Back to normal? St George and other stuff

So what's been happening on the cut recently.
Well after the excitement of a cruise round the fleshpots of Europe and a flying visit to the Cotswolds we at Cowroast Lock had our annual St George's Gathering.
I always make a fuss about St George's Day and never cease to be appalled at how few people are even aware of the feast. Make a note now to buy a red rose next year to wear on April 23rd.I'll pay.
The format for the Boaters' Do has remained the same more or less for over 10 years. Every year I think long and hard about doing something different but generally the good folk that attend seem  happy with the agenda. They  are content with the content.
Turn up, pay an extortionately high entrance fee, eat unhealthy amounts of red meat, drink more than the recommended unitage of sillyjuice, buy a raffle ticket for prizes , the majority of which are bottles of sillyjuice, and be bored rigid whilst an auction of unutterably useless rubbish is conducted. All the above in appalling weather, the attendees grateful to whichever deity they support that the temperature does not cause the gravy to freeze (it has happened) and all the time being harangued to part up with cash which allegedly I then pass on to charity.

Ably aided by Ady and Geoff work started on the Thursday, through Friday to get the site ready-a job that seems to take longer each year.Are we getting older?

The Cross of St George flies over the mooring

Friday Chairs. One could not estimate the sheer tonnage of bird poo that has to be cleaned from tables and chairs but the Poo Team soon had the furniture up to its normal pristine condition

The frames for the marquees are erected but no covers because the forecast for Friday overnight and into Saturday is appalling.

Indeed I woke at 3am Saturday to the sound of torrential rain hammering on the boat roof and fell asleep muttering " **** it-I'm cancelling"
More rain in the morning but it stopped by the time we fitted the marquee roof . Always a relief to see the roof intact ever since the Glis Glis air conditioned the last one.

We did attempt to seek some compensation from the Rothschilds who introduced glis glis into the country but to no avail. Perhaps it's time to reopen negotiations.......Especially as I discovered the little horrors (Glis Glis not Rothschilds) had nibbled the end of my Union Jack. I'll seek your views in the next post.

The fires are lit and people start to arrive. Ady and Budgie are Head Cremators with Mac joining in as we go along.

There's plenty to eat with some excellent salads and whilst it's a tad chilly it's not raining.

Astonishing bargains to be had at the auction

The raffle, auction, entrance fee and a half marathon by Carrie raised a total of 762.50. A marvelous result considering there were only 30 odd (very) people present. Joseph did a first rate job selling raffle tickets and there were some very good prizes. The auction seemed to take forever but a lot of priceless items were shifted. I use the word "priceless" advisedly. Mind you we had some decent stuff including some lovely lace plates which were a bargain for a collector, a guitar which Ady plucked up the courage to buy and 6 bottles of wine kindly donated by Janice and John from Berko who organised the wine tasting last St George's

The weather held out and we didn't poison anybody (if we did they haven't recovered sufficiently to tell me) so a most satisfactory day. Donations to the Hospice of St Francis (350) and to the Berkhamsted and Tring Stroke Support
Group (325) plus 87.50 to the Mooring Fund. Brilliant result.

Of course it's not cold-we're English. 

 The folllowing week I attended my Speed Awareness Course brought about because of exceeding 30mph in a place called Aldermarston, a place well worth not visiting and if absolutely necessary then do so at the highest speed possible. I had to go to High Wycombe for the course allowing an hour and a quarter to get there (should take 35 mins). Courtesy of some roadworks on the M40 I had to exceed the speed limit to get there on time. Seemed silly but I didn't want to be late.
It was interesting enough with a couple of decent chaps running it and it did make me review my driving, particularly in built up areas but I'm sure the old habits will return. The surprising thing for me was the age range of the group which with the exception of one lad was all over 40s; mainly over 50s. I queried this with the lecturer who explained the course was directed at people who had been caught marginally exceeding the limit-the inference being the boy-and girl- racers were over the top by some margin and had to take the three points. The course lasted four and a half hours with a 15 minute break so my bumnumbness was definitely not marginal. Anyway I avoided three points and a probable increase on my insurance. Mind you I am insured with the AA and the course (£95) is run by the AA so they are doing well no matter what I do.

