Bluebell Buggy

Secret Pool by the Water Park in Birstall

Dear Jotters
It was hard to tear ourselves away from Birstall and the most excellent company of our friends Keith and Jan. On Monday, we had an excursion with them to the tea rooms at Copt Oak, run by the Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation. It was warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the splendid views over Charnwood Forest and then we had a hair-raising golf buggy ride, down the valley and through the bluebell woods, to Ulverscroft Manor. I made an unscheduled donation to the Trust's funds by leaving my best cardigan on a rail when I tried on a summer jacket in their charity shop. I hope they got a good price for it, it was almost new! If you're ever up that way, it's a great place to visit, especially when the bluebells are out.

We got the dreaded dentist appointment out of the way on Tuesday morning then tidied the cobwebs out of the cratch ready to receive Jan and Keith on board for an afternoon cruise. Jan has long wanted to come aboard and have a cruise with us but, even with the help of her robotic leg, we weren't sure she could get over the gunwales. Jan is a very determined lady and made it aboard with hardly a murmur and was soon installed in the bows in her racy pink wheelchair ready for the cruise. Those of you who are regular readers know that the Captain really hates windy weather and that it can make turning the boat a little tricky. Today we have two turns to make and a stiff breeze to contend with - not a great combination but, as always, the Captain is up for the challenge. With the first turn completed successfully, we glided along the river and I left our guests enjoying the view to remind Carl that Jan was in the bows in her chair. 'Don't put the bows in the bushes will you' and went back to make the tea. What can I say - the wind caught us as we turned and blew us straight into a dog rose that was just coming into flower. Jan got a really close up view, although Carl stopped short before they actually snagged her hair. The boat jammed across the river and there was nothing for it but to deploy the long pole with Carl and his muscles on the end of it, to rescue the situation. I think Jan enjoyed the drama, but it was a relief to finally swing free and and resume our leisurely cruise back the way we came. I'm happy to say that everyone survived the afternoon and we're all still friends - we were sorry to say goodbye to them on Wednesday, after one final farewell coffee which turned into brunch and then – oh! what the heck, let's set off tomorrow!

It was a terrible shock going through the locks on Thursday morning – we needed hats, gloves and a coat on - it felt like winter was here again. We meandered through the Water Park towards Thurmaston and sipped hot coffee while we surveyed the grey skies, hoping to see the sun peeking through. It was late morning before, finally, the sun came out and the rest of our journey through the meadows from Mountsorrel to Barrow-upon-Soar was idyllic. By the time we moored up by Bridge 34, jut outside Loughborough, the sun was beating down and the icy wind had mellowed. Carl took himself off to his 'shed' (stern deck) and varnished the back doors while I sat on the tow-path with my IPod on shuffle and my crochet hook flying along, trying to keep up with the rocking tunes. Three beautiful horses in the field opposite cantered along the bank, nuzzling and play fighting, rearing and bucking then playing tiggy to the trees and back. I sat out until the hawthorn blossom filled my knitting bag and got into my tea cup, we do love the blossom but it gets everywhere - the roof, the cratch covers, the floors and every mat in the place has a sprinkling of Mother Nature's confetti.

On Friday we planned to go to Loughborough, but heavy rain persisted till after lunch, so we thought we'd stay put on this lovely mooring till Saturday, which promised to be dry and warm. The Great Central Steam Train station is close by and, once it fined up, we followed the signs and the clouds of steam, to find the ticket office. We bought platform tickets and drank tea and ate Genoa cake in the beautifully preserved refreshment rooms until it was time for the 13.45 steam engine to depart - which it did, right on time There was a tremendous snort and whistle and that lovely 'pish de coo' sound that reminds me of watching 'Ivor the Engine' on our first colour tv (there's a prize of an afternoon cruise if you can guess the year without resorting to google). The dining cars looked very inviting with snowy white napkins and gleaming cutlery, it's a treat we've always promised ourselves, dinner on the Charnwood Forester - one day, soon, maybe. Wistful face emoji. 

