Saturday 27 July 2019

It aint arf hot mum....*

Well if I thought it was hot walking up to the Wittenham Clumps.... well by golly it *got much hotter over the next few days and then hotter still.

Last evening the sun put on a good show, it had been breezy all day, a bit too breezy to sit out in, but then as if by magic the wind dropped and this happened.







No photo jiggery pokery used here either.


David went off early on his bike and I was awake too at 05:30, I actually got up too and looked out.  Lovely clouds of mistiness.

Wittenham Clumps invisible.

A 28a Pill box from WW2.

Upstream towards Abingdon.

Days Lock weir.

I went back to bed.  

Much later we set off.  A smart black wide beam arrived last evening, called Mariemba or some such.  This morning as we set about leaving, the owner strolled over to say Hello, a very nice chap.  

He knows George & Carol (The owners of Still Rockin'), he follows their blog so knew we  were onboard, he sends his regards both!


It was a nice easy run after the lock, the narrowboat that we were in the lock with shot off and but the time David had coiled his ropes, checked on me and then exited Days Lock they were out of sight.  
I had forgotten this stretch was a bit narrow here, it did widen out presently and we passed where we had moored up with Carol & George last year at one point  but I was twitchy in case something wide arrived around a corner....


A few stunning properties at Shillingford, this one just sold I think it said.

Such a big garden I couldn't even see the house.

Muguteu Wuame I can't find any information on this but how beautiful.  I love vintage craft.

A zonking great well... what is it exactly?

As we approached Wallingford this wide bean came into view, this exactly what I dread meeting on narrow overgrown bends.

Five years ago on a two day flit from the K&A t Oxford and as Wallingford was full in a downpour pulled into these bushes, now they are taken over with Continuous Moorers.


I really like Wallingford.  I like the moorings, nice and sunny, I like the trees to sit under in hot weather, I like the Waitrose here and the pretty town.  What was a surprise was that over the last four years, the mooring fee has leapt from £5 to £7 last year and this year £10.....  That's more than the inflation rate, but there again we all know that Local Authorities are under huge financial pressures.
We moored on the left hand side going downstream and I was delighted.  First things first moor up, this took a bit longer than normal as we were trying not to leave a Git Gap.
A git gap for non boaters is when boats leave a big space in-between themselves and the next boat in busy times on very popular moorings.  But as it happens we had cross words with each other and had to leave a small gap.  Trouble is with a hard of hearing husband at the other end of the boat is; 
He asks me a question.
I answer him.
He mis-hears me. 
He contradicts my answer.
I am bemused as he is talking nonsense mostly off subject.....  This repeats itself daily in different situations.

Reader I sent him to have a hearing test on his bad ear but the results were baffling, his bad ear is his good ear and he isn't nearly bad enough to have a hearing aid.  This is clearly mad and the tester should live with him.

It was really hot by now, we made a long cool drink, rolled up all the sides of SR's canopy, got out the much more comfy than our sun chairs and relaxed.

The afternoon was spent thus but with books and more cold drinks and in the late afternoon donned our swimmers and went swimming in The Thames.  
Please don't tell my mother    HERE   so very sad for their families.  But here in Wallingford its shallow, slow moving and there are marker bouys at the river beach.
It was fabulous.  We sat out till 9 or 10pm.



Wallingford at night.

*  Please don't report me to JRM   HERE  







10 comments:

  1. Hi my father built Muguetu Wuame. It was in our family for about 30yrs. He sold her only a few years ago. I lost my father 2yrs ago and have been searching for her since, we lost track of her on marine traffic and assumed she'd gone abroad.I just googled her name again and couldnt believe it when I saw your post

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    1. Hello Cathy,
      I couldn’t be more pleased that you have seen it via the blog. What a lovely memory for you. I have really enjoyed seeing quite a few of the vintage classic vessels this summer. Funnily enough I couldn’t find anything on her either.
      Maybe the new owners would like to hear from you!

      Lisa

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    2. I'm currently working on Muguetu Wuame at Dennetts boatyard in Chertsey, I'm intrigued to knw the meaning of her name if anyone knows?

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    3. It means 'my woman' my late father bought her as a shell and turned her into something beautiful whilst in our garden. She first went back in the water at Woodbridge. I have so many fond memories of her. We kept her at Denver for years, cruising to Ely & Cambridge for years. We'd often go out into the wash round the Norfolk coast before ending up at Gosport, Portsmouth. This is where my dad eventually sold her. I hope she's being cared for. Cathy

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    4. Hi Cathy
      I am so pleased that you saw this new comment,. I looked but I couldn't find an email for you. As a matter of interest, firstly what language is that name in? Great name, and secondly have you got any old photos of her?
      Maybe the current owners would be interested as well as me. So great to put in place the back story.
      Regards

      Lisa

      Not sure when I'll be blogging again!!

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  2. Hi, my father built Muguetu Wuame. It was in our family for years until he sold her a few years ago. My father passed away two years ago and I've been trying to trace her ever since.I assumed she'd gone abroad as she was sold on not long after dad sold her.I am so grateful to see your photo of her and relieved to see she's being loved and back on the rivers where she belongs rather than at sea. Thankyou

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  3. If you search Muguetu Wuame spelt exactly like that you'll find the description of when she was sold. I'd love to speak to her owners but I don't know who they are as she was sold on. We have photos of her in our garden when dad was building her from her shell. He was a carpenter and she was his most prized project. Im so relieved to see her and know shes ok, I cannot tell you how grateful i am you took her picture and posted such a lovely comment, my dad would be really proud. Thankyou, enjoy your times on the river, i have such cherished memories of the rivers and the wildlife that goes with it x

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  4. Hello Cathy, Lisa

    I am Nick and own Muguetu Wuame. This is so great to read and hear of the history as it is important to have it documented for sale purposes. Your dad was a very clever man as you may remember this boat is a real tardis as nobody can believe how much is below decks. It gets so many nice comments. I was moored up at Shillingford bridge last summer which is where you took this picture. She is moored near Shepperton lock normally. Currently she is at Dennetts having some woodwork done. She will return there later this year to have the rest done before the big trip next year when myself and my oldest mate are taking her across the channel to France and then down the waterways to the south. If your dad is looking down I hope he approves of what I have done and doing to her. Many updates and more to come. There is just something about this boat when you get on board you can really feel the soul. I bought her from the Classic Yacht Brokers from a guy in Aberystwyth in Wales in 2017. I will try and up load some photos which will hopefully take you down memory lane!
    It’s good to get the name straight as the nearest translation I could find was Javanese for Enduring Woman.

    All the best

    Nick

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    1. Dear Nick,

      Well I'm so pleased that you made contact. How fortuitous that I put the photo up last year. If you would like to make direct contact through the blog to Cathy and send me your email I would be happy to pass it on and obviously not publish it. But I would be interested in seeing any photos you have.

      Cathy if you read this and would have no objection, I can do the same for you.

      Regards to you both,

      Lisa

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  5. Hi Lisa,
    email is noddyzarb@gmail.com
    I'll probably be able to send the pictures more easily via an email, with my lack of techno skills!
    I'd love to have a chat about the boat Cathy and swap photo's.
    Dennetts have done a great job on the antifoul, hull taken right back and given 3 coats and the bulwark stripped and given 10 coats of varnish. I did a bit on other bits of the woodwork last year, but have decided to let Dennetts do the rest as they do it better than any DIY'er

    Cheers,

    Nick

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