Moving boats

Before we set off two boats went past! They were Kangeroo and Australia. The lock was not far ahead and by the time we got there Seyella was already going up.

 While we were waiting another two, Jaguar and Northolt drifted past us. Their engine had stopped and they were almost along side! Ann had set the lock for us so I had to back up to get past them.

The towpaths were covered in snow but at least the locks were clear as we went up the four of them. 

Although it was bright with warm sunshine the bridges still had icicles hanging from them.

About a mile of towpath was being improved on our way to Barlaston.

Next day we set off to tackle the 14 lock miles through Stoke on Trent. More snow fell from the sky accompanied by sunshine and a cold wind. It took us both a while to recover from that trip having got to Westport Lake.

In the morning sunshine we walked round the lake with Geoff and the two dogs. The local wild life were so tame it was possible to get close and personal.

After a refreshing cup of tea we set off for Harecastle Tunnel. Our previous trip through was with Sue and Vic back in 2010.

This time Seyella followed us through. We turn off while the Trent and Mersey goes down to Middlewich.

A short while later the canal crosses over to join the Macclesfield. 

We have been this way only twice before in 2002 and 2005.

Next stop, Stone

Having got past bridge 84 we stopped for two nights. Spent the next day spring cleaning and rearranging our library of books. Time to sort out some of our boat contents. A case of deciding what we could dispose of. 

Ann went off with the two dogs and Geoff for a walk in the sunshine. 

It became necessary to move on to Stone the next day despite the bitterly cold wind. Ann needed to see a Doctor about a rash and blister on her foot. Only four lock miles but such a contrast to the previous travelling day.



The moorings below Stone lock were almost empty when we arrived. Back in 2010 when we last past this way the moorings were full. Much better now with a hard dry towpath. Geoff and Margaret stopped behind us and came in for tea and a chat.

After seeing the Doctor we got some fish n chips that evening.

We moved!

Yes we did, all the way to Sandon with Margaret and Geoff on Seyela behind us. What a treat with the sunshine! Almost spring like.

  

Hoo Mill Lock with the 'elf n safety rail bolted to the crossover bridge. 

Ann up the steps to open the gates at Standon Lock. 

Geoff posing with Ann after M2L got through.

A slow getaway

Our winter companions have moved south and we are on our own again. We said good by to Sue and Vic on No Problem as they head south. With a promise to keep in touch and meet another time some where on the cut.

The local locks at Great Haywood have been opened so there is no stopping us but for medicals and shopping. The medical centre was shut the day I went to book in for a pressure check. "Ring on Monday," they said.

We got water and moved out to Tixel wide for the weekend and made plans for our trip up north on the Macclesfield Canal.

A call first thing on Monday gave me the news that the Medical Centre was already fully booked! So we stayed put for another day. Got an appointment with a nurse on Tuesday. So off we went breaking ice to get back in to Great Haywood.

A lack of space was caused by many CnRT work boats occupying the visitor moorings. A kind boater offered to allow us to moor along side. The work boats had gone by the time we got back so we were able to back into a space.

Went off on the bus to shop at Stafford.

Another move out to Tixel is an option while we await the arrival of our friends on Seyella.

The Trent was very high last year and these men were having fun safely.

Normally not seen

We are waiting at Great Haywood

 This is the bottom lock gate and the cill normally under water

and this is the top gate and paddle exposed

A spring day

We needed to move on so that Ann could get a bus to Stafford. Milford was chosen as our destination. On the way we enjoyed the warmth of the sun without that cold wind of previous days.

No Problem followed us so Ann helped by lifting a paddle after I took the boat out at the bottom. The canal was a bit shallow and brown with churned up silt. We moved over and slowed down as a boat approached at a bend.

Then we found we had got stuck on a mudbank, hill climbing as the old boaters would say. Unconcerned, the skipper of the boat passed us by as we struggled to get off. The shallows just kept sucking the boat back on. 

C & R T have painted those useless wooden bollards here at Shutt Hill.

When we got to Milford Wharf near the railway we were unhappy not to be able to get  TV or phone signals. We moved on a bit further away from the railway to find the signals much improved.

We moved

Getting through this winter has been a drag. Meeting up with Sue & Vic on No Problem has pulled us through with their company. We have all got to Penkridge with Vic lifting a paddle in front to help us through a few locks. For two days we endured the cold and pushed through some slushy ice.

