Droitwich Bound

Heading for Droitwich Festival
May 2013

In case you wondered where we are - we are currently making our way slowly towards Droitwich and the canal festival which is taking place in Vines Park this weekend. 

The sun has finally made an apparance and for the first time this year its so hot we dined al fresco in Kinver!  The Staffs and Worcester is at its sparkling best and there are very few other boats on the move - heaven.

Helen has been busy in the preserving dept, using Wild Garlic in a chutney (ready for Crick) and today it was hasta la vista for hundreds of dandelions which have been converted into a sea of Dendelion Jelly. Curious? Come to the festival and try some for yourself.

So here we are just above Stourport trying to decide if we want to arrive at the festival site a day early, or to carry on to Worcester and arrive on Friday.... decisions decisions.

Will provide a fuller update over the weekend.

Loafing in Loogaborugga

Loafing in Loogaborugga

April 2013

Loogaborugga I hear you ask, where is that?

Answer, its the Kiwi prenunciation of Loughborough and I should know - we just spent the night moored in Loughborough town Basin with Sandra and Barry on Areandare (R&R). 

Its been great to see Sandra and Barry back on the water after a couple of years in New Zealand, safely installed on Areandare instead of Northern Pride. Hopefully this move afloat will be permanent and I think we can safely bank on seeing some more examples of Barry's great photography on their blog in the coming months.

After an evening of sampling Helen's fruit flavoured tipples and my home brew we settled in for a session of six handed rummy. I am pleased to report that the huge amount of intellectual effort I invested resulted in a predictable moral victory for the Capt - its all skill when you win.  Although I should credit Sandra with joint victory, if measured on points alone. 

Sunday morning saw us wandering round Loughborough, eyeing up the homebrew supplies in Wilkinsons and generally sampling the ambiance. Its a nice town but a bit lacking in character if I can offer an opinion. That said, there are notable aspects to the town and lets start with the 

canal basin. 

Loughborough canal basin

When we passed this way about two years ago the basin was a wilderness and nothing would have persuaded me to spend a night there. I eyed an uninviting stretch of water from the junction and thought nah - why would anyone want to motor along such a desolate strip. Now the area had been redeveloped and I have to say it is quite stunning and a modest sort of way. The arm is lined with apartments and flats and a Travelodge flank the basin itself, and Tesco is just a few hundred yards away. The pontoons are those very short ones which make mooring a challenge, but all in all is a good spot to spend the night and an easy walk into the town centre.

 Loughborough's Carillon Tower

The other gem is Queens Park, complete with its Carrilon tower which celebrates both the bell making which was the town's main industry at one time, and also serves as an impressive war memorial. The town still makes bells, with John Taylor Bellfounders supplying both St Pauls in London and York Minster. The park is dynamic too, celebrating the Olympics with a tribute to the Team GB synchronised swimmers who were based in the town during the 2012 event.

 Loughborough's tribute to the 2012 Synchronised Swimming team.

Then it was back to Mountsorrel on a windswept Soar, steering Areandare and putting her unusual engine and hydraulic transmission combo through its paces. All in all a great weekend seeing old friends, playing with a new boat and even a bit of new water (although it was only 200 yards long).

Here is a link the Barry and Sandra's blog.

Girls Afloat

Girls afloat

April 2013

At last - the first weekend afloat when we have been blessed with fine weather.

Aldersley Junction

The snag was it was only a partial weekend from my perspective. Helen and one of her friends wanted to spend the weekend on the boat, but they didnt want to take it out alone. The end result was a logistical nightmare with three cars shuffling across Wolverhampton to facilitate transfers to and fro.

Transport aside, Saturday was lovely and Helen, her friend and family and of course your truly ventured down the Staffs and Worcester to Dimmingsdale Lock with the spring sunshine smiling on us all the way.

The trip gave the new loo a good test but little fingers couldn't resist pressing the flush repeatedly and within three hours the cassette was at capacity! Good job I have a spare...

The trip also marked the start of the 2013 foraging season with a huge patch of fresh wild garlic identified near Wolverhampton which was quickly thinned out and a suitable preserve created. Next it was the gorse - this time being made into gorse cordial which sounded doubtful but actually tasted really good.

Gorse picking

On the foraging tack, its full speed ahead in chez Ahab with jam jars being filled as a rate of knots in advance of the Droitwich and Crick festivals which are looming up over the next four weeks. And attending these festivals brings an abundance of boating experience. 

The stay at Dimmingsdale was not quite the quiet solitude one usually associates with the place. A nearby farm threw a party which culminated with a firework display at midnight, but this didn't seem to bother the girls. All in all a tantalising taster of the 2013 cruising season. Roll on Droitwich.

Oblivion - film review

Oblivion

April 2013

Take a two hour running time, add a dash of the Matrix, a hefty dose of Independence Day and liberally sprinkle with the essence of about 20 classic sci fi films and what to you get? - Oblivion!

When I say Oblivion I don't mean a film which sinks into the celluloid mire without a trace, but rather the Tom Cruise film of that name which by some miracle pulls off the rampant plagarism and delivers a sci fi movie which is a cut above the norm.

Its a post apocalyptic story of man (America) fighting the evil planet raping aliens. A story of the underdog battling against all the odds - and delivering triumph in the end (Independence Day). We even have the hero flying the suicide mission, but even here all is not as it seems.

Dont expect a tight plot - its got more loose ends than my favourite boating sweater, but the central tale is as compelling as it is heart warming. As ever, aliens clever enough to deploy all that technology seem very gullible in the final showdown, but that is how aliens are!

The opening half hour sets the scene and it takes a while for the film to get going - even then its not always clear exactly who the bad guys are. But then things liven up and just as you fear for the future of the human remnant, Morgan Freemans sonorous narrative cuts in and assures you that all will be well - things always work out ok when you have Morgan Freeman in your corner.

Its a good sci fi film, a familiar but the eclectic collection of plotlines are woven together very well and its well worth a look see. 

A good film which entertained and exceeded expectations.

Pensnett Canal - Canal Street

Pensnett Canal - Canal St area
BCN
April 2013

Exploring the Pensnett Canal is a frustrating business. If it isnt private land it the active railway which bars progress on foot.

Undeterred, I drove round to the satisfyingly named Canal Street, haunt of multiple car breakers and not a place to linger during the working week. But at 9.00am on a Sunday morning the place is deserted and those gaps in the fence are a tempting prospect.

Pensnett Canal at Canal St crossing

I then skirted round to to Stourbridge Road and the crossing at the canals terminus, site of a large interchange basin were canal traffic was transferred to Lord Hays mineral line.

 Loading basins south of Stourbridge Road

To round off this visit I walked down Fens Pool Avenue and through a walkway into the Fens Pool nature reserve, following the old line of the Mineral Tramway. The three huge pools were all originally clay pits which were later pressed into service as reservoirs to supply the Fens Branch Canal. The lofty tramway soars above the surrounding lakes and offers an excellent vantage point.

 Fens Pool, Pensnett

Middle Pool, Pensnett

Tramway relic - a carriage wheel embedded in iron slag