tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235964635512780102024-03-05T01:12:27.866-08:00Ali and Baz AfloatAlihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-23367937315019836962013-09-07T07:20:00.001-07:002013-09-07T07:20:36.059-07:00Ghost Boat ?We are still sitting at Braunston, our engine has now been serviced and Richard the engineer left unhappy as he could find nothing to worry us with! It was good to catch up with him and hear how the folk up on the Shroppie are getting on.<br />
Today was composting loo emptying day ( whoopie ) and Baz was the lucky winner again in the " who gets to dig " competition, we still have mixed feelings about the composting loo, we do like the freedom it offers us, particularly when cruising, but it carries a few down sides too - the electric fan ( vent ) is on 24/7 and at night is annoying, we used to love the silence of the countryside at night,occasionally interupted by the cry of a bird or wind in the trees. The fan also dumps the smelly air onto the roof, where it can sometimes get back into the boat via the roof mushrooms, or be smelt while cruising as we stand on the stern, we sometimes worry that others can smell it if they are moored nearby, other than that it's err fine.<br />
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Last night we were both woken late at night by the sound of a boat, we could hear the engine getting closer, then a ghostly flickering light could be made out through our porthole, the boat past slowly, by now Baz was opening the porthole ( obscured glass ) to see what bloody fool was boating at this time, as it passed he checked the stern and could see nobody on it ! Ghost boat ! or another silly hire boat with the twit on the tiller bending into the boat for another beer ? We won't know now, perhaps that's a good thing.<br />
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Micky Jay seen from the path to the village</div>
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A zoom shot showing those solar panels doing their stuff</div>
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A boat approaches us</div>
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The cut starts to get busy, everybody seems to start moving at the same time</div>
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At the waterpoint, this 4x4 and trailer tank fills up with C&RT water, hope it's legal</div>
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The main part of the canal trading area at Braunston</div>
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Plaque to the Brays at the side of the cut - a real canal family</div>
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Well, we have done a silly thing, Ali dragged Baz to look at some vintage boats that are for sale, and of course Baz has now fallen for a trad boat with a 1946 Lister JP2 engine,........ watch this space !</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-50742780981825113792013-09-05T07:23:00.002-07:002013-09-05T07:23:43.804-07:00Fruit for FreeAs we sit, slowly cooking on board Micky, Ali first checks the temp, 29 degrees and holding, then for the third time, checks tomorrows forecast, heavy rain and a lot cooler, the sky is a summer blue, how can it change so much so quickly ? Then you remember that this is England, the surprise should be the sunshine today, not the rain tomorrow.<br />
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In the early evening yesterday we were passed by a typical canal boat scene, in the bow two men reading their news papers ( both facing the rear, great lookouts ) then as the boat passed, a lady lying on the roof reading a book, at the stern two more ladies in conversation, so relaxing as it slowly went under the bridge, sped up and turned hard right, this was a little unusual, the canal goes straight on ! With still more speed the boat first went into the bushes then an audible thump was heard as the boat hit the side at full revs and stopped. It would seem we are not the worst boaters on the cut, in fact it would seem we never were. We carried on sipping our wine and reading books, paying no attention to the now more than slightly ruffled boaters, as they extracted themselves, and as much dignity as they could find, and hurried away.<br />
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Try as we might to ignore the signs of the season changing, it is getting harder by the day, if the man made indicators can be missed ( and we certainly try, we haven't even booked our Christmas lunch, unlike the inmates we met at the marina a few days ago ) Then nature is shouting it all along the canal bank.<br />
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A dawn shot</div>
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The same shot in the afternoon</div>
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Leaves are showing a full seasons wear and tear</div>
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Elderberries are plentiful now we are no longer making wines </div>
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Mind you we have started some Blackberry vodka </div>
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And grab a hat full of Adams where we can</div>
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Early we know, but our sloe gin too is done and maturing</div>
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We wait in Braunston for Richard to service the engine, and the much promised rain to try and dampen our spirits, It won't of course, we have too much to do, boat to clean, paint work to sort, the list goes on, but we shan't.</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-46542203171017668862013-09-04T06:52:00.003-07:002013-09-04T06:52:57.064-07:00Full CircleWe are back in Braunston, our last time here was in mid June, since then we have been down to Oxford, spent a fantastic month on the Thames, going end to end, then we tackled the Grand Union, with it's double locks and continuous moorers, along the way we have learnt a lot, met some great folk, seen a selection of fantastic traditional narrow boats.....and managed not to buy one !<div>
We are now a little stuck, do we go back up the Oxford canal or try our luck on the Leicester arm of the G.U. ? We certainly need to put some TLC Micky Jay's way, we haven't stopped moving all year, and there is a bit of wear and tear ( as we see it ) or major restoration works ( as the boatyards see it ) at least that's how it sounds if you read the quotes !!</div>
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We had a relaxing evening at Norton Junction, and to make Ali happy, we started the day with .....another tunnel, she loves tunnels ! not. This one is special, opened in 1796, after lots of problems, firstly quick sands! and a slight misdirection has left it with a S bend, having now gone through it, we can say, we have seen straighter cork screws! Still it was fun, well Baz thought so, seems he is on his own on this.</div>
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Another day another dark forbidding hole awaits us</div>
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Possible last look at the morning sun !</div>
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The pin prick of light is from the other end, it's actually 2042 yards away, still nice to know it.s there</div>
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Shot from under a bridge, we are just leaving the lock on a glorious sunny morning</div>
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We have been watching the miles come down since London, finally we are here</div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Tonight's Mooring</span></h3>
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Braunston church clearly shows where to find the village</div>
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A trip over the bridge, across the fields, takes us to the pub that did the worst meal we have had, <u>we won't </u>be popping in this time. </div>
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We feel very lucky with our mooring this time round in Braunston - the spot we coveted when we were last here was vacant! No over hanging trees, there are lovely open views and hopefully some peace and quiet.</div>
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There is only one slight concern - will Richard the engineer be able to park his van and do our engine service here on Friday ? Hoping so because a few days in this mooring would be most welcome - we'll see.</div>
