St George and other stuff

The week leading up to St George's Day (23rd April-but you knew that I'm sure) was lovely and sunny so I took Independence up to Bulbourne and overnighted outside the Grand Junction pub. To be honest I overnighted inside it as well and very pleasant it was too. 

On leaving Cowroast to head for Bulbourne I spotted our first ducklings of the year. They had been nested in some foliage on top of a widebeam boat  opposite the moorings which gave them (the boat not the ducks) the excuse to hang around longer than the

expected two weeks

Proud mum

We have another duck nesting on the moorings in the middle of some daffodils and by my reckoning she should be hatching very soon.

Our resident expectant mother

I have a favourite mooring at Bulbourne just next to the Landing Stage provided for boaters with a disability. I've never seen such a boater use it but it's there if they need it. I think it was installed for the trip boats from Pitstone but apparently they no longer operate.
Anyway I can see Independence from the pub window and whilst enjoying that view along came Jules' Fuels who had filled me up earlier that week

Pam enjoys the sunshine at Bulbourne

Met up with Mac and Carrie for lunch and Pam joined us for a drink which was also very pleasant.

I took a leisurely cruise back across the Tring Summit in the hope of capturing a Kingfisher

Just after Tring Station Bridge, a popular spot with Kingfishers, I spied a beauty skimming the water in front of me.

I crept round the next bend, camera at the ready and tiller arm wedged in my backside to steer

And there she/he was waiting on a branch with no apparent intention of moving. I got one picture shown below and was just going for my second when "toot bloody toot" along come two boats coming towards me. I by now was the wrong side of the cut and had to get out of the way with time only to glimpse the Kingfisher heading off somewhere quieter. Bugger!

Apart from Jules I hadn't seen another boat going up or back. Why did these two have to come along then and spoil MY picture. Bastards!

Same thing happened last year I recall. Probably the same two boats just out to annoy me.

Back at the mooring it was time to get ready for the coming Sunday when we were having our St George's Day barbecue. As I said earlier the weather was beautiful for cutting the grass and preparing tables and chairs but the forecast was not good. This came as no surprise as St George's Celebrations are traditionally held on the coldest, windiest or wettest (or any combination of all three) day in April and people are often impressed with my ability to decide on that day without reference to seaweed, spirit stones, the bbc or shepherd folklore

Arriving back at Cowroast it was good to see the cross of St George flying proudly. 

I arrived back just in time to see Chris and Gill heading south through the lock bound for the festival at Little Venice.

A good day for grass cutting is promised for tomorrow-St George's Day.

St George's Day, Thursday 23rd April

Not that you'd know it driving through Berkhamsted! Miserable bloody town wasn't flying a single cross  of St G as I drove south at about 11. I forgave the pubs as they wouldn't be open yet but even the church who presumably were aware that it was St George's Day couldn't be bothered. When I returned an hour later the flower stall and the photography shop were the only ones showing the flag. I lent one to the Lamb who had been deflagpoled at some time in the last 12 months and the Goat flew their flag. I lunched at the Lamb and apart from those I to whom I gave a red rose none were seen anywhere. I'm not a great one for jingoism and nationalistic pomposity but I do believe myself very lucky to have been born an Englishman with all the blessings bestowed and feel that one day a year we should publicly proclaim our luck.
Nay bother as they say on St Andrew's Day -perhaps the English don't need such trappings. Shame, though, everybody loves a party.
I did get a fine picture from Nat and Ollie entitled Anglo Saxa with best wishes for St George. I have made it the headline picture for now 

After that it's getting ready for the Sunday. We put the marquee frames up but not the covers as the forecast for the Saturday was dire and I didn't want them filling with water and stretching.

Mike Griffin assists with my erection

while I try and remember which cover goes where.

Chairs and tables washed and the priceless auction items artistically displayed and the whole lot covered against the forthcoming Saturday deluge.

Only 24 people coming this year so I'm hoping to keep it simple with just barbecue burgers and bangers with the usual accompaniments. 

