Dog Blog: Lynx’s Diary

Thursday October 27th

I is qwite hexcited coz we is not doin’ so much croozin’ so mummy Sue has got time to do me typin’ for me – ’bout time too!

Me an' Lou getting cozzee on our summer hols - mummy Sue has bin a bit slow puttin' me photos on the blog...

Wen peoples adopt greyhounds and gives them their foreva sofa, they is often writin’ to uvver hu-mums to ask wot they shoulds be feeding us. Well, the hu-mum so-called hexperts say stuff like “dry kibble complete food is perfectly fine, put your leftovers in the bin not in the dog, blah blah blah” ….

But why duzn’t new hu-mums ask US – like we coulds give them lots of advice re. stuff like hot chikkins, sardeens, weetabix (wif milk o’course), boiled offal and uvver stuff….

But no, they keeps trying to feed us ‘dog food’ like we woz dogs or sumfink…

Daddy Richard has been on the hinternet and got us lots of ‘dog food’ from Sweden – were the wolves live – mummy Sue woz hexcited coz it looked lushus (to her) but I wozn’t so sure….

“Uh mummy Sue” I sez “wot’s this in my bowl?”

“That’s chicken livers with rosemary, you loved them the last time we did an order” she sez

“Not me” I sez “wot else you got?”

“How about braised reindeer” she sez

One hound, three beds - tha' looks about right to me...

I woz shoked …. “You wants us to eat Rudolf?” I sez

“No, it’s not Rudolf, he’s not real…..” she sez

“Not real?” I sez “wot about Asher an’ Dancer an’ Prancer an’ Vixen an’ Comet an’ Cupid an’ Donner an’ Blitzen?” I sez

“They’re not real either” she sez “now eat up your lovely reindeer – there’s 12 cartons in the cupboard”

“But mummy Sue” I sez “if we eats Santy Paws’ reindeer how can we get all our treets at Christmas – we needs new beds an’ collars an’ coats an’ jarmies an’ speshal chewies”

“There is no Santy….” she sez

OH NO, STOP!

“Mummy Sue, are you sayin’ that is no Santy Paws wot looks after houndies and give them their wishes?”

Coz all houndies know that if you get a bit of paper wif ritin’ on it an’ chew it into little bits and finks reelly hard about wot you wants, then magic wishes goes straight to Santy Paws. Any ritin will do – if you can’ts find any then wait for the postman to bring you sum – your hu-mum duzn’t mind….

I woz hupset so I goes and I rubs me hed on her leg for a big fuss – I puts me saddest face on and sez – “oh no, mummy Sue that can’t be….”

“I give in” she sez “what I meant to say is that there is no way that Santy Paws would let his reindeer be eaten; besides Santy Paws lives in Lapland and this food comes from Sweden”

“So we’s can eat it” I sez

“Yes” she sez

“Nah, don’t fink so, wot else you got”

“How about Elk?….”

We duz enjoy holeedaze...

Note from mummy Sue: a few months ago we did an order with Zooplus and got all sorts of interesting dog food, including cartons of Swedish food from a company called Bozita all with a great first time discount (google for discount vouchers). It looks wholesome and the hounds loved it so we ordered some more, including reindeer and elk as well as the chicken livers they enjoyed previously. They also enjoyed the various sesame chicken & rawhide chews (which even Ty has to chew for 10 minutes before swallowing, rather than his usual 10 seconds).

The food is being eaten but not with the gusto of the first batch we got in a few months ago, which just proves the point that hounds will love a food until you order 100 packets then they’ll go off it instantly!

Except that they will have to eat this – it smells so appetising and we do have 100 cartons….

Richard, if I ever offer you “meatloaf” or “stew” for tea don’t eat it…..

At least the sesame chewies are still going down well…..

Don't wurry lady houndies, I is still single, Lou is like me big sister....

Dog Blog: Lynx’s Diary

HYPNO- POWERS - Yeah!

I is all for freedom of hexpression for all houndies ev’rywhere freed from the terr’ble hoppression of gramer an’ spellin’ an stuff, but I has to correct me houndie pals wot fink I has got ‘hippo’ powers.

Right, hippo powers is wen you walks along at the bottom of the water then jumps up with your hoooge mouf open and eats a canoe. I duz NOT have ‘hippo’ powers becoz:

a) I duz not do water (‘cept to drink o’ course)

b) I duz not fink that canoes is tasty

I has amazin’ HYPNO-powers – i.e. the power to get hu-mums to do me biddin’ wen it cumes to food, treets, chasing foxes at 4am an’ stuff…..

I hopes that helps coz I woulds hate for me pals to work on developin’ their hippo powers, wot is no use at all in a domestic sitooation, look into me eyes, remember, hypno powers…..

Now that's a hipp.....uh, sorry Lou

Dog Blog: Lynx’s Diary

Sunday 16th October

We has had a very borin’ week becoz mummy Sue has bin doin’ proper work an’ stuff but she sed “you rest now because you’ve got a busy weekend ahead”…

Here we comes - Archie an' me then Henry an' Lou.....