Away from the Shropshire Union and that muddy towpath at Gnosall. Now we twist and turn on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. At one turn the boat refused to go round due to the mudbanks under water. At least the towpaths are less muddy now!

Winter 2010 at Gailey.  (Library picture)

Two or three hours is quite enough during mid morning, travelling while well wrapped up and drinking hot tea or soup on the way. Once moored we enjoy the company either on No Problem or Moore 2 Life back inside a warm boat.

A bus ride and a movie

We got to Wheaton Aston in the morning. Sue had got some tickets for us to see the movie Les Mis in Stafford.

We went on the bus that took us on a white knuckle ride through the countryside. Many narrow roads making passing difficult and going via Penkridge on the way.

Sue had also arranged a meal in a pub offering a free drink via the Internet.

We do not often get to see a movie in a cinema these days. The days of ice-cream served in the interval between two movies are long gone.

At least with the no smoking rule you do not see the flickering beam of light from the projector. Now it is the smell of buckets of popcorn and coke that fills the air.

The word movie still applies to the experience. At one time it was a strip of film with pictures on it. Now we can watch movies on many different mediums including DVD's. Seems that many things have gone digital including the cinema.

Moving after the refit

Done all the varnishing and we have both used the shower, one at a time!

It is all part of a cunning plan.

We got out of the arm and moved down to Gnosall. Ann left me to go to see our grand children.

When S n V came back from their cruise I took them back to Norbury through a snowstorm. Vic got the fire going on No Problem, Sue sorted the Tesco delivery and I was invited to a roast dinner! 'How wonderful is that!'

Next day was warm n sunny so I was able to use the facilities and enjoyed watching the discovery of Richard the third's body in Leicester, having been lost for 500 years. History as we knew it was written by the Tudor's laced with propergander. Now we know what Richard really looked like. His remains were found directly under a car park reserved space marked with an 'R'.

While I was a single hander I got diesel at Norbury Wharf then moved back to Gnosall, got water and waited for Ann to come back. Then we went to town to do the shopping.

Society makes the rules to follow for the good of all. But there are some who do not follow! 

A boater leaves his boat at a water point.
A driver leaves his car on a space reserved for the disabled when he is not.
A beef supplier supplies horse instead and calls it beef.

Sheltered from the wind

Our boat is down the Norbury Arm. We pushed and broke ice to get there. Work is in progress on our refit. The bath is no more having been cut in half to get it out.

Much hard labour and noise to remove the thick tiles. Mik has now replaced it with a shower and shelves.

We have a land line so power is not a problem and saves diesel. We are sheltered from the wind being surrounded by boats. Going for walks however has been purgatory in the cold wind. The fields and towpath are still sogy as you would expect.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker seen nearby

Snowdrops, first sign of spring

Apologies for not writing but we have been editing our book, varnishing wood and watching movies.

An unusual day

The day before, an order was placed with Tesco.  We had just had breakfast when Mik came to say we could move down the arm for our refit to start.  But first we need to take on water, diesel and loose the unwanted.  A kettle of hot water melted the iced up water tap.

It was all go to get it all done and push ice away to get down the arm.  Tesco was due to deliver between 11 and 1.  Thankfully we had got to the mooring before the delivery arrived.  The van driver would not drive over the bridge and down the lane.  The goodies were all on his trolly and taken to the boat.

Then Mik arrived to do a service on our diesel fire.  It had been slightly unreliable since our episode with the diesel bug.  We had turned it off in the morning so the boat cooled down a bit helped by the cold wind!

Mik dismantled the control system and cleaned out the filter and float chamber.  It did have some gunge  inside!  With it all back together an attempt to light the fire failed because the feed pipe was blocked.  Once cleared we had the fire going in no time.

As the boat warmed up again a heavy snow storm was dropping another thick layer.

The refit has started.  Bath to come out and shower tray to replace it.  We did what we could by removing the door, bath side panels, towel rail and other fittings.  Mik cut the bath in half to get it out of the boat and started on the tiles.

They were thick floor tiles stuck on with black bostic and very hard to break off so it is work in progress.

Melting Snowman

Melting away with a Jack D

A snow pic

Gnosall, by the old railway.  We have been lucky so far with no ice in the water - yet!

Coping with winter

Just a few suggestions for us boaters to keep safe and the boat systems reliable.

Brush the snow off the gas locker and make sure it does not freeze.  The gas is sure to run out some time and you need to know that the hatch will open!  Take care, it will be slippery.

