Expensive volunteering and family

Life is pleasingly full which  much prefer. I don't like routine and I don't like sedentary. I ride blood bikes which is good as it gives me a chance to ride other bikes, I have to be an advanced rider ( checked every three years) and the feel good factor of helping the NHS and complete strangers.

A few shifts back (the blog is on catch up mode) I had a full house type of shift where I had collections in Stoke from the path labs and the maternity and then into Birmingham to Heartlands Hospital, the Children's Hospital, City Hospital, Blood transfusion service, Women's Hospital and Birmingham university. A good shift. Back in stoke I filled the blood bike up near its base and as I was heading off back down the duel carriageway I felt a bump on my boot and looked in my mirror to see my Iphone bouncing down the road !! Quick up the other side but by the time I got to it a few cars had driven over it !

It was/is  - see later in the post an Iphone X which was due out of support in September so I bit the bullet and got a new Iphone 15 ( yep an Apple fan boy - typing this on my M1 MacBook and I have an Ipad also.)

We also had some extended family time at Newstead Abbey where we had a wet walk and a nice lunch afterwards. Newstead is the ancestral home of Lord Byron and was before that an Augustine priory before Henry the VIII decided it wasn't ! Lovely place well worth a visit. 

Before much of this more lanes to ride on my Trusty Royal Enfield Himalayan 

The good news for those that have got this far is I brought a replacement screen on the off chance of the phone still working. A wet morning swapping the screen out and bingo I haver a spare  - the phone will be used as a nav device on my bikes as a plan b 

More fixing stuff and a big birthday

Back home the cottage was trying to be a boat by making me spend money I didn't want to. We came back to our oil boiler locking out. I have it serviced regularly and always chat to the local plumber who does it so know a lot about the workings. He could not get for a few days so I set to changing a few parts I have spares for. 

The 'eye' that detects ignition had failed before  - when the beast from the east struck which unsurprisingly I remembered well ! I had a spare so I tried that but no luck. I decided to replace the nozzle that helps make the spay of oil to burn. I kept the old ones from previous services. The one that came out was a bit sooty a good sign for a fix so I cleaned up the older one and put it in and spot on we had heat and hot water. 

Ricky the plumber came a week or so later and by then I'd sourced a new nozzle that was put in and the boiler serviced basically a good check and clean out the heat exchanger baffles  - the testing of co2 etc is the bit of kit I don't have and is needed to adjust the boiler burner. All sorted for another 12 months hopefully.

It was also a big birthday for Rachel which we celebrated by hiring a carriage on a local heritage steam railway for the family which is quite a large one now. A good time was had by all.

If you thought boats were expensive

.... don't be looking at static caravans!

Due to delays and other 'stuff' alluded to in recent posts on this blog we took a short notice trip to Wales  - North Wales Cricceth to be precise.  Monday 27th May I was all set to be in the workshop at home finishing off the plaster boarding when we got an email in relation to visiting a static caravan site on the coast.  A flash decision to go to Wales ( the boat was being blacked ) happened and we headed off 2 hours later to a nice hotel in Cricceth.

We booked in for chats at two sites one on the coast and one slightly inland all around the Harlech area. Lovely people to chat to and very open and honest about costs and use... basically you have to use them a lot to ge the value with costs of vans around the 35-40k mark with licences to occupy from 10-13 year then the van is worth what you can sell it for less removal fees... so basically budget for bugger all. Then the site fees of 5-6k a year plus gas plus electric plus internet plus insurance  - it's a 10k a year journey. I always used to think the 3-5 k a year for having the boat was a lot - out of interest we got a valuation for Percy while at the marina which was better than we were expecting. 

Getting back on the blogging horse

Wow - 3rd June was my last 'report'. Poor tardy performance !! So by way of apology to my blog and to get some content form my later years reading here goers a few days of catch ups ....

We were at Goldstone wharf for our evening meal and it didn't disappoint. Who knew these were a thing - look closely and tell me what ? 

Next day it was a simple bimble back but again we could not get 'in'  - worse facing south, but I had a plan !! 

Nothing then everything !

We had a quiet night at Market Drayton last night. It was so quiet this morning we overslept and woke naturally at 9am!! We decided to delay our departure and have a walk into Market Drayton and was pleased  to see it looking a bit more profitable. We had a lovely walk around the Norman church there Saint Marys. A nice lunch at a cafe we've used before when back on the boat  I emptied the cassette again so as not to have to take it home full on Wednesday.

The canal was very quiet all morning which has been consistent with our experience on both legs of this trip. 2.30 pm we slipped the ropes and headed for the locks. We met the first boat in the narrows approaching the locks... they held and we passed all fine.  A boat coming down the flight saw us coming and opened the gates of the bottom lock so we had no chance to prepare it by the planned opening the top paddles to divert the flow  - pleased to say despite an increasing flow of the nasty sideways by-wash I nailed the entry not touching the sides which anyone who knows this lock is an achievement ! A chat with the boat descending who were a bit miffed about the clown who lives in the wharf as they had had to go up the locks to wind to get access to the pump out and ended up having to go to Goldstone to wind and pass the Woodseaves cutting twice.

