Baking for the masses

Baking......whole morning taken up with it and you should have seen the mess!! I was a bit over zeolous with the blender and the mixture flew off in all directions so good deal of my time was scrapping the stuff from ceiling, tiles, cupboards work surface etc. Still my Coffee and Walnut cake, as well as the Banana and Sultana loaf, turned out okay. More boats are due to arrive today including Icing and Vixen and I know how partial Dennis and Margaret and Heather and Dave are to a bit of cake. Cant see much being left for the likes of me and Ian once everyone sinks their teeth into them.

First to arrive late morning was Derek and Lesley, showing off their beautiful new boat Electus on it's second ever outing (first was bringing it back from the Ashby). Then Vixen, Icing and Amelia Alan later in the afternoon. Not expecting anymore boats tonight, the majority will arrive tomorrow and Saturday.

Very excited about the partial solar eclipse tomorrow morning. Weather forecast is for clear skies in our region. Shame I have no filter for the camera and neither of us remembered to buy special glasses. Still Derek had the bright idea of bringing his welding mask so maybe he can be persuaded to share it with us.
 

Norman winding first.

Nice to see the Buzzards are still in residence.

A very rare sighting indeed!

What a great day for the first cruise of the year. Got up this morning raring to go and was all ready to push across to the lock when the same problem as yesterday occurred, engine wouldn't start! Seems the battery charger was knackered so a battery loaned from ECP&DA and our jump leads, got the beast roaring in life, much to our relief. Mick and Carol soon joined us in the lock and with some of the ECP&DA members waving us good riddance we were on our way a tad after 10am.

Electra reversing out of the basin

Through the swingbridge

 With light winds, the occasional very light shower, and even a glimpse of the sun now and then, the journey down to Sandiacre was a joy. Several locks were in our favour, most surprising as a boat had left in front of us several hours earlier. Those that had filled was obviously due to leakage although at Greens lock a dirty great branch was stuck in the top gate paddle. Ian lifted the paddle gear just enough to flush said branch out.

Branch holding the paddle open

Job done

 We had one hold up when we came across the dredger. Amazed that the Erewash was being dredged and even more amazed how much mud and debris there was. A length of nearly 1/4 mile along the railway embankment, had the spoil dumped there and fencing put up.

The highlight today was my first ever sighting of a water rail. Not commen in these parts so a very rare sighting indeed. Plenty of water fowl around and when the coots fight you know spring is just around the corner!

Water Rail

Guineafowl

Tuffted duck

And then there it was, just past Pastures lock, the partially sunken boat mentioned in last Novembers blog. We knew C&RT had removed it from the Erewash but hadnt realised they dumped it in a field!

 Arriving at Sandiacre 4.5 hours after we set off from Langley it was just a matter of reversing into the Derby arm, stoking up the fire, sorting the aerial and settle down with a nice cup of tea and a slice of my home made coffee and walnut cake. Smashing. What a fabulous end to a wonderful day.   

And away

Today we left the basin. Timed it to perfection as the electric meter ran out just as the kettle went on. Wasn't worth feeding more coinage in the box so resorted to the boat batteries instead. Plan for today was clean and polish FS so after breakfast we slipped our mooring lines and bow hauled FS out of the basin. Not quite what we had planned, would rather have reversed her out under her own steam but as we turned the key the battery died. So we moved past the swing bridge and hoped the meter box there had enough electric showing on the dial for us to charge up the starter battery. It did luckily, enough for our needs anyway. So while waiting for power again we washed nearly 4 months of grime from FS's roof and hull and polished both sides to produce a glorious deep shine. Tomorrow we set off for Sandiacre with Carole and Mick on Electra. Weather looks reasonable so looking forward to the first of the many cruises along the canals and rivers planned for this year. Only blot on the horizon that may scupper our plans is the wait to see the specialist. Still keeping fingers crossed though.

Starting the polishing

Back to our moorings of 2013

Coo... will you look at that shine.

Loved this tile and just had to buy it. Now hangs in the galley above the cooker.

Cruising plans put on hold?

 Two Friday 13th's in 4 weeks, how unfair is that? Nearly decided to stay in bed all day but my duties of loo cleaning at the work party pulled me from my covers. The day, though, wasn't without mishap as I lost a Tesco shopping voucher worth £7 in Tesco! Someone in the store will be rubbing there hands in glee as I must have dropped it while pulling out the shopping list from my coat pocket. Today was also the day that I was to finally get the result of the xray on my right hip.

For a couple of months I have had sever pain in the hip region. Quite worried that the joint was arthritic and I would have to have a hip replacement. That, as it turned out, was not the case. Turns out the joint is in perfect working order and the pain I'm experiencing has somewhat baffled the doctor. So I am to see a specialist sometime in the next few months. I'm very concerned this will curtail our cruising plans. We still plan to leave Langley on Tuesday and travel to Sandiacre for the Pie and Pea. Dry docking over Easter should also be okay but what happens after that I haven't a clue. Keeping fingers crossed that the appointment comes sooner rather then later.

One photo today of the duck family. Ian managed to fit them all on the Omni aerial and space to fit another two or three if and when I find more floating on the canal.

Good Grief! The trouble I've had trying to get a postal vote.

In just under 12months I will be entitled to my bus pass. My state pension is also due a month later. In May we have the general elections to elect the 56th Parliament of the UK. So for the last couple of weeks we have been looking to get a postal vote. We get the age old answer, what is your postcode? Councilors cant get their heads around the fact we live on a boat and don't have an address. One told us to use our daughters address for the vote. 'What about the bus pass' I asked. Her reply, 'Well you could use that as well'. 'Isn't that classed as fraud' says I 'seeing as I don't live there'. 'Oh I suppose it is' says she! 

