Some good comes out of it

Its funny with this situation we are all in, there are always some positives to look at.. As we have said before we are somewhat used to this lockdown as we live in a six foot ten wide narrowboat, but the things we have noticed are first of all the wildlife seems to have had a new lease of life.. Tooty is loving the freedom of not having many people around, but so do all the birds and other animals.

Also the air feels so much fresher, cleaner, and easier to breath..  The other thing is the water, as with no boats using the canal the muddy waters just aren't muddy any more, and now we can see the fish just like you can on a river.. Its like living in a aquarium and fascinating to watch..

So we have had another shop delivered, but this time from Morrison's, so we share the delivery with Del's Mum and Keith and we take it up to them..

Al really has sussed out how to get a delivery now.
We haven't been anywhere and are just enjoying life. Yes we miss cruising, but it is a small price to pay when you think of all the wonderful people risking their lives on the front line. Remember, you are not stuck indoors, you are safe indoors..  Just enjoy life, the weather has been pretty good for this time of year and lets all just get through this by staying home.. If it was a psychopath walking around killing people you would, this virus kills people, a lot of people. STAY AT HOME, PROTECT THE NHS, AND SAVE LIVES

Lockdown Songwriting "Where there's Muck there's Money"

Del has picked up his guitar again and written this song about him and his Dad (Len)
This tells a story about Del's Dad always telling him "Where's there's Muck there's Money" when they were driving along in the tipper lorry. It also tells the story of Del's life and the jobs he has had involving 'muck' and how much his Dad was right..  let us know what you all think?

If the video doesn't work try this link!

Where there's Muck there's Money

Lockdown Easter

So here we are over the Easter weekend with the weather so Dandy.. We have had temperatures of 24 degrees and we have just been running on solar for the last few days..

So what has happened? Well out highlight was that we had a delivery of meat from the local butcher and what a fine selection of meat and poultry we had..

We split this up so Del's mum could get by over the Easter, and Al walked it up to them..
We also had some new signs go up from CRT telling people to limit the use of the towpaths and it was for local use only..

We have had the odd idiots turn up in their cars and take a walk, but overall it has been quiet.
We have had our toilets here cleaned twice a week and also had the water tested, so if need be we can use them. We have tried to avoid that due to the fact so many people do use them..

  Also the coal boat has been back for a delivery top up, serving all our static friends on the cut..

So we have been losing some weight, up to, and during all this lockdown business. Del has lost two and a half stone and is now 14.12 and Al has lost a stone and a half, so hopefully some good will come out of all this.

We have noticed how much cleaner and fresher the air feels in this world now, as the trees do their work to help give us oxygen, now the cars and planes aren't around.. We all have a lot to learn from all this..

 

Lord Muck luvs it

Well, we have lovely scenery, we're already self contained, and we have to walk everywhere anyway to get food or have to arrange a delivery somewhere as we don't have a car, so things are pretty normal.
But, we do this for the adventure, and not being able to move can be quite testing. The longest we have stayed in one place on the cut is 13 Days and although we can move for water, diesel, or for our waste tank, we have it all here. We can even dispose of our waste very easy, so we are in the right place.. We can keep Del's Mum and Keith supplied with food and have anything we need sent to them, as they live nearby.
One guy is enjoying it though.. Tooty is finding its very quiet out there and he can wander were he likes and mouse catch all day long, he strolls around like Lord Muck..

He is venturing out and about investigating his surroundings.

He has to tread on his (disinfected) mat when he comes in, he must think its like the Foot and Mouth days..

We make sure we go out with a mask and gloves, lets be honest we have a great supply of gloves that Del uses for the brasses, three boxes in fact. We were lucky with the masks as we needed them for blacking Derwent6 and are finishing up our stock..
So what have we been doing, well nothing just like all of you out there.. Del has always got his guitar, computer games, and there are always the brasses to do..  Al has her phone to stay in touch and good books to get into, just chilling in the sunshine with a cup of tea, but food is her main objective and getting a delivery every couple of weeks.

