Swat a Scorcher

Woke up after surprisingly having a good night. We had the porthole flyscreens in and they did do the trick. We set of early because we had to be in Crick for 11.00am as Al had a doctors appointment for her ears. We took a steady trip up passing the new Yelvertoft marina which they were really getting on with. There were JCB's and large dump trucks moving all over the place, this marina is going to be massive, lets hope they fill it, lets face it, it will be good competition for Crick.

When we arrived in glorious sunshine we could easily moor right up near the bridge. The first thing we did was walk over to the garden centre and grab some charcoal for the barbee.

We then walked up to the doctors, we both had to go as Al couldn't hear a thing even to cross the road.

When we got to the medical centre we were amazed at how organised it was. In the waiting room they had a TV and kiddies play area but best of all they had a machine which you could check your blood pressure. It also gave you a printout, and it was all free......

Well when we came out Al could hear a pin drop and everything seemed so loud, a relief for us both.

We then went up to the Co-Op and grabbed some BBQ stuff and some more beers as we had been going through them like wildfire.

We got back to Derwent6 and moved over to the water point and topped up while doing a quick manual pumpout. We then headed back through the very wet Crick tunnel which was quite nice in the hot weather, but didn't do the brasses any good. We moored in one of our 3G spots and did loads of computer work and downloads, before lighting up the barbee again.

Last week it was greenfly and this week it's housefly's, they were sticking to the boat like glue. We lit our incense candles and sticks which kept them away but still we had the odd one or two which got into the boat, so out came our trusty guitar flyswatter which came all the way from Nashville....that did the trick.

We sat on the cratch till late and thought we had better go to bed and try and get some sleep, but bloody hell it was hot at 27 degrees. Oh stop moaning about it!!!!!!

Blimey it's hot

We got up to bright sunshine and 30 degrees this morning and we had a plan to move today. Al has got a problem with her ears and has booked into the doctors in Crick, but with the high temperatures we thought we would move later in the day, when it was a bit cooler.


We tried out the new Houdini hatch flyscreens today and they worked very well..

Just as we had finished lunch, n.b 4Evermoore came round the corner.(http://www.4evermoore.blogspot.com/ ) We last saw Kev & Ann at the Crick show last year and Derwent6 was still in build. We had been looking forward to meeting up on the cut one day. We got out the chairs and opened a few beers before we had to go our separate ways. Kev gave Del a rope lesson with a series of knots and doing loops......apparently he is really good at doing a cat of nine tails..... Beware! They had their grandson with them, Sam, who was really enjoying himself.
It was lovely to get together and we look forward to meeting up in the future, Thanks guys!

We then left for Crick. It was so nice doing some evening cruising, but we could smell rain and we were definitely right. We had to close all the hatches and we just got moored before it bucketed down. It was about 8.00pm, so we settled down and watched the tennis. It looks like it will be a early start in the morning....

Our first Geocaching Day

Very hot and humid this morning... we had a bit of a lay in as we sat up last night and watched The Boss at Glastenbury till 1.00am... Great!
After doing the brass liners we decided to try our hand at geocaching. Del got Al an ETrex Venture HC GPS handheld for her birthday and after a bit of a struggle to get the hang of it we set off. After loading the co-ordinates we headed in the direction of the compass arrow. Anyone who doesn't know what we are talking about, geocaching is a sort of treasure hunt where you obtain some co-ordinates to an area where a plastic box/container has been hidden. In the box are some bits and pieces that people who have found the box have put in it. You also have to sign a piece of paper (log) with a date and your user name. It can also give you some co-ordinates to another hidden box, so it can turn into a treasure hunt.

We headed off across a field close to Derwent6 and was surprised how accurate it was. It gives you the speed you are walking, how long it will take you to get to your destination, and how many miles away you are. We soon got there and when we arrived the ETrex beeped. The hunt was then on to find the box. Al found it tucked right behind a fence and it was camouflaged so it was very difficult to see. Inside there was a selection of small things and the piece of paper with a pencil. It was quite rewarding knowing you had found it, and it was keeping us both fit in the process.

We then set the co-ordinates for the return to Derwent6 and we were sent across a bridleway across a field. It was really good fun and it got us out in this beautiful weather.

When we got back to Derwent6 we were gasping for a drink, so out came the beers. We then lit the BBQ and threw on some bangers and burgers. As we were shoving them down our throat the heavens opened, so down come the cratch covers. We then watched the USA nearly beat Brazil before we had a early night.

Foggy and muggy

Woke up this morning to thick fog but lovely and warm. We sat in bed working out our finances and budget for next year on the figures we have got for the first six months...not the most exciting of jobs, but it needs to be done..We put some washing out to dry and then had breakfast. We had no plans to move today as we thought we would let the weekend traffic do it's thing. We did the normal cleaning jobs and watched the tennis in the afternoon. You all know how we love those relaxing days.

Round the corner

After the shock of hearing about Michael Jackson we set off out of the Welford Arm at around 10.00am...Well we tried to. With the engine running we started to talk to another couple on the boat along side us and a hour later after being blocked in by another boat getting water, we did eventually set off.

