23rd Week (W/e 12/9/2016)

Well we have settled into our permanent moorings quite well and getting used to a canal mooring and actually enjoying the passing boats, most being very considerate and passing at the right speed. We have decided not to go on any more long trips until after the winter. However, we still intend to make numerous shorter trips for 4 or 5 days as and when we feel like it. Both of us agree that this first year of our continuous cruising adventure has been a mammoth trip, some would say too long. Over the 23 weeks we have done 465 locks and 708 miles and we have clocked up over 450 engine hours doing it. We have travelled from Staffordshire to Burton on Trent from there up to Middlewich (four counties ring) onto the Langollen canal and over the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, then down to Penkridge, Fradley, Tamworth and Coventry and then onto the Oxford, down the Thames, Brentford and back up the Grand Union, to Foxton and then to our mooring at North Kilworth. We have also used 847 ltrs of diesel costing £547.00 and to make the journey even more pleasurable we have quaffed down 62 bottles of wine and also two 3ltr boxes, mainly full bodied red. Needless to say we are now taking it easy and resting up a little. We have really enjoyed our time meeting loads of new boating friends along the way, and we have certainly adopted this way of life well.

So how did this week go…….?

Tuesday was a cooler day to start with which we were happy with as today we were taking a drive to Northampton hospital. About eighteen months ago during a routine doctor’s appointment I was told my red blood cells were not right, I then spent around 2 months seeing various specialists and consultants and having a scan, they ruled out anything serious and put me on B12 injections which did not clear the matter up. During a meeting with one of the consultants I was asked whether I snore, to which Sandra replied for me. She explained I snored for England! I knew I snored, but it never bothers a snorer and over the 30+ years of marriage Sandra has found ways of coping. The consultant then arranged for me to attend a sleep clinic and also to visit an ear and throat specialist. A camera went down my nose (both sides) and then down my wind pipe. The result was that I had a generic inherited smaller, width wise, windpipe than I should have not helped by being overweight and that one of my nasal passages was completely blocked. This meant that when asleep the muscles relax and block my windpipe. The results from the sleep clinic confirmed this - I had severe sleep apnoea. The results quite shocked me as it meant that for years I had never reached ‘deep sleep’ status and that I was waking (subconsciously) 3 or 4 times a minute to keep breathing. There were two options available to me, invasive surgery to correct the thickness of the windpipe and nose passage or to sleep with the use of a respirator. I opted for the latter, a machine the size of a couple of paperbacks which blows air into a mask which forces the windpipe to remain open when my muscles relax during sleep. The first night it was difficult to get used to, until I fell asleep. In the morning I knew immediately something was different about me. I awoke feeling fully energised. It was the first time in decades that I had actually had a good night’s sleep. The doctor on a subsequent visit told me that I was now sleeping normally, and that he was amazed that I had managed to cope in a job such as mine (Principal of a school) when basically I was getting a couple of hours sleep a day and not quality sleep. Sandra noticed right away, she too had a good sleep for the first time with me not interrupting her – no more snoring. She also noticed that I no longer came home after work and insisted on having a nap before the evening meal, or falling asleep during Emmerdale (down side!). So, my appointment at the hospital in Northampton was Important, the SD card from the respirator was read by a computer and the diagnosis was that I was getting at least 6 hours of high quality sleep each night, above the average of 5.5. I was also given a newer machine with flashing lights and fancy chrome edges! I would suggest if you know anyone who is a heavy snorer, who gets lethargic or sleepy to visit the doctor immediately. After the trip to Northampton we returned to the boat which was like entering into an oven. The weather had become stifling hot with high humidity, we were both perspiring, we quickly undid all windows and doors front and back and soon there was a breeze, but it was still hot. We decided to relax, Sandra doing her needlework and I sat on the back reading. Whilst there I was so surprised when I saw a young boy of around 12 jump from his mothers boat moored a few boats away into the murky canal waters where he then spend half an hour or so messing around. I thought how dangerous and how stupid of the mother to let him do this. Later we sat down to a lovely meal Sandra had cooked a Mary Berry recipe of smoked haddock in a creamy mushroom sauce topped with cheddar mashed potatoes accompanied with peas and a glass of iced cold cider – lovely!

