I Fell In, to a Murky Pond of Water

Leaving Great Haywood

I am going to have to write a catch up blog or 3 when we get back to Mercia Marina. We are about 3 days away from Willington and the thought of electricity has an appeal. Not that it has been a problem. It is the change in climate, it’s getting colder and being able to have the heater plugged in continuously will be good.

The clocks went back, yesterday, and I went in for an early seasonal dip! It was the most unpleasant incident and I have no plans to repeat it. We had been moored at Stone and it was either go to the Launderette or move along the canal a few miles and look at some boats at Great Hayward Marina. Rain was forecast and there had been a bit of the wet stuff earlier but it looked reasonably clear in a grey sky way. So we untied the ropes and as we pulled out another boat had got the Lock first. I went to help and all was good. That boat went down and as it was leaving the lock they called out there was a boat arriving to go up the Lock. Their crew (that is one person) arrived and the boat went in. It was a holiday rental but they were, or worked for, the company. The skipper called out to his wench to help me, the ‘lady’, close the gate as I was struggling to swing the gate as it was in a tight location with not enough safe room for the ‘butt’ push. (there was a yellow sign also stating the danger of lack of  space and to operate the gate from the side I was trying to swing it from). As I was walking past the boat, matey advised me that using your butt to push the gate is the favoured option. Well he got a mouthful from me as I take pride in my knowledgeable position as a veteran lockie! We didn’t bond.

And off we cruised in the direction of Great Haywood. There was the occasional Lock but no great shakes, I even had time to make a small batch of fruit and date scones. Della and I had to spend time indoors as the rain started to get heavier and Chris was wet weathered up so he could deal with the conditions. At the locks I had to take extra care as the surfaces were getting slippery.

Great Haywood Marina

We arrived at Great Haywood Marina and went to tie up near the office but we were told to moor on the pier next to two boats for sale. Chris got us in position to reverse alongside and I took the centre rope and stepped off on to the pontoon. I remember stepping on to the pontoon and I glided as my foot slipped on the wooden surface. Shoot, there was no way out of this! My feet were of no use and my bum was suspended, briefly over the water and gravity pulled me down. It was certain I was going to hit the water. Either that or I’d hit AM and the water! All I knew was I didn’t want what was happening to happen. I think having layers of warm clothing helped my entry into the water and I floated briefly. Chris says he saw me get off AM and then I disappeared! He realized I must have gone in and he put AM into neutral, then reached down and hauled me out of the water. Man I was in shock, I know that, and I was not happy at being so wet! A woman came over to check I was OK and I was, I was not in any mood to talk. My Tourettes took hold!! Thinking about it now, I was really lucky that Chris acted so fast and he was able to lift me out of the water.

As a result we ended up spending the night on a berth at the Marina. We had electricity and we could use their Launderette. I’m laughing about my Splish Splash, now, and have no aspirations to be a mermaid let alone repeat swimming in murky waters.

Almost back where we started so I'll finish before the inbetween. That will come later

So to make a cruising ring get finished. Here it is. We did the Wiggles, the Mannie, the Ashton & Peakey, stayed at Bugsworth, went down the Mackie, Thru the Harey and have stopped at Stone on The Trent & Mersy. We are a few days from Willies and I'll blog proper soon. But in case you were wondering we are A+W. Trick or treat??

NEVER MIND THE BOLLARDS, BRIDGES & BUTTS eh!!

Passing the Kellingley Colliery

Rising Coal

oh the power and the passion

And so we made it to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal following the Aire & Calder navigation which at times becomes part of the River Aire. Before we reached Castleford we had passed a couple of coal fired electricity plants and the Kellingley Colliery. Mounds of coal and high barbed wire fences were our view and I got camera snappy. How handy that a power plant was next door to the coal mine. It made me think of power usage and how our days of living without electricity, in Portugal, made me mindful of how much power gets wasted. I know I can be a pain (in many ways) and one of those is always turning out lights when no-one is in a room where the lights are turned on. On AM we charge up our leisure batteries when the engine is running and these power our low voltage lighting and shoreline fridge, and by using the inverter we can charge the mobile phones, computers, Twin Tub (not much thought of using this these days!!) and the hand held vac and the super KARCHER. The Karcher is my new essential gadget which sucks the condensation dripping down the windows on a cold morning! It is amazing how much water it sucks up.