Rachel nailed the second lock despite the boat coming out hovering as the boat going into lock 5 had grounded on the lock landing  - happens a lot I think we've been caught out there also. As we came up lock 4 the boat came out of lock 3 and a couple despite seeing us closed and filled the lock  - never mind it didn't get them anywhere as the delay to boats moving due to the grounded boat meant they just sat on the lock landing not helping the crew descending  - you do see all sorts.

So I think it was 5 boats we passed approaching or on the flight. The reward was nothing in Woodseaves so we were able to enjoy its majesty. We both shared the same thought about how 'easy'  life is and how entitled everyone seems compared to the graft and struggle of the people who cut out such cutting with their bare hands and no doubt were pleased to be employed to do so  - not saying that was right but it seems to have gone the other way.... personal view your view may differ.

We left it to fate for our evening mooring, it was either Goldstone if there were free mooring, if not then Knightton Woods if boats were there it would be home at Shebdon. As it turned out there were only two boats at Goldstone so we bobbed in and booked a table for tonight. Since we moored we have got two more boats.

Ran the genny for 45 mins to charge up the Ecoflow. I had it connected to the 12v in the back cabin while cruising the two hours today and got about 15% thats at 6 amps or about 65w. I have been contacted by Giandel  who want a video of the inverter overloading when not connected which I've sent - hopefully they will come good with a replacement or repair.

Right beer o'clock !

Interesting repairs on the stone at St Mary's in Market Drayton  - something for our cottage maybe 

There are three significant rock slides in the cutting one which has left a massive overhang that I think needs attention as if that comes down it'll be a big old closure 

All dug by manpower !

Our welcome with mum and dad ripping the grass off the edge for the signets 

The best laid plans

We certainly think fate is leading us on a learning lesson right now. We had so many plans for 2024 that almost to a plan have been impacted or cancelled. Many reasons and some have positive outcomes for others so we can't be too upset. In fact for me personally who for 61 years has lived most of those years in the future to have plans adjusted or cancelled is a great lesson. Life right now is telling us appreciate what you have now this day this hour this minute.

Sermon over back to the boat. Due to other commitments alluded to above our Four counties / Chester / Anderton lift / Llangollen trips have been commuted into a return slow time journey to our mooring at Shebdon. So Friday we arrived at Percy mid day and she was already slipped back in all blacked up annode'd and ready to go. We filled with water then did a 180 turn out of the marina to look for a mooring below the Audlem flight of 15 locks. Nothing below the first lock so we started up and stopped after lock 14 to see if there was anything on the visitors between 11  and 12 which there was so we nailed another couple of locks and moored up for the night. Frustratingly loosing a windlass as part of the final lock mooring up process. We consoled ourselves to the fact out loss would be someone else's happiness if they kept the windlass which we have to assume they did ! 

A lazy night then a lazy start the next day. ( Sat 1st June) saw us ascend the rest of the flight turning every lock - why are there so few boats moving ? Part way up we adopted a vlovky who was friendly and efficient and was rewarded with a bottle of Tim Taylors 'Landlord' for which he was pleased to receive.

At the top lock I struggled to get the top gate fully open and expected to be able to just edge out but no Percy got stuck.... a pair of American fellas tried to help and wanted to 'push' Percy back in - they seemed excited to do this ... as they were approaching with Rachel on the back in decent reverse I 'bounced' the gate and freed us thankfully much to the disappointment of our American friends. I then set to clearing the lock recess with our boat hook - basically lots of rotting veg and sticks on the shelf where the lock gate goes into .... opened the gate all was well apart from a some new blacking not being there anymore ! 

We mored at the first mooring on the visitors at the top of the flight at around 1.15 pm two hours after setting off and rewarded ourselves with lunch and ice cream from the cake lady at the top lock.

I took a walk back to the Coop  - just under three mile round trip for supplies later. Below the top lock was a dead eel  - quite massive as long and as thick as my leg... what a canal monster and a shame it is no more. 

Not sure of the gate number but it had some decent holes in it !!

A bit of fishing and I then started to remove the new but seemingly failed Giandel inverter  which just keeps going into overload with no load on it .... trying to get them to support their product is difficult, I'll update if I get some support.

A quiet night ensued as no other boats joined us. 

Today off to do the Adderley flight then moor in or around Market Drayton for the horrible bottom lock of Tyrley on Monday all being well.

Ouch that stung a bit !

BOAT - Bring Out Another Thousand ( or two in this case ) as they say .....

It is only when you commission third party work at home or the boat do you realise what savings you or in this case I achieve  by doing it yourself. However there comes a time due to the work type and  age sometimes in combination that passing the job to the professionals makes sense. This has been the case with our blacking and some welding. The former I can do and have done in the past  - the last three blacking we did ourselves but the last one at Stone was a challenge as Rachel was delayed so I did the first coat myself and the dock filled with fumes and I went home feeling very sick  - like I was 6 pints drunk !!

I have to reconcile myself to the thinking I paid someone to do the work on the boat but I've done just about all the conversion on the workshop at home ( bar plastering it  - I've done all the plasterboard and trims etc)  so the budget I set myself for the conversion by someone else means the savings will pay for the boat work and leave a few K's spare for holidays or motorbikes !

This is a short update as all being well we will be back aboard tomorrow bringing Percy back home unless.....!!!!