Northern Pride is sold - and autumn arrives in both hemispheres!

It's with very mixed feelings that we write this blog to tell everyone that our beloved Northern Pride has been sold.  We've had a lovely email from one of the people who bought her, and it seems that they had a very similar story to ours on their journey to find her and they've assured us that they will care for her lovingly.  Of course it's still sad to let her go, we've so many happy memories of our two extended trips, but we'll "smile because it happened" not "cry because it's ended".  Good luck on your travels Fiona, Linda and families, there'll be many boaters who'll recognise your boat and be waiting to say 'hi' to you on the waterways.

We do still have about four weeks worth of blogs left from our 2011 trip and I know I've been very slack at posting - I must make it more of a priority (sorry Graeme!)!

Barry's mum is now at home and appears to be slowly recovering (long story but misdiagnosis and medical/surgical miscommunication two huge issues!) her strength and joie de vivre.

We had a fantastic walk around Lake Waikaremoana the week before last, though it would've been even better if we were ten years younger and much fitter - goodness me it was hard work, lots of ups and downs (the walking and the spirit!) and I'm not sure my poor old knees will ever recover!  However the scenery was awesome, and just being away from civilisation for four days and nights was invigorating.

Here's a short selection of photos from the trip to give you an idea of the scenery and stamina needed ...

 Barry and I at the start of the walk, and below one of about seven (lost count!) swing bridges on the track 

 We have black swans in New Zealand rather than white

Part of Lake Waikaremoana - 'sea of rippling waters' - Panekire can be seen in the distance where we walked up and along the ridge and down the other side!

The view from the top of Panekire - luckily clear on the Saturday, sadly covered in cloud by the Sunday on our descent

Setting out from Panekire Hut on the final day - dressed for the cooler weather at the top and with stick in hand to try and reduce the impact on the knees

Looking a little rugged at the end of the walk - no shower for four days!

Since our last posting we've experienced the devastating effects of nature as well as seen the beauty of it - luckily we're a long way from Christchurch and as far as we're aware didn't know any of the people who've lost their lives in the earthquake.  We also know that one day it could happen here in Gisborne, but that there's more chance of us being killed driving a car so we'll continue to try and live life to the full, fitting in work around it ...

Talking of which, Barry had just started a job giving out and collecting the census forms, but as their offices were in Christchurch (were being the operative word!) this has now been cancelled but he'll still get paid the full amount, thank goodness - so he's back to seeking work.  He's sold eight of his framed prints now from his brother's cafe in town, and has almost finished putting the finishing touches to his website from where anyone will be able to purchase one of his amazing images - as prints, postcards, greetings cards, etc.  We frequently receive emails from people asking for a copy of a picture that they've seen on the blog - well soon we'll be asking people to order and pay for them on-line or we'll never be able to afford to get back to the canals, lol!

So, back to the blog, and while we've just began autumn here in New Zealand, we're still writing and showing images of the beginning of that season in England last year ...

Monday 4 October 2010

We spent the morning at Denham Country Park, and Barry sauntered along to the nearby Boatyard to pick up a few bits and pieces.  We're not in any rush now, with just over two weeks of travelling left before we leave Northern Pride for a few days and travel to the New Forest for a big family gathering with my family.  Following that weekend we'll be packing up the boat and getting her to a boatyard near Northampton - at this stage we're still open to someone buying her privately though.

Morning mist  at the moorings

Reflections

We left after lunch, heading for Rickmansworth, just 5 miles and 5 locks away.  It had been raining all night and morning, but cleared just as we were setting off.  The sky remained grey most of the day though, the taste of things to come in England for the foreseeable future.

We passed a number of locks and lock-side cafes looking dreary, damp and dismal - oh how things change when there's no sunshine to brighten them up!

Black Jack's Lock and mill

 'Shift your ass'!

 Some very tasteful housing developments next to the water ...

