SONFLOWER'S LOG

Lock wheeling

2012-01-30T19:32:00.005Z

This weekend nb VERITY visited Banbury with our friends aboard. Unfortunately, the skipper was suffering from a twisted back. These things slow one down at best but can make some things almost impossible. Pushing lock gates and winding paddle gear while controlling a very energetic young labrador are some of them. So I volunteered for a bit of lock wheeling.

I bussed to Cropredy on Saturday afternoon and accompanied them through the four locks to the town centre. Then, this morning I helped with working the lift bridge and lock combo up and down (Verity winded in between at Tramway) and then met them this afternoon to lockwheel the Claydon Flight. What a beautiful day for boating. Crisp and cool but sunny and almost windless.

Here they are on their way on the top level toward Napton and the North Oxford under perfect blue sky.

Oooh Expecting Company

2012-01-21T15:41:00.006Z

The ice has gone. For how long we have no real idea but it means that boats are on the move again. (Not that it stopped a solo boater in a tiny fibre glass cruiser from nipping up and down without a care for his gel coat. He seemed to like to be boating at midnight as well! Or a local moorer crashing his way through the ice making a tremendous noise and crashing ice into all the moored boats as he passed them. For third of a mile they had to travel I dont think it was worth the effort and diesel.)

And we have just heard that friends will be making their way down from the Rugby to Banbury soon.

How exciting. We don't get too many visitors in the winter.

Cropredy Marinas Approved

2012-01-14T22:45:00.005Z

Cherwell District Council has approved two marina schemes for the little picturesque village of Cropredy. This has been reported as having no harmful impact on the village. With no shops on site getting the supplies to the boats for their cruises could bring in 300 visiting Ocado refridgerated vans!

And what about the impact on the canal!

The marinas, one with 49 berths and one with 249 berths, bring 300 additional boats to the South Oxford Canal. Last summer saw water restrictions on the top level with locks at Claydon Flight and Marston Doles only open for 4 hours per day. Just filling these marinas will take the usable reserve of Clattercote reservoir! That's about 75 million litres which will drop the level in the reservoir by approximatey a metre. Surely CaRT will not want to allow too much water out at once to preserve the specimen fish in the prime angling water. Clattercote reservoir contains approximately 175 million litres at an average depth off 2.5m.

300 boats, each out once a month on a little cruise there and back, would deplete the canal by approximately 57,000,000 litres of water per month. Just do the maths. 1 lock full is 19000 litres at 2metre drop. There and back would take 2 lock fulls per boat (600).

Marina folk are not known for waiting for another boat to come the other way so as to share the water at a lock. Once out of the marina they are going somewhere and back again, usually on a schedule. From Cropredy, my guess would be Oxford and back in a week. (3 days there, a day in Oxford, 3 days back) And they won't want to be held up by slowing down for the poor folk who have linear towpath moorings. The pressure will be on for CaRT to remove these obstructions and force the likes of me into the marinas for twice the cost to pay for facilities we do not want to use.

Impact on the village may not be a consideration. Has anybody thought about the impact on the canal?

Where are the Craftsmen now?

2012-01-14T14:58:00.003Z

Piglet's violin case needed sewing so I got out the sailmaker's needle and some fishing nylon and set about it. What I didn't have was a sailmaker's 'palmy'. This is a leather pad that sits in the palm to stop the needle pricking the palm when pushed through the canvas cloth. I improvised one with gaffer tape and a two pence piece. Unfortunately this was not quite good enough and after stabbing myself for the second time the 2p was replaced by a jam pot lid. It got the job done!

But it set me thinking. While sewing one has to do some thinking and my thoughts went back to Battersea Power Station in the sixties. I trained there. There was very little that we could not make on site. And the men were craftsmen of every different type. We even had a sail maker among the workforce. He was also a rigger and most of the time he would be re-roping cranes or lifting heavy weights with slings and shackles, pulleys and hoists. But when we needed a new canvas chute on the ash plant or a new flexible connection on a fan, Harry the Claw could be called on to do the business. Out would come his needles and palmy and he would sit on a stool in the corner of the workshop and sew as happy as the proverbial piggy wigggy. In this modern throw away society I wonder where men like Harry are today. DO we have anyone who can turn their hand to just about everything. He has been born into boats on the Thames barges and grew into the trade of his family. He was a waterman who had reluctantly come ashore as the barge trade declined. He brought the skills and the attitude of the water with him. If it could be done on a boat it could be done in the workshop of a power station. In fact there was very little that could not be done. Our welders were also blacksmiths and platers, Our fitters were turners and millers. Our machinist could help out with the carpentry and the carpenter would plaster and paint as well. Battersea was often criticised for 'restrictive' practices but when I was there, if the need was there and the plant demanded it a reasonable request was always met with enthusiasm. Men like Harry were proud of the skills they possessed and were pleased to show them off.

Can we make anything here nowadays?

Who left it up?

2012-01-13T18:01:00.007Z

I went for a walk to Cropredy this afternoon. It was such a beautiful afternoon. The towpath on the S Oxford is not in very good condition with quite muddy bits and walking boots would appear essential as there are numerous holes and depressions to turn one's ankle.

At Slat Mill Lock I found a top paddle open. The bottom gate leaks and the Cropredy pound was already 6 ins lower than the spillway cill.
I closed it.
I met two pairs of walkers who were coming the other way from Cropredy toward Banbury. They had been on the good bit but the first couple asked of there were a better way back. I directed them over Bridge 156 to Slatt Mill Farm and told them to follow the farm lane to the road. The second couple asked about the time it would take to Banbury. About 1.5 hrs was what it had taken me to get there so I conveyed this information to them. I forgot to tell them there are no buses back again.

Here is a picture of Bridge 156 in glorious sunlight. Not bad for January.

I had also forgotten that there are no buses from Cropredy after 2pm. Fortunately I have friends there who gave me a cuppa and a lift back. Thank you, you know who you are.

New Year Cruising

2012-01-13T09:10:00.007Z

What a winter. it may be too early to say so but the weather has been perfect for short cruises this year and we have managed to fit one in! Many people wonder what the attraction of going somewhere and back again is. To get out in the fresh air and sunshine is allways good. With a breeze in the air to stir the birds into flight and keep the clouds moving to ensure ever hanging skies is a delight. Water bubbling and gurgling around the rudder and prop to the steady throb of the deisel engine is music to my ears.
To make it very special is the first glass of beer of the New Year. Yes, honestly!

Here the crew are dutifully walking toward Grant's lock while SONFLOWER waits. In fact some nice boaters had left the lock to fill after their exit, which made things easier. Aren't boaters nice? We only went as far as the new winding hole near Twyford Mill where we turned. This is marked as only for 60ft boats only. Our 57ft is well within the limit but the proximity of a moored boat made the turn very tight.

The smell of potatoes baking in the oven wafting up from the cabin made the return very pleasant but we did need the fire alight to warm the crew after working the locks. Here we are returning to Grants lock.alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697044247719542050" />

The lock had been filled while we turned by the crew of an inflatable dinghy out for an afternoon jolly who had worked up the lock. We never caught them up!

Here we leave Grant's lock behind.

The smell of pork roasting joined in with the potatoes as we went under the M40 motorway making my tummy rumble as juggernauts rumbled overhead.

We headed back toward town under blue skies. The familiar lift bridges are always welcome and comforting on the familiar approach to Banbury.

Just there and back again: 6 miles, 4 locks and 2 Lift Bridges in 4 hours.

The pork, potatoes and gravy did taste good!

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T09:36:00.010Z

Ok, so it's late! I am sorry for that but it is sincere.

I haven't posted for a long while. The boat has not moved and nothing much has been happening. But we have been boating. Well two of SONFLOWER's crew have. We finished off the last year with a little exercise on the wide locks from Bascote Staircase to Fosse Locks. With the walk there and the walk back about a 5.5mile walk to move some of the blubber that one of the crew has built up over the Christmas period and to blow away the cobwebs and stiffness from sitting at a computer for the other. It all helped friends who need to move on. Sadly we are not available for Hatton http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifFlight on Bank Holiday Monday. Here they are cruising into the distance away from Fosse Bottom Lock.
More of our "lockwheeling" exploits here.

We set ourselves a challenge to count how many different species of bird we could see during the day without really trying.

Here they are: dunnock, robin, blue tit, coal tit, great tit, blackbird, mistle thrush, house sparrow, mallard, coot, moorhen, kestrel, buzzard, common gull, black headed gull, lesser black backed gull, fieldfare, redwing, wren, rook, crow, jay. We live in the midst of the wonderful diversity of a wonderful creation.

Even more frustration: The conclusion

2011-12-13T19:29:00.003Z

We have a new water pump that seems to be working correctly now. It is a ShurFlo Junior with a shut off setting of 2bar. Hopefully all will be well for the full three years of the warranty.

We have received refunds for the mis-sold pressure switch assembly and the malfunctioning ShurFlo 3.0 pump.

Even better!

2011-12-06T13:50:00.002Z

Glenmorangie Single Malt

A Winner

2011-12-06T13:00:00.005Z

I had a terribly difficult hour on the phone to Lloyds TSB. All I wanted to do was report a lost chequebook. By the end of it I was frazzled and unrecognised by the automatic voice recognition system and the operator who asked for details of a payment into my account that morning and then could not understand that Electricité de France was EdF. Failing to provide an accurate amount of the cost of four theatre tickets purchased by debit card five days previously froze up the system for security reasons. Representation to a supervisor bore no fruit and they had the cheek to send me a request to appear before a bank employee in person with my passport in hand to prove who I was. After being a customer for 27 years!

The letter I sent them resulted in the bottle of whisky that arrived this morning. The card says "We want to say sorry".

Well, that's all right then.

Wintery Thoughts

2011-12-03T13:18:00.004Z

I sent a day on the boat this week. I sat in front of a warming stove and read some of The Famished Road, Booker Prize winning fiction, (but found it hard going) as I waited for 'Dusty' our trusty coal diesel and gas boatman to arive. Having been just south of Banbury the evening before it didn't take him too long to work his way up to the moorings on the north side of town to fill my empty tank with diesel and put some coal aboard. I paid cash. 'Dusty' likes cash. (He says he takes cash or cheques and if either fail he introduces 'PayPal", a pick axe handle with the words 'Pay Pall!' inscribed on the blunt end.)

By lunch time all our business was complete and we had 'put the world to rights'. It was time for me to check the boat over and shut it up. The gas water heater is drained, the new water pump switched off and the the taps left open to reduce damage if the temperature gets to low this winter. Then empty the veg bin and the fridge and leave SONFLOWER on her own.

I left the novel on the boat.

The frost on the ground reminded me that it is indeed December and wintery now after the second warmest November in the last 100 years.

Just the winter engine service to complete and we are ready to roll for the New Year.

Even more frustration part 2

2011-11-08T18:17:00.007Z

I tried to fit the new pressure switch. I carefuly followed the instructions which said "do not remove the presure switch screws" but found that the pressure switch housing on the pump masked one of the screws that I had to remove so I had to remove the pressure switch screws to remove the switch to remove the body screws. Are you following me?

The instructions also said that if I was careful I wouldn't need to disturb the internals. I was very careful and removed the top body. Then came the surprise!

The internal sealing housing containing a rubber seal was sort of triangular in the new pump and circular in the old design (seen on the right). Those crafty Mexicans had made it so that you couldn't fit a yank pressure switch to a Mexican pump!

I now have issues with two supliers. One on winter holiday who supplied the pump that doesn't work and one a 40 minute drive away who supplied the part that doesn't fit.

I have put it all back together as it was except that I had cut the power cable from the switch to the motor!

Now I am seriously considering Tony's remote pressure switch idea.

Even more frustration

2011-11-07T21:37:00.004Z

The water pump saga is not over!

The pump is not shutting off again and I am losing water through the relief valve at 3 bar pressure. To make sure that I had adjusted the pressure switch to minimum I removed the adjusting screw! Two turns back should have done the trick but not in this case.

The supplier of the pump is now on a winter break until March. So I rang up Tony, the fount of all knowledge on all things technical in a narrowboat. He loves to talk about these little problems and had a solution: ditch the pump pressure switch and get an independant switch from a reputable chandler. It should cost about £20. He recommended a Square D switch.

So I went to Midland Chandlers at Braunston. It is about a 40 minute drive from home mooring. I told the man what I wanted and he said that they had these switches for about £50 and I would need a fitting kit and tee piece in addition. He could not locate one on the shelves, however, (they are enlarging and re-arranging their store) but he did have what he felt was the real solution to my problem.

