A Cousin's Wedding

Today we went to a wedding.....
We travelled on the train one stop from Al's Mum and Dad's to Eynsford where we walked up to Del's cousin Dave and his wife Diane's house. It was lovely to see them and they made us very welcome.. In the afternoon we walked down the hill to the local club where Robert (another one of Del's cousin's) and Sandra were having their wedding celebrations..

They got married abroad but wanted to have a do for the family. There was no expense spared.. They had two bands and even a bird display for the kids.. It was lovely to see all the family again and we had a great time, thanks both of you!!

Afterwards we walked back to their house where we had more drinks, so many in fact we had to be taken back to Dave and Diane's.. We crashed out at their place in a very comfy bed..
In the morning we were treated to breakfast and with the sun out we chilled (recovered) on the patio. Dave and Diane then offered to take us to friends Bernie and Sarah and it was a treat to go in style in their retro open top Golf. It was great fun and a big, big thank you for having us..

Round two

We haven't blogged for the last few days due to the fact Al has gone down to Kent again as her Dad is having his second bout of chemo.. The scan had shown good results for the first tumour, and it has started to shrink, so the second tumour is now being treated in the same way. Al was looking after her Mum as her sister was away on holiday and Del went down on Thursday to pick up her Dad from King's in London..

 Derwent6 is being well looked after by friends on a boat moored next to us..  Everything went well but we are just making sure her Dad doesn't have any repercussions. We will be back on Derwent6 today and making sure everything is OK before we decide to move on..

A Blog Update

We have been chilling out for a few days and doing the jobs we never seem to get round to. As you may have noticed we have tided up the blog but are still keeping the old format. We like the idea that it is easy to load for boaters on 2G and 3G. We also had loads of links which didn't work for loads of different reasons. We have had a lot of rain which, as always, the South Oxford needs. It has got quite overgrown here, although the hire boats have been keeping it clear, and it could be a problem come Autumn, but it does make it rather pretty though..

To see a fine lady

After a day yesterday of reminiscing, which ended up with watching the football with a lit candle in the corner we thought we would get out today.. We decided to walk to Banbury after breakfast. Al had a list of bits she wanted and still had some vouchers and money from her birthday back in May. We checked out the latest in mobile internet dongles and then found out we still had five months left on our contract so no changes yet, but some good ideas for the future 4G which looks promising...
Al then got a new bead for her Pandora bracelet which looked lovely.

We had some lunch and got some bits for Derwent6 and walked back. We chilled in the late afternoon sunshine with this fella....... there seems to be a lot of wasps about this year!!

Love you Dad!

Always in our memories

 

 

Two years

Where has the time gone!

Busy Banbury

We decided to move today, and we thought we would leave early to beat the rush at the water point. Some boaters had told us that yesterday they had a three hour wait to get to the tap, as everyone here was on the last drops out of their tanks.. We got through Cropredy lock and sure enough there was a boat on the water point, but the only one. We had to wait half a hour for them to fill up and empty waste containers before we were on..The tap here is quite fast and its just as well as Derwent6 has a big tank and it was down to a quarter full. We had put in a few containers of water during the festival just to keep us topped up and we could shower twice a day if we wanted to..  While we were on the tap three other boats got in the queue.. good timing we thought.. We were soon on our way out of the sleepy village after a week of mayhem, we have had a great time here...
It was nice to be cruising again and out in the countryside where you could see the fields had had loads of campers in over the weekend. Things were being packed away for another year, but this one will take some beating..

We got to Slat Mill lock and waited for a boat as it was in their favour.  It was then on through another two locks before heading into Banbury.

Our plan was to moor at Banbury and do some shopping..no bloody chance!

There were boats everywhere, we just must have timed it wrong, not one space. We had to go through and under the lift bridge and through the lock in the town.

We then had to make a decision as to when to empty our poo tank..

We had a few more days left but our plan was to empty it here when we were full. We decided to try and take out a couple of containers. We managed to do this but it was busy here.. We then moved round the corner and managed to get a mooring on the tramline moorings for a trip into Morrisons and a shopping top up.

We then got just outside Banbury to another of our favourite moorings where there was one space left.. Phew! good phone signal, internet signal, telly signal, full of food, full of water, and half full waste tank, and we can chill, well so we thought!!!.... it started to rain.... so we will chill inside!!

It was nice to be out in the countryside again.

