Lady of Leisure :0)

I have been taking it nice and easy today.  It has been a double edged sword really.  Am feeling a lot better and starting to look around me thinking this needs doing, that needs doing.  But still cant really DO anything apart from shuffle about up and down the boat. 
Ed is chief lock wheeler for the next few days.  he has picked himself up a bunny suit to wear whilst performing his duties.  Keeping warm is paramount in this weather and what weather we have had today!!
Bright sunshine, rain, snow hail all in a 3 mile stretch of canal!! Not that I have had to encounter any of it stuck indoors looking at the walls lol :0)
I'm not used to being inside Rae when she is travelling, it's a weird sensation.  You have the familiar thud, thud, thud of the engine but added to that you have a multitude of vibratory noises.  I spent quite a time standing in the kitchen listening intently, moving  a saucepan to stop one rattle, a hanging spatula to remove another.  The poker in the living room was another all gradually reducing the noise but never quite finding every one. 

The other thing I noticed was the swaying, which is more noticeable when we are just coming out of a lock.  When the prop is turning on tick over it causes Rae to rock from side to side.  We have noticed it before from the outside but experiencing it from the inside is another matter.  I had to open the front doors to stop me from feeling sea sick! 
Fisheries Lock was our final destination today.  Ed is a keen metal detector and he had spotted a place he wanted to have a quick look at.  He has just come back through the door actually with a story that had had to interrupt this part of the blog.  He is quite excited as he had found a silver coin, round with no bevelling but as it was so dark outside he couldn't make out what it was.  He eagerly took it out of his bunny suit pocket, looked at it in the light, and said 'Bugger, its a bloody dogs name tag!!'  He also found a small white ceramic jar, which is currently covered in mud so you will have to wait to find out what that was.

We made a pit stop at Apsley Sainsbury's to stock up on provisions and to fill and empty the relevant tanks, as you do when you live on a boat.  We then hit Sainsbury's, all three of us!!
I used the trolley to lean on whilst giving directions to the items required.  Bottom shelf, orange wrapper. Top shelf green bag etc etc  We must have been quite a spectacle, but between us we got the job done.  I do now have a Wok full of goodies though all hand picked by the men :0)

Losing track of time

Ok, what day is it today? Will have to check calendar as I have no idea!! River time gets you like that, you live in perpetual Sundays. Ok, after checking my phone calendar I find that today is Tuesday 12th, I saw the kingfisher on (checks Facebook for date of post) March 5th!!! God I have to catch up on a weeks worth of blog!

I have been remiss I know, but in my defence I have been pretty much flat on my back the whole time staring at the ceiling. I have a few photos that Yog took but not many. They help to jog my memory when writing so lack of photos is not a good thing. Hey ho, will give it a go. Will start with a list of my missing days and using facebook, photos and my crap memory will try and fill in from there.
Mar5th eve- I remember the hangover the day after so this evening was spent with Mick & Marie putting the world to rights and consuming red wine.

Mar6th- Yog spent the day observing the work in the lock as they tried to raise Martins boat.  Can you believe that C&RT put a Section 8 on the boat while it was in the lock to claim salvage rights on it if he didn't manage to raise it!!  They offered him no help at all and made their hindering presence known throughout the whole situation.  eg: He bought a load of wood from nearby Travis Perkins because C&RT wouldn't give him the use of theirs, and they refused to let him use it because it hadn't been 'tested for H&S' (after he had bought it).   As far as I know it cost him in excess of £4k to raise his boat in the end, I bet C&RT were devastated he managed it.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't expect C&RT to foot the bill or anything like that but to offer NO HELP at all and in fact appear to try and hinder him at every opportunity whilst leaving the poor chap to fend for himself in that awful situation is unforgivable in my opinion.    Why am I not surprised though, lets face it they are happy to tell you downright lies to get what they want, as has been proved in recent FOI request answers.

