"Wot! No supper??"

So the next morning was bright and sunny.  Not too windy in fact just right a bit like Goldilocks's porriage.

An easy run from Wombourne and the Bratch locks through to Swindon where we both got another soaking!

  

Here in a, well what is the collective term for a group of Ramblers?  A Gaggle, a Ramble? yes let's say a gaggle, David dropped me right in the middle of a gaggle of Ramblers as the moorings were full, so I could go to the Sainsbury's right here at Wombourne.  

I did a quick Supermarket Sweep and headed back to WaL, I phoned him from the entrance to say I'm done can you come and help carry....

WaL was about 50m out of sight to the right of this photo and as I approached WaL in the distance I saw him go down into the boat....  I reached WaL and stood on the towpath waiting for him to reappear which was several minutes until he finally strolled up.  

He'd finished his coffee and brushed his teeth.

   

I took this photo as this house was a bit of a wreck on our first trip down I think about 11 years ago.  It looks great now even if it is a tad close to the road which is on the left but the existing old workshop or garage tickles me so close to the house, perhaps it's listed.

We spent several hours going through beautiful countryside, wooded and undulating then open fields.  I'll take photos on the way back and eventually we were both delighted to find a WaL sized spot here at what we just call the Wide Bend.  It's just above Hyde Lock and about half a mile from Stewpony lock.  It's popular of course but annoyingly several boats were here and not occupied.  Kinda mean to leave your boat on a beauty spot and go away to my mind. 

You might just make out a small group of poxy Canadian geese in the field.  I'd been told by a lady at a lock that she'd spent the night at Tixel Wide, but never again she said as the hundreds of poxy Canadian geese had honked all night.

There does need to be a cull of these as their numbers are completely out of control.   

We even got some solar dappled through the trees.

Looking north-ish wards Stewpony lock.

That late afternoon, I did something I haven't done for a good few years now, yes I cycled!!

David fished out our two Bromptons and we went into town.  Kinver that is.  To the Plough and Harrow pub to be precise.  He'd only just discovered that there was one of their pubs here and he really really enjoyed two pints of the best beer in the country.  

Namely Bathams.

One very happy boy.

Some of you may remember on our first trip years ago we met our son-in-law's dad Nick at Stourbridge, who collected us and took us to lunch at The Vine pub also known as the Bull and Bladder also known as the Delph.  It's at the bottom of the Delph flight on the way into Birmingham.  The pub brews it's own beer onsite and as David and many others say it's the best in the country if not the world.  

When our daughter married Leon (If you are new here Leon is a native of The Black Country), Nick brought down a barrel of Bathams beer to the absolute joy of the southern wedding guests.

Nick also gave us a list of all the best pubs and best beers in Birmingham to try and we got to most of them,  I'll try and find the post and link it later.

HERE      It took some finding!

Looking south-ish towards Hyde lock and Kinver.

The next morning we called on friends and an ex-blogger too,  Sarah and Chris,  they are now off the canals and are living in Kinver, a nice place to live I think. 

We chewed the fat for a good couple of hours and fixed on meeting again later when we have turned and have dinner together at a new Indian restaurant in town.

After leaving them we drove the short distance to Caunsall.  Its a village close to the canal further south where there's a famous pub hereabouts.  The Anchor where they serve mighty fine cobs.  Now a cob is a roll, a big white soft roll and here they are stupendous.  Beef, ham or cheese, we eat little red meat these days so of course I ordered beef.  

It comes in generous thick slices and melts in the mouth, David had a ham and went back for a beef one afterwards.  

This is a cider pub too, great for me but no Bathams.  

The beef simply melts in the mouth, divine.

Back to WaL in the middle of the afternoon by now.  We sprawled in the cratch with our books and coffees.

A great day.

Supper was absent after those cobs.

 

Wet Wet Wet

 David was up and away this morning way before I was awake, but not before he'd done last nights washing up.  

There is this time when he is awake and it's not light enough to go cycling.  Marvellous really, when he returns he brings me tea.  But don't be thinking I don't look after him too.

It was overcast and the satellite app says rain that evening.  

We made a start annoyingly just after a boat had past us so yes we'd be turning all the locks again today.

I walked to the first on not far around the corner and a twitcher was sat on the bench there.... "What have you seen?" says I, 

"Oh nothing yet" 

I told him with delight how I'd listened to two owls in the night.  He assured me they were two Tawny owls.

Then it drizzled, that wasn't mentioned earlier when I planned my outfit.

We were aiming for Bratch Locks today, in a nearby village David had planted the car not that we had plans to drive it.  It would stay there a couple of nights.

