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Starting out again

Entries in this blog

Thats Theft that is

Ive been sitting here contemplating as one does and my eyes were drawn to the shelf infront of me.   At Easter Swmbo's mum bought us both a chocolate thingy each from M&S   Swmbo's was a choci Sheep and mine was a Choci Tractor.   Not being a great sweet eater its been on the shelf waiting for me to attack it one night whie suffering the munchies.   However, I see someone has got there before me.......please note the wrapping and the total lack of the chocolate chimney that on
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bank holiday weekend

had originally planned to go cruising over the BHW but my plans of heading towards Camden Market were scuppered by the news of the Canal cavalcade and thinking moorings may be a bit tight I thought better of it.   So a few days of maintainence were the the order of the weekend. The Gearbox Oil was ready for changing so i bought a small brass handpump and inserting this down the dipstick hole was far preferable than trying blindly to locate the sump drain plug and trying to catch the litre a
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Done it at long last

Finally got round to doing the fuel filters this weekend and one or two other bits.   Saturdays forecast was acurate so it was up early and my first visit of the day was to the garden centre. Id found three long plant pots in the shed so i picked up some compost and bedding plants so Nora could amuse herself doing them while i made a mess in the engine room.   Armed with words of encouragement from Cath and Neil off Herbie next door, I made a start by about 10.30am and armed with the E
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time

How come there is never enough time to do what needs to be done   On our last set of days off was determined to change the fuel filters on the engine and the genny seeing as the previous days were taken up with my birthday, visiting grandaughter and visiting me old matey in wales. However those days off were taken up by the inlaws visiting.   So I had set myself 5 days off to have a good faff with the filters and what happens, We are expecting visitors again tomorrow. Not that i mind cr
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ramblings

Its saturday morning and we've been home from work for the last 4 hours.   have already tried sleeping but over the last couple of weeks i've developed a shoulder that just wants to ache and pain its way through the day and night regardless of its owners comfort. So, Its now just turned midday and i cant sleep due the pain and ive got to set off to work in another 5.3 hrs for another 12 hr night shift. ok ok i can hear you shout...get to the doctors,, but so far ive not had chance to r
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Paddington Cruise

Set off Monday afternoon from Iver intending to stop overnight at bulls bridge Tesco. We had been up and about all day after getting home from work at 8 that morning but somehow we seem to have got past the tired stage and were in our second or third wind. Rather a tad more ice on the Slough Arm than i had expected but it eventualy cleared as we approached packet boat marina and the junction. We turned right onto the main line and chugged the three or so miles to bulls bridge where we stopp
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3

1987

Back in January 1987 i was suddenly woken by my wife at the time telling me the baby was on its way....   We drove to the GDH...Greenwich District Hospital and spent the next 16 hours in the labour ward while my wife went through all the motions of labour and i played the doting expectant father who couldnt believe what i was putting this woman through. and after 16hours of is it or isnt it, would you like some water darling, can i sit down for a minute, i was suddly surrounded by doctors,
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Its daylight

Working shifts makes us live a kind of strange nocturnal existance, Finish night duty monday morning, have a couple of sherberts then bed and eventually wake up anytime between 6pm and 8pm and thats rest day No1 out of the way, By the time your ready for bed again its 3 or 4am and the cycle continues so this morning one has made a special effort and got up at 7.30am in the hope that i can actually get on with some jobs in the daylight rather than in the middle of the night and annoy the neighbou
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Wot! not on board over christmas

Its an outrage!   Nora's mum is away over christmas so she (nora) is reduced to cat sitting at their house in Sutton.   So your truly finishes work this morning at 7am and duly drives over to Sutton to spend the next 4 days in luxury with hot baths and no coal dust at the house....As for the cat...its not left me alone since i arrived, i dont even like the creatures, not a patch on dogs but this one just wont stop wanting attention....i can see Nora making requests at the moorings to al
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winter overnighter

Spent all day wednesday lastweek changing the oil filter and engine oil as we had a planned trip witha chap called Phill arranged on the 16th.   How hard is it changing an oil filter??????   I thought they were supposed to be hand tight. Not this one.....thankfully trevour had left in the tool kit a decent 'strap' socket and with a bit of jiggery pokeerry i had the old filter off and new one in place...i then spent the next hour or so filling the engine litre by painfull litre which wa
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Single Boat owner

She has finally gone. Am sitting here with a bankers draft in me pocket about to set off for the bank to pay it in.   Spent all of yesterday showing Ludwig all of Emblems systems, seacocks and going through the engine starting routine. He was very busy with his notepad and doing lots of little diagrams.   So thats another chapter of ones life closed.
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Emblem

Did indeed meet up with Ludwig and Tamara for sunday lunch and a discussion over the old tub.   As mentioned previously the survey was carried out some weeks ago so has been quite a while before they finally go back to me.   Anyway, Lunch was at the Black Horse Iver Heath and went down rather well and didnt have to pay a thing as Ludwig insisted on it being his treat. Mind you, i have to admit that all through the meal i was wishing we could get down to the nitty gritty. Not very graciou
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beatie