Wednesday, thankfully it was a cloudy day protecting us from the heat of the sun. The morning was spent organising dentist and optician appointments and also a yearly service for the Heritage cooker (like an AGA – but better!) we have it serviced every year as suggested by the maunal. We also visited the Wharf office to arrange a service for the engine, even though this had only been done in April. Due to the high engine hours since then we were overdue (every 300 hours). When Sandra had finished off her ironing we set off for a cruise. We filled up with water which we prefer to top up on a continuous basis, rather than run dangerously low. At around 1.00pm we headed off, through Husbands Bosworth tunnel, passing four boats coming the other way, fortunately all very considerate slowing down as we passed. We were both grateful for the coolness of the tunnel for the first time. We love the trip from North Kilworth Wharf to Foxton, no locks and lovely countryside. After a leisurely cruise, we arrived at the top of Foxton Locks around 3.30pm, we decided to moor at the top of the locks for a change so we turned the boat around in the turning hole. Fortunately there were a few mooring spots available, close to the slight bend in the canal. We tried the first space, but our front end was sticking out too far due to the bend and we couldn’t get a secure mooring line. So we reversed it a short distance and moored almost touching the day boat behind, knowing this would be moving on before nightfall. Later after the day boat had moved I was sitting on the back only to witness a husband shouting at his wife, she had tried to get into the spot behind but couldn’t get in. He jumped back onto the boat and when alongside me he asked in a very brisk manner, well in fact he told me to move my boat forward so he could get his boat in at the rear, I told him that I couldn’t do that as I had already tried that and it was not suitable, before I could offer to reverse slightly to see if he could get in front, he decided to berate me with his vile mouth! I ignored him and went into the cabin, pleased he couldn’t get his boat moored near to us - who would want a bullying neighbour. Sometimes the behaviour of the minority spoils our caring community. Around teatime Sandra cooked one of our favourite meals spicy beef with fresh chillies, yogurt, guacamole and nachos chips. We decided to put this in the fridge for later and go to the pub, Bridge 61 for a couple of drinks first. We walked down the lock towpath watching a couple of hire boaters and once as the Bridge sat outside. I decided to try the 7% alcohol cider and Sandra stuck to her red wine tipple. We then sat outside and watched the boats and people. We were really impressed with the driving skills of some the hire boaters. Later our two friends, Bev and Pete joined us along with their friend all liverboard boaters for a few drinks – too many in fact. Sandra and I meandered our way back up the towpath to our boat around 9.30pm we were both very merry and once on the boat somehow managed to get our supper sorted. We went to bed soon after.

Thursday we awoke a little later than normal and decided to head back to our permanent moorings, I was suffering particularly bad from a hangover. In fact it was so bad I felt quite giddy made worse being on a boat. Sandra wasn’t too far behind me and we both looked at each other saying we were too old to do this. The trip back was quite a blur to be honest. We got back to the service bay at the Wharf around 3.00pm, by this time I was just feeling rough and could communicate just. We had a pump out and chatted to Ben the resident boat engineer and Tristan the trainee. I felt happy for Ben to do our service and double checked that it was going to happen next week. It’s great to moor somewhere where you can tell they care about their moorers and it’s not just a money making business. We carried on to the Welford arm, turned the boat around and then returned to our mooring, connected the electricity. Once hooked up I switched on the boat Wifi and checked my emails which I was pleased I did as I had received an email telling me that another one of my short stories was being published in the ‘Canal Times’. All of my academic career I have been an avid writer, when I completed my dissertation for my Master Degree I was having to edit it down to the 30,000 words requested. Some may say not only do I like the sound of my own voice…., but seriously I enjoy being able to explore the more creative side of writing. In the past it’s always been academic and report writing, so when I received this email I was very pleased indeed. Later Sandra c cooked the evening meal a super quiche and salad. Soon after we crashed in front of the TV and we both went early bed.

