Brauston through another tunnel

In Brauston and will be here for a bit as doing some laundry and tidying of boat as we have visitors at the weekend.

Today, we went through tunnel number 2.. as I was sitting at the front I did wonder to myself what we would do if the headlight stopped working in the middle of the pitch black tunnel.. "dont be silly" I said to myself, "why would it stop working, these bulbs have a long life" - Literally a second later.. the light flickered and went out!!!

So after shouting to Scott to see if he had switch it off from the control panel which he had not, I relaised that we were actually in a bit of a pickle. Now we did have all the internal lights on, however, they did not give out that much light, so in a matter of seconds, I ran inside to get the touch and held it in the air.. All a bit freaky really.. now I just need to think what would happen if I won the lottery.

Whilton ..

Matilda caught a mouse - her blog as all the info!!

After waking up a tad late we travelled to Weedon, a nothing special place with a shop (handy for supplies) and a pub, where we decided to have a pub lunch, which was not bad but had to wait ages for the food to arrive.

We carried on to Whilton, we met up with the railway again and at points the canal was so close to the Virgin Trains that I could almost see the passengers as they whizzed past.

The canal had a number of bends but no locks which was handy, it gave us time to think about possible names if we bought a new boat. - Ideas such as Dharma Initiative (from lost), Tamiya and Red Dwarf were of course rejected by me. I would not have my boat named after a TV programme I watched for 7 (wasted) years with such a terrible / disappoiting ending let alone an old BBC comedy or the make of radio control cars. I thought something more earthy such as Tranquillity, however, perhaps that's a bit cliché

Milton Keynes to Blisworth in the heat..

What a hot few days!!.. my word its warm. (yes, sparing a thought for those at work).

We were in Milton Keynes on Saturday as friends came to visit, we had a wonder around the shops and had a lovely lazy lunch and on Sunday, up at 6am to leave at 6.30am to start travelling before the heat of the day to leave Milton Keynes behind. Stopped to watch the football and walked for miles to get to a pub, which was probably the only pub in England not to show the game, so Scott had to stream it on the iphone on the walk back.

Today, up again at the crack of dawn to negotiate 7 locks before heading towards Stoke Bruerne. Very pretty town, worth a visit however, at 9am there was nothing open.

After Stoke Bruerne we travelled through the Blisworth Tunnel. Our first tunnel which Scott negotiated very well. It took around 30 minutes to go through and it was pitch black. It reminded me of the water slides which I went on when I was younger and was half expecting it to dip and bend a few times, but it didn’t, it was dead straight and after the first 15 minutes it was a tad boring.

We have now moored up just after Blisworth and saw some boats for sale, we looked at a brand new one and I was smiling to myself at the rather knowledgeable questions that we were asking – like true boaters. However at £90,000 slightly out of our price range.

We are beginning to see lots of hire boats, people on holiday. And yes, I know that I was (and probably still am) a novice, I still get tangled in the ropes and unable to moor neatly, however, when you see a man who really should not be wearing shorts, socks and sandals get in a muddle trying to untie his boat with ropes everywhere, tripping over them and really getting himself quite confused, I did smile to myself.

Today, we also saw a few old boats coming back from an historic boat festival, one in particular was going so fast into a lock, through the first gates and slammed into the closed gates ahead with a loud thud. I have never seen a canal boat move so quickly.

I forgot to mention a sight that we saw a few days ago, a calf had fallen in the canal. At first we could not make out what it was, when we realised it was a calf, we stopped the boat to make sure he/she was OK and whilst I was looking for the number for the RSPCA, it managed to rescue it self, poor thing must have been very tired.

The final bit of annoying news is that we moored yesterday near some cows and had an influx of flies, after flapping a newspaper up and down in the heat a number of times, we have related and bought some fly spray – yes, I know, I am a veggie and against killing animals etc etc, however, they are flies so do they count?

On the train to Harrow

Nothing really on the canal front to report today ...

Left Scott and Matilda today and headed back to London on the train to meet a friend all the way from 'down under', her baby, family and friends. It was a lovely afternoon

It was odd going back on the train the same way as we had come by boat, saw glimpses of canal on the way. Milton Keynes to Harrow 45 minutes. I can see how the railways superseded the canals.

It's glastonbury this weekend, surprised it's not raining. Hope a good time is being had by all. 

