Size does not matter it is how you use it...

...I think I have blogged before with that title?

Anyhow the reason for the reflection is on arriving and fettleing Waterlilty for her return home cruise I observed this.....

That is Waterlily fourth back. She is behind a couple of 58 footers and another fifty footer. Now inside Waterlilty we have a bed, bathroom, galley, dinette saloon and covered well deck. its all fitted in by having a very snubby bow and a short welldeck.

I am not sure if is shows good use of space on Waterlily or poor use of space on the other boats?

For sure Waterlily does not have the classic lines of some of the other boats, and for that I am somewhat sad, however I don't tend to look at her like this very often so gain from the extra internal space. It is the same reason I don't often look in the mirror  !!

I still think the ex ownership boats cam close to the perfect layout in a 58 foot shell - including two toilets and a corner bath plus a good seating area outside.

One problem with the way Waterlily uses her space is she has a small cratch 'window' and cannot easily be extended at the front as the saloon takes some of the curvature. Maybe if we keep her to her next paint job we could give her a real nice looking nose !

Caldon by rail

As Waterlily was being 'adjusted' and Easter was upon us we booked a Sunday lunch by train on the Churnet Valley railway. This ticked three boxes,

1. Railway
2. Canal
3. Parents

The weather was not the best but we did feel a little special being pointed at at the stations as we arrived eating in the 'reserved' carriage.

It is a great heritage railway and when complete will be the longest in the country, even picking up at Stoke to Alton towers!

It follows the Caldon canal in the Churnet valley and should be on everyone's list if you are doing the Caldon.

 

 

There is the canal just as we come into Consall forge.

 

 

 I suppose the only disappointment was no steam as their engines were behind schedule being winter fettled. I do like the old diesels class 33 Captain Charles for the record. 

Horse alert....

No pictures I'm afraid but one to be aware of or laugh at...

When we came up through Alrewas yesterday there was a Canaltime watering but getting involved with the big old horse that lives in the field at the back of the water point. It seems that said horse had leaned over the fence and eaten the cork ball off the key ring left in the water-point. Rachel said the boaters were trying to retrieve the cord from his mouth !!

Rachel helped by offering the horse some tasty grass as a desert which allowed the boaters to recover what was left of the cord/cork ball. He was also taking a drink from the spray of a less than perfect fitting hose....

I suspect this is this horses party trick and they were not the first but the size of him was intimidating the luckless boaters.

All part of the holiday story I expect !

Nev

Cruising Tuesday

Taking Waterlily back to Fradley today. Sunshine few boats moving and woodsmoke. What a lucky sod I am !






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Where's Waterlily

Bit of a catch up for blog completeness.

We  (Rachel) wanted a bit more space in bed so we got a price for a bed extension from Justin at Aqua. The Sunday before Easter we rode to Waterlily after having left our car at Mercia Marina. We overnighted and then welcomed our good friends John & Carrie with their twins Alba and Isabella for the trip to Willington. It was a much better weather day than we expected and we had a great trip down. Both dogs (Leia was left at home) fell in very quickly then walked most of the way with the adults joining them in turns to keep the girls happy.

We ended up with a late arrival and after having juggled cars it was dark when we left. Still a nice day in good company. Just need to get the boat back now !

Jugs....latest member of the family

No her name is Bella and she is a Jug (Jack Russell Pug cross) she is my sons dog and is very small and very active !







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That new boat feeling

I took time out on Friday to nip over to Willington to meet Halfie and Jan as they brought their new (to them) boat up from Kegworth. I had been given an eta of 2.30 but having walked to Findern and then met a canal time on its own I calculated they were running behind schedule.

I turned and walked back as far as Mercia Marina then got a call saying they were just passing Findern. a quick about turn hopped up onto the bridge that gets you to Mercia for this shot.




I was able to have a little go and she felt a good solid boat with a more than adequate engine. Inside she is fantastic, and I can't recall seeing two happier people !

Nice to finally meet you Halfie and Jan, and many many years of safe and happy cruising in her.

Nev



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Location:Willington

Fradley Volunteers

Apologies for this bit of fun......

Looking back on last years photos I found this one just after the volunteers has started 'volunteering'?

Can't see a lot getting done with this approach...? I don't think they knew we were there, I think they were mustered for painting training.

Remembering....Iain Boldy

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’

My good friend at school left at the same time as me, he went into the navy I went in to a print apprenticeship. He lost his very young life in the Falklands defending the right of this country. I recently went to the National Memorial Arboretum found his name and paid my respects.

We were a rubbish class academically at our school but we were all good friends and had lots of fun, Iain was always at the centre of it

RIP Iain. I for one will not forget you and what you did for this country.

From the local paper....

A WIDOW whose husband was killed in the Falklands war just a week after they married will attend a special memorial service to mark the 30-year anniversary of the start of the conflict.
Margaret Allen said she was left "utterly devastated" when her husband Iain Boldy was killed while serving on HMS Argonaut on May 21, 1982.

 

The couple had only been married a week and Mrs Allen said she had spent years trying to cope with her sudden loss.
The 53-year-old said: "We met two years before he went off to the Falklands and married a week before.
"He knew what was required of him and expected from him in his job.
"But it utterly devastated me. It left me with post traumatic stress disorder and I there are things before and after that I just can't remember any more."
Mr Boldy, of Darley Abbey, was only 20 when his ship was bombed by Argentine forces. He was one of 258 Britons killed in the conflict.
Today, Mrs Allen, of Brailsford, is set to attend a candlelit vigil at the National Memorial Arboretum.
She will join other veterans, relatives and widows of soldiers who died in the war. During a service of remembrance, a single candle will be lit in the Arboretum's Millennium Chapel and it will be left alight for 74 days – the length of the conflict.
A new memorial will then be unveiled at the Alrewas site in May.
Mrs Allen said she would be meeting Major John Phillips, a former Royal Engineer who defused one of the two bombs which struck the ship her husband had been on.
She said: "Two bombs hit the ship Iain was on.
One struck him and the other went into the boiler room.
"It was unexploded and Major Phillips defused it. I have never met him and it will be emotional but I want to thank him for what he did.
"There is a great comfort in being with other people who know what it is like to lose someone in a conflict. I feel it will be a very positive day."
She said she now worked with the National Memorial Arboretum and the charity Combat Stress to help others like her.
She said: "I think it is vital for society to remember past conflicts. I think the amount of support available to veterans and families of soldiers injured or killed in conflict has improved but we can still do more."