The week after St George also saw me struggling with aches and pains from the weekends exertions so I took a walk round Wendover Woods and  caught thes bluebells just off Aston Hill. The bluebells everywhere are beautiful this year and I don't believe a photo can ever do them justice.

Friday 9th May and it's a busy day. The Coronation Class Duchess of Sutherland was coming through Berkhamsted/Tring on her way oooop north. Whilst I wouldn't pretend to be a train nerd I am sufficiently excited by the prospect of a nostalgic sniff of smoke from one of the engines which as an thirteen year old would have made my acne pop. I had a smile when I first saw mention of her coming on Facebook where the poster had called her the Duchess of Sunderland which doesn't sound quite so romantic. Anyway camera at the ready and armed with a beer crate to stand on I set off for the bridge over the railway.It's on the road leading up to Northcott Hall (or Misfit Manor as the locals call it) and was joined by Geoff H and Mike G. (the better of the photos was taken by Mike G without the aid of a beer crate)

Love that smell

There she goes

After the train spotting a trip to a brewery. The Lamb PH in Berkhamsted occasionally send a few people of a spiritual perspective to protest at breweries, distilleries and whorehouses and rail against the effect such places have on the youngsters in our parish. Because of the vulnerability of the young these visits comprise only very old people hardened against the temptations of the flesh and led by Bishop Phillip who counts as both sinner and publican.

Before the pilgrimage begins, the prayerful gather at the entrance to the shrine that is  to Saints Fuller,(the first Christian to demand a proper measured pint) Smith (Walter Henry who sold books and magazines to subsidise his drinking) and Turner ( a well known artist of the Pissoir school). The shrine comprises the oldest known wisteria in the country and as you can see the assembled become quite wysterical.

Our guide, Sue, who has a background in chemistry (unlike Bishop Phil who has a backside in Chaos) moved the throng along aware that she was preaching to the converted and whilst they were unable to tell a hop from a fining they were able to judge how many free pints they could consume before they got thrown out..

Cheers!

It transpired that Sue was a Spurs supporter like the Bish but I declined to talk football as Fulham having just been relegated thought it in bad taste to talk ill of the dead.

Cheers again!

We were all allowed behind the bar for this photo which was a new experience for Phil. The high number of reflecting bald cranii coupled with the bright lights made for a lot of glare.







It was a
 most enjoyable tour with a debrief in the adjacent pub and a bladdersome return along the M25.




Back on the moorings my supertrolley once again gives cause for concern with yet another puncture.three in 6 months. And buggers to fix as well.
So I decided on solid tyres and through the medium that is EBay ordered up a pair. They arrived promptly enough and were soon fitted and Supertroll was back in action. The funny thing was the delivery note showed them as from the Sikh Temple in West Bromwich. Weird.

I know the trolley is of no interest to anyone but me but it has been a good friend to me over the years and I owe it a great deal. It understands me.

2014 has been a good year for rainbows and we had three sightings in one week at Cowroast

And finishing with a double!

The other night I thought the campaign to stop LIDL opening a store in Berkhamsted had got a little out of hand when I found the road closed between Cowroast and the town.

but the local Roma outside the pub told me it had been a collision

My attempts to turn the mooring into something tidy and attractive rather than Steptoe's Yard got off to a bad start when a gangplank leaning against the shed fell onto the greenhouse (buggered) and deposited courgette, tomato and aubergine plants face down in the mud.

Disaster strikes in the potting department

Pleased with progress on the allotment.(It's not much of an allotment but it meant a lot to me. Anyway I didn't want to call it a smallholding cos that sounds smutty)



Anyway we shall overcome and by the judicious purchase of 40 quids worth of plants and some fencing to screen off the crap it is beginning to look the part.

 Finished just in time for a mother and father of a storm to water /flatten everything planted.

