The Summit

Longterm followers of this blog will know that this narrow-boating thing is now in its third year, and that in 2007, our mission to climb up the Rochdale canal over the summit and down to Littleborough (in Lancashire) was thwarted by a water shortage and some canal "pounds" with too little water in them, forcing us to turn back.

We climbed up through Todmorden but the shallow run-aground pound that thwarted us, between locks 25 and 26 (Smithyholme and Pinnel) meant that we got only 100 yards past lock 25 and had to reverse out (then reverse all the way back to Todmorden (not easy in a 56 foot boat - a matter of much roping and poling).

In 2008 we chose a different kind of route - a hard charging one-direction mission through Leeds to Burnley, but this year we opted to try again at the Summit. The guys from British Waterways have now got it a lot more organised so that numpty tourists can't leave paddles open and fail to close locks correctly, so water is conserved much better up there. You have to book passage over, and the numbers and slots are severely restricted.

Their man (In our case a westie owner called Dave) then collects you at the bottom of the restriction (lock 34) at the allotted time and pretty much shepherds you through, helping you with locks and letting extra water into the pounds to make sure you get through. You must also go in pairs of boats to maximise efficiency (of which more later). You then part company with him on the way back down, as you drop out of the poorly locks (subsidence, bellying sides and leaky doors) back into better maintained bits of canal.

So - we made it, and had plenty adventures on the way, which I will regale you with as we go through the next few days.

Look after yourself

Deefer

The Good Ship "Sussex"

Another week with no postings, but this time for a very very good reason, namely we were away on this year's Narrow Boating Holiday. Regular readers will know that we use Sowerby Bridge (near Halifax) based firm Shire Cruisers, whose boats are all named after counties, and this year we were on the good ship "Sussex".

We are only just back, and we are still unpacking and recovering, the humans de-grunging in the shower and Mum feeding us all, so much much more of all our adventures later, and over the next few days, but for now let a couple of pics suffice, to give you some idea. The 3-dog pic is left to right, megs, my good self and the H, and the single dog posing above the "Sussex" name plate is, of course, H-man.

We had a whale of a time, making up for the shallow-water, no-access disappointments of 2007 by successfully negotiating the summit over to Littleborough, and managed to give Mum all she could need in terms of relaxing, shopping and bimbling after the 2008 hard-charging go-go-go deadlines mission through Leeds to Burnley.

Much more over the next few days.

Lurve

Aft-Deck Hand and Lock-wrangling assistant, Deefer

Allotment Bounty

Just one more pic from the "home leg" of the twinning thing if I may - an oil painting presented from La Chapelle to Birchington (one of many gifts in a looooong ceremony!) and look, down there in the lower left is "our old girl", Mademoiselle d'Armentieres.

Sorry that postings have once again been a bit thin on the ground. It's been mad round here through June and July as Dad has had the Village of the Year judging (we cover the "Environmental Action" category, now called "Sustainability"), and Gardens for Wildlife judging, and Mum has been trying to be there for Diamond who is in hospital.

Diamond update - she's OK and being well looked after; she's in the safest place; but it is quite a long and hard treatment she must go through before she can be pronounced fit and well, so all those who know her will be wishing her well. Rags has been to visit, we know and although he took a while to suss that this was his Mum, he was overcome with excitement and joy when he worked it all out. (Anyone who wants to know an update, email my Dad privately and we'll tell you all).

Meanwhile the allotment has gone from nothing really ready, to glut, all in one hit, but as we are shortly feeding the 5000, this is a good thing, and Dad has been up there tonight to gather in the first French beans, Rainbow chard and baby beetroot, plus some more artichokes, broad beans and peas. More of the 5000 later.

Talking of babies, a lovely sight tonight when a parent goldfinch brought young to the garden and provided food from the sunflower kernel feeders (presumably part-digested). First time we've knowingly seen young gold finches.

Ah well, with all this judging over, we might be able to post more regularly soon (although we must just get through this feeding-the-5000 hiatus.

Look after yourself, and have a great weekend

Deefski

Came in as Heathcliff....

Mum can sometimes throw in a very literary comment, being of an English Lit educated persuasion. When Dad fled home from the recent 2CV camp all sweaty, dirty and smelly, sneaking home for a shower before returning to the site all fresh and fragrant (Did I really write that?) Mum was heard to say he "came back as Heathcliffe and left as Linton"

We're not sure we want such references made to our Dad (and hero!) especially when you can get quotes like this, below from Wikipedia.....