To help your cover zips working smear on some Vaseline, it makes the zip run free.

The snow and ice will melt where heat is escaping.  Use newspaper to fill those gaps round the doors.  But do not be tempted to block up the ventilators.

Run the engine twice a day to keep the batteries charged.  They are not so efficient when cold so they will not give as much power as they do in the summer.

A shopping trip

We have been lucky so far, no snow and no ice in the canal near Gnosall.  Josh and Ben back down south are unhappy not being able to build a snowman!

The bus took us to Stafford for a look round.  It is quite shocking to see so many big shops having closing down sales.  Even Millets owned by Blacks that sell outdoor clothing by Peter Storm.  The staff were only told the day before!

This was taken in March last year at Stafford.  

After a slow lunch in a pub we returned to the boat and turned the heat up!  Woke next day to find it had snowed a bit.

Mind Space, a condition

The Beginning.

A few questions

What is outer space? Does it have an edge or boundary? Why do we think it should have an edge or boundary?  Is it infinite?

Some answers

Our minds are conditioned from conception to be contained. Our brain is contained in our head. Our body is contained in our mother's womb. When we are born we find ourselves contained in a room.

To be contained implies that there must be an edge or boundary. The walls of the room we first find ourselves in are that edge or boundary.

Our mind has been conditioned. From birth we explore different boundaries. A list of boundaries could be - Room, House, Garden, Town, County, Country, World, Outer space….

Outer Space. Is this different? What does it contain? It seems that the more we look, further and further into space the more we find. We imagine that it must have an edge or boundary, but does it? To infinity and beyond.

What could be out side outer space? Another Universe? The creator? Heaven.

We are also conditioned into thinking that there must be a beginning and an end. Did our Universe have a beginning? If it did it must have an end. But perhaps it does not. Perhaps it is infinite.

The End.

Normal service will resume some time soon now that I have got that off my chest!!

Moving up south

We set off up the other 11 locks at Aydlem during slightly damp weather. A further 5 locks at Adderley got us all the way to Market Drayton. After some shopping we continued up another 5 locks at Tyrley. That was enough for us so we spent the night at the top. 'By 4 o'clock it was getting dark anyway.'

We seemed to be the only one on the move, that is none seen going the other way. We were not aware of any in front or behind going the same way. While at Audlem and Market Drayton there were only a few boats at their moorings.

There was plenty of water coming down past the locks. The by weirs always pushing the boat sideways on approach to a lock. Some maintenance work had been carried out by C&RT in December. Some of the cement that filled gaps in the stonework had already fallen away! Most of the lock gear had been greased with a thin layer. The only paddle not yet fixed was one at Tyrley.

C&RT have also been taking rocks out of the canal and clearing some vegetation through Woodseaves and Grubstreet cuttings. But it is very wet, the towpaths mostly closed and many trees are leaning over. Saw much evidence of fresh landslips that have been stabalised.

Eventually our post arrived and we have got our Standard Licence this year. 'We've done with rivers, thank you.' Our resolution, if that is what it was, is to slow down, go north in the summer and south in the winter.

We have got to Norbury Junction and met up with our good friends Sue n Vic on No Problem. When we first decided to get a boat to live in we could not make up our minds about getting a bath or shower and ended up with both! Finally after ten or more years we have settled with having a shower cubicle.

New Year visit

George n Carol from Rock n Roll took us to Barton Turn to visit Margaret n Geoff on Seyella.

Thanks to Geoff for the food.  Great to see you all on the first day of the New Year.

Cracker jack

Our family tradition is to pour burning brandy over the pudding that Ann made.  Some of the holly burnt to ash which had to be scraped off!

We pulled a cracker.
Q. Where do fortune tellers dance?     A. At the crystal ball.

Anybody got a better joke?

 This cheeky 'monkey' is pinching the birds nuts!

We moved on down a few locks on Boxing Day.

Anyone for cake?  It is OK cos Ann made that as well!

Print or Publish ?

At the end of each year I  convert this blog into a chapter for my book.  I am now about to work on Chapter 17 which will be titled 'Moore On Rivers' which covers 2012.  In the past I have been encouraged to continue and struggled on.

I will continue with the blog but wish to print or publish my book.  All the chapters are available to read in www.moore2life.co.uk .

If any of you kind readers have any advice about what to do about the next step please get in touch.  Converting the text for an e book may be a possibility but a paper book could be distributed to family and friends.