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Once again the temperature in the boat is 28 C - we are making the most of it because friday is forecast wet and cold......time for a visit to Midland Chandlers in Braunston, we have a fire brick that needs replacing. </div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-50429607257658341352013-09-03T06:20:00.000-07:002013-09-03T06:20:05.844-07:00Final CruiseA sad day for Dom and Becs, they are taking their boat and home to the ABNB brokerage to be sold, Constance has been their home for nearly a year, enough to convince them that living afloat is for them.<br />
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So much so that they are on their way to pick up their new boat ! how exciting for them, not a such a bad final cruise after all then. Hakuna Haraka (means - no rush,slowly slowly,take your time) is sat waiting for them and new adventures, enjoy, and we hope we will bump into you again, not literally with luck!</div>
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Hakuna Haraka sits at Crick waiting</div>
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Reluctant to let go, Becs and Dom holding Constance at the locks</div>
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Our stay at Weedon was only the one night, the old part of the village is really nice, traditional cottages, quiet streets and good facilities, but wander to the edges and bang ! you are thrown into the mad world of traffic, smells and noise as the A 45 trunk road passes through, pausing briefly at the cross roads, then back to full throttle.</div>
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Weedon church, the golden stones shine in the sun</div>
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The dogs wait for us, no we are not in the pub ! cheek.</div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Tonight's Mooring</span></h3>
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A super view from the stern tonight</div>
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Behind us, in the distance boats can be seen, on the Leicester section of the G U one will be N.B.Constance as Becs and Dom are moored there, not for us this trip we plod on towards Brauston and a few appointments, all of which have our cheque book trembling nervously in the draw.</div>
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We have another tunnel ahead - Braunston - and at 2042 yards it's up there with the other big boys, Ali is already looking forward to it - not!! There'll also be plenty of locks to tackle in the morning, but hey! that's tomorrow, we still have today to enjoy.</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-14044282801955173622013-09-02T04:26:00.000-07:002013-09-02T04:26:58.265-07:00Light At The End Of The TunnelOur arrival at Weedon was not without a little home made drama, caused by map reading issues, or lack of map reading to be more accurate, as we cruised past a collection of mooring bollards, and the much discussed church, Ali announced that this could be it ! By now the boat was half way out of town again, much reverse thrust and just as much cursing, we came to a halt, the wind blowing us to the opposite side of our target spot and of course boats appearing from nowhere,well, we are in, tied up, and smiling.<br />
We had left Stoke Bruerne on Sunday morning, the plan was to get through the Blisworth tunnel good and early, thus avoiding other boats coming through the other way, well that was the theory, almost immediately we entered the tunnel Ali shouted " boat coming towards us Baz " I was of course outraged that others had spoilt a good plan, and were so selfish as to be cruising at this silly time of day - Honestly !!<br />
We kept to our side, the light was getting closer, but not fast, I thought sod it, I will sit in the middle until we get a bit nearer, Ali warned me that it was close now, we pulled to the right, it was of course the famous "light at the end of the tunnel " we were seeing, twits, don't tell anyone, ok.<br />
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We enter the tunnel, are you sure two boats can pass in here ?</div>
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Lots of water seems to drain into the tunnel, you hear it and wonder if you are about to be soaked, as not all of it enters like this, some comes down like rain Big Rain !!</div>
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We say goodbye to the entrance</div>
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Air vent tunnel, often accompanied by water !</div>
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Water brings an interesting finish to what is a brick wall, with time</div>
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Nearly out</div>
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Evening at our nights mooring at Bugbrooke Downs</div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Today's Water Road</span></h3>
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Looking back as we pass Nether Heyford</div>
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Open views so welcome</div>
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We are now at Weedon, we need to stock up on fresh goodies and start to plan the week ahead, so a quiet spot for boat admin, that will allow Richard to get to us on Friday to service the engine. </div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Baz and Ali</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-50751732970001508252013-08-31T02:12:00.000-07:002013-08-31T02:12:17.227-07:00Stoke Bruerne and The Blisworth TunnelStoke Bruerne although a busy boating place, was pleasant and quiet by the the time the tow path tourists had gone home or to the pubs.We can only stay here two nights, new rules have come into play, the aim is to keep boats moving and allow other boats to moor in this pleasant spot, really this will help the hire boats find a spot to moor as they plod up and down with deadlines to keep, usually only spending a night at any town.<br />
We have to go through the Blisworth Tunnel tomorrow, the third longest navigable one on the system, taking about 30 mins, with the added fun factor of two way traffic.The Grand Union canal had been open and running for 5 years before the tunnel was finally finished and open, forcing boats to unload their cargoes onto trams for the journey over the hill and then be reloaded at the other side, hardly ideal.<br />
The first boats were poled through the tunnel, later they used leggers, men would propel the boats by foot as they lay on the boat, a hard job, not without accidents and fatalities, they were finally replaced by a steam tug to speed things up as the tunnel traffic increased.<br />
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N B Hadar shows us the way things were for leggers</div>
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All in a days work, some jobs best left in the past</div>
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Stoke Bruerne, behind the bridge is the wharf and a lock</div>
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One drink in here was all we managed before being driven away by wasps, Pest Control has gone down hill since my retirement</div>
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The wharf, the large three storey building was once a corn mill, now a museum </div>
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Seen from the lock bridge </div>
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It's time to plan to have the engine serviced again - it almost got overlooked because we don't run the engine when we are moored thanks to the solar power. Baz spoke to Richard who has done most of our servicing and even though he's up at Gnosall (Shroppie) he's agreed to come and meet us at the end of the week to give Micky Jay the once over - great service!</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-53807403603193623512013-08-30T05:18:00.000-07:002013-08-30T05:18:33.359-07:00Caution....Elderly Ducks Crossing !We are at last starting to see open, uninterrupted countryside, it's a real treat and literally a breath of fresh air, we are now about 20 miles from Braunston, on arrival there we will have completed a circle taking us a couple of months, The Thames being the high and the beginning of the Grand Union the low points of the journey.<br />
