From Malcolm2.Jones@uwe.ac.uk Thu Sep 23 08:56:45 1999 Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 12:42:09 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jones, Malcolm2" Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Cc: Gwyneth Williams , Alvechurch Boat Centres , "Noseley, John3" , Christine Subject: Trip Report - Leicester Ring - part 4 (long) Day 12: Hinckley to Ansty. Still wet when we woke, so definitely the skipper^Òs job to walk to the nearest pay-phone. The engineer agreed to come out with a replacement hose straight away. In layman^Òs terms it looked like a simple job of releasing a couple of jubilee clips and off you go. So when the engineer requested our mooring hammer (as well as the ^Ócoffee, double strong, double sweet^Ô) we realised that it was not that simple. In the end he got us going by about 10:00. Christine meanwhile had slogged into Hinckley and come back with essential stores. The late start meant a radical rethink of our original plan to run into Coventry basin and back out to Ansty for the night. Finally we decided that we^Òd moor at Hawkesbury and go into the centre by ^Ñbus (very successfully). Took R&T round the cathedral; Mair took R&T up the restored spire of the old cathedral; skipper got a replacement ^Ñphone charger; and we caught the ^Ñbus back by the skin of our teeth (but we did find a ^Ñbus-stop closer to the boat). Back on board, the skipper was on curry duty again. We tied up amidst the pea soup that the canal at Ansty had turned into, and after dinner, walked back to the Social Club for drinks and pool thanks to Jeff for the recommendation. Those who were interested in such things called in at Peter Hiorns^Ò Marine Ceramics shop by bridge 14 on the way. The post box was so close that Mair slipped out in her PJs and tracksuit to post an urgent birthday card after Harry Potter (only 2 chapters to go!). Day 13: Ansty to Braunston. Let go at a very moderate 7.20, and pottered along through an indifferent morning to Newbold, where we stopped for water. While our capacious tank was filling, the enthusiasts among us wandered off to find the old tunnel mouth and decided that WRG may well have quite a job on their hands! With the Rugby branch of Tescos beckoning for our final stores replenishment we pressed onward, being greeted by the lady steering NB Albanich (I hope I^Òve got that right) who recognised our CutWeb pennant (sorry I didn^Òt recognise the boat name, so I^Òve no idea who you are). A brief(ish) stop at Rugby then saw us heading through clearing weather to Hillmorton, where I briefly absented myself from the lock-wheeling to go and say ^Óhello^Ô to Colin Nibbs. Once clear of the locks, lunch hit the table and we took it in turns to eat and steer. Tim decided he^Òd like a walk, so leapt off at a bridge hole and set off poste-haste; sensible boy waited on the bridges at Braunston Turn because ^ÓI didn^Òt know which way you were going^Ô, but once our intentions were clear he was off again! We meanwhile were content to crawl past the moored boats at tickover, while the boat behind was apparently not so content but gave up and moored before his frustration hit our stern. With the locks in sight (and the day not far spent) lock wheelers were put ashore with a spare windlass for Tim. We had to set the bottom lock for ourselves, and then waited for another boat approaching from the turn. Their appreciation was unbounded, until the next lock - somehow they had left the bottom lock ahead of us, and proceeded to share with a boat which had set off from a temporary stop in the first pound, leaving us to work up the rest of the flight alone! Fortunately we passed downhill boats in every pound, though we were usually working quicker on our own than the two boats ahead of us. As we were waiting after they left the top lock for a downhill boat, I recognised one of the crew - Gwyneth had been part of our crew in 1995, when we took our kids for a short-break holiday as their introduction to canals, and lives only a few blocks from us in Bristol. So there am I leaping up and down trying to attract her attention; then there we were, stopping to ^Ómardle^Ô on the lockside, waiting for the boat behind to join them. But they wanted to work down the flight with their friends (somewhere behind), but their friends hadn^Òt the courtesy to wave past the boat behind them to share the lock flight. So Gwyneth and crew, and the boat behind the friends were each compelled to work down the flight single handed, wasting effort and water - selfish or what? Moored between the top lock and the tunnel, several of us visited the craft