Hot or cold

 

I have said it before and i will say it again , only an idiot a silly boater takes a narrowboat out in very high winds. Even low winds can make a huge difference to how the boat handles. We have come to the conclusion that anything over about 15 to 20 mph and its just not worth cruising. Its not just about the damage you could do to your boat and other boats, but the danger of someone getting hurt. With winds over 25 mph on this day there were still loads of boats cruising and not being able to control their craft in the high gusts like the one in the picture above who ended up jammed across the canal.

The weather is so changeable at the moment that we are going from one day of high winds to the next morning when we experienced our first frost of the Autumn.

After a few days at Linslade we moved on to Stoke Hammond which is another one of our favourite moorings. How lucky are we again to have it all to ourselves.

Being out in the country it gave us the chance to cut up and log the wood we had .With Carolyn being retired from using the axe it wasn't long before she had all our free heat stacked on the roof.We now have 14 bags of coal and this wood so it should keep us going for a while , but we will still be on the look out for more free wood.

It is a silly time of year for lighting the fire. It is too cold with out it and when we do light it we have to have all the windows and doors open as it gets so hot. We do have the diesel central heating ,but that cost money to use so we would rather be a little too hot and burn free wood rather than have to put the central heating on.

We have now moved from Stoke Hammond and are now moored at Fenny Stratford which is next to the town of Bletchley in Milton Keynes. With a plethora of shops Carolyn is in her element and the old bank account is taking a right hammering ,she much prefers to go shopping without me for some unknown reason . I did go with her to IKEA where she treated me to a 9 item breakfast for only £2.75, i must admit it went down a treat and at that price what a bargain . The only problem was that after that i was dragged around the shop ,I think Carolyn only takes me so i can be her Carthorse for carrying all the heavy items she buys. We did manage to get our Flu jabs done and believe it or not we got them done in Tesco. The picture above was taken in Bletchley town on another shopping trip i reluctantly went enjoyed going on. Bletchley is a small bustling town with a good mix of shops , so I'm told.

We are now starting to get low on water and the full toilet cassettes are starting to build up ,so we will soon have to move again and get to the services at Fenny lock which is about half a mile from where we are currently moored. And then after that we will move on to Who knows where ….

 

                                                    Happy Days

Canal rage

 

We pulled pins in Beautiful sunshine at 07.30 and cruised down to Church lock. After leaving the lock and when Carolyn had shut the gates she then had to descend some very steep steps and squeeze through a narrow gap to get back on board Inca.

The next lock is Grove lock and Carolyn wants to know why is it that every time we pass a pub its closed .

After doing a shop at Tesco and Aldi we picked up a mooring on the other side of Linslade and it wasn't long before we heard shouting and the roaring of engines. The dark blue boat which is privately owned tried to overtake the light blue hire boat just as they were passing us. You can tell how fast he was going by looking at the Bow wave he was making.

After nearly hitting us and nearly pulling our pins out with his wash he carried on at full throttle and eventually forced the Hire boat into the side of the canal. Words were exchanged between the 2 boats and then the hire boat reversed back off the bank and the guy shouted to us that they had never seen Canal rage like that before.It seems like the guy was in a hurry to get somewhere fast and couldn't cope with the pace of the hire boat in front of him.  People moan about how bad some hire boaters are at boating, but there are some useless and ignorant boat owners on the cut as well.

With Gary busy on his coal boat Ascot it didn't leave much room for other boats to pass,and it wasn't long before this hire boat (on the right) went aground when trying to pass.Eventually after a lot of revving they managed to get of the side and continue with their holiday .

The moon over Inca and the end of another enjoyable day on Inca.      picture by Carolyn

                                                                 Happy Days

Accident waiting to happen

 

With Carolyn back from Devon it wasn't long before she found this haul of free winter heat. Its not a lot but it is a start

We pulled pins from Wendover and left the arm in Glorious sunshine and it wasn't long before we made the tight turn back on to The Grand union and then down The Marsworth flight.

The White Lion at Marsworth is now looking in a real sorry state. Apparently it was a very popular Pub .We did ask a few local people if they knew what was happening to the place , but nobody seemed to know its fate.

