Sunday, May 31, 2009

Al's Dad 82 today

We got up early and then made our way down to Pam & Alf's (Al's mum and dad) It was Alf's Birthday, and he was 82 today.We had some real quality time with them and at around 2.00pm Matthew and May turned up with Sofia their daughter. It made a little party of it. It was another lovely day and we all sat in the garden drinking
In the evening Al cooked a nice roast dinner for her dad and we had a glass or two of Alf's favorite wine....

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Beside the seaside, beside the sea.


Blimey another busy weekend..The sun was shining again so we decided to go down the coast to the seaside and see Len & Terry. We travelled in a hire car from Enterprise and headed to Epple Bay in Kent. We first walked along the sea front and had a sandwich and a ice cream, then walked back and watched the F.A. Cup final to finish with a BBQ on the beach...A lovely day... We had clear blue sky all day and had to make sure we had Slip, Slop, Slapped......Slip on the sun glasses, Slop on the sun cream and Slap on a hat...

Friday, May 29, 2009

A meeting with freinds

This weather is just fantastic so to make the most of it we e-mailed a few friends to find out if they fancied all getting together...
We dusted off Derwent6, as we do everyday and got rid of our rubbish, before heading off to meet up with everyone. We had a great time and it was good to see Richard & Lisa, Steve & Deb and Greg & Zoe. We just chatted catching up on all the gossip late into the evening.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Why move when we don't need too!

It was a cloudy start to the day so we cleaned the boat and then just chilled out for the rest of the day.... Del went for a walk into Daventry in the afternoon while Al read her book. It has been busy with boats passing all day and into the late evening. We had our dinner in the front cratch while the sky's cleared and the sun set. We like it here because of the good signal we get. A nice end to a perfect day......

Well you know how we like to talk about toilets, well we thought you might like to see the latest gadget at the Crick Show... It was the new Porta potty. Check it out at the firebox website (http://www.firebox.com/product/2351/Shit-Box)
It could get you out of a fix.......

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Down the end of the Leicester line

Woke up with rain pelting against the window, but Pat & Keith on n.b Thema wanted to get to Stoke Bruerne for Thursday, so we made the decision to go down Watford flight with them. As we set off the rain was so light you hardly noticed it and we got to the top lock to find we had about a hour wait. By the time we went down, there were another five boats with us. Yesterday, the lock keeper said their were over fifty boats that went down in blocks of eight, due to the Crick show. It was a bit tricky in the wind between pounds but we both got through ok.
We then made our way to Norton Junction, which seemed so different without the snow we had five months ago, we then both moored for lunch.

N.b. Thema then descended down the Buckby flight, so we did a bit of locking for them and set them up on the way, as we wanted oil and a filter for Derwent6. On the way we saw a Chandlery boat, and as we like to use them, we thought we would get our oil on the way back. We soon got to the bottom lock and said our goodbyes to all. On walking back the Chandlery boat was closed so we never did get the oil and filter, so we will have to try in the morning.

Football tonight, so have got a good signal here with 3G as well, so may chill out for a few days...Well maybe!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

It's just one of those days

A funny day today!!
After waking up this morning at 5.30am we noticed a heron beside n.b Thema. It was looking in the shallow water for a meal, and it finally got one and left it flapping on the towpath to get another catch. It was not long before he had two fish flapping on the towpath and they weren't small either. It was then scared off by a guy walking his dogs and two crows seized the opportunity to get the smaller one of the fish, but dropped it on take off. The guy with the dogs saw one of the flapping fish and did the right thing by putting it back in the canal. When he had gone the crows returned to pick up the fish they dropped but the fish had made it's way back into the canal. They flew off, and then returned the Heron to find both his catches missing. We managed to get some photos, but they were through two panes of glass so came out a bit blurred.
We decided to leave Crick and head for Norton Junction, but plans changed. We left with n.b Thema and got round the corner to find they were taking down the temporary bridge and the canal would not be open till 2.00pm. Oh well best have some lunch then... When they opened it we passed a couple of fellow bloggers n.b Sanity and n.b CaxtonWe then decided to get water at the water point with Al making more friends, and that just seemed to take ages, so when we finally got moving we went through Crick tunnel and came out the other side to a massive downpour, so we quickly moored up. We didn't feel like moving anymore, so just as the sun came back out we chilled for the rest of the day listening to music. Quite relaxing after that hectic weekend.