He told me that Midland Chandlers have about 150 Shurflo pumps ready to be returned to the manufacturer because of defective pressure switches! Since switching manufacture to Mexico the quality of the pumps has dropped remarkably and there is a whole batch of pressure switches that just do not work. My pump supplier had said that his wholesaler was Midland Chandlers! Could it be that he had part of this batch? I was told that they could not help me with my pump and were sympathetic but legally I had to go through my supplier. On the shelf were genuine Shurflo pressure switches from the previous incarnation of pumps, made in USA, and fully compatible with the pump I had installed. Cost £28.

This seemed the logical solution to get me through the winter. I can return the pump to my supplier, still under warranty, in the Spring.

Watch out for further instalments.

Up we go!

2011-11-07T21:29:00.006Z

Here is a view out of Tooley's dock as it is filling to let SONFLOWER out.

The repairs to the rear rail and gates are complete and the gates shut more easily than they have ever done before.

I backed her up to Sovereign Wharf and turned her to return to home mooring.

Now all I have to do is pay the bill.

Unusual

2011-11-04T17:19:00.004Z

This is a beautifully blacked and quite well preserved Springer from the early eighties judging by its registration number.

Nothing unusual about that then! Except that I am reliably informed it has been refitted with a state of the art Vetus power set up including a BOW THRUSTER!

Knowing how lightly Springers behave and how responsive they generally are to the tiller, I can only imagine that this one is going to be used in some sort of formation dance performance or something very aquabatic.

more Frustration

2011-11-04T16:47:00.003Z

The pump saga is not over!

After an apparent success in re-fitting the Shurflo 3.0 water pump and returning a defective one (that would not work at all) to the supplier, the pump has now started to behave in the same way as ot doi when ot emptied my water tank into the canal. To remind you: it will not turn off because the 3 bar relief valve on the calorifier is lifting. I have tried re-setting the adjustable pressure switch. I am now assuming that the re-set pressure of the relief valve may be considerable less than 3 bar!

One reason why this is particularly frustrating is because getting to the pump is not exactly simple.

First one opens the under sink cupboard door fully and removes the vegetable rack:

Then move the storage box in the other cupboard to the left

Swivel it and take that out

revealing the trap door floor hatch

Which is removed to reveal the pump

and Finally

2011-11-04T15:49:00.003Z

Sonflower is back in Tooley's dock.

She has been hydraulicaly straightened, ground apart and re-welded to re-align the starboard gate.
BEFORE AFTER

While out of the water she is having her stern gland re-packed. It has been doing more leaking than it should and taking more grease than it should this summer so it is getting a ten year service!

Hopefully she will re-float on Monday.

In the CaRT

2011-11-02T08:38:00.003Z

So that is what all the signs and paperwork will look like from next April.

Not a bad effort for a logo. Will the acronym be CaRT, CART, or C&RT?

In and out

2011-10-18T11:52:00.006+01:00

Many of you will have noticed SONFLOWER in the centre of Banbury. Maybe you saw her being pulled into the Tooley's dock last Wednesday. Maybe you saw her being pulled out on Monday. You would not have noticed any difference.

I am sorry to report that the welding work to straighten slight imperfections in the alignment of the rear taff rail that prevent the rear gates closing was delayed because of the sickness of the welder. (Get well soon). She will be docked again some time in the future.

Meanwhile, following on from my last post "Frustration" about a fault on the domestic water system. The calorifier relief valve was lifting discharging water into the canal, emptying the water tank and causing the water pump to run continuously. Talking about subjects like this with other boaters always seems to reveal that everyone else has had this fault and has a special way of curing the problem. Banbury Canal Day provided such a forum. Among other suggestions, a good friend, who is renowned for her DIY activity, emailed me with the details of a pressure reducing valve that was installed between pump and cauliflour to keep the pressure at the relief valve low. Looking at the specifications on the web I discovered that these valves are designed to operate at 16 bar (200psi) inlet pressure and the discharge from my pump is only supposed to be 2bar (30psi)!

A lot of dreamless nocturnal thought gave me the solution. Change the calorifier relief valve for one that works. I did it today: like for like. The pump shut off and the relief valve did not lift.

Untested by the rigours of boat life, however. For how long?

Frustration

2011-09-30T20:29:00.005+01:00

Those who read Mortimer Bones' column in Canal Boat magazine will appreciate that not all things that seem simple on a narrowboat turn out that way.

This morning I went to take the boat to the town centre, a cruise of 1/4 mile. This weekend is a boating festival: The Banbury Canal Day. The town council put a lot of effort into making the assett of the The Oxford Canal work for the town and give the loacals a grand day out into the bargain. For the last eight years we have joined in the fun come rain or shine. This year, in contrast to the last two, it looks like we are in for a shining sunny day on Sunday.

So all seemed to bode well until I appraoched the boat to find her bow higher than I can remember seeing it before. The water tank was empty. Believing the saga of the "water in the bilge" to be over, I imediately raised the over over the water pumop to see whether water was engulfing it once more. No! But the pump was running dry!

I turned it off and investigated further. The little amount of water in the bilge that had run aft was cleared quickly. The taps were all closed and tight. The shower pan was dry. Where had all the water gone and why was the pump running?

We needed water. I cast off and boated into the town. First stop the water point which means navigating the lift bridge, no mean feat single handed! Thankfully a helpful waiting pedestrian lad took the windlass and lowered the bridge as I passed through to speed his crossing and help me.

Filling our tank takes about one and a half hours! The best mate came along from her art class at The Mill. She did not expect to see the boat at the water point. I explained the lack of water and we decided that she should go and buy a sushi lunch as we had plenty of time and the resources of the town were at our feet.

Lunched and with a full tank I had time to think about our problem. Running the pump for a short while revealed that the relief valve on the calorifier was letting by and that was where the water was going. Relieved water ended up in the stern gland bilge and was pumped away by the sern bilge pump!

We continued our cruise. Through the lock, down to the turning point at the end of the Tram way Mooring site and back again, through the lock, back to home mooring, to the turning point at The Arm just north of Spice Ball Park and then back to town to moor under Tom Rolt Bridge: our weekend mooring: 2 miles, 2 locks, 2 Lift Bridges and four and a half hours to fill up with water!

But with no isolation valve on the calorifier inlet, how can I fix the relief valve without draining the tank again?

The water pump says off.

There and Back again

2011-09-17T13:44:00.005+01:00

I had to meet the welder at the boat so boating was in my mind. I had arranged to spend the day with a friend who had 'nothing' to do with his day off. We decided to go boating. There was little sign of any rain and the breeze blew fair as we went north. We met nb Petroc in town as we walked to the boat and discussed the possibilities of water shortages that could affect boating in a northerly direction. However, a report from the boat coming down Hardwick lock as we left was that there was no sign of low levels in the Cropredy pound. All looked good.

(The Banbury town pound, Harwick Lock to Banbury Lock, was the lowest we found with no flow coming in from the Hanwell Brook.)

As we passed (Little) Bourton Lock we noted the extent of the flood protection scheme that is being built (M40 Bridge to Little Bourton Lock). Whether it will ever be needed depends much on your view of climate change. Many feel we have had our '100 year event' flooding for this century! Approaching Cropredy the report proved true as the boats on the farm moorings were floating. They weren't the last time we passed!

With no food on the boat and both of us on a weight reducing diet we determined to buy some lunch at the Cropredy Bridge Store. We found that their only ready made sandwich was "All Day Breakfast". We looked at each other and agreed to go to the pub! At the Brazenose the local sausages with olive oil and mustard mash were too good to resist and we had a lovely lunch. I made the relapse complete with a pint of Hookey Bitter Ale!

The return cruise was eventful only for the fantastic view of a kingfisher flying low over the water for a hundred yards away from us and then turning to fly back toward us and wheel overhead: a truly blue streak.

Not a drop of rain, blue sky for long periods, good company and water underneath us make for a good day out.

Nothing to do with Boating

2011-09-14T18:45:00.007+01:00

View Larger Map

We went for a drive. The sun shone and we had a wonderful day in the Cotswolds or the hinterland thereof. After coffee and a loo stop in Chipping Norton we ventured into unknown territory and discovered a land of lost inns and pubs. One was our target, The Swan Inn at Ascott-under-Wychwood. We passed many other closed and for sale or to let. It appears that the village local has died. May I say, possibly the heart of the village has died too with the advent of Hoseasons and the web booked holiday cottage. We couldn't get a pint of local beer in The Lamb Inn, Shipton-under-Wychwood: not even a pint of ale from the brewery that bears its name! The beer came from Greene King, Old Speckled Hen et al with a guest ale from East Anglia! All is lost Camra!

There is still a lot of countyside out there. But when I stopped to take a stroll in the fields I met with a sign saying "Please do not walk in our grass strips or conservation areas and woodland as it disturbs the game birds". Not half as much as a team of beaters, dogs and two dozen guns! 57.4 miles, 0 locks, 5hrs

Maybe and end to the WATER IN THE BILGE

2011-09-14T09:14:00.001+01:00

The boat lists to port. I have been below the floorboards under the sink again today. Having taken the water pump out and taken it completely to pieces and put it back together again I found that it is still leaking into the boat bilge every time it runs.

So I went to SOVEREIGN WHARF today and bought a new SHURflo drinking water pump. It is rated at 3 gpm, an improvement on my last one of 0.6gpm. It is guaranteed for three years but Ray said that that means it will fall on its back after 3 1/2. At £85.00 that is less than £30 per year.

I also filled with diesel. This is now £0.85p per litre. A 10p rise on last year. I only filled one tank because I may need welding on the other side and the deck is the top of the tank! This accentuates the list to port but should be compensated by the empty loo tank!

We backed the boat up to Tooley's from Sovereign Wharf,(We had turned to have a pump out). We moored opposite Orion who had the most beautiful sounding original 1934 Gardner Engine. While waiting I fitted the water pump. I then found Matt needed a second opinion on my welding work. I need to talk to the welder on Friday. More on that later. We took the opportunity to talk about paintwork though. SONFLOWER is due for the dreaded blacking next April. Matt says he would like to get her in in March to repaint the roof at the same time.

Then I went forwards back to Sovereign Wharf and tried to moor on one of their finger moorings to use the electric hook up (by arrangement). The wind was wrong for making the tight turn. I had to go in bow first in order to be able to come out and face the right way to return to home mooring. I struggled. I am quite pleased with my boat handling usually but today it just didn't seem to be working. With a boat moored on the next pontoon with the owners aboard, I didn't want to touch their boat. It is about 60ft from the end of the pontoon to the opposite bank (SONFLOWER is 57 ft)but try as I may the boat did not want to get into the 8ft gap available! The occupants of the adjacent boat came out to help but I couldn't get in because of lack of water. The level in this pound is about five inches below normal and the mooring appeared to have silted up! The proprietors kindly allowed me to moor on the wharf while they were shut for lunch and I used the aquavac to suck out the remaining water in the bilge.

As lunchtime finished and no customers arrived I took the opportunity to re-fill the water tank. Thence to home mooring and some lunch at 3.00pm!

That's a day's boating!

Wonderful Idea!

2011-09-04T17:38:00.002+01:00

I have just seen an advert in Canal Boat for BWML Marinas. They tell us that having a mooring in one of their marinas entitles the boater to visit any of their other marinas free of charge, subject to space being available and pre-booking.

Now here's the idea: how about BW giving any holder of a long term mooring license the facility to use any other long term mooring site for overnight mooring while out cruising? Subject, of course, to availability and the requirement to move on should the usual incumbent appear.

This could save a lot of congestion at those 'honey pot' sites we so often hear about as long term morings are often only just outside the visitor mooring zones.

Interesting Blog

2011-08-29T19:49:00.003+01:00

Being very interested in food and its preparation on board I am keen to share this Canal Cook's Blog that shares recipes that are interesting. I have a veg drawer full of beetroot! Some returned with us from the boat and more came in our organic veg box from Riverford today. The Best Mate says we have more in the freezer from a previous harvest! So I did a google search for a recipe and came up with this one. Now I have found it I think I will be a regular visitor.

In Trevor Basin to the end

2011-08-28T14:57:00.012+01:00

We did not go into Llangollen with the boat. I was worried about the draught of SONFLOWER which is 24 inches on a good day. Against the current her stern would be pulled down a bit more and the canal is very shallow in places. Where it narrows passing would be very difficult without grounding. The recommendations are variable but some say 20 inches is the practical maximum draught.

