Heading to Hemel before a weekend in Brighton

Another delay on the blog as I've been travelling to Auckland and Wellington, and since our last entry the devastating earthquake and tsunami has hit Japan and put the scale of Christchurch's disaster into a different category.  Yet again, the message must surely be to 'seize the day' whenever we can, no-one knows what life has in store.

Though it's not a priority on the scale of things, we're still waiting to see the money from the sale of Northern Pride appear in our account in UK, which is rather worrying; despite an assurance it'd be in by last Friday it's now promised this week.  We're beginning to get a little concerned and hope that the company isn't struggling due to the economic climate in UK.

Just over three weeks of blog from 2010 to go.  We had a comment asking if we would continue the blog or be passing it on to the new owners - well for now we're going to complete our journey, once that's done we'll consider the options available.

We've got three days posts in one next, due to the fact that Barry has 'mislaid' some photos from 5th & 6th October, so we thought it'd be a bit boring with just writing!  You'll also notice that it's getter more challenging to label the photos that we do have, so if anyone spots a mistake or recognises somewhere, do let us know, it all just seems so long ago now ...

5th, 6th & 7th October

We mooched about on Tuesday as the weather was dry and fairly mild but overcast, maybe the shape of things to come in the British autumn. 

 

I recently read that in England there's an average of 60% cloud cover annually.  In contrast, Gisborne, on the east coast of North Island of New Zealand, where I chose to emigrate to five and a half years ago, boasts statistics of around 80% sunshine all year round.  I'm a  warm weather person, preferring sunshine and bright blue skies to the gloominess of a British autumn/winter.  It's a dilemma though, I miss the people of England, my family and friends, but now the pull to Aotearoa is returning - it's Barry who feels a  pull to England, but as yet he can't live here longer than six months.  We may come back for a few years in the future so he can get his residency, but nothing's planned as yet.

 

 

While moored up for a couple of days, Barry took the opportunity to put a new seal on the bilge pump which was wearing thin - we thought it best to get that sorted before it stops working and the boat sinks!  I planted some yellow winter flowering pansies to brighten up the roof of the boat for our final few weeks.

We had a late start on Wednesday, we'd meant to leave early but as usual our best paid plans altered!  The beauty of not having to clock-watch I suppose?  It was a glorious day, hurrah, with lots of locks before Hemel Hempstead, so I chose to enjoy the dryness and walk a couple of miles between two locks.

Sandra's at the lock, Barry's taking the photo - who's on the boat then?

We stopped at Bridgewater Basin Boatyard for a needed pump out, and had no choice but to pay £17 - we had three BW cards left but hadn't found anywhere to use them since the Kennet and Avon canal!We'd also stocked up on BW launderette cards back at the Black Country Museum moorings at the beginning of our journey, as we'd seen heaps of BW launderettes last year and had no cards.  Blooming typical isn't it, we haven't seen another one since!  Even after paying such an extortionate amount for the privilege of using the pump out, the cheeky man was extremely reluctant to let us use his rubbish facilities which I found incredible.  There really seems to be a dearth of facilities recently, heaven knows how long term moorers get on, though it's probably why we've noticed many rubbish bags strewn along the towpath in many places :-(

After a short stop for lunch, we did another six locks to be half way to this week's destination.  It was lovely stretch of canal, with lots of birdlife and at one stage there were four herons flying around and a number of Kingfishers - one ducked and dived into the trees and skimmed the surface in front of us teasingly, then even stopped for about half a minute on a tree yards from us, seemingly checking us out, before returning the other way.  Magical!  Sadly Barry didn't get to his camera in time.  Wednesday night we moored close to Hunton Bridge, which felt as though we were in an idyllic country setting yet we were less than a mile from M25.

 Lots of birdlife along the canal - oh and the occasional dinosaur!

  And some choice graffiti 

 Lots of locks to negotiate - not a problem in the sunshine - and the boat's abandoned once more

A roof garden on a mooring pin! 

Beautiful bridges along the journey

On Thursday we travelled through another nine locks, with a lunchtime stop in Kings Langley.  Barry went for an explore on the bike while I made some lunch - he returned to tell me he'd found a Barber's and hairdressers there so off we went for a bit of a smarten up.  His Barber was a Greek man, in his 40's, with a rather younger pregnant wife.  He and Barry chatted so much that his hair cut took longer than mine!  I had a lovely bubbly woman, probably mid 30's, who asked where our favourite place had been so far on the canals.  I always find that a much more difficult question that what was the worst place - so I turned it round and said 'Blackburn' to which, bless her, she replied "I went to Blackpool once, it was awful, I decided then and there that I'm a southerner and have never gone north again!"  Hilarious!  Talk about a blonde moment, but it was an excellent hair cut!

 Tasteful waterside housing developments as we approach Hemel Hempstead 

 

We moored up a short walk from the railway station at Hemel Hempstead, ready to catch the train to Brighton to see Kim and Joe for the weekend.

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?!