Hurry up and wait ...

After a time of wonder, and before we left the mooring near Bridge 20, I finally got around to changing the latch for the stern doors. The knob had come off and we had to move the slider with a hook. So the old latch came off.

Drilling holes for the new latch that we bought in the little hardware shop way back when we were in Tamworth. Hence the comment re a time of wonder ... I'd had to file away some of the wood on port side so the keeper would sit in line with the latch. My drilling and measuring technique was very hi-tech as you can see ... I did have to use shorter screws than provided because the outside of the door is steel, and wood screws are notoriously wussy about going into steel.

And it's done. Some paint is needed next. I'll wait for another time of wonder to pass by.

 

When the canada geese were away foraging, the heron went fishing across the cut from the boat. He was so still and stealthy.

 Our very slow progress down the Caldon was to ensure we arrived in Stoke on Trent in the same timeframe as Marta and Trevor and two of the kids who were coming for the weekend before heading off to Poland for 11 days. So on the day we made our move from below Bridge 20, we headed all the way to Etruria - and not without incident!

Somehow I have lost the knack for wide corners - or it could be the silt build up that catches me unawares. Either way, it drives me nuts that I end up on the far side of the cut... Mostly, apart from damage to my pride, there are no consequences of note. 

But on our way around the long bend after Bridge 8, right next to Lidl's, the cornering went horribly wrong and I ended up way way over on the right hand side and under the trees. I considered trying to reverse out, but thought I was likely to end up with crap from the shallows around the prop, and if not that fate, then it was likely I'd still be caught in the trees. And I had too much forward momentum to avoid the trees anyway. So bravely and foolhardily onwards, team.

I did have to yell for David to come and manhandle the 75mm diameter branch and its smaller siblings and related leafery over the back third of the boat - over the rearmost solar panels, supine pramcover, and over me! Good man held it up, pivoted to make sure it was safely away from me. But he had to let it down after that. 

I looked around after I was sure the boat was clear, and what did I see? The stern rope trailing in the water behind us! How did that get knocked off? Well, simple really - the goose tiller pin had been wiped out and the rope went with it...

Look, Mum, no goose! By this stage, however, I had retrieved the rope... And look, a clear bit of towpath on the Caldon Canal!

Dammit! However, a few weeks ago, when we were staying overnight in Kings Orchard Marina, I had looped a rope around the goose and a stern stanchion to hold the tiller still in the strong wind. Such was the strength of the wind and the softness of the brass that the pin bent. Ian (our man who can) gave it a good whack to try and straighten it. Fortunately he didn't fully succeed. Good thing too, because while the goose departed to be buried in the silt, the bent pin stayed in place and the tiller arm didn't part company with the swan's neck!

Just after one of the lift bridges, these beautiful kettle chimneys have been preserved in a new housing estate. IIRC, when we were here with Barry and Pauline, the chimneys were surrounded by rubble.

No carpet at Lock 3 this time. But we did have a lovely experience with two young boys who were watching us approach. We got them to help David with opening and closing the bottom gates. So delightful to see them opening up to us and enjoying it. Their smiles and those of their mum were very warming.

Working with David opening the gates with their mum filming too.

And the second one - they are ready and waiting for David to appear.

And there he is - they can start pushing now. I've had to look closely at the photo - it looks on first, second and third investigations as though the right hand gate is closed. But it's deceptive - what looks like the gate is a wall and weeds outside the lock.

Aren't those the happiest little faces?

 

As I waited for a boat coming up the staircase locks at Etruria, I spoke to a young woman walking past. I cannot remember the university named on her sweatshirt (Tweed perhaps), but I asked where it was. It was the uni she had attended and graduated from with a degree in environmental science. She is an ecology scientist now. We talked about the dreaded Himalayan Balsam. She said how she had been on a walking holiday in the Lake District with her dad recently and had stopped every time she saw HB, and pulled it out. What a star!! I suggested she come to NZ and get work with the Dept of Conservation - they would love to have her!

We moored up at Etruria, in a patch clear of trees so the solar panels could do their job (in the periods when the rain stopped ...). What a fabulous mooring - near the services, away from noisy roads, and across from a lovely 2 storey complex of sheltered accommodation with lovely grounds. The towpath is wide, well used and by a park. Altogether a very lovely place.

