No Direction

No Direction is our 70ft Narrowboat which is now home to my wife Jayne and myself, it was launched on 4th February 2008.

We spend the Winters in a Marina and cruise in the warmer weather.

Thursday 23 September 2010

Misty Mornings and Other Things.

Tuesday 21st September 2010
Lower Shuckburgh to Braunston
2.75 Miles No Locks.

Tuesday.  Yesterday, while I was in the shower after swimming with Dolphins Sheep Jayne checked on our Ordnance Survey mapping that we have on the Laptop and found the name of the farm which was closest to the field of sheep, a quick google found a phone number, she rang and left a message, "If you are the farmer who has a field of sheep next to the canal between bridges 125 and 126 then I have some pictures of my husband rescuing one which had fallen in", at 8.15 this morning she had a call from farmer Phil Robinson (no relation) to say thank you, he also gave her an Email address so he now has some pictures of it all.

The weather today was just as we like it calm and sunny.

The sun burning away the early morning mist.

I got the spanners out before we started to tighten the the main Alternator drive belt which had been squealing when I started the engine, after that was sorted  we cruised along the short length of canal to Braunston, this is possibly the busiest  few miles on the whole canal system with plenty of boats going both ways, we moored on the 48 hour visitor moorings between the pub and the A45 road bridge.

The polish came out after lunch to polish out a mark on the paintwork caused by a twig that had rubbed down the side when passing another boat,  I ended up polishing the whole side, then cleaning the windows and touching up the black paint around the rubbing strake, this always gets knocked when in the locks.

This evening we went to the Boathouse ( ex Mill House) for a meal, with their 2 for 1 offer and beer almost at Wetherspoon prices we may go tomorrow night as well.

Walking back from the pub we were surprised how much mooring space was empty compared to the last time we were here in early July, to be able to arrive late evening in Braunston and find a mooring is unusual at anytime of the year.

Wednesday.  What do boating bloggers blog about when their not boating ? .

We are moored at Braunston with a bit of time to kill so today's blog is about anything and nothing. 
Today started off with a discussion about breakfast, we had some chestnut mushrooms in the fridge which we planned to have with Eggs and Toast, but we also needed Bread and Milk from the shop up in the village, should I walk to the shop before or after breakfast, ( there are so many important decisions on a boat ),  I went before, so we had a very late breakfast.
While nosing around the shop I found a box of over ripe Bananas with a sign saying "free to a good home" bargain, so put a bunch in the basket, back on board I produced the Bananas and said that they would be OK with custard but Jayne found a recipe for Banana cake on the Internet so that's in the oven now.

Free, what a bargain.

A lot of people have noticed the garden ornament on our roof, it's a Hedgehog riding a Motorbike, he used to live in the corner of our patio but now spends the summer on the roof of No Direction enjoying the canals, in the winter he lives on the end of our jetty at Kings Bromley Marina keeping an eye on the ducks, why do we have him ?, well, when our Daughter was younger she went to a Sunday market at Polesworth with some friends, spotted the Hedgehog and bought it for us, she forgot that the car they went in was parked about a mile away and the Hedgehog being made of Concrete was very heavy, a fact that she reminds us of every time she see's it.

Don't ask why.

Banana cake, just out of the oven

As a schoolboy I used to cycle along the canal towpaths around north Birmingham, usually between Perry Barr and Aston, now they are overlooked by the motorway junction know locally as "Spaghetti Junction" , in my early forties I got back into cycling with mountain bikes and touring bikes, again I enjoyed using towpaths now and then and still do, so I am a bit sad when I hear of the conflict between walkers, boaters, fishermen and cyclists that seems to be growing due mainly to the towpaths being upgraded into cycle routes and therefore attracting more cyclists, I have never had a problem when cycling or boating but as with all sections of society there are always those who think they have a right to do what they want without consideration for others, like most things in life I try and see the funny side.

You have been warned.

Spotted at Little Venice where tourists queue for trip boats while cyclists whiz past.
Cycling in London is on a different scale to most places.

In the mid nineties I met another towpath cycling enthusiast, Robert Davies from West Bromwich who had taken his interest a bit further that most, after being made redundant and while searching for another job he had written a small guide booklet called Canal Quest, it covered the towpaths on most of the canals in the West Midlands from Worcester to Stafford giving access points, stations, pubs, parking and the condition of the towpath, when you had completed a section an enamel badge was available for £1.95 plus 26p postage, I remember him saying that he was having trouble with Ordnance Survey because they wanted money for using their maps and from British Waterways as the book was not approved by them, whatever happened he got it published.  I loaned my copy to someone 12 years ago and as usual never got it back but while looking through a charity box of books at the Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally I found a copy, I don't need it now as we have Nicholsons canal guide books but bought it as a bit of cycling memorabilia.

 
£4.95 in 1997 - 50p today

Simple mapping.

 Back to Boating tomorrow, promise.

1 comment:

Brian and Diana on NB Harnser said...

Braunston was packed only a fortnight ago and as you say the Boathouse wasn't bad.