The afternoon faired up and we had no rain, It all seemed to go well and the 24 attendees can be justly proud that £500 was raised for the Hospice of St Francis-that's over 20 quid per person-brilliant. The auction itself made over £250 with a higher standard this year mainly due to Geoff Handscomb donating many items from the estate of his late brother, Gareth, who spent his final hours in the hospice

Some pictures from the day. I am indebted to Jim and Sue and Mac and Carrie for sharing their pictures

Roy and Annie prepare for the feast

Jim gets the benefit of Bob's expertise on the role of Marx and Engels in canal building

Mac can't remember where he put the flowery tie Carrie gave him

Christine pretends the temperature is colder than in South America

Judith and Mike-another fine example of the best of women with a strange choice in men

Sue muses over the amount of stuff Jim will buy

Pam just muses

My favourite picture so far of 2015

All the nice girls.....

Mac explains to Jan how to train a dog to walk on two legs

Angies' Jacket potatoes, as usual, flew off the plate

The throng assembles

Joseph pursues Mac and Carrie to sell raffle tickets

Pam, Jennifer and John await the raffle draw with unbridled enthusiasm

Mike waits for Judith to get him a drink

Jim spies a 

rose between two thorns

The auctioneer is improperly dressed. Thereby hangs a tail

Pam looking proudly on as the improperly dressed auctioneer makes an eejit of himself

Bob continues to enjoy himself

Geoff has an eye for a bargain

Ruby still hasn't got the two legged walking thing 

Bridget smiles as another bit of John's unwanted tat goes under the hammer

Jan can't believe the standard of rubbish for sale

but Max sees the funny side

Peter looks contented 

Carrie enjoys the experience of drinking from a glass

Roy looks sanguine

Annie is pleased that Roy looks sanguine

and Budgie just looks

another load of junk auctioned

and he paid the auctioneer not to give him any

He didn't

The morning after.

The morning after saw the big clear up with Geoff and Ady (recently returned from Chicago assisting in clearing away marquees etc and tidying the site. On the same day I was having the boat engine serviced and whilst that went well the water pump on the engine was found to have a dodgy bearing. As Dorman engines don't have a ready source of spares we could be in for big bucks but we shall see. So until 20th May at least we are a houseboat. I'm sure CaRT will grant some form of rebate.

So that was April-we are now into May with a soggy Bank Holiday weekend and a birthday of note. More next time

Spring Pot pourri

Everybody loves the Spring. Some odd types prefer the Winter or Autumn but I aint one of them. As the years go by my detestation of the Winter (excluding Christmas of course) increases. I like bits of Autumn but it is still the precursor to Winter so it's no longer  for me. I know we have to put up with all four seasons (& we quite often get them in the same day!) and there's no point in fretting about it but I can't alter the fact that Spring is a delight compared to the others.

I guess it's to do with getting older and the cycle of life (but mine's got a puncture) but when I'm out and about wandering hither and thither the signs of Spring gladden the heart and and jolly the spirit. So stuff Winter. Let's have a pot pourri of Spring. These two pictures were taken of the crane operating over the new "Retirement Homes" in Berko and I must say it looks a good development-a further improvement to that end of town. The pictures were taken (one by Pam one by Me) because of the crane against a backdrop of red sky which meant a few lovely Spring days last week

But first what's this?

Taken at the moorings on my way back from the pub.....
Is it....
An alien invasion?
Party lights on Jim and Sue's boat?
Bloody cyclists chewing up the towpath?
No . It was 20 (I think) female runners all with head torches and pounding along at a fair old lick. My lasting impression?.....Every one of them was talking, not pausing for breath even as they mounted the bridge. Now I'm no athlete and these ladies were obviously in good nick but when I'm out walking and especially if there's a hill involved then I don't talk. I need to save the bits used for talking to garner enough oxygen to keep me going. If the person I am with wants to start a discussion then good luck to them but it's going to be one-sided. Anyway these runners weren't having a discussion because they were all talking at the same time.

Talking of walking we took a Spring walk across Ashridge from Berko to Dudswell and saw this new development.