Today was a pleasant cruise for me and a six lock struggle for Ali, after yesterdays accident, health and safety have been uppermost in her mind, so much so that she tried to fill a lock with the paddles still open, while being far safer as the depth was kept shallow in case of emergency, the boat wasn't going up to the next level, so after what seemed like an hour, caution was thrown aside and the paddles closed ! We did feel a pair of twits, we blamed the gongoozlers who kept distracting us.<br />
Stoke Bruerne is the village to have our company for a night or two, Ali's initial reconnaissance has located Two Pubs ! and an Indian takeaway !! so with that and the Waterways Museum we will be ok.<br />
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Sign seen close to a marina</div>
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Getting back to more ornate stone bridges</div>
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Some thought and love went into this one</div>
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Not a sign Ali wanted to see really </div>
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The water road ahead is a bit lumpy</div>
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<span style="color: yellow;">Moorings at Stoke Bruerne</span></h4>
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To the front the church tower can just be seen</div>
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To our rear the locks, behind is best thinks Ali </div>
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So we are in Northants. fairly close to where one of Ali's sisters and partner lives. Tomorrow we'll meet up with them at either The Navigation or The Boat. We are moored close to a nature reserve so will explore that later. There are new mooring rules being introduced here because it's a popular spot, so we can stay for 2 days and after that it's £25 a day, at the moment it's us and one other boat on the moorings but that's likely to change later today with people making the most of good weather and the last few days of the school hols.</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-60633499737557421892013-08-29T05:22:00.001-07:002013-08-29T05:22:36.053-07:00Wonders Of The Weed HatchAli is in shock, ... after waving to a couple on their boat as they passed us, ( we had met and shared a few locks with them further back down the G U, ) later we walked past their now moored boat at the lock in front of us, with it was an ambulance, .... the lady lockmaster had fallen in the lock after her windlass had slipped, she's ok thankfully, shock and wet clothes plus a few bumps, ..... me thinks Ali will be being very careful when she works the lock tomorrow !<br />
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We have decided to stay here in Cosgrove a day, it's a nice spot, we had a wander around a large waterside mobile home park, and had a look at some of the units they have for sale, very posh, but not for us.<br />
It is a busy place, the dogs are getting some freedom and good walks. We have been doing some small jobs aboard the boat, things we tend to forget when on the move a lot, such as ordering filters for the vac and putting up some wall plaques recently acquired on our travels, all exiting stuff !<br />
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<span style="color: orange;">BOAT SPOT The Weed Hatch</span></h3>
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We have covered most of the boat over the months, we missed the weed hatch mainly because we only deal with it when there is a problem with something stuck round the propeller, and taking photos is low on the list of priority's while trying to get the boat moving again. The weed hatch is situated in the engine 'ole at the stern above the prop, it should be known as the plastic sack 'ole really, for that's what is normally tightly wrapped around the prop, so lets see what we have got today.<br />
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This is what it looks like normally, unscrew the T bolt on top to open</div>
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Like so</div>
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We now have a hole in the bottom of the boat to allow some lucky person access to the prop</div>
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The bit that we must remember to replace, and replace properly, if we wish to continue floating, for this reason boat hires do not normally inform you of it's existence.... so we did't tell you, OK ! </div>
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Baz has a good old root around, no bag this time but plenty of wire!</div>
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Today's haul, wish people would not use the cut as a builder's skip !!</div>
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Cosgrove</h4>
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As we said we had a walk around the village</div>
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Saw these lovely examples of hanging baskets, went in to complement them on the display. And guess what? It was a pub ! well it would be rude to walk straight out.......wouldn't it ?</div>
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The old horse tunnel under the canal</div>
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We had trouble getting the dogs through .......a horse must have been fun !</div>
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A view from our side hatch, of what could be a lovely boat </div>
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A post script to 'the lost doormat' tale from the other day - Baz being the frugal type was not happy that our £3 mat lay at the bottom of the marina mooring so went fishing in the murky depths and - you guessed it! - was successful in retrieving it from it's watery grave. Hurrah, perhaps the money saved will buy a pint at the very pleasant 'Barley Mow' hostelry later today.......</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-51741988224323579422013-08-28T05:33:00.000-07:002013-08-28T05:33:46.907-07:00Hail The Marconi TwinsThe radio course went well ! In case you didn't guess, we both passed and are now looking forward to registering our pass, then acquiring our VHF radio,and next ..... the tidal Thames !.....well next year probably.<br />
We set off from Milton Keynes marina first thing, the other boaters in the marina were friendly and helpful, they deserve a better marina really, they were busy planning their Christmas meal, not something we want to think about just yet. Today's planned cruise hold a a rare luxury..... NO LOCKS ! well for today anyway, it took a couple of hours to finally shake of the town, the canal winds it way all the way round the edge, to be fair, you hardly see the town, the trees cover most of it, we are now moored at Cosgrove a few miles north.<br />
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Ali is busy checking the hedgerows, she has made some blackberry vodka and is waiting to start a sloe gin, as soon as the sloes look ready, they seem to be a little early this year, and certainly plentiful, in fact a good year to be had for all gatherers with trees hanging heavy with crab apples and the biggest blackberries for several years.<br />
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We play with the radios, practising Mayday calls, the tutor had correctly assessed our boating ability</div>
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A cool, autumn like, misty start to the cruise</div>
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Ali catches a Heron taking flight at our arrival</div>
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For Carol, at last !</div>
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Another aqueduct, not so scary this one</div>
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Leaving the short and thankfully wide aqueduct </div>
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Getting a pleasant mooring in a picturesque place was our goal for today and we have achieved that. Cosgrove is busy with boaters and other folk walking the towpath in this ideal weather. There are footpaths so the dogs (and us!) will get some much needed exercise and a change of scene. Marina's have their uses but can feel very restrictive so we happily cruise on. </div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-25018476781887431502013-08-26T09:08:00.000-07:002013-08-26T09:08:22.535-07:00Milton Keynes We had a rest day on Sunday, we both agreed that it was needed, I know what your're thinking - every day is a rest day for us - and you are right, but cruising can be tiring, and day after day is hard work. For Ali it's physical as the appointed 'lockmaster ' they are heavy, both the gates and the paddles, and for Baz it's more a case of concentration and patience, neither come naturally to him, and standing still for 5 or six 6 hours, well, for a guy who loved to run - hard!<br />