So 1 day and 2 nights at at work have skipped by and now have 5 days off to look forward to.....i say five days, finished work at 6 this morning and its now turned midday and still not been to bed yet so that really leaves 4 days providing i get up early enough tomorrow but knowiing my night time body clock its going to be around 1 ish so thats another half day missed. Never mind, you knew the risks when you bought the ticket.   Managed to get the 6.45 from Paddington this morning however it
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wot! no swmbo

Its been a quiet kinda few days. Nora is at her mums looking after Harry and ive been here trying to fit too many jobs in at one go not not really getting any of them done except the huge bed.   Today was back to work day after 6 days off...mmmm nice init, but what of those six days?   I started the conversion on the bed the previous week and thought id done a damn'd ggod job till it came to folding it all away and found id made it far too heavy. Im not the best wood worker and i sti
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So many things and so little time

Its half ten Sunday morning and im sitting in front of this machine instead of doing stuff and fings.   Am Currently round at Swmbo's mothers as she (swmbo) is cat sitting for a couple of weeks and i was dragged round yesterday to put up a new garden shed however, its raining, and its that fine rain, you know, the stuff that gets you wet through.   Its all a bit annoying as there is plenty of stuff to be getting on with on Lady Elgar such as oil change, fuel filter change, re black the
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safely home

And so we arrived back at Iver yesterday afternoon after 9 days cruising up to the Wendover Arm and back.   Came across a couple of Forum members on the trip, Magnetman at Lady Capels lock and Chris JW up on the tring summit. Pity we didnt have time to stop proper to say hello but was very nice putting faces and boats to members names.   Nora soon got into working the locks with gusto and with very few errors, except one or two that i should really mention. I always have a little smile
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Inagural Cruise

Set off Tuesday afternoon rather late due to swmbo making me stay up till the early hours drinking bacardi and watching the Sweeny on DVD.   First problem was starting the engine. Key in ignition. turn and click!!! try again and....click!     In all my eagerness to replace the domestic Batts id completely forgot about the engine battery. Fool that i am. So started her up using the emergency switch which kicks in the domestic batts to give that extra vummph. and remembered to turn off
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Finally onboard

Finally picked up the keys thursday afternoon and plonked ourselves on board although didnt unpack anything as the cleaning needs to be attacked first. Not knowing the condition the batteries would be in i switched on the Heart interface charger and left em to it for a few hours. As suspected they were shot at. The charger was so busy trying to charge them that they started to boil. so it was switches off and a trip around Berkshire on saturday trying to find 4 110 lesuire batts. Much harder
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2AM

Its 2am and im sitting here waiting for high tide. Why? i hear you ask....do i hear?....nope...oh bugger im on me own   Because, Tomorrow/today we will be picking up keys for Lady Elgar yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh   so i have spent most of the day disconecting and packing stuff and things from Emblem and trundling the trolly up and down the pontoon to the car. However, the reason im waiting for the tide is, at the end of the pontoon there is a ramp which obviously rises and falls with the tide
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last few days

It looks like its the last week ill be spending on Emblem   We got the nod today that the money transfer has gone ahead on Lady Elgar so she is now ours...i think Anyway we have been down to Iver this week and paid the moorings and applied for the licence renewal and all is hunky dory, Except we are back at work tomorrow morning for five days so cant do anything about moving aboard till next week   So we will pick the keys up Thursday, stay on board that night then hopefully John Cur
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exiting Otterham creek

Well to say the exit was interesting is probably the understatement of the month.   Me old mukka steve took her into the dry dock on wednesday. That trip alone was enough to get the pulse racing. I had to work early turn and couldnt do it so enlisted steve to skipper the old tub to otterham and in turn he enlisted alex and neil to crew(hold the fenders) Apparantly all went rather well for the first half hour despite the force 5 gusting 6 northerlies. Just as they approached Hoo island, The
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still waiting

So its been over a week since everything was in place and were still waiting. Last minute forgotten bits of paper to sign and this that an the other. We had been hoping to get in with the early discount for the licence which is up in october but that aint gonna happen now. Never mind, were expecting completion by monday at the latest famous last words.   In the meantime, Things have finally been going forward with Emblem. I am currently sitting in drydock at Otterham Quay waiting for the
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things finally,almost,nearly sorted

So it looks like its finally safe to commence my inane ramblings concerning the move from old tub to ditch crawler.   Got the nod from Barclays that the finace we required is ready for release tomorrow they are just waiting for the final docs we had to send em. We sent em last thursday tut!!!!! so it all gets held up again coz of fings lost in the post. Nevermind, at least we kept copies. Also had a message from Virginia Currer Marine requesting personal details for the bill of sale so t
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