Frog Tape and a Duckfest

Sileby Mill Lock

Morning Jotters
There's nothing better than being cosy in our cabin when the rain starts beating down on the roof. The forecast was for heavy rain today and we had planned to stay in Sawley Cut and sit it out but when we woke up this morning, we changed our minds. There was a stiff breeze whipping the flags to attention at the Derby Boat Club opposite and the grey clouds scudded across the sky but there was a patch of blue on the horizon, coming our way. After a bit of shall we/shan't we, we decided to nip across the Trent while the going was good, to escape the endless trek of cyclists and dog walkers along the tow-path and find a better place to get Tricky off the boat. The concrete wall at Sawley is level with the gunwhales and I'm always afraid Tricky will fall down the gap. We had a bit of trouble getting off the quay as the wind kept blowing us back in but Carl did his magic with a 'spring' and soon showed it who was boss and we popped out of the flood lock and crossed under the M1 and were moored up long before the rain came. So here we are, above Derwent Lock in the lovely village of Shardlow, in a scenic spot right by the sewage works! Tricky is happy to be back on the tow-path and I'm happy to think that I've only 5 more broad locks to do as we travel up towards Burton upon Trent again. It has taken us two months to do the Leicester Ring - a trip that can be done in two weeks if you put your foot down!

Sawley by night

The lovely River Soar is a delight as it winds along through wild flower meadows, giving us tantalising glimpses of old watercourses, long silted up, and no longer navigable for a vessel of our draft. The bridal blush of the hawthorn has turned a dusky pink and fades away leaving a lush greenness behind. Water lilies are pushing up their pads and bright yellow buds are ready to unfurl; clumps of yellow flags wave in the sunshine and the crack willows release drifts of downy fluff across the water. An egret stands on a weir, gazing intently into the sparkling water, a heron gives me a gimlet eye as we pass but I manage to snatch a one-handed shot with my camera and hope it's not blurred. A cormorant fishes from the top branch of a dead tree and I click away, unable to see a thing through my viewfinder and hoping that I'm pointing my camera at the right tree. We moor overnight at Sileby Mill and listen to the water thundering over the weir as we drift off to sleep in our gently rocking boat, tired from the fresh air and the sunshine.

Sileby Mill mooring

We are very relieved (no pun intended) to reach Barrowby the next morning - we had stayed over a week in Birstall and had two large bin bags of rubbish and both cassettes needed emptying. I'm sorry if you're eating your breakfast when you read this but it is part of the boating experience, and I wouldn't want you to think that we're enjoying ourselves too much! I chat to the lady from the cafe at Barrowby Boating and ask her why they're so busy on a weekday morning. Apparently it's the Eurovision Elections today, so the schools are closed. I hope we get a better result than the Song Contest! Her assistant is doing a roaring trade in setting young people off on Duck Pedalos, floating bikes and canoes. A gaggle of giggling girls climb on floating bikes and pedal off, chattering like starlings. They are so glamorous in designer sunglasses and those gleaming, tanned legs that look so high maintenance. I gaze down at the milky whiteness of my stumpy pins glaring out from the bottom of my crop trousers and wish I'd indulged in a bit of fake tan. My feet are in a pair of trekker sandals which have very thick memory foam soles and it's like walking with two marshmallows strapped to my feet. My trusty Merrills are suddenly too tight, but only on one foot. How is that possible? They fitted me perfectly when I put them away, now I can hardly get my foot in the right one, while the left one is fine (puzzled face emoji). I sound like Cinderella.

Duck Pedalos at Barrowby

The basin at Loughborough was empty when we arrived on Friday morning, Carl took advantage of the space and spun us round and reversed back onto the pontoon while I got out the trolley for a 'big shop'. I meant to go to Sainsburys but got side-tracked looking for Frog tape. Carl has got very fussy since he painted the roof and only Frog tape will do when masking off his new paintwork to do the handrails. I forgot all about Sainsburys and the Frog Tape as I wandered around Loughborough, enjoying the bric-a-brac stalls in the main street and stopping for coffee in our favourite cafe. Carl was a little bemused when I arrived back hours later with a loaded trolley and no food. He's a good sport though and left me unpacking my treasures while he went off to Sainsburys with a list. We still had plenty of time for a sunny cruise along the Soar to the moorings above Zouch Lock. We watched the sun set over the electricity pylons and waved to the pilots coming into the airport at Castle Donington.