 Until out next delivery we are even down to rationing the chocolate, and this was a mini fun size!..

So all hunky dory here but it is very harrowing to watch the telly and see another 900 people have lost there lives to this horrid virus. The sad thing is the families and friends can't even be with them or go to the funeral. How do you live with that? lets hope we don't have to find out.  Please stick to the guidelines STAY AT HOME, PROTECT THE NHS, AND SAVE LIVES!

Highlight of the Day

We were laying in bed when there was a knock on the side of Derwent6. It was a guy holding a big box of fruit and veg which Al had managed to order from a Northampton farm shop..
It was a fantastic selection of all kinds of vegetables including cabbage, cauliflower fresh carrots and sweetcorn's.. Also apples bananas, oranges and pears all washed and packed nicely..

 All this should help to keep us going for another week... We also split it up so Del's mum could have some as well and Al walked it up to them and left it on the doorstep.. They were truly grateful..

Del did some brasses (here with his mask on) and gave Derwent6 a general clean, and as the sun came out very intermittently we through we should catch the rays..

 The solar panels went up and soon pushed the batteries up to 90%

So people are dying (including two nurses today) and the virus seems to be accelerating, and the right thing to do is STAY AT HOME.. and try and save the people trying to help us..
We still have the idiots around here who just don't get it, and think its alright to drive here in separate cars, meet up, and go for a stroll along the canal.

Its going to be a warm weekend and we will be basking in the cratch .. Lets all enjoy the sunshine in our homes, gardens and local areas. On the plus side, Al has cooked a lovely pork joint which we had on a Tesco's delivery because they couldn't get us a roast chicken. It was huge and will do us for three days, it was yummy!

C&RT this is non essential and you pay them

We are still in lockdown on Derwent6 and you just won't believe what happened..
We were keeping our heads down and in the distance could hear a piece of machinery coming along the towpath..
It turned out to be the grass cutting contractors cutting the towpaths so I'm sorry, but a letter had to go to CRT.. It went like this.


Dear Sir's

 

I can't believe we are sitting here on our narrowboat in total lockdown and then alongside us come two guys in high viz jackets cutting the grass along the towpath right next to our boat.

 

Firstly they got within two metres of the boat and they clearly didn't read your Keeping People Safe sign, saying "Avoid any stretches along the towpath with moored boats"

Secondly, they clearly are not essential workers, and they should heed the government warnings of STAY AT HOME, PROTECT THE NHS and SAVE LIVES!

Thirdly I'm not happy that my licence money is spent on grass cutting at this critical time. I know its not their fault and they are just doing a job, but Canal and River Trust pay this company.

They had no protecting masks and were coughing and spiting everywhere like its all ok.. yes! we are anxious, just like the whole world is at the moment.

  

 

So while the rest of the country stays at home, they feel its essential and alright to cut the grass. A very poor decision in the light of this global pandemic.

 

 

 

 

Not much more to say with that so things are ramping up now and it turns out there are more cars getting on the road, so PLEASE STAY AT HOME! and save lives!

Lockdown procedure

So here is our lockdown procedure for this difficult time!
Well for us its pretty much the same as normal really, except we can't move. Well we could move, as we might need diesel/water etc, but as with any boating you just need a little bit of planning.. We are in just the right place, for us, and we have all the things we need right here on Derwent6, after all it is our home.. We know that some people that have houses as homes are struggling to survive without going out.. Our life is an outdoor life and we are lucky that we don't even feel like we need to go out. We don't have a freezer on board, but food still hasn't been a problem yet. We are having small meals to make things last a bit longer, but this is helping with our weight loss programme.. So you don't have to go out for milk, a paper, or butter if you run out, just do without and make do with what you have got.. On the food front we can get a delivery from one of the main supermarket chains.. I know they are saying you can't get a slot, and it is tricky, but we have managed to get one.. Lots of small companies are now delivering as well, and we have a fruit and veg box on the way, and a delivery from the local butchers.

