Well a lots been happening in the land of Tug-nothing too exciting so don't go rushing for the Valium-I'll be as brief as I can.
At last some decent weather that then turned into a Summer. This meant some painting could be done and the excellent Geoff J and Ady turned up at the mooring for sanding, painting and general high class work
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| Ady on the roof |
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| Geoff paints the stove fluepipe |
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| A bit of scumble by the Scumblemaster (me). Next week it's painting fore and aft and then it's the turn of doors and hatches. |
A Touch of Flue
A major feature of late has been my attempt to fix the leak above the stove which has been allowing water in for ages but is one of those jobs that a person of a delicate nature such as myself does not wish to tackle till he feels the warmth of the sun on his back. Of course no job is ever simple on a boat and in order to get at the leak one must remove a collar on top of the boat through which runs the flue which is, as you'd expect, attached to the stove inside the boat. The nuts holding the collar are between the roof and the ceiling so to get at them you have to cut a hole in the ceiling where some previous owner has managed to locate one of the fixings in a steel box section supporting the roof thus making it a two man/woman job too fix. (in the interests of pc it could also be a man and a woman or one homosexual and a vegan)
So first of all I cut a hole in the ceiling and after an hour of foul language undid the two bolts holding the collar through which runs the flue etc....see above
Easy enough just have to lift the collar off.
Ah! it's rusted onto the flue. No problem....just lever it up until the flue comes away from the stove and then whack the collar off with a big hammer of which I have a number; big hammers being my tool of choice for most jobs. After 20 mins of levering and prising it was apparent that the flue was also rusted to the top of the stove which on re-entering the cabin I discovered I had managed to lift off its base. Between the top of the stove and the flue is an adaptor which is bolted onto the stove. So all I had to do was undo the bolts and lift the collar with the flue and the adaptor though the roof and knock the collar and the adaptor off the flue with a big hammer of which I have a number etc....see above.
Of course the bolts were rusted on to the stove so they had to be addressed with WD40, various spanners and finally a big hammer of which etc.....see above again
Having freed the adaptor I attempted to lift the whole shebang through the roof but having got it half way found I could only get the adaptor through by pushing and manouevereing from inside the boat. Fair enough but having got it two thirds of the way it dawned on me that with nobody at the other end to receive and take the weight it would fall off the roof and into the drink.
Hmmm what to do. My dilemma was that rain in quantity was forecast so I needed to get the sodding flue etc out of the way and cover the hole.
There was nobody on the mooring so I decided to do something else until somebody came along....but nobody did.
And then God spoke to me.
I was using my Henry at the time which isn't some sexual innuendo but hoovering up all the crap from the stove, flue, ceiling void and me.
A voice said "Hello Mike". I was perplexed. Nobody on the bank. I looked at Henry. He stared back....but did not speak.
"How you doing?"
I thought I was doing well till I started hearing voices. I looked at Henry again. He remained frighteningly silent. Just staring.
The side hatch onto the canal was open and I traced the disembodied voice to that. Sitting in a kayak at water level and out of my line of sight-and Henry's- came the answer. "It's Luke. "
Oh well I thought it might not be God but it was one of the four authors of the New Testament Gospels so not bad.
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| Stove top |
Luke has helped me before and was soon on the other end of my pipe (ooooh matron!) and out it came.
Took ages to remove the collar at the top and the adaptor at the bottom (which was mangled in the exercise)
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| The remains of the adaptor rusted into the flue. Had to be heated on a picnic stove and whacked with... you've guessed it-a big hammer |
I contacted a man in Eastbourne, Keith, whose firm had built the stove explaining that I needed an adaptor. He suggested sending him a diagram with measurements so as to be sure I got the right bit. Very sensible our Keith. Here is the diagram. I sent it with an apology for my lack of ability in technical drawing. He replied by return advising that he had a suitable, though different replacement which would be better assuming he had understood my drawing correctly; indicating that it wasn't just technical drawing at which I was wanting.
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| it does look like a Milligan sketch |
He was spot on and sent the part post haste.So what was a ten minute job has taken three weeks, about 100 quid on new bits and with the aid of Geoff H (father of Luke) the stove, its pipe and all were reinstalled last week. So far so good-no leaks and properly tested by the Monsoon last Friday. Rejoice!
