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?

Like a hurricane...

Torrential rain on the cut!

Atkinson's, the coffee emporium in Lancaster had a wonderful selection of beans so having picked a couple of strong ones to try yesterday, the first job of today was to grind up some coffee and get the morning going with a Sumatran sensation and a 6music soundtrack to start the day.

With Bertha forecasted and threatening to put an end to the summer sun, Sunday became a day to do a few jobs inside Andromeda- nothing too demanding, just bits and pieces really, a tidy up, change the empty gas bottle and harvest some home grown spuds, beans and broccoli from the mooring garden.

The rain came in as predicted and the decision to light the fire to turn it into a cosy Sunday was a no brainer. It was nice to have the wood smoke wisping out of the chimney for a change.
With the jobs all done, the beef curry cooking for tea, 'medieval' style, on the stove and emanating an amazing asian aroma. It became a lazy afternoon of old war films, live cycling and later the final of the rugby 7's on the telly while the torrential rain poured from the sky bouncing off the steel roof and topping up the canal after levels had dropped through the summer months and helpfully watering the thirsty plants.

It's a great place to be, in a narrowboat, when the weather gets a bit extreme, looking out from the cosy inside as the weather gets a bit crazy.
And then the wind started...and the weather got wild as Bertha started to blow, time to batten down the hatches...

..not a day for boating but that doesn't seem to deter the 'hire boaters' going past!

This post blog title was inspired by...Neil Young....again!, and this was his last song at the Echo Arena where he deliberately destroyed his guitar strings and finished the song like only he can...

Keep your shades on...

Been fairly inactive on the restoration front during this amazing spell of nice weather. The sun has been shining constantly now for a few weeks and it's been a time for gigs, biking, fishing and tennis and basically outdoor summer stuff.



The first coats of paint went on last month but it's actually been too warm to proceed with final coats so we wait a little longer. If the steel is too warm or too cool then the paint doesn't go on correctly and can bloom, something you don't want on topcoats....patience is required!

Meanwhile, the summerhouse has come into its own this year and has provided a great space during the summer evenings. The plants have also done well with daily watering and given some nice colour to the mooring.


       The fit texel sheep returned to the field but only the ewes, the lambs have been separated and have gone somewhere else.....the mums can keep the grass down until the back end when the tups will arrive to keep them company.        

The birds and animals have been entertaining, from the little field mouse that lives in the wood pile, or the brazen mink that strolled along the jetty to the unwelcome family of swans that got escorted from the area by a disgruntled Zed, swimming behind them with feathers up and honking with displeasure at the intruders to his stretch of the cut...


This post blog title was inspired by...Alabama 3...off the album Outlaw - had to stick this one in as they were as good as ever when they gave us a great nite out again when we saw them last week.....this band just never, ever disappoints!

Blown away...

As the final weekend sun goes down, as the last bands play at Glastonbury, Andromeda continues to evolve with a newly painted cratch area and took 200 litres of diesel on board.
On the return from the previous sail to Lancaster it was discovered, on removing the heat protection bandage, that the old exhaust silencer had got somewhat 'blown away' over the years. A replacement was sourced and the new shiny one fitted.

Before and after....

This post blog title was inspired by...Pixies - one of my favourite bands and who just played an amazing set at Glasto. This song off the the album 'Bossanova'....what a noise!

Walk me to the bridge...

Early morning at Bridge 90

Bridge 90 to be exact....after a great but tiring weekend at the annual Middlewich folk & boat festival we left the mooring equipped with sandpaper, brushes and paint and with a good weather forecast for the week, the intention was to start on the boat roof. It turned out to be a very successful week and not only did the roof get done, the bow, the stern and below the gun whales all got sanded,washed, pre-koted and top coated, albeit the first top coat. Craftmaster graphite grey was the chosen colour, a good solid enamel paint that should suit the old tug and one that can match with maybe a cream/black combination for the cabin sides.....now more paint needs to be bought for the final coat ready for the next spell of nice weather.

Sailing back past the cows..

....bridge 90 was a wonderful place, quiet and open with a gentle breeze, ideal conditions for the job as opposed to the boats home mooring under the trees with leaves and insects which is not a good combination when hand painting a 50' narrowboat.

Wild flower sheep trough on the mooring

Back on the mooring the pair of swans have left the nest......the sad news is that only one signet hatched but that one didn't survive very long so they have no young at all now this year!
The sheep have also been removed and the field has been 'topped' to get rid of the thistles before the lambs return to get fat. It's quiet around here as quite a few of the 'neighbours' are away cruising the system for the summer, lucky buggers!

Craft master graphite grey!

This post blog title was inspired by....Manic Street Preachers...this is a real belter, the new stuff is really good and this is a new single that was regularly aired on 6Music while the boat was up at Bridge 90.

A Lack of Colour...

The mooring is looking a lot greener having had a spell of better sunny weather along with a few springtime showers along the way. Only problem is that the only colour is green so this year a few flowers have been planted to try to enhance the appearance and now the plants are really getting going ready for the explosion that will be the summer bloom.
Pots and tubs and raised beds are busting out with Strawberries, herbs, tomatoes, courgette, broccoli, potatoes and peas and beans and all are doing well along with seedlings of various flowers with awkward incomprehensible names but basically some red ones, purples and other primary colours that should help to brighten up the place in time.
A great crop of wild flowers will also add a nice touch around the summerhouse.
Greedy sheep have already eaten the chives and the top off the red hot poker so there is a need to grow stuff slightly out of the reach of woolly ovines!
Solar power is still the number one power supply and the longer sunny days are effortlessly pouring energy into the boats batteries at an alarming rate......for free!
Other boat owners along the moorings that visit their crafts occasionally, have been turning up in overalls and jaunty hats with pots of paint while Andromeda still sits in primer with the intention to make a start sometime soon when time and money coincide with a long dry spell...it will come, eventually.
Lilies also rooted in the canal are starting to show yellow flowers.
In the evening the midges flutter about over the water and the fish rise and pick a few off leaving the tell tale rings on the surface.
Life is good but then....
 Breaking Bad is over....

The MIddlewich folk and boat festival is on the agenda and getting closer...
And so is Mr Neil Young....

Did I mention that Breaking Bad is over......


This post blog title was inspired by....Death cab for cutie....don't get hung up by the bands name as they make some lovely music including this final track from the 2003 album 'Transatlanticism'.