Gas Street

Just back from a quick trip to Holland to see the bulb fields. We did a last minute booking and discovered it was a mini-cruise (as if we need a cruise!) We travelled by coach to Amsterdam. Visited the Keukenhof the next morning, meeting the boat at Utrecht. From there we sailed to Dortrecht through a humungus lock which lifted us all of 6". Day three saw us sailing to Rotterdam and from there we went by bus to Delft to the ceramics museum and a boat trip through the canal system, then it was back to the boat at Utrecht and a cruise back to Amsterdam.

We have had 2 days back on the boat to wash everything and then re-pack for the Grande Tour to Moscow and St Petersburg. More of that later....

Gas Street

I spent the day in London yesterday - had a £15 voucher to spend in my favourite shop, Liberty. I ended up spending it on chocolate. I travelled with Chiltern Railways and it cost me £5 each way. If you book via the Internet they will send you a bar code to your mobile and you are supposed to scan this at Marylebone station, but I have not yet got that bit to work.

While we were in Scotland I picked up an eye infection which has steadily got worse even though I have used eye drops prescribed from the Doctor. While in London it got even worse and today I have got even stronger drops, so I hope they work. Living in sunglasses is a drag.

The boat has been thoroughly de-rusted and painted, including the front lockers and engine and is ready to go off to get the windows seen too. Mike is going to take the boat to the yard for us while we are away in Russia and then bring it back to the moorings. It is looking very spruce.

The pictures were taken on Seil Island, Scotland - an ex slate mining area.

An anniversary card made from an old CD I have of clipart, unfortunately it is copyrighted.

Gas Street

We are back from our few days in Scotland, staying at the Dalmally Hotel courtesy of Highland Heritage Tours. The weather, for most of the time, was lovely. Here are some pictures:



The bridge over the Atlantic to Seil Island. It was mooted that the architect might have been Thomas Telford.

Glen Coe, look out for Campbells!

A Highland cow who lives at the Critters Souvenir Shop in Dalmally. It was opposite our hotel.

This is a card that I made from a photograph that David took on the Llangollen Canal last year. The little chap was so enthusiastic and almost as big as his windlass.

Gas Street

The sun has shone almost all day and we have not had to light a fire today.

David has now de-rusted and repainted over the spots on 3/4 of the boat and also managed to paint himself, all his clothes and most of the inside of the boat. We are living in a blue world.

We are all packed and ready for our early start tomorrow morning. A coach trip to Scotland for a few days (it was supposed to be somewhere to go while we were boatless). We are taking the computer but I am not sure if I will be able to download any pictures from my camera.

The boat is Dragonfly, one of the many trip boats that ply these waters. This one is run by Second City.

A pretty pink card with three pink paper roses and a skeleton leaf mounted on lilac opalescent card and silver paper then finished off with a pink organza bow.

Gas Street, Birmingham

Another lovely day is it really Easter? - I always remember Easter being cold and wet.

Lots of people around, including the Dutch Davis Cup supporters dressed from head to toe in orange! ... and they lost.

An "all-day" gathering on the moorings - lots of laughs, wine and beer with people dropping by and joining in.

A walk around the area in the afternoon showed that there were lots of boats around and by 4pm there was only one mooring left and boats were beginning to breast up.

This card was made from the same blue card as the one I posted yesterday. The dragonfly is a broach. I matted it to yellow handmade paper then onto blue metallic paper and finally onto silver card, finishing off with peel-offs coloured with gel pens. I made 2 holes in the card to fix the broach at the back. I left the card without a sentiment which can be fixed to the bottom and also a personalised insert can be fixed inside. I also had to make a box for the card as the card was a bit bulky for an envelope.

Gas Street

It is not until you are moored here when it is warm that you notice the number of people that walk over the Worcester Bar. There is a constant stream of people; those who know nothing about canals, those who are dreaming of canals and one or two who have or had boats.

Lots of questions and most of them ask but will not believe that the boats are not cold in the winter.

The Panama Bar at night. Looks rather peaceful now - but you should see/hear it at 3am!


A wedding "shaker" card. I used some very pretty confetti, hearts and doves, some in white other is clear pinky plastic stuff. I used a silver frame with acetate and just stuck it straight onto the card with double sided so it is quite flat. The card is a dark blue opalescent.

Gas Street

There is just so much you can write about when you are not going anywhere or doing anything much. I took a walk along the towpath to the doctors and noticed that the hire boats had all arrived, the moorings opposite the NIA and beside Bank were deserted yesterday; now they are full.

The sun has also brought the moorers out to try out the new bench belonging to Moulin Rouge - Left to Right: Pete, Ros, David and Geoff.




Another card for a boy who goes show boarding. I found the background on a "cheap" CD in The Works a couple of years ago. The snow boarder was a peeloff I got from the £1 shop fixed with sticky-fixers - so all in all a very expensive card to make.

Gas Street

Hotel boats Taurus and Snipe outside the National Indoor Arena on the Birmingham Main Line, getting all spruced up for the summer season.

The sun shone this afternoon and it was really quite warm. I had to go to the City Hospital and was really good and walked both ways.

Birmingham is bursting with boats, mainly hire boats as all the Children are on holiday. It is so nice to see them all, and sometimes fun to watch then trying to manoeuvre in some of the narrower spots - still we were all there once. We actually did our first 365 degree turn just opposite where we now moor, it is just 60ft wide so we scraped around with inches to spare.

I noticed today that we are on the links from Granny Buttons' Blog. Fame at last!!


A girlie card today. Another kit from Lakeland I am afraid, but sometimes they are just so pretty and if they are in the sale.... well!!

Gas Street

Mick (driving) and Pete (directing) as they take a butty around to the BW yard on the Icknield Port Loop. It also needed to more guys on the front!

It meant that they were late in the James Brindley for beer and snooker.






This card was for a 70th birthday. I found the picture of the old motorcycle in a Sunday Mag and the map came from an old atlas. It is a card that my Father would have loved - he started out as a dispatch rider in the Army at the beginning of the war and loved the bikes.

Gas Street

Grant piloting Aquarius. What will we do without your daily visits Grant? As part of the BW cutbacks we will no longer get our daily canal clean up.

Mr David has now had both sides of the bows painted in comastic and the gunnels in black mat and is looking quite respectable again.




I was hoping to make a card for the Daring Cardmakers Blog. The rules were that the card must be made from only one colour (or variation of). I spent most of the day messing the with Craft Robo and not doing very well, also the printer has decided not to colour true so that didn't help. Then when I had just about got something David thought it was dull (well it was brown). Instead here is a valentine card which is in all shades of pink p even the bit at the bottom which looks white.

I hope they like it because looking through all their work it is pretty daunting - they are all so brill.

PS the larger heart is real chocolate.

Gas Street

April Fool's Day - and there is no fool like an old fool.

The sun was shining but the wind was cold. We managed to catch up on all the gossip on the moorings

Caroline telephoned from Sydney so David was happy. She is planning on being back home next March, though we'll probably see just as much of her as we have while she's been in Oz.

I managed it trip to Lakeland yesterday - they had lots of craft things at half price - so I just had to buy them, didn't I? I really must get rid of some cards as I have lots of ideas and I have joined up to several forums and blogs with lots of competitions. Having come 2nd in one last Christmas it whetted my appetite. Just got to get my finger out.







Three personalised cards here - fairly obvious - this one for a retiring police man. I added his photo to the group photo from "The Thin Blue Line" And a picture of my mother in ATS uniform with a policeman - don't ask!








This one is a birthday card for a great mountain hiker


















And this one for an 80 year old beer drinker!!