So I walked in. Here are photos of the sort of views we missed.

And one of the pretty flowers beside the towpath. Anyone recognise them?

I walked with a couple from Thame who had left their three under five children with their grandparents to escape for a walking holiday. They were walking from Nantwich to Llangollen and then cycling back! They had been booked into B & Bs on the way.

I also took a stroll across the aqueduct and back again. Here is a view of the River Dee that runs beneath it:

The stay in the basin in Trevor was delightful. Never a dull moment with the day punctuated by craft that entered to find nowhere to go except to turn round; a boat called "Destiny" came under the bridge, made a banging sound from the engine bay and came to a driveless stop. It was then towed out by an Anglowelsh Day Boat only to return two hours later towed by two Anglowelsh day boats and then pushed onto a mooring to await replacement of a drive plate after the Bank Holiday weekend. I helped hire boaters who wanted to be helped as the winding hole is an interesting shape. One week-ending crew were all dressed up as pirates which added to the colour and fun. Their helmsman said that he would not refuse my offer of help next time! He did all right actually considering the 'help' he got from his crew who jumped on and off and pushed the boat here and there. The crew also had a go at fishing and left me the rest of their maggots for me when they left.

We also had to leave the mooring for water and, as the Bank Holiday Friday and Saturday were 'turn round' days, water was unavailable at the boat yard. We had to cross the aqueduct, turn at Froncysyllte and water there to return over the aqueduct again. We chose to do this first thing on Saturday morning so as not to lose our mooring place! Here is a picture that shows how nice it was!

A relaxing time to end the holiday and give us an opportunity to clean the brass and get our washing together to prepare for departure! We watched hawfinches eating rowan berries from the trees next to the boat and I caught an eel in the basin on the free maggots. I took it, still writhing on the hook, to the crew of NB Destiny who have four cats and six kittens on board. They were delighted to recieve it, wrapped it in newspaper and beheaded it. The kittens set about it raw! I cut off the head, line and the hook, now a slimy ball! I do not like eels! I threw the rest of the maggots into the basin in disgust.

Our friends came just before lunch so we all repaired to The Telford Inn for a meal with them while rain poured down outside before we unloaded their stuff and filled the car with ours. We drove away at 3pm leaving SONFLOWER with the usual mixed feelings but knowing she is in the hands of a capable crew to bring her safely home to Banbury.

More Cruise 2011 Pictures

2011-08-24T21:48:00.009+01:00

Queueing for a tunnel

In Chirk Tunnel

Moored in Chirk Pool. A good place to witness boating etiquette or not!

Moored at Chirk Marina. A great place for free water and free advice

A view of the Pontcysyllte aqueduct from Froncysyllte.

On Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

On Pontcysyllte. I usually have my right hand on the tiller! Here I am hoping the SONFLOWER will not be the first narrowboat to fall off!

Wrenbury to Trevor (Trefor)

2011-08-24T21:08:00.006+01:00

First of all apologies to any who are trying to track our progress by this blog! On the boat, my laptop has decided that it will not work for more than about time enough to log in to 'water explorer' and record the boat position. For the last four or five days it has not even wanted to do that! In short my battery is knackered and my inverter has decided to trip whenever the power lead is connected!! I am grateful for the 240v of the Telford Inn, Trevor in return for the purchase of a pint of Telford Ale from Tetley's Brewery.

Never mind the technicalities. We have had a wonderfully slow cruise. From Wrenbury we went to Frankton Junction via Ellesmere and spent half a day deciding whether to go down the Monty or not. "Not" won and we proceeded onward to Chirk. We moored on 48 hr morings just north of the tunnel but the cutting here was so deep that we did not see the sun so backed up toward the tunnel. Here the cutting was deeper but it was less of a walk to the road to see the sun! It was better to for access to the town chopping 2000 yards form the walk. But it did have the drawback that "proper" boaters thought the bollards here were for boats waiting to use the tunnel and not for mooring on and verbally abused us for our cheek. The local signage however totally vindicated us as these were the 'town moorings'. Hire boaters just moored on pins and we re-moored two of them during our tenure!

After visiting Chirk Castle, a not to be missed experience, we moved to the country and sunshine near Chirk Marina. From here however, we needed to return to Chirk Pool so that the Best mate could visit the doctor's surgery for an unmentionable reason as she needed an antibiotic. Being in Wales, this was free at the point of use (no prescription charges) even though she doesn't have to pay even in England (for another unmentionable reason). The Welsh doctor was pleased to be able to prescribe a better class of antibiotic as an English doctor would be paying! Such is modern Britain- a united kingdom in name only!

Today we crossed the Pontcysyllte (Pont-coo-sool-tea) aqueduct. Suffering from some mild vertigo I was glad to have done this at the tiller for the whole crossing. It is indeed an experience every boater should have. I had the unreasonable fear that SONFLOWER would be the first narrowboat to fall off in over 200 years! We were only four inches from a 120 foot drop! The views and the feeling is extraordinary.

Today also we visited Llangollen. This is our eventual aim this year. You will need to wait for the next instalment to find out whether we get there by boat. Just crossing the pool at the end of the aqueduct into our present mooring on the Trevor Arm was an exciting experience. Described by one owner boater as fighting against Anglo-welsh bumper-boats! We have not tried to get through the really narrow section yet. (We were smacked while moored last night by an Alvechurch craft in the hands of a distraught wife whose husband had deserted her to go and take a picture of the aqueduct). We did however complete our holiday as tourists sampling the wonders of the steam railway to Corwen and the horse drawn narrowboat to Horseshoe Falls. The part of the 'canal' not open to navigation of the powered variety is as clear as a bell, narrow and rocky with shoals of fish clearly visible alongside the boat. A beautiful peaceful experience. The rail round trip also gave breath-taking views of the River Dee with its white water and wading fly fishermen.

We are enjoying it all!

Nantwich to Wrenbury

2011-08-17T22:08:00.005+01:00

Weleft our mooring on Nantwich Aqueduct Embankment just after our friends on nb Elisha passed. They told us they were heading out of town and would let us know where they were mooring overnight so that we could join them.

We had things to do. We had already been into town for supplies and had a fish and chp lunch. But we needed water and a pump-out as we were about 90% full. Water was no problem once the hire boat had left teh mooring and the boat opposite that seemed to be waiting confirmed that it was waiting for the launderette not the water point. From her we went under the brodge tomake the 300degre turn into Nantwich Basin. I had done this turn in Sonflower in 2005 so knew it was possible. But I did not put the breeze into the computation and we very gently drifted sideways under its influence to completely bridge the canal!

What an embarrassment but no pictures were taken!

With a crew member on each end and the assistance of a couple of passers by on the towpath we managed to push Sonflower back the way she had come and complete the turn into the boatyard. Another 180 dergree turn was required at the other end of the basin to moor with the pump out in the right position for the necessary health and safety requirements to be satisfied.

We then received a call to tell us that Elisha was at Hurleston Turn over Bridge ready to enter the Llangollen Canal in the morning. We followed them out of Nantwich and moored there.

On the morning the crew were not fast emerging from their bunks. At about 1100h we entered the first of the Hurlestone flight of locks to proceed up the Llangollen Canal, fenders raised according to instructions. We had no problems and stopped for brunch after the four locks. Then on to Bridge 6 where we stopped to visit the very good Burland general store. This is operated by a boater. Their pies looked delicious and proved so as I bought four for lunch. One chicken and Mushroom, 2 steak and mushroom and one meat and potato. The verdict was thumbs up all round.

Then slowly on to Wrenbury Mill. Here we had a choice of hostelry for evening meal. I chose the Dusty Miller gastro pub. Not possibly the best choice and I do not think I will be returning. They do have free WiFi (on which I am posting now) but I think I could have cooked myself a better dinner. They also do not know that their Coke gasses do not hold a pint, for which we were charged! I demonstrated this with a pint beer glass full of water which overflowed my son's coke glass as the barman did not seem to understand when I challenged the bill! Their canned music met withthe approval of our teenagers but lacked a track by Coldplay.

The only other thing to report are bleeping sounds from the invertor. I think I may have a loose 12v earth connection!

Cruise Photos

2011-08-17T03:50:00.006+01:00

An interesting double bridge with telegraph post in the middle. Long since unused.

Sonflower at her overnight mooring in Gnosall

Going up, on the Shroppie

Lovely and straight. Such a contrast to the Brindley contour canals that we are most used to.

A restful day

2011-08-15T12:15:00.004+01:00

I am worried. We have to be in Llangollen in 13 days. Canal Planner says we could get there in 6. So what do we do with all those extra days?

We were woken at 6am by the trob throb throb of an old engine in a new boat! Hadar, our near neighbours in Banbury had come off their mooring here in idyllic countryside and sunshine to go who knows where? Now, I do not object to early morning cruising but today we also had the wakening beeps of the invertor telling us it had been left on all night. Our crew slept on but the Best Mate realised that as the engine needed running to charge the battery and the sun is shining and the wind is breezy it is a wonderful opportunity to do the washing.

So we put up the rotary dryer on the back deck. That means that we cannot use the tiller. We are going nowhere until the washing is dry!

I have played the guitar, Piglet has played the keyboard, Tigger has hit the skins and teh brass has been cleaned. The steelwork is too hiot to paint, thank goodness.

A restful day

Of Sheep and lamb

2011-08-14T10:01:00.006+01:00

AS far away as Tyrely locks we heard of the fame of the Farm Shop at the top of Adderley Locks. There was a notice on the lock sign of the Top Lock. It advertised home made pies and produce. I decided to buy some lamb for dinner and could almost smell it gently marinating in spice and oil before being roasted in the oven and filing the boat with morrocan aromas.

But Adderley locks are a long way from Tyrely and by the time we got near we had an overnight stop in Market Drayton! Friends in Market Drayton also confirmed the quality of the produce and asked us to return a plate that had supported a cake they had brought from there.

When we got there the next morning we found that they had no lamb! Lamb has such a demand that they sell out almost as soon as the meat hits the shop! We bought some pork steak, sausages (which we saw being made by hand, bacon(dry cured), free range eggs and fresh baked bread.

We moored nearby to visit the shop and PO in Adderley. A short walk over the Hawksmoor bridge brought us to a cross road just past the home of the Hawksmoor herd of Holstein cows. A little farther and I asked a resident for directions to the store. It closed two years ago!

On the way back we met the lamb on its way to market! 54 sheep came down the lane toward us screeching to an abrupt halt when they saw us. They must have known what we wanted for dinner. The shepherd egged them on to pass us and we continued on our seperate ways. The road showed the signs of their nervousness!

Breakfast tasted great!

Penkridge to Market Drayton

2011-08-11T20:26:00.008+01:00

The character of the cruise has changed from the meandering of the Trent and Mersey and the Staffordshire and Worcester canals to the Straight and Narrow of the Birmingham and Liverpool (Shropshire Union) Main Line. The character is so contrasting. The cuttings give directness and speed and the embankments may give a better view over the surrounding countryside but we are not in a hurry this time!

We loved the little town of Penkridge with its marvelous Co-op supermatket and its charity shop. Unfortunately that was closed but it did support Katherine House, our local hospice in Banbury. I heard, however that the rioting on nearby Wolverhampton so upset the locals here that they closed the garage and supermarket early in case there was a repeat in sleepy little Penkridge.

The change came at Autherley Junction. Still a 'narrow canal' but this was built for speed. One of the straights on today's criuise was over a mile long and I didn't share it with any other craft, coming or going! A wonderful example of where to find peace in today's world: at the tiller of a narrowboat at 3 mph.

We are travelling slowly which gives time to observe the herons smd kingfishers along the way. A bit of additional birding was thwarted however because the Belvine Reservoir ios managed locally and limited to members and permot holders only. Permits have to be applied for in advance amd cannot be done over the internet. Pre-arrangements like this are difficult when on a boating holiday! My request fro permission by text was refused. Hopefully we will get another chance later in the cruise.

The final leg from Gnosall to Market Drayton takes us through hewn rock cuttings 25 feet deep and across embankments about 40 feet high. The passing is difficukt in the cutting when the oncoming boat slows to almost a stop for no apparent reason and the views are breathtaking from the embankment.

The last flight of locks down into Market Drayton (Tyley Locks) proved interesting only as a ahead amgaged to get itself onto the weir at the entrance to the first lock. The prop stopped as it was drawn in. We helped them rope back onto the lock mooring to inspect the damage through the weed hatch. Fortunately there was no damage and we had the lock set for us!