Well, she woz not jokin’ – I is almost too hexhausted to write me diary coz we’s had a big houndie party at my house today – me pals Archie, Henry, Big Sid and Monty came for Sunday dinner – oh, and Auntie Sarah an’ Uncle Andy – sumon’s gotta drive then here coz is too far for a hound to walk all the way from Suffolk…

Anyhoo, mummy Sue got us a BIG joint of beef – I woz very happy coz they is my speshal friends – I dun soopervisin’ the cooking so that it would be perfect but then mummy Sue sed “that’s for the hu-mum not for houndies”.

Well, I woz qwite hupset coz I thought mummy Sue woz gonna do sumfink mad like give us dog food for Sunday dinner and tha’s not right at all. But it woz ok – she used the top oven, wot I can’t see from the floor, to cooks us a speshal dinner – we gots ox heart risotto with oxtail jus – wot is posh talk for big lumps of meat in gravy wif rice. We’s got sum oxtail for breakfast, wot woz lushus – Lou didn’t wants hers so I ates it, so mummy Sue gave Lou anuvver bowl but she didn’t want that eifer so I ates that too – I fink that three breakfasts is just about perifck…

Wen me pals arrived we’s had a mad greyhound chase round the garden and I wonned all the races – round and I round I wents – wheeeeee……

Then we’s all had a little sleep, then we all hads a little rummage and dun wees evr’ywhere, then we’s dun helpin’ mummy Sue – we’s dun licking bowls an’ licking chopping boards an’ sniffing at stuff wot woz right at the edge of the table. Then we’s dun soopervisin’ in case mummy Sue burnt our dinner.

Dinner time - at last....

I is sad to say that our help woz not happreciated at all – the hu-mums kept sayin’ “blah blah blah get your nose out of my food blah blah blah” – is very difficult sumtimes wen we works so hard and is mishunderstood…..

We’s didn’t even get a reward wen we woz wotching them eats – we woz wurried that if they ates too much they mights have hindigestion so we kept sayin’ “enuff now” coz that joint of beef woz disappearin’ right in front of us…..

I didn’t fink the humans woz ever goin’ to stop eatin’ – after ages and ages we houndies fin’lly got fed – our doggie risotto an’ lots of luverly leftovers – we’s had seven dogs an’ seven dog bowls in the garden an’ we woz ever so good. But I duzn’t fink that Aunty Sarah has trained her hounds right coz they just scoffed wotever woz in their bowls but me, Ty an’ Lou knows that mummy Sue sumtimes tries to poison us wif kibble so we’s more careful about wot we eats….

It woz all sunny so we’s all laid in the garden an sunbafed – it woz luvverly – then we’s had anuvver rummage and then more sunbafing and sum more rummagin’…..

Well, that’s a lot of rummagin’ coz we couldn’t go to sleep prop’ly in case mummy Sue haccidentally dropped the beef onto the floor where it woulds have been a trip hazard – we woz on standby to clear up anyfink that mights fall on the floor, and ev’ryone knows that food sumtimes just jumps off tables into houndie moufs wen they is just passin’ by so we’s had to hextra-vigilant.

I’s had to be a good host so I’s made a big effort to stay awake all day longs, but wen Archie, Henry, Sid an’ Monty gots in their car I’s just threw meself onto me bed and closed me eyes – Lou an’ Ty woz already in beds hupstairs – houndie parties is very tirin’

Photoblog:

Sum luvverly pictures of me an’ me pals in me garden….

Henry the hound finks he is still on the track....

Me an' Lou an' Archie - Lou is like six years older than Archie - she is still qwik tho'...

Monty woz the oldest of me pals - even older than Lou!

Archie an' Henry is like twins....

This is me - I is winnin'....

I is goin' round the bend.....

Gotta lean right into the bend....

Lou is havin' fun....

We is playin' wif a tennis ball - for like 5 minutes - we is not labradors...

Big Sid, Ty an Henry - they is like triplets...

I is just restin' me eyes....

Archie is so cute - he never gets to sleep at all coz his hu-mum keeps taking photos- let sleepin' dogs lie Aunty Sarah...

Henry dun lots of lookin' today - as we is not even on the boat - he is very henthusiastic....

Odds Blog: Saying goodbye to Catherine

Friday 14th October

I went to Catherine’s (aka Windfola) funeral today and although it was a 5 hour round trip (courtesy of the M25) I’m very glad that I went – I took a card and some flowers on behalf of the Indigodreamers, Greygal and Canalworld Forum members. I had the chance to talk to her dad and he wasn’t aware of what an impact Catherine had made in the boating community – he said he was overwhelmed. Catherine’s best friend said that Catherine herself had no idea how many lives she had touched and how much she was appreciated.

The funeral itself was a superior crematorium funeral – much better than your usual “insert name here” – it was heartfelt and relevant. One point well-made was that we should now let go of our “if only’s….” – I think we’ve all wished, as did everyone in the room today, that we could have averted her suicide, but her dad said he was “shocked but not surprised” – it seems that Catherine had been battling depression for many many years.

