Back on the canals

I spent another day with Luke in Henley followed by a meal in Wargrave. The next day we both headed to Sonning as Luke decided to take The Record Deck down the Kennet and Avon for the first time. I then continued up river stopping at Pangbourne meadows, in the trees above Day's lock, Abingdon, Opposite Christchurch meadows, Oxford and Osney Bridge, Oxford.

I caught up with Heather at Abingdon and we spent a good few days indulging in their Open Heritage events. We met up with Gill who moored near us in her beautiful wooden boat and went to visit Nuneham estate. We also walked the boundaries of medieval Abingdon in the company of the town crier. At Oxford, I spent a couple of hours at the Pitt Rivers museum which I had failed to get to on previous visits. What an interesting place. I had only bought a month licence for the river so had to leave at Oxford. I will need to get back to go up to Lechlade another time.

A quick update from Henley

While I was at Runnymede I noticed water was gushing from the cooling system. Luckily I was moored next to a boatyard so an engineer came to have a look and we discovered all manner of brittle hoses, kinked hoses and inappropriate hose clips, so I paid another small fortune to have most of the hoses replaced plus, of course more antifreeze to replace that lost!

Back on track and with weather set fair, I moved up to Windsor and a very nice mooring on Baths Island. It cost £8 but worth it for the ambience and convenience. I spent the next morning mooching around Windsor and getting supplies. I even watched the changing of the guard! That afternoon I moored at Maidenhead and the next day I aimed at Marlow. However all the moorings there were taken (after all is was Bank Holiday weekend) so I had a long day and moored at Medmenham (£6). From here I could hear Reading festival, but not good enough to be enjoyable just bff bff bff. Yesterday I moved up through Henley to moor next to Luke at Wargrave. He wasn't onboard as he had popped to his friend's birthday do. Today I hopped on a train to Henley for more supplies but I think I will go and do a bit more cruising while the weather holds.

Back on the move

After what seems like an eternity Olivia is back cruising. In effect it was seven weeks to the day since the breakdown which was followed by a catalogue of poor service, miscommunication and downright porkies (or at least unfulfilled promises). I would like to thank the engineers who eventually rescued me by providing a safe mooring with facilities and then taking on a BMC engine that had been left in pieces by the previous guy who could not remove the cylinder head. He was replaced by an organisation who could not provide the promised service so I, in desperation, visited several boatyards and looked their engineers in the eye. I found one who was happy to rescue this "damsel in distress" and was as good as his word even though it took three weeks. Of course,the past seven weeks has been the most excellent cruising weather and this weekend is rain and strong winds! Never mind it feels good to be back on the move.

Today I visited Runnymede where I used to be taken by my parents when I was a young thing. Really enjoyed a bit of reminiscing despite the wind and rain. I had never been to the Air Forces memorial and found it quite moving. The views from the top are worth the climb.

Still waiting to be fixed - over six weeks now

I find it hard to believe what has been happening since my breakdown. Engine has been in pieces since 4th July. I was referred to a boatyard and finally got a job logged with them through Canal Contracting on 20th July. However, the engineer who was supposed to look at the engine kept putting off my job. Don't forget I was moored on a public 24hour mooring which I felt bad about BUT also I had no access to any facilities and no power (as no method of charging batteries. In the end I trawled around other boatyards and found a couple who thought they could help. I went with the second one because he said he could tow me that evening (27th July)to a safer place. This being FOUR weeks since the breakdown and following many excuses from those involved, at last I was on a wharf with some facilities. I could once again charge my phone and get water and there was a shower. Another week passed and they were able to get the cylinder head off. Time continued to pass with not much happening so I put a message on social media asking if there was a BMC engineer around who could help. I spoke to several people who all suggested that the head be pressure tested and possibly skimmed so I took it off to a specialist company on Thursday to get that job done. It should be back on Monday. In the meantime my engineering pals told me that they were struggling to source the head studs and thermostat studs so off I drove to Calcutt Boats (96 miles away) to fetch those parts. Hopefully, on Monday we will have all the parts needed and someone will put it all together for me. Fingers crossed then that she will start and run smoothly. I feel as if I have been totally abandoned by those who are supposed to get me moving or get me to a boatyard who can help.

In the meantime, there are several of my boaty friends on the Thames so I have had a couple of cruises with them as well as some meals out and visits to Dorney Court, Stanley Spencer gallery at Cookham, a screening of the BFG (child not necessary) and Woking Canal festival.

Sweet Thames. Not.