A big move planned for the day, about 16 miles and seven locks. We have to be in the marina before 4pm, we have booked two nights at Milton Keynes Marina to make life a little easier for the radio training man, firstly to find us and park, also so we have a loo nearby to offer him. Progress was slow, fishermen and moored boats, it seemed all the way, but at around 3pm we rocked up, filled with diesel and reversed into our appointed slot, without problems, much to the disappointment of the pub based gongoozlers. First impressions of the place, some work needed to achieve average, we have a feeling that doing the work needed is their main problem, still we are in, safe and ready to put our feet up.<br />
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Who says you can't have a garden on a narrow boat ?</div>
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Two patient yorkies wait to see where we are going next</div>
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Baz holds the centre line to allow a second boat in the lock</div>
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Another converted working boat, something about them</div>
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Milton Keynes it would seem had arrived</div>
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Close Syd, still looking for a Carol, we did see one but the camera batteries died !</div>
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Nice open stretch, </div>
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Micky tied up in the boat estate </div>
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We hadn't been moored up for more than an hour when Archie fell in! Luckily he was attached to his lead at the time - however our rubber doormat fell in with him and sunk to the bottom of the cut. Despite Ali's fairly feeble attempts to fish it out it still lies in the murky depths, Ah well that'll be 3 mats lost off the back of Micky Jay so far.............</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-44035432797869538362013-08-24T07:46:00.000-07:002013-08-24T07:46:08.560-07:00Day Off ....... Ha !Our planned rest day lasted right up until 8 am, ( ahhh luxury ) when we pulled pins in the rain to cruise a little further to our meeting point with the radio training people on Tuesday, an exact point has yet to be agreed, it is quite hard to be accurate with places and timings when on a narrow boat, weather, locks, and yes traffic ( all be it boat traffic ) come into play, usually a day or two here and there does not matter, but we can not expect the trainer to hang around for us to show up, and if he/she did, we couldn't afford it !<br />
At our first lock, we met a couple, sadly taking their much loved boat to market ( brokerage ) they were both a bit down, and the rain was not helping them on their last cruise. Both in their seventies, they were having to stop due to mobility issues. The boat was in super condition and will be a great buy for new owners when found. We parted after 9 locks, for we wanted to moor and try and dry out, they were continuing for a few more locks ( and they were the older boaters with mobility issues ? ) before they planned to do the same.<br />
We took no pictures today, the rain just has not stopped, and a wet camera is not a happy camera.<br />
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Some shots of the Thames</div>
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We think we are missing it </div>
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Big, clean, and lots to see</div>
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Still, looks like we will be back on it next year, and with our new radio skills ( hope we pass ) we can do the lot, moor alongside HMS Belfast, wave at our hard working M Ps and best of all go under Tower Bridge !<br />
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So look out London ! we will be back !!<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
Baz and Ali.<br />
<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-2835175762238521902013-08-23T08:04:00.001-07:002013-08-23T08:04:24.528-07:00Grand Union---- First ImpressionssWe have now been on the G U for 5 days, we have travelled each day completing 60 double locks, with plenty more ahead. We can assume that the term Grand refers to the size of the cut (at 14 feet wide ) Rather than any great beauty or grandeur, so far,we have been under whelmed. The moorings are uninspiring, and filled with constant moorers in anything that floats or may have at one time ( boat safety scheme don't make me laugh ) The locks are hard, slow, and relentless, with heavy gates and often boats moored on the lock landing stages ( guess who ) We have pulled in near Marsworth, just above the Aylesbury arm, we plan to stay a day or two to re charge our batteries ( plenty of boat admin too !) before moving up towards Leighton Buzzard, and soon after we hope things will get a little more countrified.<br />
If things do not improve ( C&RT ) tourists will not want to spend their precious time and money coming on to this canal, and it will die again.<br />
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Bulbourne, once a British Waterways workshop of repute</div>
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Garden sculptures now the main product</div>
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Some continues moorers take the biscuit</div>
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Thought our luck was in, Friday and a pub by the cut, closer inspection shows out of business</div>
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The best we can find for our mooring a large road motorbike has just been ridden past us on the narrow path</div>
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We hope that with a little rest we will feel a bit more positive, the boat is showing signs of our many months of cruising, a good clean and polish will help, we noticed the state we were getting in, while cruising with the immaculately turned out Dolphin, earlier in the week. Some paint to the roof is needed and to the sides where lock walls have jumped out to scratch us.</div>
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Bye for now </div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-85540256784289816232013-08-21T08:46:00.000-07:002013-08-21T08:46:41.090-07:00Breasted upWe planned an early start to be first in the locks, so did the boat behind us, and did a better job, we watched them slip by us, don't you hate people like that, so childish ! We had a lot to do today, about 16 locks and one swing bridge, Colin and Freda said we could moor alongside them for the night when we get to Bourne End, that's their permanent mooring and journeys end for them, we said would that be ok with the moorings owners, they assured us it would be fine with the owners as they owned them all, sorted then.<br />
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Tied together for the night, Micky and Dolphin</div>
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Our stern view</div>
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Our side view, Colin and Freda also own the lake and surrounding land, dogs are just loving it</div>
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Yesterdays mooring in Cassiobury park</div>
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Passed below the M25 on our way to Hemel Hempsted, no delays and not missed !</div>
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Freda walks carefully between the boats in a lock having delivered tea to the chaps, ta !</div>
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Boat about to be put back in the water by crane</div>
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We plan to move in the morning, not the type to abuse peoples hospitality, we need a bit of shopping as the fresh stuff is low, then further up the Grand Union we must go, and now on our own, those locks will be harder and our speed will suffer, oh well.</div>
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Thank you again Colin and Freda for your help and friendship, and if Dolphin ever needs re homing let us know!!</div>