Fantastic Festival Weekend

So things started to hot up here at Cropredy ready for the festival.. The stage was going up and the camper vans were parking where they could..

There was already so many boats here, and some, we found out, were here six weeks before the festival weekend, so no chance for the normal punter to get in unless you know someone to breast up to..
On the Thursday we got Derwent6 ready for the tiring weekend ahead, and the time seemed to fly by from when we had to go and get our wristbands from the field. We just about had some time to walk round some of the stalls in the village before we had to go back to Derwent6 and get ready to find a spot in the main field.. You take your chairs and a blanket to sit on and just get your spot..

Al managed to get together with an old work mate Viv with her partner Chris, it was lovely to find them and catch up on those lost years.

On the first night we had four bands to look forward to who were all good but it was Alice Cooper who stole the show.

He was bloody brilliant and bloody being the right word, as it was like a horror show set to his music of Poison, Elected and of course Schools Out.. He had his snake with him and knives, whips, swords and chains..

He electrocuted himself and turned into a giant Frankenstein.. Everyone still hasn't stopped taking about it..

On the Friday we set off early and got our spot again as we had another good line out.. It climaxed with the Levellers and 10CC who we've got to say still had great voices and the sound was brilliant. After Alice Cooper it could have done with a better show but we still danced the night away to Rubber bullet and Art for Art's sake..

Saturday we got there early for Richard Digance who is a very good song writer and funny with it.. We then left our seats and made our way to the Fringe where we saw Leatherat one of our favourite local bands singing Folk/Rock. It was back into the main arena for Nik Kershaw and of course Fairport Convention who still can put a tear in everyones eye as they close the show. We also had a little treat as Jasper Carrot turned up and did a twenty minute stint, he was so funny...

It was just another fantastic weekend with everyone getting to know each other and Cropredy still holds the title of the most friendliest festival. We never saw any trouble even though the smell of weed and booze was always in the air... One of our best bands we saw was Peatbog Faeries who also played Folk/Rock. We have made loads of friends here, old and new and realised how much we miss it when we don't come..
On Sunday bands were still playing at the Brasenose Arms so we wandered up there for lunch and most of the afternoon..

Tipsy we walked back to Derwent6 and fell asleep in the sunshine out in the cratch with a glass of wine..
We are now in recovery mode as is everyone else here.. Some boats have been moving at 4.30am in the morning to miss the rush at the locks to get back to their marinas, we just watched them all go saying our goodbyes to the later ones.
Today we moved up a little just because we wanted to move really. We only went about 400 metres and watched out the cratch at the procession at the lock. The weather had been fantastic but late today it took a turn and got a bit colder and cloudy.. Anyway well done Cropredy for another fantastic Festival.... We have loved it!!!!

A new boat again

Today was going to be Fender day.. We had been talking to a guy off a boat who had just started a new business called Ropes For Boats.. his name is Phil and Del had chatted with him about redoing our stern and bow buttons.. Phil came and had a look but said he couldn't save the bow one but could save the stern.. This would keep the cost down for us and he said he could do the pair for a hundred pounds. Our bow button had been sagging bad and the top mounts were pulling out due to Del trying to save them over the last year or so.

The stern button, well as you can see was falling to bits and was just rotten.

Phil got cracking on them after Del had taken off the stern one.. It wasn't long before he dropped the stern one back to us and Del fixed it on.. It looked fab and was a neat job..

We got the Bow button three hours later which made Derwent6 look like a new boat again.. 

Pleased with ourselves we took a walk up the pub for more fringe entertainment.. We got a seat and sat up the front with our beer.. Well what a load of rubbish they were.. They were called The Psychedelic Raiders which should have told us something.. We quickly drunk our pint and went back to Derwent6..

London scan

We were up early as Al was going down to London today as her Dad was having his scan and other checks at Denmark Hill.. She managed to get the 10.07 bus and it was packed with boaters going to Banbury. Del walked down with Al and got rid of some more rubbish and also filled the water container up again.. When he got back he went out on his bike for about four hours.. Al got down to London and met up with her Dad at the hospital.. After having his scan they went out for some lunch and then in the afternoon they spoke to the consultant and got the next plans. Al got back to Derwent6 at 7.00pm and we had some dinner before we walked up to the pub hopefully for the music..
We managed to see a band called the Hall Brothers who we've got to say were very good  In fact they had been playing guitars since they were three and their first Cropredy was when they were eight. We had another great night in the Brasenose.