I walked between the last three locks when the sun came out and suddenly I was very hot.  After the last lock prior to Bratch I got back onboard,  there's a nice long run of moorings here, opposite the cricket ground we have moored at previously but today and several years after we were last here the trees at the edge of the cricket ground have grown up and there's precious little solar power to be had, so we crept forward and there's a sunken cruiser right in the way of the best solar spot to be had, so we crept forward, there were rings here and two moored boats, suddenly it was heavy drizzle.

Now great consternation do we reverse back around the moored boat into the shade, do we moor here on the concrete with the horrid warped metal armco and no rings, do we go forward and moor on the lock landing, very naughty to do that plus no sign of the volunteer lockkies to ask permission.

And now it was raining.

David changed his mind 17 times as the rain came down harder and harder, he even fetched out the two Big Blues, huge fenders we use on rivers but finally we decided to go down the staircase locks here and moor below.

 He untied WaL and was heard to utter some shocking language as I went to set the locks.  

Just our luck two boats were coming up, both women were drenched without coats, these two boats took time as you can imagine.  I was trying to remember how to do this and read the instructions three times, I was Looking and Learning but as these two were doing the flight in reverse...

The last lady was incredibly cheerful, no coat on, she declared she couldn't get any wetter and she offered to stay after they had exited to help me down.  

I could have kissed her, so very kind.  

She told her husband as he exited the top lock and he too came back with his windlass.

Doubly kind.

By now it had stopped pouring and the sun actually came out, I was boiling in my waterproof so I draped it over a lock beam.

As we wound up the top paddles another boater walked past and kindly said "Can't you read?  You have to wind up the blue paddle down there before this red one"  Yes Reader despite reading the instructions several times I got it wrong.

I scuttled off to correct the mistake and the kind lady took the telling off she didn't deserve.

By the time we had finished the locks and profusely thanked the other boaters we had both had enough, moored up on a sunny spot, mopped the back deck and put the tonneau cover on again, wiped the coats down with towels before they could be carried through and got inside. Phew.

I looked out to see the sign "Lock Landing Only".  Well it was a genuine mistake as the lock landing as we thought was behind us but we did stay put as no other boats there or indeed came past that afternoon.

Supper was tomato and feta bake.  Two packs of feta as David said one needed eating as it had been up and down to the boat 4 times.

PS   Absolutely no rain was forecast today.

The sun on the trees that evening below Bratch Locks

One long day

So with the threat of rain fast diminishing from the weather satellite app that David actually pays money for; 

(He's very sniffy about weather apps in general and has active and ongoing discussions with other golfers who try to tell him there is a 20% chance of rain so it is going to rain for 20% of the day)!

Anyway back to Penkridge and a warm but cloudy day off we went.  I know we've had great fantastic luck in the past with locks on flights all in our favour but today was not one of them and I had to turn every lock from here to Gailey.

The journey here was pretty much incident free, but the sun came out properly, fleeces were removed and sun cream applied.

We didn't pass any boats moving and only saw a boat move when we came up into Gailey and he moved off the water point when we moved onto it.  Happy sunny days with hardly any boats moving and finger crossed the choice of moorings.

One photo that I didn't remember I'd taken.  Its the "Narrows" between Coven Heath and Autherley Junction,  we didn't meet any boats, for once.

As the day wore on our destination kept being put back by the man in charge of logistics....  The reason he gave was that as we have done the section from Autherley Junction to Great Haywood quite a few times now as we have come down the Shroppie, so his thinking was to bat through as quickly as we can and then enjoy the rest of the Staffs to Worcester canal which very much lies past Autherley Junction.

We passed by the two boats who had been following us yesterday, they both moor at Coven Heath.  We kept going, past the junction, here one boat passed us...  

Past the Wolverhampton Flight, no boats in sight but the flight looked to be open.  It's curious but here the water in the canal becomes clear.  You can see the roots of the water lilies and grasses growing on the bottom.  Looks clean enough to swim in frankly.

But I didn't.

Finally Compton lock came into view, two boats moored above and little other mooring available so we had to do this lock.

No spaces below this lock, in fact a long NB was tying his ropes so we had just missed that spot.  

I had it in my minds eye to go past this lock and around one corner where it opens out with trees in the distance and a grassy meadow.  But David stopped and moored up on the very end of the visitor moorings and staked the front. Bit concretey but we were on.

David put the tonneau cover on as rain was forecast and as we were putting things away a 70' boat from the very beginning of the mooring was leaving.  You'd have thought he might have said hang on 5 mins and have this space, I would have done so.

Today had taken almost eight hours to get here.  Supper was quick and hot but I can't remember what...

That night having an early night I listened to two owls arguing loudly, fantastic, we don't get owls at home.

