Flowers in December...

After a visit to the water point at Bilsborrow, it was time for Andromeda to return to her mooring after being away for a couple of weeks. Soon she was crossing the tiny Brock aqueduct and sailing in the early December sunshine down the long straight past Barton Grange marina with a great view of the Bowland fells, before slipping under the A6 at bridge 47.

                  

The Ribble link is closed now to watercraft and the hire boaters have given up so we have the tranquility of the Lancaster canal to ourself.

A few dairy heifers were still out but most of the milking ladies were tucked away inside now that the nights have turned a little chillier so most of the fields are empty now except for a few 'fat lambs' left.
The convenient moorings at Bridge 54 was the next stop for Dewhursts coal yard to take back a couple of bags of excel to keep the old stove happy and the cold out.

Passing through Garstang and out into the rural areas, the passing ducks started to fall from the sky......nothing to do with H5N8 though....more to do with about 8 blokes hiding behind hedges with shotguns!

Arriving back on the mooring, It was a surprise to still see a few flowers left.

The late afternoon temperature had receded to only 3 degrees but with the Eco fan working overtime on the top of the stove it was a cosy twenty inside and it felt good to be back where it's quiet and peaceful again....

 
This post blog title was inspired today by...'Flowers in December' by Mazzy Star, a gorgeously sad, soulful song with haunting harmonica and a track off the 1996 album 'Among my Swan' , which is ironic as I haven't seen Digger or Zed since returning to the mooring! ....I hope they are both ok!

Tonight, Tonight,,,

Nb Andromeda's pumpkin 

On the eve of All Hallows' with only two months to go before the year end the weather continues to be mild and pleasant here on the Lancaster canal with the last of the sunshine still managing to maintain the battery bank near to 100% through the solar panel.
The annual pumpkin was carved but didn't last til Halloween as it fell in off the top of the boat when it started to rot. Nb Benjamin had a much better one!
Odd hire boaters pass as they enjoy a late break but soon the cut will be quiet.
The mooring has been deluged as the trees above shed their old leaves and the place now feels very Autumnal as I sweep up the debris. Wisps of smoke have started to emerge from the odd few little chimneys in the evenings on the moorings as the log stores are opened and start to get burnt.
It's going to get even quieter around here...

People constantly ask if it's cold on a Narrowboat but once the fire is lit in the stove the inside temperature is maintained above 20'C so even when the outside temperature drops below minus it stays cosy and warm throughout the boat as the ecofan efficiently distributes the warm air around.
There is no better place to be...

But we are not there yet, so it's time to enjoy the final days of Autumn and prepare for the winter months ahead by filling the diesel tanks and making sure the engine is serviced and de-icer topped up in readiness for the arrival of the cold snap!

Nb Benjamin's pumpkin!

Happy Halloween to all the witches!

This post blog title was inspired today by Halloween so I had to choose the US rock band ....Smashing Pumpkins....fronted by Billy Corgan and still sounding good today!

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger...

The settled mild weather continued into the weekend as the 9th annual Lancaster Music Festival got underway with loads of bands playing all over the town day and night.

       

 

On the way The dairy cows are still out grazing the fields while the first tups are in with the ewes and now well into October it was a surprise to see contractors 'rowin' up' as another bonus cut of silage was being harvested for the winter feed.

The canal banks are still very green and on a sunny mild day it was an absolute pleasure to make the return sail back to the moorings. Once again the kingfishers were out leading the way back. On return it was time to drop the old oil while it was still warm and do a filter change and top up the coolant in readiness for the inevitable onset of winter.

Musical Ruth...!

Great views across to the Bowland hills.

                                                                   

This post blog title was inspired over the weekend by the rugby so I chose the band ....Daft Punk having enjoyed a memorable but brutal RL final that saw the Saints clash with the mighty Wigan Warriors in a tough Super League final and manage a hard fought win.

Hang Loose...

On a return jaunt up country on the wrong side of the Pennines, overnight lodgings were discovered at King Lynn, a small sea port and market town on the Wash estuary in Norfolk.

After a brief historical stroll around Purfleet Quay it was time to treat Andromeda to some new fenders and lanyards on the way home that had been kindly made the day before.

Captain Vancouver

                               
         This fella discovered a spot in Canada, apparently?          

                                              

This post blog title was inspired today by the fenders hanging loose and comes from the band..Alabama Shakes...from Athens, US and off the album 'Boys & Girls'.....in about 2013?.....nice guitar sound!

Reasons not to be an Idiot...

At 8am this morning a lone man on the towpath side wearing a pink shirt and chino's called across to ask if I had a set of jump leads?....I didn't but he went on to explain to be that he had moored at Ratcliffe Wharf last night as he had purchased a cruiser(yoghurt pot) from Morcambe(?) yesterday For a bargain price of 2 grand and this was as far as he had got solo...

