THE MEANING OF UBIQUE

2011-03-28T16:45:00.000+01:00

NEW BLOG. NEW BLOG. NEW BLOG.

If anyone is interested we will be starting a new Blog about life after Ubique

here.

http://lifeafterubique.blogspot.com/

There is still a lot to say about the waterways but it might be interesting to see what happens next, because one thing is for sure, we haven't got a clue....... as yet!

Hope to see you over there.

2011-03-26T20:33:00.000Z

The Brick House.

Well....now it's time for....

The Overview.

Well, where have those two years gone?

We are both in a bit of a state of shock at the moment, but as a consolation we are taking away two years worth of the best memories and experiences that it would be very hard to find elsewhere.

Highlight:

Compared to living on land, the whole time we have spent afloat was just the best, but, if we have to choose, the Standedge Tunnel stands out head and shoulders above the other features of the system. It was a very big problem to get to it but well worth the effort once you got there.

Low point:

Not too many of these thankfully and those were only engine or tenant related.

I did have the head off twice - the engine that is, not the tenant - to fix some dodgy seals but that was not really a problem.

New injectors and a new gearbox oil cooler with high pressure pipe is all that I have had to fit in the past two years, so on the basis of running the engine for at least four to five hours a day minimum, I think we can class ourselves as pretty lucky.

Tenants on the other hand……………………well, lets say no more!

The Myth Of The Canals:

Continuous Cruising is not really possible no matter how hard you might try.

Let me explain…… Starting around the beginning of the summer you are faced with hire boaters aplenty, these are like a breath of fresh air really with their antics and “we are on holiday” attitude. But you are also faced with marina based craft. Most of these boats - and I mean this most sincerely - are the biggest pain on the waterways.

They bring their boats out once in a blue moon and expect everything and everybody to get out of their way as they make their way to “their” favourite mooring or pub. This is usually the same as everyone else’s favourite place and leads to huge congestion.

Congestion is the main problem at this time of the year and this lot are very responsible for causing most of it.

Think expensive toy and you are on the right lines.

Moving on from the summer, autumn is soon upon you and the leaves abandon the trees with a vengeance. These leaves unbelievably clog the boats propeller that is spinning at around two thousand revs.

This might not seem too important but the only way to clear them is to run the engine astern. This goes on for weeks and weeks and if you are trying to move, the wear on the gearbox is enough to keep you awake at night.

By now you should also be planning as to where you want to be trapped for the winter. This is not only whether you might get iced in or not, wherever that might be, but also having to work around the BW winter stoppage programme.

This starts in November and finishes at the end of March.

Some continuous cruisers take winter moorings and pay BW another small fortune for the privilege of …………..staying put!!!!

Then, all of a sudden the ice has gone, the sun peeps through, daffodils are around along with the new born lambs and it wont be long before the ducklings arrive.

It is still not quite time for the scourge of the marina boats to infect the waterways so therefore this is it.

The best possible time to be out there.

But………………. the summer approaches once more.

BW Maintenance:

This is now fast becoming almost non existent.

The winter stoppages just haven’t done anything really this year.

To escape the onslaught of boats in the summer we found the Leeds Liverpool to be nice and quiet but the main problem up there now is no water due to an absolute lack of maintenance.

This is a big canal in terms of length, shutting the whole of it admits to serious decay in the infrastructure, not - as they say - just being short of a little rain!

A canal without water is just a heap of mud and dumped rubbish which, given time, will always attract more rubbish.

Only time will tell how they get on now they are a charity.

Well thats it for us...... so as this door closes we are now looking for the next one that has opened. Thanks to you all for reading my drivel and i'll leave the last words of this blog for Ubique.

Goodbye old girl and thanks............you did us proud!

The end.

2011-03-21T17:33:00.000Z

Buckby Top Lock To Whilton Marina, 7 Locks.

Oh..... if you have ever had a surreal day this one takes the biscuit!!!

Setting off for Whilton on an idyllic canaling day, we were just about as fed up as something very fed up in a very fed up place.

Did I mention we were fed up?

No?

Well we were!

Mooching through what must be some of the heaviest locks on the system - they have nicely painted in the cill markers over the winter though - gave D her final workout.

Then, the final doom laden lock and we were out and moored for the last time.

Now for the surreal bit.....

The man from Whilton appeared in the bow doors with a bankers draft handed it over.........and that was it!

Ubique was gone!

Just like that, no form filling no post mortem...... nothing.

Until next time......................

2011-03-20T16:20:00.001Z

Buckby Top Lock.

Ousted by boxes.........just as well!

Isn't it funny how things work out?

We arrived here a day ahead of schedule, we packed like demons yesterday until we could not move on the boat due to the piles of boxes and have had to transfer to the tow path or cratch for our meals.

This morning was a bit chilly for breakfast but we had to brave it as there is no room to set the table up inside.

Sitting there we could here this crackling noise start up which gradually got louder and louder and sounded like a bonfire.

This turned out to be the hedgerow going up in smoke next to the boat moored ahead of us.

Dashing down there with buckets and banging on their roof to get them out we all got it under control and then managed to put it out.

It seems they had emptied their ash bucket in the hedgerow last night where a not quite out ember must have smoldered away and suddenly burst into flames this morning.

Had circumstances not led us to being right there just when we were needed, that whole hedge would have gone up as it is as dry as tinder.

A salutary warning to make sure your ash is definitely out before dumping it!

Off to the Marina tomorrow...........Ooooeer.

Until next time....................

2011-03-19T18:35:00.000Z

Willoughby To Norton Junction, 6 locks And 1 Tunnel.

It's nearly all over now......and out comes the sun!

Away we went on this our last real cruise. One last picture of the bridge that has managed to stay up in this state for the last two years.

One last shot of the approach to Marmite land.........

...........where the marina is full to bursting and waiting to fill the canals with weekenders.........

..................onward past the myriad of hire boats being made ready for the fast approaching silly season...........

........until we were back out into the country once again.

