It is still July. I know, feels like it took us months to move her from Norbury Junction to Willington! At least writing this gives me something boaty to do during the November lockdown.
So, we are moored on the side of the canal, a little past the site of my shame. The problem is that the gear cable has magically separated itself entirely from the bit of the gearbox it should be attached to. We have a PRM gearbox, it means nothing to me at all (at the moment, but it’s on my list) 😂
It is a beautiful day, the sun is warm, the sky is clear and there are lots of people passing us – lovely day, yes, broken down? Errrrrr yes, hence rummaging around in the engine bay in the searing heat and baking sun. Next boat, lovely day, yes, broken down? Lovely day, yes, broken down? Lovely day, yes, broken down? No, no it’s a new fetish we are exploring, how hot, sweaty, stinky and covered in oil we need to be before we…oh, hang on, sorry, probably not the most appropriate forum for that kind of sharing!
Eventually Keith has the cable back where it needs to be, although he is no closer to getting at the origin of said cable to replace it with the new one we now own. This is all thanks to a chap on a boat moored south of us who very kindly lent us a pile of his tools and didn’t even complain when we broke his tenon saw. There was also another nice chap who gave us some advice from a different boat; this helpful attitude to fellow boaters really sums up the majority of the boating community. I’d love to be able to thank them personally here, but have no idea who they are or the names of their boats. So if it was you, thanks and we owe you lots of tea and cake!!
Mid-afternoon arrived and we set off towards Rugeley, having lost a good mornings cruising and feeling the time pressure of needing to get to our mooring on Sunday so we could go back to work. The delay did mean that we were now looking at a couple of long days cruising to reach our destination, luckily it was summer and the days were warm and long.
I love the canal through Rugeley, Armitage and Handsacre, it’s tricky, twisty and tight with some interesting gardens backing onto the water. I really enjoy the gardens, just like walking the dogs around our village. I look into the gardens and am reminded that we are absolutely bonkers, totally individual and very daring – I so like a good nose into a strangers garden 😊
One of the challenging parts of this canal is the old Armitage tunnel. It is no longer a tunnel, being mainly roofless, interesting to boat through, albeit a bit tight. Keith has to get off the boat and walk the length of the tunnel before letting me know if I can bring her through as there is absolutely no way another boat could pass us. As we leave the cutting, the Plum Pudding pub is on our right and the Rugeley Road runs right next to the car park. During all my years working on ambulances, I would drive up and down this road, wistfully looking up at the canal and dreaming of mooring my longed for boat by the pub in summer, sitting at the garden table drinking a cold glass of wine watching the cars go by…we are planning to meet some of Keiths friends at Tixall Wide next summer, so I’ve got plans (🤫). Sadly, every time we’ve been past so far it’s been cold and raining 😟.
Coming in to Fradley (I’ve deliberately missed out the lovely canal coming into Fradley as there is a half-term story there) it is beginning to get late and, frankly, I’ve had enough. Fradley is lovely and we are not turning at the junction but passing straight through. We pass lock 18 (insert.upstarts.dynasties) and are bobbing past The Swan pub when I spot a lovely new shiny Heart of England Narrowboat (hoen.co.uk) and am about to shout ‘Oi, be gentle with that boat, it belongs to Neil!’ When Neil walks out of the pub with a pint. So I demonstrate how much of a lady I am and shout instead ‘Oi, Neil, look at my new baby’, so on he hops. Now, it is entirely his fault that I bought this boat as I had pottered off to Norbury to look at a boat Neil had found for me. Not this one mind. Anyway, he disappears and then reappears, mutters ‘she’s a nice boat’ nods and hops off. High praise indeed!!