Played with an iPad today, it would be cool to have one, but could see the need for a rota for it's use. Perhaps a new iPhone would be better.... Dear Santa.... 

Shoppers heaven

Wondered around Milton Keynes shopping area and wow it's good. Now I am not a shopper, hate it in fact but the shopping centre was huge, light, airy and empty, granted I was there on a Thursday am but it was stress free. 

Loads of shops everything you could ask for. Outside seemed to have good car parking, but there were also plenty of buses.  The roads were wide and hardly any traffic. 

It reminded me of a foreign country, perhaps Dubai but greener? 

I can't believe that it's only about an hour from home, I have never thought to come here to do shopping - will in future. 

Also discovered a new desert:  bought some Greek yoghurt which I was going to add honey to sweeten it only to discover that we had run out. Now I couldn't use sugar as we only had cubes so I added a tea spoon of nutella and mixed it together;  it was lovely.

Leighton Buzzard to Milton Keynes

Before I ramble on about the heat and having to do the locks, I will take a second to acknowledge all my colleagues and friends who are working in very hot offices and of course the ones doing heavy work outside

Yesterday was spent in Leighton Buzzard - doing laundry and tesco’s shopping. – Not much else to report, I doubt I will be going back there again.

This morning, up early and wanted to get some distance before the heat of the day. We stopped at 12.00 for lunch, quorn and tomato sandwiches and back travelling at 3.30 – 6pm where we are in Milton Keynes. The journey was OK, not the best, mainly as it is was so hot and the last thing I wanted to do was to use all my little energy in working the locks, I have to say, not very pleasant when it is so warm.

We will be here for a couple of days, tomorrow, I think Scott has already found out where the model shops are (Damn that Iphone) and Friday I am meeting a friend who has come over from Australia with her baby, hence needed to be near a railway station.

We are moored in a park - very pleasant now that it is cooler. Never been to Milton Keynes before, so I will keep you posted if it’s worth a visit.

Leighton Buzzard ..

What a lovely journey we had on Saturday, up early and left Cowroast for picturesque cruise through woods after which we were greeted by a series of locks going down through the countryside. To me this has been the best stretch of the canal so far.

There were a number of other boaters out and about, which made the locks easier, plus I could have chats to people whilst doing the locks. – Having the conversations is better than I thought, I really did not want to be having to tell our whole life story to strangers, however you don’t have to go into too much detail, but can exchange just enough pleasantries whilst the lock is being filled or emptied.

We moored just outside a place called Pitstone. We took a wonder into the ‘village’ a mixture of some posh and not so posh houses. Was getting quite concerned as we could not find a village shop anywhere and even though the engine is fixed now (hope you are still keeping the fingers crossed) , a fear swept across me that this is not a good place to be stuck if we cant even purchase any bread or milk, however, after a good couple of miles walk we found a corner shop. Not that we needed to purchase anything – I just needed to know it was there.

Matilda enjoyed it in the country side and I watch her for 5 minutes trying to pounce on something, bless her, she is not very agile and her behind stuck up in the air as she was trying to make herself as small and invisible as possible. I bet she was only looking at a blade of grass.

Today we went to Leighton Buzzard.. Not really much to report – not as pretty as I thought it would be. However, Scott likes it as threre is a shop which sells Tamiya RC stuff – so he was happy. – Speaking of Scott he has a blog now: http://taffer74.blogspot.com

We took a walk to find the launderette, its miles away, so tomorrow we have to take a long walk with our washing. I did purchase today a shopping trolley, like what old people use, however, mine has flowers on it, just to show that it is a “cool hippy” type of thing to have..

It's fixed..,(keep fingers crossed for plain sailing for the rest of the journey)

We travelled today to a place called Cow Roast. Very odd name really, I wondered of they are famous for their Sunday dinners? Would not like to be
a cow loving here, it's almost like your fate has been decided. 

We travelled alongside the railway line through some locks and some lovely countryside. Saw a lock keepers cottage for sale but it was a tad costly. 

Will get some photos of the countryside to upload, it is so pretty.   

Settled in for the night, steaming the football over the Internet and having scooby doo pasta. 

Hair has been cut..

Good old supercuts.. hair trimed at a resonable cost in Aylesbury.

A couple of photos:
- Side of boat
- some very well used and well cared for allotments

Engineer is here at the moment.. so keep everything crossed.

