Far Too Busy

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!

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.

Off and Away

I am sorry that I haven't blogged for a while. There needs to be something to blog about and quite honestly there has been little that caught my imagination.

Since we came back from Tooley's we have only poodled about the Banbury area between Cropredy and Nell Bridge. Everything on the boat was working well enough and we found the new calorifier system was great at getting hot water without gas, a luxury we haven't had before. So all is set for the summer.

After the final pit stop on Monday to fill the diesel tanks, take on water and empty the toilet tank the boat was ready to go.

On Tuesday I cruised with friends to Cropredy and left SONFLOWER in their good hands to take her up the Oxford and down the GUC to London for the IWA Cavalcade. So, once more, if you see SONFLOWER with a clean shaven man and a slim woman aboard it isn't her usual crew!

Today she is between Napton and Braunston. The sun is shining and our prayer and hope is that our friends will be enjoying the holiday they deserve. Give them your best smile and wave to help them on their way. They have rarely had a boat on their own so we hope that they team up with good and friendly partners through the wide GU locks.

Jus' Perfick

Thank you to my sister. She is not somebody who will accept less than the best so when the carpet was laid in her new conservatory she could not live with the lightening toward the centre. The weaving defect had to go!

And so the carpet that she rejected is now in the saloon of Sonflower. And it does look nice. The fitting isn't perfect but we will live with it.

Thank you, Sis!

Gastro Nautical

We are on a mission. We have entered a new arena.

The Best mate and I are now gastronauts after a wonderful seven course seafood dinner (what else could it be) at Rick Stein's Seafood restaurant in Padstow.

We can only say that everything was superb. We have never eaten Sea Urchin before. Exciting stuff.

The room in the hotel is also wonderful. With a bath and a shower big enough for two! and probably more but not quite a whole rugby team. A far cry from what we are used to on the boat with a shower not quite big enough for one!

Today we have to struggle through breakfast and lunch before our mission is complete.

And a trip round the bay: we must get on a boat!

Many thanks thank you to my children who gave us this trip as a birthday present.

While keeping warm

While they are in South Africa escaping the frost, here is Auriga in the draining dock before it gets the blacking treatment. We will be folowing her in on Thursday.

moving, brrrr

This morning I was pleased to see nb Heron's Rest on the water and breaking the ice on the way to town. They have the second longest stay with Tooley's in the last year as they struggled to fix a diesel stove that would not light. All sorted now though. They were not returning to the yard but were heading for Oxford. I was pleased because I do not like ice-breaking. I had to wind this morning which, with ice floes either side is interesting. Then off to town again.

This visit is for re-blacking. There has been a lot of diesel on the surface of the canal this winter and it has taken the blacking off at the water line. As this is the most important area to protect, I felt it was important to get it re-done before the cruising season starts in earnest.

It gives an opportunity to do the snags as well and re-torque the engine cylinder head while it is there.

Cruising again.

We picked up the keys to SONFLOWER from Tooley's on Monday. Unfortunately, other non-boating contacts let us down a bit by being four hours late to the Best Mate's extreme annoyance so we did not get away for a 'shake down' cruise until Tuesday morning.

It was a lovely day. Cold bit clear and with a good amount of blue sky in the morning. We were heading north. That was the way we were pointing so why turn when we didn't need to. The cruise to Cropredy was very gentle and we stopped near Slat Mill lock for a fried breakfast. It was good to be back on the boat after such a long time. The birds were flocking in the hedges and all was fine and dandy except that the water temperature never budged the gauge!

We had missed the Red Lion's Monday half price offers so we lunched on the boat and then I got about preparing a pheasant stew on the stove. Unfortunately, when I bought the pheasant I di d not know that the Best mate didn't like it! I bought her a quarter of chicken. By the time stew eating time came, the bottle of red wine that it was cooked in did not compensate for the fact that the pheasant was pleasantly tender but the chicken, in the Best Mate's opinion, was cooked to devastation- almost to a purée! Not a happy meal!

We turned on the gas heater for our hot water supplies.

Then there was the pump put debate. We were getting fuller and fuller. Fenny Compton was the nearest facility in this direction. That was too far to realistically achieve and get back to Banbury for an appointment on Thursday. So we stayed in Cropredy.

On Tuesday morning I went to knock up Auriga's crew and begged to borrow a pump out kit. We have never used this hand pumping arrangement. Then it rained. We left it until after 10.30 before we made a start to the facility point and got the equipment set up. I sheltered under my late father's yellow oilskin cycling cape. After an initial good start that blew the discharge tube out of the disposal point, despite a heavy angle iron bar and a tyred wheel on top of it, with a resultant blue spillage to clear up, we then hit a problem that the pump appeared to pump and suck alternately with no resultant discharge. Priming and re-priming didn't seem to help. A phone call to our friend resulted in no solution as the fault I was describing had not happened to him. The Best Mate came out and helped. She pumped like mad and soon effluent was flowing like swallow falls. A woman's touch was obviously what was needed. The rain stopped and I took off my glasses to remove the cape, pulled the cape over my head and caught the glasses spilling them to the deck. I emerged from the cape to see a varifocal lens disappearing into the canal!

Our friend appeared and agreed that we were now doing fine. We washed out the equipment, had a cup of coffee and then returned the equipment to his boat.

We were then on our way back again. The engine still stayed cool.

The birds were now flocking together and seeking warmth. I thought that maybe the fieldfares were congregating to make their way back to Scandinavia because Spring was coming. I was wrong! Snow was in the air!

Today we cruised nowhere until the snow had stopped! I reported the few faults found to Tooley's who will fix them shortly while we are on our mooring. Which is where we are now.

We are back at Home Mooring but still waiting for the hot shower!

the ha'peth of tar syndrome

I have told you about the rev counter (tachometer) that needed recalibrating. Well, the updated position is that it would cost more to re-calibrate it than get a new one! Apparently, it costs so much to open up a twenty-five year old instrument to fiddle with its insides and to make it compatible with modern electronics in the alternator that the labour charge (UK) makes a new one (from China) a snip. And while we are about it, a new panel with modern gauges and switches and panel lights that work and a horn (an electric one to replace the reliable mouth blown stadium horn) and a bilge pump float switch override (because the hole is already there and marked 'bilge pump') all seems so reasonable.