Finally and with his wife tired and sleepy we arrived at 

Oh it's all gone terribly wrong

Finally the day arrived for departure.  I'd been so looking forward to us being on WaL.

David packed the car up, made the rolls, we always have egg mayonnaise rolls or sandwiches on car journeys, always a treat, the sun shone and the traffic was light on the dreaded M25.

Arriving at Great Haywood we managed to unload into two trolley loads, David drove the car away and in not too long a time was back on his bike and then we were off.  

Off but the boat still looked like a bomb had exploded, it carried on looking so for a few days.

We moored up after Tixel lock on a nice sunny stretch in full sun.

Supper was pretty much the rest of the lunchtime picnic with added cheese and chocolate.

The next morning not too early for me that is, (Coming to the end of a good book Bel Canto by Ann Patchett) we set off with me making sense or trying to of the saloon with bags everywhere.

Penkridge was the destination, some five locks away.  Only a couple of boats had passed us, the canal seemed quiet.  Its after the school holidays, lots of closures on locks and flights so we thought GREAT just us.

Unpacking was going well as was sitting on the stern with coffee enjoying very much being away from it all.

We passed two boats moored outside the Staffordshire Club, looking as if they were ready to depart.  I wouldn't exactly say the helm had a scowl on his face as we passed them but ......

I came to a cluster of fishermen, (I was walking now), one chortled as I walked passed with my windlass 

"You've got off a bit early for the lock"

"Oh I am just stretching my legs"
"But it's half a mile away.....!"  He was shocked.

  Around the last bend I saw the back end of a boat pulling out, I turned to David to signal to slow down as there was a wait to be had.  The boat turned out to be two hire boats, one with three very jolly chaps on who have a week together each September and have done so for twelve years and the other was four Scandinavians, their first lock (Deptford Lock and it's a really deep one) and their first day.  One lady said with a sense of urgency in her voice "We don't know what we are doing!" 

But they were doing alright, I hope I imparted a touch of confidence to them and to assure them that if they asked for help or advice it would be freely given.

As I stood there with the jolly men and the Scandies the two boats arrived behind us and following up was a cruiser, or yoghurt pot as they can be called. 

Five boats waiting.  

I can't remember when that last happened to us.

Well the Scandies made good progress and apart from two locks up at Park Gate Lock when we were four in a row and as a boat exited the lock towards us the gates suddenly closed in front of us all and the crew of the boat above had presumed that no one was there when there were  four waiting.  

Someone told her politely that if you can't see you should walk down and go look.

Well we moored up easily in Penkridge after a good old fashioned soaking from an un-forecasted shower.  

I had my own shower, settled down to blog.

That's when I tried to upload all my photos.  That's when the emails I've had recently about google photos came to mind..... that's when my computer didn't recognise my camera.

That's when I had a notification talking about my Windows is now unsupported, I mean who reads all this....? 

The trouble is I have a child's brain with IT that I don't understand the instructions, I don't understand the terminology and I don't understand what the help is saying so for the next few days until I started to use my phone can you bear no photos?

I do hope you can.

Supper was delightful at The Littleton Arms. 

 

   

I'm back I'm back as a matter of fact...

 Well Reader, 

It's been a while but here I am back from New Zealand where I decamped to in July to help our youngest daughter after the birth of their second baby.  People have said to me that they hoped I enjoyed my holiday there, it was lovely, but it wasn't a holiday.  

The baby arrived via C Section so Verity had three or four days in hospital.  I hadn't seen Xanthe for about 18 months and was a bit nervous that she would yell the place down in her parents absence but during the 24 hours I was there prior she and I got on well so everything in the garden was rosy.

This is the lovely Kay who came to meet me at the airport at dawn, way way before her getting up time, thank you again Kay.  I look upon Kay as my honourable sister now but technically she is Verity's mother-in-law.

Little Xanthe, here she is trying to press the button for this selfie.

New baby Naomi

The two views above are from Verity's hospital room.

So I have to say I did have a wonderful time there for six weeks, saw a little bit more of Auckland, Kay and her sister Carol took me out to a concert in the oldest church in Auckland (It wasn't terribly old of course) but the singing was a boys school choir and it was terrific.  They were going next to the national final competition after I returned to the UK in Wellington which I think they won.  

Coming to London next year if they can raise the funds.

Carol, her husband Gary and Kay also took me to see Odyssey at the IMAX cinema, that was quite an experience having never been to one before, the noise was terrific, better for me as I wore my noise cancelling headphones which made it much more tolerable.

The film was truly and amazing experience.

There's a lovely park in Auckland called Cornwall Park where I walked while Verity napped, I'd say it's more of a country park, but it was just beginning to bloom into spring flowers, most confusing to the British brain having spring flowers in mid summer....

Some pretty yellow one.

