We Set off for the Thames
June 3rd to 12thSaturday, 3rd June
We set off along the Puddlebanks, as the area out of Braunston on the South Oxford is known. The weather was absolutely awful all the time Trev was away, rain, rain and more rain. Yet he had wonderful weather in Oz, and now he's back the weather has changed here, and today was a gorgeous day. We went as far as Fox's Gate, one of our favourite moorings, near Bridge 100. There was loads of boats out, hire boats and private ones, it was really busy on the canal. It's the final weekend of half term, hopefully it will die down a little next week. There was space to moor, we arrived early in the afternoon, but it soon filled up and there were no spaces left by evening.
The scenery is splendid, the views over the hedges reach for miles, I sat out for a while but had to go indoors in the end, I could feel I was burning. The fields are yellow with buttercups, I don't remember seeing so many for years. Is this something to do with 'set aside'? What a contrast to a couple of days ago when we had to light the stove, it was so cold! We had a barbecue in the evening--everything is perfick--Trev's home and we're off cruising once more!
Sunday, 4th June
The weather was glorious again today, and we had a lovely cruise. We were intending to moor up just before Wigram's Turn--the junction of the Grand Union and the Oxford Canal--as it was so warm. But we were feeling OK, there were no locks to make us hot and so we continued on. And how fortunate that we did, for we met Jackie and Clive on 'Cleo', whom we hadn't seen for nearly a year. They were on their way back up from the Thames, to their mooring in Warwick. When we meet people as we're passing, it takes some time to stop the boats and tie up. So, fifteen minutes later, we were all tied up and spent a pleasant hour together, swopping the news. What a good job we didn't moor up before Wigram's Turn, or they would have turned down there on their way to Warwick and we would have missed them. There must be quite a few near misses like that which we never know about.
Then on again, to moor up by the Napton Bridge pub for the night. And here we had another lucky encounter. We passed a boat as we were coming in to moor called 'Livien G' but I'd never heard of it. However, we were just sorting ourselves out when there was a knock on the boat and there was Ray, whom we hadn't seen for a couple of years. We had spent some time with him and Audrey when we were on the Macclesfield Canal in our first year of boating, and hadn't seen them since. Then they had a tiny boat called 'Meinz a Pint'! But now they're the proud owners of a brand new boat, more than twice as long as their other boat. And the name? Well it comes from LIster VIntage ENgine (which it has) and the name of their boatbuilder, which begins with G. So, we spent another pleasant hour with them before they left to moor up in the new marina at Wigram's Turn. Two chance meetings, and both good.
Monday, 5th June
Today we went up the Napton Flight. It wasn't too busy and it wasn't too hot, and we met several nice groups of people. One couple, on a lovely boat called 'Queen of the May', used to run a guest house in Warwick, and so we exchanged a couple of stories as we went along.
Tuesday, 6th June
It was so lovely we had planned to stay here another night. There is no traffic noise at all, a rare event nowadays. But then we got a 'phone call from friends to say could they come to see us tomorrow evening, so we decided to move on and do half the journey today and the rest tomorrow, to get to the meeting place. So we upped sticks and went on to moor up at the top of Claydon locks, ready to do the flight tomorrow.
It's been incredibly hot today. I'm not complaining, I did enough of that when it rained all of May, but I would like it a little less hot!
Wednesday, 7th June
We set off quite early, for us, and did the Claydon flight of five locks and the next three locks down to Cropredy. We wanted to arrive early enough to get a mooring, there aren't many at Cropredy. We were lucky, and got a mooring just where we wanted to be. Our friends arrived in the evening, and we repaired to The Red Lion to eat. The meal was good, but it seems to me to a little more upmarket than it used to be, along with all of the things that means: trendy square plates and smaller portions!
Thursday, 8th June
Today we went on down to Banbury. We bought fuel just before we arrived in the town--50p per litre. A year ago we would have thought that was an incredible price to pay, now we're delighted if we can find it at 50p. We moored up near the Tom Rolt bridge, right in the centre of Banbury, and shopped. Then Trev caught the train to Solihull, where he will stay overnight with Catharine and Mamdooh, as he has an appointment there early tomorrow morning. I stayed on the boat.
Friday, 9th June
Trev arrived back around noon, with Catharine and Mamdooh, our postmen, and Catharine's sister Janet. We spent a pleasant day together, and they left around four p.m. Janet had been on a cruise to St. Kilda, a remote uninhabited island right out in the Atlantic, about forty miles off the west coast of Harris, and it was fascinating to hear about it. They lived on seaweed and seagulls, and they caught the gulls and reached their eggs by climbing down sheer rock faces on ropes made of seaweed. The inhabitants asked to be removed in the 1930's as life was so hard for them.