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Bye for now, </div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-91915400322179214142013-08-20T08:00:00.001-07:002013-08-20T08:00:41.977-07:00Shock ! .....Some Boats DO Move On The G UWe have had a great day, progress was slow due to the amount of locks, each one needed emptying first, but the sun was shining, so who cares. We have moored for the night in Cassiobury park, a nice wooded area, bit noisy with kids at the moment, parents are trying desperately to tire them out before taking them home.<br />
We both thought the same thing on mooring, KINDLING , there is loads about, so a picking session is on the cards before we leave in the morning.<br />
The amount of permanent moorers seen on the travel up here is both shocking and depressing, the C&RT have to get a grip, stop trying to empire build, they are not private industry, just get on with the job that they have been lucky enough to be given, maintain the water ways, this includes dredging, masonry repairs, the cutting of over hanging branches, etc, etc, it is pretty straight forward if you put your mind to it, moan over, honest ! Well for now.<br />
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Dolphin leads the way as we start another day</div>
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Some of the err......more original continuous moorer type boats</div>
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Well what do you say ?</div>
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Solutions seem easy</div>
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These clowns blocked the canal for while turning a 40' boat in 39' cut</div>
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On A More Positive Note</h4>
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The farm that Black Beauty was filmed at</div>
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It has felt like a long cruise today, every day is a little different, and we are in no rush, we have all that we want and need on board, well nearly all, .... no BBQ ! Still Colin is lighting theirs, and we have again been invited to join them, beer anybody ?</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-70097633336622216942013-08-19T09:03:00.000-07:002013-08-19T09:03:39.093-07:00Stuck In The PoundWe had a quiet night despite Ali's misgivings re the location, setting off at 8 am with the task of putting some miles between us and London's suburbs, The noise, smells and frankly the depressing state of some of the areas and boats----well you know us, country folk at heart, so after a water and Tesco stop we were off.<br />
We are still travelling with Colin and Freda, they haven't managed to slip away yet ! Our first bit of "fun" started in the lock flight, Colin's boat is a 1929 ex work boat and has a deep draught, over 3 feet, a lot in canal terms, couple that with low water in the middle of the flight of locks and well you guessed it, run aground, I tried to squeeze past him and got stuck too, in the end a keeper had to open the other locks above us to allow more water down,......sorted.<br />
Later a dopey fisherman, who was so busy telling tall tales to two other fishermen, with his rod left in the water un-attended lost his rod as Colin's boat passed it, Colin was shouting " RODS " but they didn't listen or hear, one un happy guy down £ 200.00 rod and tackle as it was dragged into the cut never to be seen again.<br />
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To sum up the " burbs " many depressing photos, this says it for us</div>
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Micky Jay and Dolphin in the lock, note the clutter free roof of Dolphin</div>
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The long sleek tug deck</div>
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Historic engine once fitted to a Scottish fishing boat</div>
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Oh No ! I am getting vintage boat fever again, hide the wallet Ali ...quick !</div>
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Our mooring tonight, above Denham deep lock</div>
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Woods and walks for the dogs, space and peace for us </div>
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Colin and Freda are in front, and sorting the BBQ out, I will join them with a beer soon !!!</div>
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It has been a long day, made a lot easier with having help at the locks, and good company too !</div>
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Now to that beer I have been promised.</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Baz and Ali</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-79924161842025509562013-08-18T11:16:00.001-07:002013-08-18T11:16:51.980-07:00Back To The DitchesWe have now left the Thames, our ticket ran out today, we had a last run down to Brentford and joined the Grand Union canal at Thames lock - just !!! Luckily we were travelling with Colin and Freda and their lovely tug decked boat, Dolphin, who knew the way, if not we would be in the English channel now, for spotting the route off the Thames was not easy, even having made the turn onto the river Brent, we were not sure what was happening - as motorists we were spoilt with the amount of traffic signage prior to an exit, there is nothing to warn you on the river.<br />
We have really enjoyed our time on the river, the cleanliness, the width, history, towns, it even smells nice ! So a bit of a shock to the system seeing the cut and the floating debris, the colour of the water, after the clean river. We are moored at the bottom of a flight of locks in Hanwell, we plan to move in the morning with Colin and Frieda, the locks are double, so we can both fit in and share the work, we hope to moor around Uxbridge tomorrow evening.<br />
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We leave our mooring at Hampton Court Palace</div>
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Another bridge over the Thames, Lindsey or Phil can tell us which we hope !</div>
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The width of the river has been great</div>
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And is needed when going through racing boats</div>
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The large lock empty prior to us using it, we are all waiting for high tide above the lock</div>
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Chaos ! As boats going in and out meet, the ferry is trying to get in too</div>
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Back to the cut, Colin leads as we adjust to the canals again </div>
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So a new canal system to explore, and we will have to remember that to turn, we now need to locate a winding hole again ! We still have not really planned much in to the future, well there is always tomorrow for that.</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-7007070081061976452013-08-16T08:36:00.000-07:002013-08-16T08:36:49.903-07:00Hampton CourtRain ! But we don't do rain ! Well, we had to today, taking our time to get ready, hoping the rain that was forecast for 11 o'clock and turned up at 7 instead would move on, it didn't, so we prepared for wet and set off.<br />
A short cruise through 3 locks to Hampton Court, completed without any problems, so now it's a quick shower and explore.<br />
Ali has been fascinated by all the wild Parrots around here, we started to see them around Windsor and they are here too, We have been trying to get a few pictures, but so far we only have managed to find a green & blue feather, Ali was a little sceptical when I told her about them, it's good to see them fly free, rather than be stuck in a cage for peoples selfish entertainment.<br />
My faith in London has been restored a little, the mooring here outside Hampton Court is free for one night and £ 5.00 for the second, we are close to shops and restaurants, and of course the Palace, close...... we are moored virtually in the gardens !<br />
Last nights mooring should have been fine, we were next to a dodgy boat ( tatty with no name ) and at 7 pm it started the main engine presumably to charge the batteries, and continued until after 10 pm, just not done if you are considerate boaters. We have been hearing via some of the other blogs, that the start of the Grand Union is cursed with continual moorers and the mess that is associated with them, the C& RT need to get a grip, for they give genuine continual<u> cruisers</u> a bad name, and will spoil this relaxed,interesting life style for all.<br />
