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Today's trip started with a visit to the gas suppliers. I'd gone last Friday, just before 5-00 pm (closing time) to find they'd already closed, so I went back for opening time, 8-00 am, this morning. A rather hung-over salesperson sold me a cylinder bigger than the one I'd brought in, with no charge for the upgrade - a bit different to Calor!
Having wandered down to Langley Mill and brought Rumpus from "head of navigation" to a point adjacent to the lock (no point in taking the car all the way up to drive back again) I was loading up (in the company of a pair of swans, whose "preening area" I was intruding on) when I was asked "Are you going down?". when I said I was, I was asked to "hang on for Eric" in NB Starvin Rascal, who was also going down to Sawley. I was more than grateful for this, as the thought of doing the whole lot single-handed was a little daunting, and many hands make light work. By the time I'd swapped over the gas regulators from the temporary Camping Gaz one to the more normal Calor one, Eric had joined me and we were locked down by the ever-obliging moorers.
................in the company of a pair of swans, whose "preening area" I was intruding on.......... The trip down was as usual trouble-free, even at Stenson’s Lock where there are often problems with the “local yokels”. We did see a trio of people demonstrating that one of Mr Honda’s step-throughs WILL carry 3, with not crash helmets, in a cloud of dust. However, there was some paddle gear faulty here, so a quick phone call, the first of a number as it turned out, was made to BW. We paused for coffee making at Barker’s Lock at just after eleven, and reported problems at both Potter’s and Green’s Locks (leaking paddle and gate - the latter quite serious). We actually met the BW bank team at Green’s, so were able to explain the problem “up the hill” in more detail - the problem at Green’s was self-evident! We fished an abandoned doorless fridge freezer out of the canal at Gallows Inn, after which I decided that as the sun (which I couldn’t see) was probably over the yard arm (if Rumpus ever had one) it was time for the first beer of the day. Talking of drink, The Plough at Sandiacre (just up from the Padmore Moorings) has decent moorings and a pub sign on the canal side, so they obviously want to encourage passing trade. I’d already noticed that the cool box had ceased to cool, but it was only when I tried to do an “UURRKK” to a passer-by and found it wouldn’t that I realised that it wasn’t a cool box problem: it was an everything-on-the-circuit-that-only-works-when-the-ignition’s-on problem - the terminal had come off! As the wire was a little on the short side (to put it mildly) I lengthened it with a bit I just happened to have by me, whilst tied up under the GIG signpost just above Sandiacre Lock. The other good news was that there was a boat waiting to come up, so (a) the lock got worked for us and (b) from now on, all the locks should be more-or-less set for us! Just below Long Eaton Lock I came across a man pointing Percy at the hedge, so he got a "We know what you’re doing!" on the UURRKK, to his intense discomfort. Trent Lock was as quiet as I’ve ever seen it - certainly not heaving with people as I’ve often seen it on a Sunday afternoon. With impeccable timing, Susan rang me just as I was coming into the Trent and we arranged to meet at Sawley. We arrived at Sawley Locks in company with two hire boats, one from Weedon and one from Sileby, niether crew of which realised that you didn’t need a windlass for this one! Having got them through, a gentle potter up the lock cut, a slow turn into the Marina, a water topup from the Canaltime hose (much faster than any other) and a slightly difficult mooring up as Rumpus is so low saw me all done by just before seven - all in all a good days boating. |
