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.