We were up and off on Saturday morning to get to Loughborough and moor in the basin for the 'Big Shop'. I needed new boat mats and kitchen scales and Carl needed Man Stuff from Wilko's. I waited outside the back door of Wilko's with Tricky and after about a trillion years, I rang Carl's phone to make sure he'd remembered where he left us. He was most indignant but did tear himself away from drooling over the nuts and bolts so I could do my shopping. Later, we met up with Terry and Liz, and toured the town sampling a few ciders/beers/gins (pick your poison) while we caught up with their news. Then it was "All Aboard' the Lady Aberlour for a cruise to Zouch in the last of the afternoon sun. It was a treat for me - I made the tea and pottered in the cabin while Carl and Liz worked the locks and Terry steered the boat – I was glad of the rest! The Plough in Normanton had space on there moorings and we whipped the boat round and headed back to stake a claim to this prized position. We edged gently in and tried to shoehorn our 57 foot boat into the 55 foot gap but in the end we had to give up and chug on to Zouch – what a shame, their beer garden looked so inviting. We found plenty of room to moor up by the Rose and Crown and so ended another very enjoyable day with good friends. Enjoy your retirement Terry and Liz and come back soon.

That's all from me for this week - have a great week everyone, let me know how you're doing if you get a minute.

Love and hugs

The Floating Chandlers

PS Do come along and join us for an Afternoon Cruise if you fancy it – bring your own secateurs.

PPS Now that I have new weighing scales, scones are back on the menu.


Jan and Keith



Evening Rainbow


Dog Rose


Steaming


Captain Terry



Liz on the Windlass



Carl on lock duty



Brave doggy



Varnishing the Stern Doors



Bridge 34

Wedding Curry Versus Birstall Curry

Kings Lock

Morning Jotters

What a perfect day for the Royal Wedding - the sun shone, the bride looked suitably virginal, the music was splendid, the flowers breathtaking, the guests in their finery, crammed into the pews to watch fiery Harry turn to mush as he made his vows - so far so very British! Then the whole event was completely upstaged by Bishop Michael Curry: his rousing sermon vibrated around that historic chapel and made a few upper lips stiffen in surprise. I'm sure his address will be the subject of much discussion and whatever your views, I hope you agree that the wedding was a triumph for our tourist industry. Good Luck to the happy couple, live long and prosper.

Pywell Lock

I'll try to keep off the wedding subject, but everywhere I look, the hawthorn blossom has garlanded the banks with purest white, as if they too are celebrating their nuptials. This year, the blossom is especially splendid after such a long, cold, wet winter and Carl and I are, at last, chugging along in the sun. We've really enjoyed our prolonged stay in Market Harborough, but our feet were itching to get going again. After one last saunter through town, we cast off and turned right at the bottom of Foxton Locks towards Leicester and the delights of the River Soar. The top lock at Kibworth marks the start of a long procession of broad locks down through Leicester and Loughborough to the Trent - a journey that we've done several times but none so memorable as the trip we made in our first boat Moonshine. Some of you may remember the floods of 2007 and we will certainly never forget swirling along the river section between Belgrave and Birstall and shooting through the Thurcaston Old Bridge like a cork from a bottle - Carl earned his Captain's hat that day!

Admiral Tricky

I've been busy with the locks this week but I've found time to click away with the camera trying to capture the splendour of the May blossom - I don't know if I've succeeded but I'll put the best ones on the blog and you can tell me what you think. I am very relieved to report that coots and moor hens have at last been spotted with young and several clutches of ducklings and goslings were happily paddling along the Leicester Mile. I wonder if the cold spring is to blame for the absence of wildlife on the canals - there were hardly any ducks and swans in Foxton, where they usually gather by the pub to be fed, and the Market Harborough Arm was almost totally devoid of wildlife - just a few mallards and no sign of any young. Where have all the country ducks gone? In previous years, we only had to open the hatch to attract a bevy of hungry beaks and the cheeky swans would tap on the hatch as they were passing to see if you were in and had any scraps. I'm glad to say the city ducks seem to have fared better, the stretch from Freemans Lock through the city centre was crowded with swans and geese and the water park here at Birstall is teeming with birds.

Cygnets on the Soar

Doesn't the sunny weather make such a big difference to your mood! Every morning this week, I've been springing out of bed, eager to start the day without needing two cups of coffee before I can be safely approached by the Captain wondering if I'll be getting dressed at all today. When the sun shines, I need no encouragement to get outside and roll up the covers and set off early while the birds are still singing. The tow paths are dry at last and Tricky and I wander along from lock to bridge, slipping back into the boating routine that is so familiar. These perfectly lovely May days are balm for the soul and we chug along through the rolling meadows on the sparkling water feeling very blessed indeed.