shop(s) down the flight (2 of us meeting the very chatty proprietor of the Nelson Craft Shop), but no-one seemed moved to go for a beer after supper; the penultimate chapter of Harry Potter and so to bed for nightmares of evil wizards and dark spells!! Day 14: Braunston to Gayton. A prompt start, to be sure of clearing the tunnel and Buckby & Wilton locks before THE ECLIPSE. As someone observed on the mailing list recently, you can often go faster through a tunnel than almost anywhere, and we fair charged through Braunston before any other traffic was about (but after slipping our moorings as quietly as possible of course). As the rest of the crew emerged, SWMBO decided that it felt like a bacon butty morning; unfortunately BBs arrived at much about the same time as the locks, so all but the steerer, who sneaked hers in one of the locks, and the skipper, who declined the experience, had congealed bacon butties after the locks. Joined in the top lock by a crew of Americans, who shared with us all the way down the flight. Sadly, they seemed to have no concept of what to expect next, and where to stand to be ready for the next event (paddle, gate, rope, etc.). Nor did their steerer seem to recognise that if he tried to leave the lock alongside Royal Tern then the two boats would stick together. Between all these factors we somehow ended up leaving the bottom lock behind them, and then following them (dead slow and tacking) until they finally ground to a halt (apparently deciding to stop and watch the eclipse. We divided into those who wanted to watch the fireworks (at the sharp end) and those who were content with the occasional glimpse (at the business end), and thus we proceeded past Weedon, Stowe Hill and Bugbrooke until we realised that if we didn^Òt take a lunch break we would be back at the boatyard embarrassingly early even by our standards. Eventually cruised into Gayton at about 3 pm, and after a little packing up went by car to Stoke Bruerne to look around the museum, followed by dinner at the Boat Inn (and an excellent glass of Timothy Taylor which made the London Pride which followed it seem very second rate). Then back to outside the Museum for Mikron Theatre Co^Òs performance of Just in Time - first class as usual. Finally back to the boat for the final chapter of Harry Potter. I am forbidden to tell you what happened so you^Òll have to read it yourself (but there are further books in the series!) Day 15: Gayton to home (by AA Relay). For our journey home, I can do no better than quote an essay which Ruth had to write for Religious Studies homework on her first day back at school: ^ÓMY SPECIAL JOURNEY - The last holiday I went on was in Leicester. It was a two week holiday. I hadn^Òt seen my things in ages and I could barely remember what our house looked like. It was a long task to pack to get ready to go home. We were on a canal boat with not much room. We had a set of drawers and me and my auntie were fighting over packing. It was raining. We were all worried about driving home. I was exited to see if any post for me had come, and worried because Dad didn^Òt like driving and it was raining. About a mile from the boatyard there was a bang. The car stopped. Dad got out. I hoped it wasn^Òt too bad because he gets agitated easily. It turned out that a spark plug had blown. We had to call the AA. It took 5 minutes to get through where we were to the operator. Within 10 minutes an AA service man had arrived. He towed us to the nearest service station where we waited for a Relay van to come and pick us up. It was a long wait. I was tired and didn^Òt want to be doing this. Finally the man arrived. I got my walkman and hopped into the cab of the lorry / van / truck. This was really exiting. I was higher than everyone else and could see all sorts of things I couldn^Òt usually see. I slept most of the way. It was nice and peaceful. When I woke up I recognised that we were almost there. We were on the flyover by IKEA. I knew it wouldn^Òt be long before we were home, I could have a drink and everything was sorted. What I really looked forward to was seeing if there were any messages or post for me. It was a real fun journey.^Ô "That's all folks!" Malcolm ------------------------------------- Malcolm L M Jones, System Accountant, University of the West of England, Email: Malcolm2.Jones@uwe.ac.uk Tel: 0117 344 2733 --- The UK Waterways Network - http://www.ukwaterways.net/ * bringing the inland waterways community together * You are currently subscribed to canals as: george@adiva.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-canals-407N@ukwaterways.net