Snowy Kilby.

I suppose there will be loads of pretty pictures posted today as the first snow has arrived this year. I make my own Christmas cards so I get very excited about taking loads of wintry photo's. I'm really looking forward to the expected snow fall over this weekend although I must give a thought to those people stuck  in temperatures of -35 in parts of Europe. My daughter-in-law, Iwona, comes from Poland and her parents live on the Polish / Chek border at a small village called Nova Sonch. about a 2 hour drive from Krakow. Thankfully they have a warm central heated house but Iwona's Grandma, who is 91, still lives in a traditional wooden house with a stove to burn wood and only her chickens for company. I'm beginning to wonder  how she is coping with the freezing conditions. She could stay with Iwona's parents but she is a very independent old lady and prefers to stay with her birds. No doubt Iwona will let me know how she is getting on.
We have had a lovely relaxing day today. After the trauma of yesterday we feel we deserve it. Tonight we are being taken for a meal by our best and oldest friends Pat & Keith ( 40 years we have known each other ) so I don't even have to do any cooking. I will leave you with the ineffable winter photos.


Weak winter sunshine at Kilby Bridge


 

Looking from the road bridge. We are the very last boat




Canada Geese




Kilby Lock



Now I know why I hate Leicester!

It's depressing, dirty, paddle gear impossible to work, some missing altogether, locks full of rubbish, gates heavy and lots of youths!!!!

Lets start from the beginning. The alarm woke us at 6.45. Its still dark!! Okay,.... have a cup of tea and take Jade out. 7am its snowing!!! Have porridge and toast, and it's still snowing. By 7.15 its light enough for us to get underway.



7.15 am

  Journey to Birstall goes like a dream. Then we head toward  Leicester.  And there is ice!!!! Lots of it!!! Over half inch thick. This slows our progress considerably. The River sections were fine but as soon as we went on the canals it was like hitting a brick wall. At Belgrave lock Ian had to break the ice at the back of the gates just so he could open them and that was the start of many! While I'm waiting for the lock I spy a large landmark in the distance. It's the Space Centre gracing the Leicester skyline.



The Space centre 

 Then came Limekiln Lock.  Now what can I say about Limekiln Lock. Disgraceful!!  I'll let these pictures tell the tale!



As you can see. The Azolla weed was still present.




Ian pushing rubbish away from the boat. There was just too much to remove!!




This is what Ian was pushing away. Looking beyond the gate the ice stretches away in the distance.




Not a brilliant picture but that 'stump' in the middle is what is left of the ground paddle!!

Onwards towards North Lock. Rubbish got worse along the banks and ice seemed to get thicker. We also had to contend with low water. It was at least 18" down. Definitely had to stick to the middle. That was hard enough with the ice pushing us in all directions.

By now not much of our blacking was left. We always said we would never again travel in ice knowing what it does to the boat, but once we had committed to travel to Kilby we had no choice. Thankfully because its 'Leicester' no boats ever moor on any of the length not even on the so called secure moorings at Castle Gardens. So we didn't have to worry about pushing the ice against their hulls. Every lock we came to had its own problems especially trying to open gates against the ice, but none more so then Kings Lock.



Kings Lock

  This was the only lock that was empty and the bottom gates open. We knew why when we wanted to exit the lock at the top. The water levels would not equalise. The leakage from the bottom gates kept up with what we were putting in at the top. No wonder BW put restrictions on that lock. It was continually draining water from above. Also we notice, piled high at all the locks from Kings lock to Kilby, mounds of coarse ash. In the good old days this was used to stop leakage from the gates by dropping handfuls in the water by the leaks. The force of the water would push it into the holes thus sealing the leak. Didn't seem to work here though!! Oh I should also just mention that the restrictions between Kings Lock and Kilby have been lifted due to a significant amount of rainfall. I think they need rain every day to keep up with this locks leakage!!!! Anyway in the end ( and against every grain in my body ) I had to nudge the gate and keep some power on just to help Ian to open it. It worked thank goodness, otherwise we would probably still be there!!!
Then just as we had nearly reached Kilby we got stuck fast just past Double Rail lock. It has a long sweeping left hand bend as you come out of the lock and I just couldn't bring the front round because of the thickness of the ice. By now it was over an 1" thick!! With a lot of reversing and Ian trying to break the ice at the front with the boat pole, we finally got under way.



Double Rail Lock

Finally after a harrowing 9 hours we reached Kilby Lock. While the lock was filling Ian walked on to see if any moorings were available. All the mooring after the winding hole toward the pub was full but there was plenty of space for us just before. I am so thankful to be here. At one point I honestly thought we would have to do abandon the attempt and moor somewhere in Leicester. That did not bare thinking about! Anyway,  how long we will have to stay here in Kilby is all dependent on the weather but you couldn't wish for a nicer place, so both of us are very happy to have a safe secure mooring with the facilities near by in case we get iced in for quite some time.