I also have been told that I have readers from abroad.. Hello to relatives in Switzerland!..

forgot to add

Totally forgot to mention, whilst in Birkhampstead I thought that I would get a trim. As there were so many hairdressers I thought that this would be easy.. - £39 for a wash, trim and dry with a junior stylist! I think I would rather have split ends.

Still in northchurch..

We are still here in Northchurch waiting for our part to arrive.. hopefully nothing too major. The falut was a bracket which supported the engine had snapped.

This is a lovely place to be stuck.. Village on one side of the canal and countryside on the other. - church bells ringing in the distance, birds singing and children playing - yes, we are moored next to a primay school and my word children are loud at lunch time.

Today, we took at bus trip into Birkhampstead - was a lovely jouney, the bus was big, plenty of room and had seat belts - so far away from the crowded 222 bus where you had to stand and hold on for dear life. (which reminds me TFL have not returned my "dont think that people should stand on buses" email)

Whilst we have been unable to move the boat I have been pondering. I felt that I did not have a purpose and was just pottering on the boat. The year was to travel and currently we are not travelling. I began to think about purposes and wondered how important it is to have a one (or more than one). When I was working, I helped young people (I hope) and earnt money to buy stuff, when on holiday my purpose was to sight see, if I was unemployed I guess my purpose would be looking for work and weekends was to do housework etc - all things which have a purpose. I am sure most other people, would be happy to relax in such lovely surrondings, but I feel that I needed something.. Then my parents came up with the idea of typing up my grandfathers autobiography which he hand wrote nearly 40 years ago - so therefore, my purpose has been found!..

Now I just wish Matilda instead of her purpose being to play with toy mouse, actually try and use her new litter tray..

Some bad luck.....

Yesterday we spent the day in Berkhampstead, Quite a nice town with a high street with more hairdressers than probably the whole of Uxbridge, Hayes and West Drayton. 

Yesterday morning whilst pottering I was watching some fishermen. It all seemed rather odd to me. 10 or so men all about 10 meters apart just sitting there to far away to have a conversation with other. Opposite the boat was a young lad and further  was i guess was his father,. They were there from 8am to 3pm (Scott said they were probably going home for Sunday lunch cooked by his mother).  I watch the young lad catch a number of fish and put them in a big net, was not sure why they were not put back straight away- I guessed it was to count number caught, however I thought a notebook suffice.  I was amazed at the amount of equipment they had. So much for a stool and a little net. I did wonder if the son enjoyed himself he had very little interaction with anyone 7 hours. I not one to question the sport of fishing however I did read in the BBC that the fish do feel discomfort in their mouths..... 

This morning we broke down!! And Scott slipped into the canal, only waist deep though but he had my phone in his pockets which thankfully was ok.

We had to drag the boat 1/4 mile to a village called northchurch to
be near the road for rescue and will be here for a few days (+ the extra for canal time - as everything takes longer in the boating world).  

New hobbies have been sought: origami,   Tarot Reading and I bought a book on the weather. 

  

Guess what .....

I fell in the canal today!

I normally sit on top of the boat whilst Scott drives. There is a little footstep which aids me in the process. Not sure what happened today, my trainer may have been muddy which meant I lost grip and splash, I was under water.

My thought process:

"HELP I am under water

oh, I can swim

perhaps I can stand

oooohhh the bottom of this canal is sluggy

mind you it could be worse, imagine what is in the bottom of the canal in West Drayton"

I now know what Matilda felt like when she feel in and sorry that I was perhaps a tad unsympathetic.

Out of our comfort zone..

Today we are in Kings Langley after 2 days of travelling.

Yesterday our Cratch Cover was completed. It is fantastic and will mean that we have extra storage and we can sit out the front whilst it is raining. The sides roll up and there are windows on each side with window covers. Thank you Glenda, Adrian, Pete and Scamp for not only a lovely cover, but for your company over the last week. I hope we meet again soon.

We left Cowley at 1pm and travelled until 8pm where we reached Rickmansworth. By the end of the day, I was shattered as unfortunately every lock was against us, which means that we had to empty them before we were able to use it.

Using the locks is very hard work and I ache! Used muscles that I never even knew excisted.