The storm was followed by a grandstand sunset

We have eggs!
Below is Jemima nesting on the mooring. She's been at it fpr at least a fortnight now so soon we hope the 10 eggs will produce some newcomers. As long as mink, foxes, dogs and people all bugger off.

Apparently female ducks will sit on eggs even if they are not fertile, but if it goes much over a month with none hatching, it can be assumed that the eggs were not fertile and you should take them away so that Jill can move on to other things. Well I wont be making that decision. That's for the clever people to decide.

To other matters.

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First there was this.....

and then this.....

and now the full version allegedly compiled by a cheese shop in Adelaide.

Anyway altogether now....

Sweet dreams are made of cheese
Who am I to dis a Brie
I cheddar the world and a Feta cheese
Everybody’s looking for Stilton


Some cheese wants to be Bleu, too
Some cheese wants to be Buchette d’Anjou
Some cheese wants to be cubed
Some cheese will be braided by you
Sweet dreams are made of cheese
Colby or Chevre, if you please
I ferment the milk and then I squeeze
Everybody needs penicillium
Mold is better, on the rind
Mold is better, leaves taste behind
Mold is better, cheese is confined
Mold is better, use my enzymes
Some cheese ought to be grated
No cheese should be ammoniated
Some cheese will always be hated
No cheese wants to be called rancid
Sweet dreams are made of cheese
Casein and rennet curdle it with ease
Whey from the curds it eventually frees
The best cheese comes from Wisconsin

Battlecat is not impressed by cheesy songs and I don't agree with Wisconsin but they had to make it rhyme I suppose.

Enough for now. I must compile a missive to Lord Rothschild whilst my ire is dire at the shameful and treacherous despoilation of our flag by his rodent responsibilities.

The Voyage Part 2.

“Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory” Gustave Flaubert b. Rouen 1821

We left Amsterdam late afternoon and headed out to sea ,passing the Belgian Coast overnight and then up the River Seine arriving in Rouen mid afternoon on the Wednesday

All very calm. So calm on a couple of occasions I looked out of the window to check we were moving.
The Seine was much prettier than I expected with very little industry-apart from farming of course.

The weather was definitely on our side and we passed the day watching the world go by, reading, walking round and round the ship looking for one another, the odd tincture and of course eating.
The food on the Marco Polo was good, wholesome without being poncey and the service was very good. There were two choices of restaurant -the Waldorf, which was waiter service and the Marco Polo which was self service. The queues for the latter could be off-putting but moved along fairly quickly. The main delay seemed to be caused by running out of cutlery-perhaps they should buy some more

Obviously a ship called Marco Polo wasn't going to run out of China!

A rather strange table decoration

There was obviously enough to eat because on no occasion did Ady resort to his usual hoard of biscuits or to devouring passing members of the crew.

His Lordship in the Library

The houses along the Seine were splendid and the road seems to follow along her bank for nearly all her length

These cyclists were doing a fair speed and just keeping apace with the ship
I tried to shout out to them about Caz's new book but they were too far away.

Eventually we reached the outskirts of Rouen, still in glorious sunshine and looking forward to an evening in La Belle France. Especially because ever since a bad experience in Paris Ady has robustly refused to have anything to do with the French. Could he be converted?

Approaching Rouen

That's Nice. (No it's not -it's Rouen)

Once moored in Rouen the embarkation was swiftly executed with different groups going off to different places. We had decided to plough our own furrow and hopped on the Courtesy bus (provided by the Rouen Tourist board) and had a wander and meal in Rouen. A goodly walk round the city sussing out the historical highlights for the morrow, a couple of beers and into one of the many restaurants.
I knew by the second course your man, Ady, was now a committed Francophile-frogs legs, oysters, souffle, a shared bottle of Chenin Blanc-fill your Wellingtons Mon ami!
After dinner we returned to the ship for a nightcap and to plan the following day.

Ady works off his dinner

The end of navigation as far as we are concerned. Beyond lies Paris. I definitely wont get Ady there!

