Odds blog: Shaken and Stirred

Boat Blog: Tuesday 17th November & Sunday 22nd November

Blue still glazed over after yesterday's anaesthetic - greyhounds take a little longer to recover because they're so lean. He's absolutely fine now.

Tuesday lunchtime was the opportunity for Richard to sneak onto the boat. I was to have a dog free outing as they were both looking a bit sorry for themselves – Lou may have a kidney problem so her post-toe amputation anti-inflammatories were restricted, Blue had been in for some shockwave treatment to fuse his toe and was only slowly recovering from having been knocked out.

The boat was fine but I noticed that the Kiwis next door had tied a rope across the pontoon to keep their boat stable. It is awkward at Paddington, the mooring bollards are not in useful places but as the Kiwis had looked quite well tied they must have been shaken up by some heavy winds in the Paddington Basin wind tunnel to need an extra rope.

Tuesday lunchtime was a fine time to go boating, the sun was out, the day was better than many summer days; it was such a shame that all I was doing was moving the boat out from Paddington (before our 7 days were up) and just round to the visitor moorings in Little Venice. Life will be easier when our winter moorings come free!

Sunday was the opportunity for a longer cruise. The women were meeting to have a stir – the men needed to get away. The plan was to start from Paddington Basin at 10am which meant that I had to get to the boat by around 9am to wind and then move the boat back to the Basin. Leaving just after 8am on Sunday is fantastic – nice quiet roads.  First big question once I got to Little Venice, was the canal wide enough to turn the boat without going 25 minutes to the next winding hole? A bit of technology told me that the canal was 18.17m wide, our boat is 59′ 9″ (18.21m) according to our RCD, so too narrow; but if I let the front overhang over the towpath would I manage it? It was worth a try but just as I came almost square the rear fender jammed against the wall. I could not push the boat round, did not want to try too hard in case I got wedged, so onto plan “B” – reverse back to the pool. Not easy at the best of times, worse today as I managed to meet 4 boats coming towards me in that short stretch!

Lou looking very sorry for herself - she's much happier now that the bandage is off and the stitches are out; she's healing very well.

Once in the basin I met up with Liam and Neil in a perfect bit of coordination and we headed off for Camden fueled by a major coffee brew. It was a little breezy, dry and mild but not warm enough for the African Hunting Dogs to be out . We turned just above the locks in Camden and moored up on the stop ‘n’ shop moorings for a quick wonder round the market. Ten minutes quickly turned into half an hour, we could have spent all day in the market but stirring wives were calling.  I found out that the ‘covered’ market was the old stables which once housed 420 horses – mainly from the canal boats. On the way back to Camden we fueled up on more coffee just as the weather changed, and boy did it change. The wind got up, the rain increased, until at one point it was like being attacked by a power shower.

Our previous mooring had been snatched by 2 boats (their right to do so) who moored way apart (why do people do that?) making it a bit tight for us to moor before a section of paved (ie hard to bang pins in) towpath but we just managed it. Despite the power shower treatment it was an enjoyable morning’s cruise. We struggled back through the weekend shopping traffic but managed to make into the Castle in Outwood before the women. Landlord Warwick now has a second pub so spends less time in the Castle, his presence is missed but we still had a good Sunday roast and the odd medicinal hot whisky and perhaps a tiny amount of beer. (Note from Sue: I had diet coke!)

Dog Update

On the way back from the pub Richard stopped off at a field with rabbits. He reports that the dogs had a fantastic time, both ran well and looked so pleased with themselves at chasing rabbits across the field even if they never even got close to any of them!

Pudding Blog: Sunday 21st November

I’ve been making my own Christmas puddings for years, having got fed up with paying for something that I can make so easily. But last year I decided to try and establish a new tradition and get as many womenfolk together as I could fit into my kitchen for  ‘Stir-up’ Sunday – the Sunday before advent and the age-old day for mixing Christmas puddings.

Last year I tested the idea with one of my dear friends, Jenny, and her daughter Hannah. This year, my kitchen’s been doubled in size by our new conservatory so I went to town with the invites!

By 11.30am I had the joyous company of friends Jenny, daughter Hannah, Lena and 2-year old son Seamus, sisters-in-law Alina and Danusia and Danusia’s husband-to-be who very romantically came out to spend the morning adoring her. The rest of the menfolk went boating…….

Each woman had given me her recipe options and I’d spent the previous evening weighing the fruit and packing it into bags to soak with their choice of alcohol (note: this method worked well!) – the smell alone was intoxicating! I also printed individualised recipe cards for each, laid out the ingredients and the equipment they’d need.

So when they arrived we just needed a round of refreshments then everyone was good to go. In the meanwhile, I baked some Danish Jewel Bread – a traditional Christmas fruit bread, it’s very fine when toasted and coated with jam from the vast supply that I made from this year’s plum crop (45 jars so far and enough fruit to make another 45 in the freezer!).

It was such a hospitable event – I couldn’t have asked for more – good company and good cooking, two of my favourite things (after greyhounds and boating, of course).

There were two funny incidents in the day – I’d laid down one of the dogs’ sheepskins on the conservatory floor for Danusia’s dog, Polo, to lie on but Blue promptly picked it up (the sheepskin that is, not Polo) and put it back on his bed where it belonged. Polo did rather boldly lie on Lou’s bed later on (her back was turned), but he didn’t tough it out for long and made sure that he’d scarpered before she noticed….

The other funny thing was Seamus’ ‘help’ with the pudding – having successfully retrieved a pestle ‘n mortar, an egg and a pot of mixed peel from his curious grasp, we weren’t quick enough to stop him from pouring the best part of a pot of salt into Lena’s pudding. She got most of it out so I hope it’ll still taste good!

We’d got the puddings all mixed by 12.30pm – it’s not a difficult recipe and all the women had a pudding to take home for cooking. They also had a loaf each of jewel bread, which smelled fantastic, as only freshly baked spiced bread can. I also became a jam nuisance and wouldn’t let them leave until they’d taken as many pots as they could carry.

With our chores done we all went down to our local pub, The Castle, for lunch. We got there at exactly the same time as the men and spend an even more convivial couple of hours enjoying a fine Sunday lunch.

It’s been a wonderful day and, judging by everyone’s response, this is destined to become a new tradition, as I’d hoped it would.

There’s only one downside – I’ve always been praised beyond all reason for my Christmas puddings because everyone thought they were difficult to make, but now they know the truth – it’s as simple as ’stirring up’ all the ingredients……

If you’d like to make your own Stir-up Sunday then here are the recipes/options that I gave to the ladies in my life. If you want a recipe for the jewel bread then leave a comment and I’ll send it on.

Pudding Options:

These are ingredients that can be varied from pudding to pudding….

For a 1 litre pudding basin:

12oz of fruit – choose any combination/proportion of raisins, currants, sultanas, and dates
5oz of mixed peel and/or cherries – choose your proportions
5oz of nuts – choose any combination/proportion of almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macademias, pecans
2tsp spice – choose from any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, mace
Alcohol – choose from any combination of a base such as rum, whisky or brandy; I also use fruit liqueurs for extra richness -  choose from peach, apricot, apple, cherry, orange or mandarin; amaretto might also give a good flavour.

Recipe Card (sample – will vary with the options chosen above)

Note: This was adapted from the recipe in my trusty Good Housekeeping Cookbook printed in 1965 – the old ones are the best (as any woman married to an over-50 will testify!)

Ingredients for a 1 pint pudding	Quantity	Preparation
Dates	3oz	Pick off any stalks, break up clumps and soak in rum overnight
Sultanas	6oz	Pick off any stalks, break up clumps and soak in rum overnight
Raisins	3oz	Pick off any stalks, break up clumps and soak in rum overnight
Mixed peel	2oz	Wash the syrup off by running under the hot tap; drain well and dry in kitchen paper.
Glace cherries	3oz	Chop the cherries into quarters and wash off the syrup by running under the hot tap; drain well and dry in kitchen paper.
Macademia nuts	2oz	Chop the nuts coarsely
Hazelnuts	1oz
Almonds	2oz
Suet	3oz	Loosen any clumps
Breadcrumbs	2oz	Loosen any clumps
Flour	5oz
Spices	2 tsp	Decide your mix on the day
Salt	½ tsp
Dark brown sugar	4oz	Loosen any clumps
1 egg		Lightly beaten
Milk to mix
Black treacle	1tsp

1. Prepare the fruit and put into a small bowl
2. Sieve the flour, salt and spices into a BIG bowl
3. Take the prepared peel and cherries mix with a little of the flour in a small bowl
4. Add the sugar, nuts, suet and breadcrumbs to the flour mixture
5. Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly
6. Add the peel and cherries; mix thoroughly
7. Add the fruit and stir thoroughly
8. Now add the beaten egg and a generous slosh of milk; beat thoroughly
9. Add the black treacle to give a good colour
10. Check the consistency – you’re aiming for a ‘soft dropping’ consistency. Pick up a spoonful of the mix and let it drop off the spoon – it should literally fall softly (splat) into the bowl!
11. Pour the mixture into a greased pudding basin and cover with greaseproof paper
12. Boil or steam for 5 hours

Taking care of your pudding:

After boiling for the required time, remove the bowl from the saucepan and turn the pudding out onto a plate. Allow to cool.

Once it’s totally cool, wrap in generous layers of greaseproof paper then cover with foil and store in a cool dark place (not the fridge). Every week unwrap the pudding, spike with a skewer and pour over a dessertspoon of your base alcohol. Allow to soak in for 10 minutes then re-wrap the pudding.