Friday I was still not 100%, but at least there was a breeze on this sunny start to the day. We were both a little lethargic, so Sandra switched on the TV which is lethal in the morning as we soon got engrossed with the debate on the ‘The Wright Stuff’ which was all about whether the boundaries set regarding school uniforms by a headteacher were right. This was something very close to my heart as the three schools I had been headteacher/principal of previously, before early retirement had all suffered similar issues with the young people pushing the boundaries. What most of the panel failed to realise was that this was nothing to do with the uniform per se – it was to do with setting the scene, the rules and the boundaries for the forthcoming academic year. Had the new headteacher in this failing school not been strong from the outset then he and his team might as well given up the effort of turning it around. It troubles me a great deal that those parents do not support the school their children go to, time and time again I read of staff in schools all over the country being threatened and assaulted by parents. Our Daughter who is a senior teacher and assistant director of an Academy school had a chair thrown at her by one pupil and he still wasn't suspended! So sad and so different to when I was a child. My goodness if I had come home and told my parents I had been told off by a teacher – I would have been sent to bed early. Soon after our lazy morning the weather changed dramatically, high winds and strong rain – British weather, you can never say it’s boring. In the afternoon after cleaning the inside of the boat and having lunch we both dozed off, clearly blaming our alcoholic poisoning from the previous night. Around teatime we got showered and ready to go out. Tonight we were going out for a meal at a restaurant with family to celebrate the success of Sandra’s brother Jason beating his battle with cancer. A few months ago he had joined us on the boat, just before his last dose of chemotherapy and he had no hair and looked really pale as he had to keep out of the sun. When we arrived at the restaurant, we both couldn’t believe the transformation, he had a full head of cropped dark hair and a beard to match – in fact he looked like one of the ‘Action Men’ you used to be able to buy that had furry hair and beard whose eyes moved from left to right (a bloke thing!). We had a lovely time and my fish and chips were super! Neither of us even attempted to drink, which enabled me to be the designated driver, even though Emily wasn’t able to drink anyway being pregnant. All ten of us had a great family night something we should do more regularly. We didn’t return back to the boat but stayed at the house with Emily and Elliott, especially as we had an early start the next day.

Saturday we all awoke (except Elliott) around 7.00pm Emily, Sandra and I were off to Chelmsford to the ‘Friends Fest’. Years ago when Emily was in her early teens she became obsessed by an American TV series called Friends. One Christmas we spent a fortune and bought Emily the whole series, ten and tens of DVD disks of this series. She became obsessed with it and could have easily gone on Master Mind to answer specific questions related to the programmes – she even knows specific dialog from certain episodes. So when she found that the series makers were doing a road show of all of the scenery and props from the show along with a stage etc, she had to get tickets. Unfortunately, initially they were all sold out, but due to demand they arranged extra dates and Emily was able to secure three tickets. Quite valuable in fact as on the ‘black market’ they were re-selling for hundreds of pounds. We set off for the ‘fest’ and two hours later we were enjoying ourselves being on the various set stages. Emily was besides herself, chatting to other fans and enjoying being able to see and touch all of the props even though quite clearly in small writing it highlighted the fact that they were all reproduction! We had a great day out and when we returned exhausted we all crashed out in the sitting room at the house and all three of us fell asleep for an hour or so. We were shattered and possibly still suffering from too much alcohol from a few nights ago. Around teatime when we awoke we said our goodbyes and headed back to the boat, not before stopping at Waitrose and treating ourselves to their wonderful selection of pre-cooked meals, along with a super lemon cheesecake! Once on the boat we ate our meal which was superb and settled down to X Factor! Escapism!

Sunday we had another lazy start. The weather was lovely and sunny and not too hot, which was good as today we were going off for a few hours to the village of Lubenham, literally a couple of miles from Foxton Locks and Market Harborough. This village is very special to us both, it is here where we purchased our first house, a nice semi-detached three bedroom place with garage and driveway. It was in this house we had Emily and it was a very happy house, full of fun and laughter.
Today the village was holding the annual ‘Scarecrow’ fete. Many of the householders in the village had made an effort to make a scarecrow and on the village green there were lots of stall selling various items. Emily and Elliott joined us and we had a great time walking around the village and visiting the wonderful 12th Century church along the way. Our old dog Phoebe slowed us down a little due to her not being able to walk more than a couple of miles, but it was getting hot anyway, so around mid-afternoon we returned to the boat. Emily and Elliott had left us earlier , they were heading off to the cinema to watch a film called ‘Sausages’ – what next! By the time we got back and settled it was X Factor time!!!


