A week too late…?

Yes I know this is slightly inappropriate for New Years Eve but I’m always late for everything & can’t remember anything, so that’s my excuses sorted in advance.

Let me introduce you to the real Christmas tree I forgot to tell you about, (half price too which was a bonus) it’s even got LED lights & red starry decs that match the little red box thing it sits in… This real Christmas tree lives happily outside on the table in the lux con – this is no tinsel tree tha knows, this is a future addition to the plant pottery on the jetty…

 

Did I mention it was a real Christmas tree…?

 

 

And believe it or not I’m just sat here watching someone doing flower arranging on TV… So does having 2 Christmas trees (of sorts) on a boat make us powsh then…?

Either way, Happy Christmas New Year to everyone, hope 2011 is good to you & yours…

Grey ice & a black bluebottle…

But first of all & with ref to yesterday’s post, I’ve been wondering if this is the only boat in the world to have a big rug adorning the floor in the back cabin…??? And to make it even more interesting is this the only boat in the world to have a big rug in the back cabin with a corner missing…??? Anyway, moving on:

The grey ice bit - what was supposed to fall as snow the other day actually fell as rain - lots of it that sat on top of the ice for about 24 hours before freezing as the top layer of the sandwich.

The end result, ugh, not very appealing to the eye really…

Weird photo of the day: This rather large crack at the end of the jetty looks a lot like the shadow of a dead tree, totally useless but worth a mention…

 

A far cry from this, which is how it’s supposed to look isn’t it…?

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The black bluebottle bit: I was woken up around 4am to the sound of ZZZZZZZZZ, (& it wasn’t Dave snoring) then something landed on the end of my nose… We’ve had a bit of a thaw here for the past couple of days – which means most of the snow has melted on dry land, but the ice on what was water hasn’t changed at all (figures). However the critters must be out already cos when I switched the light on this killer android bluebottle flew towards it & then back at my nose again, in fact it kept doing the kamikaze thing for quite some time. It even tried hiding in the tinsel drapes between attacks, but I was determined, so after assessing the flightpath for a while it sat on the wall for a second too long & got the slipper good style. Thing is, where the hell did it come from? And how had it got in? At first sight I thought it was a flippin’ moth with attitude – yes it was that BIG & I swear it’s wings were BLACK. Bring back the critter zapper (which split in 2 some time in September) & was bazzed in the bin as a result…

Note to oneself: Visit the Pound Shop AZAP ASAP & acquire another one before the tropical heatwave summer sets in good style, har har har…

Modifications…

After the squirrel was up & running, (pun intended) the size of the hearth meant that the rather large rug in the saloon wouldn’t fit without strimming the corner off it… Now this wasn’t a problem cos it’s been well past its “Sell By” date for a long time as far as I’m concerned. Besides, after all the work that’s been done on here recently it was looking decidedly manky too. I suggested we go & get a new one after Christmas & the man with the scissors agreed meantime we’ve put up with a modified reject jobby…  

So here it is, never mind fitted carpets, let me introduce you to Dave’s expertly fitted rug – takes skill that…

He cropped the corner when I wasn’t looking, & was quite pleased with himself when it took a few hours for me to notice – well go on then a full day… But I wasn’t bothered cos after all,, this meant we had to go get a new one didn’t it…? He He… So off we went today & came back with this:

Looking right…

 

Looking left…

Note the all important colour co-ordination goin’ on there…

Now then, there’s a sequel to this story, even tho we’ve got a perfectly pleasant little “wipe yer feet” mat in the luxuree conserveratory, Dave announced he wanted to put the big manky mat in there, (on a temporary basis of course), well it better had be… Quote: “Just while there’s all this grit about, then we’re not treading it thru” which makes perfectly good sense… But I still had to ask the question “So is this your new home now?” I mean there’s chairs & a table, all he’d need would be a TV & a beer or 2 – sorted…

A whirlwind wedding…

Forget Prince William & Katherine or whatever her name is, today was OUR soldier’s wedding day…! Yet another bittersweet moment, we still haven’t met baby Ryan & we both wish, wish, wish we could’ve been there, in Germany where he’s based… Doesn’t this photo (taken on Skype today) make you just want to weep with happiness & poignancy under the circumstances…? We only found out a couple of weeks ago, (as did they) about the wedding so it’s been short notice for them & us, but never mind as long as they’re happy that’s all that counts…

So here’s to Liam, Maddy & Ryan, our hearts are with you all as you celebrate your special day…    

Look at that, Ryan smiling at the camera, they told us he was smiling when they said their vows…

