A Model Weekend

After just three hours sleep we were up at 8.00am making a cup of strong coffee in the camper van. Bernie was picking Del and Graham up at 9.30am as they were meeting Steve and all going to an Aircraft, Boat and Car Model Show at Paddock Wood in Kent. The sun was shining and they had a great day watching the planes. They even had some canal boats there.Al went off and spent the day in Bluewater shopping centre. Afterwards it was back to friends Bernie and Sarah's where we were treated with Gammon and Pork for dinner. With the lack of sleep, it wasn't long before we felt the need to crash out on their lounge floor, on a blow up bed. Sorry folks.

In the morning Del went out flying with Bernie and was met later in the day by Steve. They had a great day flying. There were some good scale models there, just look at the detail in this cockpit.

We both then made our way back to Al's Mum and Dads to stay there the night.

In the morning we got the train back to Derwent6 and had just put our ruck sacks down when round the corner came n.b Maisibert with Andy and Hilary. They moored just in front of us and soon invited us on for coffee. We sat chatting for a couple of hours before we went back for something to eat. Andy wanted us to sample his homemade wine, so we went back at 8.00pm. It was another long night with music and wine, and a little bit worse for wear again!

A long day and night

We were up early this morning as we moved Derwent6 into a better position so we could leave her for the weekend with friends. We then got in the car with Tanya and she took us back down to Kent. After being dropped off at Al's Mum and Dads, we got in the car and met up with friends Steve and Erica (Tanya's Mum and Dad). We all met up at The Beeches restaurant and had dinner with our other friends Maxine and Graham, the owners of the restaurant. After a great meal, another friend Maxine sung us into the early hours of the morning, and it turned out to be a long night. We didn't get to bed till 5.00am in the morning, so we ended up sleeping in their camper van in their garden, a little bit worse for wear.

Inbetween Showers

We left our mooring quite early as we wanted to get water and pump out, we also needed to turn. It was a nice start to the day with bright sunshine but clouds were coming in fast. We made our way back through Braunston which seemed very quiet. We soon got out into the countryside and could see some rain clouds looming in so decided to moor up for lunch. We had a big downpour and then the sun came out so we could sit back out in the cratch.

We then moved on to Hillmorton Locks which was a bit tricky in the wind again but we got through ok. We moored just the other side of the locks as it started to get quite chilly. We put the heating on for a hour for the first time and it just took the chill off Derwent6. In the evening we listened to music and Del helped Tanya with the guitar. We finished the evening watching a live concert of All Time Low, a band Tanya loves.

Gales in Braunston

We had a wet and windy night last night but still managed to get a good nights sleep. We set off at around 10.00am and made our way in very tricky conditions into Braunston. We had to dodge a fallen tree on the way. It was very busy in the village and we found a slot which was just too small for Derwent6 to fit into, so we asked the boat behind us to move forward a metre or two, which he kindly did for us.The boat in front also came out to help and we soon got talking to them. We found out that Laura & Robin on n.b.Miss Matty were the successors to Jo and Keith on n.b Hadar, as they had won the best dressed this year at the Canal Cavalcade in Little Venice in London.

We chilled out in the afternoon and then in the evening went over to The Boatman where Tanya was treating us to drinks. We treated her with a Two for One Steak. We sat next to the Christmas Tree (Yep it is only fourteen weeks away!)

We waited for the rain to stop before staggering back to Derwent6, dodging the puddles, and crashing into bed.

Cruising in the wind

We all woke up to light rain but were really itching to go. After getting a paper and having breakfast, we could see a dry window in which to set off.

The wind did create some problems but we soon got to Hillmorton locks. A lot of boats were having trouble here and we had a problem getting out of one of the locks as we were jammed in by a guy unable to stop his boat drifting into Derwent6. Still no harm done and we moved on till we found a mooring in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the day we played music and Al and Tanya played a few games while the heavens opened. We had dinner out in the cratch under candle light before settling down to watch a DVD late in the evening. Al did fall asleep halfway through though, sabotaged by Del and Tanya. Bless!

Surprise Guest

We decided to move up closer to Rugby and get provisions at Tescos. So we set off at about 9.30am and were surprised at all the spaces available. The sheep were chasing the swans away just before we turned up on the water point, We then got water, as no-one was on it, but while we were filling, about ten boats must have passed us. We then turned at the winding hole and all the Tesco slots had been taken so we moored just around the corner till someone moved off. We reversed up and manged to just about beat someone else to the slot. We wanted to get on the Brownsover side as we were meeting Tanya (our goddaughter) who was driving up from Kent.

She arrived at about 1.00pm and we unloaded her gear (shoes and all) then the girls headed straight off to the shops. When they came back they had picked a film to see later, so after a quick change we were all off to see Grown Up's. Afterwards we then went to Frankie and Benny's where Del ate a 15" pizza (snort)

We got back to to Derwent6 at about 10.00pm, where we had a coffee before bed.

Good Job!

We had a bit of a lay in this morning and after some breakfast we just pottered about catching up on e-mails and guitar playing and things. This took us round to the Grand Prix which we watched while Derwent6 was charging her batteries. We then had trouble turning the telly off and ended up watching it till midnight. Good job we did charge those batteries!!!!

Al back on board

It was one of those mornings with heavy dew so this was a good time to give Derwent6 a wash.

With a quick wipe off and a leather it gets rid of all the dirt and dust. Del had to make his own breakfast (poor thing) as Al had stayed away for the night. He then done some jobs inside, like cleaned the porthole liners and oiled the work surfaces. After the Grand Prix qualifying the sun came out and so did the brasso. Al arrived back at about 3.00pm and we sat out in the cratch catching up for the rest of the day.

