Monday, October 28, 2013

Taking a Chance

We had a bit of a dilemma this morning.. The weather didn't look good in the afternoon and the Grand Prix was on early in the morning.. do we move and watch the highlights or watch it live and risk getting wet.. We chose to get wet.. It was great to see the race and Vettell wining the world championship.. but the sun had now gone in and heavy showers were on the horizon. Still we set off...
The wind at this point was gale force at times so we set up Cropredy lock and fired Derwent6 into it.
The next problem we had was getting out as the leaves were so bad where the winds had blown them down. We had to clear the prop a few times, but made steady progress to Slat Mill..
Things were all going well then the heavens opened.. and to make it worse we hit a canoe race. We had trouble getting onto the lock moorings as there were loads of canoes getting in and out of the water..
We got through the next lock and looked behind us where we could see then all coming at us again.... they had turned round. One guy had decided he was going to pass us on the right from behind and nearly got squashed and as his paddle went into the side of Derwent6 he got a mouthful from Del... Silly Sod!
It then showered on and off and when the sun was out it was lovely..
We were surprised that when we got into Banbury it was empty of boats but full of canoeists, in fact we moored just before the finish line...




It was then a case of battening down the hatches and making sure everything would stay on the roof, as the wind was picking up..  We managed to get telly so Al could settle down to her Strictly.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Cake and Country

We were up early as Al wanted to go shopping in Banbury and had to catch a bus at 10.00am.. She managed to pick up a few Christmas presents and some goodies while Del looked after the fort.  The weather turned a bit in the afternoon so we chilled with the fire roaring in the corner..  We were also invited round by Chas and Ann on n.b Moore2life for a cup of tea and some lovely walnut cake. We had a nice chat and made the decision to go up the pub in the evening as there was a band playing at 9.00pm..
We all met up at 8.00pm and walked up to The Red Lion pub. After a few drinks we were all singing along to the sounds of country, we had a great night in good company..

Friday, October 25, 2013

Returning

We have been sitting tight as we had a good location at Fenny Compton, but we had to move due to the fact we needed a pump out and water..
So we left early on Thursday morning and first made the tight turn at the Wharf. In the book it says this is a 60 foot turn but Derwent6 will just go round and we are 65 foot.. we moored up on the water point..
After filling with water we moved along to the marina and used our token to have a pump out.. it is a good strong machine here so we could give it a good flush out..
We then carried on to Claydon again with the sun in our faces and picked up a bit more wood on the way, there seems plenty of it about here..
We met loads of boats coming towards us so the locks were always in our favor..
These locks are so old and can be a hard set to deal with..
We then pressed on through the three locks to Cropredy with no problems and found a mooring where we hoped to get a tv signal..
Well we could only get the ITV channels for some reason which was a touch as Del wanted to see the football in the evening.. A job for tomorrow we think.. We had just had some lunch when n.b Moore2life came up through the lock and moored behind us.. just as they did Timothy West and Prunella Scales went past us to go down the lock..
We soon got the kettle on and had a bit of a catch up with Chas and Ann..

Quiet Weekend

We have been just keeping out the rain over the last few days, and it has been a bit grim. We are not complaining though, as it is good to get some rain to fill up the reservoirs for the winter and next summer. What a great summer it has been. We are in a good spot here at Fenny Compton, but will have to move shortly as our waste tank is 3/4 full. The weather looks cold and wet over the next few weeks so we will be stocking up with coal and diesel and looking for wood to keep us going..  Not much has happened here so not much to report.. Al's dad has been improving and we have the results to attend to next week, so fingers crossed.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Cylinders and Cymbals

We got up early as we had a few jobs to do.. we needed to get a gas bottle so Del sorted out the sack barrow and got out the empty bottle from the locker and we walked along to the pub first which sold gas..It turned out that they only do Flo Gas so we ended up walking to the marina and getting it there.. We brought some rubbers seals for the diesel cap at the chandlers and then fitted our gas bottle.. We then took a walk to LeeSan and got a new waste tank breather filter and some cleaners for the system..  It was then back to Derwent6 where we then had to post a couple of letters so it was a walk into the village to drop them off.. This wore us out (tough life isn't it) so a cup of tea with lunch was in order.. In the afternoon the rain started and we chilled inside Derwent6..It has still been very warm here and we haven't had to use the fire much yet. After a bit of telly and some stuff we watched on iplayer we got ourselves ready to go out in the evening.. In the pub a band called Fraudio were playing and we loved their sound, the drummer was particularly good. With a few beers we got into the evening and ended up walking back to Derwent6 at 11.30pm..