Monday we had breakfast and then switched on the boat engine, Ben the Wharf’s boat engineer had told me to get the engine warm ass it’s easier to change the oil. He was scheduled for 10.00am, so at 9.30am the engine was up and running. At 10.00am I switched the engine off as I didn’t want it too hot, by 10.30am I called the office, to be told Ben was on his way. I can never understand how boatyards have different timescales and don’t mind a hoot if they are late. When Ben arrived he told me that he had picked up Shire Barrus filters etc, as he couldn’t find cheaper alternatives. This didn’t bother me, in fact I was pleased, our engine has only done just over a 1000 hours, so its practically new, the least it deserves if the best stuff! A couple of hours later the job was done, I asked him to check the fan belts which he told me he had already done this and they were fine. In the afternoon we went for a walk and when we returned we got on with our hobbies before settling down to a stunningly tasteful beef casserole cooked by Sandra, so tasty and busting with vegetables. We still did not fancy a drink, we had now restrained from drinking alcohol for FIVE days. We both went to bed very worried we were becoming T totals!!!!!!


Well another week over, although minimal cruising, we have still enjoyed ourselves on board Captain Hastings. Living close by to family and friends has clearly got its advantages and we both feel happy with our decision to find mooring close to them. The first time in many years we have been able to do this. As we are now settled and not moving far, writing a weekly ‘Adventure Blog’ seems a little daft, so we have decided from now, until we start cruising again next year to do a monthly update blog. I’m sure you don’t want to read about our weekly activities without the fun of boating. We both would like to say thank you for taking the time to read our blogs.

22nd Week (W/e 5/9/2016)

Twenty-two weeks on our continuous cruise adventure so far. This week we have been busy in a ‘messing around’ sort of way, which you will find details of when you read the blog further. We have also been getting on each other’s nerves more than we usually do, but what do you expect when you are living in each other pockets in a confined area. I think its worse when you are not cruising for hours like we have been doing so.

So how did the week go………………??

On Tuesday we awoke to a lovely sunny day, on my mind was the TV signal. As we were now going to moor at North Kilworth Wharf for the summer months and on a permanent basis even though we will be cruising a lot from April, it’s important that we can at least watch TV when we want. I spent a few hours re-wiring the TV cable and re-positioning the aerial, but it was still not a brilliant signal, we just couldn’t get ITV, the one channel Sandra had to have for her daily Emmerdale ‘fix’. We decided to do a little more research; maybe we would have to invest a little more money. We decided to move off from our mooring and head towards Yelvertoft, in fact just after the Welford junction we moored up for the day – all of 30 minutes cruising. Sandra prepared lunch and I decided to touch up the yellow paint in the seating area. Just as I started a boat passed and I could hear the husband and wife team having a right full on row, I then watched the guy jump off the boat and go absolutely mad at the woman because she missed the mooring spot he had wanted her to stop at. I laughed to myself, at least Sandra and I did our arguing in closed doors! I got on with my painting and just as I was about to rub down an area, I caught the eye of another woman walking along the tow path. She looked a bit distressed, in my old job I had become very tuned up in reading body language, as she passed I said hello. She immediately stopped and we started to chat, she informed me that her and her husband had purchased a sail away boat and for the past two years he had been completing the fit out. She said that this was their first long trip onboard. She then went on to tell me that they had fallen out and she had decided to get away from him and the boat for a while. I laughed and told her about the couple further along the tow path and how they had also just gone through similar. I told her that both Sandra and I had got on each other nerves this week and soon we were both laughing. We then chatted about the usual boater thing- toilets! Soon she was heading back to her boat, I shouted out to her and told her life is too short to stress out! I then got on with painting wondering why I wasn’t taking my own advice. I decided to try harder! Later we both tackled touching up the black paint along the gunwales – and when finished we commented to each other how lovely the boat was looking. I was also able to give her a good wax polish. Bright yellow boats certainly shine in the sun!