I think this is Wistow Church

The Captains Log this week says we have travelled a very respectable 30 miles and 27 locks since last Sunday although we seem to be the only boat travelling this way along the Soar. It's always nice to share the broad locks if you can and we looked out for anyone going our way from our overnight mooring in Kilby Bridge. There was a very friendly New Zealand farmer on the boat behind us and I wandered over to see if they were going our way and to admire his cat which was tethered to the boat on a long lead - a most unusual arrangement but very necessary if you want to be sure of setting off on time, cats do have a tendency to wander off. Unfortunately, he wasn't going our way, but we had a really long chat about how he came to be living on a boat in England. I heard all about his triplet grandchildren and how he first came here to judge pigs at the Yorkshire Show - you do meet the most interesting people living on boats.

NB Maude with their cat on a lead

The last part of the journey through Leicester is a reminder of how grim things can be when the waterway becomes a dumping ground for the locals and a focus for antisocial behaviour. The seats around the Lime Kilns Lock were occupied by a bunch of middle aged men drinking from cans - it looked like a regular meeting place as there were black bin liners hanging on the fence and they were full of empty cans (that's an improvement as they used to just throw them in the water!) The next stretch of water from Lime Kilns to Belgrave was treacherous with rubbish: bags and bottles had clumped together and made a floating platform for a heron to fish from and I marvelled at the tenacity of the local wildlife which made the best of this watery slum - Mother Nature is truly marvellous! Belgrave Lock was not as bad as I've seen it in the past but we still bow hauled the boat through the lock rather than risk Carl having to get down in the weed hatch. Tonight, we are moored in a delightful spot above Birstall Lock with the village amenities close at hand and the luxury of our favourite Indian Restaurant just a short stroll away. Shirley - Anne, if you are reading this, we are moored by the lock where we first met you and Mike and we have been thinking about our trip together and wondering if you're coming over to England again anytime soon?

That's all for this week from us both – enjoy the sun and I'll write again soon

Love as always

The Floating Chandlers

PS I had to trim my fringe this week, out on the tow-path with mirror in one hand and scissors in the other. It didn't go well! Luckily, there is a good hairdresser in this village who may be able to rescue me, meanwhile I have resorted to a baseball hat!

Bad Hair Day

PPS We moored on some railings by Aldi's in Aylestone and I stepped off the boat with the front rope and tried to duck under the railings and found that I couldn't fold myself up small enough to fit under. I had to stand on tippy toes and do a most unladylike straddle to get over. Of course, there was a large audience of parents in the play area and gongoozlers on the tow-path opposite to witness my clumsy attempt at the parallel bars. Sad Face Emoji!

Street Art in Leicester

Kibworth Top Lock

Going Down!

Tricky teetering on the edge - naughty dog

Yurts by the canal

Kings Lock

Tricky on watch

Graffiti with a message

Freemans Lock

Goslings at last

Leicester Mile - lots of bridges

Leicester City Centre

Beautiful weather vane

Frog Island - this one's yours Carl!

The Rules Of The Game

A sunny walk

Carl here on Jottings duty - Linda says it's my turn this week and my motto is 'Happy Wife, Happy Life'!


It's true

We'd just got through the Foxton Swing-bridge when the day-boat hove into view, it was so close to the stonework of the next bridge that the sound of steel grinding against stone was clearly audible to the day trippers at Barry Island. I immediately slowed to tick over and prepared to finish off my cheese sandwich really quickly. I do like a nice cheese sandwich. Meanwhile, Ming the Merciless, the skipper of the incoming day-boat, did some quick mental arithmetic and, with masterful indecision, increased to ramming speed, simultaneously zig zagging from side to side. After trying and faiing to find the autopilot he ordered his crew to wave their arms about a bit. This didn't help as much as Ming would have liked. But wait! With a sudden and unexpected flash of inspiration, he stopped zooming from bank to bank and adopted a more traditional method of narrow boating, one which most of us adopt at some point in our cruising career. That is, he began cruising in a straightish line, following the contours of the waterway. All that was needed now was for him to not ram us. If our boat had deflection-shields, I would have activated them. As it was, all I could do was sound the horn and continue my evasive action. This gave him the clue he needed, and, right at the last possible moment, he swerved sharply, missing us by inches. Phew, close call folks.


Johnson's Bridge

Well dear readers, such excitement! The above incident happened this morning, as we made yet another journey back towards Market Harborough. There is very little to convey to you from this week's adventure except some aimless milling around - we've travelled two hundred and twenty miles so far this year without any real plan. By the way, does anyone else really hate this spell-checker/word altering thing? I happily type a paragraph or two about kingfishers, or how to bake bread while teaching ravens to fly underwater (thank you Peter Cook), and when I read it back it's been turned into an episode of Dixon of Dock Green, except with odd, random words added. Words like "butter huddle", "sparrow-fish" or, my personal favourite, "piffwibbler". How many of you remember George Dixon? They were the days weren't they? But I digress.