Not for long though as we still had to negotiate our final tunnel and make our way to.......

Norton Junction and Buckby top lock where - and this is typical - the sun came out with a vengeance.
Forgetting the packing for now, tables and chairs were put out on the side and we soaked it up.

Until next time.......................

2011-03-17T18:41:00.000Z

Stretton Under Fosse To Willoughby...ish,

3 Locks And One Tunnel.

Nearly at Marmite land now!

Yet another trip through the strangeness that is the Newbold Tunnel, will they ever turn those lights off?

Wasteful or what?

Scooting along to Hillmorton, we find that the winter stoppage program has had BW changing all the balance beams on this lock but seemingly they could not find a pot of paint to bring them up to scratch.

It's not quite the same is it?

The second set of beams - from this angle - look like they could well and truly tangle themselves up

This is the marina that was going to be opened in Autumn last year.

All the plant has now gone and that looks like a very expensive hole in the ground!

We are now within shouting distance of Marmite land, aka Braunston - you either love it or you hate it - and the packing has begun.

When you start, you suddenly realise the enormity of the task ahead. Just exactly how much stuff can you cram onto a narrowboat over two years?

Boxes, we need boxes, many more boxes.

Until next time.....................

2011-03-16T17:54:00.000Z

Hartshill To Stretton Under Fosse, 1 Stop Lock.

Decay in abundance along here......

This little ladybird seems to be around a little too early if you ask me.

Nuneaton......What on earth has happened to Nuneaton??

This was the only bit of colour in the whole drab, dreary and filthy place it is now. The canal is a bit of a joke as it is just a mass of floating debris.

Polythene is the name of the game for the propeller around here.

We were only saying yesterday how much Atherstone had gone down hill since our last visit but..........Nuneaton, that wins hands down and I am sorry to say that on balance it is far worse than Blackburn or Burnley.

For those of you whose boats are too big to get you there, that is really saying something, believe me!

This is a bit out of sync but I thought I might as well go with the theme. The BW yard at Hartshill has been like this since last year, when they cannot even be seen to fix their own yard........ alarm bells should be ringing.

The poor old Navigation, a canal pub for years. Now just a boarded up ruin.

Moving on...................

A quick left turn through Hawkesbury Junction/Sutton Stop onto the North Oxford.......

.........found us in a completely different world. This one of no prop clogging rubbish and a little bit of obvious maintenance.

The only things marring this bit of the system are the M69, the M6 and the high speed rail link, but hey, you can't have everything.

Until next time.................................

2011-03-15T19:09:00.000Z

Fradley Junction To Grendon, 2 Locks. Then Onto Hartshill, 11 Locks.

Flying along now.

Heading off to Fazeley Junction we passed quite a few encampments along the way, this boat has got to be the smallest livaboard we have seen in our two years.

How they manage beggars belief.

Passing through a very empty Fazeley Junction we could only stop for some chips from the local chippie as we must press on.

Passing through what must be two of the slowest filling locks on the system, Glascote Locks - A whole hour it took us just to get through these two - we went off to a favourite mooring of ours in the middle of nowhere.

After setting up camp we were just settling down and guess what?

Oh yes........Along came the usual boat.
All the canal and any mooring that they want to choose, so where do they stop?
Twenty feet from our bow!!!
I know I keep harping on about this, but....politeness and common sense would dictate you leave at least a seventy foot gap so even if these completely empty moorings suddenly filled up, a boat could still get in and moor. Nothing could get in the gap these "people" have left.

Our cosy warm evening with a bottle of wine plan, was to attack the Atherstone Flight at silly o'clock in the morning.
Silly o'clock arrived but..... good evening ideas don't seem quite so good in the cold light of day.
In our defence though, it was cold and it was misty and it was quite dark.
The warm duvet soon won.

We moved on much later!

Until next time.........................

.

2011-03-13T19:36:00.000Z

Great Haywood Junction To Fradley Junction, 4 Locks.

Who on earth.............

Picture this.

It's a quarter to eight in the morning, it's pouring with rain and it's Sunday.

People are walking through the mud on the towpath past the boat with animated and happy voices.

Now.....to me, there are only two types of people in the world who would do this, Fisherman and Ramblers.

Today it was the turn of the Ramblers, loads of them all bouncing along and laughing. I tell you, that is serious dedication or..........is it total lunacy?

Warm bed? Wet muddy towpath?

Decisions decisions!

We had no choice, we had to go. Coats, gloves and hats were the order of the day when we set off.
I do have a lot of faith in weather lore though and I was relying on the one that is "Rain before seven, fine before eleven".
True to form the rain stopped at ten thirty and by the time these volunteers were out and about to clear some more BW bank side, it was a lovely sunny day.

Even Rugeley looked great in the sun today.
If you look closely on the right of this picture there is a boat moored up, that boat has been there since we passed through here on the fourth of October last year.

The friendly local power supplier at the end of your street.
This is a fairly new estate built more or less in the grounds of the power station, all the houses are sold though and someone even seems to be trying to sell on.

Another day and another canal.
We are now on the Coventry in what seems like a headlong rush to get back to the beginning.

The removal van is booked!

Until next time...................

.

2011-03-12T18:39:00.000Z

Penkridge To Great Haywood Junction, 7 Locks.

Not too sure if we are actually enjoying this trip.....

Many heartfelt thanks to those messages of support, they do mean a lot......honestly.

There were a few questions in there from various readers so I thought it might be easier to answer them in a Blog.

Yes we are taking Ubique back to the Marina and I think they have bought her to sell on, but you never know.

One door closes and another one opens, so as to what we will be doing next, Who knows? certainly not us at the moment and that, to be honest, is quite exciting!

A letting agent was never for us owing to the huge fees involved, also we would still have had to return for painting etc on changing tenants.

Ruth, as soon as we have bought a car we will be over for a visit.

As for returning to the cut...........again, who knows?

Now, how cute can you get?

This was a field of new borns who could hardly even stand to follow mum as she wandered off.

They seem to know what a camera is though.

