JULY ALL GONE

Sat.27
Arrive back on board 15.43 from The Air Show. Voltage low due lack of sun and poor storage so I fire up, cast off at 16.00 and tie up by Bridge19 an hour later to explore the local area and overnight with a 5.50am start in the morning.

Sun.28
Arrive in Atherstone (8.30am) with the batteries well charged.  I'm here to upgrade the boat's  solar system. A battery pack is to be delivered to a local motor factor for me to collect and put on the boat.  For this I have a local man with a van on stand-by. The pack weighs 100kg. 
I left Wavy Rider at Ansty two weeks ago expecting a round trip of four days until canal time intruded.  Took a return bus to Tamworth for a look and to pass the time and on return shanked down the flight and round the road to shop at Tesco

Mon29
Early morning I continued boat-painting:- masking and daubing a few dozen diamonds.  Atherstone Nuneaton return later to see about traveling to Cambridge tomorrow since the batteries are not going to be here for some days.  It's been rather a hot day but the front cabin was bearable.  And in the evening when the sun went down I finished boat painting. 

Tue30.
Delay on delivery of batteries gave a window to go to Cambridge and stay overnight at wife's cottage where we did some book-keeping, some gardening and had a nice dinner and a good sleep.

Wed 31
On the return leg of a train ticket you can break your journey so having boarded at Meldreth and changed at Cambridge I got off at Peterborough about 2o/c and went to my flat to water my plants, change my clothes and stay overnight.

Thu1st August.
Laundry and housekeeping at the flat before baling out to rejoin the train and get  off at Melton Mowbrey for an hour. This was a sentimental stop.  In 1984 with my then young family we did a massive road trip from Shannon via Warrenpoint, Larne, Stranraer, The Wirral in our new Fiat Uno. We traveled down through the spine of England via Neston and stopped in Melton Mobrey in front of Ye Olde Porke Shoppe. 

a ten minute shank from the train station to a pedestrianized town centre brought me back to a street I instantly recognized.  I got a pie and two Eccles cakes before rejoining the train and carrying on through Leicester to Nuneaton from where (having collected my embroidered shirts) I bussed back to Atherstone to rejoin the boat.

Since the battery saga is on this blog let me update.  I collected the batteries on Mon 5th at 5pm and set sail  almost immediately to overnight , overnighting at Bridge18 in open country.  Being aware that I was on very low diesel reserves I was taking it 'easy'

and and going through Hawkesbury Lock1 on Thu.8th at 10oc.

Midday Tue6th
I chose to stop for lunch and fit two new Vartas which was the first time I noticed I was replacing 70Ah with 95Ah.  Same height and width but four inches longer and well heavier.  I got back to Wavy about 3.30 in the afternoon and moored alongside for the hitch up so up sticks at 1545 and make it to Combe Farm after an engine cut out.  The diary tersely says 
"During the fukkup I got stung by a wasp and dipped very deep into my CFS reserves. Two paracetamol going to bed at 22.20".

Wed.7th
It was expedient to take things very easy today and although the diary documents quite a busy day it was completed by moving very slowly.  My mooring is near the Stretton under Fosse aqueduct and but not yet in sight of the swing bridge which is a mile away.