Sunset at Zouch

We were blessed with another sunny day as we dropped down through Zouch Lock yesterday and cruised along the river towards Kegworth and the infamous Deep Lock. I'm always glad to get through that one, it has gained a bad reputation recently, as three boats got 'hooked up' on the cill and sunk - a thought that sends shivers down my spine. There are lots of boats speeding towards us this morning, it's a Bank Holiday weekend and families are taking advantage of the sunshine to escape from Sawley Marina and chug off on an adventure. There's a bit of a delay at Ratcliffe Lock when two cruisers refuse to share the lock with a steel narrowboat and by the time we get through there is a queue of 5 boats waiting to come up. No-one seems to mind though and they all wave happily as we pass them and chug along by the steaming towers of Ratcliffe Power Station.

Kegworth Deep Lock

So here we are, back on the Trent and Mersey Canal and heading towards Wales...maybe!

More from us next week
Love
the Floating Chandlers

ps Met a lovely Alsation dog on our walk along the river bank, her owner said that walking her was a very slow process as she had to stop at every patch of undergrowth to look for mice. He said she often caught them and squirrels too. I looked at my little ginger sausage waddling along and thought she would struggle to catch a snail!!

pps As well as Duck Pedalos at Barrowby, we saw giant inflatable Ducks in Shardlow. Will this be a recurring theme do you think?

Blow-up Ducks

ppps Had a great Sunday lunch at the Malt Shovel in Shardlow and met a regular who saw the last horse drawn barges going through his home town of Borrowash.

Back Gardens

Watermead Park

Egret

Heron with gimlet eye

Up the Trent

A Paint Job, Peachy Soles and HRT

Freshly painted roof

Morning All

We've only boated for one day this week, travelling through Leicester City on a very sunny Monday morning. We left our lovely mooring just above Blue Bank Lock and pottered along the river, under Soar Valley Way towards Freemans Lock and the Mile Straight. The morning sun lit up the water and we nosied our way through the splendid back gardens of Aylestone, chatting to the dog walkers at Aylestone Mill Lock, through St Mary's Mill and moored by the weir by Leicester City Football club while a little open sided day boat chugged out. It was full of volunteers wearing life jackets and they were armed with gripper sticks, ready to clear the water of floating rubbish. I spoke to the Captain and found out that Leicester City Council run the boat and the volunteers are regularly out on litter picking patrol, keeping the river clean. We were singing their praises until we reached the grim stretch of canal between Lime Kilns and Belgrave Locks. We saw the debris of city life floating past and wondered why the litter pickers were chasing the tiniest mouse sized litter problem up by Freemans Lock when there was this elephantine problem down here. Once we got through Frog Island, we started to see armchairs floating along and a whole continent of carrier bags, bottles and tin cans mixed up with discarded toys, pushchairs and anoraks. Carl edged along on tickover lest he foul the prop and had to get down into the weed hatch, amongst all the filth, to clear it. I couldn't blame the volunteers for not wanting to come this way;they could have filled a wide beam working barge clearing this lot up. Still, it's only that stretch which is so bad and we were soon back in the sparkling clear water of the Soar as it passed under Loughborough Road Bridge and we reached our mooring on Watermead Park. We love this mooring above the lock in Birstall, it's handy for the village and there are some lovely walks around the lakes here.

Heron fishng

The forecast for the coming days was fine and dry so on Tuesday, Carl got straight on with sanding, rust-proofing and priming the roof until finally, by Thursday he was ready to apply the top coat. That's when he looked in his paint store and decided that he probably wouldn't have enough of the cream gloss to do the job. There was nothing suitable in the nearby builders merchants so I had to do an emergency dash into town to get the paint before the weather changed. I waited till my bus pass kicked in at 9.30 then rattled off on the 22B, round the houses and down the Golden Mile, where the sari shops display their most gorgeously embroidered finery, into the main shopping area near the Haymarket. I ran straight down to Wilko's, got the paint and supplies and was back in Birstall by 10.30. (Double thumbs up emoji)

Golden Goat

Painting the roof is back breaking work - the top box and contents have to be removed and stowed safely so no-one trips over anything and sues us. The solar panels have to be disconnected and eased down onto the grass without damaging them or us and put back up every evening just in case someone runs off with them. I'm glad to say that the job is done now, thanks to the hard work of Captain Carl, We decided against cream in the end and went for 'Abbey Grey' but it's a bit pale and came out looking more like 'Wash-Day Off-White'. I like it now it's done and Carl is just grateful to finish it with his knees still in one piece!

