Where K2 went out, got stuck and came home!

The plan was simple. Saturday a nice run out, moor up below the locks, then on Sunday a nice run home.

For a change, the ice in the marina was thin and K2 popped out of there easily, and the cut was lovely. But as we went on the ice got thicker, and our pace slowed as we crunched through, leaving a smaller channel where we had been. South (or is it East) of cruisers, K2's bow rose up out of the water, slid along as if on skis and then stopped, stalling that old donkey of hers as the prop thrashed against its own water load. 28tonnes and she just remained there, not even cracking the ice across the canal!

So there was only one way forward, and that was backwards!!

OK - reversing through cut ice is easy, she virtually followed her path back, up the cut (ice) through the bridge, past the moored boats and to the winding hole that had totally clear water, and was easy to turn in.

In my turn, I waited for a boat to pass me. A light live-aboard seeking his 2 bridges. ""Can't get through"" I advised, to which the reply was ""It's been fine up to here so far"". Good luck, I wonder how far he got once the well known ice breaker K2 had given up!!

So back to home (easily as someone had sliced through the ice for me - hang on, that WAS me!) where the ice had thickened and made it difficult getting back into my pontoon where instead of the quiet night, it was a noisy one, as we laughed our way through the evening, mainly about ice and trainsets!!

73, 17, 1 and a few...

Crawled out of bed at the crack of dawn today. There was a conference in Oxford run by a software house who are thinking of developing a suite for vehicle remarketing. I fancied going. (well was invited!!) So 0600 on the road, that was a little white, crawling through the snowfall at 15mph. (I know Andy, but my 2 rear wheel drive car doesn't like ice) An hour after leaving I was 20 miles from home!

Every mile was covered with great concentration, and at painfully slow speeds, with an eventual halting on the M1/A43 slip road, Junction 15.

Look at the SatNav - every road off the M1 is closed, with queing traffic on every main road. 73 lorries parked (or maybe, slipped) up on the exit, the service station, and the roundabouts onto the A43, which by the way, the police had closed, but failed to advise drivers on the Motorway.

Eventually sneaked through the service station and back onto the M1 southbound to Junction 14, where exactly the same was happening. The A45 was closed, and lorries were parked all over the place, making it impossible to do the simple exercise of "round the roundabout and back"!! Here's the wonderful view out of my window that I gazed at for an hour and a half!!

When I finally got northbound on the M1, long after the conference had finished there was a 17 mile tail back from junction 14, glad I wasn't at the end of that!

So home exhausted and frustrated at 1600, having driven only 114 miles, and got within 43 miles of the conference.

B R

Board Room
Bed RoomBritish Railways
Hang on - how did that get in here?

Update...

Well, just to prove some people read this blog, comment was made that I hadn't updated it for a bit! That's because nothing news worthy had happened!! The Automotive sector is in it's worst recession, even given the early 90's, compounded by the recessed financial markets. So if you are in Automotive funding and leasing ....... you are probably, like me, not in it at the moment!! Many of our big players have closed funding lines, vehicle residual values are at an all time low, whilst maintenance costs soar, and to balance the books, companies are shedding staff like confetti, or like the snow that is falling outside.
K2 is being used only as a floating meeting room rather than the longed for elongated holiday, as the need to earn money is more pressing! The upside is, the snow is lovely, and I can sit in the warm and enjoy it building up on those branches until with a woosh they give in to the weight of snow, and empty themselves all over unsuspecting walkers and passers by.
HeHe!!

Jackanory.....

The story so far...

a car accident - see previous post. So is now reliant on my car for escape from the little village in any way.

So we pick up the story on Tuesday, when a decision after school to head by bus to Leicester to go to Fosse Park - a journey by car of 15 to 20 minutes.

Leaving the house at 1545, the local Bus didn't materialise, so a gallant neighbour drove to East Leake for a £5 bus to Loughborough, at which arrival was at 1635.

The Bus from Loughborough to Leicester was late, (£4.50) and consequently got held up in rush hour traffic, so passengers were deposited, and various drunk and singing men in Leicester bus station at 1745, for the 3 mile trip to Fosse Park.

Meanwhile - I had left Oxford, 100 miles away at 1640 and was journeying across the M40, A43, M1 towards home, when I got the phone call - "where are you?" ""On the M1"".

So I diverted, drovethe extra 9 miles into Leicester city centre, and then out to Fosse Park - where arrival was just after 1830. 2 Hours and 45 minutes, 2 cars, 2 busses, £9 and a considerable walk and wait later.

Shopping took half an hour, and I was home by 1930hrs.....!!

So if you are ever tempted to use the rural bus network - don't bother, buy yourself one of these, and just keep going!!

Incidentally - the carbon footprint of her journey - given the mileage and the fact the bus only had 5 people on it, was far higher than if she had taken my 3litre mercedes and belted it all the way there and back, and that doesn't even account for the 2 cars involved as well!