Rouen Cathedral

After a very sound sleep and a light breakfast we coached back into Rouen. First stop was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen-I've stuck some history at the end of this post.

After the cathedral we looked for an antiques shop Ady had sussed on the internet. It is now a posh fashion shop so no luck there. Perhaps lunch will ease the pain of disappointment

Rouen Cathedral by Monet

Rouen Cathedral by Michael

 Ady by Rouen Carhedral

 Richard the Lionheart is buried here

Some Daliesque graffiti-which Ady has missed

A Monument to Flaubert + a local's scarf

Gros Horloge (see note below)

We found a small restaurant near the town square where the salad starter would have done as a main course and the bouef bourgignon meant no further food was requred that week!

The windows are my snaps-I copied the church one below

Église Jeanne d'Arc

In the ancient Vieux-Marché of Rouen is this very modern church, which at first looks so out of place and yet after a few minutes looks ok, though Ady remained unimpressed
This is the site where Joan of Arc was burnt to death and so it seems fitting that a church dedicated to St Jeanne d'Arc should be on this spot, but before the second world war the church on this site was in fact one dedicated to Saint Vincent. That church was so badly damaged  it was demolished (what was left of it) but somehow the stained glass from it's windows survived and was incorporated into the new church which was completed in 1979.

The church was designed by architect Louis Arretche and the exterior form of the building is supposed to represent both the flames that burnt Joan and an upturned Viking ship, two things which have great significance in the history of Rouen.

Afterwards we returned to the ship to sail for Zeebrugge overnight.
Firstly I was fascinated by how they would turn the ship round.We were moored facing upstream towards Paris and I assumed that tugs would arrive and tow us backwards to a dock some 200 yards away to effect a turn.
My expert eye had already sussed that there was insufficient width of river to turn.
Wrong!
Marco Polo is 578 feet long and the Captain and crew demonstrated most adeptly that the river Seine at this point is about 583 feet wide .
The sort of manouvre when carried out on your narrowboat you sincerely hope nobody is watching. Well, there were 800 passengers, 199 crew and a few Rouenettes watching hoping he'd just touch the bank and the cathedral would fall down and we'd all have a tale to tell.
I know such a ship has men posted at all four corners, all the computerised aids, probably a John Pattle Bowthruster and they've obviously done it before but my word it was impressive.
A spontaneous round of applause throughout the ship when he finally brought her round to point towards the sea. One of the best bits of the holiday for me and I was charging from one end of the ship to the other so as not to miss anything.

There's about the same amount of space at the pointed end as he starts the turn

mustn't hit this bloke!

3/4 of the way round

pointing down river

On the way back down the Seine the crew had a boat drill which every passenger was told to ignore. We didn't , of course, especially when some of them climbed into MY lifeboat and partially lowered it. All very professional to be fair and reassured everybody except for one old boy who woke up half way through and thought we were sinking. I gave him the address of a good dry cleaner.

Away the boats!

The Belgian air force came out to welcome us.

Coming into Zeebrugge. All hands on deck.

Down the Seine and out to sea heading for Zeebrugge and Bruges. We travelled through the night and were due to dock at 12 something.

The lovely Rosemary and Ray

We are just about to moor up when I spy a giant black pudding in the way!

A rope ashore and this little truck's mobile capstan wheels her in

"Captain. I think there's a black pudding in the way!"

After docking we all went our different ways. We caught the courtesy bus into Bruges accompanied by a very fine guide. The first thing I learnt was that for 60 odd years I've been calling the city Bruge but all the locals say Bruges The other thing that never dawned on me before is that Zeebrugge is Bruges by the Sea, the ability to access the sea via a canal being the reason for Bruges prosperity throughout history

More pictures......

See what sharing a table with us for a few days does to people-David and Marion

We made our way to the City square for lunch. They were setting up for an open air concert over Easter

We found a window to do a selfie. Sad aint we. Don't know who the bloke with the paper was.. If I'd known he was there I could have askede him to take the  picture.