Snowdrops at St Mary's

While Yog was busy monitoring the activities at Batchworth lock, I decided to venture out into Rickmansworth Town Centre.  My back was starting to feel better enough for the thought of a quick jaunt round the charity shops to be a pleasurable thing rather than a pain wracked endurance test.  I remember I was feeling a bit stressed, not sure why now, I think I was still feeling guilty about missing Pamelas Birthday, that as well as the one or two word texts I was getting from her were giving me the impression she was still not a happy bunny, there was probably no reason for it but I was stressing. I would normally get a mini essay at the very least!!  Its horrible having your best mate 200 miles away.  You cant just nip round for a moan when you want, or shoot up the shops for a quick coffee.  Everything has to be organised in a military fashion, free weekends, train tickets, shopping itinerary.  Its all important stuff, and to miss you exit to get to it is most upsetting for all concerned. 

So, feeling the need for relaxation I felt myself drawn to St Mary's Church Rickmansworth.  As I walked through the graveyard I noticed how well kept and tidy the exterior of the church was.  There were snowdrops lining the path leading towards the door as well as dotted around the grass surrounding the various weathered graves.  There was a sign outside inviting you in and I accepted the invitation.  Inside was completely devoid of human occupancy, just me and the huge stained glass window facing me.  I sat myself down on one of the seats near the back and just looked at the building interior.  It was beautiful, silent and relaxing.  As I sat there taking in my surroundings I felt my stresses just draining away, as if being gently removed form my muscles and fibres.  I thought about the work that must have gone into this building, the arches, the glass, the woodwork, everything about the building just made you want to look at it and wonder when it was made and who made it.  I am so glad I took the time to venture inside. I felt much better. 

 I covered the High Street with renewed vigour, my charity shop haul was a good one.  the local butchers had a good spread which I duly cherry picked from and I even allowed myself a posh coffee in the local coffee house.  By the time I returned to Rae, Martins boat had been raised and removed and was now moored above the lock.  Albeit a but damp and soggy round the edges.  All that remained now was for the booms to be removed and we could be on our way again. 

Mar7th- The booms were removed by 10 am and we were on our way again.  It was a shitty day though, not my favourite pastime locking in the rain but needs must and all that.  Waterproofed up to the nines we started off through Batchworth Lock, past Martins boat and onwards towards Cassio Bridge Lock  which was due to re-open tomorrow after having new gates fitted.  I managed to get half way through the second lock of the day before my back pinged and I was done for the rest of the week. Yog had to manage on his own for the rest of the day, we still managed to get to where we needed to go even without me doing the locks!!  Which was just as well really because I was done in and broken, good and proper.  So much so that Yog had to do the dinner and everything.

New Gates at Cassio Bridge

Mar8th - They finished the lock on schedule and we headed off again, me stuck in bed and Yog on the tiller, travelling basically single handed.  We got as far as Iron Bridge Lock before we stopped for the evening and Yog took off his tiller hat and put on his boatwife hat instead because I was still flat on my back and boatwife duties as well as locking duties were the last ting I needed to worry about.   
SatMar9th- Today was my darling daddies birthday, if he was still alive he would have been 76 years young.  Stuck in bed, I felt I was 176.  Yog chugged on and got us to  Lady Chapels Lock and then did Shepherds Pie for dinner, with grated cheese on top!  He is getting adventurous with his ready meal cooking!! Saying that, He does better than I do with them, I can never get them out of the plastic trays without them looking like a something that has been regurgitated, but Yog actually gets them looking edible???


