Another gap in the blogging – my apologies,
dear readers. It has been a busy, well occupied few days. Here we are at
Wednesday and I finally have space to create, I mean: report.
On the Sunday morning at Bugbrooke we had
an email from Jaq Biggs saying they were moored near Yardley Gobion, so I was
keen to go and find them. We had arranged to have dinner with them this
Thursday but I thought a surprise arrival would be a good idea - it’s the NZer
in me, I guess … So we started off quite early – partly to get through the
Blisworth Tunnel before there was much traffic – it’s two way and the only
hassle I find with boats coming towards me is the brightness of their
headlights makes for an uncomfortable passage – trying to see the right hand side
of the tunnel right beside me to keep off the wall, while the light coming
towards me is rather blinding. In spite of an early start (7am) in the lovely
mist that feels and looks quite different from that I experience in NZ (where
it generally seems to have the sun partially discernible above it), we arrived
at the tunnel at about 9am. I had been a bit spooked to read the evening before
that Blisworth is ~3000 years long – longer than Harecastle, not the longest on
the system, but the longest we will do as I won’t be doing Standedge at 3
miles, thank you!
The Blisworth was OK – it is high and wide,
although the original brick is dark and so even though our headlight is
powerful, it didn’t seem to illuminate it much. Reminded me of the Homer Tunnel
in the South Island on the way to Milford Sound – when we drove that back in
2001 it was two way and had no lighting, and driving into it from the bright outside light was a
plunge into darkness and initially terrifying as my headlights seemed to have
no effect! Well, Blisworth wasn’t THAT bad, but the vague similarity did strike
me … David got our big torch out and arranged it on the stern cover so it shone
on the wall just in front of me to my right. That helped a lot, as it kept me
aware of the relative positions of the boat and the wall, and it also –
fortuitously – was aimed just at the right height for me to be able to see the
metre markers as we passed them. While the tunnel is over 3000 yards it is
measured inside in metres and is just over 2800 of them. The signs are every
100m, and went up to 1400, and a few metres (I was going to say yards …)
further on there was another 1400m sign. Confused me, but only momentarily,
mind; until I realised that we had reached halfway and were now counting down –
quite a reassuring feeling, all in all. We didn’t meet anyone coming towards us
but David told me there was someone following. I couldn’t hear them, so they
were a fair way behind. The big torch gave out about two thirds of the way
through but the trusty torch app on the i-phone came into play and did a
sterling job although David did have to hold it.
We had decided against stopping for long at
Stoke Bruerne as it was bound to be busy – there was a Village at War event on
that weekend. A couple of hundred yards (see I am back to imperial measures
again) after the tunnel there were loads of boats moored, and as we came into Stoke Bruerne,
they were breasted up and the passage through was quite narrow. One guy told me
the gap was the same size as the tunnel and in daylight, but my reply was that
may be the case, but in the tunnel I wasn’t in public view and not in danger of
hitting old and valuable boats whose owners would be very stern if I did so.
Well, that’s what I wanted to say, but I was concentrating too hard to turn and
look at him for long enough to get that out. So the reply was in my head – one
of those silent ripostes …
It was lovely seeing people dressed in
wartime fashions with appropriate hairstyles and men in uniform, people cycling
on old sit-up-and-beg bikes (the best kind – no sore bum or neck); I even saw
Winston Churchill complete with bowler hat and cigar! Although I doubt he ever
came to Stoke Bruerne – but he did spend a lot of time at Bletchley Park so
maybe he did. Unlikely though as it could have given away clues about Bletchley’s
existence.
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| The top lock at Stoke Bruerne - I remember Kirsty doing this one watched by myriads of schoolkids back in 1990 |
We came through the first couple of locks
on our own and moored up to have some lunch. We then shared the rest of the
locks with Mike and Ethel on nb Blue on Blue. Ethel and I drove into them side by
side – lovely fun and quick. At the bottom, we filled with water, I sloshed a
couple of buckets of water to get the leaves and dust off the channels on the
roof sides as I was planning possibly to do some rustproofing or priming, and
then on we went on our mission to find nb Valerie.
Success!! We pulled up in front of them on
a lovely quiet stretch and finally we met the people I have been reading of for
the last year or so and emailing with for the last couple of weeks. Cups of
tea, much chat and laughter, games of bananagrams (sp?) for Jaq and me (we can
talk and play), David and Les inspected the composting toilet (we are
definitely going to get one!), we discussed the vagaries of the English
language as she is spoke by various colonials and the English themselves in all
their variations, and then had an impromptu meal together – stuffed baked
potatoes (J), green beans (J) and a salad (M) followed by gf pikelets (M) and
blackberry compote (J) with yoghurt (M). Yummy. Plus wine and Elderflower and
lime cider.