Into Market Drayton we encountered the 'leave a ring between boats' phenomenon. However as we progressed further on we found a beautiful almost empty mooring on the other side of town. We are no further from the centre but much more pleasantly siuated! We may stay here for the full 48 hoirs. We have time.

The Taft to Penkridge

2011-08-09T19:01:00.005+01:00

We left teh safe haven of the Taft in Staffordshire and made our way to Colwen Lock where we were to discharge our precious cargo of Juie and two of her grandchildren.Eeyore doscovered that his moble phone was stil in the car so our Friend Peter took the children home and then returned to Great Haywood lock witthe phone. What a star! We worked up the lock and stopped for lunch on the mooringw by the Junction. After lunch we went to Great Haywood marina for a necessary pump out of the toilet tank and then returned to the water point to fill up. Fully emptied at one end and replenished atteh other we then turnied onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and found an overnight mooring.

The next morning we were up bright as buttins and left at 0600 to cruise in sunshine against a blackening sky which highlighted a wonderful rainbow. The mixed weather continued til breakfast time when we stopped. Bacon and eggs are the only choice after an earlyish start and we enjoyed them. Then we made our way on ward until we came to Penkridge.

Here we shopped at the Co-op and decided to stop for the night.

No a meal of Tandoori chicken, lamb burgers, salads and coleslaw with fresh bakery bloomer awaits us.

Who goes there?

2011-08-07T16:44:00.006+01:00

Out this afternoon for a gentle 3 hour cruise from Cropredy to the foot of Claydon locks and back with a small group of young people on a friends narrowboat I came across this familiar looking vessel.

My grandchildren love the Muddy Waters books but I didn't know that I would come across the real thing so close by.

A quick look at the website reveals all. They are Oxfordshire Narrowboats in disguise.

I will not decry a good thing. If it gets children interested in boating it will be great. However, we may be at the start of Muddy Waters popping up all over the system like Thomas the Tank engine does at every small steam railway in the country on any Bank Holiday. I hope not.

Cruise Photos

2011-07-30T17:16:00.006+01:00

Queuing for a lock! An almost unheard of event considering our usual cruising times. But this cruise we rose late and finished early!

Frances passing Frances

Exiting Weston lock under Bridge 79

A break from a break

2011-07-30T17:04:00.005+01:00

Here is a picture of SONFLOWER at their present mooring. We have taken a break from our break. The sun is shining and we have returned to home base for a week or so. The Best Mate has already hung out a load of washing and the plants on the patio have been watered. My mother's hanging basket has also had the treatment and things are tickety boo.

After a wonderful week of sunshine and very slow cruising around Staffordshire, you may wnder why we have taken a break. There are things that need to be done: Mum needs to get to a summer barbecue party tomorrow afternoon, Piglet needs to get to Norwich on Monday, Mum needs to get to the Dentist on Tuesday, Tigger needs to get to a hospital appointment in Oxford on Thursday. Hence the need for a break!

The real problem is that cruising and cars do not mix. Public transport is patchy and takes hours to get anywhere and these things are best done from the home base.

So SONFLOWER is enjoying her end of garden mooring and we are very grateful to our friends for providing it. We will be back soon!

Nice Day in Stone

2011-07-27T19:50:00.003+01:00

We don't often just hang around and take in a twon. One town is much like the rest since glocbalisation. But Stone has no GAP or Next or anything looking like it. We had a nozey upthe High Street and found a harware shop that sells everything and several nice looking cafe's. Bakers ships that sell fresh bread and a very extensive Co-0p. We also found an Outdoor Pursuits supplier that sells guitar strings and popped our noses intothe local luthier to see teh wonderful range of violins cellos and basses available in this small market town.

We also reconoitred the eateries. The last time we were here there was a Turkish that we tried out but this has now become a mediterranean restaurant which means it serves spaghetti bolognaise like your mother makes. Quite unlike the Italian rstaurant that we visited on the High Street. Here we had Italian food that could not be reproduced at home! The Best Mate's rissotto al Mare was 'the best I have tasted'. The Carbonara was creamier that anything we have ever made. The Meatballs in Tomato and Basil sauce slipped down Tigger's throat almost without a chew and the grilled Swordfish steak was beutiful. A little too dry for Piglet's taste but perfect for mine. The sweets were good too. Gellatti in an Italian restaurant is always a safe bet and the Tiramasalu was a real pick me up. No room for coffee.

Washed down with a caraffe of House Red this was a great meal. The first meal out of our holiday and one to remember.

Thank You Pizza di Piaza La favorita. I am just popping over to put a decent review on

Getting our Act Together

2011-07-26T17:43:00.002+01:00

I have only been out boating for two days bit we have accumulated a large assortment of things for recycling. Coming to Stone I thought that we would be able to discharge our cargo. But no. We have not yet found the approprite place for domestic refuse. Of course I could put it in the bins by the tennis courts but they are already full of other boaters rubbish!

We found the recycling centre behind the Sports Hall. But there they only take paper not cardboard and cans not the full range of gear apart from bottles and glass in their appropriate colours. So we still have our domestic rubbish and plastic recyling.

Why can't the local authority and BW get their act together so that we can dispose of it all responsibly in one place?

Theatre in the Dock

2011-07-23T09:35:00.002+01:00

We visited Theatre in the Dock yesterday evening and had a really good evening listening and joining in the choruses to Where the Working Boats Went http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn evening of song. This was presented by Life and Times, a male duo who presented mostly self penned songs about the canal history from The Duke of Bridgewater to post war nationalisation and transformation into a leisure network. The songs were accompanied by the two musicians on accordion, melodion, squeeze box, mandolin and guitar.

We really enjoyed joining in the choruses.

Such a pity that this acoustically fantastic theatre in Tooleys Dry Dock was only half full (of people, not water silly!)

Well done to producer Kate Saffin

Countdown to the off part 2

2011-07-21T19:18:00.005+01:00

Now is the start of the real countdown to the Summer Cruise.

The long awaited holiday boating experience starts on a few days time. First though a few little details.

To start with the boat is 100 miles away! We usually get provisions (dry goods and staples) sorted out and stowed in their appropriate cupbpards before we leave. This gives us all the necessary ingredients to produce our family's culinary requirements if we don't get near to a supermarket for a week or two. All we need is the fresh basics to be added and a meal can be provided from the cupboard. But this time we are having to use a lot of guess work.

We are basic Aldi shoppers these days and we do know that Aldi have opened a new store in Stone and the store in Stoke-on-Trent is in Trentham, a stone's throw from the T & M Hemheath Bridge 106 so we know that we can stock up within a day or two.

We also know that the boat has been cruising for about 14 days so we will need diesel in about a week. The best place to get deisel though is on the Shroppie. I am not sure of prices on the T & M.

Other little problems are getting a car to where we can leave it for a little while. We need to return to home mooring (by car) for the first week in August so we will be meandering around the Rugely area for a week just because we need to be able to return tothe car. Cars and boats really do not mix! We either have to park near a station and moor near one to return to the car or we park near a canal and return to the car by boat. Either way is not easy. We do not like returning by the same way and finding a mini ring is difficult. The former is the most desiraboe. However, trains do not go the same way as canals any more! Planning is made more difficult by the difficulty in finding buses in rural areas too.

So tomorrow I am driving to Rugely and returning by train to see how good the routes are. We will decide which course of action later!

RCR Service: three times over

2011-07-10T17:40:00.007+01:00

River Canal rescue came this morning to get SONFLOWER moving again.

The first time, in spite of having a very good description of the problem over the phone, they came to look. Two "young guys" our skipper described them as. They went away to get a new morse controller as the obsolete 25 year old Marine Master was broken as described!

They returned well over an hour later with some tools in a plastic box but had to borrow the right size of screw driver to dismantle the old drive. Offering up the new one showed that a screw hole did not line up. They did not have a drill to make a new one! So off they went off to get one. Another hour or so passed and then the new controller was fitted. But not without dropping a couple of screws (for which they had spares), losing a nut (for which they didn't so fitted a larger size)and losing a grommet that they probably didn't know they had knocked off as they left the hole empty.

However, the new RCR parts insurance scheme is beginning to pay off as all that was charged was the £50.00 excess. Here it is looking the business:

I had assured my relief crew that they would be under way in no time. In fact they didn't get away until well into the afternoon. I caught up with them at Claydon locks and they were them settling into the cruise and were very pleased to be making headway. Here they wave good bye at Claydon Top Lock

Breakdown

2011-07-09T22:26:00.008+01:00

The last three things to do today I did not get done!

The crew left banbury on the Summer Cruise at about 4.30pm today but we did not get to do the greaser or the briefing.

So I decided to go to Cropredy to meet the boat after I had been to the matinee of Piglet's school perfomance where he played violin in the orchestra.

I got to Cropredy Wharf at about 5.30 NSD passed a little time on our friend's boat, playing his takemene guitar and sipping his malt whisky while I waited for Sonflower to come and they got ready to go to a barn dance. Sonflower did not arrive before 6pm so I phoned to find that the engine lost power at Bridge 157! Just before Slat Mill Lock. I got in the car and went as close as I could (Slatt Mill Farm) and accessed the canal at Bridge 156 and walked down the towpath past the lock to Bridge 157. There I found that the skipper of the crew had diagnosed the problem as metal fatigue on the Marine Master morse controller. A cable tie was put in place to jury rig the controller enough to get the boat through the lock and I left the crew to navigate to Cropredy Wharf where we called River Canal Rescue.

Here is Sonflower limping toward the wharf with hardly enough reverse drive to stop safely.

This picture shows the cable tie on the controller mechanism.

RCR said they have a queue of breakdowns so we moored the boat opposite the winding hole by Bridge 157 and await their call tomorrow morning.

I left the crew at 9.30pm preparing dinner.

Not a good start to the cruise.

Getting Ready Diary

2011-07-09T09:38:00.004+01:00

Yes! It is time for SONFLOWER to start her Summer Cruise. The last day has seen more rain than we have had collectively since March and the sky is full of Cumulo Nimbus clouds ready to pour more delight and pleasure on the helmsman.

We have spent the last week getting her ready. Not that there was much to do but there is always something. I have put some paint on the rusty patches of the roof. In true Bonesy DIY style I rubbed it all down and primed patches of it only to find that I didn;t have any top coat to apply! Tooleys had no Craftmaster Raddle in light grey in stock so I have been waiting two weeks.

MONDAY: While taking a group if children from the local primary school for a short boat trip through town on Monday Tooley's Matt chased me down the towpath woth a pot of paint in his hand as he knew we wanted to be ready to go this weekend! Bless him. A real plus for good local customer service. Visited Sovereign Wharf to fill up with Diesel and change a gas bottle. Also bought a new chimney to replace one that has suffered from impact with Nell Bridge and Aynho Bridge on more than one occasion.

TUESDAY: Weather Rain and Wind Twiddles thumbs waiting for a dry spell!
WEDNESDAY: Sunny Intervals. Dashed down and got on with the painting in a very warm sunny interval. The paint was almost dry before the brush/roller left the surface. So many boats coming by commented that I would makeit rain. It did rain but after the paint was touch dry so I am hoping it will be OK.
FRIDAY: Clearing and cleaning. Removing as much of the clutter that a family leaves on a boat just in case. Lost the vacuum cleaner to find that the last people who borrowed the boat had stowed it in the tinder box! (the from step). Checked engine hole and noticed that the greaser needs filling bit no time to do it today. Very wet rain.
TODAY: Do the greaser, check the bilge. Brief the crew

Spot the Difference

2011-06-09T17:02:00.004+01:00

Well done Tesco!

How to increase the price by stealth.

A price increase of 11.1% (if you buy in pairs)at the 'offer' price of 2 for £2 by reducing the weight from 1000ml to 900ml. Interestingly the new 900ml pack is dimensionally bigger!

Blustery Day(s)

2011-05-30T19:56:00.002+01:00

We would have liked to be boating on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. It is Summer after all. But. . .

The wind has been quite strong and the only place to go for an afternoon cruise is Cropredy. The wind whips across the fields and hits the boat sideways just above Little Boughton lock. A friend of mine found this out as we approached the lock from the north. I got off at Little Boughton Bridge 158 to walk to the lock to set it. After filling the lock and opening the gate I looked back and SONFLOWER was nowhere to be seen! She was pinned against the bank on the outside of the bend by the wind- just out of sight from the lock!