SunMar10th - I have no recollection or photo brain jogger for this day, all I can remember is that I did nothing all day and that Yog cooked fishermans pie with frozen mixed veg.  (a new addition to his repoitoir).
MonMar11th- It was bloody cold today, I know this because I managed to walk to the local shop near Hunton Bridge, where we moored for the night.  We then had Pizza for dinner, which Yog cooked.  He then tried to get hold of James Bills the coalman on facebook.  He had checked in 4 locks behind us and was heading our way!!  We had less than half a bag of coal to our name and needed replenishment!!
TueMar12th -Excellent, James has just pulled up next to the boat, he got our message two locks back.  How marvelous that you can use Facebook to book a coal delivery!!  Better still he takes card payments and I didnt have to walk up the hill again to get some cash for him.  Coal safely onboard Yog headed off towards Kings Langley, Ed is on his way by train and we have arranged to meet him there.  Ed has arrived, I am now uptodate and am going to celebrate with a ciggie and a cup of coffee.  

You cant always believe what you read on Facebook

We started the day today with a stroll around Uxbridge, found a nice cafe near the station and had some breakfast.  Checked out the charity shops, which were all a bit commercial, lots of new stuff and the other stock in there was quite expensive considering it was second hand.  All I came home with was a black striped shirt which I am going to use to make some pirate bunting for decorating Rae. 
John on Amedeaus had caught up with us the previous day and was heading to Denham Deep so when we got back to the boat we headed off together and shared the locks,  Poor old John had only just got up when we returned, already full of breakfast, essential and fun shopping done and under our belts.
We had read on facebook that unfortunately a boat had gone down in Batchworth lock. So it was going to be another short but sweet day and we planned to stop at Rickmansworth anyway to catch up with Mick and Marie on NB Illusions as it had become somewhat of a tradition to do so :0).

Yogi, not Paying Attention!!!

We shared the first two locks with John and after that we were on our own.  What a lovely day it was too!! The sun was shining and you could feel the warmth on your back from it.  The towpath was busy with walkers, joggers and twitchers all enjoying the weather.  I had the opportunity to get my own back on Yogi at Denham Deep Lock, he was so busy looking at James Bills Coal boat in the dry dock he didn't  notice that the gates had equalised so I had to remind him to 'Pay attention!!' Something he had quite vocally done to me when I made him wait 3 minutes at Old Ford Lock on the Regents Canal!!  Ha Ha I think he got the point :0)  We had been checking the situation in Batchworth and it seemed that the owner of the boat had been left to recover the boat himself, C&RT had basically told him he was on his own!!  There were also rumours that he had left his boat unattended in a filling lock whilst getting himself a cup of tea!!  At the time we were feeling less than sympathetic towards him it has to be said.

Wide Water Lock

Just after passing through Black Jacks Lock I spotted a Kingfisher.  Well, I didn't just spot it, I experienced it.   It came shooting out of the water with a tiny fish in its mouth,  the fish was flapping furiously and I only saw it because its wet scales caught the sun.  It was less than an inch long and shone brightly in the tiny birds beak. It had landed on a branch not 3 feet away from me, holding its catch proudly, looking straight at me it seemed.  Watching me fumbling around for my camera to take a photo and realising by the time I had it, it was too late. 

We reached Rickmansworth late afternoon and moored up just above Stockers Lock right next to a huge fallen Oak.  All you could see was the underneath of it a huge expanse of dried roots and stones about 7 feet in diameter.  It looked like it had stood right next to the towpath and the rains had weakened the roots to cause it to topple away from the canal.  Lucky really, because it was a big old boy and would have blocked the canal for ages.  I couldn't help myself, I jumped in the hole, and started picking away at the root ball to get stones from it.  I figured that to be under the centre of a big ol'  tree like that they had to be be old, and I got some beauties from it.  All different shapes and colours of flint.  Am going to be making some pendants from them and am looking forward to seeing how they turn out.  Yog took a walk up to the lock to check out what was happening with the boat and met the owner Martin, he explained what had happened and it was quite a bit different to what had been appearing on facebook that day.

