A struggle into Wigrams then lucky with moorings at Braunston

Napton to Braunston, Oxford Canal, 7.5 miles 1 lock

Just the one lock to do this morning when we pulled the pins, and as we left, NB Shalamar pulled into our mooring of the last two days.  We almost bought Shalamar from Virginia Curry at Slough when we first were on the lookout to buy a livaboard.. a beautiful narrowboat, one with a vintage engine and vintage controls, not like the throttle lever we have on this modern boat.  But at the time we felt that we did not have the experience to handle that sort of boat, and in any case she was 70 foot long.. too long to take to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.. that was one canal we really wanted to do.  Of course we have now done that, and even now our boat of today, No Problem, is 67 foot long, and that is also too long to fit in the locks over the Pennines.  We decided last year that we would not be wanting to travel on that canal again..

Oh, here is the pic of the Nicholson Guide that I have that I tried to emulate the picture of on the front.  You can just about see that BW barge on the left above the lock.. wonder if it has ever moved!! ..

Oh and also, I forgot last night to introduce you to our Fred.. As I had said the other night..

Popped into the marina there to get a couple of bulbs that had blown, and also to pick up another ‘Fred’… Now the old ‘Fred’ had been left on Tara and a couple of the grandchildren wanted to keep him.  Well girls, I had to get a new ‘Fred’ to go with the new No Problem.. I will take a photo tomorrow for your approval.. Tis our secret until the next blog as to who or what ‘Fred’ is then!

So here he is for your approval girls..

He needs a cork to sit on though. and no doubt I will get one as it is party night on NB Balmaha later!

It sure was windy today.. well that is my excuse anyway as I tried my best to turn right into Wigrams Marina.. missed!.. I always miss these marina entrances.  I am useless at turning into them.  I seem to turn far too late… but with a bit of a fiddle it wasn’t long ‘till No Problem was through the gap and heading towards the wharf at the far end.  Our first pump out today of the ‘grey tank’.  Trouble is there is no way of knowing just how full it is.. I think we might invest in a gauge of some sort.. I would hate to have it full up.. but we do have a cassette type loo now just in case it ever did get full..

“Braunston is full up” came the message from Vanessa who was moored with Balmaha in Braunston.. But as we got closer a lot of boats came past us, and I asked if there was some sort of mass exodus of the place.. “We have just come out of a space outside the Mill House” said one boater.. perfect, as long as nobody else got there first.. but still more boats were coming out, and in the end there was plenty of spaces as we arrived… Moored opposite the Mill House then..

I remember this place back in the 70’s when we used to come here on our hireboat holiday.. it was called the Rose and Castle then, and had wooden planked jetties outside.  We would ‘double park’ or even three abreast it was so popular.  In the morning after a good night out we would not be able to move until the one in front or outside of us had left.. they also had a narrowboat where you could have dinner if I remember rightly.. caught some good fish off the jetties.. ho hum, memories, memories..

All the moorings are now full up in Braunston …

It is nice to see the sun after a couple of hefty downpours on the way here today.. stuck my camera though a port hole a little further along and…

Hey it’s Mo and Vanessa aboard this boat…

Gonna take Lucy for a quick stroll along the towpath, then need to get ready to party…

Napton doesn't change much..

Today – Moored Napton
Yesterday – Knotts Bridge to Napton, Oxford Canal 6.5 miles 7 locks

Before pulling the pins yesterday morning I took Lucy for a quick walk along the towpath.  Well I tried to take her, but there was hardly any path to be seen!  Lucy is in there somewhere! ..

I would have thought that British Waterways would have kept the towpaths clear at least.  We have found that the towpath edge of the canal has been left overgrown in most places except where there are posts declaring moorings for a certain number of hours or days.  Seems that is all they are clearing at the moment.  I note too that sub-contractors are doing the majority of the work and not BW themselves.. more evidence of lack of funding me thinks..

A very pleasant day yesterday which saw us meet up with our good friend John Sinclair before reaching the top of the Napton Locks at Marston Doles so we were able to have a good chat before getting out the windlasses to tackle the flight.. Here Hotel boats Snipe and Taurus leaving the top lock as we arrived.. It was nice to see the pair together and still operating as hotel boats, (they were up for sale back in 2005, to be sold separately) although they had only a few customers on this particular trip.  They were looking in great shape.

