Balance beam repair

I was slightly concerned last night that our choice of mooring perhaps wasn't the best, as a satellite image showed we were right next to Aldi's distribution centre in Atherstone. In the event it was absolutely fine.

At Atherstone Bottom Lock the towpath side bottom balance beam had been repaired with angle iron and bolts.

As we travelled vaguely west towards Fazeley I was aware that I had seen no trains at all on the line which runs approximately parallel to the canal. At the railway bridge (50B) I realised why. There were workers on the line.

We got to Fazeley Mill Marina at 1655 hoping to be able to get diesel and gas, expecting it to be open until 1800 as per the website, but were told that it shuts at 5. We are now outside ready to get topped up in the morning.

Side hatch rain protector

It's been a long, long time - but we are, at last, under way on board Jubilee again. And I'm doing another blog post. I should have blogged during lockdown, I suppose - after all, I had enough time - but, as with doing my tax return, I managed to keep putting it off. Now the rules are being relaxed and we are allowed to stay overnight on our boat, so here we are. In Polesworth, as it happens.

We set off from our mooring in Fazeley at about midday when it wasn't really raining. Our first lock for ten months (!) was Glascote Bottom Lock.

Locks! Hooray!

As we steered along the Coventry Canal we passed a boat with an interesting rain hood for the side hatch.

Not much good in windy weather, I imagine, but just right for today's still but drizzly conditions.

At 5 o'clock, with the rain getting heavier, we decided to stop. We should be able to do the Atherstone flight tomorrow in the dry, if the forecast is accurate. For tea we had the remains of yesterday's curry which we enjoyed with Andrew at an Indian restaurant in Sheffield, the first meal out for a long time.

We had come to the boat on Monday, driving up to Sheffield the next day. Only a couple of hours after getting to the boat nb Harnser came past with Brian and Diana on board. They were going to be heading our way, towards Coventry, but had detoured up the Birmingham and Fazeley to allow a stream of boats to clear Glascote and Atherstone Locks.

Jan will be having a long-waited for hair cut in Atherstone tomorrow afternoon, then we shall crack on to Bedworth. We are on our way to Debdale Wharf for blacking, something which should have happened in March or April.

It's good to be back.

One of the most photographed bridges?

When the rain - and the threat of rain - passed I put a second coat of paint on the well deck. The pits are still there but are smoothing out as they fill with paint. I had thought of smearing filler over before painting, but reasoned that it would crack up as the deck flexes when walked on.

I took only one photo today, that of us et al at the Indian restaurant. Before showing that here's one from yesterday as we approached Drayton Footbridge.

I guess most boaters who have travelled along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal will have at least one photo of this unusual bridge.

Several historic boats passed us on their way to Birmingham. Some, if not all, will have been at the gathering at Huddlesford Junction last weekend. This is Whitby having just passed the entrance to Fazeley Mill Marina.

And so to the meal out tonight. Nine boats have now congregated in Fazeley for the BCF event this weekend; fourteen of us enjoyed a meal at Kudos Indian Restaurant. I realise I have omitted Gwyneth from the photo, sorry Gwyneth.

Stephen, Hazel, James, Elizabeth, Richard, Sally, Chris, Chris, Gill, John, Tony, Jan

A sign on a sinking boat

We were just about to set off from Minworth this morning when our friends Chris and Di came past on Ultreya. We followed them down Curdworth Locks and stopped just above the Dog and Doublet where they joined us for lunch on board Jubilee.

While there Alder and Clover passed on their way up the locks. This is Clover, looking immaculate as ever.

At Bodymoor Heath some wag has put a sign on a sinking boat.

"HMS Brexit".

Yes, well, I have a sinking feeling about Brexit too.

All too soon we were doing our last lock of the year (probably): Curdworth Bottom Lock. After yesterday's deluges it was a pleasant change doing this in sunshine.

We topped up with diesel at Fazeley Mill Marina and had hoped to get a new gas cylinder too, but they had run out. We winded at Fazeley Junction and tied up by Tolson's Footbridge ready for a BCF event this weekend.

In the evening we joined David, Mary, James and Hazel for a meal in the Peninsular Chinese restaurant.

Jan, James, Hazel, David, Mary

Overspill weirs doing their job

We noticed last night that the Farmer's Bridge flight seemed to be set in our favour, so we got up reasonably early hoping to be the first down the locks. While we were having breakfast, listening to the rain, at least one boat went down, scuppering our plan. Then Edwin appeared on Ferrous with his remote control at the ready.