Warming your pudding:

These instructions are for a 2 pint (1.13l pudding).

In you microwave:

Heat on full power for 4 minutes

Allow to stand for 4 minutes

Heat on LOW power for 10 minutes

Allow to stand for 3 minutes

Boat Blog: Reunion….

Wednesday 11th November

Perivale to Paddington Basin

I had planned to move the boat yesterday but it seemed wiser to stay at home and keep an eye on Lou post-anaesthetic. I’m glad to report that she’s recovering well. Nonetheless, my nerves were totally frazzled by the end of the day – Blue ran into a thorn bush at the park and I spent the latter part of the afternoon bathing the grazes and picking the thorns from his forehead, fortunately all superficial.

I was therefore somewhat relieved to hand the care of the dogs over to Richard on Wednesday morning and head off to the boat. I had a good trip, though Perivale is a long way down the Central Line. Thankfully much of it is overground and I got a good view of the BBC Centre at White City (or does it count as Shepherd’s Bush?) and the art deco monument of the Hangar Lane Tesco. What can I say – if I do puzzles on the train I’ve been know to miss my stop and I’m between novels at the moment!

Herbie asked whether there were any pubs/shops in Perivale so I did a quick eyeball survey today. I’m afraid to report that Perivale has a tube station (useful), newsagent/sweetshop, dry cleaners, community centre, industrial estate, library and a decent looking cafe attached to the Christian Centre but no pubs or supermarkets. I’m up for doing a more comprehensive survey next time I’m there by car but I guess that defeats the object a bit! There is good dog walking up Horsenden Hill.

I never did find a pub but I did get chatting to an old couple passing by – they were on their way to try out the cafe, which is new, apparently.  It was a serendipitous meeting – they’re from Wales, she was a teacher in a primary school two villages up the road from where I was bought up – that practically makes her family. We’d only been chatting for 5 minutes and they invited me to join them for a coffee – give us enough time and we’d work out all of our mutual friends and relatives! I had to decline – the boat was calling – but it was great to meet them and get a taste of Wales in England – I always get hopelessly homesick after I’ve been to Cardiff.

I was buoyed by this meeting, and felt even better when I caught sight of Indigo Dream – safe, sound and looking mighty fine on her mooring. My spirits soared at the sight of her – what a marvellous thing it is to have this boat.

I had my comeuppance shortly after – back in Uxbridge I’d grumbled at Richard for banging the pins in too firmly; today it took me the best part of 20 minutes to undo my own work in the pin-banging department

The mooring in Perivale is a fine spot, but it is shallow here. When I arrived the water was crystal clear – testament to the relatively infrequent boat movements at this time of year. It was pretty turbid after I’d reversed her off the shallow mooring.

So what did I notice today on this most familiar of routes……

Perivale itself is mainly housing (and no pubs!), all tucked neatly away behind the high hedge bordering the towpath. The houses are arranged in terraces of four, solid, respectable and filled with the silence of the commuter belt – the streets and houses seemed deserted from my vantage point. The nice thing about autumn is that the naked trees expose a wider view of the surroundings so there’s always something to see. A little further along I saw a huge demolition site with just one solitary hut left behind – I can’t remember what was here before, as the demolition looked relatively recent. The solitary hut had a scrawled warning in red paint – “Danger Live” with a cartoon frowny face with it’s hair sticking up on end (for vandals that can’t read, of course!).

I decided to not to stop at Sainsbury’s in Alperton today – I got there in no time and it seemed too soon to stop. But by now it had started raining, a cold and persistent drizzle which became increasingly unpleasant with every passing minute. I was ok – I was thoroughly waterproofed and when I bought an umbrella out later I was in clover – the weather was wet but I wasn’t. Neither were the crowd of young men in high-vis jackets tasked with tidying the towpath vegetation in Alperton – Ealing Road Bridge was more than wide enough to shelter their gang of 10 as well as the four resident lager drinkers!

The new footbridge a little further on seems to be progressing apace – the towpath’s open again and the floating paths have gone, but the bridge isn’t open yet. It’s an attractive structure though it seems very hefty for a footbridge – I wondered whether the architects had gone ‘football crazy’ as the white tubular steel bridge is reminiscent of Wembley – maybe it’s the new local look.

The famous arch itself merged with the mist today; but there was a strange atmospheric effect here – the North Circular roared below the canal but when I looked over the parapet there weren’t many cars at all – the mist seemed to amplify every engine.

The food factories were disappointingly odourless today – just when I could have done with the comforting smell of waffles all I got was the whiff of solvent and, in one place, mince pies – I’m not keen on mince pies so it didn’t hit the spot!

I had a moment of whimsy as I passed by what looked like a power station near Acton Lane, which is flanked by a ‘wharf’ offside. If land-owners don’t want you to moor you’ll frequently see signs saying “private – no mooring” or similar; here the signs say “Danger of Death” with the graphic picture of a man being hit by lightning – there’s no mention of moorings but I took the hint

Richard tells me that is Willesden Sub-station which apart from the hair raising voltages inside is protected by 7,000V on the outside. Rumour has it that a few years ago someone broke into one of the rooms full of live exposed high voltage equipment, ran a cable from a 3 phase socket to their caravan and then rebuilt the wall. As that part of the room was behind locked fences – too hazardous to go in normally – no one noticed till they had a major outage for maintenance.

Even though the weather had the low-level foulness typical of a November day, the towpath had  it’s fair share of joggers again. They all seemed so intent, but I guess there’s no point in going to all that effort for no gain. At least they were better clothed today…..

I had such a good trip down the canal – the waterway was deserted apart from one BW boat and a tug pushing a rubbish-laden butty. I had plenty of time, so I stopped off a Sainsburys in Kensal Green. It seemed more inviting today, especially as one of the boats opposite seemed to be burning joss sticks in their stove – the exotic smell wafted enticingly over the moorings. I can’t remember whether I’ve stopped here before, but it’s a useful store and the mooring bollards seem to be more conveniently spaced than at Alperton. The area around the store (town-side) looked interesting – a strange mix of old and new; the new buildings were featureless brown constructions but the older buildings grandly proclaimed their identities – an ornate tower (probably for water) and a massive block loudly labelled “Pall Mall Deposit” – I wonder what that was all about.

Ooh, while I remember, the costumier resides on nb. Sea Mistress – she’s a fine looking boat…

With the boat stocked up with supplies I made myself a latte (don’t tell Richard or he might stop making them for me….) and got underway for the last couple of miles. It had stopped raining by this time so I had a pleasant trip into Paddington, passing this year’s “Apprentice” penthouse on the way – it’s really obvious from the water though we went mad trying to identify it while the series was on telly (until Adam from Debdale enlightened us, that is).

I was concerned that there might not be any spaces in Paddington but there were two available on the pontoons. Having done a picture-perfect single-handed mooring at Kensal Green, I proceeded to make a pig’s ear of trying to reverse Indigo Dream into one of the spaces – the ever-present breeze at the end of the basin (well that’s my excuse!) just swung my front out – I was winding whether I wanted to or not! Discretion being the better part of valour, I decided to drive into the space instead – it would be so much better to do it that way you understand….

I loafed around on the mooring for the rest of the afternoon. My good intentions re. cleaning etc were wiped out by my lengthy chat with our Kiwi neighbour on the pontoon. Never mind, I was sure that the guests arriving later would forgive a bit of fluff on the floor.

After a relaxing and solitary day, I was ready to welcome my old friends and colleagues on board. This was the reunion of a pharmacy team that I used to work with many years ago – we’ve all gone our separate ways now but we’re still London-based and try to get together every few years for a catch-up. Richard joined us as well – he was to be our crew while I got busy with the garlic bread. By 6.30 we had the early crew on board – Beth, Barbara A, Barbara J, Bola and Veronica – it was so very good to see them all again.

We had the most wonderful evening – we had an evening cruise down to Camden and stopped off there to find a takeaway. I was amazed – the market was locked up and deserted; for some reason I’d though the food stalls might operate right into evening. Fortunately we’d tanked up on garlic bread, and Beth brought us a home-made ginger cake, so the sole Chinese food stall that was open just filled the gap nicely. There may be more food stalls open on the road, but as we’d found what we wanted we didn’t venture further – we needed to get back to Paddington to pick up the last of our party.

Barbara J, Veronica and Bola all had a turn on the helm and did a brilliant job – I must have been such a clunky learner – everyone else who takes the helm for the first just seems to get it straight away; mind you, Richard is a good teacher.

We cruised back to Paddington, chewing the fat and setting the world (well, the NHS, to be precise) to rights. We were joined there by the rest of our crew – Vicky and Josie. Richard popped us back into the mooring before setting off home to see the doggies. The rest of us retired to the cosy cabin (the Webasto is efficient) and chatted some more. I’ve said this before, but an evening just isn’t long enough to spend with old friends – no sooner had they left than I thought of all the things I meant to ask about. I guess that’s a fine excuse for another get-together soon.

We usually ask visitors to put some money into our retired greyhound charity collection box instead of bringing wine. The ladies were very generous – they brought wine AND contributed a substantial £37 to the collection. Thanks for your generosity, ladies, the money will be much appreciated at Greyhoundhomer.

It was late, so I decided to stay on board and do a reverse commute out from London and into Surbiton (where I was working) on Thursday morning – cool! Or rather hot, although I’d turned the Webasto off, it was so warm that I had to open the side-hatch for an hour just to cool it down…..

