Clifton Lock, River Thames

After an afternoon and night of rain, the top of the boat was covered with horse chestnut petal.




An early start as the weather was looking good, and we were on the Thames by 0615.





 Some boating scumbags left this mess on one of the Thames islands.


It was a lovely trip, got to ogle lots of lovely houses and even lovelier boat houses.

Saw a field of strange sheep!

Will he make it?

Yes he will!

Just coming out of Clifton Hampden Lock at 2pm we noticed new 24 hr moorings and dived in.  They were a bit expensive at £8.70 a night, but David was shattered and Abingdon seemed an age away.

We managed to moor up just before the rain started again.

Another simple card (I made lots for a shop in Edinburgh and this is one).  The pocket watch is die cut and the sentiment was done on the computer and matted onto gold card.

Stonely Green Bridge 10, Llangollen Canal

Surprising what you can find on lock gear!

The morning was spent in Chester, we caught the bus just past the bridge at the top of Hurlston locks.  David bought a very expensive box of chocolates and then we came back.


So, we set off at 1 o'clock and stopped at Stoneley Green Bridge at 3 o'clock, having travelled just over 3 miles and done 2 locks.  Enough for one day.

Don't know what this card is for really, could be a birthday card, or a thank you card, or a retirement card, or a new home card, or most things really.

I just matted the picture onto blue and then silver mirri card and stuck it onto the front of a white card blank.  Three blue gems were stuck onto the bottom to give it a bit of a lift, and that was it really.

Gas Street Basin, BCN

Artists have been about in Gas Street Basin again.  I don't think these are official CRT ones though.

Not sure how long I can keep up blogging about being on our moorings without it getting booring, so I'll just post if I have something moderately interesting (I hope).

Please be patient.

For this retirement card I covered the right hand side of a light green card with daisy paper.  The lady was decoupaged and added over the join with a compass in the top left hand corner and the sentiment (done on the computer) in the bottom right hand corner.

Gas Street, BCN

 The Observationists, a group of photographers, have an exhibition is Brindleyplace.  Rob Galvin and Cameron Ives also live on boats in Gas Street.

Here is David standing by his two photographs.

The first one is of two of the "party" boats in the misty evening night.

And this one has Vic pulling the "Rootless Forest" down Farmers Locks.

Quite exciting seeing your work all blown up and on display.

Our Doctor has just retired and this is the card I made for his Practice Manager to give him.

 

 She only gave me a few hours notice so this is what I came up with.  I cut out the clock faces and stuck them onto a white card blank with sticky fixers so that they stuck out.

I cut out a ribbon of clock face backing paper and stuck it along the bottom of the card on the front and on the inside.  I cut off the corners and then added the sentiment on the inside.












And this is the card that we gave him.  The ever faithful "Dunworkin" Buckbies.  I cut out an extra front one and stuck it to the photo with sticky fixers and mounted it onto silver and blue card.  The card blank is also blue.

Below Widewater Lock, Grand Union

Heap of the week?

Took the boat across the canal to the Tesco mooring and did a bit of shopping before we set off.  Another short day, only travelling 4 miles and 5 locks.





We met up with The Cheese Boat on their way back from London.  Of course, we met them too soon, I had not made the card they wanted, so I had to walk up to the Post Office at Harefield in the afternoon when I had finished it. 

I hadn't realized how useful the stop was.  Two convenience stores, Post Office, Chinese Takeaway, Fish and Chip Shop, Hairdressers (of course, you can always find a hairdressers) and a taxi office.  There is even a bus to Uxbridge.  Not forgetting the pub below the bridge.

A card for Grandad, or a retirement card.

The stuck a piece of check paper onto a blue card blank and the added the decoupaged figure and bits.

DICKENS HEATH, Stratford on Avon Canal

We set off at 0715 in brilliant sunshine and headed down the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. There were masses of moored boats, including two doubled up on the water point! Through the chicane at Selley Oak and then a left turn onto the Stratford on Avon Canal at Kings Norton. The plan was to go just past Hockley Heath and moor up past the first lift bridge, but the weather was lovely and we saw a bit of piling and stopped for the rest of the day at 1115.