A great show for everyone

It was getting hard work now but it was up and off to the show as we had some early appointments to see a couple of boats we didn't have the time to see yesterday. It was a good job we did as we went on the William Piper boat with its 120 year old timbers, (http://williampiper.110mb.com/index.html )and that had the Wow factor for us and also won best boat in the show....Well done guys! We then got our last bits and pieces and went back to Derwent6 as we also had appointments with Fernwood customers wanting to see our boat. It turned out that Fernwood got two definite bookings and still had people who wanted to visit the factory, Their target for the show..Fantastic! Axion propellers also did well with 19 props sold by 2.00pm in the afternoon...Good luck to them too..

But best of all was the ice cream man who was creaming in about £1ooo profit a day!!!!!!!!!

Next year they need to bring the food prices down as that was the only disappointment. It was a fantastic show and we all enjoyed it.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Mr Blue Sky with friends

Blimey!! Not only have we got blue skys but it's so warm.....What is going on, have Crick got the right weekend? We dusted off Derwent6 before being greeted by our friends, Steve, Erica and daughter Tanya.. It was lovely to see them all and we then marched off to the show spotting one of those Voles on the way. The crowds didn't seem that bad early on, but as the day went on it seemed to get busier. We managed to get on some boats as the queue's weren't that bad and during the middle of the day checked out all the stands and had lunch, with a beer of course. The queue for the ice cream van was longer than the queue's for the boats and at about 4.00pm they ran out of ice cream and also real ales in the beer tent. We all made our way back to Derwent6 as a couple of people wanted to look round. We had drinks and nibbles before heading back to the show for the evening entertainment meeting up with Pat, Keith and Matthew off n.b. Thema. Another great day...

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Sunny Crick

Wow !!!!!! we're at Crick with bright sunshine and not a cloud in sight...... We got off quite early for the show and was amazed at how busy it was when we got there. After seeing the guys at Fernwood we set off going through the list of things we wanted like chains, spare rope and spare fenders.
It was nice bumping into people who read the blog and lovely getting together with other bloggers. In fact this seemed to take up most of our day, but spending more time with people is the whole reason for us doing this......It was great this year for us to just walk around not having to worry about the next design feature or whether we had made the right decision. We also had a base to go back to and a very comfy bed with Derwent6 waiting on the cut. It was also nice to show the serious people looking to buy a Fernwood boat around Derwent6. At one point we had five on the stern.

In the evening we went and listened to the band and downed a few too many ales!!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Helping out with a Great Climax

We got up early, dusted the boat off of leaves and blossom and then headed down to the show around 11.00am. It was really busy with marquees going up everywhere and people running around. Fernwood turned up at around 12.00 and we had offered to help them put their marquee up and clean the show boat, n.b. Scarpa. This took us the best part of the day and we were given wine, feed well and given a wristband to enter the show for all three days. We came back to Derwent6 at around 7.00pm and had decided to go and see the band which were playing that night for mainly all the exhibitors. Well it was a good job we did........It turned out that the band playing was The Climax Blues Band who had lost thier lead singer last year, and they were singing with a new guy who looked very familiar to us. John was the guy who we had met briefly at Kilworth Marina when we had a pumpout and filled with water a few days ago. He was just fantastic on vocals and could also play the Saxophone and Harmonica. Everyone was up dancing and it just was one of those nights you didn't want to end. They said they will be doing Crick next year, so count us in....

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Flyscreens and Show Preview

Fernwood turned up today and had our flyscreens under their arms...great news! They looked at some other things like changing plug sockets, fitted a warning buzzer and adjusted a few doors. The flyscreens look great and the good thing is you can't see in, but you can see out. They also let a lot of air into Derwent6 for those hot summer nights (if we're lucky).
We then went for a walk to post a letter and on the way back we had a look round the show for a bit of a preview. There was a lot going on with stands being put up everywhere but it did seem a bit empty with a few spaces about, but it is only Thursday. (Please note the blue sky in the background...lets hope it stays like it)The pontoons were lined with new boats and everyone was doing the cleaning process to get them ready for the big day. We then got a ice cream and wandered back to Derwent6.

