To be frank, it's been a VERY frustrating week... part of the "point" of moving aboard a boat and exploring the uk canals was to get away from red-tape/jobs worths/ott Elf & Safety procedures that (on occasions) remove the ability for folk to apply common sense to situations.
There's no point in moaning here about it so I'll be as brief as the required vent permits....
As you'll know, - LAST Friday we came across an emergency stoppage on the canal because 5 days earlier a vehicle had hit a bridge wall - knocking said wall into the canal... now crt had already fished out the masonry from the canal and it was sitting in the bottom of the hopper THEY had marooned under the bridge to "block" anyone taking a boat through..
Having spent literally hours on the phone going between crt and the local highways dept, firstly it looked like "something" was to be done on Wednesday the 19th... then highways did a u turn and said they weren't sure when it would happen...
ALL we wanted to do was bow haul if necessary the boat through - but could only do that if they moved their ruddy blockage. HAVING clambered over the bridge and "tested the loose masonry" we were already convinced it was very unlikely it could topple in unless ANOTHER car hit it... in which case, it was NO unsafer than the already smashed through wall to begin with .... Anyway... as luck would have it , when we went for our morning walk, we found the hopper floating loosely - so having taken the boat through, we then maneuvered the hopper back to it's original "blocking position" - perhaps then tying better knots than whomever had left it in the first place.
Our journey on wards was then interrupted quite soon when we came across a tree down over the towpath and 90% of the canal...
No photos of that because it was round a bend and needed emergency action to scrape past- grounding on the off side and then lots of faffing around in the shallows to re-float the boat.
Usually- we'd have moored up... got our saws out and tried to help crt with it's removal ... I'm ashamed to admit that because we were so p'd off with their lack of help and support , we left it to them to do - reporting it when we got back to a signal area - Call it karma.
ANYWAY - we're here now and feeling much more like our normal selves.
Our enforced stay in Kildwick however, did reveal a few nice walks - shame it was wet and windy generally but we dont' shrink.
Also all this extra time on our hands, meant a lot more walking - Mostly into Skipton and back - which it turns out is 10.2 miles....
Another positive about our extra walking time, has meant we've seen an abundance of Kingfishers - (or maybe the same one has been following us for days)... EITHER way, I finally got a reasonable (for me) photo -
I do wish they would stay "perched" whilst you try and creep up closer to them... it's all well and good having a 63 time optical zoom lens but by the time I've zoomed in I either a) lose where they are or b) shake so much they end up blurred... anyway - this is the best of about 30 photos...
In boaty jobs, I've had to give the chimney another sweep - in the rain and wind but we were getting so much blow back it couldn't wait any longer... it's amazing how quickly the soot builds up. I've also had to do some emergency repairs to Andy's Led Xmas light circuits... their positions meaning that they kept getting trapped in the back doors and inevitably, a few got crushed - Ahem... no idea how that happened... he's already looking for new sets for NEXT year... grrr....
WE need to prep the boat now for our guests which arrive on Boxing day - we're really looking forward to having some company again..
We're also meeting up with Sallie and Lee who arrive in the town on 28th so that will be nice too - spending a lot of time in a small tube when it's dark most of the day can get a bit trying ... roll on longer days which by my reckoning are about to begin their return journey - by about 1.5 mins a day if memory serves me right... it'll be spring in no time.
Meanwhile - a decision needs to be made this morning about batteries... having awoken to only 20% soc on the smart gauge - they were on 83% when we went to bed last night so either something has been touching the back of the fridge, or their goosed.... the boat yard closes today until Jan 7th so we either get them now and or hope for the best and see if it was just a hick up ... my "emergency planning nature" is preferring the former but that's a lot of money we don't have spare at the moment... time to dig out the credit card.
Hmmmf..
Dear Santa....
Until next time...
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