  Copper Mill Lock 

Springwell Lock 

 Autumn's showing her colours

Stocker's Lock through Bridge 175 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         A pink bicycle brightens the gloom                           Leaving Stocker's Lock

 

 

 

 

 

The woodburners are getting fired up now, and boats are starting to moor up for the winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A glimpse of sunshine brings a haze over the canal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glorious afternoon light as we approach the Aquadrome water park 

 More reflections

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A swan puts on a performance for us ...

... or was it for these geese -  "Eyes right girls!"

 You can almost see the fairies from the forest!

Wow!  An array of autumnal shades

Not a lot to say today, but some fabulous photo opportunities, despite the initial gloominess.

We stopped late afternoon close to the Tesco's mooring at Rickmansworth, had a short walk to the store to stock up, and decided it wasn't a bad place to stay for a couple of nights and do some painting on the outside of the boat.

A dry boat but beer in the lock and pub!

Sorry for the delay in this post, Barry has had the photos ready for a while but I've been a little stressed with a few challenges here.  His mum has been in hospital again and we've finally got some sort of diagnosis and she seems to be slowly recovering, but only after having to fight for her rights to be treated like a human being and not just 'an 86 year old woman'.  The health service has a lot to answer for when we're put out to pasture when the funding dries up due to our age. I hope there's a 'Sandra Walsh' to passionately fight my corner when I'm old and not yet ready to be passed over!

Work has also been very busy, and a worst of all a friend's son has died under tragic circumstances.

So all in all, I'm looking forward to our little trip away next week as our house is rented once again to people coming for 'Te Matatini', a huge Kapa Haka festival, with about 20,000 people descending upon our little city once again.  So we're leaving the area for some peace and solitude, travelling about an hour and a half away to walk the track of Lake Waikaramoana - which in Maori means the 'Sea of rippling waters' - and one of the 'Great Walks' of New Zealand.  It's a remote place, with no phone coverage, and we'll walk the 46 kilometres over four days carrying all our own food, cooking stove and sleeping gear, staying in basic hut accommodation along the way.  I'm looking forward to the bliss of being away from civilisation for a while and getting lots of fresh air and exercise - whilst hoping that it doesn't get too wet and cold despite it being summer here still!

It's getting harder to take myself back to the canals of Britain, but I remember this next day fondly ...

Sunday 3 October

We had a late start this morning, with little inspiration to rise from the weather which was grey and damp.  The feeling continued until the Cowley Peachey Junction, which looked like it would be a delightful place in the sunshine, with a canal-side cafe and quaint lock cottage. 

I'd just put a couple of beef slices in the oven for lunch while I did the first lock since Camden, when I saw a 'Sunday Roast' advertised for £5.99 - extremely tempting but sadly we'd spent so much on our trip to Paris and during Tom's visit that we have to be extremely frugal now to last till we can earn some more money in November!

 Watch out!  Low flying swans!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Teenage swans having their first tentative flying lessons along the canal

We've seen some interesting boats on the canals, but this one takes the biscuit!!

After our recent break from locks, our journey up the Grand Union made up for that with an abundance to negotiate.  Today our treat was 'Denham Deep Lock', which at 11' 1" wasn't as cavernous as our recent encounter in Bath, but the deepest on the Grand Union and still a feat with swirling, dark brown water to empty, which with the froth from the rapid movement resembled a lock-full of beer!

 Sandra back on lock duty 

 In we go ...

 ... almost full

Out of the lock and approaching Denham Country Park

Our destination over the next few days was Hemel Hempstead, as I'd managed to find cheap tickets to Brighton at the weekend to see Kim and Joe.  So we aimed to saunter casually along over the next few days, doing boat maintenance and odd jobs, packing and sorting our 'stuff', and eagerly anticipating a phone call or email that says "We want to buy your boat please?"!!

The weather brightened up late in the afternoon, with a tinge of blue sky peeking through the clouds which were now a lighter shade of grey.  Having been tempted by the roast in the pub I managed to whip up enough food from our meagre stores to cook our own 'Sunday Roast', then we wandered along to the pub up the road - still a dry boat for a couple of weeks until the last 'boat-brew' is ready.

 A very serene setting at Denham Country Park ...