Graffiti at North Lock

I'm ashamed to say that while Carl has been working so hard, I've been pampering and preening - Carl is very insistent that I do this, I think he just wants me out of the way. I had a list of errands to run so I left him to it while I walked into the village to check in with my dentist – this is, after all, the whole point of our long trip to get here. I'll gloss over the details of our conversation as I'm afraid I couldn't go through with the planned work and will have to have another try later in the year when I've found the Wizard of Oz and ordered some extra courage to get me through it. Having got that out of the way, the rest of the day was much better. I purchased more HRT for Tricky from the vet and collected my own electronic prescription from the chemist without a hiccup - this is always a relief as neither of us can manage without our medication, although it's much easier to get an appointment with a Vet than with a Doctor these days. I think I may have written that sentence before - please do let me know if I start repeating myself. I had a light lunch in Ruby Tuesdays - the sandwich I ordered was so big I couldn't finish it and took the rest home in a doggy bag for lunch the next day. My afternoon was spent in various pampering establishments and I strolled home feeling quite glamorous for a change – blow dried and waxed to almost normality - all I needed to complete the full makeover was a pedicure but they couldn't fit me in - what a pity. I got home to find Carl still on the roof - he'd worked straight through without stopping to eat and was looking a little pink from being out in the sun all day. I felt more than a little guilty so I quickly put on the kettle for a brew and tried to make myself useful by tidying up. We'd just got everything back on the roof when there was an unscheduled sacrifice of the 'Best Screwdriver' to the River Gods! The offering must have worked because our friends Richard and Mel arrived soon after and we spent a very 'Happy Hour' rehydrating Carl in the nearby 'White Horse'. When we were all pleasantly squiffy from cider/beer and sun, we trooped off to the 'Aroma Spice' for lashings of curry and Schloer (we forgot it was unlicensed-doh!)

Unusual decoration on this boat

That's all for this week – there will be more boating and less pampering next week

Love from

The Floating Chandlers

City Bridges

ps I managed to get a pedicure yesterday and spent a very interesting hour with a very chatty Indian lady and her instruments of medieval torture. She was charming but tutted at the state of my feet and put me through a whole lot of ticklish torture until she was satisfied that my soles were peachy.

Swans nesting by a building site

pps I'm happy to say that all the wildlife that is missing from Market Harborough has moved to Leicester City centre. There are egrets on the weir by the football ground and a huge gathering of swans by the Castle moorings. It was good to see so much wildlife again.

City Swans

Ppps – Tricky has HRT, my prescription is for very boring things but I thought I should clear that up in case anyone was wondering.

Adventure Centre

Bubbles, Bras and Trolleys

Blue Bank Lock

Morning All

What do people do on a sunny Sunday in May? There are lots of walkers, runners and cyclists on the towpath as you would expect. Some are loaded down with rucksacks, others have large cameras but most are out to enjoy the sun with their canine companions. We met a couple with their video camera set up on a lock arm, taking photos of bubbles, which she was blowing using a very large bubble wand. I wanted to ask questions, but they were Polish and it's hard enough communicating in your own language without starting a mime conversation about the size of someone's bubble wand. Any communication can go badly wrong when there's 57ft of narrowboat between you. 'Which gate do you want' leaves my lips but Carl can't hear and he thinks if he nods and says 'Yes' that I won't notice. I digress as usual, now who else have we spotted hanging around the Grand Union Canal.

Mum and brood

This morning, as we set off from Kilby Bridge, there was a lone fisherman sitting on his fishing box surrounded by lots of expensive kit. He had set up right in front of a sign that said 'No Fishing' but I wasn't about to point that out to him - no use spoiling a nice day. I wished him a good morning and picked my way carefully through the assorted poles, sweaters, lunch boxes and averted my eyes from the box of pink maggots - they look so gruesome just wriggling there, waiting to be drowned.

Canal and River Trust working boat

Further along we chugged by a family with several long ropes dipping in the water, dragging them in and then throwing them out again. This is the new national sport of 'Magnet Fishing' and the whole family were delighted with their pile of rusty bikes and old shopping trolleys. It seems totally pointless to me but we waved and smiled anyway and I hoped they wouldn't find anything sinister. I heard that someone dredged up an old hand grenade which stopped the traffic till they called in the bomb squad to make it safe.

