Finding a Hen’s Tooth

I knew I would be jealous of the afore-mentioned mooring!  I knew it would be nice but ……. it’s even lovelier than I imagined!

This is the view from the canal bridge.

Mick and Sue (jammy little …….doughnut's!) have acquired the one residential mooring attached to the barn-conversion property owned by a really nice couple.

They have their own small garden complete with a small shed and a ‘summer-house’ (actually a larger shed but really nice.)  It’s all about being in the right place at the right time!  Everything’s come right for them and we are so pleased for them.  This is definitely a hen’s tooth!

They can sit outside on their decking and enjoy the sunshine.  They have parking for their car and Mick is able to pick up a bit of work as and when he needs to.

                    

You could be forgiven thinking that this is the resident garden gnome but actually, it’s Mick – the acquisition of a shed when you haven’t had one for a while is an extremely important event!

When we come back next year I want to see a small brewery operating within!  I also want to see a vegetable patch and a couple of chickens!  How about a goat?

We walked across the vast, lush meadows to the nearby village of Kings Sutton.  A lovely village but much bigger than I was expecting – 3 pubs, a primary school, a post-office and a small co-op and a magnificent old church.

                                     

The river Cherwell runs through this big meadow and, believe it or not, when the river is in flood, all of this land is under water!

The property the other side of the bridge is lovely too and has a small, beautifully landscaped camp site attached.  On Friday nights a fish and chip van calls so Mick & Sue, us and Phil & Sylvia (boating friends of Mick & Sue) got fish and chips and we all sat on the tow path by Phil & Sylvia’s boat eating and drinking …………….. like you do! Colin & Louise, who own the barn and it’s adjoining land, came to join us for a while.  It was a lovely, lovely evening and so what being a boater is all about.

How could you not be envious of this set-up?  As I say ………….. a hen’s tooth.

Banbury

When ever we travel on the South Oxford canal I really look forward to being able to stop in Banbury.

It wasn’t always like this!  The first time we ever came through was on a hire boat back in about 1990.

It was before the wharf area had been re-developed.  There were old warehouses and derelict buildings and it was all very seedy.  There was absolutely no desire to stop then – you just wanted to get through as quickly as possible.  How different it is today!  Boaters are now so keen to stop that mooring is restricted to 48 hours.

All the shops – both in the Castle Quays shopping precinct and the High Street are 5 minutes walk away.  We needed to sort out something legal, something financial and something retail and Banbury came up trumps yet again!

I have also recently found out that I have a second cousin living just 5 miles away.  I contacted her and she came to find me.  It was really good and we plan to see each other again.   Another name for the Christmas card list!

The photograph shows the re-developed canal frontage but there is also lots of mooring beside a large park.  The dogs really love this.  The river Cherwell runs through the park.  We have been told this time how to access a reservoir walk and before heading off today we plan to do that.

We are going to Kings Sutton for lunch  …………. this time provided by us …………… to see Mick and Sue whom we met for the 1st time outside Crick 3 years ago.  They had just bought their boat.  They now have their own mooring at Kings Sutton – complete with garden area – I just know I’m going to be jealous!!

That’s not the only thing I’m jealous of!  Retail – John bought some new jeans AND he still fits into the same size that he has worn for years!  Smug g*t!!

What’s it all about?

Bridge 144 – Claydon Top Bridge – on the South Oxford canal has a public footpath running right over the top of it.  The footpath actually starts off the road from Lower Boddington to Claydon but, from the tow path that’s about a two mile walk heading away from Claydon.  IF this footpath could be accessed from the tow path at bridge 144 it would enable walkers to go into the lovely little village of Claydon avoiding the road.  There is no longer a shop or a pub but there is a fascinating little museum of ‘bygones’ and it’s accompanying tea room!

I say IF.  It would mean walking about 3 metres across land which is not on the footpath in order to access the footpath and the landowner clearly does not want that!

     

The path cannot be accessed from the north ……….

                                                  The path cannot be accessed from the south  …………                               

                                   

  War has been declared!                      Why oh why?

Is it simply that he/she (!) is a mean-minded old git or has his/her (!) few metres of land been so badly vandalised and abused by walkers in the past?  I really would like to know the details of the story to explain why a few metres of land need to be protected by the utilisation of so much barbed wire.  This landowner has obviously watched lots of prisoner of war films!

