Leaving Crick and heading home

29th May 2017

We left our Crick mooring early on bank holiday Monday, having done all we wanted to do at the Boat Show.
An evening of beer and T.Rextasy on Saturday night - a packed out beer tent with more and more people piling in even with chairs (!) and crowding around us. I can't believe how many people managed to pitch in such a small space. It didn't detract from some good Marc Bolan covers by a short feather-boa-ed, sequined lead singer who truly fitted the bill (his voice was spot-on). Nostalgia! Torch light back to the boat and our neighbours were still out. 
Sunday was Fleetwood Bac!! - a fair rendition of their songs but we think we were beyond the festivities and the crowding by then, so didn't stay the time. We saw John and Tina again who come for the music and they managed all of it I think - good on 'em.

We had spent the days spending (quite a bit of) money on things we needed for Ani and for us (rain jackets!). Ani now has a new shiny chimney pot to replace the one we sunk some time ago. 

We were prompted to leave by many boats passing us and waking us by jolting our boat against our neighbours. Although we knew we would be in a queue for the Watford Locks because so many had already gone in that direction, we headed off as much to relieve our neighbour of the morning jolts as for us. 

We got through the tunnel in a diesel fug; following a traditional boat and having one pass us; very fumey.  It was good to get out into the fresh air again and it was sunny. As we predicted there were several boats ahead of us at the Watford flight, so we waited, kettle on, chilled out. Eventually locked through with an immaculately recently painted boat, taking care not to knock into it. There is a sweet little lock house at the bottom of the flight with a tended linear garden either side. Rural and quaint. As so often is the case the view of it from the canal side is peaceful and picturesque. Only when you look further do you see that the owner has to come through some sort of industrial site of trucks and vans to get to the gateway and of course the rumbling railway line is not far away. Such is canal side living.

On Monday evening, we moored again opposite Weltonfield Marina. We had had a call from friends who thought we might still be at the show - they were going by car that day, so we arranged to meet them at The New Inn for a drink. An enjoyable catch-up with Mac and Nikki, sitting in the rain outside under a table umbrella. It was only when we got up to say goodbye to them we all realized we had been sitting in pools of rainwater! Pete and I thought it was too late to bother to cook back onboard so went inside the pub for dinner but they stop serving at 8pm???????!!!!!!!!!! That's not the end of dinnertime to my mind! Back to boat for a quick pasta to soak up the beer we had drunk!

Our journey back was without event. We moored in Braunston to do some shopping and thought we would stay there the night, but the sun came beaming through at the end of a grey day, so we took an evening cruise on to a more remote spot - much nicer.

We met with friend Bill on the Napton flight wearing his port and starboard socks on his Thursday CRT volunteer day. He saw us up half the flight and Pete caught up with news of his bird and butterfly watching life. 

The weather stayed good until reaching our mooring in Fenny on Thursday night, 1st June. We were exhausted on arrival so did the sensible thing and ate at The Wharf, in the garden and sunshine. Many children out and about with parents as it was half term. 

Packed up the boat to leave for home on Friday, hopefully returning in July to do the Thames again, if my Mum's house has completed and all the legalities have been sorted by then. 

a friend picked up on the way to the shops in Braunston

harvest-time

evening peace

Pete in deep (parentally advising) conversation with his boys,

not easy when your signal keeps dipping in and out

Boat Show

26th May 2017
Stayed on our quiet mooring for the morning in the very hot sun. We were in no hurry to take up our allocated berth for the Crick Show as it was in the heavily tree lined cut, three boat lengths short of the dark mouth of the tunnel! We knew it was going to be shaded and dark there, so we pootled off around 2pm to arrive about 4, stopping for water again as we wouldn't be moving for three nights.

Anna and Steve passed us going in the opposite direction to the Welford arm. Perhaps our paths will cross again some day.

As we approached Crick, decorated and spruced boats started to appear, 2 abreast along the canal. A mooring warden saw us into our space alongside John on Living Water and next door to Tony and Sue and their ship's cat Lex. Jolly friendly neighbours - you have to be when moored this close. We set off for the marina and show ground at 6 to inspect the beer tent with it's vast selection of 66 beers and to get a preview of the site. Some very posh narrowboats  on show, seems new ones are all equipped with solar panels and bow thrusters these days and hybrid engines (?) Pete will explain. And there are an awful lot of wide beams being shown - some huge and we cannot believe anyone would consider buying one for our narrow waterways, the Thames maybe. I may be biased but they are not boats to me, they look like boxes on water with their blunt sterns, so far removed from the original narrowboat shape and design they cannot be  compared. The 6 traditional carrier boats moored up alongside with their colourful paintwork and signage were  like rainbows beside these heavy black clumsy things. And who uses a steering wheel to drive a canal boat?? Oh dear, I am a snob. 