Now, we need to be in Leicester for 22nd May, and plan on going there by boat. Trouble is, we don't want to get there too early, hence why we're hanging around in this neck of the woods. I won't bore you to tears with talk of the Foxton flight (not a famous aircraft journey), Uncle Tom Cobbly's Wobbly bridge (totally made up) or the broken swing bridge at the entrance to the Market Harborough arm. There really is a broken swing bridge at the entrance to the Market Harborough arm. Rumour has it that the Canal and River Trust say they won't be mending it anytime soon, if at all.


Evening over Foxton

Poor old Tricky is confused. We've spent a lot of time this week with some very good friends of ours, who live close to M.H. (I will now refer to Market Harborough as M.H. as typing the town name in full is now causing me to lose the will to live.). Anyway, Tricky seems to have decided that having visitors on a daily basis is now a legal requirement, ratified by our parliament and also in Brussels. No-one has visited today, and our Tricky is very unnerved. She rode on the hatch earlier this morning, keeping awake for, oh I don't know, maybe a minute or so before snuggling down and going to sleep. Usually that's a full days "being awake" for her. In a totally out of character sort of way, she has been like an ill sitting hen all afternoon. She's slept for an hour, then spent five minutes gazing expectantly at the tow-path, slept for a further hour, then more tow-path gazing, and so it has gone on. I wonder if it is some sort of diabolical canine mind control. I guess we'll never know. Another of life's mysteries. Like do birds get beak-ache?


View from Johnson's Bridge

We've had a mixed bag of weather this week, starting out hot and sunny, gradually cooling down over the course of five days or so, and then persistent rain from yesterday afternoon until late last night. Luckily, it didn't rain while I was doing a bit of painting on the roof. The rain had the decency to wait until the last brush stroke had been applied before hammering down. Sadly, the battle of painting the boat versus the weather continues. A week in a dry-dock may be the only way to get the job done. We'll have to see. I'll keep you posted.

I've just been out for a breath of fresh air. Tricky has wind. It caused us to abandon ship and join the anglers on the tow-path. Moving on, the mornings have been a tad chilly aboard Lady Aberlour. Normally I'd light the fire, but for some reason I just couldn't be bothered. I can't remember why. Probably we didn't have any kindling, or matches or something. After a few hints from Linda, I decided (Linda decided) to turn on the central heating. And lo, the boat and all who sailed in her were warm. Needless to say, the heating has been on every morning since but only for an hour!

Is there anyone out there interested in astronomy? I only ask because I took a look at Jupiter last Saturday night through our telescope. What really blew me away was that I could even see some of Jupiter's moons. It was truly jaw dropping. I find it inconceivable that there is a flat earth society. Still, there you go.

Well, it would appear that this will have to be it for now. It's tea-time, and home made chicken korma beckons, so I'll call it a day and say farewell. Linda will be back next week with more of her witterings.

Love from
The Floating Chandlers

PS We spoke to a very old boater recently who'd spent almost his whole life on a narrowboat. He said that not many people realised that boating was a game, and just like any other game boating had rules. It was important to know the rules, because boating wasn't a game. (Black Books fans may recognise a different version of that story!).

PPS Linda here – I'm not allowed to censor this weeks edition so please address all complaints to The Captain!!


Still looking for this in the Collins Wildlife book

A Fifty Squawk Salute

Flore Wharf

Morning Jotters

The sun is finally shining and the waterways are alive with boaters, walkers and anglers – this is more like it. Everyone we meet is waving and smiling as our boat swishes along through the sparkling water, it's a very different picture from last weekend, when we slogged back up the Northampton Arm in arctic conditions! You may remember that the last time I wrote we had taken a berth in Northampton Marina in Beckett's Park. There were lots of benefits to marina life - it's only a short walk from the bustling town centre with theatres, cinemas and supermarkets close by but we were woken every morning at goose 'o' clock and we soon got tired of that! Everyone (except the geese) was very welcoming but we do much prefer to be cruising. After several days of rain, we abandoned any hope of ever getting out onto the Nene and press-ganged our friend Ed to assist us back up the locks to Gayton. Last Sunday we waved goodbye to the gawping geese, who gave us a 50 squawk salute as we high tailed it back under South Bridge and through the first of the 17 locks out of Northampton. We did notice that the red flag was flying to indicate a strong stream but Carl said it was OK as the swans weren't swimming backwards so we ignored it and set off anyway. (ElfnSafety Warning - do not under any circumstances ignore the red flag especially if the swans are swimming backwards!) With Ed and I on the windlass and Carl on the tiller, we made good time to the top and we waved our frozen friend off thinking he would probably never want to go boating again. Thanks for your help Ed and come again soon now that the weather's improved – no more locks, I promise!

