A move to a freebee

We lit the fire again this morning as it seemed so cold here (or we're both going down with something). We are moored here on the free 24 hour moorings but after that you have to pay five pounds a night; still a bargain, but we haven't paid on the Thames and we weren't going to start now. Del went for a short ride on his bike and noticed a mooring about a mile downstream. We quickly got going and after two attempts we managed to get Derwent6 close enough to the bank to get in. We have nice views here, and it should be good enough for the weekend, and it's free. We made our booking in with the lock keeper at Brentford tidal lock and hopefully we will be going through on Sunday at about midday, but we have just heard that the winds are getting strong on Sunday...Oh well!

All ending up in Court

We woke up to another frost last night and we decided to make our way further up the Thames. So with hats and a few layers on we pointed Derwent6 into the sun. It was beautiful, but we had trouble seeing where we were going with the sun reflecting on the river and the roof.We soon got to Staines and it was warming up nicely, there are some lovely houses on the Thames in this area. We decided to stop for water and just top up while it was quiet. Things were all going well till we got to Weybridge. The lock had been closed due to divers inspecting the lock floor. They also inspected the lower gate hinges. We ended up having some lunch and it held us up for a hour. As we arrived in Hampton we passed David Gilmore's (Pink Floyd) recording studio or galleon and yep we went and had a good look. It was getting cold again as the sun went down, so we moored up at Hampton Court. Right outside the gates in fact, and we then lit the fire. We get a good telly signal here so the evening was sorted.

A great day for cruising ( but chilly)

We got up quite early as it was another beautiful day. We were going to see the changing of the guard, but the weather was so good we decided to go for a little cruise. After bacon butties we set off all be it a bit on the cold side, still you can wrap up can't you. We took a steady speed through the locks back to Bray.We had a good look at all the posh houses and then made our way back again. Bernie took the helm on the way back and it was nice for Del and Al to sit out on the bow with the peace and quiet of no engine noise. Five hours later we were back on our mooring in Windsor. We soon lit the fire as it was getting very cold and it had started to rain, can you believe it! Al cooked a nice chili to warm us all up. So with full tummy's Bernie and Sarah left at about 6.30pm and we said our goodbyes. It was nice to see them again. We then walked over to the pub to watch the Arsenal in the champions league football.

A few more beers with friends

It was a cold night, and for the first time for a long time we had a very slight frost on the roof of Derwent6. It was a nice day, but windy, so we had a walk into Windsor. We picked up some food shopping and just had a wander round. We got back to Derwent6 at around 2.00pm. Later in the afternoon we were met by Bernie and Sarah (the 25th guys), who had decided to come up and see us. We all had a few beers when they arrived. We then set off back into Windsor where we went to the King and Queen pub, where we had a few more beers. We then went to Bella Pasta, because we had a two for ten pound voucher. We had a lovely meal and walked back across the field to Derwent6... After another night cap we all crashed out into bed, sozzled!!!!!

mmm the nice smells of winter

Well it was a lot colder, so for the first time after the summer we lit the fire. We cleaned out the chimney flue first and also gave the ecofan a service, well a clean and a lube up. The fire door is a bit tight to close after fitting a new glass and rope but it should free up a bit when the fire is going.


We soon had a roaring fire again and that lovely seasoned wood smell all over Derwent6......lovely.


Del then did the brasses ( so it will rain tonight) and watched Derwent6 get covered in leaves as the wind picked up. It was then on to his bike as he got a puncture last time out. Al was busy doing some work around the interior of Derwent6.


With the fire going we don't use any gas, and a chicken casserole was in order, more nice smells around Derwent6.


It was so hot in Derwent6, we ended up eating our casserole by candle light out in the cratch, with the side up looking at the planes taking off into the stars.

A 25th Wedding Anniversary with good friends

We have been off Derwent6 over the weekend as we had a special occasion to go to. Del made the most of it and met up with the boys to do a spot of gliding. The weather was just fantastic for the time of year and they had a good day Saturday after watching F1 and the rugby.

Al went off with Hannah for the day and sorted out balloons and things for the party for Sarah and Bernie's 25th Wedding Anniversary, and we all went to The Beeches restaurant for a big celebration. We had a fantastic time and it was lovely to catch up with their side of the family and all their friends. We stayed the night at Steve and Erica's who looked after us with food and drink and oh so much chocolate! On Sunday we were up early to see the F1 race and more rugby before we made our way back to Derwent6. We arrived home at 3.30pm and relaxed in the sunshine in the cratch. After something to eat we got in an early night after that early start.