And (just in case the old one doesn't fit) would I like a new wiring loom as well? No, that is going a bit too far!

I care

The name of the boat says it all. nb Past Caring is moored between the no mooring posts at a winding hole. Being on a boat handling course with other students who wanted to learn to turn a narrowboat boat correctly and efficiently, having this idiot moored in the way was a little less than convenient!

Nearly There

SONFLOWER was running her engine all day today. There are still some ice flows on the canal so it s not really appropriate to go any where but she is having her proving run.


I took a photo of the instrument panel which shows her doing 2750rpm! The engine never goes that fast and this highlights another problem. The Tachometer is not calibrated to the new alternator. The temperature gauge showed a temperature of 90 deg C. which is a tad high as well. Oil pressure is a steady 3 bar and the voltage is 13v. They are OK. The interesting one for me is the water temperature as before this overhaul we could never get the needle to show on the gauge. The engine never warmed up. Because of that it smoked and spluttered. Now it should be running much more efficiently.

Tommorrow the filters will be changed and the running in oil will be changed for the good stuff.

After that, a few snags to fix, like the tachometer before Tooley's hand me the keys.

After the fast

I had to see the doctor today. A good check up and tidying up some details after the gastric disorder. Blood Pressure checked out at 122/76. The doctor said it was a perfect result so I celebrated with a full english breakfast. Here it is!



The thing about a full english is not just the eating. It is the bubbling, spitting, crackling of the cooking, the release of the greatest aromas ever to get up the nostrils and then, oh what a flavour hit as a whole yolk is consumed in a mouthfull.

There is nothing like it.


I have to check back for the cholesterol test results later inthe week.

Retired!

I got the caretaker at the school to take the picture to prove that we don't do nothing! I was at the school to meet the head about a couple of very wintery issues. This is me keeping warm and helping out with the snow clearance from the car park.

The snow plough from Cherwell District Council did not appear. The salt and grit in was never put into the boxes by the highway department. In fact, there is a world shortage of salt. We will be passing the salt mines of cheshire in the summer. I might put a couple of ton on board for next year!

's n'ICE problem

Here is the reason my friend's narrowboat stopped driving. He was following the lead of another boat in attempting to get to the water point. Forward and back to crush and split the ice when he lost drive. The coupling had failed in a big way. Fortunately, our wonderful alladin's cave of a chandlery at Tooley's had the appropriate coupling. Here is the replacement.

Of course, the price tag was not his only problem. I gave him the good news that fitting the key was a skilled job. The key steel has to be the correct size and a beautiful slide fit (+0.000" to +0.002" fit) in order to transmit the toorque from the engine to the propeller. It is not just a case of wanging up the nuts and tightening up a grub screw!
"Surely you knew that!" came a voice from the next bar table.
My friend, I hope is now looking for a marine engineer to fit the coupling correctly. One thing he did know was that the nyloc nuts are not re-useable. He has a nice colection of sixteen previously owned nuts to confirm previous sorry attempts at making the coupling couple.

Trying to be an ice breaker is turning out to be an expensive occupation

New Electrics/looming great

Here are the old switch panels. The wiring of the boat is in pretty good condition but the switch panels were very outdated.

Now modernised, with sensitive Circuit breakers, the electic system is now very good.



Also needed was replacement of the engine loom because of age related insulation brittleness.

Narrow Boat

It is cold enough to read the wonderful chapter in Narrowboat concerning the coming to Banbury of the icebreakers. We anticipate that we will be iced in for about three weeks this winter.

Here is SONFLOWER

Chapel on "Oxford Canal"

Here is an interesting article. The beeb are not usually lax about facts and stuff though.

The chapel, according to the article was 70 ft long and 14 ft wide. It wasn't on the Oxford Canal then, was it! However, It was quite a feat to get 150 people on board. At 70 Kg per person that is a 10,500kg payload. With a bit of happy clappy worship and dancing they must have got the boat a-rockin' even for a widebeam!

The BCF are off to see Britain's only current floating Church. It is a converted dutch grain barge in West India Dock, serving Docklands and Canary Wharf etc. More about it next week

Forlorne

Just a couple of shots from my moibile as I passed SONFLOWER moored under the Museum bridge at Tooley's. The snow cannot reach her to make her look beautiful and the street lighting is not quite good enough to show her glistening reflection in the ice.

She stands forlorn and 'abandonned'.

But, believe me, she is most loved of vessels and if I were fitter and better I would be seeing more of her in the daylight. How the days are too short and the sunshine not strong enough to light her up as she deserved.

Done and Dusted

I had a phone call from Tooley's today. Matt rang to tell me that the boat work is now complete and that they are ready to start the 50hour proving run!

The boat has a heater aboard to keep it from freezing in the current cold snap and the engine will now start its re-commissioning trial. Because of the icy static conditions of the canal, the prop will need to be engaged to give the engine a good work out against a mooring rope. We hope to give her a good trial shake down!

I hope that I can get down to the yard to see it tomorrow.

"Another small problem. . . " Matt said down the 'phone. "The money hasn't reached our bank account yet." On checking the internet banking site I found that the money left our account on 31 December 2009 destined for 'Tooleys' but then returned to our account on 7th January 2010 from 'Tooleys' with no record of a payment being made in the "Transfers and Payments" list. Curiouser and Curiouser, me thinks. I added "Tooleys" to the list of recipients again and made another payment. This time ASAP. I do hope that they get their money. Tooley's bank with a nationalised high street bank and so do I. The money has been in the either for a week. I haven't been getting interest. Tooley's haven't been getting interest. Who gets the money when this sort of thing happens? The government must have wondered where its extra cash came from over last weekend! I hope I haven't upset their year end figures!

WInter Cruising

what wonderful weather for winter cruising.

But I have been viewing it from flat on my back, with my hooves in the air, through the sticks of the roof between trots out to pasture to dispose of fluid through every orifice of the body except the ears!

Eeyore has had a gloomy time with gastric flu.

Piglet has suffered from a less severe case but The Best Mate has had to be very busy keeping up with the laundry and the moaning.

