A Contrast Day

We looked out of the porthole window to see the wind blowing and a cloudy day, bit of a contrast from yesterday. It also felt a bit colder and it was an effort to do anything..
We sorted out some paperwork in the morning and put the world to rights (as you do)

It felt so lazy we both had to do something in the afternoon, so Del polished the underside of the roof brasses and Al cleaned inside all her cupboards in the galley and some boat work (not housework lol).

Cruising the Spring Sunshine

We left this morning around 11.00am after the fog had cleared, and made our way to Braunston. Blimey has Spring really started, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. We passed the new marina entrance at Dunchurch also the widebeam which had found a spot to turn around.

It was also nice to see the lambs bouncing around..

Braunston was quiet and there were loads of places to moor, but we took a sharp right turn and headed towards Napton..

We stopped at bridge 100 and found a nice spot in the sunshine where we had lunch..
It was then chill time for Al as she read her book, while Del chopped up a bit of kindling for the next cold spell.

We then noticed a boat we hadn't seen for ages, n.b The Answer. It was nice to have a good catch up with Beryl and Gary..
It was getting dusk as we got back and Tooty was sussing out the new surroundings by climbing a few bushes..

With football in the evening and a lovely Chicken Kiev what more could a man want.. Oh just a nice sunset with a beer.

Wide beam on the Oxford, that's wrong!

We both feel so good being back on Derwent6, you could hear the birds singing, and the splashing in the water the ducks were making... We didn't know what time it was and didn't care either.. We were encouraged to get up by Tooty the cat who wanted his breakfast.. It was a dull day but we wanted to move just to cruise again..

We left Clifton and made our way up to Hillmorton Locks where we were surprised to see the lock keepers working.. They had a school trip organised and were showing the kids how a lock worked, but as we got there they all had to go back to school, but the lock keepers locked us through anyway before they packed up, that was lucky!

We got to the top and took things nice and slow, just as well because when we got to bridge 83 we meet a wide beam, yes you read that correctly, a wide beam on the Oxford.

They had been told they could get to the Barby straight to turn round, as they wanted to see if they would be able to get to the new marina at Onley, they couldn't!!!!

They had already hit the just repaired bridge and were thinking how do we get out of this one.. We told them, reverse all the way back to Braunston. We carried on and moored at Onley prison moorings where the new marina is being built..
Half hour later along comes this wide beam in reverse.

We tried to help by finding a wide section of canal but it was too shallow for their 60 foot boat..

We said our goodbyes and they carried on reversing and we heard the scraping of the roof on bridge 82.

Shame, it was a nice boat, but our licence fee will be on fixing bridges up the Oxford if this carries on!

Al put her washing out and then we had a walk down to see how the marina was getting on. Blimey its a big site and will take a few boats.. Apparently it has fibre optic broadband and heated pipes to stop freezing through the winter!

Our Life's Back

We woke up to a very misty morning which showed signs of being a lovely day, so time to get out..

We though it was time that Tooty went back on the grassy banks of the cut..  We first emptied the waste tank and then filled with diesel, and then set off... We had had a restriction here for quite a while, due to a new railway bridge which has now been completed..

We carried on through Brownsover and then on to Clifton, one of our favourite spots, which was empty, purrrfect for Tooty.

We chilled in the afternoon soaking up the sunshine and the cat was in and out every time a dog went past..

Del went on the hunt for wood and soon come back with a load for cutting up..

Ahhh it feels so good to be back out, at home, and with our life back on track..

Del watched the football in the evening and Tooty spent all night out.. leaving us a present of one mouse on our doorstep..

Picture perfect!

Yesterday we spent some time sorting out paperwork, but we did get a call from our picture framing guy in Rugby saying our two pictures from the house in Shoreham were ready to collect.. We just wanted to bring a little bit of the great memories back to Derwent6..

So today we put them up and it was like they were meant to be here.. We have the memories of the house Al was born in and our courting days, above the bed, and of the walks we went on with Al's Mum and Dad around the local area of Shoreham, in the galley..

Also the picture our friends gave us when we launched is now framed and up on the wall, instead of standing up on the side!
In the afternoon we drove down to Kent and went to Terry's retirement and Ron's 60th Birthday meal, a combined celebration..

We drove back to Derwent6 afterwards on empty roads and tiptoed along the pontoon at 2.00am..

New Carpet fitted

It was up early this morning, as we had a visitor. It was the carpet fitter. We had decided to have new carpets fitted to Derwent6. Our home had always been a NO SHOES boat, but the carpets were eight and a half years old and just looking a bit faded after all the coal, mud and dust put on them over the years. Steve the fitter arrived at 9.00am and had cut the carpet to fit in the saloon and the bedroom..

After removing the old carpet it was found that the underlay was still in tip top condition, which saved us a few bob..

We were really happy with the first carpet which was stain free and would even take diluted bleach to remove stains, so this carpet was the same..
Steve was with us for three hours and we were very pleased with the results, but someone else wasn't very happy..

See if you can spot him in this picture.

Tooty hid under the duvet all the time Steve was here, Tooty scaredy cat!
After a bit of lunch we then had the tidy up operation.. Carpet fibres were everywhere, and our little Dyson struggled to cope.
Del was set on doing the brasses and polishing down one side as it was a lovely day. It paid off as Derwent6 now looks great again..

In the evening we went out for something to eat, making the most of it whilst we still have the car ..

Sis's Wedding Weekend

We have had a busy last few days, and on our travels we dropped off Tooty to his cat hotel!
We were back in Kent on Friday to meet up with Del's step mum Terry. She cooked us a lovely meal and put us up for the night..

In the morning we were up early for breakfast and then it was on with the dresses and suits. It was Del's Sister's Wedding Day and we were looking forward to it.. We arrived at midday at The Hilltop Hotel and were greeted with Fizz on the bar and tea and coffee for the driver's. It was great to meet up with some friends and family we haven't seen for a while..

Deb was given away by her two son's Jay and Dale.

The day was very well organised and the food was to die for.. So signing the register, Debbie and John were now Mr and Mrs Woodgate.

The speeches were fantastic and made mention of sadly missed Len, (Del and Deb's Dad)

The night ended with a good jazz band and a DJ who was Keith Lemon's double,  a lot of fun was had by all..
It was then back to Terry's where we got our heads down and then on to another gathering of friends.. Sarah had done another nice meal for us all and we chatted about things we needed to chat about, more of that later.
We stayed the night at Bernie's and Sarah's and left in the morning, picking Tooty up on the way back..
So we are back home! and its great to be back! We warmed up Derwent6, and Tooty had found his comfort zone again.. the little exhibitionist!

Ship Shape!

We were battered around by the winds again last night but somehow it just rocks you off to sleep again.. Of course after the brasses it was going to rain..

In the morning we were up early and Del put a few pictures up, something we had never made a habit of before on Derwent6..

We brought some back from the house and stuck up a few memories which will live with us forever..

We then did some cleaning, as we are now getting a bit ship shape, and in the afternoon we watched the Rugby in Rugby of course!!