"I think the winds have gone..."
But the rain has taken centre stage again, so that's alright. As long as we're not short of a little adversity!
Progress up the Grand Union has been generally very good, despite the odd moment now and then... By comparison to the weeks I had between Brentford and Watford, it's been a dream! It was a good feeling to be on very familiar ground in Milton Keynes for a few days.
Tonight I'm moored very snugly at Cosgrove, with a big push of miles planned for tomorrow, regardless of the weather! I spoke to Nick who will be fitting the stove at Braunston Marina on the 14th December if all goes to plan, so while there are daylight hours I'm heaving Wils up thadda way, mile by mile - and when the light disappears I'm tiling! STILL tiling... It is nearly done, promise!
I visited Jem while I was moored at Milton Keynes, she's doing so well and coping with things like an absolute trooper so maybe I'll get the chance to snap a photo of her onboard again sometime soon!
I haven't had to get back into the canal again, for which I'm very glad! The intake seems to have righted itself and doesn't block at all. Perhaps I was just unlucky with leaf litter... Hmmm.
The previous post was written just south of Leighton Buzzard, here:
It was here that Alison dropped off my mum, and the two of us cruised up as far as the Three Locks, between Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. It was great to have some company whilst cruising. To begin with the winds were so strong we couldn't think of even getting the boat away from the bank, but thanks to the shape of the canal there, and a slight drop in wind, we managed it. Within 15 minutes there was no wind, no rain and blue skies! Suddenly we had perfect cruising conditions...
We met Alison again at our destination, here is they both, smiling into the wind!
Needless to say the rain and wind returned as we were headed for the pub at Three Locks, but the early start the next morning was quite a different story:
In other news; I now have a canal-related job! It may be unpaid but the chance to take on a post like Editor of the The Buckingham Navigator for The Buckingham Canal Society seemed far too good to pass up! I'm often busy in the evenings now sorting articles and comparing fonts and performing many an esoteric Editorial rite... The first issue under my belt will be the Winter 2009 issue, due out in late January, available from - well, The Buckingham Canal Society! The society exists to bring back into service the Buckingham Arm of the Grand Union, and this seems a very fitting place to blog about such matters, given that the Buckingham Arm begins about 50 metres from where I am sitting now, despite it's official title not bearing that name; Old Stratford Cut (disused). If you have a minute, and choose to do as I did and study the area of the canal at Cosgrove on Google Earth or one of the many online mapping programs, you can easily trace the route that the Buckingham Arm will take from the amputated limb of the Old Stratford Cut as far as the A5 and beyond, surely a testament to the hard work of the volunteer groups that the BCS have organised thus far, laying hedges, planting trees, clearing weeds etc. More to follow on their efforts soon, no doubt!
*drop of water falls on my head from vent above*
I can't quite believe the difference in the volume of traffic between the summer and the winter on the canal. I was expecting some kind of change of course, but to see, on average, one boat moving every other day is some drop-off in numbers!
I am looking forward to hosting Couchsurfers on the boat as soon as the stove and the new floor in the saloon goes in! If anyone isn't aware of Couchsurfing; I consider it one of the single greatest achievements of the internet, bringing together people who are travelling with people who are willing to play host to them in their own homes for a night, a few nights or more - I have used the site as a traveller in France and Norway, and the sheer scale and benevolence of the whole project never fails to inspire and encourage me! I have yet to discover a better way to really get face to face with a place. What does a hotel really tell you? With CS, there are no touristy gimmicks and, of course, no cost, bar a little faith and goodwill. I consider it an antidote to the bland, moneyed, corporate sameness the world is suffering from at present. Here I am on Couchsurfing.org! Ok, rant over! I've had to turn people away because of the state of the saloon, but soon that'll change!
It must have been the heavy winds that tore more than leaves off the trees, today I narrowly avoided two logs in the canal - one was about the size of four dogs welded together, the other was clearly a complete and perfectly intact Sequoia trunk. Fact. (Nearly, anyway.)
My recent lack of photos on here has been down to a combination of technological failures recently, here's hoping they don't resurface. Tomorrow I intend to moor up at Yardley Gobion, my childhood village, once more! Here I come...
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