So we watched the clouds scudding across the sky, dreamt of a cruise another day and went for a coffee on our friends' boat as they were moored in town on their way to the Kennet And Avon from Market Harborough. It was a very pleasant visit. We had not been on their (new) boat before and, as with all bespoke boats, it was full of good ideas. The cassette emptying through the back of a hinged bookshelf was particularly impressive. It may re-appear in our bathroom re-design!

We did visit the boat to replenish bedding and check on a few things. The water tank was still full and the bilge empty which is always a good sign. The fridge inventory was checked and the next provisioning list started.

Maybe we will cruise in the sunny near future. After all June starts on Wednesday!

On Thursday we have a planned trip with some youngsters so hopefully the weather will improve.

A going concern

2011-05-19T18:49:00.004+01:00

I told you that I would keep you up to date with All the boaty news. SONFLOWER is now on Sovereign Wharf who have kindly allowed me to moor there to use the electric hook up to run a big vacuum cleaner/aquavac. One small inconvenience of having one's generator stolen is that my inverter is not man enough for really tough tasks.

I could not moor on the Wharf until after closing time(4pm)so while I was waiting I tackled one of the jobs I have been putting off. There was a weep spotted from the seal between the toilet and the holding tank. The fixing bolts were wobbly and closer inspection revealed that the toilet was actually only attached to the tank by one of the four!

So I went to Lee Sanitation yesterday and handed over £30 of my hard gained wonger in return for a genuine Sealand Traveler Seal kit which, thankfully included the bolts nuts and washers.

I had pumped out this morning and Ray at the Wharf had allowed me double the normal allownace of blue so the smell was sufferable as I removed the toilet, cleaned up the flange and refitted the loo with a new seal.

We are fully serviceable again!

Not fast but speedy

2011-05-16T14:30:00.005+01:00

SONFLOWER has returned to home mooring.

The crew that brought her home from Rickmansworth left there at 10.30am on Tuesday and were in Banbury yesterday lunchtime. (Sunday) They were at Cropredy overnight on Saturday. They therefore covered 102 miles and 103 locks in five days which means travelling for at least 11 hours a day! and probably in reality nearly dawn to dusk! The crew of three consisted of a rooky helmsman and a young man who had only been on a boat for a couple of days with his school some years back. The 'admiral' absconded for a day as well. I left them at Marsworth Junction on Wednesday evening. I was tired after just two
days at their pace.

Didn't they do well!

They enjoyed every minute! To be out in sunshine and passing through the greenery of Middlesex, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire with peaceful waters beneath the boat was quite a change from London

Continuous Mooring

2011-05-07T12:45:00.003+01:00

The waterways press is still discussing the ways and means of preventing those who oversatay on moorings bringing legitimate 'continuous cruisers' into disrepute. All sorts of charging schemes have been suggested. I feel that those who break their license conditions should be the ones to bear the penalty of their actions, not the rest of us whether holding a home mooring or not.

The subject has been at the front of my mind recently as I wrote a tongue in cheek song to share at the 'boaters entertainment' at IWA Canalway Cavalcade. I wrote "Continuously Cruising" last year and this year I looked for those excuses that turn a continuous cruiser into a continuous moorer.

Here are the lyrics I came up with. Any comment or additional verses considered!

Chorus:
We're one step ahead of the mooring warden
One step ahead of the BW man
One step ahead of the mooring warden
Slowing down as fast as we can

We have reasons aplenty for wanting to stay
Our bird-feeder's here and it's used every day
Feeding finches and sparrows, robin and Jay
We'll fracture the food chain if we go away.

Our cat will get lost if we move on today
We cannot go yet as she's mousing away
In the fields where the farmer is cutting hay
That's our excuse so we've nothing to pay.

CH

Some say we're selfish but how could that be?
We damage no banks and harm nobody
We sit in our boat drinking strong cups of tea
Harmlessly watching our flat-screen tv

Our satellite dish is fixed to a tree
Our coal stock's protected by cctv
Were broken down with no battery
We cannot move! Now don't you see

CH

Making fenders and buttons for people to see
We are waterways traders and I think you'll agree
We've been here so long we've become history
For 200 years our moorings were free.

The hedges and verges here glisten with rain
The daffs that we planted are blooming again
It's nice here and moving is really a pain!
If you see what we mean then join our refrain:

CH

We were there!

2011-05-03T14:42:00.004+01:00

Proof that we were at Little venice in the Canalway Cavalcade 2011 has appeared on youTube

We are in shot at 0.56, 2.51, and 5.07 Enjoy as we did!

Thank you to photographer SEE LI

Into London (belated)

2011-04-27T21:05:00.004+01:00

Yes, the same 'family reasons' kept The Best Mate and Tigger in dry dock on Maundy Thursday while Piglet and I took SONFLOWER the rest of the way to Paddington Basin. This time we took it a bit steady. Only nine locks (and we shared three of them) the first afternoon and we were moored below Cowley lock before sunset.

Just after sunrise on Good Friday morning we were on our way and moored at Bulls Bridge Tesco at 8am for a little shopping. Piglet woke up just as we pulled away and drifted through the flotsom strewn murky waters of the Paddington Arm. We didnt stop again until Greenford Visitor Moorings where we used the water point and winding hole and washed both sides of the boat. Breakfast of bacon and eggs was taken in traditional fashion.

Then on again until Mitre Bridge No6 (Scrubbs Lane) where we paid our respects to my brother with a scattering of rose petals on the surface of the water.

Then to Paddington Basin and a berth next to M & S HQ under the beady eyes of their security guard. After a quick lunch we were off to Trafalgar Square to be tourists and watch the open air theatre 3pm production of a "Passion Play".

Then we picked up tickets for the evening performance of the show "We will Rock You" and ate a pre-show dinner in Meds on Cambridge Circus before resting awhile in the beautiful garden before a very enjoyable evening out. Our Standing Only tickets didn't mar our enjoyement of the music of Queen and the humour of Ben Elton.

Then back to the boat for bed and the return journey back in the morning for Easter: to Rickmansworth by tube and Banbury by car.

18.5miles, 9 locks

A photo

2011-04-17T19:36:00.001+01:00

Piglet at the helm entering one of the 103 locks on the recent cruise toward London.

First Cruise of the Season

2011-04-15T17:58:00.004+01:00

It is hard to believe but we have got to April without going anywhere apart form local moves to get water, gas or pump out.

But We have just started the cruising season. We left home mooring with a full crew last Saturday and got to The wharf at Fenny Compton that evening. The Best mate and Tigger left us on Sunday morning to return to shore for family reasons leaving me and Piglet to crew the boat "as far as we could" toward Paddington where we hope to enjoy the IWA Cavalcade at the end of the month.

It was a hard cruise with the two of us as the Grand Union Canal is full of heavy gates. The traffic was also very light with more boats moored up in their hire bases than out on the cut during the holidays. We only had company in two of the wide locks during the last week. We achieved a mooring below Batchworth Lock this morning. 101.75 miles, and 103 locks.

The weather stayed fine but cold. We made a couple of connections on the way. I met Mike from Rochester and discovered that the blog has got a reader! He recognised the boat and introduced himself.

We are glad to have a short break as we wait for the rest of the crew to join us again for the next part of the journey.

Happy New year

2011-01-01T00:31:00.003Z

Yes, happy New Year to all you in bloggerland.

I have been to check up how SONFLOWER is after the long cold spell. The arctic temperatures did cause a little bit of damage to the exposed pipework around the water heater. The joints that had blown out were quickly re-instated and the water system worked ok.

The engine started quite easily and I let it run for about an hour to make sure that the calorifier was functioning and the batteries were topped up. I ran the hot water through the taps and all seemed well.

I lit a small fire to get the saloon warm and checked that the gas was still ok.

So I drained the water heater and wrappedit in a large towell and hope that this will keep off the frost in the next cold snap.

The New Year cruise has been cancelled. She is still surrounded by ice about two inches thick. There is no way we will be breaking out of that.

Brrr and leak or no leak

2010-12-01T10:14:00.005Z

I am sorry that I haven't blogged for so long. The fact is that there has been little to blog about. All I have done on the boat since the last post is 'winterise' SONFLOWER.

And that is not a lot! I have topped up the engine coolant with antifreeze and drained the gas water heater. Apart from that my winter preperations are on a hope for the best basis. I did take the pressure off the water system and open a couple of taps and switched the water pump off in a hope of keeping frost damage on the water system to a minimum.

One other little bit of news is non news. I investigated a reported leak on the loo flushing valve. Copius amounts of kitchen towel roll had been used to keep the flow of water at bay. However, I couldn't find one! After an hour of lying on the bathroom floor and waggling the valve and checking the connectiona and gland for leaks I gave up. I cannot repair a leak that isn't there! I also cannot decide whether to buy a new valve as a strategic spare and keep it just in case the leak re-appears.

The canal is frozen over and snow lies on the ground while frost hangs pendulously from the branches of the trees above. A few last autumnal leaves flutter down and all glistens brightly in the sunlight. Winter has arrived.

Gone again

2010-10-22T20:20:00.005+01:00

I went to the boat this morning to get it into town to handover to a couple of freinds who are borrowing her for the weekend to find that the petrol portable generator has been stolen again! Chained to the boat with two padlocks the chain was just smashed apart.

I have no idea what to do. The police will have no chance of catching the thieves who are probably many miles away and have disposed of the item by now.

If any one is offered a Suburu Robin 1700i petrol generator with broken clips on the front facia please let me know.

Tidying Up

2010-10-17T13:10:00.005+01:00

At the end of the cruising season there are always little jobs that need doing. I have been plagued by diesel leaks over the last couple of years and I thought that the engine overhaul would sort it all out. How wrong I was.

In spite of the engine overhaul being carried out by the acknowledged experts on marinised BMC engines for use on the canal, I have had a leak from a joint on the injector. Small but inconvenient as it covers the side of the engine with diesel, making it sticky an attractive to any muck that is around, soaks the absorbent matting in the oily bilge and puts the 'clean' bilge at risk (and hence the canal) should any splash over the side. I do not like leaving rainbows every time the bilge pump operates!

So I have had the faulty injector changed and sent away for repair. Here is a picture of the item and the invoice.

It is hard to believe that £10.00 worth of work could cause anxiety, worry, risk to the environment and heartache!

Tooley's Botyard have been very good, accepting their responsibility in curing the problem even though the acknowledged experts on marinised BMC engines for use on the canal only give a six month warranty which was, effectively, over before the cruising season started.

So my engine bay is clean and tidy once again.

Winter Moorings

2010-10-04T20:40:00.004+01:00

British Waterways winter moorings go on sale from today. I followed the link and did a search for 'Banbury' returning one result for Banbury Tramway at a price of £8.66 per metre per month.

I recently won a BW moorings auction for £1070 per annum for an 18 metre berth. That is £4.95 per metre a month. Didn't I do well being the only bidder!

Come on British Waterways: that surely is the market value you should be offering the moorings at.

Little Disagreements

2010-10-04T17:19:00.002+01:00

A visitor to the town had a difference of opinion with a canalside business today. Sadly, it ended up costly to him in time and money as the business refused to serve him. I know that the matter will not end there as the towpath telegraph and electoronic communication is a very effective conveyor of the experiences of the disgruntled.

I am a firm believer that the local businesses along the canal need our patronage. Without them we would be left to carry cans of deisel from a petrol station, bottles of blue from the caravan centre, coal from the stockist etc etc. We already have to choose our moorings to be close to the appropriate DIY facility when making repairs or re-furbishments. Getting to a place where you expect a service to find it closed is not pleasant as we experienced during our Summer Cruise but we have usually found a handy next place down the cut! If we do not use them however, the 'next place' could be a very long way away.

So upsetting them does not seem a good idea to me.

"A gentle word tuns away wrath" is a proverb to remember.

More of the same

2010-10-04T16:39:00.003+01:00

Here is a picture of the decorous front end of SONFLOWER in bright sunshine.
and here is the back end. She is dressed up for Banbury Canal Day, our annual home waterways festival.

During the Boaters Bash on the Saturday evening, when we enjoyed a beer, food and folk music by Nick Nack Paddy Wack, fresh from their national success at Beale Park, the rain started and it didn't stop until about 3 in the afternoon of the Sunday!

The rigging fell down in the night wind and we lost a bungy in the canal. My sea-searcher was put into employment but passing boats had moved it to a spot unknown or picked it up on the prop! Sorry if it was you who found it through your weed hatch!

We pitched the Boaters Christian Fellowship stall under the Tom Rolt Bridge and kept dry but windblown for most of the day. Appropriately the theme of the day was the Centenary of TCR's birth. The canalside service was held there too.
We had a steady stream of passers by, some of whom stopped to talk or listen to the songs from 1910 which we performed unplugged while children painted roses on paper plates, a skill we had picked up at Little Venice IWA Cavalcade.