At first I felt a little out of place as I obviously didn’t know anyone there and they all seemed to know Catherine from other aspects of her life and seemed relatively unaware of how committed she was to a boating life. However I was chuffed when they finished with a recording of a folk band singing a song about canals and narrowboating featuring immortal lines such as “sink my ashes down the tixall wide” and “the pearly gate paddles in the sky” – classic! It’s rather presumptuous but I felt as if I was representing the narrowboating community – I think the other people in the room knew Catherine as she was whereas we boaters knew the Catherine that would have been……on that score it may have been the saddest funeral I’ve ever been to……

Odds Blog: Terrible News…

Tuesday 11th October

It is with tremendous sadness that I report the death of Catherine Ashley-Boulton (aka Windfola from Canalworld Forum), owner of Beren the greyhound and would-be boater. She cruised a few times with us as part of her investigations into life afloat with a greyhound. It was great that she met Sarah (aka Greygal) – the definitive guru of narrowboating with greyhounds.

Back in August she emailed Sarah and myself to tell us that she had found her perfect boat, had joyfully adopted a second greyhound, Cally with whom Beren was “in big lurvvve” and was looking forward to inviting us on board for an Autumn cruise. She took such pleasure from meticulously planning each aspect of her new life -from the overall design of a greyhound-friendly boat through to the technical detail of inverters, where to find a waterpoint, how to operate locks, right down mucky task of clearing the weedhatch. She really enjoyed her cruises with us, as did Beren, who proved to Catherine that he was equally happy on water and on the shore. Sarah and I discussed her vision with her in some detail and I think we were almost as excited as her when she told us she’d found THE boat. Last we heard she had managed to find a seller for her house – sadly that sale fell through.

I got the news via an email from one of Catherine’s close friends who is dealing with her affairs – mercifully Catherine’s greyhounds (and tortoise) have been safely rehomed.

Although I didn’t know Catherine very well, I was crushed by the news, and have been surprised by how much grief I feel – something precious has been lost forever – her life and the shining presence of her aspirations. When hounds die we say “run free at the rainbow bridge” so maybe for Catherine we say “cruise free beneath it……”

EDIT:   There is a Canalworld forum thread about her here.

Dog Blog: Lynx’s Diary

We needs proper food coz sumtimes we is attacked by own own feets an' has to defend ourselves....

10th October 2011

Mummy Sue haz been me mummy for almost a year now, o’ course, before then she woz my auntie Sue, but I woz pleezed wen I adopted her coz I’s could start to train her prop’ly…

Is polite to wipes your face after eatin'....

Well, as yous all knows, trainin’ a hu-mum takes ages an’ ages an’ sumtimes they forgets all their trainin’ and treats us like we woz dogs or sumfink. I’s had to use ev’ry trick plus me hamazing hypno-powers to keep her on track. But today we’s had a breakfrough – mummy Sue has fed us proper food like wot is sootable for wonderful houndies like us.

On Sunday Mummy Sue sed she hads to work on Monday and had to leave us at home – we puts on our sad faces and she woz all guilty so she got us some hot chikkin an’ cooked a liver cake – so fars so goods. Then she cooked a whole leg of lamb – just for her an’ daddy Richard – wot? That’s not right!. I woz not happy – I means, chikkin is ok, but lamb – ooooohhh – the smells woz so lushus.

But we’s woz in luck – mummy Sue duzn’t reelly do mornin’s so she went off to catch the train and forgots to put the lamb in the fridge. We’s worked on our cunning plans all day – now mummy Sue wouldn’t eats meat wot has been in the warm all day long but we woz wurried that she might put it in the bin insted of givin’ it to us. So me, Lou and Ty give her an hextra speshal greeting wen she gots in, then we seds “we is poor houndies wot hasn’t eaten a fing all day” (though daddy Richard give us brekfast and did lets us out – no need for mummy Sue to know stuff like that tho).

Then I woz speshally cute and I seds to mummy Sue “see that leg of lamb, why don’t you gives me a little bit and I’s will tell you if it is poiznus”.

Altho’ it smelled lushus I sniffed it an’ looked at it an’ sniffed it some more, as if I woz doin’ a proper check then I’s gobbled it down……

An' ev'ryone knows you needs a snooze to let your dinner go down....

“That’s not poiznus for us” I sez “but you musn’t risk it mummy Sue, you is too preshus”

“Ok” sez mummy Sue and she chops the leg of lamb into little bits an’ put it our bowls – we’s had a whole leg of lamb between us – oooh it woz the best dinner ever!

I’s was a bit disappointed coz mummy Sue dids still put some dog kibble in our bowl, but the bits of lamb woz big enuff so we didn’t haccidetnally eat the kibble (wot is a terrible fing).

Altho’ we had a bit of a setback wif the kibble thing, I’s decided to try the advance trainin’ – mummy Sue dids ever so well, she soaked our kibble in steak jooce and gave us their steak leftovers – oooooh it woz faboolus!

We’s made lots of progress wif trainin’ – a munf ago I’s even managed to get daddy Richard to buy sum out-of date sosidges – he sez it woz an accident but I knows it woz me amazin’ hypno-powers. I’s had a bit of a problem coz daddy Richard sed he’d eat them anyway but mummy Sue reelly is hadvanced coz she sed “I‘s not eatin’ them” so we’s got a sosidge supper.

So me houndie friends, don’t ever give up on trainin’ your hu-mums coz they duz get it eventooally…..

Lambs! I luves lamb....

Boat Blog: To Liverpool with the Greyhound…..