Magnet Fishing - a prize haul

As we passed through the outskirts of Leicester, the gardens backing onto the canal look as if they've all had Charlie Dimmock in. Whole gardens slabbed or decked, water features and pergolas with lush green shrubbery and some really cute little garden cabins (they are much too posh to be called a shed!) A beautiful blue ceanothus caught my eye and I quickly dismiss thoughts of our weedy patch at home and hope that we aren't letting the side down in Pug City. Mums and Dads are sitting out on their patios, some still in there dressing gowns, enjoying the Sunday morning sunshine and we wave to the toddlers and chug along in our own patch of paradise, through the heavenly hawthorn towards our mooring which is a field between Gee's Lock and Blue Bank Lock. That's seven big locks for me today and eleven yesterday - it was good to get back to some proper boating after hanging around in Market Harborough for so long. It's too tempting to pop into one of their many coffee shops when you're wandering around, especially when we meet up with our friends Richard and Mel. They rescued us from the prospect of a very Wet Wednesday and scooped us up for a trip into Northampton and lunch at the Vintage Retreat. I think you can guess that the place is full of things from the last century, a bit like us really. I was tempted by a folding tea trolley, I know that sounds a bit odd, but I do have a bit of a thing for a nice trolley. I'm still trying to live down the time I set up the one in the village hall with a dozen cups and starting pouring tea for the thirsty crew who were decorating there. I hadn't closed the catch properly, so it waited till I had a tray full of filled mugs, then folded up and shot everything on the floor. Luckily, I was outside the hall so there wasn't much mess to clear up, but sadly, some of the mugs lost their ears. 

Market Harborough Basin

We finally left the Market Harborough Arm on Thursday and trundled back through the two swing bridges and turned right towards Leicester. We have travelled this route often and love the peace and tranquility of the Grand Union as it slips by Saddington and Smeeton Westerby without bothering them and on through the Saddington tunnel by Fleckney to Kibworth Top Lock. We're very happy to find that another boat has just left the lock in front of us and they waited for us at the next lock so we could travel together. It's always nice to share the broad locks and we were hoping to travel with them all the way to Kilby but after four locks they said they were mooring up for coffee. Carl and I always use the 'stopping for coffee' excuse to avoid travelling with 'undesirables'. This may sound a bit harsh but when you're trapped in a lock with the exhaust fumes of a poorly maintained boat, then you do look for a way to part company amicably. I was sorry to lose them (I tried not to think that they thought us 'undesirables') but then we found the next 6 locks were all set for us and we made good time through them in spite of having to shut both gates each time. No matter how careful Carl is when exiting the lock, the other gate always swings open. Even so, we were moored up by the Navigation Inn just in time before the heavens opened and it pelted with rain. It sort of made up for the previous day when we passed a very nice mooring spot but decided to carry on, as it was such a nice sunny afternoon. Within ten minutes, big black clouds rolled in and it hailed for a while, then rained torrentially until we were soaking wet and cold. When we finally got to another mooring and tied up, the rain stopped and the sun shone hotly on our steaming coats. We called it a day and spent the evening watching the skyscape of clouds rolling across Smeeton Hills.

Skyscape

Tomorrow we reach Birstall and the dreaded dentist appointment. I don't know how long we'll be there as Carl is talking about painting the roof if we get a dry spell. I'll write again next week and let you know how it's going. I hope you have a good week, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Love from
The Floating Chandlers

ps Hats off to the Moonwalkers who stepped out around the streets of London in their decorated bras to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. Our friends Jody, Jill and Carolyn finished at 4.32am and there's still time to donate on www.walkthewalk.org if you'd like to.

pps We had our first sighting of cygnets this afternoon – it made my day.

Saddington Tunnel

Saddington Tunnel

Milepost

Apple blossom

Cygnets are here

Bee stopped for a rest

M

Market Harborough reflections

 

Sunny morning

May morning - hawthorn is out

Swing bridge at Foxton

Putting the Flags Out

Morning All

It's another holiday weekend and the weather is doing its best to spoil our fun. One of the pleasures of living on a boat full time is that we get to enjoy the best of the weather when it arrives and can hunker down in our warm cosy cabin when the chilly winds blow. On Tuesday, the sun shone and we were very happy to chug along in our tee shirts, especially as we could share the lovely weather with our friends Ian and Di. The rest of the week has involved quite a bit of hunkering down and even a bit of splashing through puddles, and for once, the rain was a very welcome sound. I'm very pleased to report that we spotted a Kingfisher on Thursday and how excited was I! That's the first kingfisher for a very long time and I hope it's a sign that the wildlife is beginning to recover from last years "Beast from the East'. The month of May is a real celebration of the English countryside, the hawthorn hedges are putting on their finery ready for the show and the cow parsley is washing a gentle creaminess across the grass verges. I've spotted a lilac in full bloom in an old fashioned garden by the canal and I defy anyone not to be uplifted by the song of the wren or the blackbird on sunny morning. My heart will always gladden at the sight of the new babies, the lambs and ducklings, the goslings and those little black bundles of ugliness that are moor hen chicks. I'm just waiting for the arrival of the cygnets, who are as reticent as the Royal sproglet about making an appearance.