Those who braved the weather had a good time. The town council tried hard to put on a good show and we were visited by several notables throughout the day including the Town Mayor, Chair of Cherwell District Council, journalists from national and local press, friends and visitors for all over the country.

Quite a few bloggers made themselves known too. It is good to meet people face to face as well as over the internet.

an ARK!

2010-09-11T17:14:00.004+01:00

This afternoon we had a lovely afternoon boating. Well, Eeyore and Piglet didn't actually get onto a boat but the Best Mate spent the afternoon nattering on the cruiser stern of a friends boat as it descended Napton Locks. We offered to do what Granny Buttons calls 'lock wheeling' for them because they are on a tight schedule to return from the IWA National, where they have been part of the set up crew, to Milton Keynes for heart surgery. The heart problem means that they should not be doing more than 5 locks per day. But progress at that rate would be too slow. A little help sped them on their way.

Halfway up we met blogger nb Harnser who was almost home!

Strolling back up the flight we met an aggravated boater who had plainly signalled to a boat descending the locks to leave the lock bottom gates open. They had closed them and the boat behind filled the lock. Why are people so inconsiderate? We were able to make her smile by opening the gates of the next lock.

That's how we will change the world and their 'go faster' attitude; one Act of Random Kindness at a time.

Here is a photo of our friends waving goodbye as they pass Folly Bridge no 113

Navigation?

2010-09-08T17:18:00.006+01:00

We had a lovely day out today to this idyllic Tudor mansion in Warwickshire.

Charlcote Park house is not open on Wednesday or Thursday but the out buildings, including a brew house and carriage collection, and the gardens are. The Parterre adjoins the River Avon and the views are wonderful. I noted however that the chub, clearly visible in the crystal clear water, are battling against a current of at least 1 m/sec (2.1/4 mph). It occurred to me that really, this stretch of the Upper Avon is NOT really suitable for a navigation as desired by some.
Can you imagine a 65 ft narrowboat in this picture?
No, I thought not!

The gardens are delightful including a short woodland walk during which we saw young blackbirds drinking at a pond, a nuthatch feeding on a pine tree, jays and listened to a woodpecker hammering somewhere above us. We really enjoyed the latte, brownie and shortbread in the daily open restaurant too.

Pictures

2010-09-06T16:05:00.003+01:00

Just a couple of pictures from The Summer Cruise

Here she is going under Ugly Bridge No 52 heading for the seventh lock on the 21 lock Hatton Flight.

This one attempts to capture SONFLOWER with sunflowers in the background. You can just about see a few specks of yellow! I will never make a photographer.

On a Ring (continuing)

2010-09-04T14:27:00.005+01:00

More texts from Stuart and Margs who are navigating the Leicester Ring:

Wednesday 1 September:Ahoy Cap'n just reporting in! Another good 2days thro beautiful canal/riverscapes wiv great weather. NOw just south of Leicester at Aylestone. . .praying for you daily. wil check in on Friday

Friday 3 September: We had a pump out today and am not sure how much blue to put in before we use it. [My reply: About a litre from the blue bottle.]

Saturday 4 September Thank you. sori I missed cal. prob goin up Foxton flight. all else is good as well. lv from us X

Isn't it amazing the stuff we take for granted after a while. Although I hired boats on many occasions before buying SONFLOWER it wasn't until I owned her that I had to bother with things like pump outs, blue, gas, deisel and grease. I will have to add more to my briefings!

On a ring

2010-08-30T22:27:00.005+01:00

We have left SONFLOWER in the good hands of Stuart and Marg who told us that they would be taking her round the Leicester Ring.

They have updated us on her position by text:

Thursday 26th August: Rain stopped at 3.30 so we motored on - done 11 locks today and moored up by Drayton just as the rain returned. V pleasant afternoon Thank you.

Saturday 28th August: Haqd two gr8 days on S'F- really good weather. O/N yest bout mile short of Fradley; 2nite at Willington. Boat behavin well. Canal today busy.

Monday 30th August Report in for today from just outsiode Loughborough. Nother fine and easy cruising day wiv sunshine all the way. Trent and Soar both v peaceful! No hiccups at all from the good ship SONFLOWER.

It appears that they are having a very good cruise. As usual, if any one ses them give them a cheery wave!

End of the Summer Cruise

2010-08-26T18:11:00.003+01:00

Yes, today we ended the Summer cruise in grey wet August skies. The rain, so light that it hung in the air, persisted all morning but we managed our little saunter from the overnight mooring at Minworth Top Lock to a rendezvous at The Kingsley. Once a Beefeater Tavern and latterly styled Kingley Canalside, this pub appears to be no more. There certainly was no life there today at 12noon! There is a notice on the window about an application to the licensing authority to extend opening hours to 0800am to 0300am. Any opening hours would have been welcome on a cold wet August Thursday! Our lunch with friends here was cancelled and we loaded our things into their car, bid them bon voyage and drove away to find some dinner elsewhere. The Toby Carvery in Knowle was en route as we followed the way we had come: Lapworth, Hatton, Warwick/Leamington, and thence to Banbury.

We could have covered in 45 minutes what ot had taken us over a fortnight. But on the way back I did not see a kingfisher, its irredescent blue back glowing in the morning sunlight, alighting on a swaying branch and them swooping low, almost touching the water, as it considered discretion a better option and flew to the safety of an oak tree across a waving hay meadow. No, the Stratford Canal provided something special to remember.

The heart of the country

2010-08-24T22:45:00.005+01:00

We had to stop at the Wedge's Bakery shop close to Bridge 20. It just drew us toward it for the elements of a delicious lunch. A cottage loaf, a pork pie and some cakes that didn't last until lunchtime.

After that a disappointment that Simon Goldsborough was not open for business at Warings Green Wharf it was great to Lyons Boatyard at Bridge 3, just before the Brand wood Tunnel. They had everything we needed, Diesel, Gas and a pump out. All efficiently served with a smile and a bit of banter. They gave the impression that they were boating people who really wanted to give a service to boaters. Freat customer service two days running!

We have arrived in the great city of Birmingham. One thing about having an ASD son is that you get to do a lot of the same things. Today we went to Pizza express. Each time we come we go there to watch the man make the pizza bases. I have no idea how he does it. A bit if swish swashing between his hands followed by some knuckle fisting and turning and then a bit of pressing into the edges of the plate and voila! a perfect pizza base that comes out of the oven as cripy on the edges and as soft as you like it in the middle. And not only that. He does it time and time again exactly the same way and with exactly the same result.

We love this excursion to Pizza Express. Two hours of entertainment and good food finished off with Italian Ice Cream or Tiramasu.

We had a wonderful evening and, no doubt, we will do it again next time we come to Brum.

It's Raining, it's. . .

2010-08-24T10:25:00.006+01:00

Yesterday we made good process from our overnight mooring at Hatton Top Lock, patting ourselves ont eh back for our previous eveining's work. It was a nice morning and we soon got to Tom o' the Hill moorings water point. Here the condition of the side of our boat was noted. The flanks were caked with mud splattered up to mid window level by the heavy rain during the night impacting on the already muddy towpath. Nothing that a good hose down would not cure, however, and The Best Mate shut all the windows and handed me the nozzle for the hose.

After our ablutions we progressed to Kingswood Junction where we stopped for bacon butties before the ascent of Lapworth flight. The start was good although we were following a Canalclub (ressurrected Canaltime) boat that was slightly impeded by inexperience and low water. The helmsman insisted on leaving his lock before the previous one had let water into the pound above and had difficulty keeping afloat!

After three locks oit atarted to rain lightly. Thinking that the weather man's prediction, conveyed to us by a teacher in the boat behind, of "light Showers" was true we were unperterbed. However, the sky darkened and the rain became a deluge and The Best Mate wished that she had taken up the offer of a coat rather than 'enjoying the cooling sfffect'.

Lapworth flight is not the place to be when a rain storm comes on you. There is absolutely nowhere to hide and nowhere to moor to escape the wetting. After ten locks Tigger decided that inside the boat was the only place to be and reduced our crew by a gate opener/closer. I did not blame him as he could not understand that he could not get any wetter!

By the time we got to the second to last lock (No 3)we were glad to find the rain stopping and to find a very knowledgeable and customer orientated BW lengthsman who was adjusting the water levels in the flight. He had responded to the call of a previous boat and was working to help the boaters in spite of the terrible conditions. Well done Mr lengthsman. He also directed us to the nearest hostelry, The Wharf at Hockley Heath, where we moored to dry out, do a bit of shopping at the nearby One Stop and wait for service for dinner to commence.

We were patting ourselves on the back because of our second successful day having navigated 19 locks when nb Firefly joined us on the mooring. They had just completed 12 miles and 40 locks! They deserved their G & T!

We had a meal at The Wharf and were very pleased with what we received. We declined the offer of a carvery meal and selected meals from the Specials board or the main menu. Prices were good value and we also ordered puddings. Here is the Best Mate's Sundae to give some idea of the generosity of the portions!

Fantastic Crew!

2010-08-22T21:39:00.003+01:00

We arrived back at Satisford Arm thanks to our hosts for lunch today. Scrummy full roast chicken dinner with bread sauce and yorkshire puddings and fruits of the forsest marrangue for afters. Wow, thanks Andy, Becky and family.

We decided that the evening was too nice to miss so we paid our dues and slipped the mooring at 5.30 pm with the Hatton Flight before us. At sunset, 2016h, we had conquered it. 21 locks in 2.3/4 hours. Many were set for us but the last four had to be emptied and we met one boat on the way!

Well done crew!

We moored above lock 46 next to two adventure boats full of sea scouts who were coating foil with candle carbon to set track detectors for the night.

The Best Mate set about creating a past and two sauce (tomato and cheese) dinner wich was consumed with gusto and washed down with a Vin Fine de Langedoc.

End of a beautiful day. Only a game of UNO to go.

Onward and Upward

2010-08-21T15:09:00.006+01:00

At least the last two locks that we have worked were up! We are progressing steadily toward the hefty incline of the Hatton Flight. The way from Braunston to here was relatively easy as we had a full crew and a guest 12 year old lad from Germany. He was so keen to impress that he would not allow us to wind the paddles on the large Grand Union (Warwick and Birmingham) canal. We also had the delightful company of Karen, single handed, on nb Aitch. One small hitch was going on the cill while waiting (in the lock) for some hirers who had prepared three locks ahead on the Stockton flight. Filling the last lock lowered the level of the pound and lock just enough to nip SONFLOWER on the submerged second step of the cill. I didn't know there was one! Frantic waving and a bit of refilling soon did the trick and the boat was, fortunately, never in jeopardy.

We followed our new found rule of mooring up whenever a dark cloud or other evidence of precipitation was within sight so the way was slower than many would have expected but very enjoyable. We met nice people at Bridge 100 which is now bedecked with posts and chains to stop the wary falling off the edge where the dilapidated parapet has now been removed.

The ritual end of day game of UNO was enlivened by the introduction of many German 'house rules' that found new uses for many of the UNO cards but these were so confusing that our Britannic minds soon reverted to the standard game.

We also had a couple of very interesting sessions of angling. At one mooring, fairly near the River Leam we were shown a place where brown trout have been known to favour. However the bank was so steep that I took quite a prat fall on the recently moistened path. I didn't go there again and am not too sure that I could find it now either. The same informant told us that there were tench in this stretch of the GU and we proved this by allowing two of them to relieve us of some of our light tackle! We did manage to catch the Saltisford carp. Having waited a lifetime for him I am convinced he was the only one in the Arm. This really is a delightful spot to stop and show our guest Historick Warwick, even if the Doll and Toy Museum has closed. The Museum, in the old market building, was very good with excellent displays of wildlife and paleantology. It is also a nice place to wait for some blue sky before venturing up the flight.

Today we had to say good by to the "Admiral Bismark", as he became afectionately titled, as we took him to catch a flight back home to Germany and big rivers. We hope that he enjoyed a short trip in a pretty little boat on a quaint little English waterway.

Another notable event on the way was a meeting with Granny Buttons in Leamington. We last met on the River Nene in Peterborough last summer. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time for gassing as he needed to get on with "real paying work" not blogging. It was nice to see him on his way to the IWA National, although he did say that he may have to do the last few miles by train as he does not want to venture out on the Thames.