I am a bit fed up at the moment as poor Olivia has not yet been fixed. It transpires that the heat exchanger was not the problem and they are now pursuing a head gasket problem. However, they are struggling to get the head off and now the engine is in bits, I had to be towed to another mooring (at my expense) which is still only 24 hours and my electricity has run out of charge!! More disappointing is that I have yet to hear from RCR as to what they will do next. I am in a coffee shop charging my gadgets as I have already mentioned I no longer have battery power on board. Can't wait for the next instalment ...

Best laid plans

Well I am not yet on the River Wey! After my extended stay at Brentford when I went to see three films at Watermans (thank goodness they show less mainstream movies), Christine came over at the crack of 8am and we made our way down to Thames Lock and out onto the Thames. We arrived safely at Teddington, I got my licence and set off, planning to drop Christine either at Hampton Court or nearer to Walton, wherever there might be a station. However, Olivia had alternative plans! About ten minutes before Molesey Lock she started to smoke like billy-o and then when I went to exit the lock, she didn't want to start very well. We pulled onto the lock landing, let her cool down and tried starting her again. She didn't want to know. I called a local boatyard but they hadn't got an engineer free so I called RCR who sent John over. (Thank goodness I joined them after my battery problem). He did a bit of problem solving and then came the "you're not gonna like it" dialogue. My Bowman heat exchanger has cracked! Looked it up and found that a new one costs £650. However a second hand one only costs half that!!! Should be fixed tomorrow in which case I might yet get to the River Wey. The more positive news is that the lockies have been very helpful and not only am I moored near Hampton Court but also right by the Elsan, rubbish bins and tap. Anyone know what might have caused the exchanger to crack or is it just age!

Waiting at Brentford now

I have had an eventful couple of weeks. On return to the boat I had a day with my sister, Pat, who I hadn't seen since way before Christmas! We went to see Eddie the Eagle movie as the weather was iffy. The following day Rose came to meet me and we cruised from Uxbridge to Greenford, partly in heavy rain. We found a nice restaurant in Alperton which did fusion food. I had the best biryani that I have had since I was in India 😀. Luke was now in Paddington Basin ready for the market so I popped over to see him on my journey to Rochester to meet the returning Medway group. The first part of the return journey was to Queenborough where we had a meal in The Flying Dutchman, followed by celebrations on the concrete lighter courtesy of Sue and Richard from Indigo Dream and Frances and Andrew from Doris Katia. No photos but just to say that everybody looked magnificent in their tiaras, medals and false moustaches!!! It was great to catch up with everyone again.

The next day was a 5am start, which as you know is not a part of the day that I normally see. We had a nine hour day ahead of us so we each helmed for about two hours in one hour shifts. My first shift included passing some huge cargo ships so the wash from them was, let's say, lumpy. I think I made that noise one makes when on a roller coaster. My second shift was closer to London and included my third time helming past the Woolwich ferry. (For photos go to the St Pancras Cruising Club Facebook page or Scholar Gypsy blog). Once all boats were back through Bow Locks, we met up for drinks at The Grapes and a meal at the Cruising Association. By the way the Medway trip has articles in both the Canal Boat and Waterways World magazines. Nice photo of Heather's boat in WW, with Sarah and me on the back deck, Heather and Andy symmetrically leaning out at the front 😀

The next day I met up with Pat and Luke at the Paddington Market. Think most of the traders had a reasonable weekend so, hopefully, this could become an annual event. It was good to see boats moored beyond the fan bridge. The following few days were a bit of a trial as not only did we have a lot of rain but also my starter battery failed AND the stern gland was leaking. Bought a new battery and tightened nuts on stern gland. I had planned to meet Luke at Paddington to retrieve my anchor and offload some records so we had to change plans and meet at Alperton. Next day I moored at Bull's Bridge and Pat picked me up so that I could use her Internet (and her bath 😀). It rained all night so the next day the River Brent was in spate. I didn't know that and the volunteer lockies at Hanwell didn't warn me so I shot out of the lock and then had to just ride the flow down to Osterley lock where I was rescued by Denis and Karen and the guy off of Jade. Worse than that, the speed of my passage loosened the pin of another boat, which pulled out got caught in the flow so the second pin failed and the unoccupied boat raced me down the flow. Luckily it came to rest just behind me and the rescuers made her secure, too. I feel for the owner when he or she returns and finds his boat missing and moored a mile further down the stream.