B W workboats across the river

A few photos of what we came across by Junction Lock.


Impeding our way.




Giving it a slight nudge




Just made it through.




Still floating free. We couldn't get to it to secure the lines.



Azolla weed makes it's appearance again.

What a lovely morning. Although there was plenty of frost about luckily the canal section at Zouch was ice free. 

Frosty Zouch





Different view of Ratcliff Power Station

  That's not to say it was all like that. Once onto the river we made excellent time but when we got through Loughborough  lock the ice was all apparent. Thankfully it was relatively thin and as we went past the moored boats at a snails pace, we didn't push the ice onto the boats.



Heading toward Loughborough.



 I did notice something worrying though. Just past moor Lane bridge ( 36 ) the dreaded Azolla weed reared its ugly head. All along the canal sections and then onto the river it was apparent. It is the one thing that I thought would happen. As it has already spread from the Soar onto the canal sections then I'm pretty sure that before long all the rivers and canals will be covered. It was pretty bad at Silby Lock and its even as far as Junction Lock where we are moored at present. I'm beginning to wonder just how far it has travelled.  It doesn't look as if the cold weather gets rid of it! I do hope BW gets this weevil to chomp its way through the stuff. It might be the only hope to keep our waterways alive.



Silby Lock




Azolla weed present in Silby lock. The photo shows it looking white ( It's not. It is most definitely greeny/brown ) and  it is  the weed!

 Tomorrow we make for Birstall ( another 2.5 miles ) and then the mammoth push to get through Leicester. Mileage to Kilby Bridge is 15. Locks to Kilby is 17. Ian estimated that 9 hours should see us through  We leave at first light and hope and pray that the ice will be thin and the pounds full of water. We do NOT want to be stuck in Leicester!!!!

Finally on the move

Finally we are on the move again. After 64 days of just looking at Trent lock facility block, we will now enjoy a different outlook again. Before we left we said our goodbyes to Chris and Jan Deuchar and then paid John and Mick what we owed in electricity. They worked it out to be about £21 at the cost price of 19p a unit. Considering we have sat on their dock using their electric for the best part of two months, I think it was very reasonable. To be fair the first 3 weeks we weren't on a meter, and so we gave them an extra tenner to cover their costs. It did help that we switched off lights when not in use and didn't keep phones or computers plugged in all the time on charge. Then we pushed across to the facility block, so Ian could empty both cassettes and I could at last wash the other side of the boat. While we were there one of BW's guys turned up. Good opportunity for us to mention the washing out of the sewage pipe at the drinking water tap. See Post  Apparently they are now using a different waste disposal company coming all the way from Leeds. Mr BW did no more than phone head office and report it, but as he quite rightly pointed out, if anything is done about it, it will be a miracle! We finally exited Trent lock and headed south on to the river Soar by 11.45am. The snow flurry's had started, and the wind chill was quite a shock to the system but by taking it in turns to steer the boat while the other went inside for a warm, we made it to Zouch by 2.30pm. Jade has had a run in the fields and I think even she enjoys the change in scenery.

Both photos show Kegworth Deep Lock



Moored at Zouch.

 Tomorrow we meet Paul Harris at Mount Sorrel who will supply us with 10 bags of mixed oval's smokeless coal at £8.75 for a 25k bag. I'm also hoping that the met office have got it wrong and the big freeze won't arrive just yet.  I would hate to get iced in now that we are on the move again!!!

First the good news, the bad, then the very bad.

The good news is the water heater arrived at Christine's about 11 am. The bad news is that one of the fixing tubes was missing and, even with the delivery man and Ian checking the van, it was not to be found. The hope is that it will turn up in the depot and returned to Christine's on Tuesday. No use to us when we want to get going tomorrow!! Ian decided that somewhere amongst all his bric a brac in the garage he might have something that would 'do'. We made it back to Sandiacre by 11.45 giving Ian at least one and a half hours to install it. Unfortunately he failed. After finding a tube the right size in diameter it turned out to be to short. He needed to purchase another one and if the missing piece turns up tomorrow then that will have to become part of his 'bric a brac' for future needs. By 1pm Ian had gone as far as he could with it and then, with a quick phone call to our tenant with the promise of returning later that afternoon, we set off for the hospital.
Now this is where the very bad news comes in. The consultant told Ian that the MRI showed that the tumour had started growing again. Dam!!!! Three options were now open to us. First is to just have radiotherapy, second is to remove the tumour ( again!!) and then have radiotherapy, and third is to have the chemo ( again!!! ). None of these were what we wanted to hear!!! The consultant wants to discuss all three options with both the surgeon and plastic surgeon first, and then let us know, what in their opinion, is the best way forward. Another appointment was made for Ian at the end of this month so they can let us know their decision then. As we are already committed to help Colin on his extension in Milton Keynes we are still ( hopefully) leaving tomorrow and then we can decide what to do from there. Whatever happens we can say goodbye to any amount of cruising this year. All we need to think about is where around this area can we moor the boat long term. When Ian was on his year long ( weekly ) chemo in 2009  we stayed up at Langley Mill courtesy of the ECP&DA. There is also Mercia Marina if they can fit us in, and. we could be cheeky and moor back at our bungalow. I'm not sure how our tenant would react especially as we would want to plug into the electrics and be right on his doorstep. Anyway, we don't need to make that decision now. We will wait until after Ian's next appointment and then decide.