The other thing people are saying is that they get bored. On a boat there is always a list of things to do, in fact that list can get stressful if it gets too long. Del always has the brasses if he wants to get out and Al gets her head into a book sitting out in the cratch. That way we both get some fresh air... Its a great time to attack those jobs you always leave as they are a pain to do or difficult to approach..
We also do exercise on the boat, not star jumps and the high beam, but just stretching to keep flexible. We even dance to a good song on the radio sometimes.. So you don't always need to go out for a walk down your local park or even take a run or go out on your bike..
I think the message we are saying is PLEASE JUST STAY INDOORS (or in your garden) it will just help save lives and stop you losing someone you love or someone very close to you..

Frost, a good sign for sunshine

The weather has all of a sudden turned a lot colder and we were grateful for the wood we had on board and the coal bags we obtained off the coal boat.. Here you can see the line of frost melting towards us as the solar panels were waiting for sunshine..

 The sun we have been having has charged the batteries by lunchtime as you can see from this graph..

CRT have been out putting up signs about the virus, stopping people from walking past or close to boats on the towpath.

Although the towpaths are far less busy, people still have been using them for exercise and getting away from it all.. The trouble is in some places the towpath is narrow and you can't keep that two metre gap, and for that reason they don't want people to use them.. Lets be honest, the whole reason for this lockdown is to stay indoors and isolate yourselves..

Tricky Times Ahead

So we are in lockdown now and most of you are wondering how do you cope staying at home, not being able to go out... welcome to our world, we lockdown when we are in the middle of nowhere and our towpath garden is our surroundings. We can honestly say we never get bored on the boat, there is always something to do. Yes the brasses help, polishing helps, and general maintenance also helps, but we are even good at sitting doing nothing!.. We know our views are pretty amazing sometimes, but during the winter months it can get gutty, but we never get bored.. This is the time folks to do those jobs you never have time to do, and just enjoy some quality time.
We have to say it has been very quiet on the towpaths and on the canals so people are abiding by the rules which as Boris says is helping our NHS.. Not only is it helping our health service it is helping the suppliers to the NHS. Masks, robes, respirators, goggles, gloves, and medication etc.. All these people are keeping us alive at this moment in time.. Come on Great Britain we can all do this..

Some of you have been asking how we have got on with the lithium batteries and solar and you all know this year we were on shoreline for the best part of the winter.. The batteries seemed to cope with this and they haven't been affected by being on float for most of the time..
Now we are back on the cut we realise again just how good they are, and maybe being static for three months off shoreline will be another test for them.. For the first four days we have had good weather and the solar charges the batteries during the day to give us 100% by the evening. We normally get about 20 - 25 Amps going in on a good day and 10 Amps on a cloudy day.. this is a good day..

In this graph you can see it was also a good day, and the two red spikes are Al using the washing machine, and you can see how easy the batteries recovered..

So we haven't had to run our engine yet and we have been using the immersion heater in the calorifier, and also sometimes running the central heating for an hour in the morning. We are now full of diesel so lets see how far that goes. We used to have to fill up once a month, even if we were static somewhere, or cruising.. All this has made things so stress free in these difficult times ahead, lets hope we all get through it..

Full of Drama

So here we are, and we have been told by C&RT that we should stay put. That means the 14 days has been suspended until further notice. As we said in the last post we are not in a bad place and know most of the people around us so it does make things a little easier.. Al even had enough solar power to wash the bed sheets, but the day always has its drama's.

We were sitting in the cratch watching the world go by when a woman next to where we are moored came and opened her shop.. Del asked her if she was opening up as she started to put things out on the towpath. "Oh no" she said a bit sheepish and put one of her tables away.

The other side she had some books and put a sign out saying "free books, please help yourself".