The New Inn, Buckby Top Lock

This week we have cruised from Gayton back to Market Harborough - a route that is very familiar to us, but one that we never tire of. We lingered in our favourite spots - by the badger sett near Bugbrooke and in the beautiful village of Flore, hoping for the heatwave that was forecast but still needing to keep the stove lit in the meantime. We revisited the pretty village of Nether Heyford where there is a very friendly butcher, a village shop and a canal side coal merchants where we picked up more coal – it may be hot and sunny today but we've been caught out before! We endured another morning of rain on Wednesday and set off when the first hint of blue sky appeared and the sun peeked through. Of course, we were too eager and we'd hardly set off before it threw it down again, soaking us all to the skin. We put the brolly up and carried on but when a gust of wind blew it inside out, we decided enough was enough and moored up for shelter. As soon as Carl had the pins hammered in, it stopped raining and the hot sun beat down on the steaming roof – typical English spring weather! We cast off again and chugged off to tackle the Buckby flight of broad locks with the promise of our supper in the New Inn as a reward. I should mention that I've been suffering with a sore foot and Google tells me I have Plantar Fascitiis so by the time I'd walked the dog, walked up the Buckby flight and then to the pub and back I was wishing I'd got something stronger than Paracetamol. I managed to limp along till we got to Crick where I paid a small fortune for a pair of very tight socks with no toes in and a gel pad in the heel. The box said they were 'Unisex' but I doubt they'd look right with a pair of Jimmy Choo's! Still, they did the job and I'm happy to report that I'm springing about like a new lamb who's heard someone shout 'mint sauce' (cheeky face emoji)

South Kilworth mooring

We tried out a new mooring on Friday, this one by the road bridge in South Kilworth with a sign that points the way to the village pub 'The White Hart' - an optimistic 15 minute walk away. The Rhubarb Gin and Dry Ginger would have been worth the walk but, luckily for us, we were collected in style by our friends, for which my foot is exceedingly grateful.

Buckby Sheep Field

That nasty tunnel at Husbands Bosworth got us again on Saturday morning - this time, there was a fallen tree across the canal at the tunnel entrance and a queue of 3 boats waiting to go through. An enterprising boater sawed a passage through and we were soon on our way - well done that man! The trip to Foxton was made entertaining by a day boat full of young people who followed us through the tunnel then roared up behind us and hooted till we pulled in to let them pass. I have no comment to make about their behaviour on the grounds that it might make me sound like a moaning old pensioner! And so, once more, we arrive at the top of Foxton Locks and squeeze into a mooring just before bridge 60.

Today, the azure blue of the skies makes a breathtaking contrast with the swathes of fresh green meadow land and the almost blinding yellow of the flowering rape fields, overnight Summer has burst through without waiting for that slow-coach Spring to get going. Someone blew the May whistle and out popped bluebells, cow parsley and dandelions along the hedgerows and the lovely lilacs joined the fading cherry blossom to decorate the gardens. I used my Collins guide to name a few of the most common wild flowers that I see every day - red campion, garlic mustard and speedwell are prolific but I'm on a mission to find something more unusual like yellow rattler or round-headed rampion. In my youth we had the Ladybird I-Spy books, nowadays I suppose there will be an 'App. I need all the help I can get as the Collins guide isn't always very helpful when you've no idea what 'glumes' are - still, it's a fairly harmless hobby and I don't need

any specialist equipment, so I'll persevere.

Cowslip

That's all from our delightful mooring at Bridge 6 on the Harborough Arm. The solar panels are finally fixed into their new position and Carl will no doubt be thinking of his next job which is to paint the cabin sides. It's a big job and will require a minimum of 2 weeks of settled weather - it didn't happen last year, fingers crossed for this year.

Love from

The Floating Chandlers

PS The first ducklings and goslings have finally appeared along with the swallows, thank goodness it's warmed up for them.

PPS the cream roof is definitely keeping us cooler.

Crab Apple

Flore - a delightful garden

Scary Guy

Buckby Top Lock

Lurking on a towpath again

A Sunny Morning - at last!