M1 bridge over River Aire

We spent a day and the rest cruising along the ‘Navigation’. Some of this is the River Aire and we were lucky we had done this prior to the last heavy rains which closed the river for several days while it was on red alert. Arriving on the outskirts of Leeds was exciting and we knew we would be able to get visitor moorings at the centrally located Clarence Dock just after going through the final automated lock. We headed for empty moorings and got caught by the wind as we were reversing alongside a pontoon. It was a close call missing the contact sport with a moored boat and big thanks to a fellow Moorer who took the ropes and helped to secure us. Once tied up we found out we were in the Long term moorings and were supposed to be on the other side tie up and double berth to another boat. There was no way I wanted to move AM out in the wind and then not have easy access for family we were expecting to visit us. Word had it to stay where we were and if C&RT wanted us to move wait for them to come and tell us. We called into C&RT’s plush office nearby and the 2 receptionists told us the computer says “no” when we asked if we could pay for the mooring, or better still, speak with the person who was responsible for the moorings. So we decided bah humbug we’ll just squat! And so we did, perfect.

Next morning, with our Jayne aboard, we started our adventure on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Journey planned was Leeds to Kirkstall. Rain was in the air and we needed to get off the River Aire by going through River Lock which is the start of the L & L Canal. We went in the right direction but the Lock we saw didn’t look like it was in operation, no signage to identify it and no welcome to the Canal. So we continued on the Aire in the direction of the Railway station where the River must flow into the darkness below. We quickly decided this is not right so reversed back to the Lock and I alighted on to the smallest less bollarded platform I have seen and went to inspect. Yes it was ‘our’ lock and I got on with winding up the gate paddles to empty it. At the same time another Narrowboat came alongside AM, at speed, and banged into the gates. I heard the bang and yelled out a fighting response, in fright, to the boat I couldn’t see!

So began numero uno experience of locks on this canal. We are on the up hill climb. All manual operation…. anti-vandal keys to unlock, ground paddles and gate paddles to be wound. I can do gate paddles, no problem. I have had some dealings with ground paddles but not the same variety of mechanisms that are on this canal. The ground paddles have different operational techniques. The first ones had no instructions and I realize, now, that I turn them clockwise to open. Anticlockwise to close. Der! It would be helpful if the lock came with written instructions particularly the first lock. Ground paddles are always opened first to fill the lock and as the name implies the water surges in at ground level. Once the level has reached the sluice level on the gate, then you open the gate paddles. If you want to have a water fight with the bow end of your boat then open the gate sluices early on. The lock fills fast but the water spurts out at pressure and will wash your Bow if you are not paying attention. Best practice is for the boat to be held close to the back gates. Once the lock water level is level with the canal level then the gates can be open and boat leaves. Some of the gates are a back breaker to open. Some of the paddles are extra hard to open. Always remember to close the paddles and the gates and to BREATHE! Later on along the Cut you get the ground paddles, wooden ones, that need to be lifted up in one swift motion. If you get halfway and it stops then you need to try and push it back down so you can lift it, again, in one swift motion. That you haven’t fallen in, in the process is always worth praise! Hard hard work!

Bingley 5 Staircase Locks

Ground Paddles open & leaky gates

There's an AM on the rise

It's a long way up!