I had a peaceful night on the moorings – you wouldn’t believe how quiet it is here (once the builders have stopped working on the new high rises!). I was greeted by two of the basin’s security men this morning – they were very solicitous and promised to drop a welcome letter through the hatch for me.

“How nice” I thought, confident that the boat would be watched over – both for its own safety and to stop us from overstaying our welcome, of course

Odds Blog: A weekend of two halves…..

Saturday 7th to Monday 9th November

Saturday…..

The second half of our weekend started on Saturday morning when Lou ran down the garden then ran up again with a slight limp. A comprehensive paw police inspection didn’t reveal anything in particular so we dropped her and Blue off with Richard’s mum. More on that saga later……

In the meantime, all unsuspecting, we set off down to Cardiff for the first half of the weekend – the Wales/New Zealand rugby match. We’ve lost count of the number of rugby matches that we’ve been to in Cardiff but there was a particularly fine atmosphere in the city this weekend so I think the day’s worth a mention.

We were staying the Vale Hotel just outside Cardiff, which is also where the Welsh rugby team is based and has its training ground. The place was full of excitement as the players congregated to get onto the team bus that would take them down to the station. They looked relaxed and very very large; it’s obvious really, but rugby players are BIG, especially when you see them up close. They’re a good bunch – not too proud to talk to their fans and sign autographs for the kids waiting eagerly to meet them. Our companions, Liam and Lena, and 2-year old Seamus,  were amazed at how ordinary the team were, considering they’re superstars off the telly! I wasn’t so surprised, Wales is a small country and it’s hard to put on airs and graces when a large proportion of your fans know your mum and have seen all of your embarrassing baby photos

We didn’t wait to wave the team away – we set off down to Cardiff to have a preliminary wander around town. Cardiff has changed almost beyond recognition since we lived here in the 1980’s; many of the more run-down areas have been cleaned up and, of course, there are the two new stadia. Massively built from white tubular steel, the Millenium Stadium (Rugby) and new Cardiff City football ground glowed like pearl necklaces in the weak November sunshine – a suitable adornment for the up and coming city.

The town centre was busy but not unpleasantly so – I guess it’s had a little bit of practice at accommodating a rugby crowd over the years . The stadium was almost to capacity – 74,300 people – luckily there are more than enough pubs to go around! Sadly most of the pubs wouldn’t let Seamus in after 2.30pm so we did something unprecedented- sat in Starbucks drinking a coffee……before a rugby match!

The Haka

Going into the Millennium Stadium is a thrilling experience. This time we were in what used to the old stadium’s North Stand – they’ve retained part of the old structure and the steps up to the terraces are narrow and utilitarian. The stairs in the newest parts are a little broader but equally plain, being just grey unfinished concrete. But as you walk towards the heart, the sudden emergence of the stadium’s broad vista sets your pulse to racing with the magnificent sweep of the terraces, the startling green of the pitch far below and the extravagantly latticed roof. We’ve sat in just about every terrace and tier of the stadium and I swear that there isn’t a bad seat in the whole place. Each seat gives a different perspective – high up you get a view of the shape (or lack) of the game; from lower down you get a real feel for the pace of the game. It’s warm in the stadium with the roof shut – the warmth of 74,000 excited fans; it means that you can take you coat off and show your team colours – mainly red in this case!

Rugby may be unique in that it can arouse such tribal passions without engendering violence. Welsh and New Zealand fans sat side by side in the stadium; there’s rivalry and banter for certain, but not hatred and strife. As it happens, we seemed to be in a sea of Welsh supporters and it’s a wonder that the roof stayed on when we all sang the national anthem. The choir on the pitch seemed superfluous as, from the first note, their conductor turned his baton towards the crowd. I defy anyone, of whatever nationality, not to be moved by the sound of the anthems, especially coming as they did after a minute’s silence for the war savaged dead.

The match itself was a thriller, with Wales almost, but not quite, managing to defeat the mighty All Blacks. Funnily enough I’m writing this on Indigo Dream, moored next door to a boat owned by a Kiwi. We’ve just had an entertaining FORTY FIVE MINUTES chat about about rugby. I was going to give you my match report, complete with commentary on the ref’s apparent lack of vision and need to visit specsavers, but I guess everyone will have their different perspectives on the match. My neighbour on the moorings certainly had a different view to me; but the thing with rugby is that we won’t be spending the rest of the evening sorting our disagreements by throwing molotov cocktails at each other’s boats!

After the match we found somewhere that hadn’t changed since our time here – the restaurant “The Italian Way” still serves fine food and we had a great time, indulging in a lengthy debate on the nature of sexual discrimination, our oratorical skills honed to a fine edge by some luscious bottles of wine.

We got back to the hotel quite early, just in time, in fact, to join the Welsh coaching team, and later by the rest of the players in the bar. They looked physically and mentally battered, more so when the shots glasses flew. My claim to fame is that I shared a lift with Jamie Roberts – one of the Welsh backs; the lift was barely big enough! He pronounced himself “gutted” with the result – reading the rugby papers the next day, that was about as eloquent as it got…..

We girls got off to bed before midnight, leaving Liam and Richard to get over the earlier visit to Starbucks by drinking in the ambience and the alcohol at the bar until the wee small hours…..

Sunday/Monday…

I think it’s fair to say that we were all a little subdued on Sunday morning, though the Vale’s comprehensive breakfast, followed up by multiple cups of coffee helped considerably. We enjoyed another ogle at the welsh team,  who also looked reassuringly feeble after a late night (well feeble is a bit of a relative term, they seemed to have shrunk to being just 7′ tall). With everyone feeling (and looking) so pathetic there was nothing for it but to head for home (and no, we weren’t still over the limit – we made sure through careful calculations of time and consumption).

We had a tedious trip home – not because of any particular delays but just because we were tired and it’s a long way – we’ll take the train next time. So now we’re into the second half of the weekend…..

When we picked Lou and Blue up from Richard’s mum, she commented that Lou had hardly been outside at all (she’d normally spend all of her time exploring the garden with Blue). My nasty suspicion was confirmed when I saw that her back foot was grossly swollen, though she wasn’t lame at the time. We got her home and rang the emergency vet who advised some doggie painkillers (plenty of those in the house) and a precautionary doggie antibiotic (funnily enough we have a stock of them as well!).

Feeble dog!

I really thought it was just an infection but when I took her in to the vet on Monday we had the bad news that it was likely that she’d broken her toe – aaargh!!! I left her with the vet for an X-ray, an hour later the news got worse – the bone had snapped like a breadstick – crumbs of bone everywhere with little hope of healing; so poor old Lou has now had one of her toes amputated. I was very upset though, in fact, greyhounds are always injuring their toes and seem to manage perfectly well without the full complement. I was also a more than a little alarmed when the vet said that if we couldn’t think of how she’d fractured the bone (and we couldn’t) then it was possible that it had been weakened by a tumour, but that amputation ensured that it wouldn’t be an issue going forward – aaaaarghhh aaaaaaaargh!

Anyway, the evil deed was done on Monday and Lou is recovering well. Her foot is swathed in a huge pink bandage and she occasionally points it at me in accusation; conciliatory chicken pieces soon follow – she’s not daft, that dog! I stayed in to nurse her on Tuesday – I had planned to take the doggies to the boat but that seemed wildly inappropriate given that we have to keep this bandage clean and dry for at least a week.

So after a brilliant Saturday, the rest of the weekend left me feeling a bit tired and stressed; thank heavens I had boating to look forward to on Wednesday – but more of that in the next post……

Boat Blog: A quick shuffle…

Thursday 5th November

Little Venice to Perivale

I’ve had a nice solo cruise today, enjoying a dry November day. It cheered me up considerably – I’m can’t accept the coming of Christmas yet, despite what the retailers are telling me! I know I’m in denial but I’m just not ready to sink into winter.

Although we weren’t at the 14-day limit for the moorings at Little Venice, we decided to move her out today rather than overstaying our welcome (the only other feasible option as we’re in Wales for the rugby this weekend).

I’d decided to travel up to Paddington with the commuters this morning, on the basis that if I stayed overnight on the boat I’d just snuggle up in bed and wouldn’t get away until 10am. D’oh – what was I thinking! ‘Tis the season of leaves on the line and other inexplicable delays – I got away from the moorings at my usual 10.15am but having got up at 6.30am!

Indigo Dream had been fine on the moorings. The fact that we were in a long line of unmolested boats suggested that she would be. But I’d chatted with a BW worker busily (and possibly futilely) sweeping leaves from the towpath who told me that they’d had problems with youths throwing fireworks at passing boats. Scary…..

As I stepped on board I did wonder wryly whether a firework would have usefully burnt off the 3-inch mulch of fallen leaves lying on the back deck.

It was a fine morning, though the canal was quiet – widebeam Thamesis passed me on the mooring and she was the only boat I saw on the move until Alperton. I had a quick chat with the owner of the boat behind me – I was curious to know whether he was on a winter mooring – I wasn’t sure where they are and didn’t want to transgress. He assured me it was a winter mooring, well sort of, well not a real winter mooring but where he was mooring for winter etc etc. Oh dear, the rest of the conversation was a bit stilted as he tried to justify continuous mooring and I tried not to be too judgemental……

Of course, we’re not breaking the rules, what we’re doing is completely different, we’re just exploring the breadth of the London canals,  necessitating multiple stops at some of the more fascinating moorings until our hoped for winter mooring finally materialises.

