Brrrrrr!

Temperatures plunged last night and we visited the forlorn and dejected SONFLOWER today to brighten her day. There was a slight weep from the Morco gas water heater feed indicating that there had been a slight freeze but everything else was in order.

We started the engine to get the calorifier up to temperature and check around that. It is always good to hear it running well.

So, better late than never, I drained the Morco down, isolated the calorifier, opened all the taps, turned off the pump and drained down as much as I could realistically do.

We lit a fire to keep ourselves warm and have left the fridge pilot light on. A little heat goes a long way on a frosty night.

We also have put a triangular cabinet into a corner of the back passage way to tidy up the bit that ends up with a heap of fenders, mooring pins and windlasses.

                                                   0 miles  0 locks   1 hour

A Weather Window

In Kazakstan they say that the sky is blue whatever clouds get in the way!

But on Wednesday we saw a window in the weather that followed storm Angus and we took advantage of it. The afternoon was  clear and bright and we had blue sky above us all the way from Cropredy to Banbury. The chill in the boat was taken off as we lit a fire in the stove.

Waiting for Hardwick Lock to fill

There was one other boat in the move and we caught it up as it came to the bottom of Hardwicke Lock No 28. As it left the crew told me they too had taken advantage of the weather and left Cropredy in the sunshine. We closed the gates and filled our third lock of the day as the sun descended behind the new warehouses that have been built on the old Alcan site. A chill came into the air as we cruised the familiar sites on our way to the town centre. It was cold now and we needed that fire to warm up. We waved to Malc and Dink at the cottage and at many friends in their boats on the Spice Ball Park LT moorings which we had left on 3 March.

We moored on Castle Quay as the sun set. Glad to be home.

                                            4.1/4 miles,  3 locks,   2hrs 20 min

The weather man said.. .

The BBC Weather forecast for Tuesday at 2200h yesterday evening said that it would be overcast (light cloud) but dry all day with rain from 2200 this evening.

They were wrong but on the basis of their prediction yesterday we arranged for a friend to give us a lift to the boat from where we expected to reach this afternoon and off we went.

We left Fenny Compton at 12.15pm, enjoying the fresh air and the flocks of fieldfares and redwings that were feeding on the haws and hips on the high hedgerows alongside the canal.  Just after we arrived at Claydon Locks it started raining and it didn't stop until we were soaked through and at Broadmoor lock! Here a boat was leaving so it was not a 100% bad road.

But we did achieve the target of getting to Cropredy on a 14 day mooring so we mustn't moan.

The only other boat moving the opposite direction was blogger Herbie who turned into Cropredy marina. Cropredy lock leaks so fast that their presence didn't help us either.

Nb Sawdust was moored just by the old lift bridge narrows at Cropredy North moorings and we had a good chat to him at the lock. He had missed us!

We are very much back on home territory now and looking forward to staying between Cropredy Lock and Nell Bridge Lock for the winter.

                                                6.1/4 miles, 9 locks    3.3/4 hours

Backed Up

As it was dark when I arrived at the Wharf I moored hastily on a 48 hour mooring.

Today I backed through the bridges to a 14 day mooring.

                                                                                 200yds, O locks,   20 mins