The staircase locks are manned at the Bingley 3 rise and the Bingley 5 rise Locks and a couple of the 2 rise locks. Lock Keepers are a valued necessity at these locks. We really needed them at a couple of other 2 rise staircase locks. I lost any cool I might ever have had at the Newlay 2 staircase lock. This particular staircase was in flood when I got to it but I couldn’t identify the problem so I just set to and opened the lower lock so AM could get in. The top lock appeared too full but I emptied it into the bottom lock so AM would be raised to get into the top lock. The top lock wouldn’t totally empty and AM was now floating dangerously on top of the lower lock. The gongoozlers were totally in the way, the youth appeared on their pushbikes and got a mouthful from me! I had to walk through the flooded edges of the bottom lock and get the gate paddles open again. I was mortified! I swapped places with Chris and sat on AM with Della and phoned the emergency services. They told me a Lock Keeper was on his way and would be there in 40 mins! The only place I didn’t want to be was where I was!! Some time later Chris managed to get equilibrium between the 2 locks and I steered AM into the top lock. It turns out the ground paddles at the top lock had not been closed but the anti vandal keys had been secured. Not so confusing, now, but that was a learning curve for me in my risk management assessment (or lack of). Do not assume other boaters know what they are doing!

Then there are the swing bridges! We have had to deal with more than 40 swing bridges. Most are manually operated needing an anti vandal key and the power of your butt and then ‘swing out sister’! One bridge needed 3 more people to assist me. It was a rural property and I was pleased it was a multicultural experience! A couple were semi automated bridges, read the instructions. Flashing lights and bells doesn’t mean the bridge is always on an automated opening system. Nup your butt will be the power of movement! There was one fully operational bridge that I couldn’t find where to insert the key!! The C&RT emergency service was able to locate it for me over the phone!

Along the way we broke down. Fuel was not getting through and AM limped to a stop outside a Boat yard, luckily. We had John, the mechanic who worked with Chris to identify the problem. Chris walked about 5 miles to get spare parts and the next day AM was purring again. Our fuel tank was not properly cleaned after the fiasco earlier in the year. Probably bits of dirty diesel got stirred up along the way and …….. I better understand how to use the kitchen.

Mandarin Duck we saw swimming along before Bingley 3 rise locks

Oh how we needed some rest and aimed for Skipton as our holiday mooring. The day before Skipton, high in the Yorkshire Moors, we spent the night at Kildwick. The following morning we had a chat with the vicar at the impressive CoE St Andrews Church which had an amazing graveyard with many aged tombstones. Some of the tombstones were used on the paths and the graveyard had been documented. Some of Chris’s family is from this area and likely they have been buried here in the 1700’s!!

Then we got to Skipton and spent about 5 days in the 3 day visitor moorings. What a pretty town with a market 4 days a week. Beautiful walks but probably too pricey for us to consider living here. The charity shops had too much stuff overpriced, I thought.

The new Lake District near Kildwick

Skipton

It was really nice playing the we are on holiday game. We did have a long walk back along the canal on the muddy tow path. I slipped over but no injury sustained. (My favourite shoes with no tread had to be replaced the next day!!) When it started raining, Della had to wear her new raincoat! She absolutely does not think a raincoat is needed in her world! We think differently and she will be wearing it, and its thermal liner when necessary, you can be sure. We walked to the village of Cononley, in the rain. Located a couple of houses where the Laycock’s of the 17C have lived and then popped into a local hostelry and were greeted with warmth. Della made a hit and had to have her photo taken with an admirer. We got the train back to Skipton. Sunday and a free ride!!

We were ready to move along the canal as the forecast looked promising for a few days. More likelihood of sunshine than rain. We were moving towards the highest point in our journey so that meant a few more locks. We teamed up with another Nb (Narrowboat). I think matey thought we were newbies and he was very helpful, so helpful, I switched off! Next day his wife worked the locks with me and we all got on a treat. Really nice people and again makes me realize what affect over helpfulness can have. Note to myself, only be helpful when it is asked for Sarah!!!!