I stocked the back deck with everything I might need and got underway. It was a fine day but I soon had to put on the ‘emergency’ layers that I’d draped on the back door (within easy reach of the tiller). I was barely past Kensal Green when I had to bring the boat into the bank so that I could run inside and grab a few more layers. Luckily there was no-one around – I didn’t tie her to the bank and in the brief minutes that I was inside the breeze had disobligingly drifted her out, like a miniature Marie Celeste – engine running, half-empty can of coke on the back deck, nibbled muffin and no crew……

Now this is a familiar bit of water, but there’s always something new to see, so what did I notice today….

Firstly there was the depressing sight of the graffiti under the already gloomy M40 flyover – I swear that there’s more now than there was a few weeks ago. Incongruously though, it looks as if someone is trying to put in some flowerbeds along the towpath right below the flyover; there are two little plots marked out with stones and filled with soil (though no plants as yet). It’s a nice thought but I have no idea what will grow in such a shady spot and I can’t believe that flowerbeds won’t be vandalised out of existence here. I do hope that I’m wrong – this spot would definitely benefit from some brightening.

I saw an unfamiliar boat at the Kensal Green Visitor Moorings – if only I’d written down her name – nb Sea ……something! Anyway, what caught my eye was that this boat’s business was “Costumier” – showing, yet again, that there’s no limit to people’s inventiveness when it comes to what you can do on a narrowboat! The boat was also striking for having a beautifully carved and painted horse’s head mounted on her prow.

The stretch through Kensal Green had a real Halloween atmosphere – the jumbled mass of gravestones in the vast cemetery seemed to loom large, rising up haphazardly, pushed by who knows what force. But don’t worry, all hallow’s eve has passed and it’s not the unquiet dead on the move, but the gradual lowering of the long grass and the fall of the trees’ leafy curtain. In a landscape slowly being robbed of its colour by the encroaching winter, the bright flashes of flowers, wreaths and balloons adorning the more recent graves seemed startling and poignant.

When I last cruised this way, it was at the end of a long-ish day and I was lacking a bit of my usual sparkle. I didn’t find it so gloomy today – maybe it was the welcome skylights of blue in the thick cloud and the continuing absence of rain!

Even the bit that flanks the borders of Wormwood Scrubs didn’t seem so bad. The view was enlivened by the orange fortress of an old lifeboat moored offside – if looked impregnable enough to use as a submarine! The notice on the side said it could hold 60 people – I can’t imagine what a claustrophobic squash that would be, but I guess that if the alternative’s the space of the open sea then you wouldn’t complain.

There were a lot of runners on the towpath today. I was very impressed by one (male) runner doing triceps dips on a canalside bench – I told him I was impressed and he told me it was hard work and he’d rather be on the helm. I had to agree with him, that’s where I’d rather be too! But most of the runners (mainly female) were training too intensely for talk, the corded muscles of their arms as impervious to the cold as the gnarled trunks of the towpath trees. Not being a runner, I couldn’t believe that they weren’t cold; I got some insight later as I vigorously banged in five pins to hold the boat – even I had to remove a layer (just the one, can’t get too carried away!).

I had a particularly fine view of Wembley Stadium from the North Circular Aqueduct today – the stadium was in full view because of a combination of some local demolition, the loss of the obscuring leaves and the shimmering halo of the famous white arch.

I stopped off at Sainsbury’s in Alperton for lunch – the bollards make for an easy single-handed mooring. I was surprised to find that the store moorings were deserted; I was also surprised to see that they were 7-day moorings though I’m not sure that I’d leave the boat unattended here – there’s a wide variety of characters on the towpath (all benign today) but the canalside bins were overflowing, mainly with empty lager cans. Now there’s a philosophical question – are overflowing bins a bad sign, given that really wicked people wouldn’t bother using a bin in the first place!

I met the second boat of the day while I was mooring up here – they were looking bewildered because their Nicholson’s (and ours) has a water point marked here. They couldn’t find it and I couldn’t recall it. It may have been obscured by the overflowing bins and the attendant plague of pigeons and herring gulls. I know that both birds are a dirty nuisance but you have to admire their tenacious ability to adapt and survive.

I had a half-hour break here – I was thoroughly revived by some food and warmth. It’s one of the things I have to watch out for when I’m solo – I tend to cruise along in a world of my own and it’s easy to forget the essentials until cold and hunger make me grumpy and careless. With two canalside Sainsbury’s on this stretch there was no chance of that happening today.

I set off from Alperton in good spirits – there wasn’t that far to go and the stretch from Alperton to Black Horse is very attractive, with views over Horsenden Hill on the one side and a few food factories wafting delicious smells on the other.

The towpath moorings at Perivale were empty, but I carried on to the winding hole at Black Horse – partly so that I could investigate the moorings there and partly so that I’d be set the right way for my trip back next week.

Surprisingly, there was one mooring spot available at Black Horse, though I’m not too sure whether these are now winter permit moorings. I winded the boat while musing on my options and decided to go back to Perivale – I like it there.

There’s some sort of industrial bakery by Black Horse bridge – there was a large ‘Hovis’ tanker unloading something there – it revived some fond memories of our cruising up north, where you can’t travel a mile without someone telling you that ‘Hovis’ is short for ‘Hominis Vit’, which apparently means ‘strength of man’.

“What strength?” I asked myself as I mused on the frozen state of some of my more unmentionable extremities. As I cruised past the bakery the canal was flooded by the smell of toasted teacakes, prompting an overwhelming longing for hot buns…….

The trip back to Perivale seemed to take no time at all and I moored up in one of my favourite spots opposite the site of Willowtree Cruisers (though I didn’t see their trip boat today).

Earlier in the day, I had been wondering why boaters aren’t more often targeted for towpath muggings. I got my answer this morning when towpath walkers were treated to the menacing sight of a woman boater wielding a small hatchet and me busy at the (pointed) pins with a heavy mallet. I was quite worried about the hatchet-wielder – she seemed a little random and I thought that her toes were in danger (if she had any left, that is!). With all this going on in my head, it’s small wonder that I managed to hit my own leg with the mallet when I was mooring up.

Oh, no harm done apart from the singeing of a few leaves by a few choice swearwords…….

Note to self: Allow 3 hours cruising time for the trip back!

Boat Blog: Charity Cruise 2

Saturday 24th October

We got back to the boat on Saturday evening though we felt as if we’d hardly left – Richard and I took a gang from his office down to City Road Basin on Thursday, then on Friday, Richard cruised back to Paddington with some clients. Indigo Dream really does know the way now!

We didn’t manage to get back to our pontoon mooring in Paddington Basin on Friday evening, but we did get a spot on the ‘towpath’ on the train station side. There are lots of boats moored here so it’s obviously a secure spot, but I felt more vulnerable as there are more footsteps passing by in the night. We had no trouble though – they were just innocent passersby.

The highlight of the evening was spending some time with Kath and Neil from Herbie; we’ve been reading their blog for a while and it was great to meet them in person. We popped over to say hello and once they’d finished their supper they came over to us for a glass of wine. We whiled away a pleasant hour nattering about narrowboats – we could have spent much longer! They might be recoiling in horror at the thought, but we’d love to spend an evening with them sometime – we’d barely touched on their passion for music and many other important things (we only talked boat paint, we never even broached the boater’s favourite subject of toilets …….

Sunday 25th October

Well, we’ve not long since come home after our second charity cruise for Greyhoundhomer. What a day – we’ve been so lucky with the weather – it was glorious. The only real touch of autumn was the brisk wind which dented the promised balmy 17 degree temperature forecast. But we had sun aplenty – in the sky and in our hearts as we enjoyed the company of another crew of greyhound lovers.

We had a busy morning before our guests arrived, we needed to finish the food shopping, fill up with water and wage war on the ever-present fluff on the floor. The water point at the Little Venice services is a bit hopeless and the fill took ages. However it did give me time to go to the small Sainsbury’s in Sheldon Square and get that job done. The walk to the boat took me past the life-size, and very realistic, sculptures of the walking men. I couldn’t see a plaque nearby – does anyone know who the sculptor was and why they were erected here? The water took so long to fill that we were afraid we’d miss our guests, but we got back into Paddington Basin just in time to pick up Greygal.

We were delighted that Greygal decided to join us for another cruise – she’s a great crewman, or should that be skipper – she was soon issuing decisive orders from the helm

Shortly afterwards we got a phonecall from Pip and Nick – owners of two rescue greyhounds who sadly, from our point of view, stayed at home. Apparently Bella, their girl greyhound, is very nervous and wouldn’t have enjoyed the new experience, and Archie, their boy, is bonkers and might have run amok – fair enough! We picked Pip and Nick up from Little Venice Basin, invoking the wrath of the waterbus crew who objected to us stopping at their empty mooring for 20 seconds to pick up our guests. C’est la vie!

It was too nice a morning to be bothered by a bit of rudeness and we set off on this most familiar route. But we’re not bored yet – even though the canal’s the same, the people we meet on the way are not, neither is the weather, neither is how we feel, and there are always new details to be spotted – like a couple of information plaques which I’ve never noticed before (next time I’ll read them properly and try to remember what they said as well!). We also take a great deal of pleasure from seeing our guests enjoying the cruise.

We were expecting another couple, Ian and Ann, this time from the boating fraternity, but sadly Ann has come down with the flu. Get well soon Ann, there’s a trip on Indigo Dream ‘in the bank’ for when you get better.

