Monthly Archive: May 2011

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The Friendliness of Folk

Tuesday 31st May From Stone (Trent & Mersey Canal) to Tixall Wide (Staffs & Worcs Canal)     Generally folk are very friendly and helpful.  Our neighbour at home has reacted to our concern that milk may have inadvertently been left in the fridge with a Milk removed – you could have made cheese e-mail response. This morning Cleddau drew up in front of the chandlery in Stone and while the Captain disappeared to do unspeakable sanitation and rubbish disposal duties...

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Bumper and dodgem boats

Monday 30th May From Stoke-on-Trent to Stone, Staffordshire     Rain did not halt play today. The Captain springs to life at the sound of an alarm clock, ready to follow whatever the day’s plan is.  He is soon vocal, indeed articulate, posing questions, seeking opinions. This morning he offered to debate with Boatwif the full pros and cons of sticking to the plan, that is, a prompt departure so as to reach Stone by early afternoon or a delayed start...

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Customised

Sunday 29th May From just north of Congleton to Stoke-on-Trent         “What was so wonderful about Wayne?” asked a friend last week, referring to the blog Cleddau on a test cruise. We were ecstatic about his ability to translate our bumbling ideas for a bathroom wall cabinet into a made-to-measure cupboard. See photo as evidence.  Last thing last night the camera was picked up to record the appearance of the front door and window customised bungs and screens, which...

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Tick. Tick. Tick. And Tickover…

Saturday 28th May     Boatwif and the Captain were home for all of five days, five days only to make the final preparations for Departure Day for the 2011 Summer Cruise.     If in panic, make a list.  The beauty of a list is that tasks completed can be ticked off, thus giving the ticker something of a sense of preparedness, or at least, of progress. The This Week list had 17 items, all but two related to the upcoming...

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Cleddau on a test cruise

Tuesday 17th May – Friday 20th May Techno Son-in-Law and Physicist Friend had campaigned to do a third annual spring cruise to Bugsworth. Diaries and calendars, i-phones and gizmos were consulted, dates agreed and time booked off work. Then a complication: frustration over the lack of close-to-hand storage space for toothbrushes had mounted. A call to Bourne Boats: any chance of an over-the-basin cupboard and shelf before the summer cruise? A date was given: deliver boat to Kerridge by 0900...

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A Dawdle for a Dinner

Saturday 14th May     The list of jobs to be done was long: second airing cupboard door to be fitted; first airing cupboard door to be varnished; exact measurements of the window panes in the front doors to be taken; cupboards to be reorganised following acquisition of some storage boxes; an audit of stuff hastily stored under the dinette weeks ago to be made…  Our arrival just before 5pm coincided with the outbreak of a seriously heavy rain shower and...