A Small Recovery

Well as you can imagine we got up late in fact it was 11.00am before we surfaced.... it didn't help that it was raining, but at least it was nice and cool.. We did some inside jobs, hoovering and porthole liners and Al made a cake..

We had our lunch which seemed to come round a bit quick.. We listened to music in the afternoon while reading.. and then got ready to go out in the evening...
Well you dress yourself up like you do, showers, smellies, and make up for Al and we made our way up to the pub.. It was funny that none of the chairs had been moved and everyone was lounging around. We got a pint and asked when the music was on.."Oh cancelled tonight because the guitarist in the band has had a accident in his car and broke his arm".. Difficult to play the guitar with a broken arm.. Oh Blimey! so we got our drink and looked at each other, not happy.. "Lets just go back and watch a film" we said.. So we took a quick exit and got back to Derwent6 relaying the news to other boaters making there way up to the pub.. We ended up watching Skyfall till 11.00pm when we fell into bed.... at least it wasn't another really late night!

Another Great night with The Crowman

As you can imagine we didn't get up very early after a great night last night.. but when we did surface Del did go and get a paper and while there he got more water..  We had breakfast with a read of the worlds news and there wasn't much of it.. Afterwards we decided to get out and take a walk as it was a nice day.. we walked down past the boats here at Cropredy and if you're coming this way be prepared to be at idle for about three miles....look on the bright side at least you save diesel...

We walked all the way to where the festival will be and we could see all the camper vans of the staff putting up the stage. They had just started and had put up the first stanchion and the lights were being erected, as were the camping control huts...

We had a nose at all the other boats to see who was about, and picked up a couple of ice creams on the way. We did a circular walk which took us across the camping grounds which aren't open till the Thursday, the first day of the festival.. We popped into the shop and picked up some bits but we've got to say its a tad expensive. It looks like they are out to make a killing over the coming week.. We got back to Derwent6 at 4.00pm and after a bit of a chill we got ready for another session in the evening..
We arrived at The Brassnose pub at 8.00pm and was pleased to find they did cashback over the bar with no charge (not like the shop).. Setting up was a band called Cowboy Hat & that Fuzzbox Voodoo with Carsick Nigel, that just about says it all.. the genre was, well Cowboy country, punk blues with a bit of Pink Floyd in there.. They were ****ing brilliant..in fact they were so good we wouldn't let them go home..

They played for four hours and it was nearly 2.00am before we left the pub. Fair play to the landlord Alan who let them play on, and was raking the money over the bar.. We also made a few more friends including The Crowman off n.b Water House, another great night!!!!

We crept past all the boats and we had remembered our torch this time. We fell into bed at 2.15am knackered!!

The Party has Started

We had a restful day today by first having a bit of a lie in then sitting out in the cratch with the papers. Del has been getting some water from the lock and Richard at the lock cottage has been serving the boaters. It has just stopped us worrying about showers and water usage.  The water levels here at Cropredy have been very up and down as we are moored between the pounds of the locks but we are getting used to leaning one minute and floating the next... Tonight was music night in The Red Lion pub and we were looking forward to a good jamming session as the pub has a music room with loads of instruments in it.. We got there at 8.00pm and Robin, a guy moored just in front of us with his wife Diane on nb snowdrop, turned up with his guitar..  He kicked it all off and boy was he good.. They are a lovely couple and ended up raising £254.44p for cancer research. We rocked and jammed until the early hours as Gary the landlord left the pub open as we were raising so much money.. We left at 1.30am and had lost our voices from singing all night.. Cropredy had got off to a good start and all the boaters were in a party mood. Rock on tomorrow night!!!

Settled at Cropredy!

So we are settled here at Cropredy for the festival in a weeks time.. We had a look in the pubs and there is loads going on at the fringe. (The fringe is the music in the pubs). They have a band on every night starting on Friday right up to the Sunday after the festival, so ten days of evening entertainment... We will be trying them all and keeping you posted on what they are like, tasting the beer as we listen..  Oh sorry! you can't taste the beer!!
For anyone interested in how Cropredy Marina is getting on... Hmmmm As you all know it was supposed to be ready around the time of the Crick Show in May and was then postponed till the Cropredy Festival and then it was going to be the 12th August.. Well no way will it be ready..

It has water in it and the pontoons are in position but power, water and the buildings not started yet..