On Wednesday the sun was on and off and it was a bit cloudy, ideal for our type of boating so we headed off to Yelvertoft, taking our time really steadily. We passed the lady from the day before, she and her husband were sitting on the front having a coffee and laughing, they had made up. We waved and she did the same with a big smile on her face. Their boat was a stunner and we ‘nosed’ inside as we cruised by and what a good job he had done with the fit out. We carried along on our journey my mind running away its self, I asked Sandra whether she thought I ought to become the boaters ‘agony uncle’ or maybe set up a counselling forum, but her response was quite clear that I was too much of an idiot to do that, Sandra never one for mincing her words. We later turned the boat around at a turning point annoyed at a boat had moored too close to it, which meant I had to use the bow thrusters to swing her round in the room available. Like all journeys, you can go one way down the canal and when you come back the same way, you see a completely different vista. We moored up just before bridge 37 a spot we love and had moored before and settled down to washing and polishing the other side of the boat. Afterwards I cleared out a little water, maybe two pints from the bilge. This was my fault for forgetting to turn the gland after a day’s cruising like you should. We called Noth Kilworth Wharf on the phone and spoke to the lovely Rachael, who told us that unfortunately our mooring would not be available tomorrow as planned, but Friday. I asked if we could moor up near to the service pontoon which she was happy for us to do so. Soon after packing away everything and deciding we would stay where we were for the night I sat down in the cabin and felt a needle like pain in my back. I immediately thought I had caught one of Sandra’s needlework pins in my back. I asked her to look, but there was none, as I was pulling my shirt off a damn wasp/bee fell to the floor – I had been stung. Sandra put some bite cream on the spot where I had been stung and I took an anti-histamine tablet. This was all I needed; I was still fighting off an allergic reaction rash from the horse fly bite a couple of weeks ago, which was now not only on my legs but on one arm. I knew what this was as eight years ago I had the same thing happen. I ended up going to hospital to see a consultant who informed me it was vasculitis caused by an allergic reaction. There is nothing that can be done and it usually gets worse before it gets better. It just looks horrible. We rested and soon it was time for Emmerdale!!

Thursday was another lovely day, this time a little sunnier and certainly hotter! We moved off around 10.30am and decided we would moor up again just before the Welford arm. The tow path is very low and close to the water’s edge here and it makes painting the gunnels and touching up the blacking really easy. As we pulled off on route I looked at the energy readout controls on the Mastervolt system and was pleased that we would be hooking up to an electricity point later as the batteries were showing only 56% battery usage left, and as all good boaters know, really that meant only 6% left as it’s unwise to go below 50% if you want a long life out of the batteries. Once moored up we got on with the painting and I was surprised that due to the sunny day, when it was time to move off to our temporary mooring at North Kilworth Wharf that the reading had gone to 68%. Although expensive, Solar panels in the summer are a real benefit. We moored up at the Wharf and Ben the husband of Rachael got us hooked up to electricity. We decided we couldn’t be bothered to cook, so we nipped out for a couple of beers at a pub in Lutterworth a short drive of less than 5 miles. We then went to Papadoms an Indian take-away that had been recommended. When we got back to the boat, both of us were not really impressed with the quality, which was a shame. We eat at least one Indian meal a week and we had hoped this would be our regular place. We switched on our digital recorder which we had set to record damn Emmerddale, only to find the disk was full and it had not taped the double episode. Sandra was not a happy bunny.

Friday, after being told that our new mooring spot wouldn’t now be ready until Saturday, we headed to our house a 35 minute drive. We cleaned the house, mowed the grass and I painted the dining room ceiling along with putting up a new mirror in the downstairs water closet. After Sandra and I having a row over nothing, probably needed, you can always tell when one is coming, we settled down and soon Emily was with us and both of them went for a coffee in the town. Later we had an old fashioned family meal together and soon we were back on the boat. It’s funny how we look at the boat as our home and not the house. In fact we currently prefer the boat to the house.

Saturday we got up all excited, today we were moving our boat into the permanent mooring spot, all of 100 yards further down the tow path. The new mooring is a lovely spot with one side facing the canal, but with all of the facilities of a marina, electricity, water and good parking and safe with it not being on the tow path side of the canal. We reversed the boat down the canal, and were thankful that there was no cross winds. One of these would have made this difficult to do. We tied up the boat, which was harder than expected as the tie up points on the pontoon did not match our boat. We would have to compromise on this. I decided to make my priority the TV, so for the next few hours I set up the new high gain aerial which had been delivered to the house. This took ages as in a very week signal area you have to have a clear line of site to the transmitter. To my surprise after plugging into a signal booster we had all of our favourite channels, although the digital recorder which has a weaker reception was a little ad hoc. My only concern was that the aerial looked ugly on top of the boat – I hate to see boats piled high with ‘stuff’ and our boat, along with the aerial, life rings and solar panels was becoming a little cluttered. Sandra reassured me that when travelling we would pack away the aerial and go back to the small digital ones dotted around the boat discretely. In the afternoon, after we filled up with water, we headed off to Lutterworth for a little shopping, mainly a long gas lighter to use with the methylated spirit stove we use when the Heritage cooker (AGA) is not in use which is when the weather is too hot for us to use it. We were unlucky, in any small market town you can’t guarantee to get what you want. However, Sandra did find some more baby cloths to buy Emily in preparation for our grandchild. We went for a coffee and a cake and soon we were soaked to the bone as it rained and rained and rained. We got back to the boat and immediately switched on the Aga – full blast and soon we were roasting ourselves to death! Sandra cooked an amazing pasta dish with garlic bread and we settled down to the start of the new X Factor series. I can hear you all ‘tutting’, but we both find this reality/talent show so much fun, I might add this is the only one we watch.

