Braunston Historic Boat Rally – aka Braunston Hysterics.
Wednesday 25th June
Yet another chilly and overcast morning greeted me; I hope
it cheers up by the weekend. Some sunshine is forecast for tomorrow, which will
be welcomed.
The engine is still leak free and there is more water in the
header tank than has been for some time, so this K-Seal is looking like a good
investment.
I walked down to HQ at 10am to see what needed to be done –
just the odd job here and there. Certain notices have to be placed in position
at the right time, otherwise there is a chance they will be vandalised or
abused, so a lot of time was spent just gassing about boating amongst the
group.
When I returned in the afternoon, Jack was there on
Cumberland, but had to go and see Roger Farringdon about getting his boat
hauled up the slipway to remove his propeller as it had hit something in
Manchester and was now bent. A hazardous place for boats is that, as I
discovered a couple of years ago. Apparently it was not a good trip for him and
no doubt I will hear about it later.
Thursday 26th June
Most of today was spent in mission control, mainly talking
about boating and other things in general. One or two boats were repositioned
as new ones arrived. The Narrow Boat Trust have not arrived yet and will need to
be here by Friday, so the moorings are now getting scarce and a lot of spaces
need closing up to get all the boats in.
At last I got some calves liver from the butcher. I know it
is scarce, but he was treating the whole business like a secret society and
knew what I wanted as soon as I entered the shop. I hope it is as good as the
last time I had it. I was also known in the general store after leaving the rum
behind. Soon I will be recognised as a ‘local’.
After our duties, Jack and I went for a pint in the pub and
I met up again with Kevin and Ingrid, whose boat was moored almost opposite. We
had a brief chat before Jack invited me to join up with Harry and Jono, who he
introduced as Jonathan of course. I had know of Jono for years, as he had done
restoration work and rebuilding of other boaters engines, one of which was the
NBT Lister. It was an interesting conversation over a pint.
It was a quick meal before going to the beer tent for a
performance by the Alarum Theatre of “Acts of Abandon” by Heather Wastie and
Kate Saffin individually. I enjoyed it as one woman theatre, despite there
being two of them.
Friday 27th June
I was at mission control just after 9am and mentioned to
Kevin on Columbia that he could move into the marina arm from now on, only to
discover later from Graham that they were not due to move FMC boats until
10.30, but they moved anyway and got their usual spot at the head of the arm. I
walked down to Ladder Bridge to warn other Joshers that the time was imminent
and eventually they were all in there.
Shortly after the Narrow Boat Trust pair came through the
marina and I met the captain, Howard Williams at Butcher’s Bridge to explain
what was going on regarding the mooring position. They were now breasted and
waiting for other boats to be moved out of the way, which eventually they were
and Nuneaton and Brighton were shafted next to the bank and tied up in a very
tight space behind Raymond, which did not have the rudder in a very safe position,
i.e. it was straight out behind the boat. I met Alister Bates for the first
time, who is quite experienced and younger that most of us. I also had a chat
with Paul Woloschuk, who I had met last year.
The parade team were invited to the traders tent this
evening for a social get together with a meal provided by the Gongoozlers Rest catering boat, which is moored permanently outside the marina, who we
congratulated later on the quality of the food. Tim and Pru were there, along
with Ivor Caplin, who is due to open the show tomorrow.
Saturday 28th June
There was a briefing at 9am for the stewards on safety, use
of PMR radios, and courtesy towards boaters and the public, after which we left
for our respective duties. I was on The Turn along with Keith Lodge, who was a
new steward this year. The parade was to open the show at 11am, but most boats
had to come up to The Turn to wind first, which is no problem. But the return
to the marina is fraught with holdups as
they now face oncoming traffic, so everyone has to slow down. Winding at The
Turn is another bottle neck, especially with pairs of boats, i.e. motor and
butty. All was going well with trying to get private boats through ASAP,
without interrupting the parade flow too much, and all the private boaters were
cheery and relaxed, often driving in mooring pins to sit and wait for the end
of the parade. The weather was extremely hot and there was little shade to be
had, so a bottle of water was necessary. We finished just after 1pm and went
for a very well deserved pint in the beer tent, where Mandolin Monday was
playing yet again; this being the third time I had seen them this year. They
are also performing tomorrow, which I hope to go to as well.
Mandolin Mondays
Jack and Jaqui had invited me for a meal at The Admiral Nelson
later and I was interested to find out how good the food was, now it was in the
hands of a new landlord and brewery. Previous food there over the last three
years had been very good and the restaurant was filled up most nights of the
week, but things were now different, although it was full this evening. In
retrospect it was just pub food, so was relatively cheaper than before, although
I had prior warning about all this and the service from friends who visited some
months ago.
Moored up tugs seven abreast
Only six now.
Mostly FMC boats in the arm.
Sunday 29th June
It was not so warm this morning, which was welcome after the
heat yesterday. Keith and I were allocated to do Bridge 91 for a change, which
can be another bottleneck despite the fact that two boats can pass beneath the
bridge. The lst time I did this spot, I was on my own and it involved
considerable movement on my part from one side to the other to control boats,
but with two people there was far less running back and forth. The parade was
much more spread out then yesterday, so far less holdups were involved. There
were also fewer boats taking part, so all in all it was a far more pleasant
experience. I was pleased to see John Fevyer again for a chat about NBT and
other things. He was one of the founder members of NBT some many years ago.