We may now stay here until Sunday morning, we have to be off the Thames by Monday, and this seems a good spot for our remaining time.<br />
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Hampton Court Bridge seen from the boat</div>
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A small part of Hampton court palace, the passion of Cardinal Wolsey and errr... taken over by Henry VIII</div>
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Ali waits for Baz to buy admission tickets, she will need a chair me thinks !</div>
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Micky Jay from the bridge</div>
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A nice lunch in Hampton</div>
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Of course a nice beer too</div>
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Another Mississippi type of boat, taken from the side hatch </div>
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It's been a lovely day and after all the rushing (if you can rush in a narrowboat....) we've done this week we are enjoying the 'friday' feeling. Nice mooring, the sun is out and we treated ourselves to a very pleasant Italian lunch......oh yes, and Ali is very happy because there is an ice cream van about 200m away selling Mr Whippy style Italian ice cream - mmmmmmm.</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Baz and Ali</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-8575600671456181842013-08-15T07:48:00.000-07:002013-08-15T07:48:29.316-07:00Radar LoveWe left early from our Maidenhead mooring, partly because we were awake early due to noisy trains on the bridge, but mainly Baz did not want to pay the £8.00 for such a poor mooring spot.<br />
We tackled the first large lock ourselves as the lockies had not started work, in total we have done 6 locks and 17 miles of river. We did get into a bit of a race out of one of the locks, we needed to pass a narrow boat that was going too slow for us to maintain good steerage, and two cruisers wanted to get past the both of us, cue the river authority with their radar gun, I don't know the result, I tucked in behind one of the rather large cruisers and hope we are all ok, a speeding ticket on a narrow boat....... come on!<br />
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Large gaff with flag in Windsor</div>
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Another bridge, this time in Windsor</div>
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Ali looked on enviously as we past the shops</div>
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The boats are getting bigger, luckily so is the river</div>
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A view astern as we pull away from another boat</div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Our Mooring Tonight</span></h3>
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Up river, nice Dutch barge for a neighbour</div>
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View down river, we hope to moor at Hampton court tomorrow</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are now about 10 miles shy of the the tidal Thames, we won't be able to do the full " under Tower bridge thing " this time, as we still are not VHF radio trained ( booked for the 26 th ) but they will allow us on as far as Brentford, where we will pick up the Grand Union canal, looking like we will give the centre a miss and start to work our way north again, as we try to work out where the winter stoppages are going to be, and where we want to be, when the cold season that we won't talk about arrives. </blockquote>
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Bye for now<br />
Baz and AliAlihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-3066247462554515332013-08-14T08:18:00.001-07:002013-08-14T08:18:08.691-07:00Full Ahead To MaidenheadWe left Henley promptly after breakfast this morning quite sorry not to be spending a little longer there but we are on a mission to reach London by the end of the week, so we are pushing ourselves and Micky Jay hard - well in narrowboat terms anyhow!<br />
We passed through Marlow which looked very attractive from the river and saw 'The Compleat Angler' a hotel and restaurant with lovely views of the suspension bridge, it is named after Izaak Walton's book which was published in 1653.<br />
There were 6 locks to work through on today's cruise and for most of those we were in the company of a couple of holiday cruisers - nice,chatty folk - one of the couples had an 18 year old Yorkie on board - still in excellent health! A couple of times en route Baz opened up the throttle which is one of the nice things about river cruising - of course you have to watch that you don't break the speed limit, the environment agency are running a 'speed awareness' campaign at the moment and carrying out spot checks using a speed gun! Oh imagine the shame if Micky Jay got a speeding fine (or perhaps Baz would be secretly pleased.......)<br />
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Bridge at Henley-on-Thames</div>
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Council Building in the centre of Henley</div>
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Hundreds of tents seen just outside Henley - looked like a big event was being set up</div>
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Baz knows how much I love ice cream, but time didn't allow us to 'stop me and buy one'!</div>
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We were nearly, but not quite, fooled by this ol' fella taking his ease by the river</div>
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Have lost track of the bridges we've past under lately! This one is just behind us on our mooring in Maidenhead and is quite a noisy railway bridge</div>
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View forward of the mooring</div>
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Quite a step down to the boat - or up,depending how you look at it (note the new bike under it's cover!)</div>
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As I mentioned before because we are trying to cover reasonable distances each day at the moment we are doing a whistle stop tour of this part of the Thames. We had just come through Cookham lock when we entered a lovely stretch of Beech woods which surround Cliveden house, built in 1851 by Charles Barry for the Duke of Sutherland. It used to be the home of Lady Nancy Astor and is now owned by the National Trust - if we travel this way again which we hope we will - it would make a peaceful stopping off place.</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-61706456231906525182013-08-13T06:49:00.000-07:002013-08-13T06:49:36.128-07:00Hove To In HenleySo here we are, Henley on Thames, a spot Baz knows from his work days or is it daze ? Sadly we have missed the regatta, though people are still clearing away seating and <strike>tents </strike> sorry pavilions( temporary type).<br />
It is probably just as well, for turning up without the right cap and on a narrow boat, well, it just isn't done old boy. We have spotted a sign asking for £ 8.00 per night for mooring, we are hoping that it too is left over from the rowing frenzy, and won't apply to us poor narrow boaters ( fat chance )<br />
Our trip down had been without any problems, well apart from having to share 3 locks with a hire boat, who's occupants insisted on playing old fifties music loud in the lock, they were all depressing dirges, and the music was no better, to cap it all when we were being healthy, eating an apple for a snack, they started to fry bacon, I ask you!<br />
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Young Alpacas or Llamas, hard to tell when so small</div>
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Nice gaff, bet there is a retired admiral sat up in the turret with a brass telescope</div>
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We passed the start of the Kennet and Avon canal, thought about swinging starboard to join</div>
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Ugh ! perhaps not, maybe on the way back if we come this way</div>
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Mississippi steamer ! what else would you expect on the Thames ?</div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Our Mooring Tonight</span></h3>