An unusual sight half way down.. buffalo..

I certainly would not like to walk through that field especially as they had calves.. those horns looked lethal, although these buffalo are suppose to be very docile and friendly.  The herd started with 20 animals but now it is a huge herd.  They are farmed here along the banks of the canal, and meat and burgers, cheese and yoghurt can be bought online.. although their website is being updated as I write.  Apparently their milk is very low in fat and makes excellent ice cream!

A couple of hours saw us at the bottom of the flight.. well almost, we made a decision to stop on the temporary visitor moorings just above the bottom lock.. It sure was busy with lots of boats up and down today.  On with the glad rags then, and off to the Blue Lias at Stockton. John had parked his car at Napton before walking up to meet us.. The Blue Lias is one of his favourite eating houses.. hey the food was excellent and we had an absolutely lovely evening.. thanks John, thoroughly enjoyed we did..

Today we spent relaxing aboard.  I walked up the flight just before lunch to meet Chas and Ann on NB Moore2Life who had stayed at Knotts Bridge the evening before.. then popped up the hill this afternoon to get this pic which is the same almost as the one on my Book 3 of Nicholson’s Guides (1977).  I have always wanted to get a similar photo, and here it is.  My guide is an older one, not the new 2006 one.

It hasn’t changed much from the picture on the guide book.. in fact the blue British Waterways barge just the far side of the lock on the left is also in the guide book pic!.. Braunston tomorrow then.. and I do believe it will be party night as we meet up with our friends Mo and Ness on NB Balmaha 

Hooray, I now have someone to pull the pins at Cropredy!

Cropredy to Knotts Bridge (130), Oxford Canal, 8 miles 8 locks

Look who is on the front of No Problem pulling the pins this morning…

It seems an age since he has done that, and what an enjoyable day we have had just the two of us on ONE narrowboat, the last six months we have had a ‘his and hers’ narrowboat.  You can see too that the flowers on the top of No Problem are superb again this year.  Those trailing petunias certainly do make a lovely display.  I guess they are going to do what they did last year and cover the whole of the roof sideways on the boat.

Trouble is that Vic is already complaining that he can’t see over them.. I think I will have to get his saw bench outside so he can stand on that to look over the top!

It took over an hour to get through the first lock this morning.. there were two boats in front of us when we got to it, and by the time it was our turn there was a queue of 4 boats behind us waiting.  I remember last year when we were over in East Anglia not seeing a boat from one day to the next reading other blogs and tales of waiting hours to get through locks.. getting going at 5am to miss the queues.. now I am part of that.. not sure that I am that keen on queue-queue though..

A year of change for us though, we have some things we want to do this year, but I guess we will be off back to the beautiful rivers and lodes in the east again next year.. so very different from the congested canals, ho hum….

Wasn’t too long though ‘till we passed the scarecrow place.  Normally there are rows of scarecrows leant up against a barn building, but today somebody had stuck them all in the field close by.. such a lovely sight as you pass, very unusual.. hope all you grandchildren like this pic..

Don’t think many birds will chance landing in this field somehow!

Claydon Locks are tough.. they are always tough, the paddle gear is really hard to raise.  Luckily we have one of Alex’s ratchet windlasses which makes light work of lifting them, much to the amazement of others passing up and down, as we effortlessly wind the paddles with one hand.. showing off really we were!..  

Many asked where they could lay their hands on one.. they can be bought at Broadmoor Lock just north of Cropredy or you could email Alex himself (alex.aston-at-tiscali.co.uk) replacing the -at– with an @ .  They are a ‘must have’ item aboard for stiff paddle gear for sure.

Wasn’t long before we were at the top of the Claydon Flight..

Once again meeting a boat on the way down.. it sure was busy today.  Not surprised though, after all the rain, people making hay etc..

The cuts that the waterways are having to suffer because of DEFRA is showing.. especially on the towpaths.  Very overgrown, not only that but the overhanging trees and branches are causing problems along with quite a bit of the canal that was in bad need of dredging today.. here is an instance of lack of proper maintenance..