I am also a dipstick. Whilst viewing the boats which were having their finishing touches applied, I thought to myself 'oh that's a nice touch to have a picnic displayed on the back locker to show how the stern could be used'. On second look, I realised it was a sponge and a green cleaning cloth I had mistaken for a specialist cheese and some lettuce! Must get my eyes tested again soon. 

Beer was good, bands were promising with their covers of our age music: CCR, Cream and Jimi! So inkeeping with the boating community too. The  side stalls were just stocking up, so tomorrow promises to be more interesting still as we find all sorts of bits to buy for Ani. Her fairy lights are looped around her bow, her baskets of flowers cheerily colourful on the roof and she is the cleanest she has been in a long while. She is just as pretty as the other painted and polished and bunting-dressed boats all around her. It's a jolly scene.

Going to rain tonight and tomorrow morning though - we will all be a little less spruced then. 

boats breasted up moored to visit the show

rainbows!

black menacing wide beam!

the story behind these ducks on the roof is that the owners decided a yellow bath duck would be a good and amusing alert to stick on top of a mooring pin to prevent anyone tripping over it - once their friends knew of this idea they started to send them all sorts of ducks ( far too many!) but still, they get to have their day as a display on the roof instead!

Lazy hazy

25th May Thursday

We moved on from our mooring to the winding hole past Bridge 28 to turn around back towards Crick and the boat show. This meandering stretch of the Grand Union is very pretty with lots of lovely moorings opposite fields of barley, wheat and rape. Majestic wind turbines in random groups gently turn on the horizon and the sun beats down. This evening we have moored a couple of miles out of Yelvertoft to make a change although Pete determinedly walked back to the village for pork pie supplies - they sounded too good to miss. 

We did some more cleaning but the heat of the day made us very lazy, so mostly sat on the bank relaxing. All the windows left open tonight. 

We didn't make it back for the pub quiz, but I am sure we weren't missed.

Village shop hours

24th May, Wednesday

Today we moored just past Bridge 19; the road into Yelvertoft. Fellow boaters Anna and Steve had previously tipped us off to the very good award winning butcher in the village, so we decided to take a stroll in to purchase some goodies. Got there at 10.25am to find he didn't open on a Wednesday until 11. We decided to sit it out on a bench in the hot sun in this pretty, sleepy village and wait for him to open. An old lady walked past saying "nothing better to do today?" And of course was spot on, we certainly had nothing pressing! The butcher didn't arrive so we rang the number on his door. He couldn't tell us when he would be opening, so we headed back to the boat, bumped into Anna and Steve who showed us a bridle path back to Bridge 18, which was a short cut. In the afternoon, Pete went back to the butchers and was also going to pick up milk and eggs from the grocery shop. He was reasonably successful at the butchers this time, although the much praised pork pies were not available, but the other shop was having its early closing day. Thwarted again! That's village life I guess. 

We had an extremely lazy rest of the day in the sunshine, having done some washing and hung it out. We decided to go for a beer as we had drunk the boat dry, and who should we see at the pub but Anna and Steve and dogs. We intended to go for one pint, this was at 5pm, but got chatting with A and S and another boater, Jeff. Then 2 more boaters happened along, Tanya and Wayne with their dogs and the whole thing turned into a boating story time. A favourite pastime of ours. Needless to say, we drank more than we'd intended, stayed until gone 9, after the hot sun had set and staggered back to the boat for a very late supper. I appear to have a new bosom buddy in Anna, who threw her arms around me with a thrilled "oh, you're older than me!" That fact obviously made her day! I think we may have said we will join them for pub quiz night as well, oh dear, the things you commit to when you're merry! 

It was a great evening and they are all interesting warm people. I find it fascinating to hear what brings folk to narrowboating - especially those like Anna and Steve who live aboard their two boats. They spend the summers cruising in convoy, walking their dogs and socialising, then separate for the winter months to marinas near family and other friends. Seems like a very sensible plan and clearly works well for them. 

waiting for water at Bridge 19, Pete always finds someone to chat to.