Wednesday 31st May
Having edited the last post, you may have
missed this piece of news:-
I have just had really good news
and that is that Nuneaton and Brighton are coming to Braunston and have been
asked to open the Rally, captained by my friend Barry. If I can get some time
off from marshalling, I may have the opportunity to steer Nuneaton again, as I
did last year in the parade. I should explain that both boats are at
Brinklow Boats for serious and expensive repairs after a thorough survey, but I
am assured that they are fit to travel if treated gently.
It’s off to Rugby now for some serious
stocking up at the big Tesco store. All went well, with easy cruising and only
three locks at Hillmorton. Although I stopped at Hillmorton, I missed out on a
photo opportunity, so I will blog that later with pictures. I sussed out some good
mooring places to leave the boat for a while close to Rugby rail station.
Shopping done, I pulled the pins and
headed for a quieter place to moor up until I came to Newbold, where several
boats were already moored. The Barley Mow had not been entered on the NBT database,
so that was next on the list and was far better than I remember from previous
visits.
Thursday 1st June
There is still a mystery surrounding the
calorifier and hot water. After travelling for 3 to 4 hours, the temp suddenly
rises from 80°C to 100°C and thinking about it, I reckon that the cold water in
the hot water tank that was previously cooling the engine water had reached the
same temperature as the engine and was no longer cooling it. I will try opening
the skin tank cock a little more today and see what happens.
Just to prove my point, the temp rose very
quickly to 90°C in half an hour, so I kicked open the cock completely to full
skin tank cooling and the temp sank to 80°C and stayed there for the rest of
the trip.
It took five hours from Newbold and I
reached Sutton’s at 15.30. After getting securely moored up in pole position,
which is the last mooring before the stop lock, I walked up to empty the
rubbish and made a snap decision to go in The Greyhound for one pint. Whilst sitting
in the bay window, three other guys were discussing the article on Alice
Lapworth in Towpath Talk. I was looking at them and listening to what they had
to say about her and the family, when one of the men asked me to come and join
then on the bench seat. I said that I knew her and had invited her over for a
drink at the pub. The man next to me introduced himself as Dean Harrison and
the surname rung a bell with me. I asked if he was related to Jeanette Harrison
and he was. It turned out that his father was on the boats years ago and he
knew a great deal about the old boaters and their families. He bought me
another pint of mild and the conversation continued, until it was my turn. Dean’s
son and daughter also joined us, by which time the other two guys had left for
home. Later another of his friends turned up with his wife and more
conversation about boats continued, until glasses were empty and although I
refused a pint but agreed to a half, it turned out to be a pint anyway!
Dean took my phone number and we finally
parted company at 7pm. It is amazing sometimes how serendipity works and turned
out to be very enjoyable. Fortunately the mild ale is not very strong, as I had
to go back and cook a meal.
I just tried to get these pics side by side, which happened only when I added titles. Is there any other way of achieving this? Comment please.
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| Dean and myself in The Greyhound. Notice that no beer is visible! |
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| Part of the bar interior. |
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