Uxbridge to Iver.

Thursday 24th April.

The morning started off well, dry with the sun popping in and out, but it did not last, the rain soon arrived, leaving us sitting on the boat catching up with internet stuff and with me writing letters. But it was nice just to chill out for the day.

Friday 25th April.

A bright warm morning greeted Paddy and I as we opened the back cabin doors to the start of the weekend. He as always was raring to go for his walk and do what he had to do. Whilst away Keith prepared breakfast and a cup of tea, so when we got back it was all ready for me. The agenda for the day was to catch the train to Ruislip, Keith’s home town to visit old haunts and show me around.
So we walked into Uxbridge to the railway station, where we purchased an Oyster card, which youy can use on the trains and buses anywhere in London. The card cost £3 and you then add money to the card for fares. So for us if we bought a ticket it would of been £3 each to get to Ruislip, but with using the Oyster card it only cost us £1 each, so well worth the purchase. You can top the card up at any station.
Now for me this was the first time on a train for to many years to mention, I was a child the last time I went on a train. With the Oyster card you past it over a scanner and it lets you through the gate, we both got on the train and off we went to Ruislip

It was only a short trip through Hillingdon, Ickenham and into Ruislip.

Ruislip Station is one of the old stations and has a lot of character.
We took a walk along Ruislip High Street and as always we visited the charity shops, that is always a must for us no matter where we go. We then paid a visit to the church where Keith’s parents are laid to rest.

The church is absolutely beautiful, and even though it is in the town, it was so peaceful. We then took a walk to the house where Keith grew up, and he told me all about the places he used to go to. We then proceeded to walk into Ruislip Manor where we enjoyed a look around and had lunch before heading back to Uxbridge by train.
Once back in Uxbridge it was off to the cinema to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles with another set of free ticket from Nokia. This movie was absolutely brilliant, we both really enjoyed it. The computer graphics for some of the characters was amazing. If you get the chance to see the movie do go and see it. It has Joan Plowright and Nick Nolte in it. After the movie we made our way back to the boat for what we thought would be a quiet evening, that was not meant to be it seemed.
9pm and the karaoke began at The General Eliot, now on the board it said it goes on till 11pm hahahaha that was not the case. We were both tired so headed to bed at 10.30pm, we could hear singing but it did not bother us to much, so fast asleep we feel. I then woke up before midnight to lots of shouting and what was supposed to be singing, someone was actually murdering ‘Simply the best’ by Tina Turner, I lay there and listened to Keith sleeping and the racket outside of the pub in the garden.
Why is it everything sounds ten times louder at night.

Saturday 26th April.

It is something like 12.30pm and still the karaoke is going on, and the loud chatter in the pub garden. Everyone is having a lovely time apart from me it seems. I love a good time as much as the other person, but you do have to have a little respect for others. By the time we got to 1pm, I had been up and had a drink, listened to ‘Dancing Queen’ which sounded like a cat being strangled. There was one song a chap was singing to and he sounded really good, just a shame I cannot remember the song LOL. So finally at 1pm time was called on the Kareoke and the evening, so I thought great sleep at long last, ha ha ha, no that did not happen as they continued to be loud until 2pm in the garden, finally the landlord asked them all to go home phewwwwwwwww. So if you are going to moor near The General Eliot don’t do it on a Friday night, unless you intend to join in with the Kareoke.
Despite not getting much sleep, we were still awake at 8am and up for breakfast and Paddy’s walk. It was then all hands on deck for touching up paintwork, polishing the brass, and blacking the back cabin stove. All jobs that needed doing as the sun was out and it was lovely and warm. Mike from NB Solveigs Song paid us a visit, he and Julie have a mooring along from the boat yard and are fitting out their boat. We had lunch and continued with boat jobs, which also included a laundry wash. We were entertained by the boat yard as it was boat moving day it seemed, boats coming out of dry dock and a wide beam going in, boats being craned back into the water, it was endless excitement for a Saturday. Our evening was spent with Julie and Mike from NB Solveigs Song at The Dolphin pub. It was a lovely evening chatting to friends we have got to know from Boats and Canals Forum. It is always nice to put faces to the name and then feel like you have known them for years. So thank you for a lovely evening Julie and Mike, we hope to see you again at some point. Good luck with the fitting out of your boat.

Sunday 27th April.

We made the decision last night that we would move today, and because it was a lovely morning we set off at 9.30am from

The General Eliot and were heading for the Slough Arm (built in 1882) and High line Chandlery for a few items. We passed by NB Solveigs Song, but neither Julie or Mike were onboard.

We started out in sunshine, hoping that the weather reports would be wrong.
We saw a Jay taking perching on a moored boat. There was a time when we saw no Jay’s, but of late we have seen lots of them.

The clouds soon started to gather, and as we reached the top of Cowley Lock to take on water and empty the loo, we heard claps of thunder in the distance.

It was not long before the rain was falling. Be warned that the water tap at Cowley Lock is oh so slow, it took well over an hour to take on water, but it was not wasted as we spent it chatting to a boater who has a permit holder mooring below the lock. There is a lovely tea room and The Malt Shovel pub if you are in need of refreshment whilst you wait for the water tank to fill hahaha. The rain was falling heavily by the time we were full of water, so we decided to take the mooring below the lock and see what the weather does. Whilst waiting for the rain to stop, I stood and watched this cheeky squirrel sitting on a tree stump.He was not at all worried about me being there.
I prepared the lock for our entry, when another boat joined us. They left us at the lock whilst we moored up for what we thought may have been for the rest of the day, but having had lunch, the weather took a turn for the better, so we untied and headed for the Slough Arm and Highline Chandlery. The Slough arm looks quite desolate in places, and the water was now back to a dirty grey. You can hear the roar of the M25 as you approach the road bridge. It is not a noise I like to hear. I prefer the peace and quiet of the canal. Just as we reached the chandlery some kids hurled stones over a fence at a mobile home park grrrrrrrrr, thankfully they only hit the boats roof and not Keith and I. We moored opposite the chandlery and that is our mooring for the rest of the day. Keith and I did our bit of shopping, so now we have more things to do on the boat. I wanted a brass rail to go above the back cabin stove to hang towels on, but the one they had was to long, so we are going to make our own up with a brass rod and some fixings, it will do the job.Hopefully we will enjoy a quiet evening, and we will see you next week. If your bored why not join Boats and Canals and have a chat with like minded people