Moved a little

We were laying in bed when Del had a sixth sense that someone was moving on the fourteen day moorings here at Fenny Compton.. We soon were up and moving Derwent6 a few metres to a better location, than on the bend, where we were last night.. After settling in again we felt smug we had a good location for the weekend. It was a lovely day and we made the most of sitting in the cratch taking in the sunshine which may be our last time this year.  Del also did the brassses on the roof..
Del went out on his bike in the afternoon while Al finished off her Bridget Jones book  In the evening we decided to take advantage of the two meals for a tenner at The Wharf Inn pub just a few meters from us.. we can still recommend the food and there was plenty of it..
 
We got back to Derwent6 at 9.00pm and was so tired we just said sod it and had an early night..

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Banbury to Fenny

We decide to make the use of a dry day so set off early this morning.
It was so peaceful and we crept out of Banbury as an acorn dropped on the roof reminding us of autumn
We soon made our way to the first lock of twelve we were going to do today, and at the second one we had our first find of the day..
A tree full of apples was at the lock. Rude not to get a bag and crumble was on the menu for tonight..
We got to Cropredy which was surprisingly empty but we were told loads of boats had set off in front of us.
We then passed the new Cropedey marina and have got to say it looked quite busy and a lovely location...
They had really cracked on with the second pound which hadn't been started back in August when we were at the festival here.. In fact this marina entrance was opposite the mooring we had then and it was just hedgerows..
After getting through Broadmoor and Varney's locks we found our next find.. A nice pile of seasoned wood left by a kind farmer, but we could only get a couple of bits as we had to get out of the lock. We had some on board anyway and it pays not to be selfish and greedy to other boaters, they might help you out one day.
We hit Claydon's flight of five locks and could see the other boats in front of us so it was a nice steady pace for us.
When we got to the top lock, our last for the day, the sun came out.. It was also funny to see this couple making cider for Christmas.. They did offer!!
It was a lovely last hours cruising through the tight and shallow section of the South Oxford.
We arrived at Fenny Compton and stopped at the marina for a check on the moorings here.. Guess what none.. so we just managed to squeeze on the end...
Still we had telly as we wanted to watch the football in the evening.

Moored in Town

We have been taking a break from the blog for a bit so had a restful weekend, and with loads of sport and Al's Strictly on telly we have kept ourselves to ourselves.. The weather has been so bad we have just lit the fire and huddled away, but all good things come to an end and we had to move today..
We set off at 10.00am after seeing a window in the rain and we headed for the water point.
It started to rain again but at least the services were empty..We were on there for an hour and a half, so good job it was empty really...
We went up through the lock after helping through a single hander and managed to find a mooring at the top where we saw Ann and Chas on n.b. Moore 2 life.
We set up everything and again it poured hard, Ooo it was lovely and cosy inside Derwent6 with the fire roaring in the corner... Al made the most of being in the town centre and popped out to get us a Subway sandwich for lunch and again later went to the shops for her clothes shopping fix.. We had a lovely chicken and leak pie in the evening with telly yummmmmm