  So sad!

We are now at Cropredy.  Rodney is delivering our post tomorrow and the least I can do is to provide him with roast beef and all the trimmings followed by steamed treacle pud and custard!!!!  That’s the good intention anyway!

Our Fourth Anniversary

How quickly those years have passed!  Four years ago on 30th March we closed the front door of our house and became liveaboard boaters.  I feel a moment of reflection coming on!  So, what have we learned in the last four years?  What have been the major challenges?

Top of the list for me is:-

Feelings of vulnerability.  This comes in two forms :– 1.  In large towns and cities I feel threatened by the anti-social behaviour of others of my kind.  Sad to say this is usually groups of young people – predominantly males!  So sad.  2.  The Natural Elements.  We have learned to be extremely respectful of high winds and flooded  rivers!   

The following things are of far less importance but challenging nevertheless:-

Condensation in the Winter time.  This year we have gone a long way towards solving this problem by following instructions to make double glazing panels for the windows. (Thanks, Paul). It’s not just the windows that are a problem, however.  The inside of the cupboards also get damp.

Lack of Storage space.  It is quite a major issue. On the positive side it makes you very frugal with possessions.  Living in a boat has taught us that, as human beings, we don’t actually need anything near the amount of stuff we accumulate when living in a house.  A little butty boat for a shed – sorry - a workshop, is a thought though!

Boating Equipment.  Technical equipment seems to go wrong more often than it does in a house!  Much of it seems to be down to pumps!  Because parts are specialist and ‘marine’ as opposed to ‘household’ they are also so expensive.  It would seem that if something has a ‘marine’ label on it it’s automatically twice the price!  We have learned to source things outside of the chandlers whenever possible ie Wicks, Homebase and Autofactors.  Lee Sanitation, however, has boaters by ‘the short-and-curlies’!!

Amps/Volts/Watts ………………. (the Skipper’s main topic of conversation! )  The challenge is how to ensure you have enough of them!  We have learned that it pays to invest in good batteries and we have also invested in a generator ………….. say no more!  There are those who simply detest generators and it can cause disharmony amongst boaters!  Scathing comments are made about those who use generators and bowthrusters and we make use of both!  Now that diesel is soaring in price and we use a litre an hour to charge the batteries our thoughts are turning to solar panels …………….. watch this space.

Muddy Tow Paths  After lots of rain or melting snow, bathing two dogs every time you come in from a walk is a challenge believe me!

Regrets?     In the words of Mr Sinatra …….. we have a few …….. but, in the pattern of things, only flippant ……….

1.  We regret the interest rate going down after just a year of doing this!!  2.  We regret we don’t get good internet reception all the time!!

Despite all these challenges and others:-

We love the diversity of the environment we can enjoy and the freedom to move from one place to the next.  There is so much beautiful open countryside, fabulous little towns and villages and, although the bigger towns and cities challenge my sense of safety, they are interesting and exciting.  We love the wildlife we see.  OK it’s everyday wildlife but being able to watch a moorhen practising tight-rope walking, ducks practising their skating skills in the winter,  kingfisher fly-bys and barn owls hunting to state just a few examples……………… it was, for us, always going to be a winner!

Yet another boat has just gone by and I’m starting to think I’ve done this all wrong!

NO!  We have LOADS of regrets!  It was SUCH a STUPID thing to do!  Sell the house and live on a boat?  COMPLETE STUPIDITY!  Don’t even THINK about it!  Every day is DREADFUL!

Onwards into year five …………………

Senior Moments

Oh dear!  They’re coming far too thick and fast these days!

The area around Braunston has been really busy over the weekend with both private and hire boats.  We had to pass at least six boats in the tunnel.  We were unable to moor at Braunston Puddlebanks so the Skipper (hero that he is!) reversed ALL the way back to opposite the church where we found ourselves alone!  We have moored here on many occasions and always managed to get TV reception – NOT THIS TIME!  An expensive new satellite system and …. we couldn’t get a thing!  Sunday – 1st Grand Prix race of the year so we were not staying there!  We moved on towards Wigrams Turn and stopped in a really open spot.  NOTHING!  PANIC!!  The final of the Ice Dancing was on in the evening too!  Skipper/Dog House – get the idea?  Then ……….. a picture!  It’s amazing what happens when one finds the correct satellite!!  A Senior Moment (actually, the truth is, it was a complete cock-up!).

