Winter cruising.... and ice

Last Monday we were at Alrewas, we had several appointments made and had to make the decision as to where we were going to stay.... for a few days... if we were iced in.....or as to where we were wanted to be. This is our first winter as continuous cruisers, we have lived on the boat for many years but have always in the past come back to Hopwas to moor at the bottom of Mum and Dads garden for the winter with all facilities 50 yards away. This year is different, Mum and Dad have gone, the house at Hopwas has been sold and we are now continuously cruising. We had been moving around, we had left Stafford, been to Alrewas and need to be somehwere accessible for the forecast bad weather and cold snap. We decided on Whittington, a Staffordshire village with a regular (half hourly) bus service to either Lichfield or Tamworth, plus a local co-op, pharmacy, post office, take away and two pubs.... decision made. What else do we need. WATER!!!! Not in the canal but the drinking variety. We can survive with the various loos, (a combination of cassettes and pump out for a couple of weeks), food - no problem, diesel - we have plenty, coal and logs, getting low but good for a few days yet. However, our water tank is only 100 gallons, we have become expert at using very little water for washing up and our economy showers are something to behold, but, with the best will in the world, we can only last 4 days on our 100 gallons. (Compare this with the usage in an average household and you will see that we are being very miserly!!) This is where diplomacy kicks in..... or, as in our case, you know the couple who own the canalside house just 150 yards away. So, this morning, we started up the engine, selected forward gear and attempted to move forward. And stopped, this ice is different, normal ice cracks, ,makes a lot of noise and lets you go forward. This ice is like a sponge, you go forward and it absorbs you. Back a bit, forward a bit, and eventually we reached our goal, Eric and Doreen's water tap!! After filling our tank we reversed back to our mooring, this must be the first time I have managed to reverse 150 yards without touching the tiller, we just glided back through the channel we had made, moored up, sorted ourselves out and went back to Eric and Doreens for a cup of coffee and biscuits. Result!! Thank you very much.

2013 - and a Happy New Year to you all!!

Time for a post methinks.... it has been a while. Christmas was spent with the family in Hampshire and New Year was spent with friends at Stafford Boat Club. All in all, a very good Christmas and New Year. Time then, once the festivities were all over, to start cruising again, this being our first winter as continuous cruisers. One obvious subject is the weather, first we were forecast to receive the 'beast from the east'. Admittedly, we did get a couple of cold days, one morning the thermometer went down to minus 5.7C and there was a little bit of thin ice on the Shroppie. Then we were to get the 'pest from the west', i.e.rain, and that indeed we did get. Hopefully, there will be no-one telling us in 2013 that there is a water shortage amd that the resevoirs are not full. Obviously, every cloud has a silver lining and the wet winter SHOULD mean trouble free cruising in 2013. Then there is the weather we are getting at the moment, sitting here on Tixall Wide, it is more like a spring day than a winters day! The weather is mild, it is dry and the sun is shining. We have to keep the fires in otherwise it gets damp, but, we also have to have the sidehatch open sometimes! We've spent a couple of days here, peace and quiet after all the hectic festivities, there was a bit of sorting out to do, I always try to operate by the premise that if I get something new for the wardrobe then something has to go (BUT, this does not seem to work with her shoes!!) So, the wardrobe was emptied and tidied, but all I could find to thow away was a couple of pairs of old slippers, who needs five pairs of slippers anyway? We did venture as far as Great Haywood today, we needed water and to dump some rubbish, a newspaper and a couple of things from the shops, there were boats everywhere! Queues for the water point, no empty moorings, so, as soon as we had done our business we scurried back to the peace and quiet of Tixall Wide. What next? We may head towards Penkridge for a couple of days before turning round and going, firstly, to Rugeley for a couple of days and then Hopwas or Fazeley for a couple of days as I have a few meetings to attend in the next week or so and both these locations are good for access to the rail network.

Sunset over Tixall Wide 02.01.13