I started on Sunday. We planned to do things this week:

50 HOUR 'SHAKEDOWN" CRUISE maybe as far as Thrupp and back--POSTPONED

48 HOURS sleep on board to check out electrics and new water heating: POSTPONED

JUST BEING SOMEWHERE SURROUNDED BY ICE out of the FIREWORK CRACKIN CELBRATION CULTURE: HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR

I have managed to view the lovely full moon through the holes in the roof and thought about Andrew of Granny Buttons who must have been out there taking the most beautiful frost sparkling moonlit photographs.

I have missed it.



A HAPPPY NIEWEE YEEEAR TO ALL MY READERS


Eeyore

Today could be the Day

Here is the engine, looking very green in CB marine house colours. They have painted everything!

The news from the boatyard is that it could be running today. We will then need to give it a fifty hour running in cruise to shake it down, as they say, and then come back for an oil change.

It will be good to hear the heart of the boat throbbing again.

On a Mission

It is very cold! This is the icebreaker coming to Banbury. With much noise of ice cracking and slipping sheet over sheet and higher than normal engine revs, the couple on this boat made their laborious way into the centre this morning. They overcame difficulties of steerage and gave a few boats a glancing blow, hit them all below the waterline with sheets of ice and generally left mayhem in their wake. But they were making progress toward their goal.

I wondered what could be so important that they couldn't save it until a thaw but I didn't get a chance to ask.

ePetition

Most of you wil already have heard from BW about the ePetition to No 10 Downing Street.

If not you can follow this link

I note the closing date is 10 November 2010. I suggest that a few thousand letters to number 10 might do a better job. Why not write a few line and send it second class with your Christmas Card? It is sure to arrive before the petition deadline.

Much Better!

I want the engine bay clean to accept the newly overhauled engine. This is a photo showing the swims clean and painted but the sides of the deisel tank and other parts decidedly dirty. I told the boatyard it wasn't clean enough.





So I suggested they get a cleaning firm in to do the work if it is too much of a dirty job for them. I had seen a van with the slogan "If we can't clean it it can't be cleaned!" They must be around somewhere....

They did and this is the result:




Much better.

Now the Best Mate says I have to clean the batteries before they go back or they will make the place dirty!

Banbury Canalside Consultation

I have just heard from the local IWA rep that the Cherwell District Council have issued a consultation of on their draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to redevelop the canalside to the south of Banbury Lock.

Full details are on their website and comment can be made here

There is to be an exhibition somewhere in the centre of town soon. When I find it I'll tell you all about it.

The Reason Why part 2

I haven't been blogging for a while because there has been litle to say. Here is the reason why. My engine bay is looking very clean and has a newly painted engine oily bilge but no engine. The engine is away for an overhaul at CB Marine at Calcutt Marina. The heart of the boat is missing!

Obviously, the time is now to have a spring clean of the engine bay to remove the oil film that has acumulated over the years of oil seal leakage. Matt (the boss) at Tooleys collared me yesterday to talk about 'three things' (i)agree that the only thing to do with the engine bay is to treat it with a rust preventor and paint it with hammerite or similar to keep it so. (ii)agree that the leaks on the deisel tank shut off valves needed to be fixed. The universally applicable Murphy's law ensures that the leaks are tank side of the valve and require the almost full tanks to be drained! (iii) agree an alternative site for the engine air intake vent (required by the out of water survey to prevent rain ingress into the bilges) somewhere other than in the control column where I wanted it.

How is it that every visit to the boatyard ends with another thing to pay for?

Photos of the boat's travels

The young people who borrowed SONFLOWER for the cruise to Norton Junction and back have put their photos on Facebook, as young people do. I am not sure whether the photos are public but this is a link to one of the albums. This is the other. You may need to be their friend to get a look-see. I am!

Ghosts and Ghouls

The theme of The Banbury Canal Day didn't quite fit with our idea of a fun celebratory theme so we dressed the boat up in home made fiery bunting that The Best mate had lovingly stitched, attached doves and attempted to portray The Holy Ghost. Here is a picture of the Best Mate herself next to our cratch with the illuminated Dove of Peace.



The day really was a brilliant time. We were representing the BCF once more and this year we had three of our members who formed a folk trio to attact and entertain the throng that passed by. The weather was kind and people were having a good time everywhere.

To be fair, the theme worked pretty well. Of course there were a few macabre exhibits (among the boaters) and some of the boats were decorated with a lot of imagingation. The Ghostbusters were prominant and on hand complete with a first response boat (a peddalo) that went up and down all afternoon. There was also a headless ghost at the helm of a tiny clinker dinghy who won the prize for the best moving exhibit.

The best charity stall went to nb Mr Badger who came complete with his own graveyard! He worked hard on behalf Dogs for the Disabled a Banbury based charity. His pork rolls also kept us very amply filled with food!

Sadly to say I was too busy all day to get any photos. Without them it is very hard to describe the colour of a very good day.

The Best Bit, the Best Mate says, is meeting with the lovely boaters with their diverse interests from IWA to Ecover, Tom Rolt's centenary to Gardner Engines the conversation was never dull.

Just like the IWA Cavalcade earlier in the year, I felt the festival really showed boaters having fun!

Where have we been?

SONFLOWER has been to Norton Junction and back. The young people who formed the crew had a wonderful time.

Where have we been:

Stoke-on-Trent to take Tigger to College.

Cardiff to see our new grandchild and leave the Best Mate there to help with the other grandson while Nathaniel was in hospital with his Mum and let our son go back to work for a bit.

Banbury, because School has started again and Piglet needs to be there. There are things for me to do in relation to the local Primary School too.

Cardiff to visit again and collect the Best Mate.

Stoke-on-Trent to visit Tigger who has had his nineteenth birthday while away at College.

A few miles for the car and the boat.

Coutdown now to Banbury Canal Day

Strange Crew!

We have heard reports from afar that there is a strange crew on board SONFLOWER. They have been challenged by some in case they were stealing the boat.

Fear not you gallant SONFLOWER spotters, they are harmless. SONFLOWER is in the good hands of the children of good friends and their mates. These are penniless and exhausted students from Exeter University who need a holiday before their next arduous year of study and are, hopefully, enjoying the North Oxford Canal between Banbury and Braunston.

If you spot them, give them the same cheery wave that you would give us and help them on their way.

Tell us if they are going too fast!