Continuing in a spring theme.
Cygnets are on the way here, and if you point that at me again.... I'll fix you good.

This, unbelievably, is Tixall Wide on a Saturday afternoon. A distinct lack of boating activity here today.
Not so early this morning, as not one but two yellow perils passed us heading for the first lock. Half an hour - and one breakfast later - they are still there.
Off goes D to ~~find out what's going on~~ buy a paper, to find them trying to fill the lock with the bottom paddles open.
Bearing in mind that they must have worked through six locks yesterday from when they left the boatyard to arriving here, they messed this one up with style.

Big ole smiles and the explanation that they are doing the four counties ring and need to travel at least eight hours a day to get round.
Best they turn back now then.

Another day under the belt and no one's feeling any happier.

Until next time.......................

.

2011-03-11T17:56:00.001Z

Penkridge, 8 Locks.

A Digest of a Blog today....... to catch up.

After selling Ubique on Tuesday morning we set off on a two week cruise to get her back to Whilton.
First though, we had to get past the rest of the Shroppie which is in a terribly unstable condition through most of the cuttings, this fall has only been partially cleared for reasons best known only to BW.

Leave a seven foot gap lads and bung some fenders on it, that should do for a few years.

A bit of a beer, music and wine fueled night later we were off to Gnosall on Wednesday.
It was here we worked out our trip and realised that we have left ourselves too much to do in our normal mode and will have to step up a gear and go whatever the weather.

Thursday, of course, was blowing an absolute gale and we made a very slanted, crabbing, four hour trip to Autherley Junction to find - yet again - a boatyard taking over everything in reach. Where do you drop off or pick up crew at this lock?

Friday is here and we are off to Penkridge.
A few locks to do first though and five hours later we arrived.
We are now actually wondering if we are in the right place for tonight as there are so many students - of all ages - hanging around on this towpath making a huge nuisance of themselves.

Until next time.....................

.

2011-03-10T18:22:00.001Z

Market Drayton And Beyond.

Oooo Tuesday was a very surreal day.

Tuesday morning found us waiting for the man from Whilton Marina to call.

The horse hair has snapped, the sword has fallen but we have managed to dodge most of the sharp bits.
The man arrived bang on time and after a quick look around offered us some money, a little bit of haggling later and Ubique was sold. Just like that!
Gutted, Gutted, Gutted.

We have been forced into this situation by tenants and their continuously changing minds. Trying to Manage the house from this far away on our own just isn't possible any more so the decision was made and back we go.
Two years out here was our original plan and although we have done a lot more in that time than we thought we would, we were not quite ready to go back just yet.

But.........needs must.

Until next time....................

2011-03-07T17:40:00.000Z

Market Drayton.

Staying put.

The sword of Damocles is poised!

Until next time.....................

2011-03-05T19:52:00.000Z

Nantwich To Audlem, 2 Locks.

The "marinas" are out...

Off we went into a distinctly autumunal morning, absolutely nothing springlike about it but a great day nonetheless.

There was though, an influx of boats racing from the local marinas to the pubs within their reach..... I forgot it was the weekend!

What on earth are all those people doing standing on that bridge? says I.

Whooo, Whooo says the steam train.

This is the result of a flying steamer and the slowest camera money can buy.

Still, a canal boat being passed by one of those does stir something up that will never be the same again.

Hey, hey, hey, topical or what?

Until next time..............

.

2011-03-04T17:00:00.000Z

Baddiley Locks To Nantwich, 9 Locks.

What a day and what a sign.......

Moving ever downwards we were soon at another lock that had been closed for the winter repairs, one of the Swanley pair.

This one had had all three of the hard standings for opening and closing the gates renewed in this lovely brickwork.

So now.......you have a nice place to stand and watch the water pouring through - not just around - the rotting gate. I wonder who planned that one then?

Plodding on through another fine and sunny day, we were all too soon at the top of the Hurleston locks.

Then in even quicker time we were at the bottom lock and clear of our overwintering grounds. October 27th was the last time we were in this spot, 4 long and cold months ago.

A strange thing happened again shortly afterwards, the banks seemed to disappear away to each side, then Ubique found some water under her baseplate and she was off. If I didn't know better I would have said we were speeding.

Making Nantwich early we went in for a walk and it was there we found this sign.

Nibbly Fish, I couldn't believe what I was looking at.
Apparently you sit with your feet in a tank of water and these fish nibble away at the dead skin and whatever else might be lurking around your toes.

Nooooo, no, no, no, no.

Until next time.....................

.

2011-03-03T19:25:00.000Z

Grindley Brook To Baddiley No1 Lock, 7 Locks, 1 Staircase And 2 Lift Bridges.

A canal fest of a day in the sunshine......... but then,

Grindley Brook has been closed for some of the winter for repairs.

They didn't fix the top gate!

They didn't fix the middle gates!

And they certainly didn't fix the paddle gear.

There was a bit of new paint on the bottom lock gates though.

The weirs were just as ferocious as we wended our way down.

The boatyard at Wrenbury are really taking the mickey here, all the boats on the right are on the visitor moorings and there is not one space left for us "visitors".

Imagine the scene...... we have just chugged down the Llangollen for about four hours on a perfect canaling day.
We have negotiated a fest of locks and other features all in the lovely warm spring sunshine and are considering ourselves very lucky indeed. Mooring at the top of the next few locks we even had drinks on the stern as the warmth of the late afternoon sun was too good to miss.......Then

We get a phone call from the new tenants saying their situation has changed and they can no longer afford to pay the rent.

We are now in trouble!

Until next time..............................

.

2011-02-28T17:35:00.000Z

Prees Branch To Grindley Brook.

One incandescant me.....

Just look what I have done!

Caught out by a blast of wind whilst passing under a lift bridge.

Two years of taking on some of the worst tunnels and bridges on the system without the faintest hint of a scratch to the topsides and I get caught out under a stupid little lift bridge. The list of tunnels includes the Standedge, The Harecastle and even the Frogall where only a few boats our size fear to tread.

