Problems, problems

Living afloat, not always the idyllic way of life that it sounds...when things start to go wrong they go wrong in a big way. Today I thought I had blown up the inverter! Gosh that sounds melodramatic but sure enough, that's what happened.

So to put you all in the picture. Breakfast being prepared by hubby, full English...yummy.  Having just had a shower decided to get the hairdryer out. Unbeknown to me the toaster was also on and the fridge kicked in at the same time. On goes the hairdryer when suddenly all power is lost. Didn't hear a bang so suspected a fuse may have blown. Anyway first thing Ian did was try to reset the inverter, Failed miserably in that attempt so his thought went immediately to the fuse. Sure enough, after removing all our clothes from the wardrobe (the inverter is housed right at the back) and connecting the test meter to the fuse, it was no surprise that no input showed. Nothing for it but completely remove the unit so he could work on it in comfort.

 

He took a photo before dismantling, last thing he wanted was to put the wires back in the wrong place. It was a right pig to remove the fuse. Situated almost out of sight and at the back of the circuit board, what a fiddly job. Eventually out came the old and in went the new.

That tiny blue blob at the arrow head was the fuse.

Every nut and screw went back, not one left unaccounted for. Back the unit went into the wardrobe, wires attached and fingers crossed it would work. Hmm, nothing!!! Then a sudden realisation. The plug wasn't in the socket. That replaced and switched on and phew, everything fired into life. So far its all good but after all these years, one lesson learnt, ask Ian first before I use the hairdryer.

You may have noticed the chameleon jigsaw puzzle on the table. It was our daughter's and she challenged me to complete it. You may all say well it's just a jigsaw but a there are no corners or edges and every piece has been cut differently. 

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Took two days going back and forth to it before it was complete. Passed the time nicely.

Not much in the way of rally news yet apart from Mike and Ian checking the depth along the canal edge. Seems this year the boats won't have to use planks. 

We lose MB for a while and ECP&DA rally info.

It's gone, not for long though, just until Marilyn and David Waka Huia bring it back. I'm talking about our motorhome, MB, (mini beast). This had been planned when we stayed with them in NZ and once we had arrived back to FS, we started the process of getting MB serviced, MOT and insured. The service went well as did the insurance but as for the MOT...well she failed and all because of a sticky brake calliper! With days to go before M&D came for MB we did panic a bit but thankfully the part was in stock and could be fitted in a couple of days. So with everything now all ready, it just left us to walk to Langley Mill station to meet Marilyn and David on the planned day. An announcement came over the tannoy to say their train had been delayed. A groan went up from us and the waiting passengers until we found out how much of a delay it was. Would you believe by 1 minute!!! Was it really worth the announcement? Anyway from the station to FS was about 10-minute walk, and before taking them to see MB, tea and biscuits were had first. We talked a lot, anyone would think we hadn't seen each other for ages, Marilyn took great pleasure in giving me pain by massaging my left calf and heel which, by the way, I only mentioned because of the slight limp I had on the walk back from the station. Consequently I was given an exercise regime to do and threatened by torture if I didn't do them. Between you and me and the gate post, I have so far only complied a couple of times and not the '6 times a day' that was mentioned by Marilyn. Anyway because of the lateness of the hour we all decided to have lunch first before making our way to MB. I made a veg Lasagna consisting of courgettes and aubergine, it was delissh and plates all cleaned. It was after the meal had finished that David dropped the bombshell that those two vegetables were not his favourite! He did say he quite enjoyed it, maybe he was just being polite! Note to oneself...scrub from recipe book if David comes to dinner!

I think they were suitably impressed when we did eventually take them both to see MB. Ian did a walk through showing David all the ins and outs of making MB tick which David sensibly videoed for future reference. Roughly 40 minutes later we waved them goodbye, so remiss that I didn't think to take a photo but I have pinched this from when they arrived back at Debdale. You can read Marilyn's account of the day by clicking HERE. 

 

And this was sent to us later via WhatsApp.

 

Looks like the journey went well. I fully expect to get more updates as the weeks progress, I'm hopeful that the holiday will go brilliantly.

As mentioned in my last post, the ECP&DA rally is just a couple of weeks away. It's to celebrate 50yrs since the re-opening of The Great Northern Basin & 55yrs since the formation of ECP&DA. We have some spaces left for any boaters who would like to attend. The moorings would be below Langley Bridge lock and extend to Anchor Bridge. We have managed to get a fly past by a Lancaster and Spitfire for two out of the three days. This taken from ECPDA Facebook page.

 We are delighted that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) have included us in their summer program. To see them come along to our Boat Rally at Langley Mill 27th - 29th May.