So how do I get my bus pass??? Okay... You must be resident in that area to be entitled to one, hence a post code ( PO box or Poste Restante wont do). Our mooring here in The Great Northern Basin wasn't registered which meant we couldn't even show out mooring agreement, we were just fobbed off from one borough council to the next. After trying three different councils all in the Derby area and all telling us that if we don't have a post code or pay council tax we are not eligible, finally one came good (Amber Valley) who have pulled out all the stops and over the last 5 days have managed to, not only get the Great Northern Basin registered, but to issue us with an address:- Nb Free Spirit, Great Northern Basin Moorings, Langley Mill, Derby. Our post will go to ECP&DA Cottage next to the basin which hopefully means there should be no problem with getting the postal vote, bus pass or pension at a later date. Finally a result!
 

And one wildlife photo. Female Greenfinch by the feeders .

Those little jobs...........

 Just 9 more days to go!!! Why might you ask? Well on Tuesday17th we set off down the Erewash to Sandiacre for the annual Pie and Pea at the Lock Cottage. Can't wait to pull pins and get going again. Winter...such a long season to be held captive and, although Langley Basin is pleasant enough if one likes a limited outlook, I long for the open spaces and quiet nights. So with little time left getting FS ready for sailing was top of our list. Batteries have been replaced, oil and filters changed, electrics checked, solar panels checked and leaks finally sorted. Yep we still had a leak from the water pump. This time it was Ian's turn to tread the wet carpet so once again flooring was raised and more silicon pasted around the joint. After a few hours the floor had dried and carpet once more put down. Thinking all was now okay, we were disturbed last night by the pump cutting in and out. With little sleep to be had Ian decided to turn the water off all together and have another check in the morning. On getting up, first thing was to strip the bed, lift the mattress and boards so he could get to the hot water tank underneath..........no leak. Next look at the pipe fittings in the bathroom......... no leak. Then lastly into the galley and again no leaks!!! Still baffled as to why the pump kept running all night, no rhyme nor reason for it that I can see, but just relieved that, for the time being at least, all seems to be okay.

New batteries ready to go in.

Fitted in nicely.

Work has progressed with the fence on our mooring and having the wooden panels to burn has really kept our coal consumption down. Only trouble is how hot the inside of FS gets by burning the wood. We have had to resort to opening windows and doors 'cause of a rise in outside temperature. I suppose we could have let the stove go out but not quite ready for that yet. Too cold late afternoon/evening! Still the chilly conditions are set to return and, with a tree having been removed at the end of the mooring to accomadate the new fence, more lovely boaters gold for us to burn.

Hmmmm.......nice hole.

Norman behind the fence ready to secure the stump.

Stump out with the now knew chainsaw. (Note the attire. All 'kitted up for 'elf & safety') and new fence post is finally set in the 'hole'.

As for me I have been busy finishing the curtains. What a nightmare to cut 8 curtains out 5mtrs of material especially as it was double width making it 2.5 meters wide. Ever tried laying all that fabric out on the floor in a narrowboat no wider then 6'6"???? Not easy I can tell you! Anyway they are all made. Only the bedroom curtains have been put up. With the stove still lit billowing loads of dust and ash every time we empty the ash pan, and with us going on dry dock over Easter, I didn't think it a good idea to put them up until we dispense with the fire. These will now be my summer curtains and the old blue ones, winter.

Replacing our blue ones.

All double lined to dispel the light and for insulation

Old blue ones.

Today I have given the duck family a makeover. We have managed to increase the numbers thanks to Christine and Josh finding a sorry looking duck floating in the canal. A bit of TLC and it's now the latest member.

Latest duck....the one with the blue eyes.

All we have to do now is somehow fit them onto the omni aerial!

Deep cycle batteries and a visit to Merlin

For a while we have been mulling over whether to do away with ordinary domestic batteries and go for Deep Cycle batteries instead. Did it really justify us paying up to £150 for each one? Having looked on the web we found that the initial benefits of a deep cycle battery was the potential for a longer life span than most batteries, it could provide energy over a longer period of time and that it could be discharged and recharged many more times than starter batteries. In fact they can discharge quite deeply before needing to be recharged. and can routinely be discharged to between 50% and 80%. They are also very good for the environment as almost every part of the battery can be recycled. So having thought long a deep and then found a place in Wales selling Trojan batteries for £104 each we bit the bullet, ordered 4 and traveled the 145 miles to Abergele to collect them.

So much for Wales being snow bound (todays weather forecast) A smattering on the hills was all we saw.

 Having eventually found the place I was amazed at the weight of each battery,  a staggering 30 Kilos  much heavier then our domestic batteries. It will certainly mean a rearrange of Ian's man cupboard at the back to even out the weight.

From Abergele a short drive to Colwyn Bay found us in our favourite eatery, Wetherspoons and after the usual great meal we decided to visit our other boat Merlin at the Anglo Welsh yard in Bumbury. She had been sent to Great Hayward for winter maintenance and was now back at her home base ready for the first of this years holiday hire next week. For a ten year old hire boat she's still in pretty good nick. Yes the paintwork on the exterior looks very tired but internally she still looks almost knew. New chairs had just arrived from Ikea and very comfy they were too.We met the acting manager Mark who explained in great detail everything that had been done to her and what was still to do, and Rose who was busy giving Merlin a thorough clean. Next year we will have to make the decision whether we take her away from Anglo Welsh or keep her in the fleet. So far Anglo Welsh has done us proud so I cant see the decision being to difficult to make.

Ikea recliner chairs.