We moored the night at Wilkinson’s Farm. There is a Livery there. Happy young women giggling about the naughty horses. The horses have a mechanized walking roundabout, so they can be exercised. At night we got the light show from the heap of steaming straw manure that was in a heap. There was no smell blown in our direction!

Wilkinsons Farm steaming pile

The Penine Way

The Yorkshire Moors are stunning and we were beside the towpath that is briefly a part of the Penine Way. A further 3 locks brought us into Lancashire. We refuelled, it is best to check out best value for red diesel and I steered us towards Foulridge where there is the traffic light operated tunnel. I am doing more steering these days. I think I am better than, last year, and can now get under bridges with more speed. Well that’s what I thought until Bridge 151. Bridge 151 is a sharp Left hand turn and the speed I approached it was too fast and I was too late in thrusting the lever into reverse and BANG I hit the Bow and BANG I hit the stern. We did take a few crumbs of bridge with us and I left Cptn Faithful to sort out the direction of AM. Still steel boat is OK and so are the glasses that got upturned in the cupboard.

We found excellent moorings at Foulridge.

In summary, a long blog, a physically exhausting canal, sore lower backs, more rain than sun, little traffic, radiators on board are working, beautiful countryside, friendly people and we are now on the down hill run.

Green means Go through the Foulridge Tunnel

THE KEY TO HOLDING UP TRAFFIC

I keep thinking about writing my Blog and that is pretty much where it stays in ‘Thinkland’, but the time has come for pen to paper then finger to keyboard and all (well all I want to write) will be written.

We are on to Day 12 of our Avalon Mist ninety day 2012 Canal adventure. We have given summer every chance to arrive but summer seems to have been “packing a sad” this year in Blighty. We did escape the wettest drought for a few weeks in July when we took our ‘Boat-on-Wheels’ on an 8000km drive through France, Spain & Portugal. We do have a tendency to keep on the move and we did find summer halfway through France and then melted when we got to Spain and Portugal. The air-con made a marked improvement in our comfort although Della needed the coolness of a wet towel to cope with the sun beaming through the car windows. When I think back to those years we used to drive in these countries with no air-con….. a plastic water- filled spray bottle and open windows were our cooling system.

We had happy days with our friends and neighbours in Portugal. We so enjoyed our stay at Encontro de Amigos (our former local bar/restaurant), it was like we had never left. And then as quickly as we arrived we were on the road again.

For anyone interested in pet travel between Europe and the UK, we found the process worked favourably using the Pet Passport scheme. Last century, there was a 6 month quarantine period for any dog entering Britain from Europe! Della has her Pet Passport and all we had to do was make sure she visited a Vet between 24 hours and 5 days prior to entering England and have her microchip read, give her a tasty worm tablet (it must be Drontal) and ensure she was in good health. We did this in Portugal and cost €30. At Calais, the ferry company dot the I’s and cross the T’s, read the microchip and ask us to place a big sticker on the windscreen with ANIMAL written on it (and this is an extra £30 included in the ferry ticket). There were no further checks when we landed at Dover.

So Europe summer escape completed, we decided that rain or shine, it was time to get moving on AM and to begin heading up canals and rivers in a northerly direction. On September 1^st our time was up at Mercia Marina and off we cruised on to the Trent & Mersey Canal heading the short distance to join the River Trent. We have passed through Nottingham via the Beeston Cut (the only way to get back on the River Trent), gone through Newark-on-Trent (we like that town) and turned in at the Fossdyke Navigation with a relatively straight run to Lincoln. There are many ‘tupperware’ boats (aka ‘plastic fantastic’ boats) moored up, as well as Dutch Barges. The canal leads to Boston and out to sea. There isn’t any Tea Party at this Boston, I am told.We winded and headed back to Torksey Lock.