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Looking forward, we are getting used to the width now</div>
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And to the stern, the rowers finish line stand can just be seen on the left</div>
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We have seen some fantastic houses, as we pass them on the water, they become boring after a few minutes, so we won't bore you with more pictures. Red Kites - they circle us like vultures, at one point we counted 12, hmmm, best check again that they are not, after all, vultures.</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-14044351903845744052013-08-12T07:08:00.001-07:002013-08-12T07:08:51.100-07:00Over night stop South of GoringAfter a very lazy Sunday, we left our scenic mooring near Dorchester and set off down the Thames. The weekend boat traffic had been steady, but today we hope for a quiet day on the river, we have a fresh breeze and some mean looking clouds are around, so with the possibility of the odd shower, we are in wet cruise mode, mats up, phone and other water shy kit in a plastic box and coats on standby - plus two nervous dogs.<br />
The first town we passed through was Wallingford, by lunchtime we had reached Goring, a stop here would have been nice, but we want to put some miles in today, maybe another time, once out of Goring the countryside started to change, tree covered hills on both sides, not great for T.V. pictures, but a nice place to moor in, so we did, we will do more cruising tomorrow.<br />
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Evening on the Thames near Dorchester, our weekend mooring</div>
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Another big house, and how the heck do they get there car in that garage ?</div>
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The river is a little wider than the cut</div>
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Goring lock to ourselves, the gates are opening, Ali is in the bow pushing us off</div>
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Some of the widebeam boats are a bit boring to look at, not this one </div>
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After a turn up stream we pulled in at Beale park, near Lower Basildon</div>
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View from the stern looking back up the Thames</div>
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.Conservatory of the day, looks like they put glass around a 10' diving board </div>
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From our mooring we can hear the distant squeals and shouts of children playing in Beale Park - it's a pleasure park set in 300 acres of water meadows with a collection of birds and a National collection of model boats. All sounds like jolly good fun but because we are grumpy old so and so's we're quite looking forward to 6'ish when the gates close!!!</div>
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bye for now</div>
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Ali and Baz</div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-5108812398370711342013-08-10T08:03:00.000-07:002013-08-10T08:03:24.743-07:00DORCHESTER !!!!!Ali scrabbled for our map book, something had gone wrong, we were approaching Dorchester ! We know it's in Dorset, In fact the county town of Dorset - and certainly not on the Thames, but - aha - there is another, again a Roman town, we may have a look around it tomorrow.<br />
We had left Abingdon after a little fresh food shopping, filled up the diesel and water, and set off on a fine day on toward London, a funny sort of cruise for when we started we could see Didcot power station, and after over four hours of travel, could still see it ! The river had opened up again, making it a pleasant relaxing trip, though four powered and manned locks, to our present mooring, a quiet spot and quite a climb off the boat, so much so that we are using the bow to get on and off, we are not sure who is finding it hardest, us or the dogs.<br />
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Passing through Abingdon, not a bad little place</div>
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Didcot power station, seemed to be with us all day</div>
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Only half a bridge to pass under, we were ready for it, hard to miss in fact</div>
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Double trouble, two boats travel together, must be love</div>
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Fast approaching, Clifton Hampden bridge, so many arches, so many choices</div>
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Our mooring, stern view</div>
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And the bow view</div>
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Some boat wreck survivors swim past</div>
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The hill in the background is the site of a old fort, we are moored opposite it</div>
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We have travelled about nine river miles, when you take out the bends it's more like six as the crow would fly ( the crows we see spend ages flying around trees ! ) But our move down the Thames continues, things can only get busier as we tick off the miles ( slow ticks )</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali. </div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-29702200670895250672013-08-09T07:58:00.000-07:002013-08-09T07:58:14.985-07:00AbingdonWe have moored opposite the old Abbey, not that there is much of it to see,( not sure if King Henry VIII was the reason for it's demise, will have to check on that before blaming him for this one).<br />
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We are below the lock and the weir, the noise from the weir is a constant watery roar, thought it may keep us awake or keep running to the loo ! but it is a relaxing sound, and it does drown out the noise the toilet fan makes ( another story for a future post...... )<br />
We have decided to get a bike, ready for the winter months, sometimes we are moored out of easy reach of even small shops, so the ability to pop out for milk or a paper without hours of walking will be nice, also help me in particular get a little fitter.<br />
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Abingdon centre, not a bad spot for a coffee, sadly we found this place after having a Costa!</div>
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Part of the pedestrianised area, with the church and civic buildings in the background</div>
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Good variety of shops, and easy to get around</div>
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What a way to explore the Thames, proper Jerome K Jerome stuff</div>
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The weir seen from the side hatch</div>
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With the zoom, swans waiting for .....err leaping salmon ?? </div>
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Abingdon is understandably popular with boaters - narrowboats, cruisers, rowing boats and trip boats are cruising back and forth all day. Facilities here are good and there is pleasant mooring free for up to 5 days.</div>
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It does have a very busy feel but not in a 'Help let me out of here' way - not yet anyway.........</div>
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Bye for now</div>
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Baz and Ali</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-8656005332768134162013-08-08T07:20:00.000-07:002013-08-08T07:20:15.524-07:00Three in a boat to AbingdonWe left Eynsham with a guest boater Chrissie, who was travelling with us to Abingdon, if she survives, she will either love boats or hate them. We had sun all the way ( always like that on boats ) and help with all but one of the locks. During working hours the locks area usually manned by helpful, friendly staff ( all but one who was a miserable so and so ) We passed through Oxford, both Ali and Chrissie pointing out places they could remember when growing up.<br />
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we passed the boat that had rammed us, we took a photo of them to spook them !</div>
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This breed looks familiar, hope the owner picks up</div>
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The locks started to get bigger</div>