Oooo I was mad, madder than mad, blood pressure raising mad.

We do have paint aboard though, I just hope it hasn't set.

Until next time...................

2011-02-27T18:01:00.000Z

Ellesmere To The Prees Branch.

Of all the moorings. on all the canals......etc, etc.

Yesterday we left Ellesmere in our wake and started our journey to leave the Llangollen canal and onto pastures new.
First stop was the Prees branch to visit what must be one of the cheapest diesel spots on the system at the moment. 68ppl across the board. Luvverly Jubberly.

We then moved out to a mooring we had earmarked earlier as being so secluded and rural it was just the right tonic after being in such close proximity to other boats for so long. Thoughts of late night TV and games on the Wii with the genny running after eight to power it all came to the forefront of our minds.

Then........

Along they chugged and there they stopped, this was the first boat we had seen all day and of course as soon as they saw us they moored up less than a boat length in front.
No running anything into the night for us then.......could you pass that book?

Until next time.........................

.

2011-02-25T19:20:00.000Z

Trevor To Ellesmere.....Eventually!

Noooo, It's Unbelievable

Our guests have been taken over two aqueducts, through two tunnels, under one lift bridge and dropped two locks, then the whole process was reversed. The Llangollen has a fair bit of diversity, you cannot deny that.

This lift bridge had "the gongoozler from hell" standing by it.

We passed through and as I got D back aboard he starts running off at the mouth.

Shouldn't you close that bridge? Mr self imposed bridge controller asks.

Pardon?

I think you will find you have to close that bridge after you pass.

Normally, yes we would, but what about the two boats who are waiting to come through? Or words to that effect.

This did get me chuntering a bit on two points, (chuntering is not something I do any more, but this ice cream munching fool hit the spot).

Point one is what on earth has it got to do with him anyway?

Point two is just how brain dead and so unaware of what is going on around him was he not to notice two gaily painted narrowboats waiting to pass through the bridge no more than forty feet away on the other side? Some people!

After leaving our guests at Trevor we set off to.......... who knows where?

The sun came out on the Chirk aqueduct as we re entered England, this didn't really help us as we were in the mood for pressing on anyway.

We plugged on - far too far - and made Ellesmere in just over six hours.

Now........... Ellesmere was absolutely packed with boats when we arrived, there was only one mooring left, and this was the exact same mooring we had spent our winter confinement on.
No way we both said, lets try the arm.
The arm was a solid line of boats with not a single chance of getting in.

We are now - as you might have guessed - back to where we started. NOoooo.

Until next time.......................

.

2011-02-23T18:29:00.000Z

Llangollen Canal.

Just that little bit of spring in the air.

Oh so blurry as we rushed by at two miles an hour, spring in a nutshell.

Until next time.................

2011-02-21T18:00:00.001Z

Trevor.

Brass, rain. Rain, brass. Huh,Huh,Huh.

Here's a few brave souls out for the day.

We, on the other hand, are just marking time until tomorrow by making it rain again.

Until next time.....................

.

2011-02-20T13:32:00.000Z

Trevor....ish To Trevor.

A small move.

Here's another three, all uploaded in less than a minute now it's a bit quieter in broadband land.

This little inconspicuous thing is the plug to drain it.

We have moved back to Trevor now to await our guests (Sam & Ian) who will be with us for a couple of days over half term.

There are quite a few more boats on the move now but it is not as busy as you would think it should be.

We have TV signal again, joice, joice and rejoice.....Or not as the case may be.

Until next time..........................

2011-02-19T18:44:00.000Z

Trevor....ish.

A little wander.

We walked into Trevor and back across the aqueduct today. This gave me a chance to take a few different pictures and also to find out that D is fine crossing it on a boat but turns into a pile of jelly when on foot.

Odd...most odd, but not without humour.

I have a few more pictures but the Internet tonight is..........well lets just say it would be quicker to post them to you.

It's amazing how this technology falls to pieces when more than six people try to log on at the same time, they must know when it is going to be busy by now.

But then they do, and unless you pay more money for superfast fatter broadband you will keep getting squeezed off the net until you do.

Then it all starts again.

Until next time.........................

2011-02-17T17:42:00.000Z

Trevor To Rhoswiel And Nearly Back.

A long day for a gallon of petrol.......

What shall we do today then?

Well..... we are nearly out of petrol for the genny and could nip to the garage.

Four and a half hours of "nipping" later we are heavier by a gallon and lighter by pounds.

These BW houses on the English side of the Chirk aqueduct have proper bridge number plates as their house numbers, quirky!

One thing you definitely do not need around here is something that makes the bridge holes even lower. This is a real duck and cover type.

At the moment we have our winter chimney fixed which is considerably taller than our summer "steaming about showing off the brass bands etc" chimney, with coolie hat it just makes it under this one, and I do mean "just".

This is - I am reliably told - .........no I cant do it, it must be a wind up.

Ok.... she is sure

This is ....Pussy Willow.

You have to look carefully at a bad picture but those buds look like Cotton wool balls and have this amazing name.

I really hope this is not a wind up.

Until next time.......................

2011-02-16T18:20:00.000Z

Trevor.

If it rains it's not my fault.......

How about this Taxidermi shop in Llangollen? they really do look like they have been frozen in real time.

Not for us but still pretty impressive.

Lets polish that brass says I.

No! you will make it rain again says D.

Guests are on the way says I.

Umph!

So..... if it does rain it is all our daughters fault.

Jumping in on the great bow thruster/girlie button/that's not boating debate..... when we went to pick up Ubique - who is fitted with a thruster - the man hit three boats in the confines of the marina just because he was to pig headed to use it.

If you need that you cannot handle your boat was his rather stupid excuse.

Today was a bit of a classic though, imagine a beautifully painted and blacked hire boat leaving the dry dock here at Trevor.
The man at the tiller was of the old school - full throttle and what do you need a bow thruster for? - boat handling style.
He smacked the newly painted boat into the side taking that new paint off all along one side, bounced off and scraped all down the other side before practically tearing the gearbox out of the poor thing as he tried to reverse it back to its mooring.