You know the route by now – Maida Vale tunnel, Regent’s Park, London Zoo (no hunting dogs today but we did see the warthogs), Camden locks, Battlebridge Basin, Islington Tunnel, City Road Basin……

This time we went right into City Road Basin and our guests generously bought us a drink in “The Narrowboat” pub. The pub’s had a make-over since we last ate here (several years ago). The food coming up from the kitchens looked very good indeed though we decided to lunch on the boat. The pub food errs on the pricey side and it was too nice a day to spend inside. The pub wasn’t dog-friendly either, though Blue and Lou benefited from the rest – these cruises are very stimulating for them, even if they don’t get to run around so much.

We got back on board and headed back towards Paddington – this is a really neat 1-day there-and-back trip. We stopped for lunch above St Pancras lock and watched the Eurostar trains come and go – they’re big beasts – all the more so when they’re passing just a few feet above the boat!

Our guests had decided to give the boat museum a miss in favour of spending a little more time in Camden Market. We were very conscious that with the clocks having changed, we had 1 hour less of daylight for cruising today. We needn’t have worried – we had a very smooth day’s cruise and there was plenty of time for everything.

I dropped Pip and Nick off at the second lock so that they’d have a little more time to explore the market while Richard, Greygal and I (or should that be me, Richard and Greygal?!) took her up the last lock and moored at the excellent ’stop and shop’ moorings just beyond. The three of us then took the dogs for another wander around the market. It was amazing – more packed with people than I could have imagined and far far bigger than I realised. Today we wandered towards the back of the market to the covered hall which is characterised by vast and intricately carved wooden panels around the entrances. They are astounding. There are also many just more than life-size hollow bronze statues of the horses that used to put the barges along the canal. Add to this the colour, smells and sounds of a market in full swing and you have an almost overwhelming sensory experience. Blue and Lou behaved magnificently today, all day, but particularly in the market. They had lots of fuss and drew lots of attention as always.  Greygal, who, at one time, was walking behind us, commented on the ripple of talk that the greyhounds generated as they passed through the crowds. She was impressed that the market’s denizen’s seemed aware that Blue and Lou were greyhounds and were also aware of the plight of many retired hounds. So, our cruise has not only generated a little cash, it’s also raised the profile of retired greyhounds – you can’t ask for more.

We got back together at the mooring – Pip and Nick had very modestly managed not to spend any money; we’d been tempted by hot chocolate and crepes, while the dogs had two Polish sausages in a bun (bought not stolen!). We had our umpteenth latte of the day and almost reluctantly set off for the final leg of the trip. There’s a lot to be said for sitting on the back deck in good company, soaking in Camden’s unique ambience and talking about many things, mainly greyhounds!

We’d all come by car today, and were parked in the vicinity of Warwick Avenue so we dropped our guests off in Little Venice (not on the trip boat moorings this time!!). We weren’t returning to Paddington Basin – we’ve exhausted our 7-day allowance there and needed to find a 14-day mooring. We headed west and were pleased to find a mooring not far from the park in Little Venice. We were pleasantly surprised – we hadn’t expected it would be so easy to find a space and it is 14-day. This takes the pressure off next weekend – we could do with a few days at home to catch up with some decorating and whatnot.

However, it’s all ‘negotiable’ – by next week we should be in a position to make a decision on how/where we want to spend the rest of the winter – 3 to 6 month mooring spot or continuous cruising? Of course, if the weather stays this fair we may well have another little trip – with the days so short now I feel a bit desperate to get out and enjoy every last drop of sunshine available. We certainly made the best of it today……

Boat Blog: Charity Cruise

Saturday 17th October

Paddington Basin to City Road (and back again)

Paddington Basin by night.....

We were excited to be having visitors today – 7 of the 8 charity places had been taken. It’s a modest contribution to Greyhoundhomer’s coffer’s but every little helps when you’re a small charity.

Note: apologies for the grainy photos, we forgot to adjust the camera setting from nighttime to daytime – d’oh!

The first to arrive was Greygal, and her husband Andy.  Greygal has been on board before so Indigo Dream’s like her narrowboat in the South; her own boat is moored up north at the moment. It was particularly great to meet Andy, known only as A on her blog. As her readers will know, Greygal and Andy have FIVE rescue greyhounds, though they left the pack at home today.

The next to arrive were Cheryl, Jan and Clive, three of Greyhoundhomer’s volunteer dog-walkers along with a horde of greyhound goodies just in case someone asked us for a calendar along the way.

Duke has made himself at home already...

Finally we were joined by Peter, Sue and their rescue greyhound Duke – a Spanish Galgo. We deliberately met a little way from the boat, Lou did her usual 1-minute bark then we migrated together back to the boat where Duke was allowed into the pack with no drama.

Now, our charity cruises are open to all comers, but by chance, we were all greyhounds lovers, and four of our party were experienced narrowboaters!

With our party complete, we set off from Paddington Basin with Greygal’s experienced hand on the helm while we made tea and coffee and hot danish pastries – lush.

With plenty of crew I had a very relaxing day. It couldn’t have been more of a contrast to yesterday, when I’d been on the helm by myself all day. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, it’s much much better to have company, especially such good company…..

So instead of helming, I was able to relax indoors, chatting and making a fuss of Duke, who is absolutely adorable. He did eye up Lou’s sofa but wisely decided against it – he and Blue swapped between their three beds all day (two of Blue’s and Duke’s bed on deck).

Apart from a random run from Blue, then Lou, in the morning, the dogs were exceptionally well-behaved today. They rummaged around the locks, allowed themselves to be mascots for greyhound rehoming and still found time for a bit of loafing around. A narrowboat’s a confined space but the three of them got on really well – greyhounds are fantastic!

Our happy crew, well, almost, Clive and Richard are at the front taking the photos...

We had a good trip out to City Road lock passing the delights of Little Venice, Maida Vale Tunnel, Regent’s Park, Camden Locks, and the Islington Tunnel to name but a few. We noticed in passing that Camden Market has expanded since we were last here and now forms a lively and colourful backdrop to the top AND middle locks. We’d planned to go turn round in City Road Basin but the vote was to turn above the lock and spend the time loitering in the market on our way back.

But first we visited the London Canal Museum, where our guests had an extended rummage – it’s a fascinating place.  The three dogs stayed on board while our guests explored the museum – Duke was so good, once he’d worked out that his mummy was out for a while he just settled onto Blue’s bed, though he did keep one ear up. Our two were flat out on the sofa as usual. We had lunch on the fine museum moorings, just enjoying the ambience of Battlebridge Basin.

Amazingly, our crew outnumbered the gongoozlers at Camden top lock; that definitely wasn't the case on the way back!

We said a reluctant goodbye to Greygal and Andy here – we were close to Kings Cross train station, the most convenient for them, and they had five hungry hounds waiting for them at home……

The rest of us set off towards Camden. The market was even busier on our way back – gongoozler’s everywhere. This gave the Greyhoundhomer team a great opportunity to talk to people about greyhounds and to raise awareness. They got some donations and sold a few Christmas Cards and a calendar. Blue and Lou were made even more famous as they were introduced as Mr and Mrs November!

Our guests had a wander around Camden Market with the three dogs while we found a mooring. We were pleasantly surprised. What used to be the lock moorings are now 4-hour ’stop and shop’ moorings – brilliant! We moored up and went to join the others at the market. It’s an amazing place – foods from every corner of the globe, colour, sound and hundreds of shoppers. I was so proud of the dogs – they drew loads of attention, further raising the profile of retired greyhounds and they didn’t bat an eyelid at the crowds around them. They didn’t even steal any food, though some of the stalls were very tempting!

A true narrowboater's grin - of course, we all exist in this state of bliss....

We did a round of the market then went back to the boat. We passed through London Zoo and as we were cruising past I spotted that the african hunting dogs were out. I hastily stopped the boat and reversed back so that everyone could have a view and take photos. Then we set off, but had another stop to look at the Warthogs!

By the time we’d stopped to photograph the animals, the light was starting to drain out of the day so we headed back to Paddington without further loitering. Luckily, we were able to moor at the same pontoon that we’d left just a scant 8 hours earlier. It was hard to say goodbye to our guests – we’d started out as strangers but by the end of the day they felt like old friends. The Greyhoundhomer crew had a long train trip through the weekend engineering works so they headed for home. We chatted to Sue and Peter for ages, they’re greyhound and boating enthusiasts; poor people – they must have wondered whether they’d ever escape

A well-deserved smile of achievement (or should that be relief?) after a neat single-gate lock entry

We were exhausted and elated by the end of the day – we’d been so anxious to make the cruise a success and the relief at having such a great day with our lovely guests was overwhelming.

We still had enough energy to explore Paddington Basin by night – it’s quite a place. It’s strangely empty during the evening, its pristine paving unsullied by the trampling of the hundreds of workers that inhabit it during the week. It gave us a chance to admire the sheer cleanliness of the place, the grand scale and the sculptures.  We found a superb lebanese restaurant – Massis in Sheldon Square (www.massis.co.uk) and had a truly scrumptious meal; more pricey than our usual but very special.

We’d left the dogs on board – they were exhausted after a thoroughly stimulating day. We had to force them off the boat for a final wee and they slept all night, almost all day on Sunday and most of the day on Monday. We managed to stay awake long enough to watch the end of Strictly then we were off to our (own) beds too – it’s been an exceptional day.

Photoblog:

With 9 experienced greyhound handlers on board it wasn't long before Lou found someone to rub her tummy....