We possibly have had a narrow escape.

We very nearly had another setback today.  Ian decided that. as the engine hadn't been started for over 2 months, he would give it a go.  Its a bl....dy good job he did.!! He turned the key half way to heat the coil, So far so good but as soon as he turned the key to start the engine nothing happened!! Ian  naturally  assumed  the starter battery must be dead. After all, we have never changed it since we bought the boat back in 2006. He then decided to investigate further and found a fault that could have caused us a real problem later on. It wasn't the battery as first suspected but the engine electrical harness connecting plug. (that's quite a mouthful! ) Anyway, one of the connections had burnt out completely.  Apparently this could have caused a fire at any time so I'm very glad he found out about it now. He deduced it must have been like this for a while because we've had a problem with trying to turn the engine off. Every time we pressed the off button it took ages for the engine to stop. So... To fix it he removed the cables and connected them outside the block. Not ideal but it will have to do until he can purchase another plug at a later date.

 We had another visit, today, from Christine, Kev and Josh. They brought along Jades sister, Echo, and so we decided to take a walk along the river. Both dogs went swimming which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then suddenly out of the blue came this sporty looking cruiser going at such a rate that the wave it created very nearly swamped  Echo. She only just made it out in time. I'm sure he was going faster then the allowed 6 mph.

Going much to fast!!



Just got out in time.

 Josh had his grumpy face on as we walked home. He'd enjoyed seeing the swans and the boats on the river but then it all got a bit too much and he decided he wanted his mummy to carry him. When Christine said no he then kept asking where Nanny's boat was and when would we get there. We'd only walked about 1/4 mile so he really shouldn't have been too tired. I suppose as a two year old every thing was just too much of an effort.


Once back at the boat the first thing to do was dry the dogs. Both dogs were soaked from their swim so they both had a good towelling and then as Echo had no basket, they both curled up together in Jades bed.



Jade is on the left.

We are off to Christine's early tomorrow in the hope that the water heater arrives in the morning. If it does then Ian might still be able to fit it before he has to go to Nottingham City hospital at 2pm. Here's keeping all our fingers crossed.

A new toy to play with!

What a difference a day makes. Sunny but cold and perfect for polishing the boat. Two years ago Ian bought a battery operated buffer to create a better shine after applying the polish. He stored it in the engine compartment near to the exhaust. We thought no more about it until Ian decided to try it out about a month later. When he removed it from storage he was horrified to see that part of the polystyrene had melted with the heat from the exhaust. Since then he has been looking for the same type of polystyrene to replace it and then....  there, in the lads skip, was just what he had been looking for. So now we have a great new toy that takes the hard work from polishing the cabin sides. We also bought a product called Miracle Wax polish from the IWA festival back in July. I must say it works a treat. Apparently it is specially formulated for the marine and caravan industry.

 We had always used car polish ( Mer ) in the past but I was never really happy with the finish. I'm very happy with this product. So we just have the other side to do now. That will have to wait until we are on the move again and until we find a suitable mooring.


Cosmo 12 V rechargeable buffer





Nice and shinny. Even the cars are reflected in it!



Best laid plans..........

Yesterday our tenant informed us that the water heater in the bathroom wasn't working. Ian high tailed it back to our bungalow this morning in the hope that he could get it repaired. Well he couldn't!!! The thermostat had given out and when he phoned the supplier he was told that this particular make was no longer available and there were no spare parts to be had. So now what!!! Ian frantically phoned round various companies to see if there was a suitable replacement, and he struck it lucky with one supplier when they said they had one very similar and could get it delivered by Monday. We have a bit of a dilemma now. The heater will be delivered to Christine. Ian sees the consultant Monday at 2pm, and we were going to drop the car back to our garage in readiness for the off on Tuesday. We may have to delay leaving Tuesday morning until Ian can fit the heater. He can then garage the car and catch a bus back to Trent lock and if we are lucky could still be on our way by Tuesday afternoon. We will wait and see!!