Thursday 29th September

Note: I am a week behind with the blog – arrrgh! And I am publishing this again because WordPress has become confused about dates….

Evening cruising......

It’s been quite a week – we’ve been very busy at work (even me!) and Ty hasn’t been very well – he’s carried some anxiety home with him from last weekend’s boating and has a patch of infected skin and two pressure sores on his ‘elbows’ which need antibiotic treatment – this is probably from his rubbing his skin raw trying to hide under the boat sofa! In the meantime, Richard’s mum continues to be unwell, Richard’s car broke down a few weeks ago and has been in the garage awaiting a part then mine also broke down on Tuesday leaving us with no cars and, as it turns out, an enormous repair bill – waaaaaaahhh!

So, our plans for joining Sarah and Andy, on their narrowboat Greyhound, looked bleak. The only possibility of success was if Richard stayed at home with the hounds (he borrowed his mum’s car for emergencies and I’m not insured for it) while I went up to Liverpool. I was very tempted to stay at home and fester in self-pity, but in the end I just leapt on the train and headed north. It was a trip of over four hours to Maghull, where I was to meet them, but it was well worth it. The journey went smoothly and I got some enticing glimpses of some very familiar canals along the way.

I had to change trains at Liverpool Lime Street and was surprised to feel the same frisson that I associate with entering a foreign country! This was reinforced at Liverpool Central Station where I asked the barrier guard for directions to the train to Mag-HULL, or was it MAH-gull – “Magull” he said in a peremptory but not unkind tone – he then proceeded to give me detailed directions to the platform in words suited for the hard of thinking!

I was glad to arrive at Maghull and, supplied with ice-lollies from the station shop, was soon on board nb Greyhound with old friends Sarah and Andy with greyhounds Ranger, Miffy, Henry and Archie – all of my favourites!

Morning at Bridge 9 just outside Aintree...

We cruised along a surprising stretch of canal – we were on the outskirts of Liverpool – on one side were typically neat suburban houses, but the towpath side was flanked by fields and green scrubland. The canal itself was infested with weed which clutched at the prop. Nevertheless it was a pleasant end to the day and we soon reached Bridge 9, where the convoy for the next day’s assisted passage into Liverpool was assembled – two other narrowboats and three widebeams. We walked the hounds, enjoyed the gentle sunset and ate a fine home-made spag bol.

I contentedly reflected that simple pleasures are the best and went to bed on the comfy dinette in better spirits than I’d started the day….

Friday 30th September

We were up early and ready to go by the time the BW crew knocked on the hatch at 9.30am — the first obstacle of the day was Bridge 9 (Hancock swingbridge) – which carries a busy road over the canal. The opening of the bridge to allow the passage of six boats created spitefully satisfying queues of cars on both sides. The BW crew seemed immune to the somewhat hostile stares of the motorists – rather them than me!

There followed a long stretch of weedy suburban canal – but unlike the Slough Arm, the destination is well worth the effort! The towpath is in excellent condition and the few walkers waved cheerfully – I don’t think that many boats pass this way. We had to clear the weedhatch several times – but other than that it’s pleasant stretch of canal. Of course, we had to wonder about whether the greyhounds would fancy a run round the race course at Aintree! A couple of miles later, BW helped us through Netherton swingbridge then there was a long cruise to the visitor moorings and service point just beyond Litherland road bridge. We dropped off some rubbish then overtook the widebeams that had moored up (presumably for a cup of tea) and moved on to the top of the Stanley locks.

The convoy getting underway...

Now, if your copy of Nicholson’s stops here with the caution “here be dragons” then download the skipper’s guide from Waterscape or visit the Liverpool Link page on the British Waterways site!

We had to wait a while for BW here – it was a great opportunity to take in the view and walk the hounds. Although the day was summer fair, a brisk wind had blown up – apparently a common feature here, particularly later on when it swirled between the tall buildings surrounding the new Liverpool link and regenerated docks. We’d expected Stanley locks to be one step from dereliction but they were tremendous – they are deep double locks in very neatly landscaped surroundings – a BW crew work them for you, but they do appreciate help from visiting crews. Andy and I got our windlasses out and worked smoothly with BW to let Sarah and nb Greyhound down the locks. As we descended, the tall grain silo and vast tobacco warehouse seemed to grow – by the time we got to the bottom they dominated the landscape and we were utterly dwarfed – a reminder of just how important Liverpool Docks have been. Of course, they still are important, but judging by the modern cranes on the near horizon, the big ships are now loaded/unloaded on docks that open directly onto the mighty Mersey estuary.

As we cruised out of the bottom lock we travelled under a deceptively low arched bridge which belied the size of the dock beyond, flanked by huge lock gates leading to other dockyards, the whole surmounted by a tower clock, built in 1864 – what an ambitious piece of infrastructure this must have been in its time. Our channel was clear – a left turn into a straight (of Roman exactitude!) canal which, in turn, led to a maze of large docks surrounded by a mix of old industrial remnants and modern developments.