It does make me wonder how we ever got out of the caves sometimes.

Until next time...................

.

2011-02-15T18:10:00.000Z

Trevor.

A chancer comes a-calling.

Do you want to buy some logs mate? asks the man knocking on the roof - that is covered in logs - Err no thanks we are fine.

Off he goes then.
As a business opportunist he might be missing a vital point, there are so many trees down around here due to the past gales, every boater who lives aboard and moves even a little bit is overloaded with wood.

I must admit though that the way the subbies deal with the fallen trees by carving them into lumps and dumping them on the towpath seems a bit dubious.

We are not allowed to use boats to remove the wood due to health and safety rules says the man with the chainsaw - who is decidedly lacking in a life jacket, ear defenders and goggles - so we leave the wood for the boaters to clear.

Those boaters would be us CC'ers then.
Unpaid clearers for the subbies we might be, but there is no way we are going to turn down free fuel.
Catch 22 springs to mind.

Until next time......................

.

2011-02-14T18:17:00.000Z

Froncysylite To Trevor.

Time to go........

After coming back down through all this fantastic scenery on Saturday, we decided to moor for the night at Froncysylite.

This turned out to be a bit of a mistake as we got ourselves pelted with stones just after dark by the local future mailbag stitchers.

It then went from bad to worse as the resident loonies in their tin boxes hurtled around the streets well into the early hours.

"La Cuca Racha" played over and over again on an air horn gets a bit wearing at one am.

Sunday morning found us up and about in the rain topping up with water before we re crossed the aqueduct.

The water pressure here was so great the hose shot out of the tank and positively soaked someone before I could turn it off.

O.... how one of us laughed!

Things are a bit more tranquil around here and there is a lot of spring cleaning going on to clear away the ravages of that winter.

Until next time.......................

2011-02-13T17:46:00.000Z

Whitehouses To Llangollen, Then back to Froncysylite. 1 Aqueduct Each Way.

Saturday was just a silly day.

Moving up to the aqueduct on a lovely sunny day with the hills/mountains in the distance was a tonic for the soul.

Here we go again across the puddle in the sky

Two and a half hours later of a will we make this? won't we make this? trip,

where we seemed to spend more time scraping along the bottom and clearing leaves from the prop than actually getting anywhere, we made Llangollen......eventually.

The river Dee was in a bit of a hurry to get wherever it was going and looked spectacular in it's haste.

The grown ups were playing steam trains again.... all adding to the holiday feel of this place!

Why put ourselves through all that trouble of the trip just to turn and come back?
Let me explain.....
I needed to buy a valentines day card for my beloved, and nipping into Tesco's is not quite the same as fighting my way by boat to the end of the world and back just to get it!
I think a few million brownie points are in order......don't you?

Until next time...................

.

2011-02-11T19:36:00.000Z

The Middle Of Nowhere To Whitehouses, 2 Tunnels And 1 Aqueduct.

A chainsaw and lambs kind of day.

The morning started with an hours worth of chainsawing to clear some of our windfalls from the roof, we do this regularly just in case the government decide to tax these as well.

Then, there was the strangest of things, on the way to this lock there was a boat moored alongside the bank, we both saw it, i saw it twice as we meandered around the bends. It was a light green colour with a deep coloured cratch.

I/we don't really know what happened but....... it disappeared!..... there was no boat either in front of us or going past us, the lock was at the end of a half mile straight and was empty of water when we arrived.

This is just plain weird!

The over falls are quite something at the moment as the canal is as full as it is going to get.

I thought I would put this picture up as these boats have been here since the beginning of November that I know about. This is not an allocated winter mooring but a bona fide water point.

Where is the little man with the moustache now?

He has been around turfing boats out of the arm at Ellesmere recently but I suppose this might be that little bit too far to drive/walk for him.
This is just a couple of the many boats that are still holed up in this area, one rule for one..... another for the rest of us.

The man in the water here is doing an heroic job of lining the front edge of those cages with a slate type material and he is doing it in the fashion of a dry stone wall. It is then back filled with hardcore and topped off with lovely mud.......nice.

Hire boat alert!.... Hire boat alert!

Call me cynical if you must, but what is the point of hiring a narrow boat on the Llangollen - or any other canal come to that - and tying it up to the bank outside of the pub by eleven o'clock?

These boats are not cheap to hire and it just seems such an awful waste to me.

Well, we are now back in Wales and have moored opposite a field full of baaing lambs,

O for the silence of those lambs.

Until next time.........................

2011-02-10T17:50:00.000Z

The Tree To The Middle Of Nowhere.

A prickly start.......

Having picked something up around the prop a quick visit to the weedhatch was required.

The water is so cold at the moment it makes you wonder just how long you might last should you fall in.

Anyway, plunging my arm in, grabbing what was there and tugging I soon realised that it was a length of vicious bramble.

Punctured!

Today was a day that you just did not want to come to an end.

After a quick stop at Ellesmere for liquid/solid supplies and a tank full of water we were off.

The day was so still and quiet with just a nip in the air, chugging was an absolute pleasure meaning that we went far to far again.

There is nothing - and I do mean nothing in this context - like getting yourself back inside when the fire is in full flow and you realise that you are just that little bit chilled, then - and this is the important bit - there is the distinctive sound of a cork releasing itself from its confinement.

You can feel your eyelids drooping just at the thought.

Tranquility...... achieved/personified/reached....... you choose.

Until next time...................

.

2011-02-09T18:17:00.000Z

Bettisfield To.......... A Tree.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

Sue on No Problem could not have realised just how prophetic her comment was yesterday.

Even as I typed plan "A" and published the post, events were already in place to make sure that there had to be a plan "B".

Plan "B" is to stay put here awhile as the men with the chainsaws - who are on a sub contract to BW - arrive to clear the tree from......Burnley of all places!

Talking to them, they are going home tonight and then coming back tomorrow to clear another one.