Contentment.....

Camdon Lock had really filled up by late afternoon; a perfect opportunity to talk to people about the merits of owning a greyhound.

The boys getting ready to visit Camden Market

The greyhounds coping very well with the crowds and the attention at Camden Market; they're very adaptable.

Duke trying out Blue's bed - "it'll do" he said....

One last photo of Duke - he really is adorable....

Boat Blog: Cowley to Paddington

Thursday 15^th and Friday 16^th October

Boat Blog: Cowley to Paddington Basin

Aha, the odyssey might be over but our cruising isn’t! We’re expecting to be on the move winter really but we’ll be mooching around London (from whatever winter base we eventually go for) rather than travelling with the great sense of purpose that we associate with the odyssey.

Thursday

As some of you will have noticed, we’re planning a charity cruise on Saturday and we’ve had 7 takers.

So, Indigo Dream was definitely due another deep clean. I’d already washed all of the dog beds but there was the usual accumulation of fluff on the floor so I resolved to have some time alone on the boat without the dogs underfoot.

I had a good journey up on the Thursday night – the roads were deserted and I found the perfect parking space by bridge 189. It wasn’t far to onload the heaps of dogs beds – we were being joined by a third greyhound and their comfort was obviously paramount!

It was so mild in Uxbridge compared to where we live in Surrey – I sat on deck for a while, just enjoying the peace of the mooring. But then the fluff beckoned – I got half the boat clean before giving up for the night, but I felt better for it. Although I was alone I had a peaceful night’s sleep – it’s a great mooring spot.

Friday

The plan was for me to set out early in order to get to Paddington by early afternoon. Ah well, you know me and early, it all started so well but Richard had been very thorough with the mooring and it took me half an hour to hammer the pins out of the ground and hack the chain out of the piling. Never mind, it was a mild dry morning and the canal was mine to enjoy, for a while anyway.

It was no effort to do this cruise single-handed – there are no locks and Indigo Dream knows the way, it’s her home turf. I meandered along, enjoying the morning and the familiarity of the waters. I was interested to pass by the aggregate wharf where a working narrowboat had just had her cargo of sand unloaded. She’d passed me earlier, fully laden and impossibly low in the water, now her prow was sticking up in the air! I wondered how she managed to move, and her owner told me that they’d dredged the centre of the canal hereabouts which made a big difference. I can well imagine.

Later on I caught up with a wide beam hire craft; it was being well driven and going at a nice speed so it wasn’t a bother to follow her. She turned onto the Paddington Arm at Bulls Bridge and I wondered whether to stop at Tesco’s and let her have a head start. But the moorings were pretty full so I pressed on; there were two canalside Sainsbury’s on my way so shopping wouldn’t be a problem.

I carried on down, musing about how sensational this canal is – sound, sight, smell and touch – all stimulated by the canalside bustle. At one point there was the clatter of a train going over a bridge, the shushing of car tyres over the nearby road bridge and the squealing roar of a plane coming in to land at Heathrow. In the meantime, the tiller felt silky smooth as Indigo Dream followed her familiar route into town. There are many canalside food factories, bathing the water with the sharp smell of curry and, later on, the unctuous perfume of sugary waffles. There’s plenty to see, the gleaming arch at Wembley, the grey traffic jam that is the North Circular and the soft green of the overgrown vegetation, slashed in places with the shocking scarlet of Virginia Creepers, hanging from derelict factory walls.

As I cruised along, Dylan Thomas’ famous words kept insinuating themselves into my thoughts – “the force that through the green fuse drives the flower”. Yes, that’s this canal, once full of the force that drove these industries, now dormant, dormant not dead – will it ever wake and be a driving force again?

Anyway, as I was drifting along the Paddington Arm I became aware of another more immediate impulse and bought Indigo Dream into a quick 1-pin mooring for a quick pit stop. A boat behind me asked if I was ok – that was kind of him; if I’d needed to get to the prop I’d have needed a longer arm to help me. As it happened I was fine!

Sadly, soon after my impromptu stop I caught up with a narrowboat taking a slow and erratic course along the canal. I caught up with her in neutral, actually, I caught up with her in reverse! But opportunities to overtake were few because of the lengths of online moorings. I was so pleased when they decided to turn around at Black Horse. If they’d gone into Paddington I’d still be cruising!

As always I enjoyed the scenery around Perivale – it’s one of my favourite spots along here.

I stopped off at Sainsbury’s in Alperton. There are plenty of mooring spaces here and I topped up with supplies for our cruise. They were selling off hot chickens cheap – now I knew that the greyhounds would be happy to come on board later. By the time I’d done the shopping I was well behind schedule, but I stayed here for lunch anyway – that hot chicken smelled too good to ignore!

I set off for the last leg of the trip and had the canal to myself. I didn’t write down the location, but I noticed that they’re putting in a new footbridge to serve a new housing development. It looked like a big project – they’ve put in a section of floating towpath to bypass the works. I was surprised by how fast the cyclists passed over the floating pontoons – I slowed down so as not to rock them off!

I found the section through Kensal Green to be a bit bleak – the graffiti vandals have been out in force and there wasn’t a flat surface that wasn’t covered in their scribblings. I found it to be particularly unappealing, especially when three youths decide to spit on the boat off a footbridge coming through Kensal Town. I could see they were planning something – I suppose I should be glad it was just spit, one of them looked like he was getting into position to wee on the boat! And all this was in broad daylight, off a busy footbridge with lots of other passersby. Only one bit of slobber hit the roof, I’m afraid I yelled at them, I was so angry and upset. Ok, it’s not the harm done, it’s the attitude behind it. We’ve never had any trouble here before.

Anyway, I was soon approaching Little Venice and I was looking forward to mooring. I had a heavy heart after the gobbing incident and regular readers will know that I find it very hard to let go of these things.

Fortunately I was forced to let go of it, I was on a mission to find a mooring spot in Paddington Basin and I was arriving at 5.40pm, much later than I’d intended. I managed to drop the garbage off  then started looking for moorings in earnest. I went right down into the basin and was excited to see two potential moorings. I turned Indigo Dream around at the end of the basin and uhm’d and ah’d over which mooring to go for. I plumped for the one that I could drive into, only to get it completely wrong before realising that the space was three feet too short – what an idiot. I redeemed myself by reversing into the other, more tricky mooring spot, earning Richard’s praise when he turned up a little later with the dogs.

We stayed in for the evening, finishing our chores and making sure that the boat was ready for tomorrow’s visitors – we had a busy day ahead…..

The Odyssey 2009: Day 60

Monday 12th October

Croxley Green to Cowley

Common Moor lock in Croxley - all very civilised.

What a magnificent autumn morning – we’ve cruised in sunshine all day, enjoying surprisingly rural stretches of canal considering where we are. One small bridge over the canal had a ‘Transport for London’ low emission zone sign on it – are you kidding, transport for London, out here?

I’m hoping that the low emissions doesn’t apply to our boat diesel engines and the various entrails and feathers that seem to go into the onboard stoves around here. I won’t be giving Boris ideas – I can’t see him slogging though this blog

The only cloud on our otherwise azure horizon was the sheer number of online moorings around Batchworth, which made for a slow cruise. The fact that many were unlicensed and moored in random places made us ‘tut’ a bit, but I hate ‘tutting’ so I tutted at myself and put a stop to it

Tesco's at Frogmoor Wharf - now that's a supermarket mooring - empty too...

We met a few boaters today, all very jovial and all linked by a common theme – alcohol. I was a bit shocked by the amount of beer that had already consumed by 10.30am. Of course, maybe it was the influence of the media. One boater was a little disgruntled because they’d been asked to move off their towpath mooring by a film crew. We were intrigued, and at the next lock there they were – an unbelievable number of people clustered around an eccentric cruiser. We asked a member of the crew what they were filming – it was an episode of the detective series ‘Lewis’. I had to ask whether they’d be putting dummy bodies into the water and they assured me that the gruesome bits had been done elsewhere – this was the investigation! Our contribution to the episode was lending their safety man our sea-searcher magnet – one of the ‘children’, as the hard-bitten crewman called them, had dropped something into the canal. It was returned remarkably quickly after a successful search – there, we’d saved them from a tantrum! I did look out for the star, Kevin Whately, I might have seen the back of his head – that’s my day made then!

On the set of 'Lewis'...

Interestingly they were filming at Stockers Lock, according to our Nicholson’s but the sign at the canalside sign read ‘Fiddler’s Lock’. Now is this a genuine name change or something done by the film crew to create a new location? Look out for Fiddlers Lock on an episode of Lewis coming your way soon …

Online moorings notwithstanding, there the stretch below Batchworth has a special magic – the Colne Valley to the right has been extensively quarried in the past. The lakes extend all the way down to Denham, and between the rich towpath hedgerows you catch glimpses of the sparkling deep blue waters reflecting the brilliant sky above. There was a sense of something precious in the air – I tried to soak it all in, trying to store something of the day against the gloomy winter to come.

Nicholson’s warns of a lively flow from the left below Copper Mill lock. The hazard of the flow has had an extra frisson added since we were last here; there’s now a canoeing club there obviously enjoying the thrill of the bywash. As we emerged from the lock, one of the canoeists had capsized, couldn’t get back in his canoe and was swept over to the

Black Jack's Lock - attractive, eh?

towpath where, thankfully, he was able to get out of the water safely. So, keep a lookout at Bridge 177 – it’s distinctive because it has a canalside pub – the Coy Carp (which, from memory, does good food).