....he now had a flat battery and it wouldn't start

...he was now nearly out of fuel

....he had only the clothes he wore

....he was trying to get back home but it was taking longer than he thought to get back .......to Southport!

WHAT??

I didn't have the heart to tell him that the canal didn't actually go to Southport!,...At best he would need to book the Ribble link with CRT, go through the locks and head up the River Ribble with a dodgy outboard to get in the lock at Tarleton......in a small cruiser with no experience or equipment?......but I doubt he knew this!

...he was still another days sail away from Preston?

....and the link I'm not convinced he knew about closes soon for the winter!

Good luck!

This post blog title was inspired today by...Frank Turner...from the old album 'Love, Ire & Song'.....great lyrics in a scratchy, catchy riffy folk song.

Shoot The Runner...

A bit of fresh air, a few provisions to replenish and a change of scenery was required so co-ordinates were set for the Big L, and a short time later a mooring was secured by the Waterwitch for the weekend. Dead Man's Hand didn't disappoint and neither did the ale selection....the following day, after checking that the Sharks DID predictably get beat yesterday and feeling a whole lot better it was soon time for the return trip on a perfectly still autumnal Sunday morning.

The towpath comes alive on Sundays and I always enjoy observing the runners who use it. Firstly there are the ones with muscly legs, nikey vests and little tight fanny packs (snigger!), all highly focused and probably connected wirelessly to the planet Strava with a PB to beat. And then there are the others who, shall we say, don't run as often... comedically lurching along with uncontrollable gangly legs, while wheezing and blowing with visible pained expressions of discomfort, probably due to the cheap tight shorts purchased last week from the Aldi...!
 Sweating porkers with coordinated pink lippy and matching pumps (mostly the ladies, I have to admit) are all tremendously entertaining to me as I meander slowly along at tick over, supping Mr Atkinson's finest coffee and listening to Cerys playing me laid back Reggie beats and sultry saxophone sounds mixed with harmonica blues from times gone by as I wait for the plump premium pork sausages to sizzle in the oven...kingfishers lead the way as a giveaway cobalt blue flash whizzes out from the trees above bridge 91 heading south...
....I'm glad that I can't run!.....
...Oh well, it will have to be sausage butty and an egg banjo at Bridge 90....
...Come on you 'porkers!'

This post blog title was inspired today by...Kasabian...from the old album 'Empire'.

Keep Believing...

As the first drops of rain descend from the darker skies you have to ponder if maybe the summer is finally coming to an end but it's actually starting to feel a little uncanny with every day having been still, bright and dry for such a long period. There are still, as always, plenty of jobs to do on Andromeda but the will is lacking so she remains half painted, with top and bottom complete but cabin sides requiring attention, The good weather has meant more playtime than work time but all is well going into the final part of the year and in the week the 'Sharks' were witnessed knocking up their first victory in the Aviva premiership the canal seems to be at its lowest level and the Glasson flight remains closed following CRT warnings so a few extra drops of rain would be grateful to boaters....another reason to 'Keep Believing'

This post blog title was inspired today by...Bob Mould...final track on Husker Du & Sugar front mans 2012 album packed full of 'throttle to the floor' guitar riffs and an album to enjoy blissfully loud!

Machine gun...

I know that there seems to be plenty of strife around the world at the current time but being lucky enough to live on the generally tranquil Lancaster canal where you can hear every twig break, every beak on the bow and almost every spider spinning a web it's suddenly got a bit louder just lately.  This is due to being moored under two great oak trees and a sweet chestnut....nowadays these fellas are bursting with acorns and hard hairy chestnuts and boy can these lads fire them at you, every whisper of wind and the artillery starts flying....as the leaves start to turn from green to brown they start to shed their fruits and fire their missiles upon Andromeda's newly painted steel roof, from inside it sounds like a machine gun is being unloaded.....sadly, somewhere in the distant world this is actually happening for real......!

This post blog title was inspired today by...Portishead...from their third album 'Third', moody Beth Gibbons' band and this track is a personal favourite.

I wonder...

Sailing back in perfect conditions made me wonder how many more days we are going to get like this as we enter Autumn. Returning back over the tiny Brock aqueduct and watching corn fields being combined, it was noticeable that the families of swans were all grazing in the long grass in the fields as we slipped quietly by.

Hedgerows now are busting with berries, blackberries, elderberries, rose hips, hawthorn berries, sloes and acorns.

With the only stop being the water point to fill the tank we were back in time to strip down the bike and repair all the punctures from the carpet of hedge cuttings on the 34km ride the previous nite...2 bikes=4 punctures!!

