About Nothing Particular

Last Friday and Sunday (18th/20th) I was at Braunston for the Share Boat Show helping out on the Historic boats Nutfield and Raymond, we had a good weekend and raised some money which will go towards their up keep. Glad to see that Halfie sold a share.

Saturday we went to a Model Railway Engineering Exhibition at Leamington Spa, it appears that running a model railway system is a very serious business with timetables to be followed and correct signal operation vital !!

Press the wrong button and your out.

The better weather has brought out the boaters with a lot more boats moving in and out of Kings Bromley Marina, we won't be moving until the week after next when we head for Shobnall Marina to black the hull of No Direction, well I will be doing the blacking as Jayne's going to stay with her sister while I do the work.

Yesterday we were at the Rose and Crown , Zouch on the River Soar for a committee meeting of the R.B.O.A. which lasted until 3 pm.

The Willow logs that we picked up last October have dried out and are burning well, something very satisfying about heating the boat with free fuel, apart from half pint of petrol in the chainsaw that is.

Volunteering

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Tonight (Tuesday) we attended an Inland Waterways Association  (I.W.A.) meeting in Burton upon Trent, the meeting was part of the build up to the I.W.A. Festival which is due to take place at the end of July, it was an opportunity for local people to hear what was going on, although I don't know how many of those at the Meadowside Leisure Centre were locals, most seemed to be boatie people. There were a few red shirts ( Waterways Recovery Group) (W.R.G.) around as well.

The proceedings got underway with a presentation by Harry Arnold M.B.E. who showed before and after photographs of various Restoration projects that the I.W.A. had been involved with, he also showed photographs of previous I.W.A. Festivals going back to 1950.

At the I.W.A. Festival last year I seem to remember filling in a Volunteer form offering to help with the setting up and dismantling of the 2011 festival site but as I had heard nothing since I wasn't sure, but, after checking with an organized looking lady in a I.W.A. shirt it was confirmed that I was on her list and to be at the Festival site on the Friday 15th of July, I then had a quick chat with "Moose" a W.R.G. member who will be organizing the other volunteers at the show.

Wednesday saw us down in Wiltshire, we had offered to pick up ( in his van ) a set of boat curtains and cushions for someone who is having a new boat built, the lady who made them lives on a Narrowboat at Foxhangers which is on the Kennet and Avon Canal at the bottom of the Caen Hill Locks, I had to walk the last 50 yards to her boat as Land and Water were laying water pipes across the track.

The modern Navvie, no picks and shovels here.

The Field in the background is due to be dug out for a 248 berth Marina , a local newspaper report from November 2009 tells us that British Waterways will need 11700 new berths across the system by 2015 !!!!! I think they make it up.

Busy Weekend coming up for me, Friday I will be at Braunston preparing Nutfield and Raymond for this weekends Boat-share Show where they will be on display, the show is on Saturday and Sunday in Braunston Marina.

Saturday I will be at The Midlands Garden Rail Show at Leamington Spa. Sunday it's back to Braunston for more boat tinkering and Sunday night in the Old Peculiar at Handsacre for a meal and a couple of pints, it's a tough life.

Be Guided

Most people who cruise the Canals today use one of the many guide books available, usually Nicholson's or Pearson's, these are full of colourful maps and local information including boat yards and pubs.

For pleasure boat user's in the Nineteen fifties the choice was more limited, some used an Ordnance Survey "1 inch" map or, for 2 Shillings (10p) you could buy a "British Waterways Inland Cruising Booklet" these were produced by the British Transport Commission which ran the waterways between 1948 and 1962, there were 14 guides covering the system.

Guide to the Oxford Canal.

As the British Transport Commission also ran the Railways the maps drawn for the guides were diagrammatic same as a Railway guide map.

If the Romans had built the canals they may have really looked like this.

All in Black and White.

Look at those 3 digit phone numbers

We have been getting No Direction ready for our planned cruises, I have cured a very small oil leak on the engine and was going to replace the rubber mounting bushes on the Python Drive, but after checking the price with Midland Swindlers Chandlers (£49 +12.90 delivery ) I had another look and decided they were OK, I have also replaced the water pump impeller in the Generator so that we don,t have a problem like we did last year.

Jayne is going through the food storage drawers and making lists ready for a very bit shop.