Anouncing Nathaniel

Well, isn't that what proud grandparents do!

As far as the boat was concerned, having a pump out and refilling with diesel paled into insignificance against the wonderfull news that Nathaniel had arrived at a weight of 4.0 kg.

Bank Holiday

We took my mother and sister on a cruise today. Just a little trip to the Red Lion in Cropredy for lunch. It is just ten minutes away in the car but it is so much better to spend a couple of hours getting there by boat.

Getting my 88 year old Mum on the boat has been a challenge. The last time we did it, the engine wouldn't start. This time all went well. The new back steps were negotiated and Mum got into the saloon and was quite happy looking out of the the front windows. Unfortunately we do not have huge picture windows like some of the hire boats around and Mum is not very tall so the view was, at times limited but I think she enjoyed the peace and calm of the South Oxford as it meandered north from the town. There was quite a lot of traffic and much of it was boats returning to Sovereign Wharf in Banbury! The world and his wife had been out for the weekend including nb William the Conqueror.

After a very nice Bank Holiday lunch (special menu for the day!) My sister drove Mum home and we turned the boat and cruised back to home mooring. The sun shone. A nice day out.

On the way home we met up with a collie dog at Bourton Lock. He had been left behind by a boat ahead of us. How do people do it? We did notice one of the crew running back up the tow-path when we neared Banbury. We told him where we had seen the dog. He had at least a three mile run back to catch up with the boat again! I felt sorry for the dog who would need to run the same distance too!

Lots of little things

Getting back to a pile of post always leads on to a time of catching up. One item that needed attention immediately was the Boat Insurance renewal. Due the 4th September, I did it over the phone. One thing puzzled me however. There was no reference in the renewal document to the need for a survey. Having recently spent out a lot of money on a hull survey and the work to comply with the surveyors recommendations, this seemed a serious omission. I queried it with the customer advisor. She told me they now did not require a survey for vessels under 25 years old. As SONFLOWER is at least 25 years old, my puzzlement continued.

It is our responsibility to keep the insurers up to date with 'material facts'. I pointed out the fact that they had made a mistake by reading 1984 as 1989! This morning I spent writing a letter and getting together the report, invoices to show recommendations have been carried out and a copy of the Boat Safety Scheme examination certificate for good measure. One thing I do not want is to find myself uninsured because the 'material facts' are incorrect!

...to come ...home

Back in the home territory. Returned to Braunston by bus after a family party and then moved from Braunston to Spurfoot Bridge 124 on the S Oxford. We moored for the night last night in Cropredy and then this morning completed the short cruise back to the home mooring.

But when we got there we found that a new moorer to our mooring site has put his boat on OUR mooring in spite of our beatifully engineered signage and carefully placed mooring chains.

Fortunately we were able to rope the interloper back far enough to fit back next to our beatifully engineered signage and on our mooring chains.

A wonderful cruise successfully completed.


Braunston to Spurfoot Bridge 14 miles, 9 locks; 12 miles, 9 locks yesterday; 5 miles, 3 locks this morning.

TOTAL FOR THE CRUISE: 386 miles, 6 flg and 198 locks

...so much nicer...

It's nice to go travellin'.....

We enjoyed the Nene, Loved the lodes off the River Cam, were not too struck on the greatOuse and were bored by the Middle Level. Back on the Grand Union Canal feels so much more like home!

Today we made significant progress and completed the 15 miles of the GU to Braunston by 7.30pm. We are moored there now and will be for the weekend.

We have family stuff to attend to.

We pulled together as a crew today. On the canals we know what is required. Piglet is keen to lockwheel. Tigger closes the gates after the boat goes in and after the boat goes out and I and the Best Mate alternated today on the Tiller and as Lock Master. I took the boat through the Buckby seven and the BM took it through the Braunston six.

15 miles, 13 locks

Jehovah Jireh

This is one of the Hebrew names of God that means "Provider". Providence is a theological subject that is often hard to understand but on days like today it is hard to ignore. Some would say that everything in life is co-incidence but on the other hand today we were very aware that everything was going to the Master Plan.

I awoke at sunrise and decided to leave our beautiful mooring having carefully calculated the probability of being left on the bank holding onto a mooring line with a narrowboat heading toward a weir. Everything was fine and we departed in the growing sunshine to enter Earls Barton Lock. The Best Mate was not feeling well so here I 'single handed' the boat through but by Cogenhoe Lock the crew was awake and Piglet and I were soon into a routine. At Billing lock it was obvious that something was wrong. There was a cruiser in the lock and a narrowboat waiting but the guillotine was moving very slowly. In fact it was Environment Agency personnel hand winding the electic mechanism as the gearbox had failed. They lowered the guillotine gate behind us and declared the lock closed until Friday for repairs!

We were now in the company of nb Billy and Co who were our locking partners for the remainder of the locks on the River Nene. We were at Morrisons in Northampton before 2pm.

We now made the decision to go for the Northampton Arm 17 locks. If it was too much we would stop at the bottom of the main flight after the first three or four locks. In fact, however, all the locks were set for us. At some points we had three locks ahead with gates open prepared to accept us. We passed a boat coming down at lock five and then ascended the remainder. I have never known a flight so prepared: where hardly any locks needed to be emptied to open the gates. We were up by 7.15 this evening. The Best Mate had recovered enough and was refreshed by the effort of the ascent and we feasted on Spaghetti Carbinara at Gayton. A long and fruitful day prepared aforehand for us.

13.8miles and 27 locks today

Continuously Cruising

That's what it seemed like today. The River Nene is a beautiful river and a wonderful place for the nature lover. Today I have seen a very large pike with a very large fish in its mouth, thrashing to get free from the locked jaws; I have seen wheeling Red Kites, a Little Egret, kestrels, buzzard, snipe, sandpiper, herons, woodpeckers, lapwing and numerous little brown birds; we have checked out the chub under the banks and we have seen calves and foals and lambs.

But the River Nene does have a drawback for the narrowboater. It does not have a proliferation of moorings. This evening we have been looking for an overnight mooring since 4.30 pm when we got to Wellingborough. Having stopped there on the way down the river, we thought it too early to moor today. But there is precious anywhere else. We have now moored on pins about 50 metres from a weir on meadowbank. I have no real idea whether mooring is permitted here but I cannot see any notice to the contrary. The spot is quite idyllic. We are just south of Doddington Lock and its tastefully converted Mill.

