Where Did all Those Boats Come From?

Misty Morning

Morning Jotters

Everyone got their heating on? We've had some very chilly mornings this week, including a proper frost on the morning we set off down the three locks at Hillmorton. The previous afternoon had been sunny and warm, in fact it was so nice that we wandered off down the lane, enjoying the sunshine, as we looked for wood to replenish the stick box. A huge swathe of countryside between Rugby and the M1 is being infilled with houses, and this quiet road, and the hedgerow beside it, will soon be surrounded by a huge estate. It's a very old hedge, thick with hawthorn, elder, brambles and ivy and, even this late in the season, alive with insects and butterflies. I hope it survives but I very much fear it will be ripped up as soon as the nesting season is over.

Late Butterflies

The locks at Hillmorton were covered in warning tape down one side of the paired locks, meaning 3 of the 6 locks were closed. I didn't expect it to be much of a problem, the boating season is nearly over and normally, the amount of boats moving about reduces to a trickle. I opened the top lock gates for a 'Ginger' hire boat and waved them off towards Braunston as Carl came chugging along and popped straight into the waiting lock. I let out the water and opened the gates thinking that we'd soon be down the locks and chugging along in the sun. Unfortunately, that's when things ground to a halt! There was a boat and butty coming up the next lock and we had to wait for them to empty and fill the lock twice in order to bring both boats up then hook up the butty and chug up to the next lock to repeat the process. By the time they got through, there was a queue of boats waiting behind them and some not very happy boaters looking glum. Luckily for us, they were keen to get us out of their way, and so we had lots of help getting down the next two locks. We chugged off towards Rugby, still meeting boat after boat and we wondered where they had all come from. I found out via Facebook that it was taking boats 2 hours to get through the locks that day and I was glad we were going the other way except that we met a boat at every bridge, squeezed through the jam packed moorings at Rugby and met two boats in the very narrowest part, had to do an emergency landing to get Tricky off for some urgent business and then the bright day disappeared under a blanket of grey clouds and a biting wind so we moored up in a lonely spot and lit the fire and felt better.

Frosty Morning

I think we have been very lucky with the weather this week, we mostly move in the mornings and have seen some beautiful, crisp autumnal days. Any rain has mostly fallen overnight or in the evening when we are moored up and we've been tucked up nice and cosy with the stove lit. Since we turned the corner at Hawksbury, we've seen very few boats moving and have moored in solitary splendour, with just the hum of the M6 in the distance to remind us that civilisation is only 3 fields away.

Brunch

I'm happy to report that we had an uneventful journey through Braunston tunnel on Monday – we didn't meet a single boat. Hurray! As we left the tunnel and approached the top lock down to Braunston, the lock gates were open for us to join up with another boat which was just setting off - another Hurray! The couple we were sharing with were old hands and the morning sped by as we descended the six locks in record time. We stopped for water by the Gongoozlers Rest and feeling peckish, we ordered bacon and sausage cobs and ate them as we chugged through the village and slipped into our favourite mooring by the sheep field. We stayed an extra night there so we could make one last trip into Daventry for supplies and to request a new phone line and broadband package for our winter quarters. I cancelled everything when we left home in the spring - it seemed like a good idea at the time but I forgot that our phone number would be lost. Doh! If you have the old one ending in 683 or 796, can you delete it and I'll send out the new one when I get it.

Braunston Locks

The weather forecast for today was for heavy rain and we woke early to the sound of rain tapping on the roof. Being lazy boaters, we turned over and went back to sleep and I was resigned to having a housekeeping day and watching the 'Gavin and Stacy' box set which has just surfaced from the DVD cupboard. It makes a change from 'Dinner Ladies' and 'Early Doors' - anyone got any recommendations for something a bit more modern? What's your favourite Box Set on a rainy day? When we finally surfaced, the rain had cleared off and the sun was shining. Well, I wasn't expecting that! We set off quickly, before the weather changed its mind and I walked along the tow path still Face-timing with my daughter 'Nanny Claire' and blowing kisses at our Oakley (Great Grandson and just starting to walk - Smiley Face Emoji) Isn't technology marvellous!! We moored in Nuneaton and walked to Sainsbugs to get Tricky her favourite dog food. We ran out of her tinned stuff weeks ago and have been trying all sorts of different brands in an effort to find her a suitable replacement. Every day it's the same, Carl puts some delicious looking chunks of chicken in gravy/jelly/sauce into her dish, mixes in a few biscuits and Tricky strolls up, sniffs it, stares at it and then looks at Carl with disdain. It stays in her dish until she is ravenous enough to eat it, then she spits out the bits that offend her the most and then makes the most disgusting smells all evening to punish us. Today, I came home carrying Sainsburys entire stock of her favourite Chicken Pate- only 5 tins but if we eke it out it might last until we get to Burton Upon Trent. She wolfed it down, licked the bowl and is now snoring contentedly in her bed. Thank goodness for that, I can't bear it when she sits looking at me, with those soulful eyes, begging to be fed.

That's a Big One Carl!

The weather stayed fine today so, while I was tapping away, writing to you, Carl disappeared into the engine 'ole, to service our Beta Marine. It's a horrid job which involves balancing awkwardly over the engine and performing more contortions than a game of Twister to get the old oil out. Once that's done, then he refills it with the expensive liquid gold that is, apparently, a must for keeping our engine in tip top condition. I tore myself away from the keyboard and made him a cup of tea and, as a treat, I broke into the emergency chocolate hobnobs to cheer him up - that seemed to do the trick.

Late Visitor

This week we'll be chugging down the Coventry Canal towards Fradley and slowly, slowly our boating year is winding down. We hope to be back afloat again next year and, if you really think I should, then I might continue writing the Jottings (Winking face emoji)

Lots of Love
The Floating Chandlers

Braunston Bridge

Ps I expect Carl will want to round off our boating year with one of his rantings next week – he has been saving some of his best jokes for you!

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Braunston Marina

Late Butterfly

Baldrick's Moustache