Oh No! Friday the 13th.....you bet!

We were just having a cup of coffee while the engine was charging the batteries and suddenly there was a clatter banging noise from the engine room. We quickly turned the engine off and found lots of bits of rubber inside the housing. It had thrown a belt, which turned out to be the domestic alternator belt. We had never been happy with the alignment of this belt and it had already failed twice. Once when it was at quality check at Beta and once in the workshop at Fernwood. You can see that it doesn't sit right in the centre of the jockey wheel and was wearing on one edge.We called Fernwood, who called Foxton Boat Services and two hours later Paul was here to fix it.

It was easy to change the belt, but not so easy to realign the pulleys. When we finally got it done Derwent6 was running like a dream. The service from Foxton Boat Services was fantastic and we can recommended them for any engine repairs. All this was covered under the Beta warranty.

Well because of this, we never had the time to get more water, Derwent6 is well light now due to the fact that we are so low on fresh water and have only a 1/4 tank of diesel. This acts as ballast and keeps the stability in the boat, so at the moment Derwent6 rocks all over the place and the bow is pointing well up in the air. The other bad news today was because of all this rocking, it knocked a plate off the draining board and smashed it on the floor.

But the good news is that it was a lovely day here today and the sun has melted the ice to only one and a half inches now...so we could be on the move shortly.

This afternoon we cleaned the paintwork and the Houdini hatches after all that snow. Then settled down to a nice Shepard's Pie. Comfort food!!!!!!!!

Going posh with a bottle of Becks

Today the task was to get more fuel, so we set out and it wasn't long before we came across a fallen tree after those winds we had. There are no photos due to the fact that this will be our secret stash. We got out the chainsaw and chopped the wood, so it fitted in the cratch for drying. The art is to take it off the roof, put it in the cratch and then sit it along side the fire, so by the time it goes on the fire...it's dry! Well it works fine for us!!!!!!

We then run the engine for a couple of hours today to top the batteries right up and Al did some hoovering and ironing (so we look posh tonight) while the generator was running, which all seemed to work well.

Del kept right out of it and went up to get more water (another 25 liters) which would allow us both to have showers without worrying, as we were going out to a Birthday party tonight.

The ice and snow here seemed to be melting today, but we think it was the snow melting on top of the ice. When that freezes it will make it even thicker. Oh well we're quite content, but sorry British Waterways it seems we will have to out stay our 14 day mooring, but well done Derwent6 for couping with it all.

A good tip is when it snows build a snowman, because that snow was the last to melt and we have been using it to flush the toilet, saving water.

In the evening we were picked up and taken to some friends Ann & Marcus. They both run a brass band called " Brass, Wind and Fire"and Ann had her Birthday meal at a local pub and another band had played for her. Marcus used to play the trombone with the Blues Brothers and is really good.....(Check out our link to his website) We all had a fantastic time, thanks Ann!!!!

Water Carriers

Today we felt the need to get some water...and as we are still iced in, we didn't want to wait until we run out, so off we marched with our five gallon (25 litre) plastic container and of course the old faithful Buckby can. We used the sack barrow again and strapped all our rubbish bags to it and started the hike of one mile through the snow.
This would give us the capacity of getting 35 litres of water, and able us to clear the cratch area of rubbish. It took us a hour and a half to get there and luckily the water tap was not frozen up, (we had taken a hot flask just in case). The snow here was about eight inches thick, so we couldn't get the barrow right up to the water point, so we had to carry the container over the lock gates, not a easy task.
When all done, we trudged our way, following our wheel tracks, back to Derwent6.
On our way back the lambs must have thought we had food and came right up to us on the gates Baa-ing at us like mad, so we said how sorry we were, and took a few photos of them. You could tell they were quite modern sheep, as the Mum had her ear pierced and the son had tattoos.
When we got back we put the water in and Al put the Chicken Curry on the stove. This is helping on the gas usage, we are so pleased with how long the gas bottles have been going for.
We are now down to our last bag of coal so we need to be on the lookout for some more wood, a job for tomorrow we think. With temperatures dropping to minus six tonight, with a nice Curry we should be nice and warm inside Derwent6, but looking outside the galley side doors we won't be moving tomorrow.