Boats paraded smoothly under the bridge until 1.15pm and that was it for this
year.
Nuneaton and Brighton.
The Finchers with Cath on the melodeon.
Mike the Boiler Man on Reginald.
I strolled back to mission HQ and managed to get a bite to
eat, courtesy of Graham and Linda before going back for another session by
Mandolin Mondays with Jack and Jaqui – we lasted until the end before it was a
walk back for a mini snooze before Pimm’s and Pasta back at HQ for the parade
team to close the day. Too much beer was consumed again, but one has to
rehydrate on occasions like this!
My final comment on the weekend is that it was far more
enjoyable than previous years. I put this down to knowing more people on the
team, familiarity with the stewarding process and being far less stressful due
to there being more co-operative boaters. Added to that, I did not have the
responsibility of taking Nuneaton and Brighton out on the parade as last year.
Goodbye to Jack......
.........and Jacqui.
Monday 1st July
At 9am I walked along the towpath to HQ with wire cutters
ready to remove No Mooring notices, which was a pointless exercise as they had
all been removed by now. We took some of them back to the marina workshop and I
got some washing and drying tokens, for the simple reason that I now had
nothing clean to wear and I could get it all dry in one afternoon. Dodona moved
off the mooring to return home and this is probably the last time I will see
Ped, who has his boat up for sale at £35.000.
What with writing up the blog, moving to another mooring and a dozen other
trivial bits and pieces, I did not get the washing in until about 3pm. As it
takes an hour to wash and another hour to dry plus remaking the bed, I was
going to be later than I had promised to be at the pub to meet with Kevin and
Ingrid. Fortunately they were still there out on the balcony and we had a good
conversation about many things, including the fact that several traders and
members of the public had complained about the doubling of the car parking fee,
which is now £20 and the rise in traders stall fees. On both mornings I had
noticed far more visitors than usual walking along the towpath, meaning that
their cars were parked elsewhere in the village. I can foresee letters in the
canal press about this in the weeks ahead.
I booked a train home on Trainline and phoned Rugby Boats to
find out if there was an available mooring for a week; there was, so I am all
set up for the next few days.
Tuesday 2nd July
A lovely sunny day dawned for a change and I think it is set
fair for a few more. I let go quite late with not much to do except cruising
for the next few days. Unfortunately, the sky clouded over and a chilly north
wind set in a little later. I said goodbye to John and Graham and winded to
head up towards Rugby, with the intention of stopping at The Old Royal Oak, now
called The Waterside. It was a good run and I got there in 2 hours with no holdups and there was only one boat on the
moorings outside the pub.
After a pint and some lunch, I met the other guy Phil, who
was now on his 11th boat and did the run from Great Hayward on the Trent and
Mersey to here in 27hrs continuous. Not only was he knackered, but his knees
had swollen incredibly with all that time on his feet. His boat had an integral
weed hatch which was leaking, although the boat was in no harm of sinking, but
he wanted to reseal it and the only way was to lighten the stern end or lift
the stern out of the water, which he could do in Willow Ridge the following day.
The afternoon was whiled away with reading as there was no
TV signal here, probably because there were three bridges in the direction of
Sutton Coldfield. It was Braunston Bangers again tonight after another trip to
the pub and an early night.
Wednesday 3rd July
A leisurely departure this morning in what promised to be a salubrious
day, with sunshine. The wild orchids are in bloom again at Hillmorton Bottom
Lock after three disastrous years – two of drought and one when the mowing gang
chopped through the lot, despite there being a sign up. These are the busiest
locks in the country with 6,821 boats through in 2017.
Taken in the same spot in 2017.
The infrastructure development of Houlton still goes on,
where they are about to build 6.200 houses, with schools, health centre, community
facilities and plenty of open spaces on what appears to have been the huge
radio transmission site to the east of Hillmorton. Of course all the aerials
were demolished a few years ago. The Houlton Bridge, which spans the canal just
south of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is still incomplete a year after I watched some
of the piles being driven.
Approaching the moorings at Rugby there were a couple well
away from the park, so I continued to move on and search until I found the last
one before Bridge 56 free. It was too close to the bridge for my liking and
quite dark as well as noisy from the busy road. Having taken about 30mins to
try and drive pins in and finally get secure, because there were no rings, a
mooring became vacant two boats back in a far lighter situation. Throwing caution
to the wind, I released all the lines and bundled them aboard and reversed as
fast as was safe before another boat got in there. I was not even tied up when
another boat passed by, I was that close to missing it. Having got a good
mooring, I decided to do Tesco in the morning. The Bell and Barge Harvester
house was across a very busy dual carriageway leading in and out of Rugby. As I
would usually visit in rush hour, today was a time to give it a miss as it too
dangerous to cross that road at that time. There would only be Doombar on tap
anyway, just as there has been for the past three years at least.
After what I said about going to Tesco, I later realised
that I had no vegetables to go with the last slice of calves liver, so a shopping
trip was essential. It is also important to take some money to pay for it, as I
realised when I got there, so there was no alternative but to retrace my steps
and get some - doh! Anyway it was the only exercise I got today, which was some
compensation. Once again the liver was done in the usual way with homemade raspberry
vinegar and cream and although the liver was more than ½” thick, every part was
edible and delicious. Sweet for a treat was the gooseberries and Hagen Das ice
cream. Oh yes, I live like a king, only there is no queen to share it.
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