Basically, he had just bought the boat and wasn't used to the length of it, he entered the lock as normal, tied it to the bollard as normal and went to order tea and a bacon sandwich BEFORE opening the paddles.  He returned to the lock, did the paddles and didn't realise that the boat being 10 feet longer was that much nearer to the back gates of the lock.  The rudder got stuck in the gap between the gates and that was it, he couldn't even see what had happened as he was at the front with the paddles but once he had realised,the first thing he did was jump onto the boat to rescue his old dog and just had time to grab his wallet before it was too late. 
It just goes to show how quickly things can go wrong.  But at least he and his dog were ok.  Things could have been a lot worse. 







Short But Sweet - Cowley to Uxbridge

What a lovely day today has turned out to be.  The sun is shining and it really feels like summer is on its way.  We can feel the boats passing us,  on the move up and down the canal.  Every time he hears an engine or feels the boat move he is up, nose in the porthole watching them leave him behind.  Its giving Yog an itchy tiller so we will soon be on the move too, I can feel it in my water.

True to form, we set off around 11am (this is the afternoon for Yog I should add).
Our day would be spent at a nice leisurely pace as neither of us are in any particular hurry.  Only one lock to do today, as I had decided to stop in Uxbridge.  My iPhone and Facebook had told me there were charity shops to be explored there so it was a no brainer!!  Also the fact that my back was still twangy, there was no way today would be a mission from hell day, I needed my back for charity shopping!!!

Yog moored at the lock landing and came to help me do the lock (well, pretty much do the lock really) so I took great pleasure in supervising the rooky lol.....Shall see what the repercussions are for that comment lol



We managed to bump into Louise Yeoman, a boater I had spoken to quite a few times on the Cowley & Uxbridge Boaters Facebook Page.  They have been having similar problems in this area as we had a couple of years ago on the Lee and Stort, with C&RT getting heavy handed cave man on boaters. So it was a good opportunity to put a face to the profile picture as well as try to answer any questions she had as well as give her the benefit of my experiences.  Or in other words, a perfect reason to stop and drink more tea!!

Funnily enough, another boater I had previously met through the group Steve Jay, rang me whilst I was drinking tea with Louise.  So we arranged to meet him in Uxbridge as we were both heading that way. 

So we said our goodbyes and headed towards Steve and his nearly out of date beer!!

He had mentioned he had quite a few bottles on his boat that NEEDED to be consumed before their sell by date.  Yog and I are not the kind to refuse a plea for help, so we immediately headed off in his direction!!

It wasn't that long before we were sitting aboard his stunning widebeam. (as in boat, not anything rude). Sipping nearly out of date beer whilst his mad dog (also called Ronni) did his best to shag us at every given opportunity!!

I am so glad I had the forethought to stick some food in the oven before meeting up with Steve as after a few tinnies with him I was not in the mood for cooking.  So thanks to my excellent preparation we had half cooked sausages and cold beans when we got back lol.

At Last the Grand Union

The next morning, once the log delivery had been made we stopped at Highline Yachting to wait for them to open.  We have learnt from experience, that you never pass a facility if you need anything, however small or insignificant it may seem.  We needed to top up our diesel supply so we stopped and waited for them to open at 10am.  The chap there congratulated us as we were the first customers he had had for diesel for the new price of £1 per litre.  Great!!

All topped up we headed off again towards the end of the Paddington Arm. 

I mentioned briefly about coconut spotting yesterday and today I took the time to have a look and find out why they are there in the canal. 
Coconuts
The link above is quite a good one and gives you more detailed explanations of the meanings given to Coconuts by the Hindu faith but a quick summary and by no means an educated view would be this. 

An image of Lord Shiva

Coconut plays a vital role in all puja rituals. The coconut is a satvic fruit. It is sacred, pure, clean, and health giving, endowed with several properties. It is also offered on occasions like weddings, festivals, the use of a new vehicle, bridge, house etc. The marks on the coconut are  thought to represent the three-eyed Lord Shiva and therefore it is considered to be a means to fulfil our desires. It is also used in funeral rituals and to represent the ancestors.

