Back once more to Banbury!

Poor Ray, as soon as his head hit the pillow on Monday night he was asleep - fully clothed!  He woke up wondering why he was so uncomfortable and realised he still had his phone, wallet and camera in his pockets!  Shame, Barry's home brew has a lot to answer for, and to cap it all, he banged his head on the doorframe at the front of the boat which only added to his hangover headache!  Ah well, he got a cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, beans and toast, so managed an admirable recovery.

How Aynho Wharf looked the next day - with a dull head!

Barry had a chat to 'Mr Badger', one of the permanently moored boats further up the towpath, who informed him that there was a winding hole just 15 minutes away, so we set off,  did an about turn, and headed back to Banbury for the third time in four days.

Mr Badger also told Barry that the Great Western Arms had changed hands just over 12 months ago, having previously been rather 'posh' and unwelcoming to boaters.  Of course our Nicholson's guide is from 2007, so it's understandably out of date in many places - it put us off going to eat there but we'd recommend it to everyone, one of the best pubs we've visited on our waterway travels.

Mr Badger's boat and garden, with some interesting constructions

Chisnell Lift Bridge on the way to the winding hole

Not quite as many boaters out today - Aynho Weir and bridge

Ray and Barry - with his new 'Tesco bin' which he fished out of the canal 

We managed to get back to Banbury by 1430hrs, moored up by the winding hole on the outskirts, and walked into town with Viv, Ray and their bags.  After dropping the luggage in the car we had a quick shop then they left us to travel to my parents to stay with them for a night - and it only cost them £8.50 for parking which is very reasonable for over 24 hours.

Thanks Ray for the use of some of your photos on the blog over the last couple of days.

Barry helping out a fellow boater at the winding hole who couldn't quite get it right

Barry and I had a wander through Banbury Museum, hoping that by the time we'd finished the rain would have too - but we weren't so lucky!  We never did get chance to visit the pub recommended in Nicholson's and also by Ray, one of our readers, but you can check out 'The Reindeer Inn and the Globe Room' at http://www.hooky-pubs.co.uk/english_civil_war.htm to read more about the pub and its connections to Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War.  We really should've made time, but it's impossible to fit everything in!

View from the museum walkway - pouring with rain!

I can't let us leave Banbury without finding five fascinating facts - we've really enjoyed our time here, it seems like a place we could live in if we ever came to England to live:

1. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility (Kraft Foods), built in 1964.  As you enter the town you see the huge towers and can smell the coffee production.
2. The town is famed for Banbury cakes – similar to Eccles cakes, but oval in shape.  Again, there's a wonderful baking aroma as you enter the outskirts.  Unfortunately there was a beautiful building where the first cakes were baked that was torn down some years ago to make room for modern shops - such a short-sighted move.  There's a photo of the old bakery in the museum.
3. Banbury Castle was built from 1135 by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and survived into the Civil War, when it was besieged. Due to its proximity to Oxford, the King's capital, Banbury was a Royalist town, but the inhabitants were known to be strongly Puritan. The castle was demolished after the war.
4. At just over 1% in 2005, Banbury has the lowest unemployment rate in the UK.
5. Since 2000, Banbury has hosted a unique gathering of traditional mock animals, from around the UK, at the annual Hobby Horse Festival - sounds bizarre!

 

 

 

We moved just a little further from Banbury for the night as we need to get a fairly early start on Wednesday to get to Lower Heyford, where Sandra is catching the train to Droitwich to meet at her parents house with her younger daughter, Kim, for a day.

 

 

Nice and vivid to brighten up a cool, wet day

What is the most important thing in the world?

There's a saying I've always thought very profound, that fits with one of the major themes of our blog: 

"People will forget what you said.  People will forget what you did. 

But, people will never forget how you made them feel."

More along those lines later ...

On Monday morning we moved up to Sovereign Narrowboats in Banbury shortly after 1000hrs, to use their extremely precious and much needed pump out - the poor boat was lilting to one side and soon afterwards was relieved to be floating high above water once more!  The chap in the boatyard had the cheek to ask us when we'd last pumped out and suggested we didn't leave it so long - if he'd have been open on Saturday we'd have been in there like a shot before the red light came on, lol!  While there we stocked up on a new gas bottle and some diesel - don't want to get caught out without those either.