During the afternoon we heard the dulcet tones of one of Graham’s boats.

We had seen him set off, with Mike on another boat, yesterday morning on our way back from a pumpout (£9.00 at Sherborne Wharf). They had been doing the Birmingham ring and were on the last leg. About 10 minutes later Mike turned up with the second boat. We noticed that Graham had all the girls on his boat!

It is lovely to be out again. There are still bluebells about and the lilac and hawthorn bushes are all in bloom. The space above the water is covered in masses and masses of midges. We even saw some swallows and heard a cuckoo, but it turned out that the cuckoo was at Wentworth and on the telly watching the golf.

While I was out one day several weeks ago, two men came to the boat and asked

David if I could make a card for them. David, having great faith in my abilities, said that of course I could! They wanted a pothole, they said, with a man standing by it saying “Not a Category 1 as far as I’m concerned".

I can’t draw for a toffee, so it was straight onto Google and there I found this giraffe in a hole. I know, it’s been Photoshopped, but hey! I then Googled “road workers” and came up with these four Playmobile men. The rest was easy. I printed off the pothole picture three times and decoupaged it with sticky pads. I cut out the men and made a speech bubble and printed in the words. I matted the photograph and the man’s name and fixed them onto a white card blank, adding three black dots to the right hand bottom corner.

Inside I printed out an insert sentiment and added a picture of the tub of instant road repair kit.

It was a hit with the two guys who ordered the card. Just hope Mike enjoyed the joke too.

Salthouse Dock, Liverpool

Wow! Such an exciting day! Both boats were ready to enter in the top lock at 1000 and with two BW guys doing the locks (with a little help from me) we were off. The top lock has extra long tubes over the paddle gear and a long windlass is required, so I couldn't do that one.











We were soon down the locks and heading for the bascule bridge. Unfortunately we were two low to need it opening. Fortunately because it doesn't work any more anyway. We were heading for the old clock tower in the centre before turning left to go through all the docks to get to the new canal bit.




To the left of the tower is the River Mersey, though the locks down to it from here are no longer in use.








Then it was under this futuristic bridge and into the first of the two new locks. The difference in water levels is only tiny. Apparently when the docks were taken over by BW they agreed a certain depth, but the other docks kept the old one (or something like that).

Then it was past the Liverpool waterfront and a second short tunnel with a kink and the last lock.

Coming out of the last lock we were told it was turn left, left and right. They forgot it was 3rd left to start off with and also forgot to tell the Harbour Master that we were coming. We were trying to get into a dry dock and then the barrier to Albert Dock was closed and we had to hang around outside, not knowing quite what to do.

We were eventually allowed through Albert Dock and into Salthouse Dock. The sun came out and everything was perfect. David could get the satellite to work so he had television and I could see the John Lewis store from the windows of the boat!




Jolly Nation make some lovely decoupage figures. This is the hiking lady. I stuck a piece of green wavy paper on the right hand part of the card and added the decoupage on top, putting a compass in the top left hand corner and a flask in the bottom right hand corner.

Gas Street Basin

The sun has certainly shone since we got back. Another hot, sunny day.

The Canada Geese have been producing prolifically (of course), though this one is quite cute (at the moment!).

Tom was powerwashing their sh*t off the end of the pontoon on Friday and was told by a BW Health and Safety man that he was not supposed to be doing it.

Health and Safety were around because a blind woman had fallen into the canal earlier in the morning. Missed that one. Also missed whoever it was who jumped the lock the night before and left copious amounts of blood on the ground. Hope it hurts! What we didn't miss though were the two naked men walking down the towpath at 4 in the morning!

Another "Dunworkin" card. A photo of the Buckby can, matted onto gold, blue and red card with a photo corner in the bottom right hand corner. All on a white card.

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!!