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So do the boats</div>
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Some of the boat houses belonging to Oxford rowing clubs</div>
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You Know who</div>
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Chrissie takes a spell on the tiller</div>
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The river is beautiful and calm, and seemingly held together both sides with trees</div>
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Ruins of Godstow abbey</div>
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And the more recent ruins</div>
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We reached Abingdon in the early afternoon, and found a fairly tight mooring spot, between to pl;astic boats, the photo above was NOT taken after our manoeuvring in.<br />
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So our trek down the Thames has started well, good weather, good company, good gracious it can't last.<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
Baz and Ali.Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523596463551278010.post-33152898959670819572013-08-07T08:49:00.000-07:002013-08-07T08:49:14.788-07:00Our Daily Bread ( bread recipe )We think we have come to a decision on what to do next, -------- carry on cruising to London, ! it has a comedy sound to it, and with us, probably a comedy feel too. We hope to get down there before Phil and Rosie go on their holiday, and see a few of the sights as time allows, we nearly set off today, but Ali's sister Chrissie phoned with an offer Ali could't refuse, a trip to the shops.<br />
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We have been aboard for approaching a year, and have bought bread on two occasions, the rest of the time Ali makes the bread by hand, using a mix of flours and a selection of seeds and nuts. We did bring with us a bread maker, but as we did't use it , and as it took up vital cupboard space, have taken it back ashore.<br />
Ali has had a couple of requests for bread recipes and method, so here it is.<br />
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Cooking in a small galley has taught me how to be a bit more organised in my approach - so assemble your ingredients and equipment before you start. You'll need 450g of Strong white bread flour, 1 sachet of fast action yeast, a good glug of olive oil (about 3 dessert spoons) 1 teaspoon of salt and 300 ml of tepid water.<br />
I do favour the good quality bread flours as they seem to produce consistent results but the main thing to remember is it must be STRONG flour, not ordinary plain or self-raising.<br />
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Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and give a quick mix with a spatula. Add the oil and water and mix till a rough dough forms. Quick word about the liquid here - water is frequently used in bread but you could substitute milk, cider, beer or even some leftover white wine ( is there ever any leftover I hear you ask?!) The liquid does need to be lukewarm because that helps get the yeast working. If you want to add a handful or so of sunflower/pumpkin seeds at this stage so much the better - it adds fibre, nutrition and flavour.<br />
The dough will be slightly sticky, if it is very dry add a drop more liquid.<br />
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Have ready some lightly oiled cling film</div>
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Adding a good handful of seeds</div>
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Scrape the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and bring together into a ball</div>
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Begin kneading - this is the fun part and a great de-stressor! Fold the dough over on itself, keep giving it half turns and press down on the dough with the heel of your hand whilst pushing it away from you</div>
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If the above description of kneading makes no sense to you just pummel, squeeze and stretch the dough until it's smooth. Try not to use lots of extra flour as this upsets the balance of the recipe and makes bread dry - just work through the sticky phase - knead for between 5 and 10 minutes, get into a good rhythm, the dough feels silky and elastic when it's ready</div>
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Place the dough into a bowl that you have greased with a teaspoon of olive or vegetable oil and cover the bowl with the greased cling film. Leave to rise at room temperature for at least an hour, perhaps a little more, until the dough is puffy - it will be at least doubled in size. Patience at this stage results in better bread.</div>
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The risen dough - you can see the seeds poking through!</div>
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Put the risen dough on the work surface and 'knock back' using your knuckles, the dough will deflate - that's supposed to happen! Knead for a minute or two only then shape, a basic cobb is just like a large pebble.</div>
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Put the shaped dough onto a greased or lined oven tray, I use parchment lined foil, most supermarkets stock it now and as well as preventing the bread sticking to the tray, it also saves on washing up! Cover with the same cling film that you used on the bowl and leave to 'prove' ( that is- rise again) but this time only for about 30 - 40 minutes. It will be doubled in size when ready to cook.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO55Gfdv42Z2G7w0uUyNVcPh3exVrtM-DCVlR8stzBTha7PqmikKvjp2uUzojtp4MjmqVpvlyUv3m6gzDTPScdW_ODgJT0hT46uOCSY-sQxxDeJsJ_3DFHjGbPig_pTlE6kUAYOPSHedX-/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO55Gfdv42Z2G7w0uUyNVcPh3exVrtM-DCVlR8stzBTha7PqmikKvjp2uUzojtp4MjmqVpvlyUv3m6gzDTPScdW_ODgJT0hT46uOCSY-sQxxDeJsJ_3DFHjGbPig_pTlE6kUAYOPSHedX-/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I like to slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife before cooking, but it can be left plain if you prefer. Some people glaze their bread with milk or beaten egg before cooking - again personal choice</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvexzr9UJ15yRTfyo0tNoBkTPhUggmrnl3iZESXbGkdpU1KLuPVoxZBvuCGsXAetsBPEVKWkF3pzLDwx10lpXqewQ_R7kdvzpuUgdusGope74qYo92dw7_6cc70kyxevCG1JhtiZ4sTkdW/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvexzr9UJ15yRTfyo0tNoBkTPhUggmrnl3iZESXbGkdpU1KLuPVoxZBvuCGsXAetsBPEVKWkF3pzLDwx10lpXqewQ_R7kdvzpuUgdusGope74qYo92dw7_6cc70kyxevCG1JhtiZ4sTkdW/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ready to go in the oven - gas 7, or electric 220 C. The oven does need to be hot so pre-heat for a few minutes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzPTaZQ4yw_2nlqUl23V3WJYnMW7Z45AnU5d8MEXKawZNMFro9aX3Be9YOKsevfGHEgrSPVjetjMKp2jWET5akxWoSi6sWR0SwENajJXfT2IkFTEsY2FNPSSbOGyEOzK2b0S7uhTHqCgt/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzPTaZQ4yw_2nlqUl23V3WJYnMW7Z45AnU5d8MEXKawZNMFro9aX3Be9YOKsevfGHEgrSPVjetjMKp2jWET5akxWoSi6sWR0SwENajJXfT2IkFTEsY2FNPSSbOGyEOzK2b0S7uhTHqCgt/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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After 25 minutes check the bread - the delicious smell will be a give away that it's almost ready. It's a bit of a fiddle but at this stage I take the almost cooked loaf off the oven tray and place it back directly on the oven shelf - UPSIDE DOWN to finish cooking, this ensures a lovely all over crust. Then after another 5 minutes check the bread again, using an oven cloth turn the loaf upside down and tap on the base with your hand - it will sound hollow when cooked. All ovens are different, in our oven the bread takes between 30 and 35 minutes to be done. I always think that bread is better slightly over done - nothing worse than a doughy middle!</div>
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The finished loaf cooling on a wire rack</div>
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Firstly, well done for getting this far, a long blog for us, the bread recipe is well worth the effort though.</div>
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We aim to move to Abingdon tomorrow morning, on our trip down the Thames </div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Baz and Ali.</div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06972281061706547082noreply@blogger.com1