Our battery woes that started when we were in Kings Orchard Marina have continued - the new battery (purchased at Streethay) was overcharging and boiling. And the alternator was playing up (I cannot remember how Ed knew that). Ed arranged to purchase a new alternator and yet another new battery, and met us at Etruria to fit them and make sure there was no more potential for overcharging - something to do with the 12v battery having 24v solar panels feeding into it - bad, bad, bad. It was a modification made during Covid that had unintended consequences.

The almost deceased alternator. It has fallen off its perch, life is extinct (well, nearly). That is a dead alternator. (apologies to Monty Python, Palin and Cleese.)

These fuses are probably close to needing to be replaced. They are behind the dash.

Was it cheese scones that day or little cheese tarts and strawberry and lemon muffins? However I'm sure it was tomato, mushroom, capsicum, onion and garlic sauce with pasta for lunch.

I'd offered cheese scones to the young CRT guy who had gashed his hand earlier that day and had had it stitched. He refused, but Ed said to me from down in the engine bay that he didn't know what he was missing. If I'd offered him blueberry muffins he'd have said yes. But Ed tells me the UK doesn't really do cheese scones. Later that day, I gave him a scone to compensate for his stitches. And he said it was delicious. Success!!

We had walked to the Tesco Extra and did a big shop for the weekend - two whole trolleys. Lots of cheese. And lots of meat - most unusual for us to buy meat. I'd bought salami, sliced ham and bacon, plus stewing steak so I could make a steak and cheese pie given I know that Olek and Karol love steak and cheese pies. I was dreading handling it, but beef here is not very bloody as it is in NZ. It is so pale I was concerned that when cooked it would not have a rich colour. But a spell in the oven and a small container of liquid beefstock sorted that out. I did have to taste it to make sure it was flavourful: salty enough, tasty enough. And it was. Gosh, it was tempting ...

On our way back from Tescos, we crossed the carpark for Etruria Locks Park. The Canada geese were spread out - no room for cars!

I made enough pastry for a large cheese tart and the planned large meat pie (with a lid) and stored it in the fridge well wrapped ready for Sunday. 

I had planned a menu for each meal from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch and thought about a tasklist. I had said to David I would identify the tasks he could do, and he sighed and brought me two pieces of card for tasks, one of a decent size, and one about the size of a large postage stamp - for his tasks. So I used that one to note down my key task: Supervise David's tasks. No surprise that that list did not survive long ... And then he found something vitally important but unrelated to visitor prep that he absolutely HAD to do, didn't he?

 

Menu - not on beautiful parchment, but handwritten! And on sides of cardboard packets that I save for list making, score recording, drawing, and now menu planning!

Mmmm. Does the allocation of tasks seem like it can be fair? Fear not, it wasn't...

Before we left Etruria, we did a self pumpout at the CRT Services. We thought it best to have both toilets clear for the influx of visitors. The machine wasn't reading the CRT vouchers, so the manager there used the manual override and we got a free pumpout! How cool is that!

People with houses on the canal side are creative about their canal frontages...

Adam Porter, this is the notice on the only towpath gate of the gas place by the bridge. And the gate is padlocked. No notice of a phone number, no bell. What gives?

This building is next to the bet365 complex. It's lovely and historic - cannot remember what it was though. (Information, Wiki-Irene?) However that bright green stuff is artificial grass. What good reason is there for that?

So that Trevor had somewhere secure to park for the weekend, we booked a night in Festival Marina for the boat and a couple of nights for the car. It was a good place to leave the car, but prior to their arrival, we had to get the boat into the space we had been allocated.

Not simple! the wind came up, of course. And the space was about 8 feet wide and the jetty was a finger mooring, not a full length one. And we needed to go in backwards ...

We made it, but not without incident. And the incident involved ACP making a leap of about 1200mm (about 4 feet) on to the gunnels of the neighbouring boat, reaching for the handrail, only to discover that it was actually the barge pole, which of course, moved and provided no purchase... Fortunately, I didn't see him make the move in its entirety. I saw the last second or three. But still plenty to give me palpitations! I saw the grab for the barge pole and the slide of that towards the handrail which he was fortunately able to grab on to.

His major sin though was laughing about it. His response was probably in fear and relief, but I could have clobbered him! And that would have been about fear and relief too. Especially as if he'd fallen, he was far too close to the turning prop. I am going to tell Julia about it and she will give him a right telling off!

Of course before the team arrived, we needed more groceries - things we'd forgotten the day before. We always forget stuff! This time, a trip to Morrison's at Festival Park. Lots of chippies, 2 packs of Giant Wotsits and white bread ... All the healthy stuff, of course!

And then, it was time to let the wild rumpus start!