Boat & Caravan Show

Yesterday we visited the Boat and Caravan show at the National Exibition Centre, we go every year but I think this one may be the last,  there were only 4 Narrowboats and 1 Dutch Barge among the dozens of small wooded and plastic boats on display.

We have bought a small electric scooter for Jayne to get around on as she has difficulty walking any distance, the show was a good place to test it. 

So much better than that horrible wheelchair.

The floating harbour gave people the feel of a boat on water.

But only if you were" Invited" (fuzzy picture, I was laughing)

The picture above reminds me of the time in 1996 when I was working at a Land Rover dealer, one Saturday morning an "untidy looking family" walked into the showroom and started nosing around a new Range Rover, the salesman looked at them, went into his office and closed the door, no doubt hoping they would go away, that was, until he was told that they had just won £11 Million on the lottery, needless to say the door flew open and the beaming salesman was soon at their side.

In a previous blog we listed some of the events we hope to visit this year, well we have added another, the Alvecote Summer Fair and Boat Gathering is taking place at Alvecote Marina on 9th and 10th of July. 

Open Days.

We really know how to have a good time here at Kings Bromley.

Plans for 2011

This years Summer cruise is going to be a bit gentler that 2010, well that's the plan.
Two things which we will include are the Crick Boat Show and the I.W.A. Festival at Burton upon Trent, these are a must as Jayne has taken on the job of organising the stand for the RBOA at both these events in 2011.

Our involvement with the Historic boats Nutfield and Raymond is the next thing to consider so after the Crick show we will head for the Stoke Bruerne Gala Weekend on 10/12th June, then onto the Braunston Historic Boat Show on 24/26th June.

Nutfield and Raymond on Show at Stoke Hammond in 2010

Next stop will be the I.W.A. Festival, I have volunteered to help with the setting up so will be there for 3 weeks before the event opens and probably a few days after it closes, that takes us into August at which time we will come back to Kings Bromley Marina for 2 or 3 weeks as August is a very busy time on the Canal and we would rather avoid it.

Hopefully in September it will be a bit quieter, we then hope to go up to Llangollen, we had planned to go in 2009 but the Shropshire Union Canal (our prefered route) was closed due to a breach.

1st and 2nd of October will see us back down at Stoke Bruerne for the Village at War weekend , always a good event, but before we tackle any of this No Direction needs a bit TLC so we are booked into Shobnall Marina dry dock at the beginning of April for hull blacking and few other small jobs which I need to do. 

Still here.

Almost a month since we last blogged so a bit of catching up to do, so far this year we,ve had a wedding anniversary, ours 37 years and a birthday (sort of) No Direction went in the water on 4 Feb 2008, so happy 3rd birthday. 

Although No Direction hasn't moved so far this year we have been busy onboard with a couple of alterations, gone is the Sofabed which had only been used as a bed 5 or 6 times in 3 years, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to sit on and we have a Dinette which converts into a double bed so visitors can still stay, it has been replaced with a swiveling armchair and footstool, no money changed hands as the Sofabed has gone to our Daughters house in exchange for the armchair and stool, Jayne says she will stick with her Laziboy Recliner, we also have a new Television and some wider bookshelves.

One task which is definitely not on my favorite jobs list is cleaning the fire and flue, I do this twice a year,  people see coal or log fires and say how lovely they are, which is true when you only have to look at them but the other side of the coin is cleaning them out, as the weather has turned a little warmer I let the fire go out on Thursday ready for cleaning on Saturday.

There were a couple of parts which needed replacing, one being a round grill that the ash falls through this is at the hottest part of the fire and erodes away over time, the other was the seal around the door, this gets replaced every year, the worst part is unbolting and removing the tin deflector plate.

The Corner Bubble Stove stripped for cleaning.

The old one on the left eroded by heat. next to the replacement.

All back together with new door seal and re-blacked exterior.

Although cleaning the thing is a hassle we wouldn't be without it, we have found burning Logs/Coal is the cheapest way to heat the boat as the Bubble has a back boiler piped to the radiators.

The boaters reading this blog will certainly remember the TV program "Narrowboat" where they renovated "Dover" I have the DVD which I still watch now and again not so much for the boat re-build but for the other Historic boats featured, anyway after the TV company had finished with it they sold it, after being moored in Braunston Marina for at least 3 years it is now for sale, again, considering the work that went into the project it looks a bargain.