While Ian was off to Sandiacre, I washed the boat in readiness for a good polish tomorrow. Then it rained, or rather it hailed. I should have realised we were in for a soaking because the sky turned very black.

We need this rain to fill up the reservoir that feeds the Leicester section. Only downside is if the river rises then it wont matter what we do on Tuesday as we will be stuck here until the river falls! Ian gave BW a ring today to see if there are still restrictions between Kings Lock and Kilby. Unfortunately there is. They are only allowing boats through between 10am and 2pm. If we are delayed we will have to change our plans again. We don't want to be stuck in Leicester!!

Countdown has started

For the last two months we have attended  Hospital appointments, scans and Mri's and now Ian has just one more Consultant to see on Monday and then we are free to leave our moorings at Kingfishers dry dock. I cant wait to get going again. Today we went back to our bungalow to collect the rest of the wood that Ian logged after the Damson tree came down last May. So once again the roof is covered in coal bags full of chopped wood. We still need to buy 3 bags of coal from Jan and Chris on nb Jackal so goodness knows where we are going to store that. As the weather is set to get colder again no doubt some of the wood will be burnt during our last few days here freeing up some more roof space.

 Today I also collected a passport renewal form from the Post office. My passport doesn't run out until October but as we are off to Poland for number 3 Grandson ,Oliver's , Christening in May, and because I have read stories of people being told they cant fly as their passport has less then 6 months left on it, I decided I wouldn't fall into the category and get the thing sent of ASAP. The lady at the Post Office told me that she could do a 'Check and Send' if I returned the form to her. It would then be processed within 2 weeks. Sounded great but there was a catch. Normal price for a renewal is £77.50 With the Check and Send the amount goes up to £85.67.  I have sent it normal price!!!! and it will take a week longer!

Join the RSPB bird count today

The RSPB click on link are asking the public to send in details of birds they may have seen over the weekend of 28th & 29th January. I think its very important that we don't lose our native birds.Sparrows in particular are in decline as well as the Kingfishers. If we all do the survey it will give them a better insight into the plight of our lovely birds. So come on everybody. Lets do our bit!

and the tankers arrive!!

8.15am..........  I was sitting in bed enjoying my cup of tea and trying to do a Code Word  

when the peace and quite was shattered by banging and clattering from across the facility block. I sidled out of bed ( I'm on the gunwale side so I have to do my caterpillar impression to get to the bottom of the bed. ) and opened the curtains to have a good look. All I could see was pipes coming from a gap in the repaired fence...Hmmm, Is the septic tank to be emptied?

 It sure was. I  had wondered how they were going to get the pipework in through the fence to empty the tank. ( see post )  Now I knew. I couldn't see the tanker anywhere until I poked my head out of the front cratch and saw not one, but two tankers parked in the car park by the empty offices. The septic tank must be huge to warrant sending two liquid waste disposal trucks.



I watched as the men attached the pipes, stretching it along the towpath to the pub and over the lock gates. Good job no boats wanted to use the lock.



Carrying the pipe sections across the lock.




By now it was about 9.30am. We could hear the pump start in the tanker but nothing appeared to be happening. They stood about for a while then out came a big hammer. This was used to bang all the fittings on the joints presumably to make sure they were tight. Ian reckons the pipe was air locked with air leaking in through the fittings and that's why it didn't suck all  that lovely smelly sewage up through the pipe.



Checking the fittings.

Marvellous what you can do with a big hammer!!!!

 It wasn't long after that, that the pong started. Thankfully the wind was blowing slightly away from us but even so the air was ripe. I really should have waited until they had finished to take Jade for her walk, but Jade kept harassing me trying to let me know that it was way past her 'walkies' time, so with scarf wrapped round my mouth and nose,we set off past the tanker and pipes.



Jade inspecting the pipe points. Rather her nose then mine!!!

 I must have been gone a good 45 minutes but they were still there when I got back. Finally about 11.15 am they finished and started to bring the pipe back toward the tankers. One thing I did notice and thought very wrong was the washing out of the end pipe This had plainly come from being in the septic tank and they were rinsing it from the boaters water tap!! I didn't quite catch it on camera but if I had been nearer to that bloke I would have said something. You can clearly see that the tap is in view and part of the pipe is wet. To think we have filled our water tanks up from the same tap in the past and would have been completely unaware that sewage may have been present on the fittings!
 So finally at 12 00pm they left the site and peace was restored at last.