Oare and Wander
We've been to Kent again. To Oare in fact, near Faversham. Uplees Farm, a self catering place miles from anywhere. Not strictly true....1.2 mikes from Oare and the excellent Three Mariners pub but lovely and quiet-even the cockerel didn't kick off till 9 a m. Very civilised. We did a couple of walks including one round Oare Nature Reserve which we will visit again. Beautiful. It abuts Oare and Faversham Creeks and we plan to visit again in August when there will be barge racing. We also walked along the coast from Sea Salter to Whitstable with a pint in the excellent pub, the Old Neptune.
Our primary reason for visiting Kent was to see Caz, Philip and Florence and their new house on which they completed during our visit. Very exciting with lots of work but it has a great feel to it. Good Luck.
and up the creek
And round the farm....
and into Faversham
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| This is the entrance to Caz's office-it's in Faversham Town Hall |
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| Found this lot skulking in an alley eating bacon rolls. Sorry. Found this lot eating bacon rolls and skulking in an alley. Alleys don't eat bacon rolls. |
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| Lemmy the Lemon |
In the evening to the Shipwright's Arms right by the creek for dinner
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| Pam, wearing my jacket, and Philip talk to my hat |
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| Florence enjoys an orange sorbet-very much. |
In the morning breakfast outside at Uplees Farm followed by a walk around the Oare Nature Reserve in glorious sunshine
Rabbits!
You will recall my problems with rabbits on the mooring in that the little-and not so little-buggers were laying waste to my plants. I rearranged the display so as to position the most vulnerable plants out of reach (assuming the sods hadn't built a ladder) and bought a spray "Rabbits, Pigeons and Deer"-sounds like a firm of solicitors- which allegedly when sprayed on the plants dissuades Mr Bunny from filling his boots. It seems to be working though it might be because of the repositioning or they've found something else to eat but there still seem to be lots about and they're getting bigger. A mink has been sighted near the lock so they may well be keeping a low profile.
Whether it was a rabbit, pigeon, deer or fox that pushed the bin over dumping plants on the grass I know not but since then all is quiet........
The rearranged garden -too tall for bunnies
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Sunflowers about to bloom-thank you Bill and Sue. 
Uranus
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Before departing for Kent I had one of my regular intellectual discussions with three illegal fishermen at Cowroast. It's not really a discussion as they only grunt or swear whilst I shout across the canal in a manner braver than normal given there is 100 foot of water and a steel gate between me and them. On this occasion I thought taking a photo might dissuade them and strike fear of prosecution into their young hearts.
My arse.
Or rather his arse! The chance to be photographed by a fat bald bloke 100 feet away behind a steel gate was too much for one who wished to display his best feature by dropping his trousers and doing a moony as the lower orders call it. So if you see this complete arse around do ask him where he wants the picture sent. Or shall I just post it on Arsebook the rectal equivalent of Facebook
This week-
To Norfolk and Denver Sluice to meet with sister, Moira and Tom who are visiting Maggie and John, Toms' relatives who live in Thetford. Lunch in the Jenyns Arms at Denver on the banks of the Great Ouse wher I boated for many years before becoming a canalcoholic. A very pleasant day out and all in good form.
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| Ever have the feeling that you're being watched |
The Griffin has lovely new signs in Fuller, Smith and Turner livery and very smart she looks-even
in the rain.
My friend Mike Paine has had a Telecare alarm system installed which is very clever in that it reports if he has a fall, needs help, monitors his smoke and CO2 alarms and if necessary listens in to doorstep discussions. It had a hiccough last week which required the attendance of an engineer and a change of equipment; the fault he thinks was caused by a thunder storm. So I've told Michael not to get struck by lightning when falling downstairs as nobody will know!Talking of accidents serious and otherwise the English cricket team has behaved like the weather. Glorious in the first test and an unmitigated disaster in the second. I blame the Press. The way they banged on about Australia being old and past it after Cardiff was guaranteed to work the colonials into a lather and ensure they came out firing for the second game. That's the way they are. They're fighters with pride. That's why we deported the buggers in the first place. The third test starts on Thursday. If our opening batsmen collapse like last time by Friday we'll all be wringing our hands and calling for changes. Just tell the Press to shut the (expletive deleted-this is a family blog) UP!
So take care Mike....and everybody. Until the next time.
Bon chance.