"(1797, aged 12) [Linton] was asleep in a corner, wrapped in a warm, fur-lined cloak, as if it had been winter. A pale, delicate, effeminate boy, who might have been taken for [Edgar's] younger brother, so strong was the resemblance: but there was a sickly peevishness in his aspect that Edgar Linton never had."

... but we think we know where she was coming from.

Today, Dad's been out most of the day at the barge Cambria, which is open as one of the attraction in Faversham's "Open Houses" festival, whereby local residents with interesting and historic houses open them to the public

http://www.faversham.org/pages/event_item.aspx?i_PageID=111308

They had over a hundred visitors to the barge and they were exhausted - all that declaiming in the hot sun! Rush home and enjoy some Haagen Dazs icecream, would be my advice.

Oh, you already have!

Deefski

H Vans and a Scammell

2 more nice pics from the 2CV camp, and the associated Preston Steam Rally. The grey beast is the Citroen H Van mentioned yesterday, and the blue and red beast is considerably heavier, being a low loader / heavy haulage puller/pusher, the Scammell. Both lovingly restored and I am sure much cherished. Dad says he loves the name, but that might be something to do with Theakestone's beers.

My but it's hot. Dad's getting home at a sensible hour but no-one feels like walking till about 9 pm. The car's dashboard thermometer read 35 degrees at 3pm, admittedly in a sun-trap car park, but even moving under normal conditions we were still getting 31 degrees. Too hot to walk, too hot to type.

Love though, to Diamond, not at all well in hospital at present. Rags has been sent away "on his holidays" (a place up on the A2 owned by chums of Diamond, where Rags goes when she's in Greece. He loves it there - big garden and people around all the time to make a fuss of him and be with him. Thinks all his Birthdays and Christmasses have come at once. Won't want to come home!

Deefski

Socks and a Ukelele

2 more pics from the 2CV camp. A couple of the campers who we know well, and who turn up with Collie brother and sister, Ben and Nellie (14) have lately got keen on playing the Ukelele.

The guy in particular has bought several on Flea-Bay and "done them up" with amusing paint-jobs etc (One was in two-tone and covered in pics of ska bands and stuff). He is also a bit of a genius woodworker and , being also mad keen on the old corrugated steel Citroen vans called "H" vans, has even made a Uke whose body is the same shape as an H van grille. I will dig out an H van pic so you can see (just imagine a corrugated iron shed on wheels).

This one has several amusing and imaginative features - the number plate says "Uke", the paint work has been deliverately "distressed" at the bottom and on the neck, the sound-holes are the Citroen chevrons, and inside is a fake sticker saying "Made by Citroen USA in 1958". The coffee mug in the pic is also H-van inspired, as within Dad's club there is an un-official spoof sub-group called "Scum" (Societe Citroen Utilite Moteurs) - or some such.

The next pic is another dog we know well from many many camps - "Socks" who appears with Mick and his good lady Charlie. Socks belongs to Charlie and here she (Charlie) is caught facing the wrong way in their H-Van driving seat and trying to screw her head round to see who is calling her through the window (It's Dad). Disorganised ears or what?

Deefski

Hoppers Camp 2009

Hey! We've all been camping again, the 2009 edition of the 2CV camp organised by dad's club local group, Kentish Hoppers. We're in the old familiar farm in Preston, a village just East of Canterbury but in 2009 there are some major differences from "normal". First up, the weather.

Dad's camps are plagued by strong winds and heavy rain, so that we dogs are always damp and normally crawling into the damp tent accompanied by a towel down by increasingly damp dog-towels. We lie in a steaming heap with Dad and no-one can really get a good, comfy night's sleep.

This year, blue skies and hot hot dry days, windless to the point of being stormy-sultry, but the threatened storms miss us, except for a tiny shower on Saturday.

Next was that the camp was timed to co-incide with another big local event, the Preston Steam Traction Engine Rally, where lots of boys even more weird than Dad display their huge steam engines (far worse than 2CV's!). Boys never grow up - it's just their toys get bigger.

We finally get to ride in the Hoppers' project restoration car, "Mademoiselle", when Dad has to nip over to collect here from the lock up so that she can be displayed at the camp site, and does not want to leave us behind. The precious restored seat fabric is protected by a rug, and in we clamber. Excellent fun!.

More of this soon - I have lots of pics and lots more to tell. I must remember to tell you about Megs getting into trouble for stealing our new Hungarian friend's breakfast, but that's for later.

Also why I'm now shampoo'd to within an inch of my life.......

Good stuff - we're all tired out now though.

Deefski