On Sunday which was a bright but cool day we decided to tackle the roping up of the boat, we moved the boat a couple of feet, however this then impacted on the TV signal and I spent a good hour or so re-positioning and re-tuning the TV. Oh the joys of living on a boat! I then decided to move the MiFi (WiFI) system along with the external aerial for this – realising that the provider Three was only just within our signal range. Once we had sorted this we were just about to relax when Emily arrived for a visit. We sat for ages having a good old chat and at the same time thinking what we would do for a family holiday next year. It was agreed that we would take up one of Emily’s friend’s properties abroad. Great, especially when Emily informed as that as we were no longer earning a six figure salary and ‘early retired, that she would be treating us this year! Later when Emily had left Sandra got the pressure cooker going, a brilliant bit of kit for boating and only £12 off Ebay (brand new). We ended up with a lovely beef and vegetable casserole to tuck into as we watched the second episode of X Factor!!

Monday we were up quite early, we had a busy day ahead of us. We went off to the local butchers, a brilliant place we used to use 25+ years ago when we owned restaurants, their meat being of real high quality. Our freezer was looking low on stock, so we bought steak, beef, chicken and gammon along with some really good sausages. We also treated ourselves to a pork pie which had been cooked with stilton cheese. When we got back to the boat we had some of this and it was truly one of the best pork pies either of us had ever had. We then went off to Emily’s and stopped at Aldi’s for some essential groceries. At Emily’s I managed to re-negotiate my wifi deal at Three, we had been paying £20 for 15GB of mobile data, after I called them to moan this was reduced to £13 with 20GB of data for a years contract. We also chatted with Emily and discussed Sandra’s mobile phone which was on a Tesco contract (O2) about to come to an end. Where we are now moored her signal is terrible – further research showed that the way forward would be to find an EE contract as this had a good signal. Whilst there I also picked up my daily emails only to find that another one of my short stories had been accepted for print in the Canal Times October edition – brilliant. At Tea time we headed back to the boat and unloaded everything. We had already taken out a curry Sandra had cooked from the freezer to make more space for the new stock (on board we have a full-size Freezer and Fridge – just like home). It was delicious and both of us commented that curries are better a day or so after they have been cooked. We had a cozy night on board realising that our alcohol consumption had reduced massively over the last week or so. I looked over to the recently bought box of Shiraz from Aldi of all places – we just had to open it. Three or four glasses later, we were quite merry. Our life on board a boat is just brilliant.

So the end of another week, bit emotionally draining due to us both bickering at each other, but nothing major, we have know each other nearly 40 years and still love the socks of each other.

21st Week (W/e 29/8/2016)

Week twenty-one of our boating journey and we are still enjoying the time onboard Captain Hastings. We have our moments personally and every now and then we need time alone, but overall we get on with enjoying our early retirement and each other’s company famously.

So how did this week go…..?

Tuesday was another warm and sunny day; we left our rural mooring spot and headed for North Kilworth Wharf where we moored opposite on the tow path just before lunch. We had already contacted the owners of the Wharf and were pleased to find that they had a super mooring spot along the canal with full services available from the 1st September on a permanent basis. We agreed we would take this after checking it out – it was ideal, one side of the boat facing straight onto the canal – a linear mooring, just what we had been looking for. We were going to moor at Debdale Wharf Marina the other side of Foxton Locks, but this new mooring ticked all of our boxes. We had arranged for Sandra’s car to be parked at the wharf to give us the opportunity to drive ourselves to and from our destination, so although our mooring spot wasn’t available yet, we still had use of the car. We decided to drive over to see Emily which took around 35 minutes and spent some quality time with our daughter who was still on her summer break from school. We got back to the boat after 6.00pm, tired as we had helped her sort her house out ready for her baby, painting, putting up pictures, shelves and so on. When we settled we just couldn’t be bothered to cook, so we had a sandwich and soon we were in bed fast asleep.