As we were no longer in a rush we attended to the boat's needs at the services before entering the flight in the pouring rain.

By Lock 4 my shoes had so much water in them that they squelched with every step. My hat and coat performed well, though. Did I mention the rain? We had planned to be in Fazeley by Wednesday evening so we were on a schedule. Having done just six locks in the previous two weeks we had 27 today, all but one against us. At least it wasn't cold, and once you're wet you can't get much wetter.

I don't remember ever seeing overspill weirs doing their job with so much vigour.

One of the new houses where (I believe) the Cincinnati works used to be has made a big effort with the bank, mowing the grass and putting in many potted trees. Incongruously a bus stop stands amongst them.

One for Jim?

I'm pleased to report that the new well deck paint doesn't seem to have suffered in the rain.

Oil change overdue

After some four weeks at home we're now back on board Jubilee. On our way to the boat we stayed overnight in Cranfield so we could see Ally, Ben, Josiah and Micah; then drove up an empty A5 yesterday afternoon to Fazeley. Some basic mental arithmetic led me to realise that an engine oil change was a few hours overdue, so I checked I had a new filter and enough oil, and took the boat to Fazeley Mill Marina to empty the Elsan. We stopped opposite our mooring and I did the servicing, during the course of which I discovered that I have somehow accumulated at least four 5 litre cans of old oil.

I change the oil every 250 hours (Isuzu 38hp) - I hope this is often enough.

David took a break from sanding down the cabin side of Kew to wave us off.

We hadn't gone far along the Coventry Canal when we saw Chris and Di on Ultreya. We suggested stopping but they said they were just about to go, so we helped each other up the two Glascote locks. The other side of Amington they were catching us up, but I didn't see them after Alvecote.

We stopped just above Atherstone Lock 10 so I could watch the F1 Grand Prix highlights. I put the aerial up and switched on the TV to check I had a good signal - and found the formation lap under way. I had got the time of the programme wrong; fortunately I had missed nothing of the race proper.

When it was over we went for a short walk as the sun was setting.

Jubilee above Atherstone Lock 10

Help with locks? Me?

Er, yes. Me. I had to have help with a flight of locks today on account of my bad back. Richard responded to our plea and turned up slightly earlier than we were expecting. Still, we made good progress down the Curdworth flight, even stopping for coffee below Lock 7.

I don't know what they're laughing about.

When we got to Fazeley we filled the diesel tank and emptied the Elsan at Fazeley Mill Marina and returned to our mooring. As we had to drive Richard back to Curdworth we decided it would be a good idea to eat at The White Horse. Mary came along too - David had a meeting to go to so couldn't join us.

Mary, Jan, me, Richard

Brades Staircase

I filled yesterday's blog post with photos of our Dudley Tunnel trip and didn't say anything about what else we did, which was to return to central Birmingham.

I thought it would be fun to go down the BCN's only staircase pair, at Brades Locks. Having seen very little traffic since we left Tipton I was surprised to find a boat coming up the staircase. Apparently there was an emergency stoppage affecting Factory Locks, so boats were being diverted via Brades. I hadn't received an e-mail alert from CRT so I guess whatever it was had happened very recently.

The intermediate gate of the staircase wouldn't close easily - there was a coconut in the way. You see a lot of coconuts in the water in areas of high Asian population. Hindus (or is it Sikhs, or both?) use them in their funeral rituals, putting the deceased's ashes in them and floating them off down the canal on the basis that all waterways lead to the Ganges.

After three weeks of boating without needing to visit the weed hatch we caught a bag round the blades on the New Main Line. I pulled in to the bollards at the foot of the Smethwick New Pumping Station to remove it, and caught another one as soon as I pulled away. Grr. I removed that one sitting between the bank and an old toll island ... and caught another large bag round the rudder.

First bag: Sainsbury's

Second bag: Tesco

Third bag: insulation packaging

We tied up at Cambrian Wharf in the one remaining space, and went to bed with the rowdies making a terrific racket at the Flapper and Firkin. Why do they have to SHOUT so much? All was peaceful by 0030 ...

This morning we went to St Luke's, Gas Street for their 0930 service. A gap near Worcester Bar leads directly onto Gas Street; the church is opposite.

The building used to be a gas producing factory.

After church we set off down the Farmer's Bridge and Aston lock flights, staying on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Minworth Greaves, descending Minworth Locks on the way.

At Aston Top Lock a curious flying insect perched on the balance beam handle. I don't recognise it, do you?

