Knife overboard

Wine before dinner on Tuesday ...

As we had blobbed the whole day on Tuesday, we determined that we really ought to move a bit further down the cut yesterday. I thought I would start by going out and picking some blackberries (for breakfast) that I had seen on Monday when I came back from an abortive walk to the now nonexistent Pollards hardware shop.

However, sometime during our blobbing day/night, access to the blackberries was cut off - a tree, or a good part of it, fell down and blocked the towpath between us and the lock, dammit! Fortunately there was a toppled branch sized gap between moored boats at that point, so there are benefits to git gaps every now and then! But not for the breakfast plan!!

The fallen tree looks more dramatic from the boat ...

But regardless, that yoghurt pot owner was lucky. I called CRT, but when we got to the lock and waterpoint, a liveaboard said he had already phoned the local foreman. There's a festival at Fenny this weekend, so no doubt it's already been cleared.

From Fenny Stratford we made a nostalgic trip down through Stoke Hammond and Soulbury - we boated that section on our first ever hire from Wyvern at Linslade, and my Aunt Daphne accompanied us. She lived in Soulbury village which is a mile away from the 3 locks. I remember that Kirsty (who, like Daphne, could take ages getting ready for anything) and Daphne met us at the top of the locks - Daphne's neighbour, Liz, had driven David, Tim and me to Wyvern and then gone back to collect them - in part, to be fair, because Liz couldn't fit 5 passengers in her car ...

The last time David and I came down this way, we walked into Soulbury (taking our lives in our hands given the mad, speeding, overtaking drivers) and had lunch at The Boot. Definitely worth risking your skin for! And we had also called in to meet Isobel who now lives in Daphne's old house and re-acquainted ourselves with Daphne's former neighbours, James and Simon, who purchased Daphne's house from her estate and made the two houses into one, so Isobel (Simon's mother) could have the downstairs of Daphne's place as her own. And they did a fabulous job on the modifications/renovations!

This time, we didn't stop, either at the Three Locks pub or for a venture into Soulbury. We just kept on going, calling in briefly at Leighton Buzzard to shop at Tescos - such a good idea having 2 hour moorings there right across the carpark from Tescos, Homebase and Aldi.  (Julia, I did go into Aldi looking for the chicken, chardonnay and ham hock pies but none were on the shelves, so no purchases made there then!)

At Tescos I did find (for £8) dinner for 2: chicken jalfrezi, chicken tikka marsala, pilau rice, 2 naan breads and 4 onion bhajis - couldn't make it for that, now could I?

And yesterday was the first time we have filled with water twice - once at Fenny and then again at Leighton Buzzard (2 loads of washing, 2 showers). We have instituted the rule of getting water wherever we see it, unless we have JUST filled - keeping it topped up is much faster that filling an empty tank and means we are less abstemious with it, and less desperate when it gets low. And it means we can shower more often, which is a bonus for visitors and passers-by ...

We had planned to get to the top of Grove Lock yesterday, but stopped not far out of LB - little did we know, because it wasn't visible from the cut, that we were across the canal from a sports ground and a go-kart track. Lovely to hear kids enjoying themselves and I am sure I was asleep before they stopped!

We ate dinner in the cratch at the table (thanks, John; thanks, Mick) and David was on clearing away the dishes. When he went to the stern to flick some leftover something into the cut, he let go of the knife - my fault apparently, as it was the one I'd been using, or I was the one who didn't finish what was on my plate, or somesuch weak excuse! So we are one table knife down. Best I count them before more visitors arrive, in case a replacement needs to be added to the shopping list. I did ask if he was going to get out the magnet but got a negative response (as opposed to a negative/positive response - did I get that right?)

My share of the dinner, plus yoghurt to manage the jalfreezi. (I don't think there were any leftovers, even though I didn't have 50% of anything ...) One of those knives is no longer on the boat :-(

This did make me laugh ...

We did big calculations this morning using canalplan.org.uk to make sure we have enough time to get to the places we have committed to see the people we wish to see. I suspect that website doesn't take account of slowing down for the myriad of moored boats (and there are heaps of them in some places); and I am also sure that it expects that we are all 30 and can boat and lock for hours at a time without rest ... But still and all, our destinations are all achievable, even if we boat for only 3 hours a day ...

This morning, we set off, and because it's a fasting day (Thai beef salad is on the menu, beef is marinating as we speak), we didn't get to our original proposed destination. Or it could just be because it is hot!

Out in the wilds of Buckinghamshire - but close to the borders of Hertforshire and Bedfordshire apparently

And the wilds behind us ...

David unfolding the bike so he can cycle between locks and have them ready when I get there.

It's not all closed in around the canal. I think those are the Chilterns in the distance.

There were a couple of these bridges before locks - a gap for the lock entrance and a gap for the towpath. Rather attractive, I thought.

Today I saw a number of lock cottages with their construction dates on them (1914, 1916, 1912, ...) Most of them were stucco and reminded me of Cherswud, the 1919 house we owned for 34 years.

This mother duck had three very new ducklings that I made the mistake of feeding (with rolled outs) as I was approaching the lock - they followed me in and had to be shooed out loudly, and David had to shut the gate rapidly to prevent them coming in again. Then, as I was about to leave the lock, I saw another duck with about 6 older ducklings in the lock with me. David assured me that they had hopped in over the top gate when the lock was full  - phew!! They then, having eaten rolled oats I sprinkled for them, hopped out at the high end and walked down the path to the canal below. Nuts!

Instead we have moored at the top of the Ivinghoe locks with permanent moorers across the cut on private spaces and farmland plus the Chilterns (I think) within view. We can vaguely hear the trains. Laundry is out, David is re-making the bed, and I am about to blob - that should come before blog, alphabetically speaking, but if I put them in that order, I think only the former would get done!

Do you remember Ann and Salvi who came to stay with us recently? They are now back in NZ and waiting to move back into the house (tenancy end date is approaching). Ann What'sApped me this morning and said that it is freezing and that Salvi is thrashing her at 5 Crowns. David is NOT going to get the chance to decrease the lead I have over him - I am resolute that I am only playing the game now when there are others involved ...

Even Salvi's hands look self-satisfied in this photo! By the way, that looks like a Mitsubishi fridge-freezer in the background! We've got one of those at home!