The next lock along, Black Jack’s lock is particularly attractive, not least because of the buildings clustered around it. It’s obviously been a mill at one time, it looks residential now, and a very nice home it would be too.

We had the next stretch to ourselves – no other traffic and no moored boats. I was bit surprised, it’s stunningly attractive here and usually where moorers can they will! But the clear water soon explained all – it’s only about 6 inches deep at the edge of the towpath with a large gravel strand coming out into the canal. Is that a deliberate ploy to deter mooring or is it just a lack of dredging?

The aggregate barges seem to fill the locks, and the canal, from end to end

Maybe to compensate for the lack of towpath moorings, there’s a long line of mooring bollards above Denham deep lock. We’d assumed they were lock moorings, but they’re actually 14-day spaces. We’ll have to remember that for the future – 14-day moorings with proper rings and/or bollards are a rare thing.

We picked up a pencil fender from the deep lock, figuring that someone else has probably benefited from picking up one of the many that we’ve lost in locks over the last year!

I handed the helm over to Richard at the deep lock – I’d volunteered to go and get the car so I’d be jumping ship in Uxbridge for the tedious train journey back to Bletchley. But the day’s interest wasn’t over – we met a huge wide-beam aggregate barge at coming out of Uxbridge Lock. Richard passed another one later on – it’s good to see freight on the move though it is a bit of a squash in places.

A fine day on a grand canal (oh, and anotehr aggregate barge on the move!)

Richard dropped me off at Bridge 185 which is a short walk from the town centre. In the meantime, he single-handed through Cowley lock and stopped for lunch at the tearooms (Blue and Lou had their usual sausage sandwich). He bumped into Derwent 6, but he wasn’t sure where he’d knew them from so a blogging meeting went unregarded. After lunch, Richard took Indigo Dream along to our old home in Packet Boat Marina to pump-out and fill with water.

Big Note to Richard: To make the pump out machine work put the card in upside down!

He then took her back up the canal a little way to the 14-day moorings by Bridge 189. It’s a very convenient place to stop with very good road access and convenient street parking.

I had a slow old trip and didn’t get back to the boat ’til around 5.30pm.

As we packed up to leave, I suddenly realised that our Odyssey was over, we have come full circle to where we started.  Obviously we will keep cruising but not at the same intensity. The Odyssey 2009 was 10 days longer than last year’s and we’ve been privileged to cruise some extraordinary waterways. Richard has to do the count up properly but he estimates that on the Odyssey, we’ve travelled 800 miles and done around 500 locks, mostly on weekends.

So I guess it was worth investing in Indigo Dream then – imagine what that trip would have cost in hire charges .

It is hard to pick out the highlights of this trip, it has again been a wonderful journey but perhaps two we should mention are the SPCC Cruise to the Royal Docks (and that was before the odyssey!) and the BCN Challenge. If they run either next year and you have the opportunity then so take part folks – both are great adventures.

Photoblog:

It's only the first lock of the day and Lou's already looking for her bed....

Blue had an extended rummage at the first lock of the day so now he's looking for his bed as well!

What a poser....

Random moorings.....

The Odyssey 2009: Day 59

Sunday 11th October

Bourne End to Croxley Green

Holding up the traffic at Winkwell swingbridge; the sign warns that boaters who don't close the bridge properly will be fined 10 shillings!

We slept late this morning, enjoying the quiet mooring after a busy day’s locking yesterday. We eventually got going mid-morning. The first obstacle was the Winkwell swingbridge – it’s electrically operated so you’ll need a BW key. I took the helm while Richard sorted the bridge. I always get very embarrassed at stopping the traffic – part of me thinks that drivers will be charmed by the sight of a narrowboat going past at eye-level; the other part of me thinks that drivers can’t believe that this ancient form of transport can be allowed to block the road!

Despite the proximity of the Hemel Hempstead and the railway line, our cruise felt very rural at first. The dogs had many rummages and runs between locks. We passed by nb Aquila by lock 62 – there was some unusual activity going on here – they were getting ready to replant their duck-shaped flowerpot – it looked like quite an enterprise – Richard thought they were setting out the towpath equivalent of a boot sale!

At Two Waters (between Lock 64 and 65) - good dog-walking around here...

There’s good dog-walking below lock 63, where there’s access to a shallow river for sploshing. It’s obviously a popular area though there are horses in the first field adjacent to the lock and there are a few busy roads, but the fields looked well-fenced. There’s road-free access to the footpaths around Bridge 149, where the Boxmoor Trust has kindly provided an access gate from the towpath.

Hemel Hempstead has a useful Sainsbury’s close to the canal by Bridge 153A; the moorings aren’t quite as convenient as for some waterside supermarkets but they’ll do. Look out for the ’shopping’ moorings on the right below the lock. On this, as on other occasions that we’ve passed through, the towpath moorings opposite were full.

The back end of Hemel Hempstead feels a bit bleak compared with the welcoming canalscapes of Milton Keynes or Berkhamstead; but the locals here were very friendly and it feels perfectly secure. Even the fishermen taking part in a competition were genial! We also met another greyhound here, Bess, a dainty girl who’d sadly lost one eye to an infection when she was only a year old. She was very cute though -

Bess the greyhound....

her missing eye made it look as if she was winking. We met at a town lock so our two were inside and they refused to move from the comforts of the sofa to say hello.

We admired Apsley Basin yet again – this part of town has definitely turned its face to the canal.

We met a pair of working boats at Nash Mills Locks, carrying coal and tied abreast to take advantage of the broad canal. They were low in the water and I imagine that they must have quite a job to get through the shallower sections and to thread their way through moored boats. We met between the locks, the working boat’s crew having asked Richard to just let some water run straight through the top lock into the pound – that was the only way they’d get through. I tucked Indigo Dream into the towpath out of the way but I was amazed by the draw created by a heavy working pair. Indigo Dream was sucked forward at a rapid pace and I had to leap on board to engage reverse before we were swept into a BW butty moored in front. So that’s another lesson learnt. I discussed it with Richard afterwards – was it the weight of the boats or the force of the engine? We concluded it was the weight – they must have been drawing, what, 30 tons or more each, that’s a LOT of water to be displaced.

The marina at Apsley

There’s a relatively long pound between Red Lion Lock and King’s Langley lock so we stopped here for lunch. It’s a pleasant spot – sports fields to one side and a large lake just below the towpath. We looked for a path through for the dogs to have a swim but it’s well fenced – shame. We did well to stop here, the only heavy shower of the day passed over while we were snug inside eating bacon baguettes! As we were contentedly eating, the peace was disturbed by a boat coming in close to Indigo Dream’s back, too close, in fact. We went out to investigate and it was the curious sight of a narrowboat being towed along by its centre rope by a wiry man on the towpath. There was a young man on board, fending off and making sure that the towing rope didn’t get fouled on anything on our roof.

Needless to say, we caught up with them a bit later on and found out that the boat’s engine had blown and the owner, Dave, was spending every weekend towing the boat, by hand, from Tring to a winter mooring site in Cassiobury Park. It seemed like a desperate physical effort so we offered them a tow.

Working pair at the Nash Mills locks

Lashed abreast with Indigo Dream, the boats handled surprisingly well though I left Richard on the helm – I wasn’t quite tall enough to see over our companion boat’s roof and I didn’t feel confident to manouevre them safely. As Richard wryly pointed out later, he couldn’t see over the roof either! The reason we couldn’t see was a solar calorifier which took up quite a bit of roof space and challenged the headroom under some of the bridges. Richard did a good job of getting below the lowest arches with an inch to spare and the calorifier survived the journey intact.

The boat we were towing was “Island in the Stream”, owned by Dave and his wife, originally from South Africa. Today he was being helped by Neil, another friend who hails from South Africa. Now how’s this for serendipity, Neil works for a firm who manufactures cranes, they are Richard’s crane company of choice and they both had common acquaintances – really, what’s the chances of that happening!

The M25 marching across the landscape

As our target for the day was Croxley Green, we ended up towing nb Island in the Stream the whole way to her winter mooring. It was no effort for us and we had a very convivial afternoon. Dave was immensely fit and ran forward to set each lock, even the ones that were a mile or more apart. Neil helped us to work the locks – I did some of the grunt work for a change. I even walked between some of the locks with Blue (who was looking for another opportunity to sneak onto the A41 as he did last year!).

The afternoon flew by – we had good company and the canal’s particularly nice here, even where it passed underneath the monumental M25. So, we were back in London, theoretically; you’d never guess. Almost immediately after the M25, the canal passes through Grove Park, with it’s immaculately manicured golf course and elaborate bridges. It’s another world.

Careful manouevers....

The sheer swankiness of the Grove is soon supplanted by the wilderness of Cassiobury Park, one of my favourite places on the waterways. I love the deep cuttings flanked by rich woodland. Blue loves it too – he and Lou had a good rummage. By Iron Bridge lock, Lou soon came back to the boat – the next lock’s a good half mile away and that’s a bit too far for her to run at the end of a busy day. Blue, however, went rummaging in the adjacent woods, lost sight of the boat and got lost. Now, he was only lost for about 10 minutes but that an eternity in my paranoid little world. I tracked back and forward calling for him, imagining him stolen by gypsies (though there were none around!), drowned in the stream or just gone forever. I needn’t have panicked – while I was wandering through the woods, he’d spotted the boat further down the canal and came flying onto the towpath to be picked up.  It’s a toss up as to which of us was more relieved – Blue will try to push the boundaries but he really doesn’t like being lost and out of sight of the pack.