When our visitors had left we moved on down the canal away from the town centre. I had been OK there last night, but this was Friday, and we could see the local youth congregating on the adjoining park, complete with copious amounts of tinnies, and so thought it prudent to move. First we went through the town lock and then moored up to buy fresh produce at Morrison's. Then we carried on for a mile or so and moored up.
As we pulled in, the man on another moored boat came and helped us, and then asked us to go for a drink later. Wasn't that nice? So, after we'd had some tea, we went along and spent a pleasant couple of hours with Ann & Bob, on 'Amber Moon'.
Saturday, 10th June
Today we have more friends coming to see us, Mary and Dave from Kenilworth. So moved on to Bridge 177, near King's Sutton, to meet them. We arrived at almost the same moment as them. They came on board for a while and we drank some delicious sparkling wine they had brought, and then we all piled into their car and went searching for a good pub for lunch. we were lucky, the very first one on the list was a god one, and we had a lovely meal at The Red Lion in Adderbury, sitting under a huge parasol opposite the village green. Afterwards we came back to the boat and caught up on all of the gossip and news in their lives, and dozed a bit and felt very hot!
We stayed in the same mooring that night. It was a lovely mooring, spoilt, as is so much of this delightful countryside, by the roar of the M40.
Sunday, 11th June
The day started so well... The weather was perfect, so hot again. I steered and Trev rode ahead to do the locks. We did King's Sutton lock, and I went under the M40 and towards the next lock, Nell Bridge Lock. There was a swing bridge just before it and a boat was coming towards me, and it was 'his bridge' as he was the nearest. So, I pulled over to the right to let him pass (have I ever told you that traffic passes on the right on the canal?) and slacked off the speed. But nothing happened. the boat carried on going forward. I put it in to reverse, nothing happened, it just carried on going forward at maximum speed. no amount of moving the control forward or backwards made any difference. I was going at top speed straight at the lift bridge, which was only wide enough for one boat to go through, and there was a boat coming through.
I signalled to the approaching boat to stop, but he just kept in coming. May be he thought I was trying to jump the bridge and push in front of him. I steered the boat over to the bank, but it just rode up the bank and then came back in to the water again. It was at an incredible angle, too, as it was actually grounded. Then the boat just jammed up in the bridgehole with the other boat, and still it was trying to go forward at maximum speed.
Someone told Trev there had been an accident, and he rushed back form the lock to see what it was all about. People came out of nearby boats, and one man said to turn off the engine, which, of course, was the obvious thing to do. But by this time I was beyond logical thought. It was all just awful, just awful.
I went to the man on the boat I'd rammed and apologised profusely, but he was quite amazing, and took it all so well. Fortunately it was quite an old boat, and he seemed unfazed by it all! I would like to think I could react in the same way if I'd been on the receiving end of that almighty crash. People helped to pull us back and the man on the other boat continued on his way as if nothing had happened!We tied up and assessed the situation. Trev was fairly sure it was something to do with the cable, but, as he has no pretensions to being a marine engineer, we 'phoned River and Canal rescue, the AA of the waterways. They said they would have someone with us in half a n hour and, sure enough, along came Ian from Aynho yard, and sorted us out. The problem was that the gear cable had snapped, and so he replaced that and all was well. he said that it happens from time to time on boats! I just hope it doesn't happen again when I'm driving!
The scene below decks was utter chaos. Everything that could fall off shelves, out of cupboards, off working surfaces, had fallen. there was mustard and pepper all over the floor, DVD's, videos, books, ornaments, tins, bottles, cooking pans..... Amazingly, there was only one breakage, an ornament. It took us about half an hour to clean up, and I told Trev I'd had enough of boating and wanted to lead a more predictable life! He didn't take much notice, he knew I would calm down. I did, eventually, but it took a long time before my heart beat returned to normal!
We set off again, and moored up eventually near Bridge 186. It was an idyllic spot, there was a flock of about twenty Canada goslings, with three adults on the opposite bank. Do they run creches? It looks like it. In the same field there was lots of rabbits grazing and a mother duck with eight ducklings. we had a barbecue and I began to feel a lot better.
Monday, 12th June
We slept late this morning, we didn't wake until 10.00! We set off around noon, and only travelled a short distance. There were very few boats about, and it was a pleasant trip. We came through Somerton Deep Lock, which is twelve feet deep, and moored up on Somerton Common, a lovely spot, and we had it all to ourselves. The weather was scorching hot again today.