Cow Parsley

The week started out with our usual Monday Morning Mindfulness exercise which consists of waking at 6am, saying the Retired Persons Mantra 'Blessed are the Retired for they shall get to go back to sleep on a Monday Morning' then turning over and nodding off again. I only stir when the ducks start pecking at the algae on the waterline or the first boat of the day chugs by and Carl has riddled the stove and got a blaze going. Once I'm huddled by the stove in my dressing gown with my first cup of coffee then I like to savour the warmth for a while. It's the best part of the day and sometimes I even stretch it out to a second cup of coffee and maybe some toast if I don't like the look of the weather. Eventually, Tricky will get up and glare at me to remind us that she needs to go out for towpath inspection and so my day begins...

Woody the Tree Stump

We arrived at Foxton on Monday afternoon and found a nice spot to moor at the top of the locks. As is usual when expecting guests, I had hoovered out the cratch and shook the mats, so I was feeling quite relaxed on Tuesday morning when Carl asked me what time our visitors were arriving. 'I expect they'll leave home about 9, and they're stopping at Sainsburys on the way so we've got plenty of time'. Ping, went the phone. Message from Di - 'Nearly there, I hope you are up' Oh my word, you should have seen me move! I was down the boat like a streak of greased lightening, hopping into my clothes and calling to Carl to put the kettle on. That will teach me to laze around in my jammies in the morning! Luckily for me, Ian and Di saw the funny side of it and we started the day with much merriment and a breakfast butty from the Top Lock cafe. As we sat on the bench, looking over the splendid view, the mist rolled away and the sun came out and it shone all day as we took the boat down the locks and onto the Market Harborough Arm, a perfect day for a cruise.

G & T time for the thirsty crew

That turned out to be the best day of the week, so I'm glad we made the best of it. We've tootled around Foxton all week, chugging to Debdale Wharf for fuel and back and then down into Market Harborough on Thursday for the 'Big Shop'. I had a long list of things I need - butter and cheese from Aldi, nuts from Lidl, salmon and Moo pies (Carl loves a Pieminister pie) from Waitrose, dog food from Sainsburys and coffee and a new dog bed from B&M. By the time I got to Sainsburys, the bank had blocked my debit card and I had to pay with real money until they untwisted their knickers and allowed me back into their cashless world. Carl won't have any truck with contactless so I think he might have had a bit of a smirk when I told him that my card had been declined. I'm sure the cashier in B&M thought I was a bag lady - her painted-on eyebrows twitched alarmingly when I asked if I could try my card again but using the PIN number this time, to see if that would fool it. Of course, it declined again - how mortifying! I scrabbled in my handbag for the 'emergency fund' which is tucked in the back of my phone and that's when I saw that the bank had been sending me text messages to ask me if I was the mad woman traipsing around every supermarket in Market Harborough, spending small amounts. I hope they get that glitch ironed out in the new cashless society that is apparently just around the corner.

Full complement of crew going down the flight

 We'll be mooching around this area for a little while, catching up with friends and family in Northampton if there's still a bus service running that way. Public transport is very precarious these days with cancellations and route changes making anything more than a short journey into the town centre very challenging. I think it will become part of the Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme soon as it is so hard to read the complicated timetables and plan a route that might depend entirely on whether today is a school day or not. How on earth are you supposed to know which schools are on holiday when? Don't even think about ringing the 0870 number for help - it laughs in the face of 'free minutes' and runs up an eye watering bill while it tinkles merrily about 'Caring for our customers' and playing Greensleeves at a £1 a minute. I'm a pensioner, I'm allowed to rant!!

A grey morning 

 That's it from me for this week. I hope you all enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday, in spite of the chilly winds and do drop us a line if you've got a minute. I need some reassurance that there is life after 'Brexit'

Love as always

from

The Floating Chandlers


PS I have hung some flags in the cratch and I'm very pleased with the result. Boris the cratch spider is not happy with the new arrangements and has retired to the wood box to sulk.

Flags of Happiness

PPS Good luck to the my friends in the ukulele group who are playing at the May Fair next week. I'm doing my best to keep up with my practise but I am missing our weekly get together.

Carving on a mile post

Pretty planters at Foxton Locks

Peeping out of the side hatch

On our way to the pub