Expedition to Rugby

This morning we woke up to find we had got another three inches of snow, but we fancied a trip out. So we called the Stagecoach bus company and they said "yep, we're up and running but we may be a bit late"......so we set of for Crick again to catch the 10.40 bus to Rugby which turned up at 11.00am. We couldn't believe the snow still around for this length of time and we know this furry friend couldn't either. He was looking for a place to hide, but was snowed out.

On walking down the lane to Crick you can see how much snow we've had. This road had been salted as there is a salt box at the top of the hill, but cars we're still struggling to get up here.

When we got into Rugby the snow had turned to rain, so conditions were getting better. The market was in town with a lot of fresh vegetables, but it was quite dead in places. We had to pick and choose which cafe to eat in as a lot of them seemed empty with no atmosphere.

But we managed to get all the things we went for and had a lovely time there. We got the bus back and got back to Derwent6 about 4.00pm, just before the rain become a bit heavy. We then fitted some of the bits and pieces we had got and then sat back and listened to the rain....

The rain is supposed to be turning to snow again tonight and the winds are getting up, but it is a bit warmer. If things don't get better tomorrow we will be barrowing water back to Derwent6, but we still can't believe the water tank has lasted eleven days (touch wood)

Traditional Ways

We had another cold night last night, down to -5, and the ice this morning was 2-3 inches thick all over. So we are having to really watch our water now. As you may know, we have a traditional Buckby can on Derwent6, which many years ago would have been used by the Boatmen and Boatwomen on the working narrowboats to store their water. They didn't have the luxury of modern day water tanks and easily accessible water points. Its a bit ironic that in 2009 we are still relying on the good old Buckby can to see us through.

We're filling it up with snow, and using it to flush the loo!!!

Today we've done a few jobs, and enjoyed the rugby and Dancing on Ice. (We keep waiting for Torvil and Dean to skate by our window)

Silence and the lambs

As you can see we're still stuck fast...so thought you might like this video we took this morning from the cratch on Derwent6.

More wet snow...

We got another 4 inches today, but it was the wet stuff which turned to slush when you picked it up.
We had planned to get rid of our rubbish today, but because the snow was so wet we decided to just have one of those great days in...... Al started a new book and baked a cake, Del sat on the computer all day, while the snow just kept coming down. It is minus four outside while we are updating this, so we won't be moving tomorrow.
It was a lovely sunset tonight and ok we promise, no more snow pictures.

Frosty in the garden

No, we did get up, and looked out the window later and Wow we had had a good 6 -8 inches. So had to take a few pictures of Derwent6 covered in snow. We were shielded by the trees so we were protected a bit, but it still looked like Wonderland!!!!
The snow was fantastic and really crunched under foot, so while Derwent6 was warming up we just had to make a snowman. With twigs as a nose and mouth and two lumps of coal for his eyes, he looked great!We then decided to have a look around so we walked back to the Co-Op in Crick for some more of Al's provisions (Wine & Chocolate) and to post a few letters. It's about a two mile walk, but it was beautiful. There were loads of people walking about today, as they couldn't get to work or school and we nearly got out the coal bags and headed for the slopes.

When we got back we were so exhausted. so just lit the fire and chilled out in the early evening.

Gone back to bed!

Stuck on the rocks

With another cold night, and a quick look out the window, we are still not able to move Derwent6..We have itchy feet now and have the urge to move on, never mind at least it gives us more time to relax. Which is what we did!
Yes we could have got provisions today, or even looked for wood, we could have walked up to the water point and filled a container up with water, but what the heck, life's too short.
Water is our biggest problem with this freeze, as we have always gone a week and then filled up. We filled up last Thursday. so know we will be alright till then, with the weather forecast saying it could be bad till next Wednesday, we have been very careful on how much water we use. It's things like, only three showers a week, only half a washing up bowl, flushing the toilet when needing to, and reusing water for other things. Don't worry though we can always fill the buckby can with snow and heat it up on the stove.
We are expecting more snow tonight and tomorrow, so we have battened down the hatches, and then I suppose we just wait....

30th Anniversary on the day the music died

We can't believe it that 30 years ago today we both sat on the stage at youth club, in the village hall in Shoreham, Kent and Del asked Al out..... Today is also the day, fifty years ago that Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash along with The Big Bopper and others.