After a good nights sleep we got up bright and early and moored next to Tescos to do our shopping. Yes, I know I am anti Tescos, but being able to moor next to the shop (we thought) was very handy, we bought loads of heavy stuff such as bottles of water, however, only to discover that the people at Tescos did not want the boaters to take their trolleys to their boats, so we had to carry all the shopping for 50 meters or so to the boat. They also were not very clever with the moorings, the boat was so much lower than the bank, so we had to be pretty nifty to load the shopping onto the boat.

After our shopping trip, we plodded along through 15 locks.. and yes, I did them all and yes, I am sooo tired.

So we are in Kings Langley, we are way out of our comfort zone going to places I have never even heard off. I find it very odd travelling along the canals as my sense of direction has gone completely as I normally navigate by road numbers; well I guess for the next year, the canals will be our road and water points, pump outs and pubs will be our landmarks.


I have attached a few pictures:
• Our boat with the cratch covers
• And a picture to make you go ahhhh

We turned the boat round today!!!..

Well I never thought that I would have 6 followers. Thank you for following me (never in a million years would I have thought I would write that phrase)

so, a quick clarification as I have had questions about fenders. : I was trying to make a fender, which is a long thing made out of rope which attaches to the side of the boat to protect it. A bumper so to speak. A button fender is on the back of the boat, see picture with a washing line.

Not much to report. We are still in cowley, cover almost finished. Hopefully today if weather holds (keep everything crossed) . It does look fantastic and looks really good with the boat. I will post pictures once it's all on.

Today is cleaning day. Inside of the boat is a tip. For some reason Scott since leaving work had lost his cleaning OCD. I know I moaned about his constant cleaning, but now as he is not doing it means that I have to find and use the dust pan and brush.

If anyone is interested Matilda also has a blog which can be found via the profile page... Yes still bored.

I must be bored...

Two posts in one day.. I really do need a hobby especially as I have ichy feet waiting for the off. Scott is very relaxed and enjoying every second of not being at work. This time does however give the opportunity to undertake some boating related tasks. Today we tried to change our button fender at the back of the boat. As you can see, we did not have the correct chains, so it is attached to the boat with washing line.

The other photos are of the boat and the front, the wooden frame is for the cratch cover.

Still in Cowley...

2 followers... woo hoo.. thank you.

Spent the past 2 days relaxing, it has been the first time since I have left work that I have not needed to alarm clock, fantastic!

Yesterday spent the day making decisions on how our cratch cover should look. As we are getting it made to measure, we are able to decided where the zips go, size of windows, if the window covers are on the inside or the outside. Glenda is very talented at what she does, I am really looking forward to it being completed.

Today, we visited a friend who is in a care home. She is 93 and very heathy, however, her mind is not as sharp. We were keen to see her before we left as it may be sometime before we can see her again. As we are car-less, we went via the bus all the way from West Drayton to West Ruislip - was not a bad journey. Scott wanted to stop off in Uxbridge for a Subway and try out his Subway app - but as it was in the middle of the lunch hour rush,we decided to continue onto West Drayton. I did not want to be one of those annoying people who have all day but decide to shop during the lunch hour, I mean why do retired people always have to shop in Marks and Spencer during the busy lunch time rush?

Stop press.

Well after 6 hours of trying to make a fender with rope everywhere I have decided that this is not the hobby for me. Knew I should have bought the 'roses and castle' painting kit!

Day one!

We have left the safety of the marina today and are now moored just outside so that we can get the cratch cover done.  Glenda (the cratch cover lady) said it will take a week but I hope it's quicker as I am eager to get travelling. However on the bright side it does mean that we can get a few odd jobs done on the boat before we set off.  

The canal today is very busy, lots of hire boats, which i guess is because of half term. So have spent the morning watching them go up and down the canal. We were the only ones moored here, but now we have company. 

The weather is not so good, so do not feel like going out. I have to admit that even though it's very relaxing I am a tad bored. With that in mind  I have been waiting for a hobby to present itself and other than writing a journal until saturday I was hobbyless, however I have now bought myself a fender making kit, so watch this space. 

At the weekend we went to Crick boat show and saw some lovely widebeam boats - maybe one day! On Sunday we went out with friends for a farewell drink. A good time had by all. 

I have now noticed that I have a follower (thank you father!) however I do know that other people are reading this so knowing that it makes all the rambling worth while.