After visiting the boat a few weeks ago and finding the starter battery flat, and getting it fixed, then last week finding the shower leaking when we turned on the water we had to abort the trip to Stafford till that was also fixed. This was the third attempt since being allocated the new moorings at Stafford Boat Club as from Jan 1st. It's taken till now to be able to move, with just over a week left paid for on our current moorings. It felt like having a new toy for Christmas but no batteries. This was to be the definate trip if we had to bowhaul her there.
Kings Bromley to Stafford Boat Club March 7th & 8th 2010 We arrived at KB on Saturday lunchtime and lit the fire and put on the water. While the boat warmed up we went shopping in Lichfield for supplies for the trip. The weather is fine, but extremely cold, and a frost is expected overnight. We treated ourselves to a farewell meal in the Swan at Fradley. Pub is very basic, and there was a cold draught every time the door opened but the food was sublime. Back on board we enjoyed the excellent tv reception that we won’t get at SBC, then an early night. Next morning we woke to find the boat iced in. We had no intention of moving till the ice melted and we stoked the fire and had a good breakfast and donned our thermal undies in readiness and at 12.15 left our moorings in glorious sunshine. We exited the marina entrance at 12.20 and set off for pastures new. We enjoyed a beautiful cruise and met a surprising number of boats coming towards us, though none going our way. We made good time and reached Rugeley in exactly 2 hours, and reached Colwich (cow s**t) lock around 3.45. The lock was in our favour and the only problem was closing the bottom gate. I thought I wasn’t going to make it but eventually it gave and I worked the lock and as the water rose a boat came round the bend to take the lock as we left it. We reached Heywood lock ten minutes ahead of schedule and went in as another oncoming boat left it. We moored above the lock at 4.45 after a wonderful day’s cruising. The timings were immaculate and we had had just sufficient fresh air for the first trip of the season. I did manage to get a decentish tv reception, not wonderful but watchable, and as Ken wasn’t interested in ice dancing he opted to go to the pub while I stayed aboard. He came back an hour later absolutely frozen and said that it was incredibly dark and he had to tread very carefully along the towpath as he couldn’t see the ground. Monday morning dawned sunny again, but again we were iced in. A hireboat came by ice breaking as they had to be back at the base for 9 am but we again met the day gently, and didn’t leave till there were only small portions of ice on the water. I took the tiller this time and steered round avoiding the protruding moored hireboats onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal. We continued gently across Tixall and on to the lock, once more meeting a boat leaving as we reached it. The trip across Milford was the best it’s ever been, balmy and sunny and wind free. The works under the bridge at Radford are a big improvement and today’s cruise has been idyllic. We arrived at SBC at 1.55 to find a boat already in our designated mooring. We moored temporarily in another mooring which is the one I had coveted last summer. We will have to see if we can get this one as our permanent mooring as it is alongside instead of in a chevron formation. We were made very welcome to the club and on Tuesday Ken went to join the workparty who were making good some crumbling concrete on the canal frontage. On Wednesday he worked again onsite filling in the original little slipway. Thursday we were given a lift back to Kings Bromley to fetch our car. We made our final farewells there and after lunch on board we parked the car up and got the bus to Stafford and I had a little retail therapy. Friday Ken went back to the workparty and helped with the driving of the steel shuttering on the front of the former slipway. A quiz in the club at night was entertaining and we didn’t make such a bad showing as at the Gig, neither winning or losing. On Sunday morning we had to move to our originally designated mooring right below the steps up to the clubhouse. Sad to leave the perfect one at the entrance, but they will be doing works there and if we stayed we'd have lots of noise and dust, and there is apparently a long list of people waiting to get this one, unsurprisingly. Ah well, good while it lasted. Back home on Sunday afternoon to the pile of upcoming bills and insurances, and visits from family for Mother’s day. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