Over 8 hours of cruising today: 15.5miles and 11 locks

Nice to be back

It seems ages since I blogged.

If you missed us it is mainly because I have been unable to get on the web until now. Between Peterborough and Thrapston the 3 dongle did not pick up much of a connection, if any.

Where have we been? We were here on Saturday evening watching the POSH draw 1-1 with the Owls at Peterborough United's London Road stadium. The game was quite exciting and good entertainment for a neutral like me. The Best Mate quite enjoyed it too and it was good to hear Tigger shout 'come on you reds' during a lull in the action even though there was not a red shirt on the field.

After the match we moved out into the country and an overnight mooring at Alwalton lock where a nice white cruiser skiper moved his boat back 15 foot toward the next boat to make room for us.

In the morning we shared the locking work with Karen and Sally, the crew of nb Heaven Scent. They are members of BCF as well, and we enjoyed their company to Fotheringhay where we stopped for lunch and they for the night. After an ascent of Castle Mound and a quick look at the village we cruised on to an overnight mooring at Ashton Lock.

This morning Piglet and I did a bit of shopping in the nice little town of Oundle and then it was off again to be the only boat on the 48hr mooring by the Thrapston Bridge.

On the way here we received the wonderful news that Learning and Skills Council have agreed that Tigger's place at college will be funded by them. A great weight off our mind.

Back on the Nene

I seem to hve been away from the net for so long. No network coverage at Denver Sluice, a difficult connection at March on the Middle level but now we are back with a full 5 bars in Peterborough.

The tidal passage (2 hour wait at Denver), the crossing of the Middle Level and the return to the Nene were uneventful. The most exciting thing was having to work through Marmont Priory Lock as the lock keeper was not there when we arrived at 5.20 pm. The going was slow into March but we were there in time to go to the Buffet Chinese restaurant. Eat as Much as you want for £14.00 per head. They just keep on offering to cook more food! What is surprising to us is that we were almost the only customers on a Thursday evening. Another couple did come in a little before we left.

We left March at 9 o'clock this morning. The going is slow through Outwell, Upwell and Whittlesea and moorings are rare. We lunched moored on pins to the bank just west of Whittlesea.

55.5 miles and 6 locks since last post

Hiding Away

We have been in a lovely littl' backwater of the system this past day. Last night we locked into Reach Lode off the River Cam and moored on the 48 hour EA moorings. We wer3e alone alongside the permit holders. We had met nb SUNFLOWER's crew earlier on the day who told us that we would be able to navigate Wicken Lode and turn at the end but it is very narrow and shallow and I didn't want to chance it. We walked down it this morning and found EA dredging the turning point. The Lode did look very shallow. Weed Cutters from the River Cam Conservators were hard at work on Reach Lode this morning but they told us they were not allowed to enter Wicken Lode, which is owned by the National Trust.

Piglet and I went to have a quiet walk around Wicken Fen this morning hoping to catch sight of a few rare birds. We did spend time in the hides and enjoyed the quiet there noting tree creeper and Little Egret and many warblers. We are not expert enough to tell which if these little brown jobs they were but probably a mix of reed warbler, willow warbler and chiffchaff though none were singing so would not give their identity away. The quiet was broken at one point by a woman with her small son on the board walk. She shouted into her mobile phone "I'm at Wicken Fen, It's been on the telly: that Bill Oddie was 'ere!" The secret's out then.

National Trust opened the cafe on a Tuesday, contrary to information in their handbook, but the prices are not any less. £1.70 for a bottle of coke!

We returned to a salad lunch and the news that Tigger had thrown a sicky and the Best Mate had filled in the whole morning by doing the laundry. It was all dry!

This mooring is delightful and filled up through the day. We were buzzed by a swarm of bees earlier but they went on without staying. Another wonderful sight was of a Bristol Bulldog fighter Biplane making very slow progress across the sky. I wouldn't think it was doing much more than 70mph.

Cambridge to Reach Lode: 7 miles and 2 locks yesterday

We become tourists

My cousin came from Sawley to meet us at the boat and take us into town to walk around the sights. It was good to see her and her husband, and their two children.

So we became foot soldiers in the tourist army this afternoon. It was hot and the streets were quite full of every nationality imaginable. The students go home and a new wave of visitors come in. We resisted a ride on a punt (about £12 an hour) but spoke to a punter. He convinced Piglet that his future career will be running a punt with a tale of taking a thousand pounds in the last three days. Set up costs of about £8000 didn't seem too bad for that sort of return. The punter didn't see that sort of money though. He was grateful to be working in the fresh air rather than in a pub for the summer. Cambridge University is celebrating its 800th anniversary.

We didn't go into any of the colleges. Their visitor charges of between £1 and £3 depending how much of the college was open to view don't seem too bad. But witha party of eight a couple of colleges would have set us back £25. We spent a tenner on ice creams instead. I peeped in to see a manicured lawn or two. Once you have seen one quad you've seen them all. The architecture is not as impressive as Oxford and the main colleges all seem to be very pressed in on one another. I much prefer Oxford. But then I'm an Oxford man really!

We returned to the boat exhausted and put the kettle on. We are planning to do boaty things today.

Big Town with City status

At School I was taught that a City was 'a square mile around a cathederal". Apparently the definition has changed because Cambridge is now a city sans cathederal. It's local Cathederal, the seat of the Bishop is in ELY.

But this morning we went to The City Church who were very welcoming and invited us to join them at a picnic lunch in the play area right next to our boat! We packed up a few things and were almost the first there. Here is a picture of the church in Cambridge as I like to see it. A family together at Sunday lunch!

Yesterday was a long day. We awoke and checked water levels. The stream had increased slightly and I decided to go to St Ives lock to see whether we would fit under the guillotine gate. There was 2.2m clearance so we took the opportunity and cruised through flood meadows
to Brownshill Staunch. Here the water was flowing over both gates. I rang the lock keeper at Hermitage lock to say where we were, that we would be having breakfast and then coming to his lock. He said "Forget breakfast and come now!" I took his advice and by the time I got to Hermitage lock there was very little clearance between us and the road bridge over it. "They have just opened sluices" he said, "You are better off the river now".

