Sunday 13 September 2020

Thursday September 10th 2020

 So yesterdays little afternoon job, can you guess what it is? Nope not an out of scale batman emblem.



Today we had a special anniversary to celebrate. 

Our first box of shite is one  today (well really its August/September 2019 vintage). Yes Ernest has one of these ever-so-popular "composting" loos. Composting in " " because compost they do not. And anyone kidding them selves that the last fortnights collection going in a bag and straight in the biffa bin is composting are deluded. 

These are pre compost collecting loos, desiccators possibly. But collection is only the first stage. Hot composting is the second if you're trying to compost fairly rapidly. Ours is closer to a box and forget regime (we'll turn the pile over once a month) so takes longer. How long, well details are sketchy and do depend on diet. Many are happy for non food use within a month or so. We've decided on at least a year and then, as no family members have offered to collect for their rose gardens, we're planning on finding quiet locations away from the watercourse and planting out a few spring bulbs. Who knows if we make it to 18 months (storage says no) then we may plant some garlic or something as a massively spread out allotment. 

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear shii-iite happy birthday to you.

We left Whittington after lunch and after starting to polish the neglected solid brass portholes. It'll take a bit of doing to get them as new again, and then a fair bit of regular polishing. Worth doing though I think.

After yesterdays chat with the guy with the hinged exhaust stack, I decided to drill the rivets off the splitter on our stubbie to see what the effects were. I think I prefer it and the cabin top was certainly clearer. A tall hinged one is the way to go I think, at least at the moment. I don't think Dudley was too bothered either way
"I smells of diesel :("

One of my least favourite corner/bridge combos, with fallen towpath stones and sunken boats on the off side and enough silt that even in a shallower boat reversing will do nowt apart from clog the prop
Cute little boat, Brumtug maybe?


The moorings on the Cov side of Fradley were choca block (unsurprisingly) so we dropped down through what felt like a very short 70ft lock even lifting the bow button to get a bit further forward. As we went down I even had to shut myself in the stern doors to avoid filling my shoes.

I'm sure I'll get used to it. Below the lock looked full to, but it is more often than not. Luckily though the last 100ft of the visitor moorings was free so we tied off on the 48hr moorings early evening. 


Through the swing bridge to the Mucky Duck (Black Swan)

Glad we didn't go 72' long, we're close to the cill marker with the button up



Luckily there's room for me on the steerer's step with the doors closed

Down through to the visitor moorings

The last 100ft free!

By the time the washing machine had finished and the washing strewn about the engine room and workshop it was just about beer o'clock at the Mucky Duck before heading back home and grabbing something to eat.

In an actual pub! I'm not complaining now it's an Everards

Dudley doesn't like scampi fries


More boating tomorrow, or the next day.

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