Let’s talk about Locks baby….. I know I’ve blogged a lot about locks in last years travels and that some of my beautiful lady friends find it a tad on the boring side to read – but locks are dangerous and important and on the tidal River Trent are operated mostly by men from the Canals and River Trust (CART), the former British Waterways (BW). We did hear there is one woman Lock Keeper but didn’t meet her as she was unwell. Cromwell Lock is the beginning of the tidal river, all straight forward and the Lock Keepers along the way book you with the next lock, and work with the right timing of the ‘flood’ or ‘ebb’ tide so we can get to the next lock with every chance of being able to get there safely. He also phones ahead to the next lock to let them know your E.T.A and find out what traffic we may encounter along the way. Torksey Lock was straight forward enough as there was a little inlet to the lock gates and, if you don’t want to go up the lock, there are floating pontoons to moor on. To head back on the River again you need to book with the Lock Keeper. Leaving Torksey the narrowboat we shared the lock with had Captain ‘Diamond geezer’ from Essex. Not my cuppa tea, he knew everything although he’d never taken his boat the direction we were going, he didn’t have river charts and he didn’t know how to wear a life jacket so he didn’t wear one! He wanted us to follow them!! We let them race ahead. Stockwith Lock was potentially a boat banger. The Lock Keeper was essential in yelling out directions to Chris to steer into the lock without the pull of the ebb tide causing us to knock on the wall! (I stayed indoors and did not offer any unhelpful advice). Amazing and they scored him 10/10.

From Stockwith Lock (gateway to the Chesterfield Canal- it’s worth writing about in a later blog) we made our final River journey to Keadby Lock. Keadby Lock is sometimes blocked by a sand bank but all was clear for us. Chris started turning some metres before the Lock and I had to call out to him, from the Bow, to check he had seen the Lock. He had and he was using the ebb tide to help draw him close to the Lock Gates. Della and I sat in the Bow until I thought we had better move indoors because I was 99.9% sure we were going to have contact with the concrete wall. But we missed and, again, passed through the gates (not the ‘pearly’ ones!!) I felt elated. Exceptionally well done Chris. The Tidal Trent is 45 ½ miles.

The weather indicated the start of an Indian summer and, now on Day 12 (as I first wrote this) we are moving with rain falling. We are on the South Yorkshire Navigation and teamed up with Roger in his narrowboat. Our mate, Ian, who is travelling with Roger for this leg arranged that we should travel together for this leg as there are 7 bridges to operate and easier to share the load. I have just operated my first swing bridge, this year, with the BW Key. There was a bloke in the booth near the bridge operation box and he didn’t appear until I had turned my key clockwise. He shut the rail barrier gates and indicated I needed to shut the road barrier gate at the far end of the bridge. I had tried to shut it on the way to the machine, but obviously the key needs to be turned to unlock it. So I walked back (yes it is raining but not heavily) and try to shut the gate but it wasn’t budging so I return to the machine and Mr ‘Helpful’ says I have to shut the gate manually, so I return to the gate (feeling blonder with every return trip) I returned to the machine and pressed OPEN and nothing happened. Mr ‘Helpful’ said the gate I closed is not shut properly. So I walk back and make sure it is properly shut. I am getting a little edgy. Back to my bleeding machine and I press OPEN and it opens. Boats go through. I press CLOSE. Bridge swings close. I walk to open road gate and gate won’t budge. Back to machine and Mr ‘Helpful’ says you have got to turn off key and wait for motor sound to subside. Turn off key, walk to gate, open gate, walk back to machine, remove BW Key, Walk to AM and get on board, think “Fit not Fat”.

