Frustration!

Yesterday was a day of frequent heavy rain and unremitting strong winds. Today's shaping up to be the same. Call us soft if you wish, but there's really no point in leaving the marina while it's like this. While we might get some cruising done, we'd spend most of our time moored at the towpath, and if we're going to be stationary for that sort of time, we might as well be moored here. Cruising, whilst being very enjoyable, is not the be-all-and-end-all of why we're here. We bought the boat to live on - but we have to admit to feeling a lot of frustration at the moment because so much has stopped us from getting out and exploring the canals in our first year. Perhaps the best time to do it will be in the autumn and winter!

That said, we really have to be at Roy's mooring in Braunston by Wednesday evening, or very early Thursday morning. Tuesday is the latest we can leave here to achieve that comfortably, and it the weather's still foul then, we'll have to smile our way through it. Whether we carry on around the Leicester Ring after that, we'll decide on Friday morning.

Until then, it's reading and writing, Scrabble, TV and DVDs, music, exercise bike and Bullworker, cinema, good food and drink - and a walk or two maybe, between downpours! 

Leicester Ring - Day 2

...except it's not, of course.


We went to sleep last night listening to the rain hammering down on the steel roof above us, and awoke to a wet and windy day - probably the strongest persistent wind we've experienced since we started life on Kantara. The rain was squally, dashed against us by the wind. The water was extremely choppy, and the new satellite TV dish threatened to collapse under the force of the wind. Quite a day!


After a slow start to the day, and a lazy morning, we went to see Prometheus as planned. Gripping, action-packed, with good 3D which didn't intrude as often happens - but with a story we found rather confusing. Still, it was worth watching. Today, the screen was much more crowded, with around fifteen of us watching! (Guilty confession - today I ate my second bag of Revels in two days.)


On our way way into Rugby we passed a canal mooring, and were amazed to see another NB Kantara! Since there are only two with that name registered on the inland waterways, the chances of seeing the other one are very slim indeed!


As I type this, the weather is somewhat improved. The wind continues, but the cloud has broken, and we're getting a decent sunset. Perhaps the BBC weather forecast for the next few days will be accurate, eh?

It's looking much better for the start of the cruise!

Leicester Ring - Day 1

We're still in the marina.


It turned out that I was right - the weather forecast was pretty much wrong. It started raining last night around 11:00, and poured on and off through the night. It hardly rained a drop during the day though. So it would have been great for cruising. Except we didn't even start.


And we didn't because we got word that there is to be an Historic Boats Rally in Braunston over the weekend, and we would have got caught in very bad traffic if we had left today, as dozens and dozens of historic craft snailed their way through Watford Locks and the Braunston Flight towards Braunston Turn, which is already a busy and crowded junction. It just wouldn't have been much fun, and is best avoided. We'll start on Monday now, and just do less of a detour beyond Braunston than we would have done, before winding and returning there by the end of Wednesday.

We went to the pictures instead, to watch "Snow White and the Huntsman" - very entertaining! Tomorrow we see "Prometheus". Some months ago, we exchanged loads of Tesco vouchers for six pairs of Cineworld tickets, and still had three pairs left this morning. They expire at the end of July, so we need to fit in some viewings. It's fun, going to the cinema in the middle of the afternoon. Today was typical - we shared the screen with three other couples!


Oh! It's just started hammering down with rain!

Fingers crossed

We've all come to accept that the weather forecasts in the UK are no longer as unreliable as they used to be - they are worse! So I don't give too much credence to the BBC's assertion that the next four days are going to be rainy (though my fingers are tightly crossed).

In the light of that, we're setting out tomorrow for our first real cruise - around the Leicester Ring, clockwise.

• We'll head off south down the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal to Norton Junction, west along to Braunston Turn, and off towards Napton Junction. Somewhere around there we'll have to about-turn to get back to Braunston for next Thursday, where we'll be stopping off for a day for Roy to fit new bow deck seating/locker covers, and Colin to fit a new battery charger, and repair a stern deck hatch cover.
• On the Friday, we'll turn north up the Oxford Canal, through Rugby
• turning north at the junction with the Coventry Canal, and on through Nuneaton, Atherstone and Tamworth
• joining the Birmingham and Fazely Canal and continuing north
• to rejoin the Coventry Canal to Fradley Junction.
• Here, we go east onto the Trent and Mersey Canal, bearing north and on through Burton Upon Trent.
• After a short trip along the River Trent, we head south on the River Soar
• rejoining the Grand Union through Loughborough and Leicester, and beyond.
• Days later at Foxton Locks, we turn right and head back to the marina.

We have no idea how long this will take us - that's part of the fun!

Back on Kantara

Thursday morning was dental checkups and hygienist treatments and gardening. Friday was service and MoT for the car, and gardening. Saturday was shopping and gardening. Sunday afternoon was the annual Redbourn Folk and Blues Festival.

The location was perfect, the weather was perfect (it often threatened to rain on this outdoor gathering, but didn't once), the attendance was excellent, the music was mostly good, spirits were high, food and drink available in abundance, and, best of all, Said the Maiden were phenomenal! Steve recorded them, and Naomi photographed and videod them. What a good way to spend Father's Day!

Said the Maiden is a folk trio of our daughter Jess and two friends, Hannah and Kathy, who hadn't even formed this time last year. They now have a good following, an excellent and ever-growing repertoire of folk songs, a good deal of club experience in and around London and the Three Counties (Beds, Herts & Bucks), and a demo CD in preparation. Visit their website, and follow them on Twitter - they have a great deal of potential, and should go far.

We're back on the boat now. The weather is calm and warm, and we're planning our first proper cruise, to start in the next few days. Fingers crossed for lots of good weather. Feeling lazy this evening, we're off to The George for a meal.

I know it won't last, but...

...at the end of a largely dry, although chilly, day, I took these photos between 9:30 and 9:50 this evening - and it was mild!

The mist was rolling out across the water, birds were still singing, and the smell of the evening air was wonderful!