So we cruised on until we stopped for lunch at teh EA mooring at Stretham near to the pumping station. After a break, we made the decision to go up the Cam to Cambridge a town we have never visited. We arrived at Sunset and moored near the water point of Stourbridge Common, just 10 minutes walk from the meeting place of The City Church.

31 miles, 5 locks (10hr) yesterday.

Company at the Mooring

We stayed on the Town Quay in St Ives today, deciding not to attempt to navigate to Huntingdon on rising river levels after last nights 2.5 inches of rain. We had a visit fom two gentlemen who were fitting new mooring bollards to the quay. These are the type with a half moon steel hoop that one can pout your ropes right through and secure them back to the boat. These additions to a 200 year old quay to supercede the w=victorian bollrds needed planning consent and took three authorities to manage the project:EA,St Ives Town Council and GOBA sharing the costs. All in the name if Health and Safety and to prevent the local people untieing a few ropes after a bevvy of beers on a weekend!

We feel healthier and safer now. The gents doing the drilling and fixing were river men. and they tolfd us that the river was set to rise a good bit yet, particularly below St Ives Lock where the headroom was now below 2 metres. As we scraped a bridge on the Nene at 1.9 metres headroom, I didn't want to chance being stuck under a lock guillotine gate. We stayed here and I am watching the flood level indicators on the quay and the bridge.

Piglet rejoined the crew at lunchtime today after his holiday in Norwich.

One thing that amused us today was the company on the mooring. A lnely man talked for ages about boats and boating and council tax. Some others joined in and we talked about engines and batteries. People were very interested in the narrowboat that was going nowhere today, asking everything from how old she was to the costs and value.

While in conversation I noticed that I was being buzzed by a very fast bird. I looked and saw that it was a sand martin and it had a nest in a drain in the wall tright next to the boat. The parents were obviously feeding young and were in and out all day. As itwas next to a window I took this picture of one of the birds emerging. I tried to get one in full flight but did not realise just how fast they were and how slow a digital camera is to respond to a press in the shutter button.

Wild life photographer of the year? I don't think so.

When I was going to St Ives....

....I met a man with seven wives!

Well not really, but as I cast off this morning I met Julie's husband (with nb Queen Adelaide) looking over SONFLOWER and voicing his wish that he had bought a boat longer than 40 ft. How important those decisions are when you begin to think about boating.

We then started off and stopped only for a rain break. During this we ate breakfast and then I finished tiling the new floor at the back of the boat. As I cast off after the rain stopped and the job was finished, a large plastic cruiser passed us. I was looking forward to idly following them toward St Ives down the West River. However, they went round the next bend and were not seen again as I set my speed to the limit of 4 miles per hour. This speed limit has a good reason, being implemented to stop bank errosion. Why don't the people who use this river most (The Big White Cruiser Brigade) see sense and comply?

I had been warned that This Fleet of boats accumulate in battle squadrons in town centres where they sit on their sundeck sipping a glass from an expensive bottle of wine. As we approached St Ives this was just the case. Two Cruisers were moored on the Quay about 45 feet apart. I went under the bridge just as the bow rope was loosed from one of them. I did a sweeping turn, allowed them to come through the bridge before retracing my course and making another sweeping tunr to moor on the quay behind the other cruiser. This boater was of a different sort. He was using his boat for a holiday with this family and told tales of attempting to cross The Wash to the River Wytham. Unfortunately his first attempt was aborted half way because the family were suffering with sea sickness but he has vowed to try again. He also tried to move to give us more space but draught at the quay steps was really a problem.

Here is a picture of SONFLOWER at St Ives lock.

The Imray guide notes a lot of differing wildlife on the stretch we have just navigated including seals. We didn't spot them but we did see kingfisheres, numerous herons, terns, a large crab (in Hermitage lock)lapwing and the piece de resistance, Little Egret (not noted by the guide) in two locations. They are lovely but shy and flew away as the boat approached.

19.1/2 miles, and 3 locks today

On the Great Ouse

Since I last blogged we have had quite a trip. We had "no network Coverage" at Salters Lode where we moored last night. We needed to be there to make passage to Denver Sluice at 0830 this morning. We waited in March until lunchtime when my cousin joined us with a parcel of pump spares. The suppliers promise of 'first class post' turned out to be a standard interlink delivery! The parts were duly fitted this afternoon and normal service is restored in the bathroom where the shower can again be pumped out rather than baled.

After taking on water at Denver Lock, during which we were hailed and greeted by Sue of nb No Problem, we moored on 'their mooring' to have a bacon and egg breakfast. I was hoping that they would return before we needed to leave so that we could have a proper meeting but maybe we will meet up on the way back. Their neighbour on a cruiser Bunbury apologised for not being able to helop us moor but looked really rickety with his walking stick. He was enjoying the waterway for the first time for a goodly period because of infirmity.

We stopped in Ely for Deisel and Gas but there was precious little room on any of the town centre moorings so we motored on to stop for the night at Little Thetford 48 hour mooring. Here we got chatting to Julie who owns nb Queen Adelaide which we passed on its mooring on the Queen Adelaide straight. The Great Ouse is one of the most boring waterways I have been on. At least, this part is just hours of reeds and sky. It is worse that watching televised golf.

The locals think that a cow on the bank is excitement.
Here are all of the cattle we saw.


Excited?




Our 6 hour cruise today almost put me to sleep after the excitement of the tidal passage first thing this morning.


We did have a nice view of this delightful sailing boat.

Shocked at Tragic News

Just before we left Peterborough this morning we heard of the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a mother on a hire boat holiday. We pray for them and offer our sincere condolences. It happened just four miles from our home mooring.

What also shocked us was that the boat concerned was "Harry". We hired her for three wonderful holidays in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and were on her when we heard about the boat we now own. In fact, we enquired whether Kate Boats were open to offers for her WE LIKED HER SO MUCH!

There will no doubt be calls and recriniminations about the training given to hirers. Our experience is that Kate Boats were meticulous in their on board breifing at handover and ensured that we were able to handle the boat safely and with regard to others. In the end, it has to be understood that accidents can happen very quickly and can result in tragedy as in this case.

This accident is so close to home in many many ways and must remind us all of the necessity to be even more careful than we are.