 

The venue for the evening was the 'Horse and Barge' pub with huge empty gardens and restaurant.  We couldn't see anyone inside, despite all the lights being on.  We tentatively entered and discovered four punters and two barmen, one of whom had taken over as Landlord the previous Tuesday.  He later told us he'd probably be out again by next Tuesday! 

Malcolm and Pat from County Antrim chatted away happily to us for the next couple of hours, and when the last punters left they turned off the football (hurrah!) and put 'The Full Monty' film on the wide-screen TV!  At one stage, during a commercial break in the film, they showed us the delights of Irish TV and the porn shows - mmm, I wasn't too sure how appropriate that was so I excused myself and went to the Ladies, hoping they'd get the message and have it turned over by the time I went back - and luckily they did.

The conversation after the film turned to the stress of running a pub in today's economic climate and they told us about a pub nearby that had recently shut down as the Landlord had mentioned to a couple of patrons that he was growing something illegal upstairs - those two told more, who told more, until it came to the ears of the local constabulary who raided the premises and he was arrested and the pub never re-opened.  So many pubs in Britain are struggling, apart from, it seems, Wetherspoons.  The Irishmen told us that the owner of the chain, a fellow Irishman, had been told by his teacher he'd never amount to anything - he's having the last laugh now with hundreds in the chain across the UK!

It certainly was a most unusual evening, you never know with these pubs what you're going to find, but as Barry says if you don't sit at the bar no-one talks to you - maybe that's a good thing, lol?!

Leaving London and putting Northern Pride up for sale

All's good here in Gisborne.  Barry's mum seems to be on the mend, and the sun is shining after a few days of heavy rain.

We've had a couple of offers on Northern Pride since we left in November, but as yet we haven't had one that reflects her value and we're willing to accept, hoping that over the next couple of months with the new season on its way that offer will arrive!

Saturday 2 October

After an incredible ten hours of sleep, we finally left our precious mooring at Paddington Basin after a stay of eight nights (whoops, one more than 'allowed', but nowhere near the time that most other boats are sitting in the basin!).  

Feeling a little claustrophobic now after 8 days in Paddington 

Emerging into Little Venice Junction, then under the blue bridge heading west onto The Grand Union Canal

We'd completely run out of water by this time, so stopped and filled up - as it'd gone so low there was an air pocket in system which seemed to take ages to get sorted.  I left Barry to his man's job while I did the womanly thing and went to Sainsbury's to stock up on groceries. 

We managed to get a blog on to advertise the boat for sale last night; sad but inevitable, and armed with the knowledge we'll always be grateful for the myriad of happy memories from our journeys with Northern Pride.

A short stop at the water point for a top up ...

before exiting London, leaving Archimedes and Ara behind (or so we thought)

What an adorable way to reside in central London ... 

... you couldn't live much closer to the water than this!

Once Barry had fixed the water, we headed west out of London passing some extremely gloomy surroundings - it wasn't a pleasant facade of London along the canal with graffiti everywhere, broken down buildings, flotsam and jetsom in the water, and to top it all it drizzled constantly all afternoon. 

What an awful impression of London it gave, we were so pleased we'd approached from the east with Tom on board!  On a positive note however, there were no locks today which we were most grateful for as it was a very wet one.

In the afternoon we'd had a phone call from Pete who recommended a pub to visit en-route.  Barry told me about it and the fact that it has strippers every evening, feigning amazement that I'd absolutely no interest in visiting the establishment with him! 

The canal goes through some non-descript industrial areas the further out you get ...

... though once through Bulls Bridge it starts to improve

It was late in the day when we moored close to 'The Woolpack', in Hayes - definitely not the one from Emmerdale Farm.  The Nicolson Guide states - 'real ale and a diet of striptease artistes from lunchtime onwards - unsuitable for children' - I'd never have guessed, lol!  Despite the dreadful weather, Barry said he was obliged to visit the pub for Pete - yeah right!  "Off you go then," said I, "I'll stay indoors where it's dry thanks." 

