Foxton to Market Harborough.

Hi Friends.

We are now moored for the rest of the weekend on the towpath just outside Union Wharf, Market Harborough having cruised 5.5miles, worked 0 locks, not even the swing bridge as it is open for repairs. It took us 2 hours to get here, having dropped off coal to a customer. We then had another customer come to meet us at the basin to collect their coal order. So Hadar's hold is a little emptier. It is nice to be back on the Leicester Section of the Grand Union doing our Coal Run for the Second Year. We will be here now until the end of March, selling Coal, Kindling, Firelighters and Toilet Blue, so if you see us about come and say hello. We are looking forward to catching up with all our customers over the next few months.

Little Cutey's

We had some very cute little visitor's to the Basin at Market Harborough this evening. Thirteen fluffy bundles and their mum. Mum was being very protective and proud of her brood. We just have to hope that they all survive.

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.

Tuesday's Rambling

Hiya everyone.

With us sitting here in Market Harborough Basin, twiddling our thumbs. It is always lovely to see a friendly face and today was no exception. Roy from NB Gerald came and paid us a visit, as he was on his way to do some shopping in Market Harborough. We sat down with our coffees and enjoyed catching up with all of his and our news. It is always wonderful to see Roy and his whippet Thomas, who is a delight and gets on very well with Paddy. Thomas managed to put Marmite in her place, which makes a nice change, because normally Marmite is the one putting dogs in their place, which includes Paddy. I had a dental appointment to go to and Roy needed to get some shopping down, so we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways.

I had my dental check-up, and all was well. he does not want to see me again for a year. Keith thought he had his dental appointment at 2.20pm to have a filling replaced, so we went and had a fantastic scrummy lunch at The Angel Hotel. They have started a new lunch time menu, where you can have two courses for £7.95. Keith had Pork Loin, with roasties, veg and apple sauce, then Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard. I had Chicken Fillet with a Peppercorn Sauce on a bed of Mash with veg, then a Lemon and Blueberry Square ( like cheese cake) with Clotted Cream Ice Cream. To say it was scrummy is an under statement. Definitely a place to eat.

We just arrived back at the boat, when snow began to fall once more. So we have battened down the hatches, and will see just how much we get this time. At the moment it is not settling.

Foxton to Marktet Harborough.

Hadar set off on an epic journey yesterday morning, to get to Market Harborough to deliver coal to boaters. The 5.5 miles would on a normal day take in the region of 1 hour 50 minutes, but this was not a normal day.
The canal was well and truly frozen with a dusting of snow topping it off. We set off breaking ice as we made our way to Foxton Swing Bridge, which was an absolute pig to move. We had to use the boat to open and close the bridge, because man power was never going to shift the thing. I am no weakling, but I could not move the darn thing. Keith used ropes to make the job easier. We have reported the problem to British Waterways, as it is now a real issue for anyone trying to get to and from Market Harborough. It was playing up before the freeze and now the ice has compounded the problem.
Once we cleared the swing bridge, we were breaking ice up to 2 inches thick, which meant it was slow going in places.Hadar did us proud and we eventually arrived at Market Harborough some 6 hours and 40 minutes later. It was the most incredible days cruising. We became a source of entertainment as people walking their dogs, or just walking took out their phone camera's to take photos of us breaking ice. I don't suppose it is something they see everyday. Having arrived at the Market Harborough moorings, we cleared the ice between the mooring and the boat, so that we could get Hadar in to the bank. By the time we had tied up it was well and truly dark and we were both feeling shattered. This will now be our home until after Christmas, as we cannot turn around as the basin is frozen and we are having our Christmas dinner out this year.
Keith and I would like to thank everyone for reading our blog.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. We look forward to 2010.

Market Harborough to Foxton

It was fantastic to wake up this morning, to snow falling in Market Harborough. Paddy loved his walk in the snow, which was a little scary under foot, because the snow was covering frozen puddles. I nearly landed on my behind a few times. Before setting off we made a coal delivery to one of the boats on the towpath moorings. Having wrapped up in all our winter clothing, we left our mooring, with the snow falling gently. It was not long before we were in the middle of a snowstorm. Keith could have done with windscreen wipers on his eyeballs. He did look very festive covered in snow. At no point was he cold though, as he had the heat from the back cabin stove travelling up his legs.
We got to the Foxton Swing Bridge and had real problems getting it open, which has been an issue for us on a couple of occasions. So Keith used the bow to push the bridge open. Closing it had been fine, until today when no amount of pushing would shift the bridge. So Keith had to reverse Hadar against the half shut bridge to help it on its way. We have reported it to BW, but not sure they can do much at the moment with the weather conditions.
We arrived at Foxton after cruising for a couple of hours and moored up in front of Ann and Kev on NB Endeavour, they had left Market Harborough a few minutes before us.
We could not resist walking up the locks in the snow, to see if the work has been completed. We were greeted by a winter wonderland and Gerald the Lock Keeper, who was in the process of filling the pounds and locks with water.

We have no idea how long Gerald had been working out in the snow, but I would think it takes quite sometime to fill the flight and its side ponds, but he seemed to be enjoying it in the snow. We were the only ones brave enough to be out in the snowstorm.We love the snow, so to have this much and to be able to cruise in it was just wonderous. There was some ice on the canal, but not enough to worry us and it was patchy. Having had a chat with Gerald and taken these photographs, we called into the Bridge 61 pub for a coffee, where we found Ann and Kev having a drink. It was nice and warm in the bar as Tony had logs burning on the fire. Having nattered with Ann and Kev we ventured back to the boat.We are now at Foxton for the weekend. We have a few people who want coal over the next couple of days, so we will be making deliveries over the weekend. I am hoping for more snow, so I can get some festive photographs of Hadar.