sad

Hi everyone, Just to say I havn't been blgging as my mum took ill 3 weeks ago and sadly passed away on the 10th...We had to leave millimaize in Chirk as i was staying with mum night and day, can't settle and just want the funeral over on the 22nd to get back on the water...Mum loves water so i am sure she will join me XXX

25th May - 28th june.. Wow...is all i can say

Hi all, sorry it's been a month but every time i thought about getting up to date the signal was so low it was driving me mad....Just had to pop back to civilization for hospital appointments and signing house sale contracts so this was my opportunity.
We left Grindley Brook leaving the car there as we didn't have any work the following weekend so that gave us time to recover it some how..
We wanted to get to llangollen where my son would pick me up for the Miss Cheshire pageant in Congleton and drop me off at the car on the way back. We spent the week slowly getting there and one night is particularly rememberable.
It must have been well past midnight and Tim had gone to the bathroom, he emerged a little concerned at the noise he could hear outside. On turning the tv off the noise became apparent and i can only describe it as and animal being tortured...I didn't want to hear it any more as my mind was imagining all sorts and i prayed for it to die so it as out of it's misery. Silence, thank goodness i thouht and our discussion turned to the idea of a fox having got a lamb then it started again for a minute and stopped again. Tim grabbed a flashlight and shone it around but all we saw was a couple of badgers wandering up one of the fields then it started again and dreading what we would see tim scanned in the direction of the noise only to see 2 eyes in the water just under bridge 12W above the locks. We hadn't a clue but the torch was dimming......never full battery when you need one... so we grabbed a couple of little LED lights a blanket and a landing net. Running down the bank and getting nearer we couldn't see a thing then we spotted something near the other bank so we scrambled over the bridge, down the embankment and shone the torch.....Badger.... a youngster but nearly fully grown, it was barely keeping it's head above water and as we tried to help with the net...it was too big to get it in.... it fought against us...3 attempts and although they are dangerous I was thinking of getting an and talking to Tim afterwards so was he!!! However one more attempt did it and it was on the bank.
Breathing very heavily as you can imagine and trying to walk away but no energy for that. Then it started shaking so much, I tried to get the blanket over it but it moved from under it so on the second attempt i covered it completely and it stayed still. Tim ran back and got a plastic underbed box from the roof and somehow we managed to get it in there wrapped in the blanket where it shivered away...
We spoke to the R.S.P.C.A. who said they would come the following morning but we decided to take the box to the field where the other 2 badgers were seen and leave it there till morning to see if it had found the strength to get out and go home...We had only just layed it down and barely had chance to climb back over the fence when we heard a shuffle and it was gone...what a wonderful sight that was...
Anyway we continued on our merry way the next day, boring everyone we met with oueexpedition!!!
The rest of our journey was un- eventful though lovely, we stopped at Ellesmere and came accross the Mere by chance on a walk how beautiful. The pictures show the bridge where we saved the badger, and the other was what we thought was a dead woman lying in the middle of nowhere in the long grass. She proceeded to walk along the canal bank for what seemed like forever with no shoes on...very strange...
We reached llangollen and had a couple of night's in the marina, recovered the car and then moved to Trevor. We have spent 2 weeks at Trevor and had visits from family, bought a second car!! 300 squid, thats helping to keep a car with us for weekend work and visited everything you can imagine. horseshoe falls, horseshoe pass, worlds end, panorama view, the castle, steep walk that was also made roof boxes 6 x 2.5 ft and they are at the upholsterers near Trevor having covers fitted. Didn't need t leave yet but be moved to Chirk a week ago by the poachers pocket, 3 cows have fallen in the water from opposite us and can you believe that the first one nearly needed our help to get out....bit bigger than a badger.... I have put a few more pics on of our journey to llangollen as they may bring back some memories for yourselves.

18th -24th May........SHATTERED!