Instead of repairing this bridge it has been pointed!!  It is in a terrible state.. I wondered how long it would stay in one piece.  In fact it was Alex who told me about this bridge, we met briefly at the waterpoint at Fenny Compton today.. fond fair well from us to Alex until next year.. great guy is Alex

Popped into the marina there to get a couple of bulbs that had blown, and also to pick up another ‘Fred’… Now the old ‘Fred’ had been left on Tara and a couple of the grandchildren wanted to keep him.  Well girls, I had to get a new ‘Fred’ to go with the new No Problem.. I will take a photo tomorrow for your approval.. Tis our secret until the next blog as to who or what ‘Fred’ is then!

It was a bit late when we knocked the pins in at a lovely remote location on the long pound between the Claydon and Napton lock flights.. Lucy was wanting to walk..

I needed to do a Tesco order..

In the end I did both before the light faded on a very enjoyable day..

Big sigh as we say a fond bye bye to Tara at Cropredy

Weekend – Moored Cropredy, Oxford Canal

Daughter Wendie and the family visited at the weekend with the rest of the upholstery, a chest of drawers and some bedding.. forgot the radiator grills though, but no worry, we will wait for those until the next time.  It has been impossible for me to find any where we have been, but there are plenty ‘dan saff’.. and here we are, the grandchildren go to bed for the first time on No Problem..

They loved their own cabin and beds on Saturday night, and Vic took their Mum and Dad over to the pub here in Cropredy while I stayed with the little ones.  Mind you they sure did crash out..

Some of Sunday was spent changing our chairs in the saloon.  We haven’t had them long, and one of them collapsed the other day spraying pieces of metal all over the place, luckily none embedding in anyone’s skin.  I took those back to Focus in Banbury suggesting that they should be a recall on them because they were so dangerous.

Luckily they had some other chairs of a different design that were really comfortable, so we bought those instead.. very handy having the family van here this weekend for sure.

And here she goes…

The new owner taking our narrowboat of 4 years away from her mooring here at Cropredy with our new No Problem being left in the background.  Walking to the first lock, we helped him lock through before a final wave goodbye..

Wonder when we will see her again.. and she left in the sunshine, not a lot of places got any of that today.. glad we were not ‘up norff’.  When I switched my computer on this evening I had 22 emails from Waterscape telling of stoppages around the country on the canals and rivers.  Mainly for flooding, even one from the Trent and Mersey Canal..

The following advice has been announced:

Trent & Mersey Canal
High water levels at Fradley
Date: 25/06/2007 until further notice

Description:
Due to heavy rainfall boaters are being advised to proceed with caution
along the stretch of the Trent & Mersey Canal near Fradley.


As soon as water levels change we will update this information. British

Waterways apologises for any inconvenience caused.

In fact the rivers Severn, Soar, Trent, Aire, Ouse and Derwent are all closed to navigation at the moment along with a number of canals in the north.  We can see the river Cherwell from here, usually a tiny river at this stage, but it has burst it’s banks and has spread over the fields.

Off up the canal tomorrow, the weather doesn’t look too bad for us.. need to be in Braunston at the weekend to party with Mo and Ness of NB Balmahahahaha who are going to wait for us to arrive before they travel on ‘up norff’ for the rest of the summer.. 

The longest day in Cropredy and something fishy is going on!

Moored Cropredy, Oxford Canal

I been busy the last few days, sorry for no blog.

The last bits of spit and polish for Tara (NP1) before her new owner came up yesterday to take a final view and take over our narrowboat of 4 years. 

The paper work completed today.

He will be away on Monday morning to take her to her new home on the Worc and Birmingham Canal.

Well Tara’s new owner is an experienced fisherman, even on the GB team for three years, so I gave him my extremely basic rod, a size 12 hook, a bit of bread and told him to try catch a carp.  Within 5 minutes he had one on the hook.. he couldn’t believe the size of the fish in the canal..

Heh you can see he knows about fishing.. look at the way he holds the fish!! .. anyway I topped that this evening and caught another two between 9.30 and 10pm! .. one was 14–16 lbs.. massive!!

Bones asked what kind of fish these are, well the one above I think is a mirror carp, but the large one I caught this evening was a common carp.

So if you are travelling through Cropredy, get yourself a loaf of bread, a pole out the bushes, a hook and a bit of line.. that should do!

Ah, we have had some fun fishing here..

