my underpants, I went into Destiny to dry off and put on dry clothes. Emptied my trouser pockets removing some paper money from my back pocket and my mobile phone from a front pocket. Set the phone on the table to dry out. I have heard that if you just let them dry out naturally they will sometimes work after being dropped in the canal, not like when dropping them in the sea.
Decided to leave getting Almyne till tomorrow now as it was after dark before everyone was settled down after my little escapade so I decided to cut some kindling to light the fire. On Almyne I use a bill hook, long blade so that it is easy to hit a piece of wood with it. On Destiny Kath has a hatchet, short blade so one needs to be accurate with the first blow. I hit the log squarely in the middle and it flew up into the air, straight up.
It came down right on my pate. I continued to chop wood only to have my vision obscured by blood dripping onto my spectacles and down my neck.
Got the fire going though and then cleaned up, again, before settling in for an evening meal and an early night.
Tue, 17 Nov 2009
Off to get Almyne. As the locks and mileage was recorded yesterday it does not seem appropriate to put them in again.
Worked Almyne through the tree locks and moored up behind Destiny. Kath
went to start Destiny only to find that she would not start. A quick look revealed that the stop cable had broken leaving the engine disabled in the stop position.
Dismantled the cable assembly and set off to the marina to get a new one. They did not have one the right length, but supplied a very long one to cut down to size.
Back to Destiny and fitted it. Oh dear, the guy at the marina had explained that this cable would last much longer than the old one as this one was multi stranded and much more flexible than the one that had been removed that had a solid inner able.
Now I know why. The very flexible cable would shut down the engine but would not push the cut off into the on position, it was so flexible it just bent out of the way. The older solid core cable worked as a push as well as a pull.
Dismantled it all again and back to the marina where we explained the situation. "I'll be along in twenty minutes to sort it out for you" said the owner.
But this is canal time, so an hour and a half later he turned up, only to discover that I was correct in my findings and that he would have to supply another cable.
The cable that we want is at their Rugby boat yard and would be available for us tomorrow morning. Well, it was too late tonight to set off, so I guess we will be doing that tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe the day after. We are on canal time.
Wed, 18 Nov 2009
4 miles
The intention is to get to Rugby , do some shopping and make it to the marina to get the cable sorted.
With high winds all night and strong gusts this morning we are going to wait till the wind dies down a bit before we move off. Travelling in the wind with a 64 foot sail can be a little difficult, especially when trying to pass between rows of moored boats either side and only about three boats widths between them.
Set off early afternoon and arrived in Rugby in time to get to the supermarket before dark, well got there before dark but didn't finish shopping till well after dark, so the boat yard will have to wait till tomorrow again.
Thu, 19 Nov 2009
Here we are at Rugby , waiting for the wind to die down so we can go to the marina and get the stop cable sorted.
Fri, 20 Nov 2009
Another miserable day, well the weather is miserable, we are all as happy as pigs in mud.
Hung around doing not a lot at all waiting for the weather to break, which it did late in the afternoon. Walked along to the boat yard and fortunately Chris, from the other boatyard was there, so we swapped the stop cable over and returned to the boats.
With a supermarket close to hand shopping i no problem so we are eating fresh food all day every day.
Will fix the cable another day when the rain stops.
Sat, 21 Nov 2009
1 mile 1 tunnel
Fixed the stop cable, now Kath
can shut down the engine properly instead of having to lift the bottom boards and grope around in the engine compartment with pulleys turning very fast and belts flying all over the place. Not as dangerous as it sounds, but still bot a good idea, perhaps this is why she gets me to do it.
Moved along the canal a little way, through Newbold tunnel. Kath took lots of pictures as it is the only tunnel, to my knowledge, that is lit up all the way through.
Sun, 22 Nov 2009
With all this time on our hands we have been thinking about how to make the current accommodation more user friendly and have decided to move the spice rack from it's present position to the wall next to the cooker. This will leave a blank wall on which to put some shelves, thereby giving us more storage space. You know how it is, get some boxes to hide all the stuff in and you have space for more stuff.
Anyway, today I moved the spice rack, tomorrow I will get some wood for the shelves and start putting them together.
Mon, 23 Nov 2009
Kath spent most of the day on Destiny with the children. She was trying to catch up on her course and the children were doing their Home Ed stuff.
I spent most of the day on Almyne trying to make some sense of the clutter and mess that still prevails.
I did manage to get the shelves cut and varnished so things are moving in that direction.
Tue, 24 Nov 2009
The workmen are still dredging the canal some 50 yards ahead of the boats, but I don't think that they want us to move on just yet.
Nearly out of wood, we have used up all the logs that have been cut and as both chain saws need attention, probably new blades, I don't intend using either of them till they are pronounced safe, don't want to lose my spare arm just yet.
Cut up the smaller logs with the bow saw.
Wed, 25 Nov 2009
Mooching around, waiting for the boatyard at Hillmorton to contact us about fitting the pot bellied stove to Destiny. Patience is a virtue.
Thu, 26 Nov 2009
2 miles 1 tunnel
Still not heard, so we turned around and went back to Rugby , so as to be near a car hire company for the weekend.
Fri, 27 Nov 2009
Picked up a car just after midday and set off to Llangollen. Arrived in time to enjoy the Christmas festivities at Ellesemere, a jolly time was had by all.
Kath
purchased some edible glitter to put on cakes and biscuits, quite novel.Sat, 28 Nov 2009
Spent the day visiting people and finding a store that would fix the chain saws for us. They will take a day or so, which means we will be without them for a couple of weeks till we get back there again.
Sun, 29 Nov 2009
Sunday, a day of rest. Well, this time it was, well almost.
Jackie
cooked dinner for us all while Kath
and I just rested. Probably the least active day we have had for a long time.
Picked the children up from Steve
just after seven and were back at the boats by nine, quite a good journey.Mon, 30 Nov 2009
3 miles
Returned the car and purchased some wood to act as shelf supports, I will get the shelves up.
Set off back towards Hillmorton and arrived at the water point just below the locks as it was getting dark. Topped up Destiny, but it was too dark to top up Almyne as well, so moved Destiny back and then double breasted Almyne against Destiny. At least this way we are not completely blocking the water point.
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