64 and still going

64 today and the sun is out to help me celebrate. It is even warm. We'll  crack the champagne later. We are moored in a lovely tree-lined part of the Coventry canal which played havoc with my dongle, hence the late publishing of my previous blog . I have nothing but praise for my loaned 3 dongle which has worked perfectly to date (last night excepted). Next port of call Poleshill and a staircase lock of 5 chambers, which should prove exciting.

UPDATE at 8.00pm.     Wonderful day. Brilliant hot and sunny.11 locks and fabulous sights. The hot weather emphasises the physical qualities of boating ladies, renown for their upper body muscles due, I presume, to all that hard work on the locks. Their upper body muscles and low tops combine to make boating a whole new experience ( I must go to spec-savers). The day has just finished with a meal at a pub in Hartshill. Lynne has a line full of washing and we walked back to the boat past a Buzzard on the ground nearby and a Muntjac deer (google it) "barking" in the woods. What more could you ask for?  We cracked the champagne for breakfast, much to the amusement of passing boaters. Lynne's L plates , one on the stern, one on the bow, also raise many eyebrows and a smile or two. We may have to remove them soon as  Lynne is becoming very expert at handling TARDIS Two , having tackled all the locks on this trip to a very high standard. We are off to  Hawksbury Junction and the Oxford canal tomorrow, all being well. To do so we have to pass through Nuneaton, renown as the Liverpool of the midlands. Stop and you risk losing your hub caps. We do not intend stopping.The dogs in the photo belong to Margaret and are, in order of appearance, Clova and Mellie.

Raindrops and head

It did not stop raining overnight and we realised in our rush to overnight moor we had missed the busy A38 dual carriageway right next to the canal. A quiet night it was not but I slept anyway.  It was still heavily precipitating when we got up around 9.00am but thought it best to make a move anyway in the hope sunshine would prevail, which it didn't of course. Eventually we passed a boat and floating workshop of "The small chimney company" who make stainless steel boat chimneys, one of which we wanted. As if by magic it stopped raining so we stopped for lunch, walked back to the workshop and returned with a brand new chimney ( a birthday present from Margaret ). It looks great and should outlast the boat, according to the manufacturer.  After lunch we had a leisurely cruise in real sunshine, I'll repeat that, in real sunshine, until we reached Fazely Junction for a water refill and rubbish dump, when it rained yet again.  I should mention the Coventry canal is a gem and almost matches the Mon and Brecon canal in Wales for sheer beauty. In sunshine it would be stunning.   something I conveniently forgot to mention yesterday was our latest "loose mooring" incident. This time nothing to do with our lack of knot-tying skills. The wood onto which we moored for lunch was badly secured to the wood posts in the bank and gave way once another boat passed, launching us, complete with wooden side-board, into the canal. Once rescued we moved on to more secure moorings, still in pouring rain.

This evening we moored in quieter surroundings near the ruins of a very old Priory, in dry and warm conditions. The rotary washing line went up on the stern and loads of undies, a bra and various jeans/track suit bottoms were pegged-on. Home from home.

Sent to Coventry

Sunny morning then,guess what........it precipitated . At this precise moment we are moored on the Coventry Canal shortly after Fradley junction where we filled with fresh water, whilst offloading our "used"water and other waste,as you do. A young gongoozler and his mum requested a boat tour which they undertook with Lynne as guide. It all went well until Cody decided to launch himself onto our bed, still with his muddy shoes on. He left Tardis Two quickly. The forecast is showers but this is a hellishly long one. The boat moored next to us last night apparently was a mobile holistic healing centre. we did not partake as all our holistic's are in good order.

The Coventry canal is very rural and far more picturesque than the Trent and Mersey, which is not difficult. 12 miles with no locks until we reach a short stretch with 11 locks. Once again we'll wait for a dry spell before moving on.

The dry spell lasted all of 30 minutes before an even longer and heavier shower commenced and is yet to stop. We all got soaked mooring up yet again so here we'll stay. It is great fun this cruising lark.

UPDATE

1500 hours and it is still raining. We haven't moved today although I had to venture out to clear our rubbish bin........twice. Being a posh place bins are few and far between but one was found outside the Post Office and another outside the Co-Op. Surprisingly I even found a fish and chip shop, a Chinese takeaway and a pub, none of which I entered, honest.  2 fits today ,but both minor and very short-lived. Otherwise I feel fine. Our eldest daughter, currently on holiday in Devon with her family, is tracking us on her iPad, which is scary. We fooled her today by not moving !  Losing a days cruising is not a big issue as we have no set timetable and, anyway, we can make-up the time easily, providing it stops raining soon.