Once out of the canal, our channel through the wide docks was clearly marked by buoys and we soon reached Prince’s Dock lock – this was brand new (by canal standards!) self-operated manual lock which allowed us to descend a modest few feet into the next part of the link. I can’t describe to you what a fascinating trip it was – the canal meanders through and below Liverpool with its iconic mix of old and new buildings – the traditional Liver building and Customs House and the architecturally noteworthy museum of Liverpool as well as a plethora of interestingly angular modern buildings whose purpose I haven’t found out yet. The scale of regeneration is awesome and we can see why Liverpool deserved to be a City of Culture.

The view from the middle lock - the vast tobacco warehouse and the derelict grain silo just to the right of it...

But the trip was far from over. We passed through a series of tunnels and saw the two narrowboats moored in front of us. At this point the wind swirling around the culvert and surrounding tall buildings almost spun us right around, but Sarah skilfully manoeuvred us out of trouble and we were soon moored up behind the others. I got off for a wander and got my first proper sight of the mighty Mersey before returning to the boat. At first I thought we’d reached our destination, but we were just waiting for the BW crew to operate the Marin Island lock – the last of the day. The drop was only 6 inches or so and we got our first view of the large Canning dock with it’s disco ship blaring loud music over all. I still couldn’t see any mooring pontoons – we turned right into the next dock – Canning half-tide dock. Dead ahead was the huge gate which separates the dock from the tideway – we crept forward, anxious NOT to take a wrong turn onto the river (another reason that Richard did not come)! But there was the left turn into Albert dock – there were handy pontoons ahead, right next to a Costa coffee shop – “that’s us” I thought, but no, they were long-term moorings. We turned left again and finally arrived at Salthouse dock – it is magnificent, with enough mooring pontoons to accommodate maybe 50 narrowboats. Our reserved space was on the main pontoon (rather than a finger pontoon) near the slipway gate – perfect for hounds. Sarah moored neatly and there we were, in the heart of Liverpool after 6 hours of stunning cruising.

We were moored up by 3.30pm and Sarah started to feel sad that they were booked to return the following day – there’s just so much to see in the city. A quick phonecall to BW and they re-booked their return passage for Monday and guaranteed themselves a fine weekend of exploration. We had several wanders around the waterfront – both with and without the hounds. We visited Costa, watched the tibe ebb away, investigated the ferries, admired the landscape and generally allowed ourselves to be gobsmacked by Liverpool’s lavish reinvention of its waterways.

Later we found a fine chinese restaurant then Sarah and I took the dogs for a last walk – this took some time. The waterfront was buzzing with walkers, most hadn’t seen a retired greyhound before – the hounds got a lot of fuss and drew lots of attention. We ended up educating the people of Liverpool on the characteristics and care of retired greyhounds. Maybe we should take a boatload of hounds up and run a mobile rehoming campaign! Sarah and I sat outside in the balmy evening air with the hounds – it was as perfect an end to a perfect day as I could have imagined…..

Salthouse Dock - come on down, there's plenty of room.....

Saturday 1st October

The loud music from the disco boat stopped at around 11pm last night and I had a refreshing night’s sleep, despite Archie hound’s best efforts to push me out of bed! I’d left the side-hatch partly open and was woken by the softest light filtering across the water at 6.55am. Sarah was up early to take the hounds out for a walk before the crowds descended on the waterfront. For some reason, Archie was really disturbed by the ferris wheel last night – we thought it was because of the lights and movement, but he still didn’t like it this morning when it was still and quiet. By the time Sarah came back I was dressed and we settled down for our first coffee of the day – we had planned to go to Costa but they don’t open until 9am – oh no!!! Luckily the pontoons have water and shore power – we hooked up the supply, inserted a power card (which I happened to have in my purse!) and fired up the Nespresso machine. That coffee animated us enough for the walk to Costa where we got another coffee and some croissants. We ate our breakfast on a bench overlooking the estuary and enjoyed the calm before the storm as walkers and joggers started to emerge.

We got back to the boat just before 10am and found Andy up and dressed – by now I was ready for a snooze and had to force myself to get up and make tracks. I needed to get back to London so that I could have a full day at home before Monday – I was running a course for 25 people and would need to be fresh. We walked towards the town centre proper and I said goodbye where our paths diverged – they were investigating gadgets at the Apple store and I was off to Lime Street station. I caught the 11.48 train and had an easy trip back to Euston – this time I didn’t do any canal spotting – I was too busy snoozing! London Underground was a hot pit of perspiration and I was pleased to get out to the Surrey countryside. But I missed Liverpool – especially as Sarah had been texting me photos and descriptions of their explorations and answered some questions that we’d speculated on yesterday, such as “what are Liver birds?” The answer is here!

Thanks, Sarah and Andy, for your hospitality and for the opportunity to cruise such a fascinating waterway and explore such a magnificently restored city. I’ll be back – hopefully on Indigo Dream.

If you have the opportunity to go there then do – the Liverpool Link is definitely a ‘must-do’ waterway and the docks are as fine a destination as you’ll come across – a destination well worth the slog through the weeds on the canal above the city. Sarah tells me that the pontoons are used as winter moorings – now there’s a thought…..

Photoblog:

View from Bridge 9 - it's surprisingly rural here.....

View back from Bridge 9 - what a fine morning it was...

The Hancock swingbridge (Bridge 9) closing behind us - see at the next one lads.....