Once secure I hotfooted it to Oxford to meet Heather who had tickets for a concert at Blenheim Palace. The journey from Slough to Oxford was awful. The train was packed and the air con wasn't working! Bus to the Palace and by now the weather had cheered up and Ennio Morricone and his 200 strong orchestra were good, as was the food from the festival stands and the glass of prosecco that we thought was fitting for the evening (Thanks Heather). We had hoped to get the s3 bus back to Oxford but 100+ people trying to get onto one bus was never going to work so three of us hailed a taxi which got us back just in time for our train. Pat and Ron (above and beyond the call of duty) met me at Slough and dropped me back to the boat, even walking the half mile along the towpath to ensure I got back safely. Of course they had to retrace their steps back to their car, so once again, many many many thanks.

The next day I was due to go out onto the Thames but I rang the lock keeper on the River Wey who told me the whole river was in flood so I have to hang fire. My crew (Christine) was informed and she can't make it now until next Thursday, so I Cruised down to Brentford sharing locks with Jane and John on Corniche and I am now immersing myself in Brentford life. I have been to the Watermans Art Centre, the Sunday Market and Isleworth so far. At Watermans I went to see "Brand New Testament", a satirical look at our belief system. The screening was followed by drinks and nibbles which was a lovely surprise. There was a quiz about French cinema and I only knew the answer to one question, who played Amelie?

So next time I post I expect to be on the Wey. Let's hope the rain dissipates as I am bored with it!

The GU looks beautiful at the moment

I have had a week away from Olivia while I joined a bunch of friends for a holiday in Italy. We had a really good time, the weather was superb, warm but not too hot. Rain was occasionally threatening but mostly it kept away. I did quite a lot of walking and spent two days in Venice and another on Murano and Burano. Immersed myself in art both modern (Guggenheim) and Renaissance (Accademia). We travelled by overnight train which was quite fun but I am now suffering from too many flea bites. I wonder where I got those from!!

Back on board I also managed to avoid most of the rain that others have been reporting. In fact one day was so hot that I espied a naked gardener ;-). Not a pretty sight I am afraid as he was elderley and his birthday suit was in dire need of ironing. At Stocker's Lock, film crews were busy filming Endeavour. It's not something I have ever watched so I don't know whether I saw anyone famous or not. I am told that the farm there is often used by film/Tv makers. I also want to thank Roger and Ann (on nb Summer Wine) for giving me a lift back to Stockers Lock from Springwell because I had been so busy gossiping about the film making that I neglected to pick up my favourite windlass after use. Luckily it was still there when we got back.

I returned home for my grandson's birthday and a local party (for the Queen's birthday). Good music from all the bands and, once again, the weather held out all afternoon and evening.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207588483722419&set=pcb.10207588484362435&type=3

And so to the title of this post. I moored opposite Harefield marina and everything was green and growing, the wildlife were abundant, especially Pochards and Terns, in addition to all the usuals. The old Horse and Barge, which was closed for several years, has opened as The Bear and Barge but, alas, I didn't get a chance to try it out.

Journey to the Medway

I am enjoying my slower than usual progress down the Grand Union as it means that I can explore beyond the towpath. I had a good walk around the Ashridge Estate where the deer are not at all shy and there are some fabulous views across the Chilterns. When I reached Berkhamsted the Queen had come to visit. However I missed her by about ten minutes. The town shops had all dressed their windows appropriately and i was given a glass of bubbly at one of the art galleries. All very nice. I had been recommended to visit the Rex cinema and I ended up going twice. The first time I went to see Dheepan, a very good film and with a happy ending for a change. Later I went to see Miles Ahead, which I also enjoyed, mainly due to Don Cheadle acting as Miles(he also co-wrote the screenplay and directed the film) and the music which featured quite heavily.

On the Thursday I went to join Heather on her boat at Little Venice and we cruised up to St Pancras Cruising Club where she was able to moor. On the Friday morning Sylvia came to join us and we made our way to Limehouse where we met up with all the skippers and crewmates who were making the trip to the Medway. The evening briefing was excellent, some very good planning had gone into the trip. Sarah and Andy came to join Heather as we were to be a crew of four on the trip. After our meal and a couple of drinks we turned in as it was to be an early start.

At 7.30 on the chilly Saturday morning we were ready to go and the convoy made its way along Limehouse Cut, through Bow Locks and on to Bow Creek mouth where we were joined by another narrowboat. We made our way downstream, through the Thames Barrier, past Woolwich Ferry and past Barking Creek where our final member of the convoy joined us, a huge Humber Keel. The Thames was calm and the journey went smoothly. Sarah did a lot of the helming, I did about an hour and Heather did the rest including a ferry glide onto Gravesend Pontoon, where we were to stay the night. As we had arrived about 2pm there was plenty of time for a wander around the town which I'd never been to before. The fort was worth a visit as it has several guns sited there and there are good views over the estuary. We had a lovely meal at the Three Daws - mine was a smoked haddock and black pudding lasagne. Different and really tasty. The next morning Heather and I had a quick visit to the Sikh Temple. I would have liked to stay longer to have a good look around but it was getting close to cast off time. Sunday was a much more pleasant day and we seemed to be heading out to sea!!