Continuing back into the town to moor, I returned to the shops.  It's a luxury to have a variety on the doorstep, and most unusual as much of the canals for the past few weeks have been quite rural.  I wanted to find a hairdresser as my hair was becoming wild once again - many hairdressers seem to have Mondays off so it was a while before I found one, but on walking in I was attended to diligently and half an hour later was out the door with a trendy new crop feeling heaps better - thanks Bernard from the Achille Group of hairdressers

As Marks and Spencer have the grocery monopoly in the centre, I paid them another (expensive!) visit in preparation for our next guests' arrival at lunchtime.  They actually arrived and telephoned while I was in the Body Shop stocking up on moisturiser - must have been a bit of a make-over weekend what with new glasses, hairstyle and anti-wrinkle cream!  Luckily Barry was on board to welcome them and help with their bags, then they had a tour around Banbury to find a car park, eventually asking at the Information Centre who informed them that the 'Castle Quay' multi-storey allows 24 hour parking - you just can't access the car at night-time, but that isn't an issue.

Once we'd eaten some lunch we set off down the canal on our way to Aynho (pronounced 'eye-no' - silent 'h'), where we would turn around and moor for the night - the closest place with a winding hole and a pub!  Bless Viv, she'd never worked a lock before and I was a little cruel sending her down to open one of the bottom paddles at Banbury Lock, knowing that they were extremely stiff!  There were a few gongoozlers watching who were obviously amused too, but we all gave her a round of applause once she'd completed her task - people think it's relaxing spending time on a narrowboat, but it's actually quite hard work at times!

Viv putting in a big effort - with just reward

Ray stayed at the stern with Barry and was soon an expert driver, steering us smoothly through the many lift bridges along this section - most of them are raised so don't cause too much of a problem, but the channel through them is only just wide enough for the boat so it takes some crafty driving not to scrape the hull on the way.

Most lift bridges are open so make for more interesting photographs

At the second lock of the route there was a bit of a hold up with four boats in front of us - the 'Towpath Telegraph' said that there'd been some hire boaters through who'd been in the lock for ages before they realised that the gate paddles were open at each end - oh dear, not so good when there's already a water shortage!

The weather turned a touch threatening at times

Viv and Sandra on lock duty

The sun poked through the clouds at Kings Sutton ...

long enough to catch the train passing

Haddons lift bridge at Nell Bridge Farm

Unsurprisingly, in the afternoon (well actually I think it started at lunchtime), Barry got his home-brew beer out so he and Ray were merrily slurping as they drove along.  By the time we arrived at Anyho, and despite me requesting that he didn't miss the winding hole, Barry was distracted (as usual!) taking photos and missed it completely.  To be fair it is one of the least obvious turning points we've seen, but by the time they'd realised their mistake and sheepishly moored up and admitted their error, we were so far past it and many moored boats (and a bridge) that it would've been very challenging to back up.  So we'll have to travel further up the canal on Tuesday to the next winding hole before returning to their car in Banbury.  Needless to say Viv and I were less than sympathetic to their cause - too much drinking and chatting and photography and not enough concentrating on the job at hand!

Lots of help at Aynho Weir Lock

After all that work dinner was in order

Looks like a Vodka bottle but it held the home brew, which could come from any sort of bottle from wine, spirits, soft drink, to milk bottles, etc - whatever was available at bottling time

 Barry in command and shooting overshooting the winding hole ...

but it was worth it - Aynho Wharf in the glorious sunshine

I cooked a Thai green chicken curry for dinner before we went to the pub along the towpath for a drink or two - the Nicholson's Guide had stated that the food was expensive, so I'd decided not to risk poor service as well and bought provisions to cook instead.  However, our experience at The Great Western Arms, Anyho, was one we won't forget in a hurry.  What an absolutely fantastic place it was!  Rene Klein and Ali Saul are the owners and possibly one of the main reasons that it's such an amazing place is the kiwi connections - Rene apparently spent 14 years living in Dunedin, New Zealand and has citizenship - and we discovered that the majority of the bar and waiting staff are from Barry's homeland - one of them, Paul Hughson, was even from Gisborne and Barry had taken his family portrait when he was 12 years old, as well as all of his school photos. What's more he was good friends with Barry's cousin's sons. What a small world!

The Great Western Arms - note the girls hadn't had as much to drink as the captain who's looking a little worse for wear!