Now that I have handed over Tara I can go back to concentrating on my own boat, which has been neglected over the last few days.. got some trims to do and some varnish to paint on.. then I think it will be time for a break from all this building stuff and enjoy the countryside and a bit of cruising along the canal.. will be nice for me to have Vic on the same boat as me.. huh cant remember the last time we actually travelled together!!

I like Cropredy and the Cropredy fish must like me!

Weekend and today, Moored Cropredy, Oxford Canal

Well over the weekend we finally managed to finish all the construction of the fit out on No Problem.  All that is left now is the bits and bobs of trimmings, varnishings and the like.. just smallish job jobies ‘when one feels like it’ type attitude stuff!

I am over the moon with the end product.. just how I had envisaged last year when we thought about getting a different boat..

I have had fun with moving stuff around over the weekend, as the last of the cupboards and shelving was built in place so I could shift things from one place freeing that up for other things that were in another place waiting for their real home.. hey my larder is now virtually empty.. and there is tons of room in one of the back store cupboards..

Later in the week I will put up a series of ‘before and after’ pics.. but for now been a bit busy to even get on the computer till later in the evening let alone do pics!

Ah but today I decided to take some time out, well this evening actually, I thought I would stick my rod out for a while.. Vic had Eastenders on.. I get fed up with all the shouting and screaming on that, so grabbed a bit of farmhouse bread as bait and daydreamed of better weather when suddenly.. WOW!.. then 7 minutes later and with the help of Annie of NB Moore2Life who was expertly on landing net duty this evening with me…

Yeah!!.. What’s that then?  6 or 7lbs?.. anyway it took about 5–7 minutes to land on a size 16 barbless hook no less! (tiny weeny hook to anyone not in the no that catches tiddlers normally!). Thanks Annie for the pic from your camera..

I said to Vic, “Heh bet that brings Danny up this next weekend for a bit of a rod dangle!”

I enjoyed that!

Pickers paradise at Bourton Lock on the way to Cropredy

Banbury to Cropredy, Oxford Canal, 4.5 miles 3 locks

Oh it has been a long day today.. seemingly.  We pulled the pins on Banbury this morning in convoy.  Moore2Life leading the way, with Vic next with NP1 and then me at the back with NP, much to the amusement of the moored boats that were close to us.  One boat was just about to move when he saw us coming, and didn’t pull out in front, just making a comment to me under his breath about “Just my luck to be going just as you lot were”!..

Heh, we let him pass us all at the first lock.. well we were not in a hurry.  Oh and here is the reason why we can’t get in to moor for the Tesco store…

You can see it is sooooooo overgrown.  We used to be able to moor here and walk along a path from the mooring, through a gate onto the road right opposite Tesco.. Not now though, Grrrrrrrrrr

Not long after taking this photo, I tried to take another of a goat no less, I missed that, as one does with digital cameras, and went another 100 yards before I realised my camera case was missing..  I must have knocked overboard my camera case.. I was devistated, I loved that case.. decision made, I called to Annie who was walking and asked her to catch a rope while I went back to try and grab it from the canal.. the boater who got stuck behind us in Banbury confirmed that “Yes we saw a camera case, and Yes it is still floating”..  We moored the boat and went back together along with my fishing landing net and a boat pole.

Got it I did.. had to go over a rickerty bridge and through a flock of geese, but I got it, and it wasn’t long till we caught up with the convoy to do the first lock…

Onward to the next, Bourton Lock.  I got there first.. somehow I jumped the two boats in front locking through and moored up alone.  I went up to get the lock ready for one of them and saw one coming south.. the lock was all but full so filled it up and opened the gate for them.. While waiting for them to lock through I noticed on the far side of the lock some raspberries.. the lock cottage was now empty.. I wondered what happened to the older lady that used to live there, for sure she was not there now with closed curtains in the windows, it was abandoned.  Her garden was always beautiful, but now it was overgrown badly, all the fruit and herbs on the far side of the lock was growing wild.. I picked away at the raspberries, blackcurrents and various herbs including some bay leaves which I will dry out..

I managed to pick enough fruit for a small pie, but in a weeks time there will be an abundance of fruit.. so if you are passing look out for that lot..

Spent about an hour at the lock getting the three boats through.. it was busy, and there were a lot of narrowboats coming south today.