We will have a Lancaster Fly Past on Sunday 28th May, time TBC. The Avro Lancaster PA474 is one of the only two airworthy Lancasters left in the world.

We will have a Spitfire Fly Past on Monday 29th May, time TBC. More Spitfires were built than any other British combat aircraft before or since World War Two - 20,341 in total. There are six Spifires in the BBMF.

If anyone would like to attend you can leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your name, phone number or email address so I can send a link for the booking forms. Rest assured I won't publish any comments with personal details and will delete after I have been in contact. Cost for boat entry including plaque will be £23. Entry to the beer tent for 2 people is also included, extra guest will pay £5 each. There is a Hog roast on the Friday 26th at 7 pm just for the attending boaters. Cost for that is £10 each but we will need to know about this in advance. For those without boats and would like to come there is free entry to the site during the day. Beer tent will be open!

Today Ian has been busy putting up notices 'No Mooring between the 19th and 31st May'  along the stretch from Langley Bridge to Anchor Bridge. This is for the attending boaters only. Eastwood lock and Shipley locks have had them put on the balance beams. More notices to go up further down the canal but these will be got to by car. Neither of us fancied walking 11.5 miles!

It will be a very busy couple of weeks, the marque and toilets will be the first to arrive and the building of the stage for entertainment is already in hand. Just hope the weather will be kind to us.

Settling to the boat life again

 Today Ian and I celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary and what 50 years it's been. 1973 when Sunderland beat Leeds United, we had a lot of stick at the time from friends and relatives for getting married on cup final day. During the afternoon reception most of the men disappeared from the hall to go and catch the footy on the radio, I was not best pleased. What a start to our married life! Anyway we have weathered many a storm and the latter years of our life has been filled with adventure. Hopefully we make our Diamond, the future is a mystery and we can only keep fingers crossed.

Us in the mid 70s.

 And this was tied to FS when I got back from work party this morning. Thanks go to Vicki and Dan from the boatyard for their thoughtful gesture.

We have been back from our travels for over a week and settled in with the boating life again. 

How we left FS back in October last year.

FS's 6-month mooring.

 

All was not quite plain sailing though. Although FS looked in great shape, there was no smell of damp, we didn't have to fight our way through a mountain of cobwebs and all the electrics worked, it was on firing up the engine that the problem arose. 

 

Not the bit of smoke coming from the exhaust, we expected that but it was on opening the cupboard under the sink to switch on the fridge that I was hit by a spray of water gushing from the washing machine fittings. The one thing we forgot to do on leaving last October was to drain the pipe leading from the washing machine and consequently, with the very cold UK winter, the pipe had cracked! So it was panic stations to mop up the mini flood, isolate the pipework and leave the water off until a new fitting could be bought, and that wasn't until the next day! Still that was the only mishap in all that time away so I think we got away lightly.

 

FS is now back on her mooring. We don't plan to leave until the end of June as there is ECP&DA boat rally end of May to look forward too and we are also looking after our grandsons in Milton Keynes for a week mid-June. I expect the next post will be about all the rally prep and the festivities itself. A flypast from a Hurricane and Spitfire has been arranged during the two days so that is something we are all looking forward to.

Back in good old blighty

 April 26th

We have arrived back in the UK. Flight leaving Singapore was on time, we had the emergency exit seats so plenty of legroom and could move around without disturbing anyone. A meal was served at 12.45 am, Ian declined opting for a couple of glasses of JD and coke instead. I tried the beef curry, very nice but at that time of night, couldn't finish the meal. Both of us managed to get some sleep, I had at least 4 hours and watched three films. We landed UK time at 6.35 am after a 14-hour flight. The sun was peaking up over the horizon. Managed to take these with Ian's phone.

Our son Colin was waiting, gosh how I have missed his hugs. Iwona was at work in London and the grandsons were at school. Can't wait to see them later. Toffee was ecstatic when she saw us. 6 months away and I did wonder if she would remember who we were. Colin took this not long after we had arrived at his place.

 It's great to be back although didn't think much of the 11 degree temperatures. We will stop with our son until Friday. Get over the jet lag and then take the National Express to Langley Mill. I expect FS will feel cold when we arrive. Then comes the mammoth task of making beds, filling with water, shopping and collecting the car. Until we have our vehicle we can't get over to see Christine and Kev and our other grandsons. Can't wait to give them massive hugs as well.

Sentosa Island and a Singapore Sling

 April 25th

Today we fly back to the UK but not until 23.30 tonight. Ian paid for a late check out, meant we could have showers and repack the bags later this afternoon. In the meantime we took ourselves off to Sentosa Island. First by taxi to Mount Faber Peak and then cable car across to the island.