Our engine, although still smokey is running well.  Yog has stripped her down and rebuilt her so many times now he can do it quicker than he can put together an Ikea flat pack!!  Each time, she runs that little bit better, the smoke gets that little bit less and she sounds that little bit nicer.  She sounds so lovely when we are going along too, you can feel the engine thudding gently vibrating the boat under your feet, sending a quiver through your body.  At the same time the 'phut phat phut' of the exhaust adds a  rhythmic drumming to the journey.  Every time we stop at a lock or to moor up there is always an old chap, they all react the same, nose in the engine room with a nostalgic look on their face, look up, point in engine room, ask 'what engine is that?' Yogi replies '1946 Dorman crane engine' Old man smiles and replies 'lovely old thing, they don't make them like that any more!!' he then turns and carries on with his day, happy to have seen something 67 years old still working, and she does, sometimes 10 hours a day bless her. 

Our gentle chug continued to Bulls Bridge, where we stopped briefly for supplies and a quick Tesco Cafe stop. Yog was most impressed with his fish and chips AND we managed to do the shopping WITHOUT killing or even maiming each other!  We arrived at Cowley with time to spare and decided to celebrate our sucess in Tescos with a pint in 'The Malt Shovel' which was much deserved and needed by that time.

And yes, I did feel as knackered as I look!!!

March 1st 0/10

Friday 1st March - Rotton Day 0/10

We were well and truly on our way, the Paddington Branch of the GU will be our home for the next few hours, not my favourite place in the world but a necessary evil to get where we want to be. 

But the 1st March has not started well, not at all well!!  I was supposed to go and visit my bestest pal Pamela today to help her celebrate her XXth birthday weekend, but instead I am stuck in bed unable to move. The exertions of the last few days have caught up with me in a big way and have completely scuppered my plans. I can barely walk and my hip feels like it has popped out of its socket!!

The whole reason for the rush through to the other side of London was to beat the forthcoming lock repair stoppages.  We needed to do it before I left for Huddersfield.  To delay would have meant a hefty wait whilst CART attempt to repair the locks, which from experience drags on and on. Days turn into weeks and so on.  Not a risk either of us was willing to take as we are both keen to get back to the Midlands and we had Ed to help us, so it felt like now or never.  

The swearing and shouting coming from our bedroom this morning would have made Roy Chubby Brown blush.  I was very upset and quite distraught that I was going to have to miss my trip.   Poor old Yog came into the bedroom with tea  and a slide of paracetamols at one point.  He got sworn at so ferociously that he didn't even attempt communication with me until I spoke to him later in the day.  Poor old sod,  tea and paracetamols normally works so he had run out of solutions and had no idea what to do to make things better. 

By mid morning, Ed had left to go back to his daughters and pick up some things and Yog was at the tiller chugging.  I was in bed looking at the ceiling.

Pamela is upset with me, Yog has run away to the tiller and I am left with just myself for company, all miserable, in pain and snivelly.  All I can do is lay still, any attempt to move hurts.  I am trapped in my own sad world that I have created myself and everyone I love, is either cross with me or unable to help.  I am the most upset with me, my poxy body has let me down and stopped me having some well earned fun and games.  Today is a 0/10.

I never envisaged that I would put my back out though and Pamela is not happy with me for damaging myself :0(  I can feel it through her texts.  You will know what I mean if you text your mates a lot, you can tell when they are not happy, even if they say they are OK, you look at the screen in front of you and you know things are not what they appear to be in the words before you. And I knew, Pam was not a happy bunny either. :0(

Unhappy as we both are about the situation, Ive done the damage now and have to take the consequences, and trust me its not just my back that's causing me suffering.  Pamela in her own way is getting her feelings across!!  We are both hacked off at me because I've broke myself.  

Even now with the benefit of hind sight,  I'm not sure I could have waited and travelled to Huddersfield before we set off.  The thought of waiting for CART to get their act together on my return, being stuck on the Lee waiting for them to sort out the middle lock on the Hertford Union, then the Top Lock doesn't bare thinking about.  Mile End Lock repairs have been going on for ages so you cant even use Lime House Cut as an alternative at the moment. So anyone wanting to travel west to the Regents is buggered for now and the near future.