My Retirement home

A view from Ashridge looking towards Wiggington

Pam appears as if by magic and practises some Qigong

Want to know more?     http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/

Pam has recently returned from China-Beijing to be exact- a trip with her Tai Chi chums with whom she walked some of the Great Wall and won Gold for their performance at Beijing University at a gathering attended by Tai Chi groups from all over the world

Back to the mooring.....

This duck on the mooring has 12 eggs at the last count. Hope she and her brood make it through the Spring

This one on Roy's boat has had some emergency first aid with duck tape

Spring hasn't been able to save the Christmas tree which thrived through 2014 but has given up the ghost since Christmas

Spring brings people together for a towpath chat

and others welcome visitors for a day out

Danny goes for a spin on Mozark

Jim and Sue enjoy the Winding Hole entertainment

Here comes Danny again

Below the lock at Cowroast I spy one of Grebe cruisers' ex trip boats from Pitstone-looks like they've packed in the trip boat business. Someone has bought a project-this boat is electric I think. I met the father of the purchaser today and the plan is to fit it out as a live-aboard including s new electric engine! I wish him well; I hope he's a young man with lots of dosh.

Back to Spring-even the usually shy Mandarin is enjoying a towpath romance

Daffodils everywhere. Lovely to see

and Primula round Sid's seat at Cowroast Lock

I think it's a munkjac-he/she didn't want to hang about to tell me

More Springtime romance

This bunny sat outside the boat for over half an hour enjoying the Spring sunshine 

Springtime means some of the older residents can venture out for a chat

Lovely to see. Bless.

More daffodils-this time at the Grand Junction, Bulbourne

To Derbyshire for the weekend, to the village of Hayfield which lies in the vale below Kinder Scout. Pam's brother Mac does guided walks and Pam thought it a good idea to join him on the Sunday for a walk on Kinder. I thought it was a good idea too because I wasn't doing it. As it transpired the weather turned particularly grotty with very strong winds on the Sunday and the walk had to be curtailed; but they had a good go.

I've got ahead of myself  and haven't mentioned Saturday. We drove up in the morning and whilst negotiating the numerous roadworks on the M1 Pam studied the runners and riders for the Grand National. She was drawn to Many Clouds because looking north that was our prospect and  the rest as they say is history. £2 each way on Betfair produced a welcome profit. Well done Pam.

Having booked in and watched the race in the bar we went for an hours wander round Hayfield in order to suss out somewhere for dinner and find the meeting point for Sunday's walk. A beautiful village with a notable former resident-Arthur Lowe of Dad's Army fame was born here

                                         Stupid Boy.

A couple of beers and dinner in the Pack Horse (pies a specialite de la maison) before turning in for the night

In the morning we went our different ways after a Full English; Pam to climb Kinder and me to Whaley Bridge then a canal walk along the Peak Forest Canal. I walked from Whaley Bridge to New Mills thence to Bugsworth Basin and back to Whaley Bridge. The weather was indifferent but it only rained once.

The trip boat at Whaley Bridge

The adjacent River Goyt which runs alongside the Peak Forest Canal

Looking back at Whaley Bridge

Over the bridge

I wonder why someone needs a reed shelf? A tidy oboist possibly?

A joke for bro-in-law, Tom

Bugsworth Basin is a fascinating place with interconnecting pools, horse bridges, tunnels and a pub once  owned by another celebtrity

Lower Basin

Lower basin again

The Wharfinger's House next to the gauging** stop place

** For most of my life I've been spelling this word as "guaging". You're never too old to learn.

  Funny position...but he is winding...that happens to me when I bend like that.

I don't know about the poor bloody horses but I found these pretty steep. Must be dodgy in the ice

Middle Basin

From Lower Basin looking towards the Navigation Inn

The Bugsworth to Calais Tunnel

More daffodils

The Navigation Inn.....and some more daffodils

and the R Goyt is still with us.

and more wild Primula

The Wide entering Middle Basin

Plaque on the Wharfingers House

No. It wasn't really a tunnel to Calais but this French flag flew in the garden

Back on the Peak Forest Canal hesading for New Mills

Back to Whaley Bridge

Oooh Matron!

