All fired up for Braunston

Warwick to Braunston

July 2014

No, we didnt do Warwick to Braunston in one day! I am running a day behind so time for a two day catch up post.

Callisto

Tuesday was a bit of a lazy day with a very stuttering start as we visited Tesco's followed by Lidl, flagged down Callisto for some diesel and finally made stop go progress through Leamington and we picked plums. In the end it was lunchtime before we got going in earnest and boy was it hot. We ground out way up to the foot of the Stockton Locks and then took shelter under a tree where the plums were stoned and transformed into Meadowsween and Mirabelle Plum Jam - all 35 pots golden and yellow with a hint of Almond in the taste.

Foraged plums

A new innovation this trip has been to bring the laser printer along with us which was a great asset as it let us print off the labels and so get the jars ready for sale within 24 hours of being picked.

The Stockwith flight was long in the heat and I think I was losing my grip as twice I left a bottom paddle open. 

I cant say I found the section between Wigrams Turn and Braunston a joy. It was something of a race track with hoards of boats batting along. I am not sure what was worse: having to pull in to let a convoy past or the speed of boats coming the other way through blind corners. Its all a bit scary when you have no real brakes! That said we made it with no bumps or spills.

 Joe and Andy move the stove

We met Leslie and Joe in Braunston where Yarwood is having a front hatch created. They have removed their old solid fuel stove which I have bought for Wand'ring Bark. Another project for the winter! Its a brute of a stove and it took our combined muscle to heave it over the gunwale of Montgomery and into its hold for transportation back to Birmingham.

And into the hold (nice bum Leslie!)

Now for a rest day as we stop over in Braunston, recharging our batteries, refreshing our aching limbs and preparing some more Marmalade as we are completely out of stock. If you are in the area seek us out.

From Black Buoys to Golden Boyz

AWCC Rally at Black Buoys, Knowle to Warwick

July 2014

The Black Buoys Cruising Club / AWCC festival organising committee had a desire to use the event to attract more community interest in the club and therefore made a specific attempt to "connect the towpath to the club". The ten  floating traders were therefore located on the towpath side of the canal, next to the Black Boys pub. This policy certainly ensured that the towpath traffic became engaged in the event as the 800 yards of floating market was something of an obstacle course!

All this narrowness did have one crucial snag - there was no room to erect our gazebo awning so we had to trade unprotected from the elements and hope for the best. The other snag was an inconvenient ledge 18 inches underwater which the club overcome with the aid of fat tyres. A good approach for mooring but it left us with a leg sized gap and a real health and safety hazzard. I rounded up all the tyres I could and stuffed them into the gap which mitigated the risk to acceptable levels. The weather helped and confined the wet stuff to the night and early morning on Sunday so we were able to trade uninterrupted.

Business was steady on Saturday but frantic on Sunday afternoon, during the three hours when Helen decided to take herself off for a "20 minute nap". She who owns the stall likes to keep it fully restocked at all times was horrified when  she emerged bleary eyed at 4.30 to see a virtually empty table and was disinclined to believe that I had sold it all till she saw the cash box with the coin tray balanced precariously on a pile of notes!

The event concluded with the other traders in the Black Boys pub. I have to confess that the traders have been lovely to us. Most of them are full time on the task but they have welcomed us part timers into their number displaying a real generosity of spirit.

We left Black Buoys along with the throngs of departing festival attendees but its amazing how, with four option to follow, the assembled boats dissipate. The butty attracts attention wherever it goes and we fell into conversation with a couple of dog walkers / boaters who soon wanted to see our stock list. We pulled over at the tap they were using and in the time it took me to refill the tank another £20 sale was concluded. That's the diesel covered for the trip so far.

Then it was on to Hatton Locks and by a stroke of goof fortune we saw Sandra of Golden Boys coming up behind us. What is more she was in the company of Richard, a muscular chap well suited to the demands of the next three hours as we ground our way down the 23 chambers, the boats sliding along side by side. 

With the moorings at The Cape of Good Hope full we carried on to Kate Boats in Warwick which offer a secure in somewhat unlovely mooring.

Going over the top

Mad dash to Knowle
July 2014

With limited time to get the the AWCC's 50th anniversary rally at Knowle we had no option but to take the direct approach over the hill in Birmingham.

The Jam Butty arrives at Knowle

Thursday

Fortunately we had Dan and his fiancee Becky with us who camped out in the hold of Montgomery and provided some much needed muscle on the 49 locks between Aldersley and Acocks Green. The "youf" contingent were not roused by by 6.15am rallying call so I set off with then still still in bed in the butty. It didnt take long for the gurgles and bumps to drive them from their pit, emerging bleary eyed from the hatched of The Jam Butty ready for a somewhat perilous transfer to the motor as we let the two boats come side by side at Pendeford.

The yoof emerge

The Wolverhampton 21 were all set in our favour and we were further aided by the arrival of my friend Chris who after a false start or two rejoined us at Coseley for the trip into Birmingham on the Old Main Line. 

The Thursday trip ended after 12 hours of cruising at the mooring of Nick and Victoria who live in Symphony Court with some bees and a commendable Tesco's Indian take out.