Today we entered the Middle Level Navigation and are moored at March under the chimes of a loud clock. It reminds us of Cropredy where the church bell tolls out the hours and the curfew bell is rung on Thursdays. Time waits for no man.

16 miles and 2 locks today.

At Last

We have met up with Granny Buttons at last. Andrew Denny tapped on our boat this evening and invited us in for a chat and to meet Granny.

After Tigger had gone to bed and was snoring soundly, we crept aboard. The boat was delightful and the company over a glass or two of red wine and malt whisky was excellent.

The hackeneyed Humphrey Bogarde quote comes to mind: "this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship". Thank you Andrew for your hospitality, good humour and welcome.

Tomorrow we must part. We have a booking through Stanground Sluice at 12.30pm and need to be on our way. Granny has other pressing matters to attend to. No doubt, however, our oaths will cross once more.

The only movement today was to the pump out point and back. We are really glad we came back.

Should I water the herbs?

We are heading toward Peterborough. Two little problems today. Firstly, "no network copverage" plagued us for much pf the way. We want to lock through Stanground Sluice on Monday and need to book. The guide says 48 hours in advance but without any network coverage we couldn't do that. We got the network back just after we went under the A1(M). Funny how motorways have more priority for the networks that rivers and canals isn't it? Still no harm done, we are booked for Monday at 12.30pm.

Secondly, the weather. We left at about 9 am this morning and have been dodging showers all day. We got some tiles laid on the new back floor when it rained just after breakfast at Fotheringhay. What a lovely mooring this is. With a beautiful view of the church a cooked breakfast tasted great but was interupted by the landlord asking for their £1.50 mooring fee.



Lunch was taken in the rain at Wilgar Bridge on an impromptu mooring beside two beautiful horses in a mown hay meadow. Shortly after setting off again we were caught up by a thunder storm. I saw a flash of lightning and decided enough is enough, this time mooring on 'unofficial moorings ' just short of Wansford railway bridge. Thomas the Tank Engine is in steam today. We have heard him and glimpsed the coaches but haven't seen him.

I have decided not to water the herbs.

13.1/4 miles and 7 locks

Yesterday's Post: The Jewel of the Nene

This is the first evening of this cruise that I have had no signal. I cannot update my position on waterexplorer and I cannot tell you about the Jewel of the Nene- The Wales Expedition. We had the privilege of sharing locks with these two intrepid explorers who are paddling from Welshpool to Peterborough on a rubber dinghy. They are raising funds for the Marie Curie foundation. This charity is very dear to my heart, having had experience of the good work that their nurses do for those in the last stages of cancer.

We shared the Barnwell locks with them before winding them through Ashton Lock (a hand winder). I thought they deserved the rest!

Today we reduced the crew to three (effectively two because Tigger does not wind and the re are no bottom gates to push open). Piglet has been whisked away for this week in Norwich under canvas at the Norfolk County Showground. I am sure he will enjoy the experience of being with about three thousand other youngsters having a ball. He enjoyed last year's Newday event at Uttoxeter so this should be 'more of the same' but at a different location. We should be re-united in Huntingdon Next week.

A day in Thrapston

No movement today. We wait here for our friends who are picking Piglet up tomorrow lunchtime to take him to Norwich for a week with his youth group. So this morning, in bright sunlight I touched up some of the paintwork that has been damaged on our travels. It is surprising how much punishment the gunwhales take. I also painted the pole which needed doing. The EA kindly provide hoops on their mooring 'bollards' which are ideal for supprting a bargepole while painting it!

We went to Thrapston Co-op for supplies. Once more I am amazed at the inability of this seudo national chain to get their act together. I am a member of The Co-operative Group and Midcounties Co-op bur this is not enough to qualify me for a dividend at the Midlands Co-op who run this part of Northamptonshire. I have to join another one, providing two forms of identification. I haven't any utility bills with me so I fall at the second hurdle. I cannot 'prove' my address, even though it is on my driver's license. Is the Boat Licensing charge a utility bill?

Lunch aboard today in the now regular lunchtime thunderstorm. Today we had hail too for a little variation.

This afternoon I discovered that the trout pelllets in the bottom of my fishing box had beciome a breeding ground for small moths. I dumped them all in the river and watched as shoals of bleak dashed about trying to feed themselves sick.

This evening we dined with cousins who came over from Peterborough. I have arranged to have the spares for the shower pump sent to their house for us to pick up as we pass toward the Middle Level on Monday. We had a good meal together at the Woolpack Inn, Islip. Here is a photo of the slow cooked roast pork that I was presented with. It was delicious and quite unmanageble alone. I needed help to finish it off. Our company left at a little after ten and we are now ready to retire.

No movement today.

First Stage Completion

Having been disturbed at Woodford lock by a narrowboat entering the lock we stirred ourselves to make the most of a sunny interval and set off once more. I had almost finished a sketch of the view under the railway bridge from the lock mooring so packed away and set off. We arrived at Thrapston Bridge at 6.30pm in pouring rain. We went through the arch of the bridge to note that there are no moorings downstream and therefore we backed through the arch, noting the sign on the downstream face informing us that the visitor moorings were tucked in behind the bridge. We backed in and just fitted in front of a smaller narrowboat. We sat out the main force of the rainy period and them I went to Ben's Chippy (recommended by the friendly EA man) for our dinner.

Fish and Chips is one of the best comfort foods on a wet summer evening.

8 miles and 5 locks

Excellent Customer Service

We have been boating on the River Nene for a few days now and hope to meet friends in Thraston on Friday. I have been looking for a mooring close by so that I do not overstay the 48 hour moorings there.

Our cruising guide said there were moorings at Woodford but when we got there we found that this is not the case. What may once have been a public landing stage is now in disrepair and certainly not suitable for our 57 ft narrowboat. We, therefore, continued down river to Woodford lock where your Phil Gilder of the EA was busy with his colleagues and a problem with their weedcutter. They were across the lock entrance but quickly moved and Phil helped me fill the lock, opened the gate for us and generally assisted. He listened as I told him of our plans but could not suggest another local mooring.