Friday, October 11, 2013

Life's Up's and Down's

Phew! we have had a weekend of it..
We went down to Kent on Saturday as we had a dinner dance to go to which was arranged by Del's Brother Cliff at his pub... We got the train down to London and then on to Al's Mum and Dad's.. We saw them for a couple of hours before going on to see Hannah's new place in Chatham. It was right next to the Dockyard and had some lovely views. After that we moved on to see her Mum and Dad, Bernie and Sarah and it was there we got ready for the evening.. We met up with a load of family and friends and had a lovely meal and danced the night away in our posh gear.. We went back to Bernie and Sarah's for the night..
On Sunday we had a nice breakfast and then Al went shopping with Sarah and Del went gliding with Bernie.. We met up at lunchtime and were then treated to a lovely Sunday Lunch with them both. Thanks guys!  We then watched the Grand Prix and Al watched Strictly before heading back to her Mum and Dad's... Monday was a clear up day as we still have loads of stuff (and it is just stuff) in the loft to sort out.. We went through some boxes and sorted out three piles of keep, chuck and charity shop.. We loaded it in the car and took the good stuff to the charity shop via the tip... A good job done..
Tuesday was a very sad day for us as we had a funeral to go to. Our nephew Nathan's (Al's sister's son) wife Sev had passed away aged 31, you all might remember us going to their wedding. Al's Dad Alf and Al decided they would go, and to make things easier Del stayed and looked after Al's Mum. They got back home at around 4.00pm and we all drowned our sorrows for the evening. We did get some good news!  Our nephew Dale ( Del's sister's son) has a new born baby boy called Finley and Mum Fiona and baby are doing fine, blimey our emotions!!!
On Wednesday, Al had a doctors appointment to go to so we linked it in with getting the train back to Derwent6. We arrived home at 2.00pm after doing some food shopping and having some lunch in Morrison's. It was definitely more chilly in the Midlands than the south and we toyed with lighting the fire but just put the heating on for a hour instead... We had an early night exhausted!!
On Thursday it was nice to be on our own again pondering over the last few days and we must also have felt the cold as it wasn't long before the fire was roaring in the corner.
Del soon got to work on tidying up Derwent6 and of course the brasses. Al was eager to get to the shops and get the new Bridget Jones book while posting a few things.. We watched the telly in the evening pondering over moving tomorrow or not as the wind has got up here...

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Four hundred houses and maybe a new marina at Banbury

We were woken up this morning by a lot of talking going on over the other side of the canal here at Banbury.. There were about eight guys all discussing what to do about the bridge which will go over the canal here for a 400 housing development and a possible new marina on the towpath side between bridges 170 and 171.. yes it looks like it is going to happen. Heavy discussions between CART and the builders were taking place and how access would be achieved. We watched them over breakfast..
There are plans here for a 400 houses to be going in called the canalside development and a rumor that a Marina is also planned... All we can say is that the guys having their early morning meeting walked all over both sides of the canal here and the plans for the houses are only on one side Hmmmm...
Planning has been granted for this development so it could start anytime soon.. We have been informed that a temporary bridge will be constructed to get the heavy plant over to the towpath side of the canal.. Watch this space!

Monday, October 07, 2013

Al's New Chopper

We were up early in this lovely warm weather we are having, Mmmm October and in T Shirts. Del looked at the food processor which packed up yesterday and it was just worn out so we needed a new one. Al had decided she would go into town and get one while Del did the porthole liners on Derwent6. She came back with a nice little one and when we tried it, guess what it didn't work.. You can't get quality in this country anymore, who tests these things before they go on the shelves. So she ended up walking back to change it, in fact she got a different one all together. So we now have a Russel Hobbs Mini Chopper.
As you can imaging Al was not happy having walked to Banbury twice but it was worth it as we got a nice discount on our new processor. Del had done all the domestic chores while Al was away so we could relax a little when she got back.. We had our Shepard's Pie and the lamb joint got chopped up nicely. Yummie as we watched the football in the evening..

Freeze Check

Today the weather is still very warm for the time of year and we still haven't lit the fire, famous last words.......
Del started on the engine and this time he checked the diesel tank again for water as last time it was checked it had some in it. He also drained the water trap filter and found a small diesel leak at the central heating boiler so did that.. Then it was check the anti freeze.. Del found that it was at 10% and it needs to be around 25% so we had to add a little to top it up..  Al had popped into town to post a letter and pick up a paper and she was back in time for lunch.. We chilled in the afternoon with the papers and stuff... Al went to make a Shepard's Pie with the left over Lamb we had yesterday but our Food processor packed up.. So it was Jacket Potato instead and a job for tomorrow...

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Sunday Roast Lamb

On Sunday we spent the day chopping up the pallet we had on the roof and giving us four bags of kindling which should hopefully see us up to Christmas. Al had cooked a lovely Roast Lamb Sunday lunch and it went down well after all the hard work we had done..
Monday was odd job day.. First we said our goodbyes to Gary and Beryl on n.b The Answer and then we walked into Banbury for a top up of goodies and of course we had to get the fire lighters from Wilkos at 86p each and Del needed some antifreeze. In the afternoon we sat in this lovely sunshine we have been getting and sorted out the roof now full of wood.....