Cruising through Aintree - that weed is a nuisance but as it's a through passage we don't need to push past it in order to moor....

Brested up to the BW workboats at the Litherland services...

View over the adjoining Rimrose Valley country park - an unexpectedly pleasant vista...

Precision parking.....

The view from the top of the Stanley locks....

The convoy assembled at the top of the Stanley locks...

There's certainly plenty to see at the locks....

Tantalising view of what's to come....

nb Greyhound waiting for us to open the next lock.....

This bridge is the deceptively unassuming entrance to the endless network of docks beyond...

The tobacco warehouse casts a considerable shadow...

I think that the narrowboat would fit under the 'struts' of the grain silo....

They didn't need to lift this bridge for us but you do need to mind your head when passing underneath...

Our first glimpse of Collingwood Dock...

Approaching Salisbury Dock and the Victoria Clock tower...

View back along Collingwood Dock - the scale of the historic shipping operations here is hard to take in...

Looking at google streetview, the grey 'castle' is separate from the warehouse behind it but I can't find any reference to it. The tobacco warehouse dominates the dock's history as well as its physical landscape....

The entrance to one of two giant graving docks....

Central Docks channel...

Archie looking in Liverpool - see the iconic Liver building in the distance?

The channel is very obvious when you get there.....

Approaching Princes' Dock lock - there on the right - totally dominated by the architecture....

View back from Princes' Dock lock....

Approaching the Pier Head tunnels...

The canal weaves through some amazing architecture...

Waiting for Marin Island lock...

A view of a small part of the magnificently regenerated waterfront...

A view down to the waiting boats - see the lock to the right....

nb Greyhound - a fine addition to Liverpool's waterscape...

One of the Liver birds....

This traditional building looks good amongst its modern glass and steel companions...

Sneaking into Canning Dock....

Looking back towards Prince's Dock lock...

Now, we have to turn right into the next dock - but where...

Ah, there's our turn....

Our first view of Canning half-tide dock - the huge gate onto the Mersey is dead ahead...

A waterfront skyline....

Shall we go straight on to the Mersey then Skipper?

We'll leave the Mersey for another day - there are more docks to explore....

Nosing into Albert Dock...

The left turn from Albert Dock into Salthouse Dock...

We won't worry about going aground then.....

The extensive visitor moorings at Salthouse Dock...

Salthouse Dock is huge, and look, there's another dock beyond by the looks of it.....

The slipway is used by the 'duck' amphibious tour boat/bus - a familiar but scary sight on the Thames - they always look as if they're only an inch away from sinking!!

nb Greyhound looking good on her mooring...

Happy smiling faces: It was such a thrill to be here - both journey and destination are amazing...

A view of the Mersey (looking downstream) - the tide was going out at this point....

The fab four (hounds...) with the upstream Mersey in the background...

The gate separating Canning half-tide dock from the Mersey tideway - the entrance to the dock is just mud at low tide and the high tide mark looks to be around 5.5 metres - that's a LOT of water considering that the river is almost a mile wide here....

Boat Blog: A weekend jolly (part 2)..

Sunday 25th September

Paddington Basin to Limehouse Basin

Lovely morning in Regent's Park..

We were on our own today so we set out at 10am-ish, following hire boat Theo, yesterday’s locking partners. It was a lovely morning so we bobbled along, getting rid of some rubbish at the handy barge moored under the A40. We swung right at the island at Little Venice basin, drawing some shouted advice from the skipper of the Waterbus – “go round the island to the left mate so you can see where you’re going”. It seemed to be just friendly advice but there are no signs at the island and we always wonder what the convention should be – after all, if the island is the equivalent of a roundabout surely we should go round it on the right not on the left :-)! As it happens, we usually take the channel of least resistance, post a good lookout and use our sound signals to warn people that we’re coming. Note from Richard: If we don’t have a lookout, then we do go round the island clockwise.

We’d spotted a boat coming through Little Venice Basin just before we arrived and were soon in a s-l-o-w convoy behind nb Theo, who were enjoying every painstaking inch of the trip, and community boat Angel II whose hungover party was being overseen by a stone cold sober and competent skipper.

We groaned a little – we foresaw an afternoon of excruciatingly slow cruising with all the locks set against us. But nb Theo paused at Camden and let us, and Angel II, pass. So we ended up in a companionable trio – we shared locks with Angel II but the crew of nb Theo came to help where they could and we cracked open paddles behind us if we saw them coming. Nb Angel’s grizzled skipper was pleasant but reserved – the group he was shepherding had helped out yesterday but they were the worse for wear today and just left him to single-hand – he seemed rather relieved about it!

We tried Ty on the natural medicine again today – he did ’empty’ in the morning, which is always a good sign, but as soon as the engine started he sank back into his usual onboard gloom. Lou and Lynx seemed very weary – they had the odd bobble at the locks but were much more interested in their beds!

Approaching Camden top lock...

We lost our locking partner at City Road – nb Angel II is moored just above the lock. We looked out for nb Theo but there was no sign of her so we carried on down by ourselves, making steady progress to Victoria Park. It was as busy as ever – we haven’t seen a vacant mooring spot there for ages. There was a boat coming up the lock so we brested up to a narrowboat taking on water at the lock moorings (it is an awkward configuration here) – they’d been having trouble with their engine but wanted to go down the lock. They towed their boat into the lock and came down backwards – it seemed very odd!