The $28 tickets allowed us to ride on the Mt Faber line and the Sentosa line. A real bargain although for us the Faber line was only the means to getting to Sentosa to do a bit of exploring and not to do all the attractions at the theme parks. We saw the sea life centre as we glided over.

 

Cable cars to the Luge track

The Sentosa line took us to the beach, a real treat to see the lovely golden sands almost devoid of people. Here we stopped for a drink. A cocktail made from Peroni. Sounds weird but was delightful and very refreshing.

Mid afternoon and we headed back to the hotel. A quick change into smart casual gear and off to Raffles for a Singapore Sling. Ian's claim to fame was that he was once escorted out of Raffles for wearing the wrong footwear. It was back in 1983 but he was determined this time to get the drink he was denied all those years ago. So I wore a long skirt and Ian changed into trousers and closed shoes. We needn't have bothered because it appears that they are so much more relaxed than they were. In fact several men went in wearing shorts and thongs (Jandals for you Kiwi's) and some ladies with tank tops revealing their midriff and very short shorts! A queue was outside the Long Room bar. Took a good 15 minutes before we could be seated. 

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Peanut shells littered the floor and old fashioned ceiling fans swayed in unison from above. Small sacks of peanuts were on the table and you were encouraged to help yourselves, crack open the shells and throw them on the floor. There they stayed for the rest of the day. All very strange that the shells were left without being cleared up but a sign was on the wall stating,

Quite possible the one place in Singapore where littering is actually encouraged. Never would we suggest you break the law. But at the Long Bar at Raffles, feel free to brush your peanut shells onto the floor…

We ordered the drinks, didn't get a chance to see what price they were, got a shock when Ian went to pay the bill though. $37 each and tax still had to be put onto that! Wow, now that was one very pricey cocktail!

Not sure what to make of the drink. It had the taste of a liquid fruit cake. Not really my cup of tea and probably won't ever want to try it again. Ian thought it delicious, but he would seeing as spirits are his thing. For me, it was much too strong but glad I tried it anyway.

So I am writing this at Changi Airport. We are sitting in one of the lounges enjoying a drink or two. The flight isn't for another three hours. It's going to be a long, long trip home.

Qantas flight to London not the BA flight

Rivers of Wonders.

 April 24th

Taxi to River Wonders cost a tad under $30, not bad considering how far away from the centre it was. Took a good 30 minutes and most of that was spent trying not to breath in the awful spicy aroma coming from the air con. Most unpleasant although Ian said he couldn't smell anything. I must have a very sensitive nose when it comes to smells.

I loved the place. So much to see, the aquariums were all really clean and fish easily seen. A few mammals also about especially along the river quest ride. This was more like water themed Disney affair with three downhill sections making those in front get wet. Glad we sat at the back!

Three things made this a memorable visit, the Giant Pandas, River Otters and the Manatee.

The only downside to this park was the café seating arrangements. A queue to be seated so we joined. We were then approached by a waiter skipping those in front. A table for two was found, but then we had to order at the counter. Ah, now we knew why we were singled out. Those in front were queueing for food. For us also to order we now had to rejoin the queue at the back! With us only wanting drinks, Ian sort of pushed in. Told the waiter what we wanted and he got us to the counter first. But I ask you. What an idiotic set up. They would do better to adopt the wait until a table is vacant and the ordering can be done straight away. 

Now for the photos

Having spent a good 4 hours it was time to leave. Yesterday I mentioned taxi returns and the hope that there would be someone to organise this. Well it was nothing like the Botanical garden setup. We joined in the queue, must have been at least 6 people in front and then we waited. Taxis came and went but none picked up from the rank. An hour later and only two of the six had been collected. Still taxis didn't stop. Then came the rain, torrential and very glad we were undercover.

I suppose watching the parking attendant robot kept us amused for a short time, Never have I seen one of those before.

In the end Ian phoned the taxi company we had arrived in. Luckily their number was on the receipt. Within 5 minutes it arrived, gosh we got some dirty looks from those in front. I'm sure if we had continued to wait eventually it would have been our turn but glad our wait was over and we could head back to the hotel.

That night we decided to do the Bay of gardens light show. Ian was convinced it started at 7.45 pm so a meal was had first. By 7 pm we decided we may as well walk surely it can't be that far? OMG, the walk was much, much further than anticipated. With my poorly heel I tried to be as quick as I could but we still almost missed the show. In fact all we saw was the last 4 minutes! This was all we got.

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Then the walk back. Ian wanted to hail a cab, we continued walking but by the time one may have been found we were almost back at the Hotel. Gosh, I suffered for that walk. Would you believe it was almost 3 miles! Goodness knows how I will be able to sleep. Plenty of Paracetamol which will hopefully do the trick.