Tears are welling up – I’ve got to go…

Fifty squids & a flue measurement…

Turns out the local bobby’s round here are charging a 50 squids fine for anyone out & about with snow on the roof of their car, (mobile snowball ammunition), but isn’t that a bit over the top…? (Sorry). Just imagine spending half an hour scraping ice off all the important bits, innocently slip-sliding your way to the shops & not realising you’ve got 2 bonnets on your car - one of which is illegal. Then there’s the other mind boggling conundrum concerning having set off with only one bonnet & a relatively ice free car, then acquiring another (illegal bonnet) in transit whilst going thru a blizzard… 

Which brings to mind a slightly worrying thought, seeing as BW is now an honourable new member of the Big Liability Society, could this daft idea give them the authority to follow suit…? I mean impose some sort of (equally daft) scheme to start charging boats with snow on the roof, regardless of mobility restrictions…? Nothing would surprise me right now, what with H&S gone mad it’s a great excuse to stuff us all with something else. I mean god forbid if a dollop fell down the side of your boat & backfired off your winter woollies, it’s not exactly like a flying iceberg… But how would it work? Ah well that’s where the (also new) “BW Contract Voiceless Volunteers” come in handy – totally inexperienced snow inspectors who work on a “the more you fine the more you earn in bonus tips” basis. One can but hope the white stuff’s all disappeared by the time they get round to imposing such measures, after all British Waywardways are either late with everything or completely AWOL in a time of need – or not in this case…

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Moving into the warmth: I’ve had a rather strange question asked by an “anonymous” person on here about how long is the squirrels flue cos apparently it doesn’t look very long in these photos… Well em, that’s probably cos the only bit of the “flue on view” in said photos is way down below the windows, & that’s because I wanted piccies of the stove itself not a big black pipe thing…

So anyway, here it is, 4ft 2ins of flue from squirrel to roof (inside), not a very good photo granted, but it sets the scene, ie; it is indeed longer than a pair of socks…

 

PS: There’s more snow forecast for here tomorrow morning, so we’d best get out there on the roof quick smart with hand held snowplough at the ready, hmm, could even rent it out…

Sadness & Silliness all in one post…

It was announced on the news this morning that a woman’s body has been found on the towpath in Banbury, I know that’s a long way from here, but doesn’t it always hit home when someone is found dead either in or next to a canal anywhere…? It’s probably got more to do with us living on the canals than the danger aspect, but it still has meaning beyond not knowing that person…

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And for a totally opposite (Heth) news item:

We’ve discovered a falic symbol on the roof of the boat next to the chimley… (OOO missus)

 

There’s something not right here isn’t there…? And this is a double lined chimley…

 

Will have to do something about that one, it’s a bit embarrassing really…

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And finally a news update: We spent Christmas Day, just us two, on the boat all cozee & warm, no hassle – just BLISS, started on the champers around lunchtime & we’ve saved the 2nd bottle for today. Last night wii played “Party Games” on the Wii, what a laugh…!

Right I’m off to get me glass, Dave’s just about to pop his cork, oops I mean bottle number 2, (OOO missus) again, so Happy Boxing Day everyone, (doesn’t sound right) but it’ll do…

Just a little message…

To all my friends & fellow boaty bloggers, here’s wishing you a Very Merry Christmas…

And a Happy New Year…

Now grab a glass & I’ll get the champers…

1963…?

I was thinking the other day (careful) about this treacherous weather & how it must’ve affected canal boats all those years ago in what was the worst winter till now. In 1963 there wouldn’t be many (any?) pleasure craft as such, but the crew of working boats were still liveaboards weren’t they? It made me wonder if there were ice breakers on the canals to keep them moving or did they just moor up near warehouses while they were iced in…

Meanwhile moving forwards to 2010, I really feel for liveaboards iced in & braving this weather out on the canal, in terms of coping it must be very difficult. We might be in a marina here, but even so, things have gotten a bit primitive to us softy’s… The taps have been frozen for weeks, water is transported via plastic bottles backwards & forwards (& backwards & forwards) every morning (all morning). Yes we have a nice warm shower block nearby, but coming back from there with damp hair that’s slowly starting to freeze to your head (even with a hat on) is truly painful. Then there’s the pumpout loo for which timing is everything but means absolutely nothing right now, fortunately we managed a dumpout in the futile 2 day flaw thaw which gives us about 4 weeks left… Having plenty of diesel in the tank for running the CH is a necessity, fortunately TT has a massive diesel tank & we could last all winter with just the radiators to feed. But to be honest even with our new wood burning squirrel – what with minus 17 degrees for three nights running & down to minus 7 during the day, without the CH as a top up I’d have been booking myself back in that hotel again… So if at first it appears that we’re all in the same boat (scuse pun) wherever we are at the mo, there are still some advantages to being in a marina during this kind of weather such as:

• Easy access to coal & wood, erm that’s provided you’ve booked an appointment with the wheelbarrow – poor thing it’s tyre must be going seriously bald by now…
• Electric hook up – essential
• And then there’s the all important community atmosphere, everyone is willing to help each other whatever the situ, & that’s the most important thing of all really, besides our silly social escapades down the pub of course…

This extraordinary weather situ also makes me wonder about all this hi-tech stuff we have on our floating homes these days, some things must surely have been pushed to the limits of endurance recently, it could be a testing time for engines & all their bits n’ pieces when a thaw eventually arrives. We all know it’s been bad these past couple of winters but not like this. Makes you wonder if none-working canal boats have ever been battered by the elements like this before & for so long…? I mean wind & rain is nothing in comparison is it…? Hmm…

      This post was meant to be thoughtful & interesting - not something to send us all running for the hills, so at just over 3 hours to go till Christmas Eve, sod it & party on folks…  

Warm & toasty reply’s…

Today was the official start of our busy Christmas social calendar, on the other hand last night’s Christmas pub quiz was the totally unofficial one but never mind. So we had a meal booked for 6 of us at the marina cafe this aft & very yummy it was too. Our visitors also came to the boat for a nutter natter & carried out a “warmth assessment” of the Squirrel at the same time, they were most impressed & fed him a few nuts while they were here - but I’m gonna have to give him a name you know… Syril sounds good – a nice solid word that…

So while we’re sat here still feeling full & bloated I thought I’d make today’s post an interesting patchwork quilt of answers to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post about the newly christened Syril:

Carol [nb Rock n Roll] yep, looks like you might have to put up with us for a while longer on the cut thanks to Syril, well in the marina for now anyway, well actually stuck fast in the marina for now anyway…

Nev [nb Waterlilly] it’s a double skin chimley, we did our homework (which as you know doesn’t necessarily mean a problem free experience), but we got that right, strange but true…

Sue [nb No Problem] It’s real – Takey Tezey is Cozee (I’ll have to remember that one)…

Les [nb Valerie] thanks Les, the boat would have to expire, (or I would) before the blog goes & that ain’t gonna happen now, well I hope not…

Geoff & Mags [nb Seyella] a sprinkling of dust right now is a wonderful thing…!

Jaqueline [True love floats] you’ll have to come round & see Syril when you come over here, meanwhile Happy Christmas – I mean Holidays lol

Debbie, it’ll be grate, I mean great - just the 2 of us on Christmas Day for the first time EVER, (wonderful) tis chaos either side of the big day tho, with no definite dates for who’s seeing who, where, when & how, it’s mind boggling…

Halfie [err, Halfie] now you know what to install in your own virtual boat chuck – a real one is out there somewhere waiting for ya…

Bill, not to worry it never rains here………… (Ha). We’ll adjust the Chinaman’s witches hat if we need to, (the cover on top), many chimley’s are on angles & we’ve never heard of that prob yet…

Martin, I feel a Christmas carol coming on…

Right I think that just about sums things up… 

We’d pencilled Her Majesty in for tomorrow’s big Christmas social event, she was gonna bring her pipe, slippers, charity shop handbag & a set of bagpipes so we could all sit round Syril & sing some carols. Unfortunately she rang up earlier to cancel, nothing to do with the weather of course - apparently her bunoins are playing up somethin chronic, so maybe it is to do with the weather after all… Couldn’t possibly be avoiding us plebs at all costs could it…?   

This little squirrel…

Is literally what’s saved us from selling the boat, we fed him some nuts overnight & he kept the boat warm, warm, warm, warm, warm ALL night…

Spot the eco fan kindly donated by Mark the Spark…

Branded on both sides – good enough for a Christmas card…

The Chimley, & for the safety conscious those lights are further away than they look in these photos… We were even given a freebie too - another (bigger) chimley to experiment with…

So we’d like to say a BIG “Thank you” to both Mr Stoves… 

Two guys who worked their asses off in such adverse weather conditions, & this was no “rush job” they took their time to attain a very high standard of workmanship both in terms of how it looks & the all important safety aspects. Even they were taking photos of the finished product cos after fitting out new boats for a living this is the first stove they’ve installed on a boat that’s already fitted out – well we have to be different don’t we…?  

Who needs a freezer…?

Never mind “Frozen Britain” & all the gloom ridden reports, let’s look on the white bright side. One of the few advantages of deep snow in the week previous to Christmas is the extra freezer space we all acquire at no extra cost or carbon emissions. So what with double the amount of food shopping, plus a BIG fat turkey to make room for - simply pop outside, bury your Turkey & trimmings amidst the bright white stuff & bob’s yer uncle. That’s provided you can get to the shops in the first place & there’s anything left on the shelves when you get there of course…

So in summery summary It’s such good timing this year & as a bonus even helps out with climate change – or in this case, we’re helping ourselves to climate change…

So here’s to “Frozen Britain” & some prime examples of good places to bury your goods…

Even a graveyard if you’re desparate…?

