Life might be slow on a narrowboat but there’s plenty to do! Saturday was D day for our first major flight of locks. Awaking reasonably early I saw two boats pass me by, obviously going up the flight in tandem. So all I had to do was await another boat and could then do the same. R told me his and BBT’s arrival time was scheduled after 11am so I said if a boat arrived before then I would start the flight. Great excitement as a boat appeared but disappointment as it turned into the wharf situated behind me. I decided to move to just before the first lock in order to be ready to move off at a moment’s notice should a boat come along, but just twiddled my thumbs waiting. A phone call from R saying they’d parked and were en route, just as a lady appeared around the corner armed with a windlass. What joy! It was the boat I had seen earlier who had gone into the wharf in the hopes of a pumpout for their boat but were told there was a wait of over an hour. They wanted to get on with the flight so abandoned that idea and here they were, companions for Naomhòg – many hands make light work! Suffice to say when R and BBT appeared around the corner I was already entering the first lock chamber and they had no time for even a cup of tea. It was straight to work! 22 locks in two and a half hours was not bad going. The other boat had four crew and there were also some CRT volunteers helping with the paddles so I was able to briefly abandon my post at the helm and become the tea lady in order to make up for R and BBT’s rushed arrival and lack of victuals. It’s quite a skill entering a double lock with a parallel boat and as the time wore on we became more adept and it was much more fun than I had anticipated. Weatherwise, very occasional flurries of snow mixed with outbursts of sunshine. The excellent cafe at the top of Hatton was reward in itself although I did cause confusion by ordering a cream tea at 1330 – it looked excellent value – sandwiches, scones, cake and tea all for £10. I hadn’t realised you needed to pre-book, nor that the teas were normally for two and came on decorative plates. The cafe lady kept telling me it was too much food for one person and I said not to worry I didn’t need to eat it all at once. Then she gave me two cups of tea and charged me £20. At which point I said I only wanted a tea for one person! Eventually, with the queue growing ever longer it was sorted but I think she was glad to see the back of me!
DH rejoined us in the late afternoon near Lapworth, further along the cut than we had planned to go but BBT was up for a bit of a cruise before returning home and as R rested on the bed, BBT took to the helm and navigated a short tunnel that required a headlight. As ours is at present disconnected, due to the cratch being removed, I had to stand at the bow holding a torch. As canal tunnels tend to leak rather, my efforts at representing the Statue of Liberty resulted in a rather sodden Mary.
DH stayed the night on the boat – as I said before the dinette is good for one but until the cratch cover is in place there really is very limited storage for any excess belongings so it’s quite a challenge with three. It is also surprising how much this boat rocks when we walk around! It was fun though to have a friend to stay and the mooring space we found is excellent. As well as being picturesque we are right next door to CRT facilities which means we have access to toilets and a shower. In addition our toilet needs emptying so the pumpout facility is particularly welcome but without a pumpout card we can’t use this. I purchased cards online for R to bring with him from home but they hadn’t arrived by the time he left. Seeing a boat moored in front of the pumpout I went to ask the occupants if they had any spare cards we could buy but the boat was just mooring there for the night. The lovely Irish accents led me to asking where they were from. It transpired they are two brothers cruising the English and Welsh waterways for a month or so. P lives on a boat in Ireland and writes for a canal magazine so is very knowledgeable. His brother C has come along for the ride and both of them were full of fun and chat. So much so that I suggested we all meet in the pub later because I thought R and DH would enjoy their company. P was too tired but C joined us and we had a great evening. C became a grandfather a couple of years ago but still gets confused. He was out shopping and saw a toblerone which said on the packaging ‘for my God daughter’ which he thought his granddaughter would just love. His daughter had to point out she wasn’t actually his godchild! Part of the joy of travelling around as we are, is spending unexpected time with strangers who, because we are all boaters, are happy to share stories and thoughts in a way that tends not to occur in our everyday lives at home. Striking up conversations is somehow much easier to do when you are all in the same boat, haha, not literally!
Sunday morning a knock on the door heralded the arrival of P, the man who bought my wooden cratch board a couple of days ago. He came armed with a big bag of wood for us and the promised £30. He was off to the launderette but happy to be delayed by the offer of a cup of tea.
DH retreated home after lunch and we got ready for our next guests, JM and MM. They were staying in Warwick and had a brief spell of free time that meant they could pop to see us on the boat. JM loves WhatthreeWords but was not impressed by ending up in a field nearby. My inability to master this app is getting alot of people in a pickle so I really must try harder to understand how it works. JM gave me a very comprehensive lesson and no doubt, used properly, it is an amazing app with some great features. However, left to my own devices, trying to use it this afternoon when R and I went walking, shows I still have a long way to go! Once JM and MM did manage to find the carpark it was so good to see them and catch up with each others news by talking at double speed with no time to pause!
We finished watching the latest series of ‘The Crown’ which portrayed the separation of the Prince of Wales and Lady Di and the rise and fall of the Thatcher years. I couldn’t help but reflect what it must be like for the royal family to see their story dramatised and wondered how much is truth and how much is heresay.
Today started with R having to wait 40 minutes on hold, to speak to someone at the bank! I think they should change the music as you get nearer to the top of the queue! In search of a CRT pumpout card we walked to the marina at the top of the Lapworth flight of locks, which is on the Oxford canal (and all the locks are single not double) which was about an hour and a half. The marina had no cards but a boater in the shop said he had a couple which he purchased a couple of years ago. We were welcome to use them and pay him if they worked. We returned to our boat via the Grand Union canal which gave us a triangular walk of about 3 – 4 hrs so we were in need of a cup of tea before we embarked on the pumpout exercise. First we had to move the boat around the corner and then, having attached the pumpout hose, we had to insert the pumpout card, which basically gives you enough electricity to use the pump. Once the card is activated the electricity meter ticks and cannot be stopped, hence why we had to get the boat in position and were unable to try the card in advance to see if it worked. It didn’t! Rather than see it as a wasted exercise we decided instead to fill the water tank and initially check how clean it was. Disappointingly, there are a few pinpricks of rust spots showing through so I am contacting the epoxy specialists to see what I should do. I am not particularly surprised but I would like to try and prevent the rust getting worse. In addition, the water had some bits in it owing to the fact we have not yet sealed the lid properly as we wanted to monitor how quickly the tank empties. My solution was to get a clean bucket and empty out all the water and then sponge clean and dry the tank. With longer arms, this became R’s job! Once clean we refilled the tank but it took a long time so I decided to do some clothes washing. A bucket of hot soapy water soon saw me hand scrubbing my smalls, like an old fashioned washerwoman. Then I rinsed using the water from the outside tap and even through rubber gloves I could feel the cold. Then back on the boat I tried out the spin drier that is sitting in the shower cubicle. It all worked a treat and I was able to dry the washing over the stove.
All this took rather a long time and dusk was falling as we decided what to do with the boat. Either take it through two locks and moor up in a short pound, or turn it round by the water tap and moor up alongside, slightly illegally. A bit like being on a yellow line. Our excuse if we get told off by the CRT is that they should have been more prompt at posting us the CRT pumpout cards. Our waste tank is so full we can now only use it in emergencies and thus are reliant on using the CRT facilities, adjacent to where our boat is currently moored!
The evening saw the arrival of P, the cratch man, for a farewell drink before we leave tomorrow. He is such good company – we have really enjoyed getting to know him. He says he will come and find us once we arrive in the centre of Birmingham, our planned destination for the Easter weekend.
NarrowboatTLC 