Called in at ‘the services’ at Cropredy, and met an American couple who read the blog over in the States.  They come over here twice a year for a month or so on our canals.. “We get our daily fix from you when in the States”.. Lovely people they were.  Then the heavens opened with a thunderstom right over the top.. we all ran for cover…

Just about to leave when Vic heard his name called “See you tomorrow Vic”.. from a car passing on the bridge.. Must have been Alex!.. For sure we don’t know anyone else in Cropredy!.. See you tomorrow Alex, looking forward to it then!

Just on our way through the lock at Cropredy when Tesco called.. “Just coming now” Says he.. So took the delivery while in the lock!..

Well that was a bit different, and it drew the attention of all the moorers at Cropredy.. I think they were just facinated how we can just moor in a lock and take a Tesco delivery.. magic stuff I bet they thought!

All the curtains are now up, so another job done, although I will need to do a bit of TLC on them later… I need to make them look a bit better.. they are OK for now..

Vic washed NP1 before bringing her up the locks to moor up close to No Problem.. she looks a bit better now.. Jeeeeez what a state she got into under those trees in Banbury.. ha with all the rain today to be honest it wasn’t too long ‘till Vic got her spick and span again.  This weekend I will probably spend some time inside NP1 making her ready for the new owner to take her over.. he has been on holiday in Spain.. should be due back soon I guess, and ready to take his new boat Tara (NP1) onward. 

Curtains, curtains everywhere in Banbury

Moored Banbury, Oxford Canal

11 pairs of curtains to pull up and put up I have!

I have done a couple of the windows this evening so I could put a pic on the blog.  I know the curtain makers want to see what they look like aboard No Problem, and we have the dinette upholstery too…

I didn’t ‘dress’ the curtains properly yet, just have been putting them up, so sorry if they look a bit untidy.. but don’t worry you curtain makers, they are straight, it’s just me not hanging them correctly.. I’ll do some more pics tomorrow in the light

I was gutted today when Ann of NB Moore2Life told me that a boat called Milly M passed and asked if I was around.  Fancy missing Maffi, unbelievable.  I have been waiting and watching to make sure I would not miss him, and had no idea Milly M was anywhere near Banbury.. So sorry to have missed you Maffi, I was looking forward to meeting you and perhaps chatting on a few ‘continuous cruiser’ issues amongst other things.

That’s two people in the last month I have wanted to meet, I missed Bones at Abingdon on the Thames not long ago.. never mind another time I expect

Vic picked up the two batteries for Tara while I was away, so we are ready now to go on to Cropredy tomorrow.  Be nice to be on the move again, we seem to have been in Banbury a long time.. Just hope we find some moorings for the narrowboats, we have Mr Tesco delivering in the late afternoon. 

Still in Banbury after all..

Banbury Centre to Banbury Snowball Park, Oxford Canal, 1/2 mile

Well we had good intentions of going to Cropredy today but only managed 1/2 a mile.  We called in at Sovereign Boatyard to purchase some new batteries.  We wanted 4 of them, and they only had 2, with more coming tomorrow.  The price at £55 was good so we have decided to wait here until they arrive.  They are rather good batteries too, and I have had no luck of late in locating batteries at a decent price.  His diesel was 49p.. the best price we have seen since last year!

Walking along the towpath I was disappointed to see that BW or whoever has moored 3 very large open barge pans on the moorings that everyone uses to visit Tesco.. and even if you did double moor beside them, the vegetation is so overgrown now that it is not possible to get through it to go shopping.  So anyone thinking of shopping at Tesco at Banbury this summer.. forget it!

However I noticed a clear bit just to the north right by that corner that looks like it may well be a new winding hole (turning point).  It has been cleared of trees, the logs of which are just laid up on the bank.. pity it is summer!  So I am not sure what they are doing there or whether it would be possible to moor there.  I have done a Tesco order for Cropredy on Friday evening.  We certainly won’t be at Cropredy now until Friday as I have to go ‘dan saff’ again tomorrow, daughter Wendie bringing me back on Thursday along with all the new curtains and upholstery.. now that will transform No Problem!