What madness is this?

It is not exactly rocket science is it?

Where are the BW men?

Moving on.... plan "C" is the same as plan "A", lets see what the fates have to do with that one then.

Until next time........................

2011-02-08T19:15:00.000Z

Bettesfield To The Prees Branch And Back.

A deafening silence.

No moving yesterday due to the screaming wind, but a fair bit of brass polishing was achieved.

Needless to say the rain came hammering on the roof after dark but then.........silence!

The wind had gone, the rain had stopped and it was all a bit strange really.

This morning we awoke to a quite severe frost, our centre rope took on the look of a liquorice pontefract cake, not long after though, the sun won the day and it was glorious.

Our mission today was to get to the BW boatyard at the end of the Prees branch to pick up some diesel.

There was no way in the world we were going to give the robbers at the Blackwater Marina in Ellesmere another red cent.

23p.... yes 23p a litre cheaper, that's £23 every hundred.

13kg Calor £3 bottle cheaper.

A twelve volt light that we needed, a massive £16 cheaper for the exact same thing.

We saved £59 just for a short cruise.

The lift bridge above was in our way though and it seemed as if it was going to stay there as well...... Ooo that was a stiff one.

Look at that!...... the rarest of things at the moment, another moving boat.

We are now back where we started this morning - It is amazing the difference in times when going against the flow - and are going to head off to Llangollen in the very near future.

Well that's plan "A" anyway.

Until next time.................

2011-02-06T17:07:00.000Z

Ellesmere To Bettisfield, 1 Tunnel.

Time to push the reset button.....

Hello, Hello can you hear me?
Yes!
Look, we have been feeling a bit low recently and don't really feel we are reaching our full potential.
Have you tried switching yourselves off and then back on again?
No!
Try it!
Bit drastic!
Ok.........try the reset button.

Whats that?
Forget the wind, forget the rain, just get out there and remember what it is all about.

No sooner said than done.

There was no way we were going to stay another day in Ellesmere, being tied to the side for so long is just not right for us.
The wind was still giving it large but the rain was not too strong so off we went.

It was only two hours later that we moored in the middle of ruralness but in those two hours we had collected enough wood to see us through for a while and had reaffirmed our love of this life.

Until next time......................

.

2011-02-05T13:57:00.000Z

Ellesmere Arm.

A veritable blast with accompanying precipitation......or.....

wet and windy.

This is the aftermath of horizontal rain, dry as a bone for a long way past the posts.

Needless to say we are still going nowhere until this lot blows itself out but we have moved from the previous mooring just to keep Mr Happy well.......happy.

We certainly got a warm welcome from the other boaters who are still around, knocking on the boat to say hello etc etc.... all very friendly.

I'm afraid that's about it for now, there's not much going on as most people are doing the same as us, battening the hatches and riding it out.

Until next time...................

.

2011-02-03T20:01:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Revisited.

Yes.....we are back, and as a bonus, nice and warm!

New tenants acquired, five and a half hours of being yowled at by Crunchie, being told how to drive by the hire car, and the M25 later, I could really feel a tic coming on.

At least we are now finally back aboard.

The know it all car....

Ping Pong! selected speed exceeded. Ping Pong! shift gear now. Ping Pong! risk of ice. Ping pong! auto headlights activated. Ping Pong! auto windscreen wipers activated.

Arghhhhhh........

In the end I set it on cruise control, sat in the back and let it get on with it.

How can anything so dark and foreboding look just that little bit nice?

It's good to be back!

The wind is a full gale tonight and the rain is coming at us with full force.

Do we care?...........not a jot.

Snug and warm cocooned inside Ubique we are both back in our element.

Until next time......................

2011-01-30T18:25:00.003Z

Brick House, Day 20.

Whooo Hooooo!!!!!

A random picture.

I have in my hand a piece of paper - well several actually - signed not by Mr Hitler but by Andrew Bailey, Chief cashier.
This means we are on the fast track back to Ubique .

Yessssssss, Images of two people leaping around and punching the air should now be in your mind

Until next time.....................

.

2011-01-27T17:26:00.000Z

Brick House, Day 17.

An Enforcement Officer cometh........Ooooerrrr.

Before heading off we went to see the men at the BW yard to make certain we would be ok to stay put for a couple of weeks whilst we sort things out. Fine, no problem just keep us informed say the men on the ground.

Phoning recently to let them know what we are doing, a call centre picked up and a sweetly voiced operator said she would connect us to the enforcement officer.

Enforcement Officer ???

This is not exactly in keeping with the fluffy bunny, soft white cloud image that BW likes to portray whereby all of us boaters are "customers" and therefore their clientele.

Enforcement officer conjours up images of Jack Boots, small black moustaches and straight arm salutes, or dare I say the lowest in the food chain......county court bailiffs!

He wasn't in his sentry box at the time but we were promised he would call us when he returned, he did, much to our dismay.

I wont go into details but I can see where Sue on No Problem is coming from in her latest post, when boats are just left or moored for weeks on end with no valid reason and are never moved on.

I suppose keeping them informed makes you an easy target.

Until next time.....................

.

2011-01-25T16:56:00.000Z

Brick House, Day 15.

Waiting for the phone to ring.

There is the bonus of a quite different expanse of water to look at though.

That dot out there is seven eighths of a mile off shore, it is all that is left of a once proud and busy pier where day trippers from London would land from a paddle steamer and be whisked ashore by train.

There is a decided dearth of potential tenants at the moment, those that have been around were just on weekend "jollies".... having a nose around for the sake of it.

I have sold quite a few items in my time and whenever you here these immortal words - Ok, we will just go and have a chat about it, we are very interested and will phone you back straight away - you know you will never see or hear from them ever again.

Why people just can't bring themselves to say "No, not interested, goodbye" is beyond me.

So here we sit with sinking hearts and our fingers crossed that there is someone genuine out there.

Until next time........................

.

2011-01-20T20:11:00.000Z

Brick House, Day 10.

