Top of Foxton Locks to Rainbow Bridge.

We are now moored at the bottom of Foxton Locks near Rainbow Bridge 62, having descended the locks this morning. We had a very heavy over night frost, but it meant we had a stunning sunrise. There was no one else around, so we had the flight to ourselves. After leaving the locks we cruised down to Debdale, on doing so we passed NB Wilver. Bill stuck his head out of the side door's and said good morning to us. We had a quick chat and headed to the winding hole at Debdale, where we turned the boat around. We then returned to the bottom of Foxton Locks where we will be for a few days as we have people coming to see us. After mooring up, we shut the boat up and headed to bridge 61 for a coffee and a chat with Tony Matts. Jo then decided to use the laundrette, so that she could do all of the washing at once. It was well worth the £3 for the wash, as it got everything done at once.
Mo and Nessa on NB Balmaha are now moored behind us, so we will catch up with them tomorrow. It will be wonderful to catch up on all their news.
The day is now drawing to a close as the light is fading fast and the temperature is dropping rapidly, so we will be staying inside tonight.

Hello, Goodbye.

Good afternoon folks.

It has been a manic couple of days. What with sorting out Keith's hospital appointments and painting the boat. The appointments situation at the moment is all done and now we just wait for the day to arrive. This was all thanks to PALS (Patients Advisory Liason Service). We completely recommend them if you are having problems with your hospital.


On Monday 26th May. We welcomed back Mo and Nessa (NB Balmaha) as they arrived back at the basin, to be reunited with their boat, after a very busy weekend, at their daughters wedding. Go to their blog and have a look at the fabulous photographs of the big day.

Like with any time away, their food cupboards and fridge were empty and they would need to do a shop for provisions, so we all decided that we would have a goodbye meal in The Waterfront Restaurant at the basin. So having walked Paddy and donned our better looking clothes, we walked the Twenty feet from Mo and Nessa's boat into the restaurant. Nessa had asked if we could be seated under the photograph of Hadar, which was really sweet of her. One of the waiters very kindly took the photograph for us. The meal itself was sublime. We all enjoyed our main course and even managed puds. If your in the Market Harborough area, come and have a meal at The Waterfront, you will not be disappointed.

Tuesday it was time to say goodbye to Mo and Nessa, as they left with Nessa's mum onboard for pastures new. It has been sad to see our friends go. But hopefully it will not be much longer and we will be cruising again. It was wonderful to see Mo and Nessa again. We always have so much to natter about and yes whilst eating our meal, the topic of conversation did end up with talking about toilets. Why is it that when chatting to any boater, you always have to talk about toilets?

So we are alone once more for a few days. We know that The Maisibert with Hilary and Andy is on its way to Market Harborough, so we will have a lovely time catching up with them. So watch this space for more news.

A Rare Night Out.

Hi Folks.

Last night Keith and I enjoyed a night out with Al and Del, NB Derwent. It was a real treat, because of late we have not been out much because Keith has really not felt up to it. But yesterday was a good day, as he had no major pain, which was a miracle. So having been invited to join Al and Del at Joules Eating House for an Acoustic Night, we got dressed up and walked down to Joules Eating House with Al and Del. Despite being in Market Harborough for a while it was our first time at Joules Eating House and we were amazed by the place, it is stuck in its own time capsule. Mo and Nessa on NB Balmaha, have told us about the place and now we have seen it for ourselves.
If you ever get the chance to pop in the Joules Eating House you will be amazed by the atomosphere there. In the Restaurant the walls are covered in sheet music. It has all the charm and elegance of the bygone Victorian era.
Thank you Al and Del for a wonderful evening of chatter and excellent music. I have not laughed this much for ages. The music was supplied by some fantastic local talent, which would win any talent show all hands down.
The Joules Acoustic sessions are held throughout the year on the 3rd Thursday of every month, so if your visiting Market Harborough, go and enjoy some excellent music. It is completely free, you just have to buy your own beer.

Mother's Day and Good Friends.

Hi folks.

Firstly Happy Mother's Day to Mum's everywhere.

We have not posted much of late because when your stationary, there is very little to write about. I am quite sure you would get quite bored with our daily routine of walking the dog and stoking the fires. Or should that be fire, as we have let the back stove out, because it was getting a little too warm at night.