Tooley's do us proud in Banbury

Weekend – Moved from woodyard to Banbury centre, Oxford Canal

Just moved up through the lock so that Tooley’s boatyard could have a look at the electrics… more of that later.  Firstly some pics for you.. well my family are having a moan at me because I am not putting enough photos up on the blog of how the fitout is coming along.. so here we go then, the new bookcase almost finished.  The bare wood bit is where we are going to enclose the radiator in that criss-cross patterned wood…

We were going to have a sort of vent gap at the top and bottom, but because we only have the rads on maybe once or twice in the winter we have gone for ‘style’ rather than cut a bit out.  The whole front frame just comes out anyway so that we can get to the radiator, so we have decided that if we have the heating on then we can take the front off and just put it to one side!

Ha didn’t notice Lucy jumping into the boat just as I was taking that pic!!

OK then, the next pic is the cubby hole area that Vic made me for all my computer bits and bobs .. computer mouse, external hard drive.. pda.. various batteries and wires for cameras.. in fact all those tiny things that get lost.. but not now.  Oh and alongside that the pic in the galley that covers up the wall that was left in a bit of a state after putting in the main electrics/water for the galley after we took down the bulkhead between the dinette and the galley if you see what I mean…

And looking at it from the galley…

Curtains arrive next week, so those curtains will disappear.. I must admit they do look nice though, but they are the bog standard ones of Black Prince Narrowboats and appear on every boat from that yard that passes us.. I cringe when I see them on their boats!! ..

Got Vic to put up the spice/herb racks today.. phew.. it has been hard using my herbs etc out of plastic bags. 

It took ages to pour them all back into the jars.. I ended up doing it in the roasting pan because I kept spilling some.. then I roasted a bit of pork in it.. yum.. talk about mixed herbs and spices!!  Tasted fine though..   Went into town today and topped up on those that were running out, so now I have a totally full rack.

The bare wood beside that is the framework for the radiator in the galley.  I am still undecided whether to have two shelves or one, that is why it has been left with one shelf on top of the other .. I think it will be just the one shelf… ummm

Fishing rods too have found a home.. I am too lazy to keep putting together my rod everytime I feel like having a quiet 5 minutes sticking it over the side, so both rods live over the top of our bed on the roof.  I can just pull them down when needed..

Ha, there is a place for everything on this narrowboat..

Well today it was in fact Ian who came to look at our electrics from Tooley’s.. Ian used to run the boatyard at Aynho, but is now doing a bit of freelance work and enjoying it more than running a yard.. he is a good mechanic, and a great Jack of all trades.  He found that the guy who installed our Sterling system from Devizes Marina had not installed the heat sensor wires correctly, setting them up on the wrong terminals on the alternator and on the battery terminals.. which made the sterling system think that the alternator was getting too hot and so it would disengage.  More expense for us for work not correctly done in the first place .. but a very fair price from Tooley’s to rectify the problem.. So no overheating of the alternator at all.. Just an incorrectly placed wire. I was well pleased.

So those are the pics for you.  I think we are off to Cropredy tomorrow. 

Handy mooring for wood at Banbury..

Moored Banbury, Oxford Canal

It’s quite handy moored where we are, the wood yard is in sight, and we have been able to just pop in and get odd bits and pieces of wood needed just to finish off our fit out.

I have been ‘dan saff’ again the last couple of days, so not really been involved with much on No Problem, but on my return Vic had finished the bookcases and stained them, built me a little cubby hold type thingy for me to put my diaries and things on handily by the dinette right within my reach.  He also has made a fabulous ladder for getting up and down from the bunk bed.

I was really pleased when I visited my family business yesterday afternoon.. on the curtain making tables was the fabric for No Problem.. ah at last, my turn to have my stuff made!

Wendie is bringing it all up next week, the foam for the dinette and bunks and all the curtains.. I just can’t wait, and by then we should be all but finished inside with the fit out.. phew it has taken some time, but it really is looking just as we wanted it…  In a couple of weeks we will be able to relax more, and enjoy the rest of the summer months without having to think about screws and wood!

I’ll do some pics tomorrow of the inside so you can see how the bookcase has fitted in…

Bookshelves for No Problem and a new windlass too!

Moored Banbury, Oxford Canal

Well I was out on the town today having a good look around for some bits and bobs for No Problem.  Lucy got a new bed too.. well her old bed was a good 6 years old, and beings we had a new bed, we thought we would treat her to one too! And she loves it!

