Lymm

Is Mr Baker a good Yorkshire man, making sure that he doesn't have to get the boat repainted when the next Mrs Baker moves in?


We arrived in Lymm early this morning while they were setting up the market.

Several shops have closed since we were here last year but two flower shops have opened up. Must tell you something...




A stamped card.

Moore

It did it again... as soon as we set off it started to rain. So it was a quick dash through Preston Brook Tunnel and a dash into Midland Chandlers for some new fenders and then stopped at Moore outside the Post Office/Shop.

As we were traveling through Dutton Stop Lock we noticed this sign on the lock gate.

1. Since when were there time restrictions on Saltersford Tunnel? Not when we went through last year anyway.

2. Why wasn't there a sign outside the tunnel before we went through?

David's niece Rachel visited this afternoon and then her husband, George popped in later.

An anniversary card using a wooden rose. The edges of the backing papers were punched out and the sentiments are "peel-offs" mounted onto silver card.

This card comes with a box and it is too thick to fit into an evelope.

Dutton Stop Lock

And yet another "soft" day. Though why it waits until we have just set off I don't know.


No locks today, just two tunnels with kinks so you just get a glimpse of the exit to see if there is a boat coming in the other direction.


I have posted a picture of our galley (kitchen) for those who might be interested.

And a card for a baltomane (if that is the right word).

Outside Middlewich

A couple of days when we couldn't get a signal so no blog.





We travelled up the Shroppie to Nantwich, taking the bus into Chester. Then turned right onto the Middlewich Branch and moored just before the Cholmondley Lock. The SUCS were lock-wheeling for their funds but it was too wet to travel.





We left very early this morning before the SUCS were up, but David left a donation. We stopped at Middlewich and I got a taxi to the A&E Department of Leighton Hospital to see if I could get my poorly eye looked at.





They were not very helpful and after I got back we set off through the big lock and moored at one of our favourite spots just past Bridge 176.

Don't ask what the sculpture is. It's part of the sculpture park alongthe Nantwich Embankment.







The card was comissioned for a 65th Wedding Anniversary. They chose the subject!!

It is a photograph from the top of Amber Moon. I made three copies and then cut them into layers for a decoupage effect which, of course, does not show up in the photograph.

Below Audlum Locks

Woodeaves Cutting - can you see the towpath?

An early start today - 0530 - and we started in drizzle. The drizzle turned into rain as soon as we committed ourselves to the first five locks.

A quick shopping trip in Market Drayton and then we were off again through Adderley locks where the sun came out and it was quite pleasant

It was then down through Audlem locks; there were lots of boats going up and down so it was quite painless.

That means we did 25 locks today!!! But as the weather was so nice and the forecast for the weekend was rain and more rain we thought we would get a few miles in before the bad weather.


A decoupage birthday, the stripy paper came from a box of chocolates.

I was accused of only buying the chocolates for the wrapping. Now would I do that?

Goldstone Wharf

Yet another lovely day. We couldn't get a signal for the Internet yesterday, so there are two pictures for today. The first one is of the moorings at Park Bridge.

David left at 0615 and I had another hour in bed as there were no locks today. Therefore we were moored up for the day before 0930.

I tried to walk to the top of Tyrley Locks but the towpath through the cutting was in such a bad state that I gave up and walked back the other way.


This picture is of a side paddle which is being colonized by bindeweed.

The photograph almost looks like a painting.









Three cards today. They are three different examples using the same stamp. Another one from Australia

I cut out the last one and mounted it with foam pads so that it stands proud.

Near Brewood (pronounced Brood!)

Such a lovely day. We set off at 0545 with all the locks against us until we got to Lock 12 when we met the first of two boats coming up. The whole flight was done in 3 1/4 hours. Not a record, but good enough for us. The butty wagon was not open at Lock 11 so we had to do without breakfast.

Lots of fun at Autherley Junction, two hire boats coming south, another coming out of the lock and David trying to take this photograph of the heron before it got frightened off. I ended up locking both hire boats through the lock before we could get through.

We noticed that the Shropshire Union Canal Society have been very busy since our last visit here. There were new moorings made just after the junction and another set between bridges 7 and 8 which is one of our favourite spots around here. Thank you SUCS you are stars.

So by 1030 we were moored up in the sunshine with about 6 other boats.