He returned a short while later, rather damp, reporting that it, wasn't terribly salubrious (surprise, surprise!), but he did get to watch a bit of pool - though I suspected that was just a rouse, lol!

We had an early night, back to catching up on blogging once again.

Last days in London - Northern Glory?

While Britain remains chilly, albeit warmer than it has been, we've been sweltering in Gisborne with temperatures in the low 30's and not a lot of relief even in the night-time.  The past few days has brought some 'welcome' (to the farmers apparently and those who rely on rainwater for their supply, not to me!) rain and cooler weather.

Barry's had an exhibition of some of his photographs in his brother's cafe 'Verve' in Gisborne, called 'The Old Country'.  Following this, he's been interviewed by a journalist from our local paper 'The Gisborne Herald' to produce a feature in their 'Entertainment Guide' on 20th January about our canal adventures which is awesome - except that the young writer managed to state that our boat was called 'Northern Glory' despite the photo being of us standing right next to the sign on the boat saying 'Northern Pride' - hilarious!

Four of Barry's photos have sold to date, and he's been busily putting a web-site collection of his amazing images from our travels together for postcards and prints to purchase anywhere in the world - more on that to follow.

In the meantime, here's another short post from our last trip ...

Thursday 30 September & Friday 1 October

After such a frantic but fabulous few days, we all got up rather late.  We'd suggested Tom may want to visit Brighton on the train for the day (couldn't afford for us all to go!) but the weather forecast wasn't up to much.  Tom and Barry had a quiet day pottering around the boat while I went to Oxford Street to try and spend birthday money on a pair of 'Fit-Flops but was sadly unsuccessful, it seems the main place you can buy them is on-line, though I know I've seen some along the way when I didn't have the money to buy them!  It's typical that you see things you desire when you have no money and not when you do!

Tom and Barry met me later in the day at Leicester Square, where we'd arranged to meet up with Barry's friend Keith's son Brendan for a few drinks.  He took us to a neat pub called Waxy O'Connor's.  I'd been there previously with my daughter in 2006, but would never have known where it was to show Barry without the help of Brendan!  The pub is on a number of floors and has tree branches running through it - very cool and always packed!  From the outside it just looks like a doorway, sort of like a Dr Who's Tardis when you get inside though ...

 Tom poses for a typical 'English' scene with red telephone boxes 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Love the boxes - and the eclectic mix of people you find sitting in Leicester Square 

 Brendan, Barry & Sandra at Waxy O'Connors

Tree branches intermingle with punters throughout the premises

Having said he'd only have time for one or two drinks, I had to drag Barry and Tom away to get back to the boat as we were meeting up with Jamie for Tom's last night in England.  Fortunately the working boats Ara and Archimedes were passing the Basin so we were able to top up with some gas as well.

We had just a couple of glasses of wine each as all our boat brew had been drunk last weekend with all the guests we'd had, and enjoyed a few competitive games of 'Six handed rummy'. 

Jamie was up for work at 0730hrs the next day, and of course it's one up all up in boat as small as Northern Pride with two guests on board!

After a breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs, we left for Heathrow at 1230hrs.  The fastest way of getting there is on the Heathrow Express from Paddington, but it was too costly at £18 one way or £32 return.  Naturally we chose to take the tube which took 45 minutes compared to 16, as it meant we could all go and see him safely into departures after a drink and sandwich (very naughtily, I took home-made sandwiches and we ate them surreptitiously under the table!).

 Tom's last tube ride for this adventure - wonder when/whether he'll be back in London ...

Farewell for now Tom, safe journey

For the first time in over three weeks there was just me and Barry back on the boat - a bit of a shock after so much excitement.

There's just over four weeks to go now before we also fly back to NZ, and we've so much to do before then.  It's time to get organised and sort everything out and aim to think positive thoughts about someone buying our beloved floating home ...

Canal Boat Magazine Article September 2010

"Best of Both Worlds"

This is a copy of the article published in 'Canal Boat' magazine about our travels in 2009, for anyone who hasn't read it. Though not the best of reproductions you should get the idea.