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| I think Jaq had just read something by Bill Bryson (Notes from a Small Island) to us about how the English give directions ... |
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| New friends |
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| I think Les may have been a bit perturbed at how stroppy Jaq and I are together ... |
The next day we invited them for dinner on
our boat, so they kindly changed their plans to move to Cosgrove for water
and stayed on. We don’t take all the credit for the change of mind – it did
start to rain … It also stopped and I went out to collect blackberries. In a
space of about 600 yards, I collected 3lb 4oz – and that was only the ones from
2ft above the ground (above dog pee height) and below 6ft (probably about how
high I can reach). I had gone out with my rainjacket on and thought about
taking it off as the sun came out and I was very hot. But it protected my arms
from blackberry thorns, hawthorns and nettles.
Back to the boat and time to make dinner. I
mixed a chocolate brownie as part of dessert and Jaq cooked it in her oven –
the last time I cooked one I wanted to throw it in the cut as the top crisped
up but the inside wouldn’t cook even though I left it in for ages. David ate it
with a spoon straight from the cake-tin … Jaq calls the ovens generally found
in narrowboats Barbie camp ovens and I know what she means when it comes to
cakes! I can do mean cheese scones (Ministry of Food recipe, just the best),
great toad in the hole and Yorkshires but the chocolate brownie failure knocked
my confidence. I will have to give it another try though – cannot be put off
like that! Les had been for a walk to Yardley Gobion to buy wine. The main was
chicken with lemon and tarragon (usually lime but we didn’t have any left) with
crunchy potato roasties and carrots with poppy seeds. Dessert included the
brownie (beautifully cooked, thanks, Jaq) with blackberry compote and yoghurt.
We tried setting the world to rights after dinner but I don’t think we
succeeded. However it will do alright or (more likely) not, without our input,
so I think we agreed we were better to keep boating and avoid the news and
stress that it brings.
David and I were leaving early yesterday to
get water at Cosgrove and meet up with Lesley, her dad and a friend over from
Canada. A good piece of coordination as they could park right next to the cut.
On the way down, the bread was rising and then cooking (I had stopped the boat
on a straight section and come in to mix the flour into the yeast mixture and
put it in the tins to rise). Prior to Lesley’s arrival, we had pulled up just
short of the waterpoint as we couldn’t see clearly exactly where it was and
there were boats and fishermen. David held the boat as I walked round the
corner. Who should have just pulled up at the waterpoint but Mike and Ethel on
Blue on Blue. So I brought the boat round, we had a chat and I tottered off (I
did have the granny trolley) to the shop that is in the caravan park also next
to the cut. It’s only open April to October, so I need to remember that if we
are here outside those times.
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| I think we may explore this on foot today - it is spooky crossing it on the boat and looking over the side without the railing - the boat deck is level with the side of the caisson ... |
With the new crew on board, having made
them use the toilet at the service block, we headed down the lock, then stopped
for cheese scones, which I had prepared for morning tea – however by the time
they arrived, we did the lock and moored up it was 1pm. then on to Milton
Keynes. David prepared a very late lunch of tuna mousse – we stopped and ate
that on the side of the canal at Stanton Low. So lunch was actually more of a
high tea at 4pm. We had planned on dropping them off and having them cab back
to Cosgrove but decided we would turn and cruise back to there. It was lovely
in the late afternoon sunlight and still so warm! Dessert of blackberry crumble
and yoghurt when we moored up and then off they went back to Crosland.
We have now made our plans for the rest of
our time onboard so I wonder how many times we will change them in the next 12
days??? Changed plans have been a feature of our 4.5 months on-board – some
through necessity for getting repairs/changes made, and some through choosing
to do different things. Just a few days ago we had decided we would race (as
much as you can in a narrowboat) south to Slapton and then meander back. Now we
have decided to take it much easier. So today we may well stay put at Cosgrove
or just move a short way down towards Milton Keynes again. We’ll meet Barry and
Pauline on Friday night in Milton Keynes and then head south on Saturday, back
on Sunday to drop them off for their return to London. Then on up we will come
again on a leisurely trip back towards Barby. Hopefully we have our friends
Neil and Neill coming from Cornwall to stay with us next weekend and we can
work them hard through locks and tunnels …
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