I arrived back to find that Vic has been hard at work making and fitting the new bookshelves and radiator shelves, hooray, soon I will have somewhere to put all the books that are in the cupboards at the moment which will then give me the room to put all our clothes away in the cupboards.. hey soon no more living out of carrier bags!

I also got a nice fluffy bathroom mat/towel.  I am fed up with stepping out of the shower onto the hard floor.. heh not the next time I won’t..

Oh and I bought a BBQ from Wilkinsons too.. I buy the same one each year and throw it away at the end of the season.  It is a cracking BBQ, it doesn’t burn the food because it has different levels that you can put the grills at.. all for a cost of £3.  I really don’t know how they can do it for that price.. for sure the screws would cost more if you bought them at the hardware store..

And while I was browsing around Banbury, Alex from Cropredy paid a visit with one of his ratchet windlasses.. an updated model no less as a present!  Awwww Alex fancy missing you.. but I am looking forward to seeing you again when we make our way through your part of the country in a week or sos time.

Alex makes ratchet windlasses.. you can’t get them in the shops, only from him, all hand made.  He started making them because the Cropredy flight of locks is dreadfully hard.. well to wind up the paddles is, but not with an ‘Alex Ratchet’ it isn’t.. magic it is, working just like a ratchet on the paddle gear, easy peasy working through that flight we found.  I will take a pic of it later for you to see.

Loads of boats past today, according to Vic, “And every single one them passed faster than you pass boats” says he.. I am wondering if I am going too slowly these days.  The trouble is there are just soooooooo many boats moored along the canals that I think people are getting fed up with having to slow down so much.. for sure, I used to work out my day by saying I travel 3 lock miles an hour.. adding together the locks and miles.. normally it takes as long to do a lock on average as it does to do a mile.. now with all the moored boats I suppose my cruising time is something like 2 and quarter to two and half lock miles an hour..

Through the June sunshine to Banbury

Since the last blog Lower Heyford to Banbury, Oxford Canal, 11 miles 7 locks

I had a busy week, at the end of last week I travelled ‘dan saff’ for a couple of days for meetings, then no longer had I stepped off the train and back, the new owner of Tara arrived to spend a weekend aboard with his friend and move her on up the canal a bit.. so three in convoy for a while, NB Moore2Life travelling with us.  Here we all are passing through Somerton Deep Lock, ah its that classic photo again!…

But of course, the first pic of No Problem passing through it and in the ‘classic pic’!

But before all this, the result of the cooker/gas problems.. all fixed but at a hefty price.. but at least we get to keep our cooker.  I had these awful thoughts that the new cooker would have to be returned to Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, and the logistics as to how to do that were the last thing I wanted to think about.  It was the regulator and the flanges that had become faulty, they were destroyed by the sand blasting that had taken place preceding the painting of No Problem.  The sand blast material had totally penetrated the tails that go to the two cylinders.. when inspected they were full of ‘shot’.

So we are back cooking again, and I must commend Richard of Oxfordshire Narrowboats…

His professional work was very high quality.  I would certainly use him again.  I do admire their narrowboat hire fleet too, the boats are freshly painted and look quality inside.  In fact, while we were there there was not one hireboat in the yard.. all of them were hired out.. now then, that sounds to me like a successful business!.

And, Oh boy, it certainly is nice to do a brew on one’s own boat instead of having to run up and down the towpath with boiled kettles!

On then to Aynho, and some new owners for the wharf part at least.. and what a difference that has made.  Instead of a wharf full of hocus pocus boats moored everywhere, we found a neat and tidy mooring area for gas, diesel and water.. very nice, much much better… On then to the first lock after that, Aynho Weir Lock, another of these triangular type locks.. just enough room for Tara and No Problem side by side.. but only just!..

Tara is being a bully, pushing No Problem over.. she is still being very domineering to her new arrival! ..

Nells bridge next.. I love this one.  We travel on the river between Aynho Weir Lock and Nell Bridge Lock, it’s only about half a mile, but if the river is high then you can’t get under this bridge to get into the lock…

As you can see today, there is no problem!  Ho Hum!

We pushed the pins in short of Banbury by the woodyard this evening.. lots to get here.. need some wood for my bookcases, and for some cupboards.. oh I need a spice rack.. and a bread box.  Could do with a small bathroom cupboard.. oh and some hooks to keep the ladder for the bunk beds from slipping.. better make a list I think before raiding Banbury town!