                                Ray and Viv                         Barry, Paul and Garth with the 'East Coast wave'

The pub was almost full of people eating, and this was on a Monday night at around 2100hrs, so that is usually a sign of a good restaurant/pub.  There were a number of little touches that impressed Viv and I, including:

• Stacks of board games available to keep you occupied should the conversation become wanting!
• Shawls at the back of the pub leading to the garden - possibly for the smokers to keep them warm?
• Large jars of various nuts, and 'Flying saucers' (love those sweets, but Viv was so excited to see them she ate them all before I got a look in!) behind the bar that they sell for a nominal cost in little bowls.
• Framed photos of the owners having fun were hanging up in the ladies toilets, along with a collection of all sorts of heart trinkets - on one, a photo holder, someone had posted a train ticket saying 'Your pub is lovely'.
• Friendly, welcoming and happy staff - and the food that passed us looked delicious!

The ladies toilets with great photos of the owners all around

At closing time, we were the only people left in the pub, and Barry was deep in conversation with Paul, from Gisborne.  We were invited to stay on and play some pool - how could we refuse?  A fabulous night, thank you Garth, Paul and another couple of staff who's names we've forgotten sorry, for your great hospitality.

We still played English rules even though it was mostly Kiwis playing - "When in Rome ..."

 

I'd like to finish today's blog with some more wise words, this time from Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud):

Te aha te mea nui?  He aha te mea nui o te ao?
Maku e ki atu.  He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing?  What is the most important thing in the world?
I say unto you:  it is people, it is people, it is people.

 

 

 Pink, purple and pretty to reflect our wonderful day

An interesting and fun-filled weekend with Lisa and Rob

We were hoping to 'pump out' on Saturday morning, even though we hadn't yet got a 'red light' on the system, we wanted to be prepared for the extra people on board over the next few days.  The only boatyard in Banbury, or for miles around, is Sovereign Narrowboats - Barry suggested we phone first to see what time they closed in order to get to the winding hole, turn around and get back to the boatyard in plenty of time to collect our visitors at 1410hrs.  I duly telephoned them, like the obedient wife (yeah right!), and received an answering message telling me that they were only open Monday to Thursday, 10 till 4' - unbelievable!  So no pump out to be had ...

Seeing as we were staying around Banbury for a few days, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get a sight test and buy some new glasses - it's cheaper here than New Zealand and I hadn't had either for over three years - my glasses are so scratched I have to clean them every five minutes to be able to see anything.  So I went to Specsavers (there's one in Gisborne now amazingly enough!) as they had some special offers on - well so I thought!  But by the time you've added this and that on, it still worked out at over £250!  It'll be 10 days before they're ready so we'll collect them from Oxford.  Expensive but essential unfortunately.

Mmm..., maybe I'm checking out the most expensive pairs?! Why do they put the price sticker over one of the lenses so you can't really see what they look like?

After a quick shop in Marks and Spencer Food, we moved through the lock in Banbury and I walked to the station to collect Lisa and Rob from their train that was due in at 1410hrs, while Barry went to the winding hole to turn us around.  The wonders of public transport once again - they eventually arrived just after 1600hrs due to a delay from a fire near the line in Coventry.  The Fire Service had come to put out the fire and ran out of water (!) so had to go away and return again with fresh supplies.  We had a table booked in Cropredy, at The Brasenose Arms, at 1930hrs for dinner - we still made it in time - but only just.

"Put the windlass on and then open the paddles ..."

Travelling back the way we'd come on Friday, we were rather unlucky to find ourselves behind two narrowboats full of what appeared to be schoolchildren and their teachers, learning how to drive the boats and work the locks.  So after our earlier delay we were concerned that we wouldn't get to Cropredy in time.  At the second lock of three, the first boat was taking a lot longer than usual, so Barry went to check out what was happening - one of the boys had thrown his windlass across the lock to another boy and it had dropped into the water!  Barry came back to the boat, got our magic magnet out, and retrieved said windlass.  Subsequently he felt able to ask if we could jump the queue so that we weren't so late and they were most agreeable - thanks guys!

Lots of boys in lifejackets and we think their teachers accompanying them

A very congested part of the canal today - always happens when you're in a hurry!

We found a mooring in Cropredy easily enough, and walked up to the pub for dinner.  Sadly it wasn't so good as it had been the day before - the service was poor and it took ages to get a menu, then eons to place an order and for the food to come.  Even Barry, who's the most patient person I know, was getting a little stroppy.  He asked at one stage how long the food would be and the girl said "oh sorry, I do apologise, there's a delay in the kitchen."  To which Barry replied "but we haven't even ordered our food yet!"  She then forgot Rob's pint of cider, half an hour later we asked where it was, again an apology, but then she had the cheek to put the missing pint on our bill at the end!  Ah well, the food was good, and the place is pleasant - there was a very good live blues band on in the bar, and we saw them for half an hour after our meal. Needless to say we didn't leave much of a tip, though we did want to give the hopeless waitress some advice!  Maybe she was just having a bad night?