The rain got heavier, Roger did the next bridge and then it was my turn again. I thought that it would be straightforward but no it freaking wasn’t. This was no OPEN & SHUT machine job. This was manual! The key would only unlock the road gates so I could physically shut them. If they weren’t shut properly I couldn’t physically lift the bridge unlock mechanism. I got WET, saturated from the thigh down. I ranted and raved and thought I had been set up. I checked the gates, some evil force had meant one gate wasn’t holding in place. I ranted more. Then I managed to get back to the lever and it lifted about 10cm and locked into place. I knew I had released the locking mechanism but I wasn’t sure if this was a swing or a lift bridge. Eventually I worked out that it was a swing bridge and I had to use bum force to put pressure on the fancy steel lever to swing the bridge around. I got stuck on ‘F’ in the alphabet and the boat people knew I was not happy and the rain was not putting out my fiery temper. After I restored the bridge to its functional position I walked to AM, boarded, Shut the door and removed my wet gear. I squeezed out my trousers in the kitchen sink and put them back on.

I had one bridge left to work. The rain stopped and the bridge was fully automated, it even had red flashing lights, automatic road gates and I calmed down. The boats went through and we headed to Thorne and the final bridge. The other boat stopped to work that one and it didn’t work. They had to phone CART, who turned up 15 minutes later.

If you think life on a narrowboat is like sailing down the river on a Sunday or sunny afternoon, it is not!!

3 July 2012

LONG TO RAIN OVER US

Blogland should be renamed Bogland. Cos’ when you step outside the 4 steel walls on water, you enter the wetness of the day, and the ground is sodden once you leave the pontoon. We have just fininshed the wettest 2 months in the recorded history of weather. I remember in the late ‘80s visiting Scotland and having a giggle at the Postcard that photographed Scotland in the rain with words to the effect of ‘Scotland on a good day’. Well that postcard would be appropriate to the Midlands.  

Needless to say it is now July and the weather shows no change.

We did have a day out cruising on AM last Friday when we went to Willington to collect Geoff and Jane. There was a bit of sunshine, that afternoon, and we thought we’d wind at Willington and then moor up to walk to the train station. We approached the Winding hole and were greeted, unexpectedly, by Isle of Aran, who had moored in prime position. So Chris moved AM alongside so we could double berth while we popped over to meet our friends.

Willington Train Station is just the railway track and 2 platforms. We climbed up the stairs to the platform and saw a chap, with a video camera on a stand which was close to the edge of the platform. I thought I may as well find out about the attraction of photographing trains, while we were waiting. What a nice man, he was mega enthusiastic about trainspotting and had been for some years. In his working life he said he had been a surgeon. I asked him if he was Mack the knife! To continue, he talked of all the wonderful train journeys he had taken in many places around the world. Some of them involved his day job but the locations sounded exotic. Anyway he looked so happy to be trainspotting. He said there is a big demand for photos of trains. I had no idea!

We walked with our friends to AM, got on board, Chris started the engine and we released ourselves from Isle of Aran. It was very pleasant cruising along, and enjoying the feel of AM on the move. A little while later we came to Stenson Lock. Our plan was to head from there to the next Lock and wind. So that’s what we did.

 I jumped ship with Della  shortly before Swarkstone Lock, thinking I could take Della for a walk and meet up with AM as she returned to Stenson. I called out to a passing narrowboat and the people on board said there was no winding at Swarkstone, we would have to go down the lock. I ran back in the direction of AM in case we had to go down the Lock. Thinking about it, now, I should have just left Chris to it. But we ended up going down the Lock. It was a real hard lock to work. Not only are the paddles difficult to turn, one of the gates is impossible to close singlehandedly for a woman of my age! We had to go, nearly a mile along the canal to get to the winding hole. Knowing that the speed of a canal-going boat is just slower than a fast walking pace, time was not on our side. We realized that the planned dinner out was a no-go, so I had to make a dinner I hadn’t planned on making. Yes the dinner was good, I have the best kitchen to work in.

I have emailed Canals&Rivers Trust (CART) formerly known as British Waterways about the Swarkstone episode. Copies of these will fill out my Blog….