To visit the Queen

With mist on the roof we set off early again. We dropped down the two locks and we had to do these ourselves (well push the buttons anyway). The locks here are still so pretty with flowers, it must be all the good weather we've had. The trees are just trying to change and are putting a small blanket on the Thames. We soon got into Windsor with the low planes on their approach to Heathrow. It was so quiet compared to the last time we were here. We had the pick of the moorings at four pounds a day but we moved on to our freebie round the corner. On our arrival we were pleased to see that the fishing club had put some lovely steps in for us to get up the bank. We settled in and Del went out on his bike to suss things out while Al sorted out Derwent6. On his return a fisherman called telling us we couldn't moor here. Hmm funny that, its marked in the Nicholson's guide as a mooring and there are no signs saying "No mooring" He wanted us to move for a fishing match they have over the weekend, and we don't move weekends. With twenty four bays and only ten fishermen playing we couldn't see a problem. Anyway, we exchanged phone numbers. Fair play, he called us back and said it was no problem, but it looks like we will be losing this mooring in the future, as the signs were being made for next year. Still you can't get a telly signal here anyway!

Bray Day

We didn't feel like moving but we did anyway.. It was an Ok day and we thought we had better move from where we were. The local taxi rank started to talk to us using our first names, a good sign to move on. We had enjoyed our time at Sonning and will miss our mooring here, but we wanted to move closer to London. We set off early and got to the water point at Shiplake so we were Ship shape.It was great to be moving again. We made our way through Wargrave, Henley and then Maidenhead, before we stopped at another nice mooring of ours at Bray. We could have kept going but it was 3 0'clock and the weather wasn't brilliant, also a break was needed. It is now getting dark so much earlier and we didn't want to get caught out. This guy was keeping watch for us.........

Another Scare, so we took a break

Well we're back on line at last.....and we have also used this time to take a break from the blog as we felt we needed it..

Well what has happened! The biggest thing was that we had another scare with Del's brother Cliff having a heart attack. After what has gone on over the last few months, and with five kids, that was more stress on the family. He is off work for a few months but on the road to recovery thank goodness. We have also been down to Kent quite a lot still sorting out bits and pieces, and going to special occasions. We had Deb's (Del's sister's) 50th Birthday and also Kerry's 21st Birthday. It was lovely to meet up with everyone on a happier note.

As for Derwent6 we have had a mouse on board, and he took a bit of catching. We made the mistake of putting some rubbish out in the cratch and it sneaked in to investigate. You can see from this picture he wasn't happy at being caught. We have fitted a new fire glass, serviced the engine and filters, and antifreezed up ready for this hard winter we are going to have. We have resealed all the side hatches and portholes to stop the draughts.

We will be blogging again but not every day at the moment. We still have a lot to do and don't want to feel pressured by the blog. After a few weeks all will be back to normal.

No Internet connection

Hi all as you may have gathered we have had a problem with our Vodafone dongle. It has done well as it was falling to bits with so much use. We are now waiting to get a new one sent through. To get this page on, we have found a WiFi hotspot. We have got loads to catch up on, but you will all have to be patient with us.

All Tanks Sorted

When we tried the taps this morning the pump was groaning and the tap spitting at us letting us know we were very low on water. The gauge was showing two and must have stuck so this made our mind up to move today. We first set off up to the water point at Shiplake lock, it was nice to be cruising again. As we were filling with water two other boats turned up to do the same. Derwent6 has a 500 litre tank and takes a while to fill. Al had a solution of offering them our old magazines to read while they waited, and it worked. We had planned to have a pumpout here as well but it wasn't working. We then made our way back to Reading, and through Sonning Lock, to fill up with diesel as we were getting very low on that as well. We pulled up on the pontoon at the marina, and yep you guessed it, they had run out of diesel over the weekend. They were due a delivery at 3.00pm, so we made our way over to Tesco's to pass the time, and top up the cupboards. Better boating is one of the cheapest marina's for diesel on the Thames, so it was worth waiting for. We also had our pumpout there as well. It was now getting late so we made our way back to Sonning and were lucky enough to get on our mooring when we got there.

With our tanks all sorted we relaxed in the evening watching the birds writing MUM in the sky, wonder what that means.

Jamming

The weather was lovely, but intermittent heavy showers were on the way. It stopped us getting out but we didn't mind as we wanted to watch England in the rugby anyway. In the afternoon we got out the keyboard and guitar and had a bit of a jamming session. We enjoyed it so much we ended using most of the day up doing it. It's a good job were in the middle of nowhere.

Washing Day

There was a slight nip in the air this morning but it was a beautiful day. So we made it our washing day.. It was piling up, and we were out of underpants (not a good move), so we put out the washing line and managed to get it all dry. It soon got hot and humid and it made us feel like doing nothing, but Del still went out on his bike again for a couple of hours. Al chilled out with a book on the bow of Derwent6.

Why would you want to move!

It was a nice day today with a mist over the water. The wind had dropped and the waters here were calming down again, so it was cratch covers up and legs stretched out with a cup of tea. Nice.. Then it was on to those little jobs you keep meaning to do but never get round to...lol.

The WD40 came out and all the catches locks and hinges got a squirt. All the doors and hinges got tightened up and adjusted for the winter. The bilge got a clean out and the grease was out in a vengeance. In the Afternoon Del was out on his bike again and went round Twyford and the lakes at Didgot. Yep we are on a diet and we are getting fit... The only problem is that when we sit on the settee we are so out of energy we just fall asleep with the rocking of Derwent6...

The two photos on here today were taken from the same spot, early in the morning and with a full moon at night...Why would we want to move.....