Well we're not going anywhere, we are well iced in now, with the temperatures dropping last night to minus six, we had to use the throw on the bed for the first time and god were we pleased to have it. We think we have enough water to last us till Sunday, but watch this space.

Today Del went out for a bike ride while Al had a nice relaxing day pottering around.

Del had always wanted to do the old disused railway lines which run across Leicestershire and as it had snowed it should look rather pretty. With the temperatures at minus three he wrapped up and got the bike out the stern of the boat, put it together and set off....... But with no map. He found the disused railway OK, but was enjoying so much he didn't know how far out he was going. Well 15 miles later and the thought came to him that he had to get back, but this time by road and into wind. With the muscle's cramping up with the cold, and a nice lady on a horse telling him the wrong directions, it was a tall task.

Four hours later he got the welcome sight of the smoke drifting out of the Derwent6 chimney. He just about had the strength to put the bike away. Al had prepared a lovely meal for tonight for us to celebrate our special day, so with a quick shower and a hot drink we lit the candles and reminisced.

Derwent6 on test (our worst winter for 13 years)

Wow our first snow, but it was a bit disappointing really...We thought we would get about six inches, but all we got was about half a inch (or so they say 6mm), still Derwent6 looked very pretty. We have certainly had the worst conditions to test Derwent6 to the full, as we have had the coldest winter for 13 years and now the worst snow conditions for 18 years...Blimey! We thought we weren't frozen in so could move if we wanted too, but how wrong we were when we looked around the corner. We love it here with our good satellite signal and our 3G. It feels so quiet, as it does when it snows, but when you're in the middle of nowhere it seems dead. Lovely!

We have been learning how Derwent6 will cope with its batteries, off shoreline for three weeks now, (it's called boat management) and we have been pleasantly surprised. We have been running most things at night and have only had to run the engine for a hour late in the afternoons. We love the bed the most, with the shower a close second. The fire is just fantastic with wood or coal, and makes Derwent6 well snug at night. Another good move was to have a big radiator in the bedroom, as this warms up very quickly and takes the chill off the boat in the morning. Another good move was the brass porthole liners, as they clean very easy and we don't get much condensation through the double glazed port holes. What would we change?....not a lot really, but I would suggest double glazed windows in the cratch possibly. Yes, we still have a few teething problems to sort out, but Derwent6 is fantastic and just how we we wanted her to be...Well done Fernwood and a big thank you!

With the snow still falling we decided to go for walk in it, so headed towards Watford locks and carried on down to the Watford gap services. There is a small gap in the trees and with a hop over the fence it takes you into the services..

We thought we would go and have a Wimpy for a change and picked up a few bits and pieces from W.H.Smiths....We could not believe the speed of the traffic travelling down the M1, reminding us that we don't miss any of that.

It was nice to get back home and watch the snow from the portholes.....Put another log on the fire Al !!!!!!!!!!!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

.......got no time to worry, close my eyes and drift away.

This pretty much sums up our day! We woke up, as every one did, to a bitter cold day. The wind chill was icy, so after emptying the ashes and bringing in some more coal & wood, we made the easy decision to stay put. We did do some boat jobs this morning......polishing the brass portholes inside, and general cleaning, and then settled down to a lovely Sunday lunch, with a glass or two of vino.

After that...........we did close our eyes and drift away lol.

Al messed about on Facebook (its going to get addictive) and Del played Tomb Raider underworld on PC. Dancing on Ice tonight.

What a lovely relaxing day.

The lost village of Watford

Today we walked to the 16th Century village of Watford....Of all the times we have driven past Watford gap services on the M1, we never knew that there was a place nearby called Watford. It was a nice walk up a lane, through a big estate owned by Watford house.
We went because in the Nicholson Guide it showed a Post office and a store but this it what we got.
You can see the old post box on the wall and the sign bracket, but it had been turned into a house and was up "For Let"
The church was fantastic and in good condition and was the main attraction in this sleepy village.Even the old school had been turned into a house.
We took the Jurrasic way back to the canal which brought us back to Watford Flight locks, and then we made our way back to Derwent6.