Swans, ducks, geese and the Lavender wagon

On Tuesday night whilst watching England Football team emulate the Cricket team by forcing a draw against Montenegro in a game which they were winning (doh!) I was pleased to get an email from David and Jenni re the Caledonian trip and enclosing three photos of the end of cruise party. For the sake of tidiness I have posted these on the page headed "The Evening after the morning before and some of the afternoon before the evening before the morning after".

Great to hear from them and Ken and Pat
You know how on holidays you get hammered with people two nights in a row and swear that you will all keep in touch. Yet amazingly no-one ever knocks on your door and says "Remember us? Marbella? August 1995? " Never happened to me -though to be fair I've never been to Marbella but have you ever had anyone make contact after a holiday. (excluding the Romanian/Thai slapper that you stupidly left your wallet with)

 I've also heard from Claire and Huw but nothing so far from t'others.

..Didn't I see these chaps on Loch Oichy last week?

The sun is out! And the ducks are at it again so all is well on the moorings. I love it here and penury permitting anticipate staying till that Great Lock-keeper in the Sky decides it's time to drop the paddles.
The difference between Winter and Summer is so marked on the canal. Forget Spring and Autumn-they seem to last about a week each these days;possibly a side effect of age but more likely some self-delusional efficiency change by Brussels. There comes the day when you decide you don't need to store coal,kindling, logs. The same day you only need diesel to make the engine go brrrrm rather than fuel the central heating. The day when you can step on and off the boat without fear of 6 hours in A and E. And the day when you don't take your torch wherever you go.

That day it will be Summer, a long way off having just heard the weather forecast. Till then I can dream of the space freed up by coal etc, the time saved not tending fires and the great pleasure of having doors and hatches open. However it would be wrong to say I do not enjoy Winter on board. The cosiness of closing the door behind you, settling down in front of a good fire and failing to do the Times Crossword. Bliss.
The cut is obviously quieter during the Winter

Fewer board on the move and some that never move at all  but a couple have come north through the lock yesterday and quite a rush today as people gear up for Easter.. As I say the ducks are popping ashore for spot of courting. Here's a group this morning enjoying a post courtship kip , no cigarette to make it complete.(Old joke-Do you smoke after sex? Don't know, never looked)

 Then along comes nosey out for a walk  with his camera and spoils it all. 

Our resident swans are making it all look idyllic and I pause to take a deep breath of Spring air.
 Bad timing!
The Lavender wagon is emptying the necessary at the nearby marina and the air is not Springlike. Great name for a Lavender wagon though. 

Time to check out Battlecat and prepare for the return of The African Queen; Heathrow 5 30 in the morning and I have texted to say that as well as ski jacket and 

Cossack hat I shall bring soup, blanket and hot water bottle when I meet her. Talking of Uganda......


If you look at his long enough you will see a giraffe

If you enjoyed the giraffe then you obviously have time on your hands to look at Pam's blog, the charity website and the site to make a donation instead of buying an Easter egg that won't do you any good anyway 

The Blog  http://paminuganda.wordpress.com/
The Charity   http://www.teamsonline.org/
To make a donation    http://www.everyclick.com/paminuganda

Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow

Monday 25th
My first thoughts since returning down south are that it's much colder than in Scotland 
re-emphasising how lucky I was last week. I have been staying on my narrowboat and popping down to feed the cat. Pam is away in Uganda until Good Friday. I've been getting the "And where do you think you've been?" treatment from the cat but we were never that close anyway.

The heating on the boat is going full bore and given that I returned to a diesel bill of 130 quid just for last month aboard I for one wont be sorry when the bloody climate shows some of this global warming they keep banging on about.

My boat neighbour, Roy and I were planning some Easter painting of the outside of our boats but I suspect it will be a weekend of curry and logging..
Independence is looking a bit sorry for herself and I had hoped to get her toshed up ready for a sign writer in the Spring.

Talking of Uganda I notice that at the only Race meeting being held in this God-forsaken terrain is a horse called Uganda Glory in the 4.10 at Lingfield all-weather track. Got to be done-fiver each way and watch this space. Might win enough to treat the returnee to a fish and chip supper.
I am very confident although form suggests I am sans marbles.

And talking of the weather this picture shows icicles that were hanging from the bottom of the car since yesterday morning and despite driving about over the last two days on Berkhamsted roads where the potholes are now officially regarded as traffic calming measures they are still there. It's a sure sign it's Arctic when you have icicles hanging from your bottom.