We took a nice slow journey out of the arm and headed back down the Grand Union. It always seems so quiet around here and it wasn't long before we decided to moor up. We tied up the bow and stern and then set about getting a signal on the Sky box. We then cleared some high grass which was blocking the side doors and bloody hell!!!!!! that released a wasps nest. Luckily we had the flyscreen in as they were flying everywhere and not happy with us for disturbing their home. Well we thought we had better move, so we pulled the pins and with a sigh of relief we set off again. We could see that the corn fields were starting to turn yellow and the wildlife still abundant. A thunderstorm was looming up on us so just round the corner we tried to moor again, this time not disturbing any grass. We then settled down and watched the tennis and gathered all the information on Michael Jackson. This is yet another reminder of why we are doing this...You don't know what is round the corner, and being only fifty and all that.

In the evening we watched Glastonbury all night, even though we didn't know half of the artist's but a least it brought us up to speed.

Thema completed

With Steve on board we got up early, and n.b.Thema was coming out of the dry dock at around 9.00am so we helped rig up the batteries and fenders so she could come out.Steve then left us and we took n.b Thema round to her marina spot and then cleaned the roof. After something to eat we just sat on the bow of Derwent6 in the sun, before going for a walk.

Painting Thema

We got up early watching the balloons go by, and made our way to the dry dock where n.b Thema was in for blacking. All boats have to be blacked every two years, so while Thema was out the water, we helped Keith paint up to the gunwales. It took us most of the day, and we managed to do all the bow and stern painting. Late in the afternoon Steve turned up from a job he was doing in Birmingham as he was going to stay the night. He had a meeting in Dunstable, so it would be silly for him to go back to Kent.

In the evening we went back and finished off Thema before heading over to the pub for some Fish & Chips. a busy but nice day...

A Long Day

We left Norton at around 9.00am and headed up to the Watford flight. As we were leaving a boat pulled out in front of us and was going so slow we could have pushed them.... Then they made the mistake of not seeing the lock keeper before going up the flight of locks. You have to do this because the lockie (as we call them) is trying to save water. Well he wasn't too pleased with them but it did allow us to follow them up which saved us a bit of time..(not that we were worried about that) It doesn't pay to get in a lockies bad books.

We then cruised in the sunshine and went through crick tunnel and on to Yelvertoft.

We then passed some blogging friends Mo & Vanessa on n.b. Balmaha and were offered coffee.."rude not to stop then" we said. It was lovely to have some time with them and hopefully we'll meet up again in the winter months. Two hours later we were on our way again and finally arrived in Welford at 8.15pm. This was a really long day for us but we did make the most of the sunshine.

Finger's crossed

In the morning we woke up waiting for the news of the results and at 10.30 we got the great news that the tests were negative and Pam could come home. We had to extend the car hire as the car should have been back by midday. Pam arrived home at around midday and we had some lunch making sure they had both settled in ok. We set off back to Derwent6 at 13.00 and got a Tesco's shop on the way. We unloaded the car and fired up the gas and electrics. We then dropped the car back and got our lift back. We then got into the tennis so chilled out...We thought we deserved it.

Father's Day emergency

Well this will be a fathers day to remember...

We left Birchington at around 10.00am after giving Del's Dad (Len ) his card and present. We then got to Al's Mum & Dad's (Pam & Alf) at around midday and spent the afternoon with them. Alf opened his card and present and Al cooked dinner, she started it around 4.oopm.

Pam was starting to get chest pains, and we had to phone the doctor for advice in the end..."When you put the phone down to me you must dial 999" the doctor said. Blimey! We had not done that before, but Pam was looking a bit pale...They were there in about 20mins and after a few tests she was taken to hospital in the ambulance... We followed her in after turning off the dinner, and further tests were made in the emergency ward when we arrived. The paramedics were brilliant and were very knowledgeable and professional. They had to keep her in overnight as one of the tests took 12 hours to get the results. By this time the pain had subsided, but they still wanted to make sure things were stable. After getting her tucked up in bed we left at around 10.00pm, and we were starving. When we got back we had the dinner that Al had cooked earlier at 10.30pm. We then went to bed on full stomach's very worried.......

"Down to Margate"

"We're going down to Margate with all the family, Oi "

Today was the day of the Margate Airshow which is an all free event done by the local council. So it was up early and a large picnic prepared and once all our friends and family had arrived we took off in convoy. We used push chairs to carry the picnic along the sea front and the kids took the Double Decker bus. We found a good spot and stuffed our faces with a fantastic lunch and at 2.30pm we then watched the flying display highlighted by The Red Arrows. We then walked around the large fun fair and side shows, there was also live music. As the clouds were looming in we decided to all get the bus back to Birchington. If you asked the kids what the best part of the day was, they would say holding on to the hand rail at the top of the Double Decker bus, going up and down the hills and round the corners, and that was free as well.... It was a good job we decided to make a move because it bucketed down... When we got back we had a large tea and a few beers before the sea air got to us and we all crashed out...