I think I will watch the stoppage list and see how long it does take them as I am damn sure it will be well over a fortnight, probably nearer a month.  

Todays summary reads March 1st 0/10
Travelled 8 miles, him on the tiller and me stuck on my back. Everyone mightily hacked off.

We made it to Northolt last night before stopping.  By late afternoon I could just about walk and had managed to get myself to the counter so I could watch the coconuts go by for the last 30 mins or so of the days cruise.   We spotted a lovely big pile of logs on the towpath and moored right next to them.   A young mum with a puchchair was also there putting some of the logs into a blue ikea bag.  She was going to drag them  and the buggy down to the nearby marina where she was moored with her baby.   We volunteered to deliver some logs to her boat the next morning to save her dragging any more down for a few days which she of course accepted.   Yog cranked up the chainsaw and chopped a good few days supply for both of us.  Then he came in and gave me tea and paracetamols :0)

The London Rush



Hertford Union Canal -

Our first locks today were the 3 on the Hertford Union Canal, the reason for the rush to get through London was to get through here before the upcoming closures.  Half of me wishes we had waited for more reasons than you could know.  These have to be the leakiest and most in need of repair I have ever seen!!  Bottom lock the water was pouring over both top and bottom gates.  Middle lock was leaking so badly that the pound above was very low and it took the extra weight of the boat to open the gates as the water just wouldn't equalise.  Top lock was probably the easiest of the three but wasn't much better. 

At  Actons Lock we managed to catch up with 3 young lads on their way to Uxbridge.  Cool, now we had someone to share the lock load with for the rest of the day.  Which after yesterday was a godsend for me!!  Also, I have to say, they were very entertaining!! Leaping about on and off the boats and in and out of the locks in a way that I can only dream about nowadays!! (not that I ever leaped about like they were doing!!).
If I'd have attempted any of their leaps of faith onto the roof of our boat from the top of the lock it would have been accompanied with a hefty thump and probably a nasty bone crushing sound.  They, by comparison were made of rubber or some similar compound and had no such problems!! 
The boat they were on had a lovely hand-carved front door and was shaped into what looked like a pagan green man with coloured glass for windows and a lovely friendly face.
The owner, (I think his name was Daz or Gaz) said it had taken him 3 years to get her to her current state and she was a lovely job.  You could see the labour of love that had gone into her.

Our arrival at City road Lock was made memorable by Daz/Gaz nearly ending up in the drink whilst making one of those leaps I was telling you about into a row boat that needed to be rowed round to Word on the Water a beautiful Dutch Barge converted into a book shop, well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.
Lucky for him he remained dry and the little row boat was delivered safely.  This is when he admitted this was the furthest West he had ever been and was quite nervous about going through the tunnel.  Apparently it had been their topic of conversation whilst at Actons Lock, they had never been through a tunnel and the only light they had was a rechargeable LED lol!!  They were understandably relieved when we turned up with nice bright lights to go in the tunnel ahead of them!!

The journey through was somewhat delayed by a wide beam and a trip boat coming through towards us.  Once they were through and out of the way our path was clear.  Ed and I were on the front of Rae watching the tunnel go by all around us and I could hear the noises coming from the lads in the boat behind.  We looked over the roof into the black abyss behind Rae, trying to make out the shape of their boat, we couldn't see the boat but could see the tiny glow from the LED they were using to feel their way behind us.  It was funny :0) for those of you who are interested use this For More Information on Tunnels.

The rest of the day went pretty much without a hitch and to plan.  We arrived at Ladbrooke Grove about Half an hour behind schedule, grabbed some Sainsburies ready cooked food and hit the sack. That had been three heavy days of graft to avoid the Hertford Union Stoppages, but we had managed it reasonably unscathed.