Dear sir/madam,

Please will you explain to me why the Winding hole above Swarkestone Lock (which is marked on the Nicholson's waterways guide) is no longer allowed to be used. (I can only assume that the boat club have taken ownership of this part of the canal. Yesterday, we had planned to 'wind' at this point and head back to Willington. It was 5.30 pm when we arrived at the lock, and we would have had ample time to Wind and return to Willington where we had arranged to meet friends. A notice, in situ, from British Waterways stated that 'winding' was not allowed. We were extremely unhappy about this but went down the lock to the next winding hole before Bridge 11 (Sarson's Bridge). Swarkestone Lock is extremely difficult to work and is in need of urgent repair. One of the gates is impossible to close single handedly, and is dangerous. We last used this Winding point in September 2011 and had planned our journey with this in mind.

I await your reply

Thank you for your email dated 30^th June with regard to Swarkstone lock.

With regard to the condition of swarkstone Lock. We are aware at the waterway of the issue with the downstream lock cill and the imbalance of the lock gate. We have panned in the winter stoppage to try to address both the gate balance issue and the Cill which should improve the operation of the lock significantly.

With regards to the winding hole. I have reviewed our current information provided on www.waterscape.com at  Swarkstone lock there are no winding holes identified. As I am sure you can understand the Nicholson's guide can only publish what there are aware of and we cannot guarantee that the information they contain is accurate. I have spoken to the supervisor who has looked after that area and as far as he can remember the sign has always been there with regards the “no winding”.

If you require any further information please contact me.

Oh well I suppose we’ll wind where we’re not supposed to wind, now, like everyone else does. I’ve written them my response. Oh, you can’t see it.

Jane, Chris, Geoff

We have been staying up until now at the Marina. Initially we knew we had to get work done to AM. The past few weeks we have been hanging out so I can play Ukulele at the Marina open weekend. Now we are days away from the event and 3 of us from the local Uke workshop are doing a ½ hour gig on Sat and probably Sun. I thought it would be fun to get out and play the Uke and have a wee sing. Oh the weather forecast is heavy showers, sun and cloud.  

You Always Take The Weather With you.

28 June 2012

The early evening of the 27^th hosted blue sunny calm skies and Chris raised the cratch cover over the Bow so we could enjoy open views and watch Dave, our smiling neighbour, throwing his maggots and casting his rod.

Dusk turned to night, the air was humid and the Bow was uncovered. I woke in the mid early morning (0330) and heard rain falling. I commented to Chris (“It’s raining.”)And then I thought I should go and check it out. It was definitely raining and I decided to let the cratch cover down and secure it almost water tight. I won’t tell you what I rescued on the Bow from the prospect of the Dryer. No heroics. There were minor measures I could make but I figured it was no big deal. This morning I got it all sorted and the rain had stopped. Feeling confident we were back to normal under these persistent rainy conditions, I was not concerned about the darkening skies and a bit of thunder and lightning don’t bother us, including Della. With the Electrical storm passing, I did think I was glad we weren’t the tallest boat in the Marina, and we didn’t have a mounted steel pole on the roof.

I’ve been in electrical storms that I remember spooked me when we lived in Portugal but they passed by. October 26 1997 was the mother of all storms.(One of the worst floods ever recorded in our district) A 5 hour Mother Nature Extravaganza resulted in nearly 280mm of rainfall that caused widespread destruction along our region’s valleys. I remember waking up in the middle of the night being in the midst of an electrical storm. I did have my earplugs in so the sound was there but subdued. Lightning lit up 3 sides of the house. (The back wall didn’t have windows!) Then throughout the night I woke to the sound of heavy unrelenting rain and it was miserable. At first light Chris got up to investigate. He came back perplexed as he described the state of our lower terraces. A massive river raged and our Well (our water source) was buried, The uprooted floating trees had had a hammer-like attack on any obstacle that was in their way. That was some storm and our valley was temporarily decimated.