This post blog title was inspired today by...Sixto Rodriguez...from the album 'Cold Fact' - an unknown penny-less singer-songwriter in his US home but without him knowing because of the apartheid he was a massive star in South Africa. The documentary 'Sugar Man' tells this incredible story!

Pulling mussels from a shell...

The weather this summer has been incredibly pleasant and ideal for sailing and enjoying the canal so it's always good to leave the mooring and have a change of scenery, now we find ourselves at Guys at Bilsborrow on the day that the 23rd Oyster festival gets started. A little surprised that there are plenty of available moorings here but maybe this is down to CRT having limited the stopovers to 48hrs now at the more popular spots along the Lancaster canal.Looking at the marks the water levels are well down and here there is barely enough water under the boat to moor up to the side.

So before everyone in posh frocks turn up and start swilling Guinness and lobbing slimy crustaceans down their necks, getting all drunk and horny and jiggin' about to Shakira Shakira, it's probably time to slip quietly away...




                                                         

 

This post blog title was inspired today by...Squeeze..an old favourite band with a load of classic hits, and Jools on the keyboards no less!

Figure it out...

'Someone' has figured out that if you rattle your beak for long enough along the entire length of the boat, eventually the bloke who has been pretending to ignore you that is definitely inside because you can hear his music playing, will finally crack and open the galley window, moan about how annoying you have become then proceed to let you snatch copious quantities of booth's finest freshly baked white tin loaf.....this is Zed, the male swans modus operandi almost everyday now.....

Hello, anyone  in?

Feed me...

Feed me....NOW!

....as August draws to a close it's time for a sail...south I think, while the good weather lasts....that'll show him!

 

This post blog title had to be inspired today by...Royal Blood...my new favourite band, well two blokes actually...one with a monster of a Gretch bass guitar and the other a massive drum kit and between them they make an amazing, dirty loud noise that will blow the froth off a pint of Lancaster Black!

Water...loo..sunset...!

Nb Stealaway had returned to her mooring behind us after a week away but it had been an eventful trip and not for the right reasons. A water pump had been left on and had managed to pump the entire contents of the boats water tank up through the toilet which had overflowed into the bilge areas under the floorboards!
Help was needed to jigsaw an access hole in the floor to enable us to pump out the unwanted water - it didn't take long with all the neighbours lending a hand in typical boater style. So, by the time the sun went down the loo water had been removed...

As the weekend turned blustery, the word on the cut was that there was a tree down at Galgate, blocking the canal. No need to investigate this one as a nice dead alder had been dispatched on Saturday and now the mooring wood stores are almost full.
Just time enough to lift the decks and have a potter around in the engine department, just a few nosey checks to see if everything is in it's right place and working, seeing that the engine seems to have been 'mothballed' since the solar panel arrived and has taken over in the supplying energy stakes.

As the John Deere circled around the fields with the topper to get rid of the thistles the texel ewes continued to mooch about and mow the rest of it.


This post blog title was inspired by...The Kinks...couldn't resist this play on words....well it made me chuckle so it was worth it!

Be good or be gone...

The pink boat in the far distance has apparently been moved by CRT following over two years of languishing in the same spot a little way down the canal from here with no licence.
The word on the cut is that they are going to remove it permanently....we will wait to see!...so the lesson.....
..."be good or be gone!"

This week has been all about trying to choose a fabric to cover the new bespoke sofa that is in the process of being built to replace two tired old chairs? Having limited space on a narrowboat it is important to utilise ALL the space you can so it's not really possible to nip out to DFS on a bank holiday for a new settee because it probably wouldn't fit under the gun whales or it would stick out too much - this way you get the perfect fit for the space!

The ewes have still managed to get their heads through the fence enough to chomp the tops off all the daisies even though they have a plentiful amount of green lush grass in two large fields but no, they have to come and graze in the garden......!

Still not got round to getting any more paint on due to time and weather constraints but hopefully September will give a window of opportunity.

Just got the gas bill this week....well the gas bottle ran out and needs replacing so I will have to dig deep yet again...I wouldn't mind but I only replaced it earlier in the year!...I can't believe these energy companies can demand so much and I'm sure that most of my £26 quid will go into their fat-cat creamy corporate capitalist profits.....daily mail...blah, blah...whine and whinge...etc!
I wouldn't mind but at this rate I'm going to need another by Christmas.....and there is is no additional winter fuel allowance for boaters from this government, i'l have you know..!!

This post blog title was inspired by...Fionn Regan...an Irish folk musician that hasn't done much since this, off his 2006 album 'The end of history'....maybe it WAS the end of him?