Over this past few days, I have been busy with boat jobs, such as painting and cleaning, whilst Keith is still working on his Rag Rugs. He is building up a nice collection now.

Mo and Vanessa on NB Balmaha are on the towpath for the weekend. It is always wonderful to see them both. We tend to spend time putting the world to right in our conversations and of course we chat about boating as well. Yesterday I delivered them some coal, to keep them warm in the evenings, which are drawing out nicely. Mo and Nessa are leaving on Monday for a few weeks. But we will see them again in April and will have more things to chat about no doubt.
Today was a real treat, because we had a surprize visit from Merleen and Paul who used to have NB Lady Celine. It has been a good few months since we saw them last. If I remember correctly it was back last summer, when we were in the Saltisford Arm for a few days. We welcomed them both onboard and sat chatting over a cuppa. Catching up is always so much fun. They no longer miss the boat and are enjoying their new life in Warwick. We will catch up with them again, the next time we are down Warwick way.

Keith is still very much the same, his pain is up and down on a daily basis. There is no progress on his operation date, so I will be ringing the hospital tomorrow, to see if I cannot push things along a little.

Kilby Bridge to Br 68 near Debdale.

Wednesday 11th March.

Kilby Bridge to Br 68 near Debdale. 7.8 miles and 12 locks.

Yesterday afternoon we moved Hadar over to the Sanitary Station, to take on water, empty the toilet cassette and dispose of rubbish, having done this we then moored up behind NB Balmaha, so we would be ready to move off in the morning.
When we got up this morning it was extremely foggy, but as the sun came out, it did not take long to burn the fog away to leave us with a bright, chilly start to the day. It was an ideal day for cruising with Mo and Vanessa on their boat NB Balmaha. We were about to set off at 9am but a Canaltime hire boat beat us to the draw and slipped their mooring first, which meant we would have to follow in their wake. It was a united decision that we would give them a 15 minute head start before we would set off, as we did not want to be caught up with them at the locks. This seemed like a great idea at the time, but proved not to really work out in practice, because after their first couple of locks we were right on their tail.

But as we approached Newton Top Lock, they were pulling away from the lock and moored up past Bridge 80 Newton bridge, so we thought yippee we can get in front of them and make some headway. An Oxfordshire hire narrowboat and a private owners boat NB Faraday, entered the lock to go down, leaving the lock clear for us and Balmaha to come up. We were literally ready to leave the lock when the Canaltime pulled out in front of us grrrrr. They had probably stopped for a coffee LOL. So we were back to following them through the next five locks.Keith and I had such a lot of fun cruising with Mo and Vanessa, they really made our day lots of fun. I certainly found working the locks, with Vanessa a real pleasure, it was nice to be able to chat whilst we worked. As we followed the hire boat up the next set of locks, it became apparent that the pounds were low and by the time we arrived at Kibworth Second Lock, the hire boat had got stuck coming out of the lock, as the pound was down by a foot and half. They managed to get moving towards Kibworth Top Lock and we began to fill our lock. Mo moved out of the lock first, because Keith was worried that Hadar would get stuck heading towards Kibworth Top Lock and that happened no sooner he left the lock. Vanessa and I walked up to the top lock and began to let water down to get Hadar refloated, eventually she was once more on the move and Keith managed to get her into the lock. All of this excitement made for an excellent day. We cruised through Saddington Tunnel (880 yds). It is worth looking up when going though the tunnel, because inside the tunnel there are bat boxes that have been put up. Mo and Vanessa followed us through the tunnel, which we worried about a little because we know how loud Hadar's engine can be. That is why we wear ear plugs, but later on Mo told us it was not actually that bad, which was good to know. After a lovely day we both moored up before Bridge 68. Vanessa very kindly invited us onboard their boat for a cup of tea, which I reckon we had earned. it was not long before Vanessa and I were yawning, we had both worked hard. Sitting drinking tea and chatting with friends, is the best way to finish a brilliant day. We really look forward to cruising with them again, they are a lovely couple and lots of fun.

Before I finish todays posting, I thought I would show you Keith's latest creation. Keith finished our new Rag Rug yesterday evening, which took 7 days to complete. He based it on all the colours in our back cabin.

It really looks fabulous. He will have to make another one now.