A pondering.

Wish we were there.

After the dongle debacle it makes you realize just how much we depend on the Internet,
even here at the house we need it to order food, book hire cars and even find out how to change the lock in the front door, let me explain...

Being fairly practical I still could not get the Euro cylinder out of the UPVC front door, a quick call to the local locksmith and they could do it for a mere fifty pounds.
Before committing to that, a trip to the ether yielded a step by step instruction page as to how to do it properly.

Five pounds for the new cylinder, and if you really take your time and being very careful you can remove the old one and replace it in just under sixty seconds.

A forty five pound saving!

Thank you O orange coloured one.

Until next time......................

.

2011-01-19T20:44:00.000Z

Brick House, Day 9.

Woe is me, woe is my dongle.

It matters not what anyone says, central heating is not a patch on this.

We returned the hire car on the wettest day we have seen for a long, long while.
Walking -yes walking - through the downpour we made our way into the city to the shop that is "Orange", a new super fast dongle was then acquired and pocketed. Buying shares in the bus company (by way of a ticket) we took our new prize back to the house.

Needless to say....... it didn't work!

Phoning a help line is akin to wading through mud up to your neck, you know you are in deep when they ask if you have turned it off and then back on again.
An hour on there got us nowhere other than it must be a signal problem in our area.
Five bars on 3G is not a problem.

It turns out their software doesn't work but I can still connect through windows, sorted!

Until next time..................

.

2011-01-16T16:28:00.000Z

Brick House, Day 6.

Rattle, rattle, rattle. Shiver, shiver, shiver.

Well, that was a busy few days!
After a five hour trip by hire car with a cat yelling in your ear most of the way we were a bit fraught when we arrived to say the least.
Thankfully the house was habitable and the power was still on.

It certainly ~~seems~~ is a bit large after Ubique and we are rattling around in here like a pea in a whistle. It also feels cold, very cold after the cosiness of the stove back aboard.

Not so much to do here this time, so hopefully we should be back aboard as soon as possible.

I will try and get a nice picture of a bus or something for tomorrow.

Until next time....................

.

2011-01-09T18:00:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 44.

Plan "C"....

How's this for a nice quiet Sunday afternoon at Ellesmere?

The sun is out, the wind has dropped, the ice has all but gone and the male duck has spotted a female duck bobbing about.

Now that's a bow wave!

Don't you just love tenants and their timing to leave?

Back we go again to our brick home, we are so far away this time and being "with cat" a hire car is the only option.

The train journey from here to there is an expensive and very time consuming....joke!

The rail network........ just isn't a network any more is it? if you are honest.

Until next time.....................

2011-01-07T14:39:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 42.

Ohhh Noooo!

This was the scene that greeted us this morning, not quite as thick as before but still there never the less.

The boat on the left is NB Pole Star and crew who have made it in from the cold. They were moored an epic walk from the services and must be jumping with joy to be able to get here by boat again.

The ice took on the look of folded cloth here today, it couldn't hold the weight of a duck but still managed to hold together as it folded up.

One day merging into the other now, but I was still surprised to realise it is the seventh already.

Until next time...................

.

2011-01-05T18:03:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 40.

An escapee.......24 down to 23 boats.

Our little community is down by one today, NB Bendigedig made a break for Llangollen and got away.

Is it over?.........doubt it.

We, on the other hand, are changing to Plan "B" .
Plan "A" was to be down near Chester by now and therefore clear of the BW stoppages that are now in force. Plan "B" in real terms means we are stuck up here now until March........!
When you think about it, we only stopped here to go shopping. This must be the longest trip to Tesco's in history!

Until next time......................

.

2011-01-04T19:23:00.001Z

Ellesmere, Day 39.

A bit more movement.....

Another couple of boats have been ice smashing, but.......say no more!

I got myself roped into a "Diesel Run" today.

Riding in a car again was a bit strange, covering twenty miles in about half an hour had the head spinning, but the disappointment in finding the garage had whacked six pence a litre on it's price took over.

I know that this is still twenty two pence cheaper than the local bandits in the boatyard are charging, but it still sticks in the throat.

This red diesel price seems to be out of control, if two petrol garages had such wildly varying prices one would be very very quiet very quickly and be out of business before you could actually say "Crooks".

A treat of a sunset this evening.

I couldn't decide which one to put on, so here are all three.

Until next time...................

.

2011-01-02T16:57:00.001Z

Ellesmere, Day 37.

A touch of movement.

Happy New Year, by the Way!

Halcyon days, hopefully soon to be with us again.

Someone had to try and smash their way out, you just knew it.
On and on he came, then, just when he had done enough damage to the ice (and his boat) to give him a chance of actually getting around the corner........ he gave up and reversed back to his place on the bank!

There are a few boats here who are champing at the bit to get up to Llangollen for the delights of electricity and water on tap alongside the winter moorings. I did think at least one of them would have gone after this mornings crunchings, but it was not to be.
Maybe tomorrow.......

Here we sit.

Until next time......................

.

2010-12-29T17:58:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 33.

A brief look at particle physics........

But first a picture of some icicles.

Atoms as we all know are extremely small, so small in fact that if there were five hundred thousand of them lined up on parade they could hide behind a single human hair.

Bear with me, I am going somewhere with this.....

Now, in your minds eye, imagine a single atom to be the size of a party balloon, not a red or green one but one you can see into.

Then, looking in, you could see an infinitesimally small dot in the centre, this is the nucleus - a fly in a cathedral gives some idea of scale - orbiting this nucleus and flitting in and out of view are particles.

Are you still there?

Scientists, for the last decade or so, have been building huge machines ( The Hadron Collider being one ) to accelerate these particles to near light speed and smash (collide) them into other particles and observe the results. This supposedly gives them an insight as to the Big Bang Theory and the creation of the universe as we know it.

Wake up!

The Nay Sayers and doom mongers were soon coming from the woodwork citing the end of the world with the creation of a new universe or a black hole or dark (anti) matter should they succeed in their quest. If you are reading this that has not happened........yet.

