haggis

Thank you for the helpful remedies. The lump is getting bigger so I think the After Bite is a bit elderly. Will try vinegar as I don't have any starch on board.

Yes, I think the heat wakes them up. When Meg alerts us to one, I catch it in a tissue and cremate it. A bit cruel but I don't like sharing my space with them

I think the wasp had been hiding in the curtain. That window was closed at the time. Wasps seem to be lethal this year as two dogs in our village died after being stung in the summer.

I have just been stung by a wasp! I was sitting reading when I heard a buzzing and the next thing I was stung on the back of my neck. Last December when we came down to KELPIE we, over several days, disposed of several wasps ,- we leave the windows open for ventilation when we leave the boat. This year at the start of the trip we found two wasps but that was 2 weeks ago. Meg is very good at alerting us to the presence of a wasp but she is out with Iain just now. Don't know where the wasp went after stinging me but I have never taken my top garments off so fast 🤔 After Bite applied.

We agree. Had a very nice meal

It was quite a nice morning with just the occasional short shower till we got to the Middlewich locks when it started to rain in earnest. We decided to moor up and visit the Big Lock but I saw a post from the Halsall crew recommending the White Bear so that is where we are heading . It is dry now but I think it will be a slightly shorter walk. Sorry I didn't see you. Iain is too well mannered to get close behind a slow boat and ask if we can pass . He helped them through Stanthorne then they moored.

This was to be our last days boating this trip but a combination of following a slow boat from our mooring at bridge 13 to Stanthorne lock and an even slower one coming up Wardle ( boat at back of lock with much engine noise and lockwheeler lowered her paddle the two notches she had put it up every time the boat moved), a boat winding as we emerged from Wardle and we followed it down the 3 locks in Middlewich and the rain started prompted us to moor for the day. It started off a lovely day too ! Back to the marina tomorrow and home the next day, whatever that is 😀

What a difference! No rain and the sun shone. It was so good we even had to queue at a couple of locks. Highlight of my day was being within 3 feet of a kingfisher which was sitting on a branch overhanging the canal as we cruised past. He didn't move, just say there looking for his next meal. Having only seen kingfishers in the distance before, I didn't realise how big they are. With all the mud at Audlem it was hard to tell what colour the floor was so I became all domesticated and hoovered then washed it. Thought of mooring at Barbridge but the pub moorings were full ( again) of the boats which have been there for years so we pressed on to moor in a clean bit overlooking the Weaver. Visited the butcher this morning so nice lamb chops for dinner.

That's what it used to be like and we usually ate there but it changed for the worse

We have no difficulty paying a bit more for good interesting food but when basic pub grub dishes are given fancy names and charged over the odds I consider it pretentious.

I thought the Combermere had closed again but as all the lights were on I assumed it is open. A quick look at the menu did nothing to change my view that it is expensive for what it is. We used to like it but having eaten there just after it opened the last time I thought it was pretentious..

Having Had two very nice meals in the Shroppie Fly recently we were saying to our waitress tonight how nice it was that the pub had become good again after a chequered few years. She told us that it is closing in February for a major refurbishment - Bigger kitchen, new furniture, redecoration etc but the boat will be staying. Hope they don't lose the customers they have built up..Almost all tables were taken tonight in the dining area. Well worth a visit

We got to Audlem! Started raining again just after we set off and it didn't stop till the top of Audlem and we had intermittent showers after that. Moored in the Shroppie pound in a sea of mud. Plan was to go to the butcher and Co-op but the butcher shuts in a few minutes so that is tomorrow morning s job. Audlem used to be one of my favourite flights but not so sure now. With the bywashes and weirs running strong there was no slack water to hold the boat in between locks. The skipper could have managed I am sure but I struggled. Glad to be moored up

Still a bit damp this morning despite the forecast but we have set off.

And we worry about our rubbish train system in Scotland. At least we don't have that many lines for our trains to be able to go on different routes

I feel for you, Glenn and I agree about al the surface water in fields. We haven't moved the boat today and have chickened out about going out to eat. The survival rations are getting low 😀

A very wet morning and the forecast is for rain all day ( if we move we have 17 locks to do ). Fire lit and we may not move. I think this must go down as the wettest muddiest canal holiday we have ever had but we are enjoying it nevertheless.

But I did describe them quite well 😀

That would be himself having a beer with his bacon roll to give him strength to do the locks 😀

Gosh! I didn't know there were so many apps for identifying plants. Not as much fun as posting here though 😀

Ah, you spotted the error 😀. So many of the names down here are similar and I have no idea where Newbury is ! You must make allowances for the inhabitants of Haggis land 😀 Heavy rain here again tonight but at least we had a dry days boating.

I have lost track of what day of our trip we are on Chickened out of going back to the Anchor last night as it started to rain and I didn't feel like ploughing through more mud in my wellies. A good day today !! The sun shone for most of the day and we didn't see rain till just after we moored in Market Drayton. Met two boats in Woodseaves cutting and two on Tyrley locks. Probably the most moving boats we have seen in a day. Oh, I nearly forgot ! A Happy New Year everyone!!

Of course! Dead sunflowers! Thank you

I am hoping that the wisdom of members here can help! While steering this morning there was a canal side field which was all grass apart from a strip about 6 yards wide. That strip contained plants which I couldn't identify. The bare stalks were 2-3 feet high and at the top there was a brown thing which looked like an upside down half coconut. The field was perhaps a quarter of a mile long with these odd plants all the way along. What on earth were they ,?