Surprisingly the canal isn't frozen but it does seem to have curtailed the amorous activities of the ducks etc. Thinking back we have had only had one complete freeze-up this Winter which given how harsh it has been is a blessing. I had my bottom painted last year (my boat-not the one with icicles hanging therefrom) so I don't welcome ice removing the paint before I've finished paying for it.Last year was much worse for frozen canals and coincided with the introduction of drought measures.

The ice-breakers had to be used to assist overstaying moorers to move on.

They look so different when they are all dressed up at a party introducing total strangers.........

Apart from the outside of the boat I am still working on the inside. Or rather I am not. I need to finish refurbing the loo and shower area but it is too cold to work outside doig the necessary cutting so that's on hold till my bottom defrosts.

In the meantime stay calm and keep your heron.






Oh Dear.
My fears as to my marble collection were well founded. Uganda Glory came 4th which would normally be regarded as creditable if not profitable. Sadly there were only 4 runners. 

To more pressing matters. It has occurred to me today that the St George's Celebration that we hold on the mooring is just a month away. A quick email to the usual suspects to get things rolling for 27th April being the weekend after the Feast of St George. It is a source of regret to me that the English are so crappy at celebrating these things-not necessarily St G- but the fact that no matter how we are perceived by others we have a lot to be thankful about being born English. I have always made a fuss about 23rd April and usually organise some sort of knees-up. I should have started a fortnight ago. Nay bother.

For tonight a special treat. A pork stir fry, which modesty shunned, I do rather well, The Lavender Hill Mob DVD and a glass of Barolo (or maybe two). Bliss.

5. 40 a.m. Tuesday and England are fighting for a draw against New Zealand in the cricket. There are few things more cosy  than lying in bed on a warm boat listening to cricket from a warmer clime
and they managed to get the draw against all the odds and run of play.

There are few things less cosy than waking on a cold boat at 9.15, having overslept because of the stupid cricket, remembering that somewhere in Berkhamsted there is a cat who already has the hump and is now starving to death because of you. And the gas has run out so no tea!
And the gas locker is frozen shut. And you can't boil a kettle to thaw it because you have no gas.
The ying and yang of boating. 

Arrive Berkhamsted tealess and unwashed to find cat fast asleep and blissfully unaware that he hadn't been fed. Ridiculous-I am 66 and I am worried that a bloomin' cat might form a bad opinion of me.

All because the saintly Monty Panesar and magnificent Matt Prior had managed to protect their wickets and save the day.

On the mooring today

What time do you call this?

I came as quack as I could

View through the hatch

Football and Fish Pie tonight and the Dentist at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Now that definitely is ying and yang....

A Swan reflects

The Last Post on the Caledonian Canal

Waiting for the Off

Going....

The Skipper at the Starboard steering station. There is one on the port side as well-plus the bridge. The side positions are necessary for negotiating Mr Telfords' bendy canal

Past Caleys' cruisers

Our first swingbridge at Tomnahuich

 The Canal to Docgarroch Lock

We stayed the night here and awoke to a covering of snow. That'll teach me not to sleep on the roof.

A Scottish Dangler

Laying up for breakfast

Morning Campers!

Woman in tea cosy with drunk dog

I'm told this is what the bar looked like

Leaving Docgarroch and heading for Loch Ness

Loch Ness

 Urquhart Castle

An enforced stop at Fort Augustus-nay bother

us

A queue of fishing boats in front of 

The broken bridge that held us up for four hours and forced me to have a pint in the Bothy

 A trip round Loch Ness whilst the bridge is mended

My favourite picture of the week

My second favourite

Will it? Won't it?

Yippee-through the bridge and climbing F Augustus locks

 The Caledonian canal to Loch Oich

Cullochy Lock

 The Bridge of Oich where an old dog waits for Lord of the Glens to deliver his breakfast as he has done for years apparently. I think he sabotaged the last bridge to ponce more breakfast but I could be barking up the wrong tree.

RESULT!

entering Loch Oich

Another Swingbridge on way to Laggan

The Laggan Corridor-the narrowest part of the Caledonian

 Laggan lochs

The Eagle floating pub-closed at the moment I think-seaon not officially started

 Loch Lochy

Salmon Farming-I wonder where they get the seeds.....

If that cloud wasn't there you could see Ben Nevis

Deer

More deer

Oh Dear!

 Moored for the night at Kytra Lock. Beautiful place

and in the morning..more campers!

 Back to Fort Augustus

And heading home to Muirtown, Inverness for the last night. You can just see the head of the Lock Ness Monster in the bottom of the portlight

The next post will be from the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire.
Hope you enjoyed the stuff on the Caledonian.