Almost artistic arrangement of canalside trees approaching the Grove 'estate'

There’s a lively boating community by lock 78, our last lock of the day. We said goodbye to nb Island in the Stream here. They weren’t sure of the exact location of the winter mooring so they tied up above the lock until they got more precise directions. Dave was very grateful – he reckoned we’d saved him a month of manual towing. Our towing may have saved him time but I don’t know if it saved him any effort – he’d run the whole way anyway in order to set the locks!

We weren’t sure how much further to go – by the time we got through Lock 78 it was just gone 6pm and the light was fading fast. In the end we moored just beyond Bridge 169 and the disused railway bridge just after. It was a quiet spot and a convenient walk to the nearby Harvester pub which did us a reliable supper. Of course, the Harvester wasn’t dog-friendly but the hounds were fine on board – they’ve done a LOT of rummaging today. We got back to the boat quiet early and watched a DVD – ‘Armageddon’ – good stuff, though it’s hard to be stirred by the action on screen when we’re actually sitting either side of an upside-down greyhound lying with her tongue hanging out in ecstasy as we tickled her tummy!

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Photoblog:

Sofa Wars (2) - Lou having to balance one paw on the floor so that Blue doesn't push her off

Fishing rods across the water....

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The rare sight of me actually doing some work....

Ornate Bridge 164 - I think this is the one that was built to placate the Earl of Essex who wasn't keen on having a canal on his land.....

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Late afternoon reflections...

Rummaging at the Cassiobury Park Locks. See what I mean about the height of that solar calorifier?!

The Odyssey 2009: Day 58

Saturday 10th October

Pitstone Wharf to Bourne End

The view from our overnight mooring - beautifully ploughed hills...

For some reason I didn’t take any notes today – maybe because we’ve been too busy locking! Mind you, we’ve passed through another of my favourite flights today – Marsworth.

I had a good deed to do before we left the moorings though. We had a relaxed start to the day and I took the dogs for their morning walk. I walked back with them towards Seabrook lock, in time to catch up with the crew of a day boat that had just left the based at Pitstone Wharf. They seemed a little uncertain on how to operate the lock so I talked them through it while the dogs had an extended rummage. I’m glad I did – questions along the lines of “and should we close the paddles afterwards?” made me speculate on how long the water would stay in the pounds! I’m sure they were fine but I am a little dismayed by apparently how little instruction hirers are given.

With dogs well walked and in good spirits, we set off from our scenic mooring spot. It was chilly at first, but the sun soon came out and it was a perfect day for messing around on the water, as we and a horde of towpath walkers agreed on.

Rummaging at Marsworth

The dogs had yet another big rummage up the Marsworth flight – we kept them on board for the first lock as there’s a road nearby, but thereafter it’s safe. They had a great time though we almost left Lou behind – she just wanted to loaf around in the lush grass, toasting her belly in the sun – she had to sprint up the towpath to catch up at the next lock. It was a magnificent sight – she’s still pretty speedy, even at 7 years old with a gammy knee.

We enjoyed the flight as well – there were lots of walkers and fishermen around (mainly fishing in the nearby reservoirs, so no conflict between canal users today). It’s a very sociable place to cruise. When we first came here three years ago I was much bothered by the gongoozlers, but I’m an old hand now. If you’ve done Camden Locks then you’ll never complain about too large an audience again! But the audience in Marsworth very ill-informed – they seemed to think that Richard deserved all the praise for his muscle-building work at the lock gates and failed to notice my immaculate 1-gate lock entries

That's enough of that - tired dogs coming on board for a rest

I had a quick look down the entrances of the Aylesbury and Wendover Arms, recalling their loveliness from our 2008 odyssey and turning away a little regretfully. We did achieve something we’ve been intending to do for the last three years – stop at the blacksmith’s studio at Bulbourne Wharf when it’s actually open and find out how much their barbecue stands cost. The blacksmith, Paul Elliott, calls himself an ‘artist blacksmith’ and there are certainly some beautiful items here. Richard took a fancy to a magnificent bell on a wall mounting – unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it wasn’t for sale (long story) – Mr Elliott thought we wouldn’t get much change from a £1000 – apparently bell metal is rare and precious stuff and yes when we looked on the web that is about the price. We were after something a little more modest – a stand for the half-barrel that we use as a barbecue – we’ve spotted them in the yard before but we’ve never passed during opening hours. The artist himself was like every artist we’ve ever met, with only one foot in the mundane world; we almost got a price and almost got a build time and we definitely got the email/website address (www.blacksmithonline.co.uk) – apparently if we order via his secretary then she sorts everything out and makes sure he does the job! That’s another task for the winter – something tells me we won’t be having many more barbecues this year, well, not unless we fire up the wood burning stoves as well!

The Marsworth flight is very beautiful

The trees that we passed yesterday were as flamboyant as dancers in their multi-coloured leaves, and as keen to shed their summer clothing as a kissogram with three stag nights to cover. The trees in the darkly wooded Tring cutting are much more matronly – still clothed in sombre green and not willing to shed a single garment until all the boaters have turned their backs. It’s very beautiful here but a little too chilly in the shade to tempt us to stop awhile.

There’s a station at Tring and we briefly considered going back for the car as we cruised along the long summit; but it was too nice a day for the car shuffle. Better to stay on board and enjoy the water – these fine days are such a gift at this time of year.

It’s worth keeping a lookout at the entrance to Cowroast Marina (a little way above the lock). A narrowboat came whizzing out of the entrance in front of us – they had a lookout but she wasn’t looking our way! Once she did see us, she didn’t let the helm know! No drama – we passed them on the wrong side – they had no hope of getting to the correct side of the canal in any useful timescale…..

Tring cutting - cool and dark under the still leafy trees

Of course, at Cowroast we started the long drop down to the sea, well, the Thames, to be precise, though we plan to give the tideway a miss and take a trip along the Paddington branch/Regent’s canal instead.

As we got towards Berkhamstead, Richard had to deploy his BW key as many of the locks have anti-vandal devices. I was surprised, as I’ve always thought of Berkhamstead as a real boater’s town with an excellent canalscape, good facilities and secure moorings. Note that Lock 53 is locked from 9pm to 8am. The towpath was busy, as were the canalside pub gardens so we had another sociable trip through here, though the dogs were more confined at the town locks. They didn’t mind, after all the activity at Marsworth they were already quite tired!

We couldn’t recall what the canal’s like through Hemel Hempstead and it was a little too far for us to get to an overnight mooring at the excellent Apsley Wharf. So, we decided on a relatively early stop at Bourne End. There were moorings below lock 60 but we decided to hang back and moor just above the lock opposite some residential moorings and a little further away from the main road that we could hear in the distance. It was a good spot – Richard polished a bit more of the boat and got chatting to the lady boater moored opposite who’d been admiring his finish. See, 50-year old’s can still attract the ladies – they just need to use different tools

Part of the waterfront approaching Berkhampstead - there are good visitor moorings here

We headed off to the pub with some trepidation – locals had told us that the Three Horseshoes pub, across the swingbridge (the map in Nicholson’s is wrong) does good food but that the landlord was a bit dour. However it is dog friendly so off we went, with our two dogs and their two sheepskins. There was a bit of a commotion by Winkwell swingbridge – there was an ambulance parked nearby and the rumour on the wind was that an unfortunate boater nearby had died. The ambulance was joined by two others later on so we can only hope that the boater/s were still clinging to life and capable of being saved.

There was nothing we could do to help and there are some events that don’t need gongoozlers, so we headed for the pub. We found a table with plenty of floor space around it, settled the dogs down and spent most of the evening chatting to two guys who’d noticed Richard polishing the boat earlier – they proceeded to compliment Indigo Dream extravagantly. They then went on to admire the dogs and lavish Lou with fuss – what magnificent people! One even rang home for his wife to bring his daughter down to meet the dogs (she loves dogs). The little girl turned up and took a fancy to Blue, who endured her constant fussing for the next hour or so – he was very good considering that he’s a

The Three Horseshoes by night - attractive outside and inside; the food's good too.....

shy boy. Lou would have loved a fuss but the little girl was scared because Lou kept waving her paw around in the air in the hope of attracting some attention. Once the little girl had left, some other punters took over on the fuss and admiration front so the dogs had a good evening.

The whole night was enhanced by a magnificent meal – the first decent pub meal that we’ve had in a while – highly recommended. The sausages that we ordered for Blue and Lou were superior – they almost didn’t make it as far as the dogs but I was stuffed - as well as being delicious, the food came in large portions. I have to admit that the landlord was very dour indeed but his staff were efficient and friendly. It amused me that people kept asking whether the pub had provided the dog sheepskins – it seemed an unlikely question – we’re grateful when pubs just allow the dogs some floor space!

Photoblog:

How does your garden grow? Could leylandii become a nuisance on boats as well

Marsworth Junction - looking towards the Aylesbury Arm

One of the softly scenic Marsworth locks

Fine views emerge as you climb the Marsworth flight - it's quite magical here

A horse in the pub car park - very traditional, when you think about it

After all that activity at Marsworth, being locked inside through the town locks wasn't such a burden....

More rummaging on the Marsworth - Blue and Lou had a busy day...

What a day! The view down from Top Side lock

Bottom Side lock - that rail needs a bit of maintenance....

Sofa Wars 1: Blue hasn't left poor Lou enough room to lie down....