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In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Friday 28 May 2021

New gadget, Swallow rescue, Extortionate price for two small cakes and pigeon poo!

 Peacocks!!! Noisy and kept us awake from first light. Where were they??? Went looking during the morning but not a sight of them did we see. There is a farm near to this car park so assumed they were kept there. Anyway one thing that did please us was sun shining through the windows. At last, a decent day forecasted and the solar panels doing the job of charging the leisure battery nicely.

One of the reasons for stopping at Helmsley was to collect a click and collect parcel from Amazon. Dave Ward had left a link in the comment section after I complained about our 300 watt inverter caning our batteries on charging the laptops.  Ian took a while reading the reviews and decided it was worth trying. It is a 90 Watt DC Universal Laptop Car Charger Inverter.  CLICK HERE for the link. We bought it from Amazon and true to their word, it arrived this morning at Helmsley Post Office.

The bottom photo shows all the connections for all the different computors on the market

A short walk past this car park, and we came to Helmsley Castle, another English Heritage site. Spent a couple of hours listening to the audio on the place and even had to perform a rescue of a Swallow trapped in one of the buildings. I had to climb over a rope that was across a no entry sign, Ian stayed in one doorway stopping it from going further into the rooms, while I shooed it toward the door opening. Took a while and good job no one else was there to witness it, but got the deed done eventually.




Almost got excited about seeing this owl. It's plastic though, which I think is there as a deterrent to stop the Swallows nesting.

After the visit we popped into Helmsley Village via the quick route. Stocked up with provisions at the Co Op and took a different route back. Oh, dear I wish we hadn't! Passing this cake shop it was too tempting not to go in. So we stupidly purchased two interesting looking cakes, Ian went to pay by card and was told they were £4.50 each! Ouch.....£9 for two small cakes....they had better be worth it! 



 

Back at MB and Ian tried the new gismo. Wow, what a difference, it was phenomenal. Hardley any draw on the battery, in fact the solar panel, which was now in the shade, was still showing a decent charge. I think now we have a new leisure battery and this gismo, we may well have cracked it.

This car park had toilets which were locked by 6 pm, so we took a quick dash over to them just before the time. Nearly at the loos and Ian gave a shout. Then came the swearing. "What ever is the matter?"  I asked. "Bloody pigeon just crapped all over my back!" came his annoyed reply. Well I did laugh and laugh, but I didn't find it quite so funny when I had to try and remove the stain from his white jumper!

 Those cakes....my God they were solid and very sweet. In fact too sickly chocolatey sweet! I managed half before giving up, the other half is in the fridge for the 'morrow. Ian, a chocoholic, also decided to save his half, "Not because I can't eat it all now" said he "But to keep you company tomorrow".......yea right I thought"

 And today's wildlife,





 


8 comments:

Dave Ward said...

I hope that gizmo does the trick - now you are only changing voltage once instead of twice (and not converting from DC to AC & back again). Doesn't it also have some USB charging ports? You might as well use it once you're back on FS, unless you already have the inverter on for something else.

As for Swallows trapped inside buildings, decades ago my father rescued one while we were on holiday in Wales, which involved him climbing up a rickety ladder to open a window. He only realised it was there because a swarm of them were constantly "buzzing" the window - they could obviously see their companion flapping about inside. Once it was freed they all repeatedly flew inches past father as if to say "Thanks".

Ian and Irene Jameison said...

It does have two charging ports. We haven't used them yet because there is enough on MB for our needs. So far we are very pleased with the inverter and thanks again for the link.

I think this new gizmo will stay in the motorhome instead of being brought back to FS. With our memories it's likely we would forget to take it!

Jim said...

From the look of those cakes they are obviously having a laugh at you for paying that much!๐Ÿ˜‚

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

Why did you take on the task of cleaning pigeon poo off Ian's jersey? Or did I read it wrong and it was your jersey? No, I thought not - it was his. So my question still stands... I'll wait for your penitent answer.

That man takes advantage and it seems you are not noticing ...

And being pooed on by a bird is apparently good luck, so he should have had the good fortune of cleaning it up himself!

Anon xox

Ian and Irene Jameison said...

I agree Jim. We won't be falling for that again!

Ian and Irene Jameison said...

Now Marilyn....Do you really expect a man to know what products to use in this situation? No....he had no idea thinking that rubbing it with a bit of soapy water would do the trick! I always say if you want a good job done, do it yourself! He was ever so grateful though, and I did get a rather prolonged kiss for my effort of restoring the jumper back to its original colour, so that was good enough for me. :) Xxxx

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

I have found that you can also get a good job done by giving good instructions ...

And I have also found that occasionally men can learn which products are most effective in different situations - after all, the man who can knows how to use different tools for different problems, so it is merely a question of applying the same brain on a different problem. Simple really ...

And I reckon you would have got the kiss regardless.

Mxx

Ian and Irene Jameison said...

Ah but Marilyn, there has been prove that men's brains are different to ours. Think about the multitasking scenario. Anyway, if I get that same sort of kiss again then it's worth it :) Xxx

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