In the evening it was back on n.b Thema for nice liver and bacon cooked on the stove....

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Big Clean

First thing this morning we both cleaned the boat from top to bottom, so Derwent6 looked good for the show. It took us about 3 hours before we had time to chill a bit. As you can see we have already made some friends here.After a full polish, guess what! yes it rained, so we might have to do it all again tomorrow. It has been very quiet here with not many boats moving around...strange! but we did have a horse walking the towpath. So not much to report today and it's been restful. We are off now for something to eat at The Red Lion pub in the village, we have eaten there before and the food is very good.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Heading for the show

We left with Pat & Keith on n.b Thema this morning hoping to get a spot at The Crick Show. We took a steady speed through the trees with the winds gusting at 50mph, which proved to be a bit difficult at times. We got to Yelvertoft for water and who should turn up then but Dick and Netty off n.b Peruvian Skies ( http://nbperuvianskies.blogspot.com/ ) another Fernwood boat, they had just had their Tesco's delivery and it was good to see them enjoying themselves and hopefully we'll meet them again at the show. We topped up the water right to the brim, and then had to get off the water point as everyone had the same idea as us. When we got to Crick the water was really shallow from everyone using Foxton and Watford locks to get here. We then had to keep sticking the bow into the bank until we got in the best we could. We are sticking out and leaning over, but at least we're in. Everyone here is having the same problem. Then we checked if there were any moorings round the corner and there were bollards with a notice saying " ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREA" , this is apparently because of voles in the area even though we have seen them where we are moored now, so we are the in the best spot we can get.


The good news is the bridge is back this year and lets hope the weather isn't. The marquees are already up.

We then walked up the shop in the village and picked up our post from the post office. Al had some more birthday cards....

In the evening we had Pat and Keith on board for a return complementary meal, and we then listened to music and drunk wine all night.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Up to the Welford arm

Al would just like to say to everyone who commented yesterday, a big Thank You for your kind wishes :-) She had a lovely day with loads of cards and a nice meal at lunchtime.

Len & Terry left us yesterday after helping us through the Foxton flight. It was lovely to see them again, and here's to the next time.

We pulled the pins this morning after doing a bit of tidying and made our way on to the Welford Arm. This part of the canal has really changed from when we did it in the winter months. The trees were just sticks and now they are all big canopies which line the canal like a big tunnel. BW were doing a good job of dredging this part of the canal as this part was quite shallow in the winter, but now it seems all OK. We got to Husband Bosworth tunnel and met just one boat with no problems. It then bucketed down with rain and we got drowned, thank god for wet weather gear. We then got to North Kilworth marina and had a pumpout and filled with water. It was busy around here and we had difficulty mooring as they had boats going to the Crick Show. The water point was very slow and it took us about a hour and a half to get going again. We needed gas but we couldn't get the bottle over the other boats, so that will have to wait.We then got to our mooring point at the Welford arm and met up with Pat & Keith on n.b Thema. After chatting we were invited back for a meal on board, so it was back to Derwent6 for a quick shower, and then back on Thema for 7.00pm .

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Happy Birthday Al

Just a note to wish my fantastic wife a lovely birthday.

Del xxxxxxxx

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Heading up the Arm

The forecast was rain all day but with the sun out we made our way up the Market Harborough Arm... The wind was very strong but we got to the basin at about midday. We had a bit of trouble turning and got pushed into the side trying to moor. We ended up mooring on the visitors moorings. We then went into town and as we were walking past some parked cars Al spotted someones wallet under a car. It was full of credit cards, a driving licence and some money, so it was a walk back to the Police station to hand it in, but guess what.....it was closed!!!



We then looked for a policeman to hand it to and you can never find one when you need one. So we ended up going to Smith's and getting a jiffy bag and popping it in the post using the address on the driving licence. A good deed for the day!


We then had something to eat and walked back to Derwent6. We made our way back to Foxton in the now strong winds and heavy showers and got back to our mooring spot we had this morning. We had tea on board with the rubbish Eurovision.