The rest of the day passed quietly and efficiently – we were back at our mooring by 4pm-ish and were able to make a quick getaway – this was most welcome as we had a busy week ahead, but more on that in the next post…

Photoblog:

The skipper of nb Angel II "enjoying" a rare helping hand from one of his 'crew'....

One of the small boats left over from the Angel Canal festival a few weeks ago....

A decorative island - another remnant from the canal festival..

This canalside cafe seems to be going from strength to strength - I wonder how they got permission for the floating platform,,,

Lou and Lynx have become very close - poor Ty was cowering indoors...

The trash that they recovered from the canal yesterday - I wonder what happens to it now?

Boat Blog: A weekend jolly (part 1)…

Saturday 24th September

Limehouse Basin to Paddington Basin

The view from our front door - autumn/winter morning views like this are a consolation as the days draw in.....

We travelled up to the boat on Saturday morning – not least to spare poor Ty’s nerves – Richard’s mum is not well enough to look after him at the moment so Ty had to come boating with us. It was a good opportunity for us to try a new ‘natural’ anti-anxiety medicine (Calmex) which the vet had just received – he kindly gave us a 3-day free sample to try – I’ll report later…

We set off to explore some more familiar ground today with some very familiar faces – some of our neighbours from Surrey. Pete and Sue have hired a narrowboat before, but Mike and Madeleine had never been cruising and were keen to try it out. None of them had been on London’s canals before so we were looking forward to amazing them with this hidden world.

We had debated doing the East London Ring again, but with the weather set fair we decided to give them the extended tour – the trip from Limehouse to Paddington is very special. There are relatively few boat movements along here (jam packed with moored boats though!) and the water was crystal clear, giving us a fine view of hundreds of submerged plastic carrier bags and other trash – it’s such a shame that people feel the need to chuck rubbish in the canal – it’s not as if there aren’t plenty of proper bins along the towpath. Never mind, in places this depressing underwater vista was obscured by thick mats of vivid green duckweed – I’m not sure which was worse!

Nonetheless, the Regents canal is a fascinating cruise, with the ever changing landscape of demolition and new development which seems to characterise London’s restless energy. Not that you’d know you were in London, there are enough tranquil spaces to make you doubt where you are – though we did experience a peculiarly London ‘thing’ today. Coming through Mile End, an old afro-caribbean woman had quite deliberately taken off her clothes and, dressed only in pair of large white knickers, was ponderously swinging her pendulous breasts towards the water. For some reason, which still bothers me now, we just observed her and cruised on, as if naked women taking a dip in the canal was a perfectly normal phenomenon hereabouts. We had  someone who’s spent a lifetime working in social care and two nurses on board – it never occurred to any of us to stop and ask if she was ok or call any authority to do the same. I have to assume that she was having a cooling paddle rather than drowning herself as I’m sure that the towpath telegraph would have informed us of such dramatic happenings……

Lou adopting her usual locking position....

The canal was very quiet compared to most that we’ve cruised this year (I’m not complaining!), but we soon caught up with hire boat Theo and shared locks with them for most of the day – they were good company and the helm seemed very competent so we had a convivial time. It turned out that they were a group of Scout leaders, doing a recce for a scouting cruise in the near future. One of their party, a vivacious lady called Liz, was greyhound-mad – she used to work at Sittingbourne track and has a deep love and admiration for the breed. As soon as she caught sight of Lou and Lynx on deck she jumped ship and came across at every lock to give them a fuss. She seemed so fond of them that I persuaded her to buy a 2012 Greyhoundhomer calendar which features Lou, Lynx or both on the front cover, March and December – they are such glamour models!

We saw fuel boat Baron today and filled with diesel – there seemed to be different people on board – I wonder whether the boat has changed hands?

We had our usual stop at Camden – the Stop ‘n Shop moorings were occupied (or should that be colonised?) but we were amazed to find a spot on the visitor moorings proper – we’ve never done that before! We left the hounds on board and set off to have a look around Camden market again – it is a seriously bizarre place, packed with a mix of colourful locals, tourists and stands of unique merchandise – both trendy and tacky. The group was soon separated by the brownian motion of the crowds, but without any great planning we all ended back at the boat at the same time, the conclusion being that an hour in the market was enough before we succumbed to sensory overload. Getting a space on the Camden visitor moorings was such a novelty that we were tempted to stay the night there, but that would mean missing our favourite bits – Regent’s Park, London Zoo, Little Venice and Paddington itself.

We got to Paddington at around 5.30pm and, for the first time ever, it was full – we have never failed to get a mooring on one of the pontoons or towpath before. In desperation we sneaked into a slightly naughty spot on the towpath side and briefly tied to the light fittings (sturdy cylinders, honest!); but another boater came and warned us that security wouldn’t let us get away with it – they’d apparently moved another boat off that spot with a dire warning that if they didn’t move they’d be banned for life!. So we sneaked into another spot on the offside (Paddington Station side) in front of some older office buildings with a narrow and slightly overgrown strip of path alongside (you’ll know it if you see it). I’m not sure whether mooring is allowed, but there were rings and no signs telling us we couldn’t so we settled in for the night.

