The Anchor Inn, Shropshire Union Canal

Such a lovely sunny day for cruising.  David set off at 0715 while I lounged in bed with a cup of tea, getting up in time to do the Wheaton Aston lock.

We did a DIY pumpout at the service station and then travelled on through Norbury Junction to the Anchor Inn, travelling further than we had planned again.  In fact we are about a day ahead of ourselves already.  Considering we are supposed to be taking our time....

Still it is supposed to rain tomorrow.




Now for my new line.  Decorated candles.  This is a view of the box with the candle in it and the lid.  There is a window in the box so you can see the candle.

This is one view of the candle.  It is a photograph of The Packet House at Worsley, on the Bridgewater Canal.







And this is the centre of the picture, showing the Packet House.




The photograph is printed onto acetate and wrapped around the candle. 
It should be removed before lighting.












And this is the other third of the picture candle.


















For the Box, I printed the same photograph onto the outside and made two windows which I covered with acetate, so the candle shows through.











I fitted the candle in the box so that the picture on the candle lines up with the one on the box, this window is also on the corner of the box, but that was a mistake.











And this is the third side of the box.  The back of the box has instructions etc.

Park Bridge 8, Shropshire Union Canal

 Someone's stolen the ground paddle.  Are CRT aware?

 A really late start, for us, today, 0900!!  Mainly because there had been lots of rain in the night, and it was still a bit damp.

The first 5 locks were for us, and then the 10th, but the really bad news was that the van selling the bacon butties has gone.  The factory opposite has closed down.



We went for a slow trip down the locks, it took us 3 3/4 hours, not to bad for not rushing.  We met 3 boats coming up the locks, but the last two were right at the beginning.

Signs of Autumn everywhere, lots of berries on trees and bushes, and this lovely group of fungi at the side of one of the locks.

Then a right turn at the junction and a left onto the Shroppie and we stopped just before Bridge 8, the first set of moorings with no ledge!!!  A couple of hours nap time and I managed to stay up until 0830!!  Only one lock tomorrow, whey hey!

A Forever Friends bear with lots of boxes, has it been shopping, or is it bringing gifts?  Anyway it was matted onto a fancy oval die-cut and pink dotty oval.

I covered the front of a white card blank with pink dotty paper on the bottom and white with pink hearts on the top and a pink stripe across the join.  A butterfly in the top right h and corner and another on the left hand side of the printed sentiment.

Wolverhampton - BCN

What do you think of this sign?  It is a large, metal construction and must have cost at least a lock and a half, if not two and states the bl****** obvious.   

Had to wait for the cleaners to finish cleaning the boat before we left, so we went for a swim
first and left at 1230.  The trip was fairly uneventful, there was only one empty pound at Factory Locks, but not empty enough to need re-filling.  The down side was that David had to go down the weed hatch 4 times while waiting for the bottom lock to be ready.

It took us 4 1/2 hours to get to Wolverhampton and we just moored up opposite the services on the off-side moorings and  I was in bed by half past seven.  And only 3 locks!






I love this little ballet dancer.  I cheated with a ready-coloured stamped image and matted it onto a blue, die-cut panel. 

A pink card base with some patterned paper on top, I edged this with some pink ink and wrapped the ribbon around it before attaching it to the card.  Two gems were stuck to the ribbon which was tied in a knot, and a computer generated sentiment was added between the ribbon and topper.

Gas Street Basin, BCN

 Alarms and excursions in Gas Street.  Ash began listing rather badly.  Of course, the owner was away at the time.  The pump to drain the boat wouldn't work, a borrowed pump would not work either.  CRT came to the rescue and lent a pump and the bilges were drained.  Marigold then found the leak and stuffed part of an old shirt into the hole with a screwdriver.  It seems to have worked, the boat is still floating!

I don't know why I have not published this card before, I made it years ago for my daughter's birthday.

At the time she had two Maui cats, Simba and Zizzi.  Zizzi came to grief on the A38 a couple of years ago.

Anyway, I made "spine" card by embossing a line down the side of three pieces of A5 card about 1/2" in.

The cards were decorated with matted photographs of the cats

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 Moorings, BCN

It is surprising what you can see from the canal!

Last time to be up at 5am!!!!!  All the 23 locks were against us.  When we got to Farmers Locks the wind was really gusting through the tall buildings.  David normally stops the boat and closes the top gate before driving into the next lock, but the gusting meant he couldn't leave the boat between locks.  At the lock just before the BT tower he couldn't even get the boat into the next lock in a straight line.  There was a tsunami of water over the towpath from the propeller and I just managed to jump out of the way in time while he bumped his way into the open lock.

We opened the top gate of the top lock just as the chimes from the Brindleyplace clock chimed 0900 - 3 1/2 hrs from the bottom of the Aston locks.  Right at Old Turn for a pumpout and diesel and then back to the moorings for a rest, a swim in the Hyatt and then a nap.  Bliss.





I am proud of this card, I did it all on the computer (apart from the sequins).

Cuckoo Wharf, Birmingham and Fazeley Canal

A long day today, 11 miles and 14 locks.

It started with a beautiful sunrise, and then the weather steadily went downhill.

The locks were all for us (except one) and we never saw another boat on the move all morning.







This lock had a row of little yellow flags stuck across it.

  
And this is what they said.  So, was the gas pipe line dug under the lock before it was built?  Or did they dig under the lock?  And, who is going to dig there anyway?

When we got to Cuckoo Wharf there was room for a boat, though the sign did say "Permit Holders Only" we ignored it and moored up.


Only 2 boats passed us in the afternoon, quite a difference from the last two weeks.

This is a Thank You card.  Firstly I cut a piece of patterned paper and then embossed it to give it texture.  A piece of ribbon and a decorated edge was wrapped around it just over 2/3rds down and the matted onto white card.

This panel was then fixed onto a white card blank. 

The sentiment was made on the computer and added with sticky fixers and two gems were added.

This card could have almost any sentiment added though.