Nowhere to go

2010-08-15T09:45:00.006+01:00

Sorry that I haven't blogged for some time. I have battery problems on the laptop! My 12v power supply does not seem to provide enough power to run it and when the battery "fully charged" it only lasts about ten minutes!

I am now on the generator, out in the country, and hoping that my mains power supply does not cook!

We left Coventry on Thursday with nowhere to go! Here we are leaving the basin behind us. We usually have somewhere in mind when we cruise but this holiday we have nowhere to go. We have to be in a place to have Piglet delivered back to the boat but this could be anywhere. We do not have enough time to go to the end of the Ashby and back so we have been eight miles up and eight miles back.

Here is Marsworth junction, the start of the Ashby canal.

To be honest we miss the locks. It is delightful countryside and a peaceful waterway but we like the diversion and action of working a few locks each day. We have seen a water vole and the bird life is wonderful. Finches, gold, green and chaff, seem to abound and there is always twittering in the hedgerows and fields.

The weather has been awful. We have been totally unable to avoid the heavy showers and have been soaked a couple of times. We have tried to moor up to avoid the rain as we have nowhere to go but just could not find a mooring in time for some of the deluges that have opened up in us.

Today is better. We have seen the sun this morning and are hopeful that we can do a bit of cruising in the dry.

spelling

2010-08-09T20:57:00.002+01:00

Sorry about the speling in the last few posts. My Best MAte has corrected me quite a lot. I will try to do beter in futuer

It isnlt the speling that is a problem it is my fingers that are too fick for the keys

2010-08-09T11:52:00.002+01:00

Here is nb SONFLOWER at her current mooring. This is a real haven and a great place to be. Unfortunately the adjacent pub has been burnt out and we are surrounded by boarded up shop premises and signs of a place very much in decline rather than regeneration. We looked for the City Council information and moorings office this morning. Unfortunately even that has suffered closure.

Pirates!

2010-08-07T18:54:00.009+01:00

There is an entry in our log that says, "Saw pirates, rescued damsels in distress and wrestled giant dragonflies".

Today we were pursued by Pirates aboard Willow Wren day boat Little Grebe! We managed to repel them as they tried to pass in a cutting marked "Unstable Cutting, Falling Trees" as I felt they would end up aground on land-slipped banks or, even worse, send us aground. After this thwarted attack they came past seething threats and "ahar me 'earties!". It was good to see a group of youngsters all set to light heartedly enjoy the water for a day!

They moored just short of Stretton Bridge. Watching their antics mooring was an entertainment in itself but what was happening just through the bridge was another type of entertainment. It turned into a boat handling competition. With hire boats moored three abreast the canal was reduced to single file. One boat had just come through the swing-bridge narrows and gave way for us to pass the moored boats but the two boats behind it did not read the situation and I had to wave the boat behind us back to alleviate serious congestion. We all managed to manoeuvre through but the need to give way gave nb Anita Gail the opportunity to leave the water point on the north side of the narrows between us and the boat behind. No real problem one might think.

However, when passing moored boats I slow down to 1000rpm on my BMC 1500 operating through a 2:1 Hurth gearbox with a 16" propeller. That means about 1.5mph. This was too slow for nb Anita Gail whose skipper shouted at me that he had to keep going into reverse to keep from hitting me! (I recalled Rosamund the Fair who used to keep control of the craft at 1mph with 40 diners aboard by intermittently but regularly using the engine in forward only. If they can do it anyone who has a bit of nous could do it. Going slowly is something every boater should be able to do!) When a space allowed I slowed even more and let him pass seething rage! How could it be MY fault that he couldn't go any slower? There is a boat on the moorings in Cropredy that has a sign in the window: "Keeping full control of a narrowboat at 1 knot is a skill much admired by moored boaters".

We passed them later today moored at Hawkesbury junction. I wonder what they do with the few minutes they saved.

"Some entertain Angels unawares. . ."

2010-08-07T18:45:00.004+01:00

Yesterday evening we moored on the Long term Mooring at Newbold. Tut tut, do I hear you say. (Visitor moorings are very rare here on Friday evenings). After we moored a Rose Narrowboat aimed for the bank in the gap between us and the next boat along and the helmsman asked in a west US accent "Will we fit?". I affirmed this fact and helped them moor. Obviously new to the waterways and oblivious to the BW totem poles they found the first vacant spot near to the hostelries of Newbold. Who can blame them?

After they had had a meal in one of the pubs, I asked them aboard for a drink and found that these adventurous senior citizens of California were a "Pastor to Seniors" and his wife. We spent a wonderful evening in their company and felt very privieledged to be able to give them a little hospitality and enjoy their conversation and put the world to rights from a view from both sdes of the Atlantic.

They were having a weekend "Canal Adventure" going somewhere from whence they shall return. We wish them a very blessed time.

Toward Coventry

2010-08-06T16:00:00.003+01:00

From Bridge 79, our overnight mooring on the North Oxford Canal. we set off in reasonable sunshine to stop at Bridge 73. This allowed time for the engine to heat the water in the calorifier so that we could all have a shower and also an opportubity to cook a breakfast. Reasearch on the internet (what did we do without it?)indicated that this was the nearest point on the canal top an Aldi which was neatly connected by the Stagecoach bus 96, an hourly service between Rugby and Northampton.

So it was also a good place to stop for shopping.

After his breakfast bacon sandwich and bowl of chocopops, Pooh Bear decided that he didn't feel too well and put himself back to bed. The family shopping trip was now reduced to a solo forray by yours truly. Equipped with rumble truck and tesco big bags I set off. Infact, I waked there and back helped by a short cut through a park that was pointed out by a local young Mum who was pushing her sleeping baby and dragging her other youngster that way.

After a successful trip, I returned to helo a hire boat who was pulled off his pins next to our boat by a passing boater. I demonstratee the art of mooring on 'the wrong sort of piling' using rope loops that had been left by a previous moorer. This is much more secure than a mooring stake, however deep it is hallered. The baots just don't seem to go as slow as they should.

Hilmorton locks were worked down in the pleasant company of Robert Anne Spog Dog and Ko who were behind us for quite a while. They were keeping a close eye on the clouds because they don't do boating in the rain.

A bit more cruising was unsertaken befoer a lunch break opposite Clifton Wharf where passing boats entertained us with their antics just before the bridge. Antics actually became a collision just before we left and I was thankful to have already slipped the moorings to be able to reverse as fast as I could to avoid us being the next target.

We continued to Newbold where we have moored at the end of the long term mooring as the remainder of the visitor moorings are full. There are three hire companies in this locality and I think all of them turn round on Saturday. It must be like this every Friday evening. It has started to rain so I don't see why we should go any further to find an alternative. I do pay for a mooring after all! These moorings, like those on which I moor in Banbury, have had space on them all the time I have been in this area. We passed this way in Summer 2003 on a hire boat and I spoke to a long term moorer then while waiting for friends to lunch at the pub. He said he had never known them full. I wonder whether BW really know the length they have to offer! There have been auctions recently and sold two mooring cheaply at the strt of this year. The last auction didn't get a bid for a 10m mooring but I don't think that they have ever advertised the whole vacant length.

Things that need doing

2010-08-04T15:53:00.002+01:00

After a few days with two of the grandchildren in Kent we have returned to Oxfordshire to rendezvous with another who has been staying in our flat for a few days. It has been good to catch up and to do the things that we must do: like visit our doctor and pick up prescriptions etc. Unfortunately we are at the age when free prescriptions become a necessity!

Hopefully we are back on the boat in the morning!

Network Coverage

2010-07-31T16:34:00.003+01:00

I have just had a text from a friend who asks "just a qn about internet access on canals. Do you ever get connections or use it or is it a waste of time?"

The real answer is that it varies. We are on 3 network. On the way to Braunston this week we have been out of signal from Fenny Compton to Napton. However Braunston, which used to be a mobile phone blackspot, is fine. We bumped into a friend who was wandering around Braunston looking for his wife! He complained that there is no signal for O2 users. However at Napton O2 is fine.

So it depends on which network one uses and obviously the terrain immediately around the canal. Signal strength at Braunston has always been far better standing on one leg on the arm of the seat half way up the path toward the post office from the marina bridge.

The real answer is to check the signal map for your network before setting off and then take into consideration that there is bound to be no signal in a cutting on the approach to a tunnel! Calls tend to get cut off in the bottom of Somerton Deep lock as well.

All of you bloggers must think it is all right and with iphones and newer technology it is getting better all the time.

A great idea comes to fruition

2010-07-31T16:29:00.003+01:00

Here is the result of a suggestion by friends of ours.

We have had difficulty bolting the front door fo4rm the inside since we bought the boat because you have to hold the sharp edged bolt and pull it toward you thus increasing friction between it and the slide which makes it difficult to get into the socket to secure the door.

Our friends borrowed the boat and had the same difficulty. "Could you fit a handle to pull the door in while we bolt it?" thye asked.

Well her it is!

Water Shortage

2010-07-29T14:45:00.003+01:00

We got awed in Cropredy ay after a couple of showers yesterday and arrived in Cropredy to moor a couple of hundred youards short of Bridge e 153 at 10.30pm. The water levels were very low and there were BW craft all over the place. A tug, a facilities craft and a hopper were between the Mill and the Bridge. We could not get the stern nearer than 10feet from the bank but because ofthe hour moored like that anyway.

This morning we found out the reason: a BW man informed us that Slat Mill top gate was leaking badly and there would be a four hour stoppage tomorrow morning for repairs to seals. The water supply from the River Cherwell has been cut to 25% of the normal because of shortage of water for Thames Water at Banbury. Hence the low levels.

We rendezvoused with Matt the mechanic of Tooley's at 0930 this morning and he got 'a bit more' on the injector joint that has been leaking. He left it dry of diesel but asked me to keep an eye on it. If the leak persists the injector assembly will neeed to be sent away for remedial work and pressure testing.

We left at about 10.00am and have made progress but needed to fill every lock on the way to our lunch stop at Claydon Top Lock. We expect to moor near The Wharf at Fenny Compton this evening.

It is great to be cruising. One small problem is that I have forgotten the lead that connects phone to laptop. Pictures will need to be added later!

Setting Off

2010-07-28T17:39:00.002+01:00

We should be setting off on our Summer travels now. Unfortunately, the BBC weather site has got it all wrong and the whute cloud that should be here is a few shades darker than that and there is wet stuff falling all around. Why boat in the rqin if in doesn't have to? As I write the sunis breaking through so we may make a move sometime this evening.

Today's trip t the Joh Radcliffe hospital to see Professor P int eh Neurology department went very wel. The patient is doing very well and we don;t have to make this particular trip again until September 2011. While the Best Mate and thepatient were waiting for the good professor, I went for a wander. I investigated the Thresher down the road who advertised a tempting real ale offer and then walked along Marston Road for a little way intending to get a bus somewhere and back. However, I was lured by the mellow tones of a tenor saxaphine that were emanating from a wonderful looking shop that boated brass and woodwind instrument supplies and repairs. I entered and once inside wished that I played a wind instrument and could have a go at teh treasures on display. I spent a wonderful twenty minutes talking about music since the fifties with the proprietor. Once a professional musician, and always a business man, he had played with the greats like Ronnie Scott and now had the business as a paying hobby. One of only two brass speciaists in the country now. I didnlt know such a place exisited. As I left I walked away to the hauntong tones of jazz from the solo sax.

He recommended a guitar shop in Summertown for my next visit to JR!

Intermittent Cruising

2010-07-23T15:18:00.007+01:00

Some of our regular readers will be wondering why we are not on our way to Cropredy, Fenny Compton, Napton and all points north as is our usual practice as soon as the schools break up.

We have to delay our cruise this year by the necessity of wafting Piglet to Paradise, aka as Luton Airport, at silly o'clock on Monday morning so that he can fly to Germany for an international youth conference. While there, he will be palling up with a Germam lad who will come back to England via Birmingham International Airport. They then need to be taken to another youth event, Newday, which is at Norwich showground again this year. They will be delivered back by another parent and we will then have some additional crew for a short cruise. The pal will need to return to Germany from BHX.

All this means that the summer cruising, which is usually of the continuous nature, will be intermittent with much consideration given to safe moorings, buses, trains and trips to the car. Consideration will also be given to long pounds and lock free canals.

I will attempt to keep posting blogs of interest. These too may continue to be intermittent rather of a continuous nature.

Pleased to be of service

2010-07-12T15:14:00.003+01:00

To the ladies of narrowboats Puddleduck and Digitalis, who were looking for the bus stop in Cropredy to get a bus to Banbury, I just say that I am pleased to have been of service.

