Wide Beam - Still Rockin'

Friday, 5 June 2015

12 months on and we’re Still Rockin! [edited 6/6][

It’s exactly a year since Still Rockin’ was launched and what a brilliant time that’s been.

Stats for this first year are :-

420 miles of cruising
375 locks
10 swing bridges, which equals
795 lock miles
692 engine hours
781 litres of diesel
and loads and loads of free solar power!

[this should have been a] short slideshow of Still Rockin’ on 5th June 2014 being loaded onto transport from the boat builder/fitter at Droitwich [but blogger has been ‘playing up!] ….

…. and getting her bottom wet in Braunstone Marina [again, just a still I’m afraid!]

Although our cruising area has been restricted the extra space has made up for it and we are still of the opinion that we did the right thing at the right time. Once our ‘locking’ days are over we have a nice home to live out our really old age …. but before that happens …. roll on lots more years to come!

PS I wonder if anyone else has had a problem with blogger in the past 24 hours? It has been very slow to load even though I tried both of our 3 mobile dongles each showing 4 bars 3G outside of the boat with the computer alongside them. If you saw the blog that I posted yesterday with at least one video/slideshow on it, please let me know if you were able to view the video(s). Many thanks

Monday, 1 June 2015

Hanging about

We’re getting thoroughly bored with this waiting, but hopefully there’s an end in sight

So bored in fact I got quite carried away snapping this fish sunning itself in the top inch or so of the canal

I think it’s a Gudgeon but it may be a Minnow; it was about 10” long

These two very pretty boats passed us yesterday after the rain had stopped ...

… I was too late to get my camera so I’ve pinched these from
Diane and Ray’s blog post . Hope they won’t mind!

Woke this morning to bright sunshine but rather windy

but Molly still wants to be in pole position on the slider and dips her head below the parapet of her bed to escape that cold wind!

From the bow - waves on the water and the cloud is bubbling up. The forecast here at Kings Langley is for heavy rain this afternoon lasting for the next 24 hours - no problem!

Friday, 29 May 2015

Single hander and a blond bimbo

Walking back to our mooring after my physio appointment on Wednesday

in the warm sunshine

I chanced on mb Banstead and butty Bodmin in the lock

In the afternoon we had visitors - Paul (with back to camera) and his son Tom (far left) came to have a look at Still Rockin’. The last time we saw them was at Bramble Cutting (above) on 4th September 2010 when they were keen to have first refusal if we ever sold nb Rock ’n’ Roll!

Thursday we pulled the pins and set off and as we were pointing towards Apsley that’s where we went. Once we’d used the services we dropped down the lock, did a bit of shopping, had lunch and untied again. I walked on to set the first of three locks on our way to Nash Mills but a narrowboat was just about to enter so I closed the gate after him as he appeared to be a single hander. I also opened and closed the gate as he exited too and at the next lock George went to help him, setting the lock and opening and closing the top gate and opening the sluices when out from the cabin came … yes you’ve guessed it … a blond bimbo! She chatted to the ‘single hander’ as he boarded his boat and left the lock with George having to close the gate behind him. At the third lock I could see that there was someone else opening one of the gates so we thought a boat was coming up so we held back a bit so as not to meet it next to moored boats. I walked ahead and there was no boat just a helpful passerby who closed the gate after the boat went in. Then out of the lock went the ‘single hander’ with bimbo beside him reading the newspaper to him leaving the bottom gate open for me to close. I was furious!!! but there wasn’t much I could do was there!