Well, we had a re-check for our certificate on thursday morning then had a call from my brother regarding him being on a caravan club rally in Wrenbury and the fact that i said we were setting off and would be there for the bank holiday weekend....Ha don't think so.....it was this weekend..do we or don't we, 21hrs!! had a quick think and thought what the heck..
We never normally move more than a couple of miles as we need to retrace to get the car with us as were still working the odd day till xmas but my Brother said he would take us back for the car, great.
We set off from Stockton Heath Warrington at 2pm, just about made the Preston Brook tunnel, thank goodness else that would have put us another hour behind. Met a couple at Dutton stop lock and a little chat and said bye as they went on their way. We got through the stop lock and a mile or so on the same couple were mooring with smoke coming from their engine....This was one of those moments that normally you wouldn't question but when your time is so limited you do think twice but then the fact that there would be help only half an hour away with a tow if they needed one we moored and gave a hand, had another chat, fixed the boat and left having exchanged names etc, you know how it goes so i would like to say Hello to a lovely couple on SERENA, Judith and John,who are living aboard thanks to the kids taking all responsibility of the house so they could get on with life. Hope everything's O.K. and that you managed to find the Blog...Anyway the next tunnel was again perfectly timed and we made it to Middlewich at 11pm 9hrs later.
Next morning we set off at 7.30, no breakfast, that was done in shifts. All the locks were falling so well for us and only hit a queue at Swanley which we thought was going to happen along the way but alas as we reach Venetian empty lock, no queue.
We went up the lock here and had to stop for milk as we hadn't a clue when the next chance would be but this then led to smelling food and having egg & chips in the cafe.3/4hr later we were on our way again and not long after this decided we had had enough sun over the two days so we put our canopy up and dropped for some of the littler bridges, last minute wrangle....It was our first time onto the llangollen but we were well aware of the small locks and even though we knew we still read the lift your fenders sign before entering and commented on how tight it must be.
Tim jumped off with Kal and i waited then steered into the lock as i got about 10 foot in we stuck solid. Forward or reverse was useless..OMG i thought weve got one of those boats that has been built too wide Ha HA....no i don't think so...front fenders were down...how the heck. Tim jumped onto the roof and tried to push them down but it wouldn't work so i got the bread knife and ventured out of the cratch, cut the ropes, got covered in horrible slime off the wall...YUK.. and Tim gave them anothe push but still stuck...I went back to the helm and tried to reverse and thank goodness it worked...What idiots we felt, glad nobody was around!!!!!!
We continued on our journey and discovered that not far from Wrenbury one of the locks had been out of action for 4hrs!! lucky again.
Meanwhile my brother had been ringing me from work checking on our progress..it was now about 7pm and he called me. He had finished work gone home got ready and had left warrington at 6.45 we arrived at Wrenbury at 7.15 ish 20hrs travelling hrs over 1 1/2 days later whilst he had got there in just 45minutes!!!!! I am sure we enjoyed our journey more though as it was fantastic....
They have all gone back to work now and were still here. Heading to Marbury today, sounds nice and the weather is a little cooler giving my sunburn a rest!!

MAY 6TH TO 17TH

Headed up the trent as far as dutton stop lock...nearly stayed in Anderton to visit the Stanley but just about managed to resist....The following day we went to Moore and i bought some of their oak smoked bacon, a treat every time we pass and I don't eat any other bacon in between..
We reached Walton BMBC around 6pm and were greated by Jackie and Eddie who kindly helped us moor up. Walton BMBC have just constructed a timber Gazeebo, few windows and a door and it could be a club Ha Ha... It's just the ticket and with the addition of the wood burner evenings are a treat.
Our evening was enhanced by other BMBC boaters and a greattime was had by all, lovely to see familiar faces and to have a chat, singalong and maybe some of us had a little too much to drink...not me of course..

Sorry to friends who's picture isn't on here but this one took ages to upload for some reason so it's the only one from the night...
We stayed a couple of nights at Walton then ventured up to Thorn Marine in stockton heath for our Boat Safety check and we failed.....What.... small gas leak which has been sorted now but still to be rechecked.
Today my Sons came and we headed off for a cruise along the canal and lunch. Lovely to see them again...don't they grow up fast