Freezing fog setting in earlier, about half an hour after I took this we couldn’t see the front of the boat from the luxuree conserveratoree at the back…

Ice on the windows inside this morning for the second day EVER…

Besides the freezing fog there’s been every kind of severe weather you can think of here today – including a foot of snow, and:

• Black ice
• Even worse, a snow & black ice sandwich
• Snow that’s turned to solid ice - in mountains
• A temperature of minus 17 degrees 2 nights running – a record for the north west….

I was going to say there’s been no action as far as the stove is concerned when I started writing this post – but there is, it took both Mr Stove’s 3 hours to get here – what would normally have been a 20 minute journey… Yet they made it & finished the job – that’s all that counts…!!! It’s still a learning curve for us, so photos tomorrow of the glowing product… We had some visitors round later, so I’m just wrapping things up before beddy byes…

End result - we’re on fire NOW…!

This is such a big deal – turns out a little squirrel is make or break for us with life afloat…

How to install a Morso Squirrel 1410 wood burning stove on a boat…

…Against all the odds, ie; whether the weather would allow work to begin in the fire place first place…

• Step 1: Get Mr Stove (& his associate) to do the job for you – safe in the knowledge that they know their stuff
• Step 2: Sit back & watch, without getting in the way or appearing to be on inspection duty
• Step 3: Take loads of photos to share with your friends

Over the past 2 days both Mr Stove’s have proved that their standard of workmanship is of the highest there is, each step of the way time has been no object - perfection, professionalism & safety has been their priority amidst hard graft…

As you know we started off with this virtual & unimaginable concept…

Which turned into this, fireboards in place, squirrel being tried out for placement…

Then this, tiles in the hearth last night…

Then this, tiles grouted & trim finished tonight, stunning even without the stove…

Meanwhile the squirrel sits patiently next to it waiting to be fed…

And the hole in the roof inside tonight is bunged up with a towel in a plastic bag, simple yet sophisticated…

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The roof outside yesterday, a bucket full or 3 of thick snow removed, but no holes in sight…

Preparation: With all tools in place we heard the boat scream as it was being cut open, but didn’t dare go outside…

Mr Stove fitting the chimney collar today…

Afterwards, all set & ready to go, but not yet cos the flue needs some adjustment…

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A reality check on day 1, was this for real…?

 

Well the 2 Mr Stoves are back tomorrow to finish off, as you can probably tell being a couple of perfectionists ourselves when it comes to boaty jobs - we’re both very impressed… Yet, as we all know, nothing’s ever eezy on this ‘ere boat…

Never seen the likes of this before Part 2…

Took these at 3pm this aft as a comparison thing to show the vast difference gloomy light & brighty light makes on roughly the same snowy views, oh & it had stopped actually falling from the sky by this time which was a bonus…

It’s them there jellyfish again, they’re getting bigger tha knows…

The island…

The country bumpkin train must’ve had wheels after all…

Towpath bridge…

Left a mess trudging back n’ forth didn’t I…?

Next door again, we’ll have one of those soon, hopefully without the ice sculpture…

Behind the boat looking right…

The village church…

PS: Spent yesterday doing some “software surgery” on my laptop, all very boring stuff but a necessity when you’ve got a corrupt NTFS file, Ouch…

Coming up tomorrow: Squirrel installation photos, Chapter 1: “Mr Stove delivers…”

THEY’RE JUST DRILLING THE HOLE IN THE ROOF NOW, I SAID THEY’RE JUST,, Agghhh… 

Never seen the likes of this before…

…Well not here anyway, I mean not since we got the boat has it been buried…! Last night a deathly hush descended all around & the snow started falling, by this morning we had a foot of the stuff that was NOT forecast. And no gritters had been out either…

Took these at 8am amidst the doom & gloom of the crack of dawn, hence the “blue” snow effect in places, (see Halfie, I listened & learned)…

The lumps down the jetty resembling little snowmen were plants…

Forget bow thruster this is bow blasted…

The island…

The towpath bridge…

Spot the abandoned (one carriage) country bumpkin train somewhere in the middle there…

The snow laden back cabin, & the village church with a snow covered spire in the background…

Frozen ropes…

A green box turned white…

Behind the boat looking right…

The boat next door with nobody home & no heating to melt the snow, looks like it’s got a sad robot face on the side – t’was not my doing, I’d have made it look more convincing & with a smile...

The view, (or lack of) from the back cabin…

So going by past record where our luck’s concerned, neither of us thought Mr Stove would make it, but he managed to get here a couple of hours late having tip-toed past several abandoned cars on the way…