One other effect mooted is that the explosion could interfere with our current time line and produce the "Groundhog Day" whereby we would all live the same day over and over again without realising it.

Ellesmere, Da

Here, hang on a minute, I get the strangest feeling that I have typed that many times before. OOerrrr.

Until next time..............

2010-12-27T19:50:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 31.

Whoops........

D - through no fault of her own - has her birthday on Boxing Day leaving the choice of things to do fairly limited. A walk along in the wintery sunshine and then back to a roaring fire with fizz had to do.

Setting the fire for last night I loaded it to the gills with coal as usual, this is to cope with the overnight lows of minus fifteen to seventeen that we have been having recently.

Last night though I dont think it dropped below minus two and we cooked yet again. We even awoke to flowing water at every tap on the boat, something we have not had for at least a couple of weeks, there is always one frozen somewhere.

Although it is warmer now it is raining, why is rain so depressing and grey?
When the snow falls all you want to do is get out into it, but the rain.........no way. I have not even stuck my head outside today and I am literally looking forwards to getting under that duvet.

So.....

Until next time..............

.

2010-12-24T18:12:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 28.

Here we go.........

I would just like to thank Peter and Tina who left a comment on the last Blog.
For those of you who haven't read it yet, they are from Adelaide in Australia and are expecting a temperature of.................34........... tomorrow.
Cold beers and seafood in the sun, we can only dream!

Back to reality.

Ubique, though, is a glourious place to be at the moment. We have been cooking the gammon all afternoon and the boat is now full of deliciously smelling warmth.
I can't really describe just how cosy it is in here at the moment, there has been a bite taken from the fizz stocks to add to the rosy glow and the "nibbles" bags are out, open and being punished, wonderful.

So, if I could just say...........

A Very Merry Christmas To You All And Thanks For Reading.

Until next time........................

2010-12-22T17:10:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 26.

A day in the community.

We threw the hose over to top up the water today........... three and a half hours later we pulled it back.

Four other boats are now full and people who were out of reach of the hoses topped up with drums. Everybody was out and about with hose reels and connectors but I didn't even take one picture of the whole scene. Twit.

Nb Bendigedig - who were one of the boats out of reach - still happily lent their hose to the line as one of the other hoses from a nearer boat had frozen solid, even after being left in a hot shower it still refused point blank to pass any water through.

A proper "helping each other out day".
Our neighbour came along with a bottle of wine at the end and would not take no for an answer, I am doing it justice right now.

Until next time..................

.

2010-12-21T19:48:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 26.

Eee by gum, what a grand day.

The tree is up, the decorations are up and the turkey is bought and paid for, although at the moment it would be more use as a mud weight than a food source.
Thawing it out could be tricky.

Last night we just went for it, yes, there was no stopping us, caution was thrown to the wind as we actually for the first time this year ........fired up the central heating!
As it turned out - although it was minus ten outside at the time - we well and truly cooked ourselves......... Just finding out what the turkey might feel like!

Well, the sprouts are on simmer now so they should be nicely soft by Saturday, the bottles of fizz are freezing nicely in the front locker and the cat has even got a present to open.

Bring it on!

Until next time.............

.

2010-12-20T17:05:00.000Z

Ellesmere, Day 25.

More of the same..... and a bandit rides amongst us.

Once more but this time with snow and sun.

Our good old Christmas stand by.

Walking out today we noticed that the friendly local boatyard had whacked it's red diesel up to a staggeringly eye watering ninety one pence a litre for domestic.

Whilst most diesel outlets are charging between sixty and seventy pence this is just blatant profiteering from a captive audience, it's no wonder diesel runs are being organized.

Perhaps they should wear masks and point a gun at you when you pay, at least then you would feel you have been properly mugged.

A single boat has managed to escape from the arm recently with the aid of sledge hammers and even an axe.

He made it to the service point where he remained for the night before trying to make the return journey to his paid for mooring, he is now out here frozen in with the rest of us.

Mustn't grumble though, just enjoy.

Until next time..........................

2010-12-18T14:32:00.000Z

Ellesmere. Day 23.

It begins!...... and the law of sod strikes again.

Down it came the other day and then after a slight dusting it stopped.

The sun was out, the shopping was done and the town had been visited so we decided to throw the hose over and fill Ubique up with water - and at the same time - the boat next door.

Guess what? .....Yep....around the corner came a boat!

Now, this might not seem too strange as this is a canal full of boats after all, but what is strange is that it was the only boat to be moving that day, to actually come around that corner in the exact half hour "window" when we had the hose across can cause your head to start twitching and a slight tic to appear in your eye.

Opening the back doors this morning to this view was a little bit more like it. Nowhere near the punishing levels of snow other places are suffering though.

It's still at the pretty level.......... for the time being.

Most people are really mucking in at the moment.

One chap is organising a diesel run in a borrowed van, just give him the empty cans and they will be filled at a garage for twenty pence a litre less than the going rate here.

When you are buying in at the hundred litre mark that is a good twenty pound saving, not to be sniffed at.

We can buy a turkey now.

Until next time.....................

2010-12-15T18:56:00.000Z

Ellesmere.

Another day to while away the time.

According to the doom mongers, AKA the weather guessers, we will be back to these conditions tomorrow.
For these boats though nothing will change, they are still as stuck in the arm now as they were at the beginning of the freeze. The NB Roma made an heroic effort to free them today by repeatedly ramming the ice, this was combined with the crew hitting what ice he could with a sledge hammer from the bow. All this was unfortunately to no avail.
When the ice is a "genuine" four inches thick there is not much a narrowboat can do against it.

BW are charging those boaters a lot of money - and I do mean a LOT of money - to moor there for the winter.
With the services not easily available I feel that had I paid to moor there I would be due a refund.
BW have the ideal craft to break the ice just moored outside of their yard here, but it is just lying dormant.
Maybe lots of moaning might spur them to action.

I'd better not hold my breath!

Until next time.......................

.