So, today, the storm that passed over the Marina was heavy but for me, not scary. It has caused some damage in the local shires but not in our boat world. A nearby ‘Boat- on -Wheels’, as I call it, car park is slightly under water and drivers need to wear gumboots (yes I know you Poms call them Wellingtons) or webbed feet to get to their 4 wheels. Feelings on the Marina were grave as to the severity of the storm and some people I spoke with thought it was the worst storm they’d experienced. We are lucky that Della doesn’t react to the sound of thunder or fireworks. She’ll just sigh and go back to sleep, although 5 November, last year, I remember she went outside to check the boundaries while the mini explosions were in full swing. No negative aftereffects for her!

The journey of the Olympic Flame is approaching us. It arrives in Derby, tomorrow and then passes nearby us on Saturday. We’ll be pressed to catch it but we are thinking a journey up canal to Burton-Upon-Trent on Saturday is highly likely. By the time we get to Burton, the flame will be heading in the direction of Melton Mowbray (Pork Pie land). We have Geoff & Jane arriving, tomorrow, for an overnighter. So we are planning to give them a gentle Canal-taster. If the weather can be a little kind we will pick them up by A.M. in Willington and then head to Stenson Lock and a little beyond. Della is keen to go to our local, tomorrow night, so we’ll ‘wind’ and return to the Marina. With favourable weather conditions on Saturday we’ll head towards Burton and see if they can track down the Olympic Flame. If the weather is infavourable we won’t go to Burton!

It's raining again and if it's not it will be raining again.

We are now feeling comfortable, living in the Marina and enjoying the home-feel of AM. We seem to have had more days on dry land rather than constantly working on AM improvements. and we have enjoyed plenty of drives and walks since Della has arrived.Many trips exploring the Derbyshire countryside, the beauty of the Peak District and appreciating the local walks afoot from Mercia Marina.

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Apart from the ‘pump-out’ trips we did go out for a couple of nights on the “Cut” in AM.

We are, now planning a 3 month adventure canal adventure  around the Penine Ring. By all accounts  the wettest drought is over and the water levels should be favourable to the Northern canals and we can cruise on A.M and make it, dare I say, a holiday. And Della is on board….

Della appears at ease with AM, and seems calm on the Bow. She has a ‘throne-like seat/bed from where she can see and smell what’s going on. She wears her harness and is attached to AM  so that any jump, be it voluntary or an accident,  into the water we can easily pull her back on board.  Della is interested in coots and ducks but has not attempted to get up close and personal while she is on A.M. (I think it’s OK for her to clear them off the Towpath when we are walking as it saves them from being run over by cyclists!). The Swans and the Canadian Geese are hissy and snake their heads in an aggressive manner to ward off  DOG. And then, talking of swans, today I had just lined up Della for a photo shoot on our pontoon, without her lead on, and 3 photos into the shoot, a couple of swans snaked their heads with full blown hissy beaks towards Della. She nearly jumped out of her skin and made to race off. I calmly called her back in-between expletives!! The photo shoot ended abruptly.

Adventures are on hold as my Ukulele Workshop have a gig at the Marina Open Weekend, and I have said I will participate!! My chance to perform with anonymity!!

We have had a few visitors to AM and some have even dared to stay on board. I am loving “my” kitchen and can cater for 4 with ease. The Air bed which we carried around with us for the past year was not successful, too cold and took up too much room. No complaints about the sofabed. Keith-who-can-sleep-anywhere thought that it was easier to sleep on the floor rather than move furniture around. (Chris almost lost his toenail, the first time the sofa was being put into position. His toenail is now guaranteed to fall off in due course. Ouch!) Thanks to Keith & Tony’s feedback  we have, now, repositioned the dining / living room furniture and it will be a lot easier to transform the living room into a bedroom.

Next guests are Geoff and Jane. They will be here the day The Olympic Torch passes from Derby to Birmingham.

Meanwhile Chris is the resident AM  painter and the organic camouflage is slowly being painted. She is looking great and it will be fab when we can get her AM sign in situ.

Anyways my Blogville will return with more entries, very soon.