An New Zealand Kingfisher

A better shot of him, paler in colour than ours and no water to be had in this park.

Gorgeous Magnolias  

Mount Maungawhau or Mount Eden the crater of an extinct volcano in Auckland, one of many.  Later a settlement of Maori and now an amazing viewpoint of the city centre.

More Magnolias.

Now you might remember that back in May HERE  

I met a young woman, a "Rock Dropper" the idea being to publicise their cause which was Uni Learning Disability, they plant these highly decorated rocks and ask the finder to share it on Facebook, you can look on there and learn all about it.  Well back in May I happened to meet the painter as she was planting it.  The rock in question was a Q for Quilting, I do quilting (Or used to) and I absolutely loved it.  I told her I had a trip coming up to NZ and would "Drop" it there.  Well Reader I just loved carrying the rock in my hand bag, so smooth and so bright but I did drop in in Cornwall Park see below.   

So here it is and Reader I have to say I regretted it almost immediately, I went back to reclaim it after a coffee at the fabulous cafe but it had gone.  Moreover the finder hasn't put in FB either.....

Nonna and Naomi

All too soon it was time to leave.  The worst thing about going is the leaving, it does not get easier I can tell you.

So I'm back, there are the five family birthdays in August that are now done, (One of which my mother who was 96) and very shortly David and I will be reporting for duty on WaL.

Very shortly.

TTFN

A French Flit and a new baby

So then, a little French interlude.  

What could be nicer?  

I had joined an Art Club a few years ago now and to my surprise David wanted to join too after a year and him missing out on interesting speakers.  

The first trip we did was to Italy, I was nervous of course as I expected him to be bored silly by the churches, the paintings and the company.  (We were the youngest by far of the group travelling) but not a bit of it.  Him and Jean hit it off immediately (Jean was 87) and after that he made friends with all my friends.

So this trip was to Normandy, the highlight for David and myself was to Monet's Gardens at Giverny,  but after that were visits to Fontainebleau, Barbizon the village that hosted an artists collective Chateau Vaux-Le-Vicomte and another chateau that I can't remember the names of.  

Plus a visit to a cider making farm, that had been in the same family for over 400 years producing Calvados, an aperitif, cider and apple juice all were delicious, but I brought three bottles of the aperitif, one of which is in the fridge ready!

So here are a few photos for your pleasure, and annoyingly out of sequence.  I hate it when Blogger does this.

Firstly then Fontainebleau Palace.  Occupied but many kings of France as a summer palace, it was packed to the rafters of gold leaf, hangings, ornate furniture and frankly Reader it was all a bit much and gave me a headache.  

No wonder Queen Marie Antoinette wanted to escape and look after her geese on the streams, I couldn't wait to get out.  But the smaller by comparison were the apartments of Napoleon.  I had to wait ages for these photos Reader, a French Guide was taken the whole weekend to talk in this small ante room and his group took up all the space.  David had long gone but I waited so appreciate them.


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Napoleon's tent when off in battle, I think anyway my French was a bit below the standard required.

His travelling washbag, (needed a polish)

His famous great coat and chapeau, the guide went on and on about how these two articles had FINALLY come back to France after he had died and they had been in Canada at one point.

Here is the chappie in happier times.

The incredible Palais is too big to get into one shot.  It was also very busy due to an Arts Festival being held here with speakers and classes and free entrance.

This is the back view.  Its absolutely VAST.

Chateau Beauregard.  Much more to my liking, comfy and homely.

Here is Giverny.  A rented farmhouse in which Monet lived with wife and children for well over 40 years.  He invited fellow artists to paint, he brought paintings from them that hung in his studio and painted the interior of the farmhouse in a very modern way which reminded me of Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex famous home of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell lived,  they also painted freely on walls and doors.

The dining room, a gorgeous yellow.

Yellow dresser with blue and white china. 

I absolutely adored this

The kitchen.

Although copies today hang here, the originals are far too valuable.  Works that Monet brought form other painters of the times.

The gardens from the house.

The family in their very Sunday Best on the steps of Giverny.

Works of his and other artists on the walls of his studio.

Boats on the water, famous paintings of them in the house with his daughters.

His famous waterlilies.

The water garden with the famous Japanese bridge in the distance.

We got home late on the Monday evening.  Early to bed, at 02:20 I got a phone call from my son-in-law to say that our eldest daughter had started labour, I dressed once I had remembered which country I was in and drove over to care for the boys and baby Camille arrived a few hours later.

Meeting big brother Theo.

And bigger brother Luca.

She was home after five days and I really enjoyed having the boys, although they were in school.

Happy days and not that many more days until I pop over to New Zealand to help welcome our youngest daughter's new baby in July.

Bye for now.