Wednesday we awoke to glorious sunshine, one of the hottest days yet. I messed around with the TV aerial and realised after a little further investigation on the internet that we were in a very low TV signal area – this meant getting TV channels would be difficult; our normal digital aerial would not cope sufficiently. We would have to sort something out as Sandra just wouldn’t be able to live without her daily shot of Emmerdale. We reversed the boat and then moved over to the Wharf side of the canal to the service bay. Our toilet which is a macerator style with a holding tank at the front of the boat needed emptying. We don’t have a gauge to tell us this, but we can tell by the sound of the flush. Rachael the owner did our pump out and thank heavens we did it there and then as we were very full indeed. We filled up with water and were pleasantly surprised that she charged us mooring rate at £9.50 – what a star! Soon we were off on our short journey heading towards Foxton on the upper Grand Union. We went through Husbands Bosworth tunnel and were for the first time happy to be protected from the sun as the temperature had risen to 31 degrees. We decided after the tunnel that we would find a shaded mooring spot, rather than go straight to Foxton. This is what I like about our style of boating – we can please ourselves when we stop – we have no time agenda. We found a super mooring spot and the rest of the afternoon we chilled out, Sandra completing her needlework – she is amazing at knitting and quilting, in fact crafts are her forte. The solar panels were working amazingly well, this summer they have certainly started to pay for themselves. Later we opened a good bottle of wine and ate alfresco!

Thursday was a cooler day which we were pleased about as we were heading for Foxton and would be going down the flight of locks there. Before going I did my normal engine check and decided to fill the grease tube. The TV signal was still playing on my mind, so I did some research and found that I would probably have to purchase a larger aerial with a bigger ‘gain’ I ordered one from Amazon. We were slowed down somewhat on our journey by Pheobe our long legged Jack Russell dog – whilst out on her walk she had been stung. We have learnt to use ‘human’ medicines on here and soon after anti histamines and sting spray, her tail was wagging again. We set off for our two hour journey, taking it really slow to take in this wonderful stretch of rural countryside – absolutely stunning. At 2.15pm we got to the top of the flight and met up with a couple on their boat in front who we had met twice so far on our journey – once in Stone and the other time near to Yelvertoft. I saw on his roof a TV aerial, so immediately I was trying to find out as much information as possible. He suggested that I get an aerial with a good amplifier. As we had to queue a little, we decided to have a late lunch and headed for the little café at the top of the locks, unfortunately we had to eat our hot sausage rolls on the boat as we were soon descending. We were soon at the bottom; we find the Foxton flight one of the easiest as there are usually many volunteer lockkeepers to hand. The only thing you have to aware of is the many gongoozlers along the way, which can be embarrassing if you mess up the steering on the boat! We decided to turn the boat around at Debdale Wharf turning hole so we were facing the right direction for our next journey. We also moored up just before the main visitor moorings, as previously the damn cyclists had gone by the boat so fast that the stones had hit the boat paintwork. We cooked a nice meal on board and decided to have a TV night with no alcohol!

Friday was another gloriously sunny day, so we decided to go for a nice long walk. We stopped half way at the little café at the top of the locks again and decided to have breakfast there – a bacon and a sausage sandwich and two coffees. We were both shocked when we had to pay £10 for the pleasure, clearly someone is profiteering. Wouldn’t have minded but the fillings were cheap bacon and cheap sausage, shame really as we won’t use it again. On the way we got chatting to a guy who owned a boat who was a judge at county shows for pigs, really interesting and originally from New Zealand – we chatted for ages and put the world to right! When we got back to the boat, I decided to try out the Kipor generator as Sandra wanted to do use the washing machine which is an energy guzzler and I wanted to use some electric tools to sand down the rear deck to repaint it with non-slip paint in readiness for winter. For the next few hours both of us were engaged in our activities. Funny a year earlier I wouldn’t have thought to do this, I would have had someone in to do this. Just shows how life changes (for the better), early retirement allows you time to learn, often by mistakes, new skills. At around 6.00pm we both needed a drink, so we decided on a couple of large gin and tonics with plenty of ice, wow, they went down so well we decided to have another couple! Later we walked to Bridge 61 one of our favourite pubs, met up with a couple we have socialised with before and when they left were please to be joined by Emily and Elliott. Elliott was really keen to tell me how his new job was going and how much he was enjoying being one of the top men in a company, much different than when he was an accountant working in the film and media sector in London. When these left us, we decided to have another drink and then try and find our way back to the boat. Back on board we warmed up a super pasta meal Sandra had prepared before we left and soon we were both comatose in bed!