Del then said to her "Don't you think that's a bad idea, as they could carry the virus and also create a crowd around our boat".. She then put a sheet over them and got in her car and drove off.. Oh great, we thought.. The towpath wasn't very busy luckily, but someone else obviously wasn't happy either, as we got a tip off that the police were on their way.. The next thing that happened was that a guy turned up, and moved the books to a skip nearby, got in his car and drove off..
The police arrived and asked Del where the shop was and we showed him the pictures we had taken of the books..

I think the shop owner will get a good telling off for first opening the shop and secondly creating a public hazard in these difficult times..
To make matters worse we saw an ambulance turn up at the marina just after that which is a worry..

Keep safe out there!

Everything we need to stay healthy

So we stayed here for Mothers Day and walked up to leave a present on Del's Mum's door step.

We then met Pat & Keith coming back from a walk to get some fresh air, so we all kept our distance!

We then walked up to the shop and Del waited outside and Al got a few tins of soup and some soap and walked back.. Where we are we have everything, Elsan, Toilet (with loo paper) and water.. Our luck got better when Mark on Callisto turned up supplying us with coal, gas and diesel..

  We even had a Tesco's delivery that we had booked a couple of weeks ago, they are like rocking horse poo now..

We are on our own here with just Mark next door to keep us company, Oh and the swans..

Phew that was hard work!

So we were blacked and it was Mark's turn and Del's turn to help.. It was almost the same procedure as Derwent6 so we were in a bit of a routine to get things done.. Mark also sorted out his stern gland and straightened his rudder. He also had new anodes, painted the gunwales and roof rails..
We got it all done in the two and a half days he wanted as he had plans to get back to Crick..
We were up to see him leaving the shed.

We then locked him through Welford lock so he could get on his way..

We have to say we were knackered after painting two boats, but looking back it was well worth it and cheaper to do this..
So we heard the announcement last night of the pubs, restaurants, and bars closing from midnight on the Friday, and we all felt it was coming.. This situation is a lot worse than we all think and action needs to happen to get the message across.. Welcome to our world where we are isolated most of the time! There is no need to get bored, as something can always get done. With the use of the internet parcels will still get delivered, contacts be made, and food delivered to your door step, just a bit of planning is needed.. We all need to help each other in this continued difficult time. We can't over shop on a boat as we haven't got the space, so we will just be doing our normal shop and hope we can walk to a small store if we need to and get the next three days meals.. if not we go back to soup or a tin of beans, just like they did on I'm a Celeb..

We managed to get a food delivery slot for Monday and will be assessing the situation then to see where we go from here. I know the middle of nowhere sounds a good plan, but we have us and others to think about..

In for Blacking

So we were here for blacking, but first of all we met up with friends John and Louise on n.b. Plodding along..

In the morning it was into the shed when Les told us to go in.. We backed Derwent6 in and was soon set up with the boards, as the chamber emptied..

  The first day was scrapping and jet washing all the muck off and then blower on to dry..
It was a good warm day so Derwent6 was dry by 4.00pm and we didn't mess about and brushed on the first coat so it could dry overnight.

In the morning Del was up at the crack of dawn and started to paint the gunwales..

He finished this at midday and this gave us time to then put on the second coat of blacking.. Things all looked good on the hull so we were reassured we would be good for the next few years.

While the blacking was drying Del then had to put a new top rubber bearing on the tiller as we had a lot of play and water coming up when cruising.. This meant the tiller swan neck had to come off, and a puller and a bit of brut force was used. It feels like a new boat again now its done.

On the last day of our time in here Del was again up early and another coat of blacking was put on the water line, but this time it was rollered on. Also the weed hatch was removed and painted.  It was then onto the tunnel bands, and they were painted after four hours when the blacking had just started to harden.
This time wasn't wasted though, Del then polished the prop, Yes polished it. He wet and dried it and brought it back to new, and it didn't look in bad shape..

The following day it was all rise... and we made our way out of the shed for the next boat to enter which just happened to be Mark on n.b. Mochyn Du.
Yes we had helped each other through this process and we were now doing it all again on his boat.. All this is cheaper than the gym and we have been keeping safe from the virus..