So why are we on lap 15 of the race when it’s only 12.30pm and the race isn’t meant to start until 1pm?  Hang on, the TV is telling us that it’s 1.30pm.  What’s going on?  OMG!!!  We’ve never done that before!  No wonder lots of boats were on the move at 7.30pm or rather 8.30pm.  WE HAD FORGOTTEN TO ALTER THE CLOCKS!  Another Senior Moment (yes, another complete cock-up!).

Changing the Subject:-                                                                                                               

Who is brave enough to show their age and own up to remembering Lee Majors?  He was the Bionic Man – completely re-built when all his original parts malfunctioned!

Well, we have a Bionic Boiler.  Yet another part of our Eberspacher has been replaced.  This time it’s the temperature sensor.  This joins the flame tube combustion chamber, the burner motor, the fuel metering pump, the timer and copious numbers of glow plugs!  From memory Mr Major’s spare parts were more easily obtained and less expensive than these!

Today the weather has been lovely – we have had much more sunshine than Thailand (Ben is out there doing a scuba diving course).  Tomorrow we will probably go up the Napton Flight – probably!  That’s the joy of being a liveaboard – there’s no rush!!

Get set. Go! We have a plan …………….

Can you believe this warm, sunny March weather?  We are about to leave the marina so it’s bound to change!!

There’s no pleasing some people!

When we come in off the cut in November/December time I’m sad to leave the freedom of the cut.  Now it comes to leave the marina, (and we’ve been in here longer than usual this year) I don’t feel sad – just anxious!  I’ve obviously become far too used to the comforts of the marina facilities – water on-tap, unlimited electricity, instant rubbish disposal and no worries about where to empty the loo tank!  Maisie likes ‘her’ fields and ‘her’ hill too!

We have had a productive week.  Both gunwales are now painted and looking respectable, the boat has been washed inside and out, some of the paintwork has been touched-up, a new water gauge has been fitted and some of the brass has been polished.  Only ‘some’ because (here comes the ‘reason’/excuse) we have run out of ‘shiny sinks’!  So what’s wrong with brasso?  We have plenty of that!  I will be in such trouble – I can hear the skipper now telling me to get out there and do it myself!!  Woman’s work!!

Anyway, we are off down the South Oxford for the next month or so.  The Watford flight has been closed for repairs this week and has only re-opened today so there might be a bit of a queue of boats waiting to go down.  Time to dust off my old lock gloves and trusted windlass.

Another cunning plan ……

Back in November we anticipated regular trips to Staines throughout 2011 checking up on two old ladies – one in a nursing home and the other being cared for in her own home.  Four months later, things are so different ……………    Anyway, as a result we taxed our old campervan for the whole year and organised an annual mooring for the boat.  So, we have decided to make the most of this situation and, for what will definitely be the last time, tour Scotland in our van.  What with the soaring cost of diesel and maintenance costs we feel we can no longer justify keeping her.  She is unique that’s for sure.  Whenever we go back to Staines we are spotted!  But, as from July she will be up for sale.  It will be a sad, sad day as we have had many very happy times travelling around in her both in the U.K. and on the continent.

D.I.Y. Rules ………………OK?

It has been really good to have a week back ‘home’ – albeit in the marina.  We have been really busy sorting things out and doing a bit of D.I.Y.  The boat is still afloat!  So ……………..

  

       New kitchen flooring (all of eight tiles!) has been laid.                                                           

 

 

 

                                                                     The kitchen towel rail has been painted …………

 

       New nets have been put up at the front doors and ‘pretty bits’ and roman blinds made to replace the old    kitchen curtains.

                       

 

Where there were no shelves ……………………..

               

We’ve also started to have a serious tidy up and sort out but that will now have to be resumed when we return because we have to go back to Staines to pick up the pieces there.

Lots of boats are now moving around the system and we can’t wait to join them.  Still have to address that petulant, unreliable water heater!

Megan is in Singapore and says it is the most amazing place.