Getting Plastered

After pottering about in the morning we made our way to the station where Al was going to to see her Mum and Dad as her mum was having her plaster on her leg removed. Del spent the day doing those jobs you never get round to doing. It has been a miserable day with the light rain you just get really wet in. It's a good job we're not having to cruise.

Well the news is that Al's mum has had the plaster removed, but it still hasn't healed properly, so a new bright green one has been put on and will be on for another four weeks. Ho Hum!

Al decided to stay there overnight and come back tomorrow, to see how she gets on with it.

The Old Canal Arm

It was a lovely morning so we got up early and Del wiped down Derwent6 before doing the brasses. It has been really busy here with boats going by back and forth but it has been very entertaining at times. In the afternoon Del went for a walk to see if he could see the old canal arm which was at Brownsover. He took some pics of the Grand Union circular walk which you can do. In the evening it was dinner with a bit of telly............a lovely day.

An Early Start

Del woke up at around 6.30am and couldn't get back to sleep, so with Al still in bed he set off through the Braunston Tunnel. It was a good job he did because it was being closed later for some wide beams to go through. Al got woken up as Del was going through the first lock of the six locks at Braunston and we helped a single hander on the way down. We had a quick stop to the shop where we posted a few letters before we headed off again. It was quite busy through the village and we soon got out into the countryside. We passed the new Barby marina which they were getting a move on with. We got to Hillmorton Locks where we had just missed a queue of a hours wait. We got through in less than a hour. After a ten mile cruise we moored just before Rugby where we have good signals. Del went out on his bike in the afternoon while Al sorted out some paperwork and did some reading. In the evening we had a sausage casserole which had been bubbling in the slow cooker all day, and Del then picked some Blackberries for a nice pie to go with it....Yum Yum!!!

In the evening we chilled with a DVD........the nights must be closing in!

Tesco's and Engine sorted

After organising our Tesco delivery we moved around the corner to fill with water and wait for them to turn up. We then got a call from Sam the Beta engineer who said he could fit our new belt adjuster. So while we were here we might as will get it sorted out. Tesco's arrived at about 11.30am and Sam turned up around 1.00pm. It took a couple of hours to get the belts and pulleys done but it seems to have sorted out the noise. We then got talking to another couple, Dean and Jackie, who are thinking of buying a boat. We also done the brasses and changed the fenders to bigger ones. Well we don't know where the afternoon went and it started to rain so we decided to stay put for the day. We walked down the pub to see the football in the evening but they had lost their Sky connection, still the beer was good!!!!!

Two Weddings and a holiday

Well we have been very busy over the last couple of weeks as we took some time out to go to a couple of weddings, and to be honest it has been nice having a break from doing the blog.

We will give you all a quick recap (without being too boring) on what we have done, as this is really a boating blog and we want to keep it that way.

We left Derwent6 with some friends who were looking after her while we were away and got the train down to Al's Mum and Dad's. We then met up with friends Bernie and Sarah for a couple of nights. We must mention at this point that we are so proud of their daughter Hannah for coming top of her school by getting ten A* and passing all her fifteen subjects at GCSE. She even made the front page of the Kent Messenger paper!

We then picked up Pam and Alf and made our way down to Somerset (Oooo Ahhhh) where a cottage had been booked for the week. We had a great time driving through the countryside and may now do the K & A next year. On the Thursday Nathan, our nephew, got married to Sev in a old mill in a little village in the middle of nowhere. We had a great time.

We made our way back via Stonehenge mixing in with the Bank Holiday traffic. (we don't miss that)

On the Bank Holiday Monday it was Richard and Lisa's son Alex's birthday, who is now eleven, and we had a lovely BBQ in the garden. It was nice to meet up with all of their families and catch up with everyone.

We were then back on the road again but this time it was down to Birchington in the south east corner of England, to see Del's Dad and Terry. We stayed the night taking in the sea air and Terry cooked us just the best Shepard's pie.

In the morning we were off again as Terry and Len had very kindly lent us their camper van. We met up with a school friend of Al's, Zoe who was getting married on the Friday. We parked the camper van near the sea front and was able to help out getting things organised for the big day. We also had time to go through Zoe's old school books and found where Alison had written on one of them. Al also met up with all her young school mates which Del knew, as he was going out with Al when she was just fifteen. The Wedding was fantastic with the venue right on the beach with a sand castle wedding cake, drummers and a 1940's Fish and Chip wagon serving food, with music to die for. We all danced the night away and reminisced on the beach with the sunset...perfect!

After getting over the day we helped tidy up and said our goodbyes before heading back to Len and Terry's and returning their camper van.

It was a nice surprised to have lunch with another family member we hadn't seen for years. Mark and Stella (one of Bill and Sheila's boys, and Del's cousin) had turned up for lunch so we had the chance to catch up with them as well. We left later in the afternoon and popped in to see Steve and Erica who had just flown back from Florida. We got back to Al's Mum and Dad's for the evening....

We left for the train in the morning and got back to Derwent6 about 3.00pm today. Wow!

So there you go!!!! yes we are knackered, but we were lucky enough to go to two lovely weddings. You will be able to see all the photos on Al's Facebook page!!!!

Derwent6 had a few cobwebs outside, but had been in good hands. It was lovely to get back to the peace and tranquility of the canal and continuing our adventure tomorrow, we hope!!!!.