Originally planned as a canal to link Whaley Bridge (and therefore Manchester) to Cromford near Matlock but abandoned on cost grounds a railway was built on the same route including 9 inclines of which Whaley is one.

This part of the incline crosses the R Goyt. Just the other side is Whaley Bridge canal basin

This pub was closed on the last two occasions I visited Whaley Bridge.-This was the third time....unlucky!

Indeed Whaley Bridge has some strange pub hours and to our horror a couple of years back we arrived on a Monday to find every pub closed. You have never seen a boat turned round so quickly and heading north in your life. We sped off to Bugsworth and the Navigation Inn which was once owned by Pat Phoenix-Elsie Tanner to the less educated.

Back tonHayfield and Kinder Lodge (our b& b) to meet Pam and Mac after their Kinder Scout hike

In the evening a roast dinner in the Royal Hotel-excellent and an early night. An early start was required on the morrow as I had to get back to Watford to take Ady to Heathrow for his flight to Chicago to meet Claudia.  His trip means he'll be out of England for St George's Day on 23rd April. I hope Claudia ensures he both wears a red rose that day and drinks a toast to the patron saint of England.

Indeed I trust all English people will sport a red rose on Thursday but I suspect as usual it will pass mainly unmarked.

The flag flies over Cow Roast Moorings in anticipation of the weeks celebrations

Back on the mooring Spring continues to work its magic.

It is Spring Spruce up time. Noticeable that Mac carries on working but as soon as the camera is raised Carrie and Jasper the dog are in Pose mode.

Spring or not Geoff attends to his prayers-such a pious man

Mac and Carrie have a new foredeck on The Griffin. Very smart.

and the Mandarin is becoming less shy of the camera

Completely changing the subject......

 

Last Wednesday was Bernie's birthday at the Lamb complete with cake

 Back at Berko its bbq time with Nat, Ollie and Joseph in attendance and s very fine sun drenched bbq it was.

Joseph contemplates another fun-filled week at school

                                                               The Gulu Sisters

Some artyfarty pictures to raise the tone

 Natalie through the trellis

 So next week brings a visit to the dentist, preparing the boat engine room for a service and some modification, Saint George's Day on Thursday and our boaters' gathering for ST G on Sunday . Numbers are down this year so well see how it goes. Doesn't matter either way .....it's Springtime and I love it.

Best wishes to all for the week ahead from myself and Mr Biscuit.....and don't forget to fly the flag and wear a rose

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PS-I see from the Google stats that the last posting had over a thousand hits since its publication in early April with a surprisingly high percentage being from Russia and the Ukraine. Now somewhere on this posting you'll find an advert for something or the other put on by Google and the more people that click on that the more chance I might get some wonga so feel free so to do. Or not as the case may be.

PS- Я вижу по статистике Google , чтов прошлом размещение было болеетысячи хитов с момента его опубликования в начале апреля с удивительно высоким процентом составляет от России и Украины. Теперь где-то на этой публикации вы найдете объявление на что-то илидругой надел на Google и больше людей, которые нажмите на чтобольше шанс, что я мог бы получить некоторые Wonga так что не стесняйтесь , чтобы сделать. Или не в зависимости от обстоятельств .

PS- YA vizhu po statistike Google , chto v proshlom razmeshcheniye bylo boleye tysyachi khitov s momenta yego opublikovaniya v nachale aprelya s udivitel'no vysokim protsentom sostavlyayet ot Rossii i Ukrainy. Teper' gde-to na etoy publikatsii vy naydete ob"yavleniye na chto-to ili drugoy nadel na Google i bol'she lyudey, kotoryye nazhmite na chto bol'she shans, chto ya mog by poluchit' nekotoryye Wonga tak chto ne stesnyaytes' , chtoby sdelat'. Ili ne v zavisimosti ot obstoyatel'stv .