We had one guy turn up thinking he could go right in and he has had to go back to the Crick Marina. He got an e-mail saying it won't be ready for another two weeks after the 12th,making it the 26th. We don't think it will be ready till September.. What this space!
So we have got our spot and cut the grass, trimmed the hedgerows and made a hole in the trees to get our telly picture.. Sorted!

We are slowly getting over our trauma we had with Chris in the lock, and we have had no further update from Sylvia, his wife,  as of yet. Thanks again for all your lovely comments and just please remember take your time and keep safe guys!!!

Good News!

We all had to get up early as Matty and Al had a bus to catch at Cropredy. It was about a 15 minute walk to the bus stop and it had been arranged for 8.30am. We were about to leave and Del couldn't find his wallet. After searching Derwent6 we had nothing left but to ask at the pub we went to last night. We thought we would look in the garden first, where we sat, and sure enough it was still on the seat there..Lucky or what!!
We then walked to the bus stop and Al and Matty got on and said their goodbyes to Del. Al was meeting Matty's Dad in London and Matty was excited about the bus, train and tube ride.

While they were in London they received a text from Chris's wife Sylvia, the guy who fell in the lock at Buckby..

It was good news!!!!
Chris was recovering in the trauma unit of the Coventry Hospital with 21 stitches to his head and no broken bones, He did have some ligament damage to his neck and lots of soft tissue damage, but he was recovering well..........Amazing!! And the best news of the week!

A massive thanks to everyone for your comments and support, it is so appreciated, and we only did what we're sure anyone else would have done in that situation. We feel so much better, now that we know Chris is making a recovery, Lets hope they are both back with this wonderful boating community soon.

Matty's last day

We woke up to a damp day as it had been raining and it looked like it was going to rain again.. it was Matty's last day with us so we wanted to cruise with him, but we had to wait till Fenny Compton marina opened at 10.00am, so we could have a pump out.. We made our way along there at 9.30am and was surprised it was open already.. We managed to have a good pump out and soon got on our way..

It wasn't long before we spotted an old face of the canals..It was Ian off n.b Gosty Hill the old coal boat. It was good to see him and catch up with all the local gossip.. We filled him in with the saga of Chris falling in the lock at Buckby, he was quite shocked! We still haven't heard any news of how he is doing so lets hope it's good news, fingers crossed!!

We went through the narrows of the old Fenny Compton tunnel and it was quite overgrown in places, considering the traffic here..

The sun was trying to come out as we made our way up to Claydon locks.. As expected there was a bit of a queue in front of us, in fact we had six boats, so Del started doing the brasses and Al made us all some lunch, good timing really..

All we kept hearing was how busy it was at Cropredy with the festival just round the corner and we needed to get a spot as we needed to drop Matty back home. After the flight we filtered through the next three locks with no problems.. 

We managed to see a spot where we could use our chains and asked the boat in front if he could pull back a bit which he kindly did for us.. The water here is already shallow and we sort of got in. We could have done with filling with water again but at least we were in here. We wanted to show Matty round Cropredy so we took a walk down to the pub for some refreshments..

We didn't stay late and walked back to Derwent6.. It was an early night for us all as we had an early start tomorrow...

Onwards and Upwards the Napton flight

Yep after yesterday we didn't get much sleep.. Matthew ended up sleeping with Al, and Del slept on the settee. It didn't matter really, as we were all thinking about the same thing, hoping that Chris was alright from yesterday.
Trying to put it behind us we set off at 7.30am as we were all up.. We cruised for an hour passing Wigrams Turn or Napton Junction as we call it..

 We approached the Napton flight of locks with the windmill over looking us..

Matty was keeping a eye on Al doing the locks and reminding her of how dangerous they can be, he also helped on the gates..

We got to the top and it was very windy, we had trouble turning at Marston Doles. Al grabbed the centre rope as we turned and we managed to get round in one, a good maneuver we all thought. As we cruised along the top, three boats pulled out in front of us and we followed them for the four hours on to Fenny Compton.

We could see the thunder clouds in the distance and thought we were going to get very wet, but we only got the edge of it and it was a quick shower..

We arrived in Fenny at 2.45pm which was a good time as we had plenty of moorings to choose from..

After chilling out for a bit and Matty watching a film we then went to The Wharf and had some good old chips for dinner with ice cream for dessert..

Late into the evening Del and Matty sat and watched Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, and Stringray, till Matty fell asleep..  We sneaked to bed hoping for a better night.. saying a little prayer!