Lynx has learned his locking technique from Lou......

We were sitting on the front deck enjoying the basin’s ambience (helped by a bottle of wine!) when we were hailed from across the water – it was another familiar face – Christine from nb Ketura with friend Steve who moors on Limehouse cut. They were soon persuaded to join the party and we had a merry hour BUT we hadn’t quite realised how much we’d been absorbed into boating life. Our shore-based neighbours were soon yawning/looking bewildered as the conversation drifted towards boaty things. We tried to bring them into the conversation by explaining current BW structures/politics and started to feel a little bewildered ourselves, so the party broke up and we went off in search of food!

Mike and Madeleine were weary after a day’s boating so they headed for home – we hope they’ll come again though – they certainly enjoyed the day and really took to boating. Sue and Pete joined us for supper at our favourite Japanese noodle bar – See – at the end of the basin. We were so disappointed – the food was as good as we remembered but the service was chaotic – what a shame.

We got back to the boat and gave the dogs a last walk – poor Ty, he’d been in a bit of a state all day – we think that the Calmex may have taken the edge off his fears but nowhere near enough and not for many hours. He hadn’t had a wee all day so we resorted to the valium – as always, he was calm enough to go out by 2.30am but he got spooked by a heron standing on the path and scooted back to the boat. There’s a strange light in the basin made up from bright white lights from the office buildings, the moire effects on the footbridge and the violet glow of the pontoon lights nearby – the standing heron looked as translucent as a reincarnated spirit – the whole scene was surreal and I can hardly blame Ty for being scared….

Photoblog:

Mike and Pete getting the hang of locking....

Sue enjoys boating....

Green corridor...

Fuel boat Baron - such a useful service, especially when the canal to New Era diesel (up Limehouse Cut) will be blocked next year...

Volunteers (presumably) get busy with a grappling hook - there's plenty to drag out of the water....

I thought this seal looked very cute on the roof of this widebeam

Isn't that a great balcony? We thought it might slide in and out like a drawer but it is fixed!

This 'stub' has been properly closed off now with new piling and a road beyond - that's how canals disappear....

It's good to see "Boris' Bikes" (Mayor of London's hire bike scheme) being used.....

The cinema boat again - it really is a novel feature...

View along the Angel tunnel - the lads above were just fishing....

Sharing locks with nb Theo - they had an eventful trip - the boy sitting at the front broke his toe the first time he stepped off the boat!

The madding crowd....

Liz and Lynx - all that fuss really wore him out.....

Lou having a rest between Liz's fussing visits....

Strange lights in Paddington Basin...

Boat Blog: Back to the East London Ring….

Thursday 15th September

New Waterbus pontoon at Three Mills....

When the hounds return home after a cruise, they spend lots of time running round the garden sniffing and checking who’s done what while they’ve been away. It’s no different for us – we’ve been away from London for the whole Summer so we need to have a sniff around and see what’s been happening. The photos show that there’s been quite a few changes as the Lee Navigation is tarted up for the games…..

I mentioned that we’d been to a wedding party a few weeks ago – the groom, Chris, is from Australia and his parents had come over for the celebration. Knowing that our other Australian friends have been thrilled with the whole canal experience we offered them a cruise (if they could fit it into their schedule). We were delighted when Chris said they could manage a weekday cruise with parents and new bride Helena. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it so Karolina, from Richard’s office, stepped in as hostess and relief helmswoman. Chris is an Electrical Engineer and both Richard and Karolina had worked with him for some years.

They had a great cruise around the East London ring, with a stop off at Viewtube to have a look at progress on the Olympics.

I was very pleased that they managed to get around the ring – the planned Olympic waterway closures seem quite draconian to us – if the planning permission is to be believed, the waterway flanking the Olympic Park will be closed from November this year, with little or no access to the Lee and Stort or Hertfordshire Union. So, we have to enjoy these waterways while we can – sounds as if London will be locked down by next August!

And of course as the Grapes had just been sold, the crew had to visit and check that the Grapes is still ok. It is, thank goodness!

Photoblog:

Some smart new fencing....

Very whizzy new towpath under the Bow Flyover - this is what they were installing during the Spring stoppage....

The new footbridge is quite a feature....

That wall looks so much better without the graffiti, but it's blank canvas now so no doubt the vandals will be back....

New chains and ladder on the approach to the northern outfall - all very spiffy but Richard says it makes mooring for Viewtube a little more tricky....

The orbital now has its central lift structure - we think it takes away from the aesthetic but then again I wouldn't want to walk all the way to the top!

The Olympic Stadium - there were lots of tours going on but apparently some of the groups preferred Richard's engineering commentary.....

Karolina looking very competent on the helm.....

The new Olympic waterbus.....

The boats have been turfed off the towpath moorings above Old Ford Lock....

The relatively 'pastoral' Hertfordshire Union canal...

Coming down the Regent's Canal....

Chris' dad on the helm - he used to work on proper boats in Australia and showed his skills - once he got used to a narrowboat - nothing like that in Australia apparently...

And of course Chris's Dad would not have managed such skillful lock entries without clear signals from the Lock Crew.

Chris skillfully demonstrating the pirouette method of working locks