Friday

With no time to waste we were off and away at 6.30am, heading down the 13 locks of Farmers Bridge followed by the 6 on the Ashted, an area which is undergoing massive change. In fact the whole East Side is being transformed, a process which will be accelerated by the impending construction of the controversial HS1 railway terminus. For my money the area is ripe for redevelopment and I welcome the regeneration plan.

A flooded Ashted pound

Ashted's by washes are hopelessly reeded and dropping a lock of water into some pounds results in a flood of water cascading over the next lock.

The area around Warwick Bar remains a haven of decaying tranquility including the iconic structures of Typhoo Basin, The Banana Warehouse, the FMC building form the 1930's and of course The Bond and The Minerva Works. Hopefully the essence of this stretch will be retained as it is opened up to a wider public.

Camp Hill was negotiated without incident beyond a couple of weed hatch visits with our passengers jumping ship at Acocks Green.  We pressed on through the Knowle locks (lets not dwell on by 360 degree reverse pirouette in the middle pound) to the rally at Black Buoys where out allotted trading pitch awaited us at the back and of the row of 10 other trader boats.

India Pale Ale (IPA)

Booze Blog

Raja's Reward IPA

July 2014

I think that this brew had the shortest shelf life on record. Apart from a sample pint, the keg went from full (40 pints) to empty in less than two hours.

Now before you go thinking that my ability to drink beer has sky rocketed I think this needs a bit of explanation. You will recall from my recent posts that we included a launch event for the Jam Butty during the Birmingham Floating Market and, as is traditional, we felt it appropriate to whet the boat with a dash of ale.

Now I gave my selection quite a bit of thought as I perused the board of fayre offered by Barry on The Homebrew Boat and settled on an IPA which offers a light, bright taste which seemed appropriate for a summer evening. What is more IPA originated at the Burton on Trent breweries for export to the far East because it travelled well. We may not be travelling far but the brew was certainly going by water so all in all it seems appropriate.

The actual kit was Raja's Reward which I part fermented in a vat for five days and then transferred the still active brew to a bottom draining keg for the rest of the fermentation and settling. As a result I avoided all contact with oxygen and the problems that causes, but also removed the bulk of the yeast sediment.

As I transferred the brew to the keg I added the hop "Tea bag" which I suspended from the filler cap with a bit of thread which added a further tang of hop to the taste. The keg then had natural pressure which created a good head when the beer was released. In fact this head can be a bit excessive and my approach is to drain the beer off into a jug and then pour into glasses leaving the excess head behind - which then settles off and is included in the next pint poured.

Montgomery supporting a barrel of Raja's Reward

As for the brew, it was excellent. Light, tangy with more than a little frutiness for good measure. It was a little more cloudy than some brews but this is probably due to the bottom drain tap pulling is a bit of sediment.

I really enjoyed the two pints I consumed and was rather looking forward to drinking a few more in the days after the event. However, this wasn't to be as the guests found the brew to be equally acceptable and many return trips were made to the barrel on the roof of Montgomery and even the last dregs were expertly removed! You cant get a better endorsement than a bunch of the real ale quaffing boaters!

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

June 2014

Birmingham Floating Market represented the first official outing for The Jam Butty so it was all a bit of trial and error. 

Birmingham Floating Market 2014

A Kev Maslin special portrait

The mechanics of using Montgomery as a sales platform went very well, with the adjustable floor working to perfection and the ability to pull the loaded stall back into the middle of the boat and leave it set up under sheeting made overnights a delight.

The Jam Butty in trading mode

Rather irritatingly the weather was not great with rain pretty much all day on Saturday. Undaunted we decided to try out our wet weather option which involved erecting the gazebo over the boat with the front legs 1m over the towpath. This worked surprisingly well and allowed us to continue to trade all day, even offering customers much appreciated shelter. To tell the truth I think they came for the shelter and then got sucked into the whole Wild Side thing!

 Dragon Boat racing

Whatever the reason, we had a very good days trading on Saturday and Sunday in spite of the elements.

Saturday night saw something of a celebration of The Jam Butty's launch attended by friends, fellow traders and even Mr Parry from the C&RT. The participants were fortified by Helen's jam on scones and Cheese / Chutney on crackers washed down with jugs of Pimms and a keg of Andy's Homebrew (IPA). The whole event went off well and was enjoyed by all.

The Jam Butty's official launch party

It was particularly good to meet up with Sue and Ade from the Cheese Boat and Ricard and Sue from Indigo Dream who were both in Birmingham for the weekend.

The new and the old in Birmingham

We took our leave at 6.00pm on Sunday under a setting sun, waved on by Andrew Denney (Granny Buttons and Waterways World) and made a solitary trip to Tipton arriving at 9.30pm. The setting sun was magnificent and added a whole new dimension to the New Main Line which can be a bit dull at times.

Leaving Birmingham

For the return trip I altered the trim of Montgomery to make her stern heavy with her bows up 2 inches plus altered the towing straps. The result was dramatic and she towed better and faster.

Sunset on the New Main Line

All in all a good shakedown for the new combination and good preparation for our trip down to Oxford in 10 days time.