Well-known canal junction cottage burnt out

We moored at Kings Norton Junction for two nights and moved on today to central Birmingham. It was sad to see that the cottage on the junction has suffered a devastating fire. The roof has gone and, I imagine, much of the interior. Fortunately it seems that the table of tolls on the first floor wall has been spared. I was told it happened a couple of months ago.

There's still no space in Brindleyplace ...

We tied up in Cambrian Wharf alongside the stone bank with its metal rail at water level. Bonglers were deployed.

The adjacent top lock of the Farmers Bridge flight had evidently just had the bottom gate replaced.

The rather flimsy-looking Portagantry was still in place, straddling the lock.

We went to the Wetherspoon in Broad Street for tea and walked back past Gas Street Basin.

First boating of 2019 and replacing an iPhone battery

Yes, after a break of many months we are back on board Jubilee. Hooray! We drove to Fazeley yesterday, emptied the Volvo into the boat and prepared for a three week trip. I managed to remember all the things I'd switched off or closed, so I opened the gate valve from the domestic water tank, opened the diesel valve, switched on the gas, closed the water taps and switched on the water pump. Pleasingly, everything seemed to come back to life in the manner intended. The engine fired up first go too.

This morning we reversed to Fazeley Junction and set off for Glascote. David L came with us to help us through the locks before cycling to Tamworth Market.

Half an hour later (Amington?) we passed a house we hadn't seen before.

Bill and Ben seem to have had an update.

A plaque gave details of a royal nurse maid we hadn't heard of: Charlotte Bill "Lala".

We stopped for lunch at Polesworth and had a phone call from David to say that a package had arrived for me. This was the replacement battery for my iPhone which had almost died. I cycled back to Fazeley, brought it back to the boat and immediately got to work.

I was only just in time. The phone was being forced apart by the old battery, which was expanding as it died. I wasn't in time to stop the case splitting.

I hadn't started opening it in these two photos: this is the phone gently exploding all by itself.

The replacement battery came with the tools for undoing four tiny screws. The first two were of the "pentalobe" type with, as the name suggests, five lobes, which your common or garden pozidrive wouldn't come anywhere near.

Those screws were small, but the two I had to unscrew next were the most microscopic I had encountered. The divisions on my tape measure are millimetres. I hadn't known the tape measure was magnetic! The head is not much more than 1mm across; the length was about 1mm.

Here are the old and new batteries together. The side view shows how the dead battery is expanding.

I am very pleased to report that I managed to get it all back together again and, so far, it seems to be working. Thanks eBay. All for less than a fiver including tools and delivery.

Back to the boating. We thought about stopping half way up the Atherstone flight but decided to crack on and finish the locks.

It's good to be on board again - tomorrow we're aiming for Stretton Stop on the Oxford Canal. Braunston by Thursday, ready for the Boaters' Christian Fellowship Spring Conference on Saturday.

Fazeley Junction

We moved the boat today to achieve three objectives: to empty the Elsan, to fill up with water and to charge the engine starter battery. Also I think it's a good idea to run the engine every time we visit the boat over the winter period.

This is the view as you come onto the Coventry Canal at Fazeley Junction - Coventry to the right, Fradley to the left.

Having winded this is Tolson's Mill on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal; our mooring is a little further on the right.

This afternoon we walked into Tamworth for a watch battery. On the way back, as we crossed the point where the rivers Tame and Anker merge, I took this oil painting photo of a heron at sunset.

Jan has been putting a lot of work in in preparation for the Boaters' Christian Fellowship AGM which is on Saturday in Rugby. We shall be going by car, not boat.

Flaming burgers!

Yesterday was a busy, full-on day so no blog post. After an excellent teaching and discussion session in the morning we had various activities in the afternoon, including a treasure hunt which we were able to enter this time as it had been set by someone else. We won, despite dropping half a point because I forgot to return to one clue to get some more information. Don and Celia did a barbecue - Don had an interesting technique.

It all tasted fine, I'm pleased to say.

In the evening we had songs, sketches and readings; this morning we had a short communion service just for the BCFers, then we joined the usual congregation for a service in the church before Sunday lunch in the Fazeley Inn just down the road.

And then … it was our last half mile of boating for this year (possibly), taking the boat to Fazeley Mill Marina for diesel filling and Elsan emptying. This is Tolson's Footbridge while the sun was shining; at the marina we had a sudden downpour.

After winding at Fazeley Junction we returned to our online mooring and relaxed. I'll load the car tomorrow.