After 4 hours of cruising we finally moored behind Stewart and Fran on nb The Boat in the long pound above Church lock. Shortly after mooring Narrowboat Dover motored past us. This boat was rebuilt by a guy called Alan Herd and a TV series was made showing the complete re-build.

With some wood on the roof from Wendover and some more that we have picked up on the way its out with the chainsaw and Axe. With me on the chainsaw Carolyn decided to have a go at splitting the wood with the Axe. But as you can see its just an accident waiting to happen….. Don't worry she has now retired from chopping wood and she is now in charge of stacking the wood on the roof.

Pickle Widge  …    What a brilliant name for a boat. But does anyone know what it means ?. I have looked it up but can find no reference to the name. And look at that canopy , Its part of a car roof box mounted on some timber. I don't think the idea will catch on.

We have now left Church lock pound and are heading back down towards Leighton Buzzard and yet another shop at the convenient Tesco moorings and then back out into the country and pick up a peaceful mooring somewhere.

 

                                                               Happy Days

Billy no mates

 

After a long day cruising and locking and going up a very shallow canal we are so lucky to pick up our favourite mooring at the end of The Wendover arm.

Not long after arriving Stewart soon hooked this beautiful 14lb Carp.

With Carolyn on the Train back down to Devon for our Granddaughters 8th birthday and Stewart and Fran off cruising back on the Grand Union canal, I am now Billy no mates and all by myself for the next few days on the arm. But it will give me the chance to catch up on several little jobs that need doing.

With winter coming and not long before we light the fire its time to get prepared. We bought this new chimney last year when we passed a boat that made them on the Coventry canal and have so far not used it. Although not cheap the quality is first class. The guy tows a small butty around which is his workshop and he produces these Stainless steel chimneys from it. Click on the link to have a look at what he does …..  http://www.littlechimneycompany.co.uk/

With the level on the Wendover arm very low it gave us a lot of problems on our cruise up here. The pumps at this pumping station are running flat out to try and maintain the level.

With most of my jobs done it leaves plenty of time for exploring the local countryside with Molly and Hamish. I was hoping to find some field Mushrooms on my walks across the fields , but they seem to be a bit scarce this year. Maybe the unseasonal hot weather this year has had an effect on them.

One thing that are plentiful around here are Aircraft ,as we are on the main approach to Luton airport.

Sunset over Inca and with the temperature today reaching well over twenty degrees what a brilliant Summer we are having, and long may it last.                                      

                                                                                             

                                                                                      Happy Days                                      

The Plank

 

After mooring for the night above Church lock this boat motored by. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw the side of it. Nearly half of the side of the boat was missing . The Plank man that was steering it shouted to me and said that it was extra ventilation.

 

On Thursday morning we pulled pins at 08.00 and with all this fine weather and a lack of rain a lot of the pounds between the locks are very low on water. Most of the short pounds are so low that you skim along the bottom and stir up all the debris from the bottom. It wasn't long before Stewart picked this up around his prop.

On the way up to Marsworth we came upon this mess. Some idiot that lives on a plastic boat with a tarpaulin over the top decided to have a fire in the middle of the Towpath. This is what gives boaters a bad name and there is no need for it. There are a few people on The Cut that treat it as a cheap way to live and just don't care about anything else except themselves and they have no consideration for other people who live on, and use the canals. Many of these boats are not licensed so are contributing absolutely nothing to our waterways . It also seems bizarre how that Canal and River Trust seems to do nothing about this situation. Everywhere you go you see unlicensed boats and it certainly seems to get worse the nearer you get towards London….. Rant over.

And finally… You may remember i mentioned about Teapots on Narrowboat roofs and did anyone know what the significance of it was. Well apparently it signifies that the occupants could be or not Swingers , and its a secret sign to other Swingers.( Unbelievable or what)… Click on link        http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69835&hl=teapots   and decide for yourself  .We now spend all our time looking on boat roofs to see if there is a Teapot on the top and play a game called , Are they or not…..  And before you ask NO there is not a Teapot on Inca and i can assure you there will never be one there !          

                                                                                                             Happy Days