A very strong beer or two and a baguette in the world famous Craenenburg on the town square. Belgium is famous for its beers and some are pretty potent we had a more moderate 9.0 and a 9.2.

I'm sure this lampost looked straight on the way in.....

Horse rides round town are very popular although this one  was going too fast when it hit the wall. The driver was severely bruged.

This nun sits at her window day and night watching for her lost love who jilted her at the altar and moved to another Belgian city. But he was no Ghentleman

No comment. Other than there wasn't a Fulhamstraat.

Bruges is a beautiful city, pricey but beautiful. As with Amsterdam and Rouen it would have been better if we'd had longer but that's the life of a rough tough sailor at the mercy of the vagaries of wind and tide. Especially the former.  And one can always return.........

We returned to the Marco Polo for dinner and our last night on board. The cabaret was a girl group which I chose to miss but apparently (and this is true) when one of them sang "I will go down with this ship" a number of the audience headed for the bar.We left Zeebrugge about 11 pm and crossed a very calm North sea arriving at Tilbury about 6a.m. Disembarking took longer than necessary because some people hadn't settled their bar bill which I thought a bit silly treating everybody like a class of kids because of a few useless buggers but there you go. I'd settled my bill in advance and whilst still under the anaesthetist.

A great five days.

Home from Tilbury to the feast of St George, a Speeding Awareness Course and a trip round a brewery-all in the next blog which will be along very soon.
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Some history on Rouen Cathedral.
The first cathedral at Rouen was built in 396 by Bishop Victricius. This was destroyed by the invading Normans, who replaced it with a larger cathedral with a wooden vault. Consecrated in 1063 in the presence of William the Conqueror, all that remains of this building is the crypt beneath the choir.
Rouen Cathedral was rebuilt in 1145 by Bishop Hugues d'Amiens based on the new Gothic style he admired at Saint-Denis Basilica in Paris. After devastating fire in 1200 destroyed all but the nave arcades, the Saint-Romain tower and the left portal, reconstruction began immediately. The choir and remainder of the cathedral were built in the more mature Gothic style of the 13th century, completed around 1250.
In the 15th century, the facade of the cathedral was given in a makeover in the Flamboyant Gothic style of the day. The upper portions of the left tower were modified, the facade was renovated, and a new tower was added: the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), named for its funding by donations from wealthy citizens in return for the privilege of continuing to eat butter during Lent.  The tower was not completed until the 17th century.
Other towers, spires and vertical extensions were added over the years, most notably the Tour Lanterne (Lantern Tower) of 1876. With that great spire, Rouen Cathedral became the tallest building in the world (but it only the held the record until 1880).
In 1892 and 1893, Claude Monet could usually be found with his canvas set up next to the cathedral's facade. During those two years he created some 30 paintings of the facade in a variety of lighting and weather conditions, providing a beautiful study of the play of light in Gothic architecture and sculpture. The paintings can be seen in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Rouen Cathedral narrowly escaped destruction in World War II - it took several direct hits from bombs in 1944, which narrowly missed destroying key pillars.

Gros Horloge, Rouen
The clock is installed in a Renaissance arch crossing the Rue du Gros-Gorloge. The mechanism is one of the oldest in France, the movement was made in 1389. Construction of the clock was started by Jourdain del Leche who lacked the necessary expertise to finish the task, so the work was completed by Jean de Felain, who became the first to hold the position of governor of the clock. The clock was originally constructed without a dial, with one revolution of the hour-hand representing twenty-four hours. The movement is cast in wrought iron, and at approximately twice the size of the Wells Cathedral clock, it is perhaps the largest such mechanism still extant. A facade was added in 1529 when the clock was moved to its current position.The Renaissance facade represents a golden sun with 24 rays on a starry blue background. The dial measures 2.5 metres in diameter.
The phases of the moon are shown in the oculus of the upper part of the dial. It completes a full rotation in 29 days. The week days are shown in an opening at the base of the dial with allegorical subjects for each day of the week.
The mechanism was electrified in the 1920s and it was restored in 1997.