We moored at Queenborough on a concrete pontoon from where we had to be picked up by Sheppey 1 to reach the shore:

Four of us went for a walk around the headland where we found:

The following day we had a short trip to Rochester.

This was another place that I had never been to and it has a delightful High Street where most of the shops have the traditional, old fashioned shop fronts. We visited the cathedral and walked around the historical landmarks in the place where Dickens lived and featured in many of his novels. Christine, Heather and I decided to visit the Chatham Historic Dockyard and there was plenty of interest. We all wanted to see the ropewalk in operation and we had a tour of Ocelot, the 1962 submarine, in addition to all the other exhibits and vehicles.

I was soon back on board Olivia and I had another couple of nice days cruising with an interlude when I went to the Rickmansworth Festival. They had some good bands playing in the Owlsworld tent. I particularly liked Red Haven and Caution Horses. Rose came to join me for my last day of cruising and we ended up having a nice meal and bottle of Italian red wine in the Feathers pub, Rickmansworth.

I am enjoying making slow progress in a southerly direction. It is good to not be in a hurry so when I have moved for an hour or so I find somewhere to moor and go for an exploration of the new area. I am amazed by the speed of change on the canals over the last two or three years. There are many more boats around and, of these, many are widebeams. I do wonder how this can progress from here. Luckily I am getting quite good at squeezing Olivia into the smallest space! While I was moored below Milton Keynes I went to visit Bletchley Park. I had been there before in about 2000/2001 when it had not really geared itself up for hoards of visitors. Now it can compete with many other museums and I spent 4 hours there. I still think there is room for improvement and I would love to see vignettes in the huts with sound effects of the machines and any hubbub. There are some great interactive displays where you can try to solve ciphers, etc.

In February Olivia was broken into and a few bits and pieces stolen: food, sleeping bags, a coat, a saucepan. Anyway nothing of much value was taken but the perpetrator weakened my entrance hatch. Today the vertical part feel off completely so I had to have a go at fixing it back on using super strength brackets. It works okay but is not perfect so I will need to get a professional on the job sometime.

I got the train down to Little Venice, IWA Cavalcade where Heather and Christine were moored for the weekend. Some good stalls there including vintage clothing and different crafts to the usual suspects. Particularly liked the rag knitting and the WRGs (Waterways recovery group) were selling some really tasty chocolate fudge (vanilla also available). Heather and Christine raised a smile when they entered an inflatable dinghy into the illuminated boat parade (sorry no photos as I hadn't charged camera). Anyway it is amazing what you can do with a few sets of pound shop lights. I must get some. On the Monday I accompanied Heather on her journey to Bull's Bridge. I have noticed that it is always cold or wet or both when I cruise with Heather. This does not augur well for our trip to the Medway!!

IWA Cavalcade

I was going to cruise up to Aylesbury basin but in the end the thought of 32 extra locks put me off so I decided to walk most of it instead. I walked the Wendover Arm as well. When I left Marsworth I shared with another boat heading to London to join the "shuffle". This boat was unusual as it was a really nice boat with a middle aged couple on it as opposed to the usual barely floating boats with youngsters on that generally make their way to the metropolis.

On Saturday I visited Waddesdon Manor - I am trying to get the most out of my Art Pass. It is a huge estate with a nice woodland playground for children, a rather special wine shop and the enormous house itself, which is decorated in French rococo style, so not my "thing". There is an aviary with a variety of unusual small birds.

Heading South

For those of us who have boating seasons, at last, it has started for me. I have been pootling around a bit but now have started off down the Grand Union (again) with the aim of heading up the Thames via the Wey and Basy. I had a couple of days away as I travelled with Heather from Hampton Court to Brentford. Apart from the weather it was a great trip. Every time I go out with Heather we have cold and rain. She'll stop inviting me at this rate. I saw a heron with an enormous fish. It flew off with it between its talons, the first time I had seen that. Usually the fishes they have are swallowed down quickly. At Hampton Court we heard the noisiest woodpecker I have ever heard, then spotted it drumming on a hollow tree. Sheryl came to meet me for a meal and had her first trip on Olivia when we went down the first two locks of the Stoke Bruerne flight.