  A romantic meal for four - shame about the service!

I've been in the public service for much of my life as a nurse and a midwife and know how important 'people skills' are.  Our differing experiences of the same place on two consecutive days just goes to show how the front of house people you meet can make a positive or negative impression on you.  The barman on Friday was so welcoming, friendly and professional that we thought the pub was a fantastic place - so much better than the snooty Red Lion we'd just visited (again, if we'd had someone else there our impression could have been seen in another light).  The waitress was so matter of fact, blatantly ignoring us, slow to communicate anything and to be honest hopeless at her job, and so our lasting impression of the place is mixed.  True she may have been having a bad day, but surely it doesn't take much to communicate with people and smile?

Despite the band being good, we didn't linger for long as it was only a small bar and the sound, fabulous as it was, became a little overpowering - on top of the sweltering humidity of the night.  We walked back to the boat and had a game of cards before retiring.

Sandra & Lisa in charge while the boys take over lock duty - Rob has the Captain's Mate cap on

Unsurprisingly, the 'red light' came on mid-morning on Sunday - but we were powerless to do anything until Monday morning when the boatyard opened - the realities of life on a narrowboat are sometimes a little concerning!

After a cooked breakfast, we completed the same journey for the third time - back to Banbury.  We made excellent time as amazingly each of the three locks had a boat just coming out as we arrived - and they were literally the only boats we passed on the journey, so very lucky. We had to moor up before the boatyard ready to 'pump out' as soon as possible on Monday morning, so had a bit of a walk to get Lisa and Rob to the station but still enough time to check out Banbury Cross and the 'Fine Lady' once more ...

 Not such a winding route on this part of the Oxford Canal

Rob and Lisa chill at the bow in their sunhats - happy, smiley people bless them

  

       Looks like a working boat still working           Interesting cottage coming into Banbury

Giving Lisa a rendition of the famous nursery rhyme

 

There is some mystery regarding who '... the fine lady' of the nursery rhyme is - a local explanation suggests she was 'Celia Fiennes', daughter of the third Viscount Saye and Sele who lived in Broughton Castle near Banbury.  She was very adventurous for her time and travelled the country on her horse around 1697, writing about her experiences - a lady way ahead of her time.  So it may've been a 'Fiennes Lady' originally?

The version I like best is the pagan one - according to custom a young girl covered in flowers and leaves, would ride a horse around fields as part of the spring fertility ritual.  This festival continues to the present day with the May Queen celebrations - originally this was to worship the Earth Goddess which could be why I find it so appealing!

Luckily they got to the station on time, but unfortunately their train was delayed once again, though only for 15 minutes this time, but it meant that they missed their connection at Birmingham so were an hour late home bless them.  It's difficult to know whether it would be better driving to places as then you have the possibility of accidents and road works on the way - so the reality is that travelling anywhere in England there's a fair likelihood that you'll encounter delays, and as Lisa says, at least you can relax,  watch a movie on the i-pad (because Rob has one!) and have a cup of tea on the train!

A brief but fun and fruitful visit - saying au revoir once again ...

Walking back to the boat there was an acoustic session in the sunshine by the Arts Centre, a lively place with a couple of these 'spaghetti statues'

In the evening I phoned my parents who reminded me that the World Cup final was playing - so we took another walk into town and found the 'Fleur de Lys' Weatherspoon's pub and watched it live.  It was probably the best game we've seen - mainly due to the Spanish team's skills and we were very relieved that they won - the Dutch team turned out to be a bunch of thugs!!

Apologies for being a little late posting blogs which has been due to spending time with our very welcome visitors - unfortunately I didn't check the web link that I posted a few days ago and seem to have pointed readers in the direction of an 'adult' site rather than the intended one!  Luckily Dijon spotted the mistake and sent us a message - thank you!  On checking and reading more, it would appear that we passed a famous boat on Wednesday - six men rowing from Land's End to John 'O Groats in two weeks!  They're obviously doing this for charity, so please log into their correct site at www.celebrityrow.co.uk and there's a link within that where you can donate to some extremely worthy causes - amazing people.  The last part of the journey takes them up the North Sea, rowing 24 hours a day, two hours on and two hours off in two teams of three, so please give generously.

On Monday my sister Viv and her partner Ray come to visit - more love and laughter in our floating home ...

A novel flower pot hanging on a lock cottage wall