We stopped on the lower lock landing for lunch and after this, Phil tapped on a window to tell us that he had talked to the local River Inspector who had agreed to us staying in Thrapston until Saturday. We may not indeed need to stay that long and would be within the 48 hour limit is we leave on Friday evening. However, another mooring further down stream may not be within reach.

I heve sent an email to commend Mr Golding for his excellent Customer Service. He has shown a real interest in our enjoyment of this lovely river and that we make the best of our holiday.

Almost a disaster

The photo shows a nasty split in the diaphragm of the shower pump.

The shower is below the water line and needs to be pumped out after use. To pump it out with this will fill the bilges with soapy water. As the surveyor told me to remove the bilge pump from the cabin area bilge and not get any water into it in the first place, this could be a disaster.

But there is a temporary remedy.

Here is the shower pump with its plaster!

I don't know who the gaffer was who invented this handy stuff but I am glad to have a roll of it on board!

To Moor or Not to Moor

Today has been one of the most relaxed so far.

First we set off early to get through Lower Wellingborough Lock before the apocryphal fun seeking youngsters had got up.

Then we cruised a bit, impeding a boatload of student types by mooring on the lock landing at Higham Lock. Well not on it, more half on and half off it as the last thing I wanted to do was impede anybody. The problem is that there is realy nowhere else to moor. The banks are all steep and reedy and the river bends and twists in millenial loops as it makes its way northeastward. The sign at the lock moorings says "NO OVERNIGHT MOORING" so we figured it was OK to moor for a little while to take some exercise around the beautiful ex-gravel workings. Obviously, in such circumstances or any other come to that, we would not mind someone mooring alongside to drop off crew or even tie up securely. I imagine that most river users would expect to. Some of the landings are so short that two boats working tthe locks together would have to do so.

The student types then impeded themselves by dropping a windlass in the lock with the consequential magnet fishing procedure. Why does the windlass always seem to fall under the boat making it necessary to move the boat out of the way forst? Murphy's Law of Boating No - ?

We were then in the way of the two boats from March that were moored in Wellingborough yesterday. We met them later at Rushden and Diamonds facilities and they said that they had actually just made a pigs ear of landing to collect crew. There really was enough room. They agreed they could have come alongside but 'didn't like to ask'. We were glad to find that water and pump out are still available even though the signage has been altered by the application of blue stick tape over the syblols. As warned by nb No Problem, other facilities on Nene park are very much closed and signs have been posted to indicate that it is private property. Our Nene cruising guide says that arrangements have been made for bopaters to use the sports hall facilities. It didn't appear that this arrangement is any longer in force.

We haven't far to go now so we moved a little down the 48 hour mooring and settled in. There are more lakes to explore and the scenery needs to be sketched and painted. Such is a holiday! Here is a viwew form the boat, looking away from the R & D football complex.

Wellingborough

"Hi! How's the cruise going?" we are asked. This is a River Nene lock from the inside. It's great.

Everybody we have met so far has told us not to moor in Wellingborough.

Here we are, on the park and moored with two boats from March (Middle level) and Ebony which, I beieve, is from the S Oxford like us. Ebony is all locked up but I have spoken to the boaters from March who have moored here on many occasions without trouble. There are few moorings out in the country so I have decided to stay here and leave early in the morning.

We had a good day today. After the intitial rain this morning during which we went to Northampton to purchase a tripod for Piglets's telescope. Eeyore of course is free on the bus. However, this morning it took Piglet longer than it should to get ready and we missed the only bus from Cogenhoe this morning! Fortunately we had asked a gent where the bus stop was and he returned to find us still standing at it. He gave us a lift right to within 100 yards of the shop we wanted in his jag. Awesome arrangement! On return (by bus) we noticed that a boat was going through the lock. We told them to leave the gates open and we set off down river. We had an uneventful cruise. We only met two boats. One was Lee, our friendly Boat Safety Examiner and the other reset for us the lock from which they had just departed. What a fantastic arranger we have!

We stopped for lunch just as the thunderstorm hit
and later moored up to let another dark cloud pass. The rest of the day was blue sky and bright sunshine.

So on to Wellingborough. We planned to go through the lock and into the country because of the doom and gloom that we have heard about. However, I think it is rather like what we hear about our home town of Banbury. Apparently one shouldn't moor there either. But with CCTV surveillance, lighting, good facilities and care (just make sure the mooring lines cannot be quickly removed from the bollard: a 'fun' prank) it is as safe as anywhere.

6miles 7 locks today

Big Church Experience

This morning the sky was greyish blue and I was up early hoping to glimpse, once more, the kingfisher who had been seen eating a fish on our mooring yesterday evening.

I don't usually mix churchy stuff into the boaty blog but I am making an exception today. I checked out local churches in Northampton and homed in on Kingdom Life Church whose website says they are a community of 250 or so. For 'happy clappy' churches that is a good size. Not the largest, that is probably 'Hillsong' London who fill the Dominion Theatre several times on a Sunday, but quite for a market town quite a reasonable size. We come from a small congregation where chat before and after the service is as important as the bit is the middle and I was pleased to find this to be the case at Kingdom Life Church who open a cafe before and after the service. We were welcomed warmly and felt quite at home!

Having done 'big church' reminded me of a friend who crewed fro me recently and attends the aforesaid Hillsong London. After the morning service he always joins others from the church in a sharing experience at Nandos. He ws surprised thatI had never heard of them. Today, walking to and from the church centre we passed very close to Northampton's Nandos. So we gave it a try. It is fun. maybe not everybody's choice but we enjoyed the family experience and shared a 'sharing starter' and 'sharing platter' and benefitted from their 'bottomless' drinks and frozen yoghourt!


After lunch we looked around the shops to be disappointed. Piglet needs a tripod for his telescope. Unfortunately there are no photographic or opticle equipment shops in Northampton centre. We were also amazed by the large number of empy shops to let and the half empty market square where only half of the space has stalls. (recession over? I don't think so!)

We got back to the boat at 3pm and set off to go to Billling or Cogenhoe for the night. Under blackening skies we experienced our first lock with guillotine bottom gate, missed the entrance to Billing Aquadrome (as predicted by nb No Problem) and moored on the meadow bank at Cogenhoe lock as the rain started.

Unfortunately while we were off the boat, Granny Buttons visited. I am sorry to have missed him.

4.1/2 miles, 5 locks today.