The horrific street murder of one of our brave soldiers at home in Woolwich by an insane terrorist makes the reason for sacrificing hundreds of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan even more of a lie.Tony Blair promised winning  the "wars" would make British citizens safer at home. Eh?     We have lost innocent residents travelling to work by bus and underground trains. The USA has hardly faired better.

Keep your nose out of others business seems to be the message.

Summer returns with vengeance

Rained all night and so far today. Only hire boats on the move through necessity. We're staying put until the rain stops,unless it goes on for months (tempting fate?) we are moored in a very quiet spot next to a bowling green and a very grand church. The village is very up-market,Full of Audi's, Merc sports and BMW's. we need some milk but doubt if we'll find the necessary corner-shop here. Black coffee it is then. 

Zippidee Doo Dah

.Zippidee A. My oh my what a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine heading my way etc.etc. I can't remember where the hell the song comes from but it sums-up the weekend so far. Lynne's Tardis Two wardrobe is full but surprisingly not bulging, whilst mine is full of my lonely pair of underpants. The water tank is full and diesel tank sufficiently full for our two week trip. The former will need refilling every two days or so, hopefully the latter will still have some in when we finish.The wine cooler is full and we may even belatedly crack open a bottle of champagne (or two) when our crew arrives. The canals are busy over the Bank Holiday weekend which also signals the start of the hire-boat season, so we're in for a rocky ride. Another warm and sunny start. What could possibly go wrong? The small snagged faults appear to have been completed since our last visit earlier in the week,although the listing is more difficult to identify. Has it been done? A definite maybe. The eye says yes, the spirit level says no. Only the engine service remains outstanding for when we return to base.

We popped into Coventry on the way home (by car) to visit our youngest daughter coaching the juniors at the city bowling alley. Apart from a minor fit (my first in living memory) the evening went well. A couple of fits during the night raised more questions but was  put down to the mid-way point of my anti-fit tablet changeover. Time will tell.

We ended up at Erewash, a pretty village on the Erewash canal (surprise,surprise) following a blistering hot day topped by a cool evening. Having a crew of 4 makes boating so much simpler, particularly at locks.  Lynne and Margaret shared most of the steering duties but I sneaked a go here and there, although the fits have returned thick and fast. Lots of ducklings, cygnets and goslings. Ducklings are by far the least disciplined , dashing around without a care in the world, whilst cygnets are a joy to behold, sticking between mum and dad in perfect formation, or even cadging a lift on mum's back. Goslings are mid-table in this event, but  the parents are not to  be argued with. 

As 

I write this , rain has arrived, which will probably beat on the roof and keep us awake all night. Yet again we missed cracking the champagne, but we still have something to look forward to whilst waiting for the rain to stop

Demise of Happy Pills

I hate to tempt fate but feel compelled to report it is warm and sunny this morning. Even the rhino looks more at home. We have packed-up most of our clothes (again) in readiness for moving them onto Tardis Two for our long-term spell aboard. It seems strange moving again so soon. We have loved this place since we first moved in and will miss it, but we intend returning for Christmas/New Year to allow for a family gathering in something larger than a sardine tin. I woke this morning reflecting on how well I feel as the process of weaning myself off the happy pills continues. I now have the senses and functions I had before taking them,and some I'd never had before. I'm still a grumpy old git but I've always been happy that way. Take my advice, if anyone suggests a course of happy pills say "no thanks" and rush out the door. Go for counselling  instead, although from my experience there seems to be a very long waiting list for it on the NHS. 3 months and still waiting. A bag of Smarties helps. I gave up and started self-counselling, a bit like they practice on the management bonding seminars/weekends. So they do have a useful function after all?  During quiet moments I ask myself questions I think a counselor would automatically ask about childhood, relationships, significant events, regrets, fears and aspirations etc. (The Notebook. James Garner). Answer them honestly and you've saved yourself a lot of wasted time and money. To save embarrassment and boredom I won't go into the results of my consultations but I'm available anytime you need a session. Just contact my agent. Price negotiable.
I have informed MCC management when Tardis Two is available for rectification and intend being a "floater" (Waterworld. Kevin Costner). A blowfly is a continual nuisance but ensures you do something about it quickly.