Eggs Benedict & Inadiquate Females.

The Gatehouse, Rye House

Well, it's that time of year again, the snow has thawed and the winter is well and truly behind us.  This means that Spring is well underway and so are we,  on year 2 of our adventure through the Waterways of Britain.  I have been promised that this year will be a mission free year and I am well and truly looking forward to it as well as hoping against hope that that is actually the case!! Although I have fallen for that one before lol

We start this years travels at Rye House, where we picked up Yogis cousin Ed who has uprooted himself from Australia to come over here, buy a boat and live the river life himself!!  Crash coarse in lock wheeling is on the cards for Ed as the first leg of our journey through to Waltham Cross has 6 locks. 

After saying our goodbyes and till we meet again's we headed off.   Only to stop within the first hour as we had arrived at Dobbs Weir Cafe and the men needed a fry up before continuing lol.

Steve on the Tiller

Bellies full and brimming with enthusiasm we head off towards the Cross.  A brief delay while waiting for Steve and Liz on the coal boats to exit Dobbs
Weir Locks doesn't dampen Eds enthusiasm as he marches down to the lock to await instruction. It didn't take long for him to get the hang of it either.  A couple of times he forgot to close the paddles, or the gate.  But most of the time he was bang on target.

Tillergraph Article by Maffi Oxford

That evening was spent munching on cheese on toast and reading Feburary's copy of the Tillergraph where I found an article by Maffi Oxford. Reading it brought an age old worry back to the fore-front of my mind. 

He was writing about those of us who are left behind when their partner leaves or dies and you are the one left to fend for yourself.  It started me thinking, quite seriously about what would happen to me when I am left to fend for myself.  
I am lucky at the moment, I still have my other half, who takes care of all the 'man' jobs on the boat. But unfortunately he is most possessive of those jobs and approaching this contentious issue with him is always fraught with danger lol.

It doesn't stop me from trying to persuade him to let go of the 'tiller arm' as it were though and I think I may have got him to agree to teach me as long as I promise never to drive the boat until after he is dead!. I am glad that Maffi's article prompted me to broach the subject with Yogi because I feel a lot better now about the whole situation.   It's funny how a magazine article can effect you isn't it.



Eggs Benedict - YUM



After a breeze of a cruise from Rye House to Waltham cross and a lovely breakfast of eggs benedict at the narrowboat cafe in Waltham Cross.  I was pretty much ready to start the day.

We wanted to get to Ducketts by close of business and I knew it would be a hard day because according to C&RT both Stonebridge and Tottenham electric locks were being repaired so we would have to use the manual sides. 

Last year we got caught out on our way back from Braunston and I knew they would be knackering and I for one wasnt looking forward to it.  Ed's eagerness to have a go was encouraging but I KNEW that when he actually got there and had to wind both the gates and the paddles manually he would feel differently about them lol. 

Cheshunt Lock

I repaid my Bounty debt at Picketts Lock and we headed down to Stonebridge.  Lucky for us it was mended and Ed was most impressed at the push button lock.  No exhersion needed and we were all through in a blink of an eye.

Tottenham on the other hand was a different matter.  The towpath was closed and so was the electric lock.  This meant Ed had to walk a very wobbly plank to get back on the boat (I thought he was going in) to get back off the boat on the other side of the padlocked fence.  We then had to wait ages for three youngsters who were already in the lock to go through so we could have our turn. 

So the winding begins, its quite simple really, clockwise to open the gates, anti-clock wise to close them.  It is a simple operation, but after 20 mins of constant winding you tend to get your clockwises mixed up, well, Ed did anyway lol  It seemed like every time I looked over the lock to make sure he was ok he was furiously winding his windlass the wrong way.  Getting redder and redder in the face.  'Ed' id shout 'anti-clockwise to close'  he'd swear at me and start again the right way.  lol  I rekkon he will remember Tottenham Lock for a very long time :0)