I always wonder how these little villages carry on with only two buses a day and, in this case, the return bus leaves Banbury at 2pm which is early in any body's book. To have to depend on the village shop (if there is one) must be diffucult. In the case of Cropredy however, the village store (Bridge Stores next to Bridge 153) is excellent even though it is a bit pricey by supermarket standards.

I just happened to use the luxurious 2pm service to get back to Cropredy this afternoon as we left the boat there overnight. An excellent trip.

She's in Fenny Compton!

2010-07-10T21:38:00.004+01:00

Yes, SONFLOWER is in Fenny Compton this evening. We lent her to a couple of friends who took their family for a ride. One daughter was 20 yesterday! She brought along her boyfriend; another daughter was aboard with her husband and tiny daughter; and grandmother came too.

They wrote in the log that they had seen pirates! They apparently only stopped for lunch and Pimms!

I am sure that they enjoyed themselves.

Meanwhile. . . . we were enjoying a barbeque in a friends garden with visitors from Atlanta, USA and spent a lot of the evening comparing little ol' England to the big US! A good time was had by all and quite a few steaks were consumed withthe salad.

Tomorrow we will be boating back!

Lad's Day Out pt 2

2010-07-09T16:39:00.003+01:00

A picture of SONFLOWER entering Slat Mill Lock with Alan on the tiller. He had declared that he had no intention of working any locks today. He certainly couldn't from there!

A great day was had by all and both the lads were asleep when the girls arrived!

PREP FOR THE LADS

2010-07-05T19:02:00.002+01:00

I have done a little bit if shopping today for a lad's day out on the boat tomorrow.

eggs
bacon
sausages
mushrooms
tomatoes
bread
butter
coffee

Anything missing?

Another wedding today

2010-07-03T19:05:00.002+01:00

No boating again this weekend. We are at a wedding. We attended the church service at this afternoon and are now preparing to attend the evening reception.

A lovely picturesque village church setting right next to this lovely and newly restored castle.

However it was not the Manorial family who were celebrating. Quite a large and dressed up congregation however.

For the second week running the bride exited to "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba"

Dressed for boating?

2010-06-28T09:00:00.009+01:00

Here is a picture of the Best Mate, leaning on a balance arm on the Caen Hill flight. No, she is not dressed for boating but for the wedding we were attending in Trowbridge in Saturday. The reception was in Devizes so we had to pop in to see the Caen Hill Flight on the way. The stifling heat demanded a drink at the little cafe on the flight.

This flight is a wonder. It was our first visit. I must say that looking down the flight with locks receding into the distance in an uncountable number from the top is an amazing view. We have not taken SONFLOWER onto the Kennet and Avon at all yet. One day we will. One certainty, according to the Best Mate, is that we will not be approaching from the Severn and Avon tidal waters. So our first experience of this flight will be descending. I imagine that it will be a very memorable day.

We had a lovely day at the wedding of Sarah and Chris (who have borrowed Sonflower last year). I love weddings and hope that they are enjoying this blissful state.

AFTER THE MATCH Pt 2

2010-06-28T08:21:00.003+01:00

Only it was a different match! The defeat against Germany yesterday could have led to many a fan jumping in the canal last night. Disappointment is one thing because England played badly but the decision to disallow a perfectly good goal was unbelievable.

Where is common sense? Everyone in the stadium knew the reality at half time. Why didn't the referee talk to the German captain, admit his mistake and award a goal at the re-start?

Where is sportsmanship? Knowing that the goal had been scored, the Germans could have passed the ball into their own net to equalise the game.

But then football isn't a sport any more. It is a business. And on the basis of the decision made, it is just about winning. And that has little to do with goals scored any more.

AFTER THE MATCH

2010-06-18T22:15:00.004+01:00

After the performance of the England team this evening it was good to walk along the canal and see this scene. Such serenity, even in the heart of a busy town in a Friday night is a treat that would cheer up the most dejected and downcast soul.

Five live, bless them, have just reminded me of Italia 90 when England did not win their first two games and ended up in the semi-final, going out on penalties to Germany. Apparently there is hope for the hopeless.

Rooney was awful tonight. Why make the same substitutions as were made in the last match. Obviously Cappello believes he doesn't need to change the system. Any fan who watched tonight will know that he needs to put the team out and tell them to play like they do week in and week out for their team back home. As in 1966, they need to do it their way. Hurst, Peters and Moore were playing the West Ham way for England. They shined. Terry, Cole, Cole and Lampard do it for Chelsea, Rooney and Carrick do it for Man U, Carragher and Gerrard do it for Liverpool, and there are six Tottenham lads in the squad. Let them do it for England.

Summertime. . .

2010-06-14T14:39:00.007+01:00

. . .and the living is easy! So George and Ira Gershwin's song goes and we took advantage of it for a little cruise down the canal to Nell Bridge and back. Being a Friday there was very little traffic around the town and we passed through without any holdup to enter the countryside and enjoy the irises that are blooming in the reed beds at the bankside.

The birds were enjoying the sunshine and reed bunting, reed warbler, blackcap, goldfinches and a linnet were clearly seen sunning themselves on the margin of the canal and a buzzard wheeled away to a dot against the blue sky.

We were going there and back again just because we can! My crew was new to this pleasure but he very soon came to appreciate how calming a day in the water can be.

We stopped to fry up a luncheon of bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms (all in the same pan, of course) which was enjoyed moored near Twyford Mill. We were so near the madness of the rushing M40 motorway but it didn't affect us at all. What a priviledge to be able to escape the ratrun of daily life to the peace of the canal. I was reminded of a friar at Aylesford Priory (backing on to the M20, beside the River Medway) who told me in a lovely Irish lilt "The voice of the Lord is like many waters so I thinks of the sound as a waterfall!" Closing my eyes I knew what he meant.

We turned at the Nell Bridge winding hole and returned to town for a BBQ.

The boat stayed at Tooley's for a little more engine tlc.

New Picture

2010-05-28T18:38:00.002+01:00

This is a photo of a lovely picture that has just been given to us by a friend who took it. It is called "Wall to wall sunflowers" and was photographed in Kent.

We love it and now have to decide where it can be displayed to reflect its glory.

Thank you both.

Another tow-path problem

2010-05-19T19:33:00.006+01:00

Here is a picture of a cow-slip that has been strimmed! These beautiful wild flowers are getting quite rare. If I had picked them I could have been prosecuted under the Wildlife and Countryside Acts. British Waterways' contractors however seem oblivious to the plight of these lovely wild flowers. They should, at least be allowed to seed before being mown down as they would be in a hay meadow.

About 200 yards from the carnage site, discretely tucked behind the hedge in the margin of the farmer's field was a plant that showed all the beauty of this marvel.

Sorry about the blurred image. NO cow-slip was harmed by my bad photography

Marston Doles to Fenny Compton

2010-05-19T19:21:00.003+01:00

I asked the barman at The Wharf, Fenny Compton when they stopped serving lunch. He said 9 o'clock. I assume therefore they are open all day.I set off down the tow-path toward Marston Doles where I had left the Best Mate at the tiller. I anticipated meeting her about half way. In fact here she is approaching Bridge 128 so the plan worked perfectly. I got about an hours walking in.

Having taken over the tiller we then navigated to the 14 day moorings at Fenny Compton in warm conditions. As we approached the end of this little voyage the wind turned a little chilly and we decided to stop for a spot of lunch. 'Two for £8.50' seemed a good deal so we pumped for pie of the day (Chicken and ham) & mash and chicken curry & rice. OK for a lunch was the verdict.

That was enough for today.

Bridge 102 to Marston Doles, gently

2010-05-17T17:30:00.008+01:00

Today we had to do a bit of car hopping. The boat being at Flecknoe Bridge number 102 on the widened section of the Oxford/Grand Union between Braunston and Napton Junction (Wygram's Turn). Here is a picture taken from the bridge as she sets off, without me.

I had to drive to Marston Doles and then walked down the Napton flight to meet the boat at Bridge 112. We worked up Napton bottom lock and moored for a lunch at the Folly Pub. This is under now management but is still operating the old winter menu. Not a lot of originality there. We have avoided the pub since our 'folly of a meal' a couple of years ago. Seeing the 'Under Mew Management' sign we gave it another go. Ok for a pint of Hookey and a snack but not a lot to recommend it really.

We met 'Tia' on the tow-path and then inside using the pub's wi-fi. Now there is something to recommend it! We didn't need ecover and are away for the beer and folk festival in August that they were advertising.

After lunch, the threatening dark haily clouds had cleared and we had the most glorious afternoon to work up the rest of the flight. Here SONFLOWER rises in Lock 11. We moored at Marston Doles just before school out time and a trip back into Banbury. It was great to be boating!

A thorny problem

2010-05-17T16:30:00.005+01:00

I walked down the flight at Napton this morning. The only problem I had was that I forgot my walking boots! I soon picked up a thorny branch in the sole of my sandals.

Inconvenient you may think but not much of a problem. But there were actually loads of branches from the hedge battering that were strewn on the tow-path. The hedges looked nice and are sprouting beautifully and evenly but the tow-paths are a mess.

As fate would have it I met a BW man on a bike. He was not a lengthsman or a lock keeper any more. He is now a Data Collector. I asked him how he could ride a bike on paths like this. I certainly couldn't. He told me that his BW issue bike had solid tyres! Apparently these are available here on the internet.

So BW know about the problem. They can overcome their sloppy quality control on their hedge cutting contractors by expending on solid tyres. A pity they didn't inform the other cyclist I met today who now puts his old holed inner tubes back in as an additional layer between the new one and the tyre, or the man I met last Saturday who is now walking 20 miles a day pushing his bike and trailer from London to Birmingham because he cannot keep up with the puncture repairs.

If BW think the tow-path is a gym, they should take a bit more care to give us a surface we can safely walk, run or ride on.

New Boots!

2010-05-08T11:33:00.004+01:00

Inspired by Maffi's shopping trip to Banbury I ventured into the market today and bought some lightweight walking boots. Now I am equipped for lightweight walking!

I hate shopping so this was a real test. I have to but some new trainers too but one thing at a time!

Caution Stream Increasing

2010-05-04T17:26:00.002+01:00

Having left Little Venice with the intention of making passage from Brentford to Teddington and navigating up the Thames to meet family in Reading, our friends have reconsidered their options.

I looked on the Environment Agency's river conditions site today to find that from Oxford to Boveny lock (below Reading) there were yellow caution notices in force.
"Caution stream increasing - We advise users of all unpowered boats not to navigate and users of powered boats to find a safe mooring. This is because river flows are likely to strengthen and red boards could be displayed very soon and without warning."

Assuming that the water from Oxford will need to get to Teddington, our friends agreed that a couple of days moored in a safe mooring like a lock cutting was not how they wanted to spend their holiday so they have turned north and are taking SONFLOWER back the way she came.

Far Too Busy

2010-05-04T16:55:00.004+01:00

It has been a long time since I have blogged.

SONFLOWER has been to Little Venice again this year for the Canalway Cavalcade. The weather was not quite as kind as last year and we had very heavy rain on Sunday that dampened things down a bit.

Sonflower was taken down to Bull's Bridge by our freinds who had a good time of it, meeting some of their friends on the way.

I met them and Sonflower there and then took her to Little Venice where we moored for the festival. We were not in The Pool this year so felt a bit out of it but we enjoyed taking part in the Saturday night Entertainment and the Parade of Illuminated Boats on Sunday evening after the rain had stopped. Here is a photo of steam working boat President and butty Kildare (slightly out of control) during the parade of historic working boats.

Sonflower is now crewed by another couple of friends for most of the return trip.

Well on the way!

2010-04-25T18:03:00.003+01:00

I have just heard from the crew that they are moored up on the Tring summit ready to start the long descent into the Thames valley down the Marsworth flight.

Back in Banbury we are getting ready to go to the Cavalcade. We need to sort out the boat decoration. I took the christmas lights off our flat balcony yesterday to take with us. Some flashing lights will jolly the rigging and will make it look fun. We have entered the illuminated parade. Whether we parade or not is in the balance. We would have to devise a way of getting the rigging demountable to get under the bridges of Little Venice and we haven't time to work on it. Also we have had the bad news that the head has come off our broom. The broom is an integral part of our normal rig, supporting the bunting at the aft end! Hopefully the stick is still intact.

Also needing prep is a song to perform during the boaters entertainment on Saturday Evening. I have a song written but it needs working on.

I am expecting to have fun whatever happens.