A card for a party animal. The stamp is Australian and although you cannot see it in the picture the stripy bit is mounted onto a white card. The stripy card was recycled from a birthday card that David received.

Wolverhampton

Away at last. After a visit to the Doctor's surgery for our check ups we left at arriving here 4 1/2 hours later. David only went down the weedhatch 6 times.

I have added a picture of our moorings as we may have to move. A big bad wolf is huffing and puffing and has already blown down the BW straw house and now he's after our mooring. Let's hope our house is made of stronger stuff.

You can't actually see our boat and the distinctive satellite dish has been put down, ready for us to leave.

It was so good to be on the move again though we seem to have missed some of the spring. The hawthorn is dying and we've missed the bluebells. There are lots of other flowers though and the wild roses were out all along the towpath. Plus lots of ducklings, baby coots and moorhens.

This card was made for a fellow boater for another boater and he insisted on the wording.

I have sorted out the templates for printing onto individual cards now so I printed the wording. The topper was bought in (I'm not that crafty yet).

I had a good "selling" day yesterday and I hadn't even displayed the cards. A lovely lady bought several cards and ordered a 65th wedding anniversary card for her parents.

Gas Street (but not for much longer - hooray!

This is definitely the last holiday picture (we only took about 16 and 10 of those were of St Basil's). It's not often you get to see Lenin, Tsar Nickolas II and Stalin in the same shot.

Cup final day and disappointment in the household. I went shopping in Solihull and spent another fortune in Lakeland on stuff I don't need and will probably never use on cards. Still, I enjoyed my little self.

I made several cards like this some time ago, thinking they would be good for children who were starting school. The first one I sold was for a Teacher starting work at a new school. I never thought of that!

Gas Street

This sign was spotted outside an Irish Pub in Moscow. Anyone know what it means?

Spent the whole morning at the hospital getting my ear and my eyes sorted. Have to travel back to Birmingham on 4 June from wherever we are to get a lump removed from my ear. Apart from that nothing much occurred and I was able to make a wedding card for Gail's son's wedding next month. I'll post it after the event - just in case.




Another card for the military man, just a sticker, mounted onto card and a background I found on the web mounted onto gold card. There is plenty of room for a sentiment or name.

Gas Street

Back from the big trip to Russia via Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk, Moscow, Novgorad, St Petersberg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Antwerp and through Holland. Very tiring but also very enjoyable.

I finally got to see St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square and it didn't disappoint. It was beautiful. Moscow was all decorated for their Victory Day parade on 7 March though we had to leave before it started.


Berlin had really changed since our last visit just after the wall came down. Our hotel was well into the old East Berlin and a trip on the U-Bahn to Alexanderplatz would have been very naughty when we were both there in 1971.

Still, coffee and cakes at the old Kranzlers (which has now been renamed) brought back happy memories.

Warsaw (and Poland) were almost unrecognisable - colour, shops, new buildings. We had a wander around the Old Town (which was actually built after 1948!) and found the British Embassy which was still there (there were plans when we were there in 1979 for a new building - obviously they never got the funding).

It was a Sunday and most of the shops were closed - which was a shame because they actually had things to buy in them.

We here held up at the Belyorusse border for 7 1/2 hours (a record for Ledger Holidays) because we did not have a piece of paper for the coach.

A visit to Red Square in Moscow and the Kremlin and a trip on the Metro, then it was off to Novgorad which is one of the oldest cities in Russia and then to St Petersburg and the Hermitage. We succumbed to a river cruise on the River Neva.

We then travelled on to Helsinki via an overnight ferry to find that the Eurovision Song Contest was imminent and they were preparing the outside stage and screen. The next day we drove to Stockholm for a quick visit and then on another ferry to Copenhagen. We took another canal boat trip (suckers for the water!!)

It was then a long slog through Holland for the last night in Antwerp before catching a ferry back to UK. We arrived back at the mooring at 8.30 to discover that Mr David was still at Lyon's Boatyard and the mobile phones with Ian's number was on the boat.

There was nothing for it - we booked into the Hyatt Hotel for the night and David caught the bus to the boatyard and brought the boat back.

You will understand the bliss of our own bed after staying in 11 hotels in the past 17 days.

Now for the card. I have used a toy jet attached to a photograph of the sky and mounted on silver card. Of course, because of the size it comes in a box!!