So there you are...

Now I've upset the bus enthusiast, the green lobby, the anti 4x4, and probably a bunch of other anoraks - but I don't care, Jeremy Clarkson is my hero !!!

Trains, Big and Small

Joining the train debate - there seems to be a few. Here's fellow boaters on NB Caxton in Loughborough looking at real ones. Now that I can get interested in...

Or you can hide in a shed and play with this instead, as per Andy, Simba and anyone else on NB Khayamanzi.

So there you have it.. Can you tell the difference? Fantastic detail on the models, but you can't beat the real thing...

My good old O gauge languishes in Dads loft after the house clearance last week, but there again, it was built the same year as K2's donkey!

Room 1208

Horrid weekend, starting with a horrific car accident that left us in a ditch - courtesy of a farmers dog that ran uncontrolled out into the road in front of her. Our car control and Vorsprung durch Technik saved us from anything worse, although both were covered in glass and bruised. However, within a few hours, I was on the road in a van to pack up my house, ready for the new tenants moving in this week, and a Saturday and Sunday of hard slog, loading the remaining contents of the house into Room 1208!!
Saturday night was so icy at -8c. Me, a long wheel base van and my trailer, crawled the last 15 miles at next to no speed, to ensure we didn't end up in another ditch. Painful and tiring driving.
So now - house empty, room 1208 full, K2 full, and the trailer parked at the farm where the Pony is, I can catch up on the weekend, and wonder where it went to.
It wasn't fun - and I need a break now! but no such luck - ...

Of Swans, Ice and Winter trips..

First - the Swans.. Look what they have done to my bow fender!! Real rope has its down side clearly. As I can't shoot the perpetrator, I've simply sent the picture and the bill to HRH, who owns the thing. Hope she is insured...
Second Ice... News Years day, and the ice in the marina was already so thick, that it took all of the 28 tonnes of K2 to smash our way off the pontoon backwards. With a number of watchful spectators - (are they still gongoozelers if they live on a boat and are watching you?) - K2 eventually found her way to the open water of the cut. The marina had an inch and a half of ice, yet the cut was clear! Anyway 3 other boats went in after I had come out, so I guess they were grateful that a heavy boat cut the ice.
Now for anyone wondering about the cold on boats... K2's new saloon thermometer registered 36c overnight news years day - all for one pile of stoveglow and the bubble! It was -4.5c outside!!
It's a good run - passing 3 boats out, and none on the way back!!
However the pub was shut. Despite a sign and voicemail assuring us they were open 7 days a week for dinner - so a short wander up the road to the Hotel. I have stayed there in a former working life, but they were shut as well. Then an enterprising manager - ran out after us, offering blue cheese and brocoli soup, followed by Roast chicken and vegetables, and rubarb crumble for £12 a head!! deal done!! so 4 star hotel, roaring fire, and the only guests - we ate like Lords and Ladies!!
Is that snow on the ground? Probably, but not enough to shout too loud, really wanted it to snow, but that was the best it did, and the cut is still not iced over completely!!
Still now the marina is even thicker - the washing machine bubbles, and the bath water linger on the top of the sheet ice as if to prove a point, that even hot water won't penetrate the cold, and K2 now doesn't move without creaking and groaning...
The ancient mariner comes to mind "the ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around - it creaked and growled, roared and howled like noises from the... "" what was it again? English Literature was 24 years ago!!

Have a great 2009.. With me out of work - and the man from BMI also redundant after 17 years - it will be an interesting year!! may yours be prosperous....

Christmas on board...

Ok so it was a little squeeze - 7 of us in the saloon, with the heat building up, dinner was served via an assortment of make-shift benches and anything acted as a seat!! However presents were opened, food was eaten, and everyone had a good time

K2 now has a ships bell and a fantastic thermometer to tell me how cold the inside really is!! Oh and a 2 way telephone so that we can communicate between the back counter and the galley, despite having an old thumper in-between!

Home is now being rented out properly... Bit of a nightmare really as it will cost me more, and I need to store all my furniture somewhere, but the hassle of watching it deteriate will stop hopefully, when a family uses it as home. So if anyone knows where I can store furniture, as well as a trailer, that would be brilliant. K2 will house some of the additional things, but she can't take too much more - as NB Mr David commented when I first loaded her - she's a narrow boat not a 4 bedroom house!! Watch this space, she's about to become a 4 bedroom house !!!

Of Oil, Heavy Oil, and vintage engines...

So of course, it had to happen given the high price of red diesel now.. apparantly the RN DM3 can run on old engine oil. difficult to start in the cold I guess, but then a little diesel may help that along.
Anyone got experince of this sort of thing? I know it would mean a tank conversion, filter replacements, and so-on, but it could mean cheaper running, and no declaration of tax that is incorrect.....
hmmm