Saturday we woke up to a cloudier and cooler day which we were pleased about. I was able to carry on with the rear deck. I managed to get another coat of the non-slip paint before it started to rain lightly. As we had the generator going, I was unable to go with Sandra for lunch with her sister Elaine and Robert, no rest for the workers! By the time all four of them returned along with their grandchildren, the rain had stopped and I was able to chat for a while. It’s always great to see these two as they have helped us so much in the transition from full-time work to full-time retirement. The only mess up I made was when I turned the generator off and put it away, I forgot to switch off the electric emersion heater – I watched in horror as my battery gauge went from 92% to below 70% in a matter of minutes! We decided to get on with our jobs once our family had left and like most days, time just flew by. Soon it was teatime and we were getting showered ready for the evening. Tonight was a TV night as we both, for some unknown reason, enjoy X Factor!


Sunday we moved from our mooring spot and stopped to fill up with water near to Foxton Lock basin. After we booked our slot to go up the locks and soon we were going through the first gate. Today was particularly busy with gongoozlers and I found myself waiving and answering the ‘normal’ questions – do you live on the boat? Does it have a toilet? Etc. Part way up I got chatting to a guy who was from Italy. He and his family had just re-located to Market Harborough the town where we used to live. I told him earlier in the year we had spent some time in Italy, our second visit there and had really enjoyed the food and the wine. He immediately told me his name, Stefano, and that he had no friends and would we like to come around his place for dinner. How friendly. His younger son was standing close by and I asked whether he fancied having a trip on the boat to the top – he definitely wanted to, and from there on he and his wife followed Captain Hastings to the top. As we left the lock he handed me his business card telling me to please get in touch. I concluded form this that it is not only the boating fraternity which are the friendliest, but also possibly the gongoozlers!! We headed towards Husbands Bosworth and soon after lunch we moored up in a rural mooring spot, just before the tunnel which was an ideal spot, where I finished off touching up the paint and washing and polishing the boat. In the evening we had a cosy night in, with a nice glass of red wine!


On Monday we got up a little later than usual to a wet, damp and cloudy day, however, the mooring spot we had chosen was still beautiful, with open countryside. I checked over the paintwork and was pleased that the non-slip paint job looked good and it worked well. We wouldn’t be slipping off the boat in the winter for sure. As we were entering the tunnel another was almost out, both of us went by each other very slowly. Since catching the rear side of the boat in a tunnel earlier, both Sandra and I are quite apprehensive when going through tunnels. Once through we carried on our short journey only to find a hire boater coming full pelt toward us on our side of the canal. I hooted and waived for him to move over to the correct side and fortunately he realised his mistake. Our boats both ‘kissed’ each other at the front; I had gone into full reverse and was lodged up against the silt. As he passed, he never apologised but instead asked if I know where the nearest shop was as they had run out of milk. I could do nothing but smile and pointed him in the right direction. We finally moored opposite the service area at North Kilworth Wharf again. We later got into the car and went for a ‘food shop’ in nearby Lutterwoth. We shopped at Morrisons and Waitrose – good shops, but expensive compared to Lidl or Aldi, which since taking retirement and living on a pension we have got quite used to. We picked up a lovely beef joint and headed for Emily’s place so we could have a family meal. I left Sandra to cook the meal whilst I headed to Kettering where there is a Maplins. I managed to get some bits for the aerial which I had pre-ordered from Amazon the day before which had already been delivered to Emily’s. Soon we would have a good TV picture to enjoy. We had a super meal, only spoilt by the lack of Elliott’s company; his golf day had gone on a little longer than he had anticipated. We got back to the boat around eight, full to the brim from the traditional roast we had really enjoyed.

So, although we didn’t travel far this week, we still had a busy time getting prepared for the winter months and our new mooring at North Kilworth Wharf. Next week we will be able to take over the mooring for good.