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Tony Wonfor

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Tony Wonfor last won the day on April 25 2013

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  1. I think Selby boat yard is his "finish post". I spoke to him the day before yesterday and he said he was about three days away so not long now!
  2. He's actually gutted he didn't plan it a bit better as Crick wasn't the only boat show he missed apparently
  3. sorry guys and gals, I've been extremely busy and have had no time to even talk to him for a while let alone post any "blogs" sunday monday.sunday monday. from the crows nest to thrapton was uneventful, except that i was flagged down by " tree" she wanted to donate, good luck with your boat problem. and thanks to the lads that took an interest in my trip , shame i did not pay attention to what i was doing , i raised the main gate but i did not close the vee gates , as a result the gates slammed shut causing a sunami through the chamber , my poor boat took another almighty whack , i now have to pump out thee times a day . i end up in thrapton , three pubs , one is closed , one does not do food on mondays , and one serves a dinner no bigger than a starter, its six now and i have not eaten all day , i am having peanuts for afters, nice. now for a whinge, i have been doing this trip for nearly two months , a couple of times , stupidly putting my life on the line to complete the course. i have funded this venture my self , and what have i received from "macmillan " a donation bucket , which i had to collect , and setting up the tribute fund , for their benefit . who ever is out there reading this , and to all those kind people who have donated i promise you that i will sort them out when i get back , as peter cook and dudley moore once said " what a way to run a fu**in ballroom, i will sort them . as for the nurses , they are angels , all of them . monday . left thrapton,drove for miles and miles in glorious country side with only a few locks here and there , a fabulous day, i end up in yarwell , i did it again nothing to eat all day , my fault . got a map from ian the river inspector , thanks but it still does not show the most easterly point , does it exist , its like looking for " eldorado" . due to macmillan lack of effort i feel like calling it a day at brandon , boating back to yorkshire seems to have lost its edge , maybe i am sulking, see you . thanks to the environmental agency lad who gave all the change he could find on his dashboard . macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor to donate or keep up. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ i was going to retract every thing i said about macmillans lack of effort tomorrow , but i could not sleep on it untill then , i was not aware until just a while ago of just how must they are promoting this trip , i missed a couple of calls that they made , and they did , i just let my big gob rip, so i whole heartedly apologise for my rant . i dont want recognition for this on a personal level , just for macmillans efforts , think i was on a downer , again. as my carol would say " you and your big gob " she was never wrong that one . sorry macmillan . ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ i would first like to apologise one last time for my uncalled for comments regarding macmillan , they are and always have been in my opinion the foremost charity, because they take on the unsavoury job of helping us in our exit from this world , they also help those left behind , a noble cause. ps to above , sorry to robyn of macmillan who has helped loads . back to the trip , my boat is sinking , faster every day , so i pump it out faster, simples. i leave yarwell mill holiday park , a very nice set up if your into caravanning , a few locks and i see the" stibbington diner" , me and carol used to stop there often when on the A1 ,so i went on a sentimental journey for breakfast , not before being stopped by peter, dianne, dave, and anne , they made me tea and we chatted for a while plus a donation , how i miss these type of folk , on the river you dont meet too many people at all , thanks you lot, plus i get a lift to the diner . i arrive at peterborough town centre , i need petrol but find none , but i did buy a pork pie instead . the people moored next to me " ian and carron " invite me in for dinner , and very nice too , thanks , plus they invite me to share the lock at staniland in the morning , another nag and bed . wed. got up earlyish , as i did a lovely lady named anne had been told that i was thereabouts in peterborough by steve her husband , she tracked me down somehow , dragged me to asdas for breakfast, i was not allowed to pay , plus a nice donation , and another nag , it seems to get me through the day all this chatting . back to the sinking ship , more pumping and of to stanground lock , where my tiller falls off in midstream , but i dont panic any more , luckily it never parted company with the boat so i fix it back on . once out of the lock we enter the " middle level more like the middle earth , it was nothing more than a large dyke with reeds either side , nothing to see at all , but ians dog "jumble" brightened up proceedings by jumping overboard, poor thing could have drowned but sometimes you cant help but laugh , i did , sorry jumble, anyway he just swum to the back of the boat to await rescue . march, upwell,and lastly outwell , with nothing but clogged up water and more reeds and rushes , and a nice hotel with wi-fi , beer as well , i must go on the wagon when this trip is done . brandon creek looms , but i cant leave the next lock until five oclock tomorrow afternoon, so i have a day to kill , i will twiddle ones thumbs, good night , over all a nice day , weeds and all . i have just found out how to see who has donated etc , i cant name you all but thanks tree poet , those two beautiful ladies i met under a tree , this trip is not all hell , and the peeps on their bikes , thanks . ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ thursday, outwell. moored outside the crown hotel , very posh , updated in style. before i leave outwell i go on a little pilgrimage to find the outwell equestrian centre , me , carol and the kids used to go there for the bmx racing in the early eighties , alas all that is left is the old mill , the rest is new houses,was a great venue that was . quite a few miles of weedy mucky river between outwell and salters lode , but clearing all the crap is no problem , i am in no rush. i have all day to kill because my booking for the tidal lock at salters lode is for five oclock, i do yet another fibre glass repair , i was watched by three ducks about six feet away , they seemed almost interested, plus the lockkeepers dog pissed on my ropes ,right in front of me , thanks for that . five oclock comes, lifejacket on , i am sharing the lock with " john and margeret ", good moral support , as the water levels even out it seems like the start of an F1 race , but for no real reason we are going with the tide , i had a job to slow down. when we come out of denver sluice lock , it is like leaving middle earth and coming into a breath of fresh air , a pub, boats , and most of all " people " . i have a meal with john and margeret , a good nag sets me up for bed , plus a couple of pints . how can this be tiring , but it is, night all. friday morning was glorious , a mist on the water and the sun , birds , plus acall from my brother chris , at six thirty to say he had a missed call , twerp. i set off for my last port of call " brandon creek " but it aint , because of my rampant gob i have decided to complete the circuit and boat back to yorkshire ,another month wont hurt . i hope to double the macmillan fund some how, i have a plan. two hours on the river and i am starving , i am directed by a nice young lady to the biggest cheese burger i have ever seen , that should last all day. next up is about twenty miles of nice but boring river , for the most part you cant see any of the country side , but i saw a grebe with two chicks on its back , hitching a ride , i am into wild life now , you cant but help it . into brandon , i am greeted by a brass band , ticka tape, and the mayor , i lied, i was waved to by three old ladies in the old folks home , that was good enough for me . i stock up with provisions , four bottles of water , two tins of mackeral , and a jar of gherkins , its the sun again. about turn and backtrack to gayton on the grand union canal about a week away before i can then head north , and home . i arrive back at dever at eight by this time its freezing cold and bloody windy , thank god for pubs, done some miles today got to be up early for the eight oclock tide , wish me luck . will be good to be back on the canals soon , i miss them and the people . macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .saturday . over a week on this river nene , and ouse , no donations at all , no people , or very few. this trip has fizzled out i think,but i have to get home yet . i arrive back at stanland lock, no more tides to wait for , nine thirty and the tide is ready . this morning i met a guy who bought a huge twin engine motor launch , shortly afer his wife fell dead on their kitchen floor , right in front of him , i wonder if this trip was a diversion from the loss of my other half , i asked him if that was the reason for the boat , he said it was , at least i got to say goodbye. sublect change,a swan took a dislike to me today,as i went by in my boat he had to avoid me , as i passed by i called him a pussy , i really did , next thing i hear is it flapping its wings , i took no notice but the thing crashed all over me , neither of us were hurt , but i apologised . the weather took a turn for the worse ,sunny yesterday and i was singing my head off , today is one of my black days , a dire day indeed. saturday night , this pub is like a morgue, if any one is still looking at this post , i am off to bed sod it , three days updating in one , so i can catch up, no pubs in this neck of the woods. sunday morning. the lockie , tina makes a nice donation , and also gives me a cd of her rock group, thanks. first lock i am held up by a kyak competition at the weir , a nice delay, good to see people enjoying themselves. next lock i am held up by a couple trying out their new broad beam monster , it just cleared the lock guillitine gate. next lock i met a really nice couple with a shetland 532, these delays to me are great , meeting people is the reason. at stibbington i see a very large ammount of parachutists coming down , as they do , i would love to have found the air show they were at . i make camp outside a stately home , again i over done it with the dark thing . a few bats turned up to say good night , plus a bloody big fish. good night, if you have not nodded off . forgot , re thetford , if i had climbed the highest tree in brandon creek , armed with binoculars i could have seen thetford . _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ cows at billing. my first lock and i am watched by a herd of young cows , they were standing on the lockside , the adults had more sense. next up billing ,i blagged a shower at the marina , thanks. yet again i catch up with mickey and philip , we do the rest of the locks on the nene, until we get to the northampton arm , i was side tracked by a morrisons for dinner. i do seventeen locks in one go , this takes me to gayton, turn right , and " homeward bound ", at last . at bugworth is a real posh pub , they let me hog a corner all night. wed morning , woken by high speed trains , but i knew they were there this time. half a mile up the road i am waved down by ross , he makes a really generous donation, thanks ross, good luck with the beard. i was wtiting as i went along behind a very slow narrow boat , i am not bothered one bit ,high speed trains one side , the M1 the other and us in the middle, priceless. i pull up at wilton locks , police all over the place , a guy was drinking heavily the night before and decided to go shopping , he was not back at noon , hence the police , as i moored up he appeared, shopping in hand , he asked the police what was the fuss , the copper said they were looking for him, he slept in a hedge to sleep off his hangover , he was a bit embarrassed, but alive. a few locks and then crick tunnel, half way through and honda is very sick , i ease off the throttle , come on not now , please keep going , please , she did , a few yards out and that was it ,she died , right outside a restaraunt , and down came the rain , kin hell, i just want to go home . i think honda has a broken heart , after a year in the garage , she was unleashed onto the waterways , as soon as she knew i was on my way home that was it , R.I.P. .......... so i put my spare engine on , donated kindly by barry , but it has a problem of its own , fuel related , maximum speed one mile per hour , shit . i am soaked by now , fu**ing pissed off as well , restaurant ,the moorings, crick, run by sarah and kieron , they know what i am doing and refuse any payment , sods , but thanks you two. was today a disaster , no not at all really , i met a bunch of nice people , yet again, worth the pain, plus where i broke down was right next to mickey and philips caravan , and there they were , how odd is that. no matter what this trip throws at me i will never forget all the hundreds of folk that that i have met on the way, i am at peace with the world now , i was not when i left . thanks to you all . night all . macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- leaving crick . turn left at norton junction, and head for home , i am doing one mile per hour still and i must find a solution to this , i pull into a marina , and phone jim , i was given his number , we dont say " jim will fix it "any more but i hope he can , he turns up within two hours , prior to this "slope gives me a lift to the petrol station i am running low , thanks slope , his real name is "hill ". suzuki needs a good looking at so no good there , so i ask jim him to have a look at "honda " , quarter of an hour later and " honda five is alive " , bless her socks , clogged up water intake , i almost cried , we are back on the water and heading for home , minus the suzuki. next up is the foxton flight , thirteen locks all linked together, the lockies refuse to let me help , they are sympathetic to macmillan , i get an arm chair ride , thanks lads , at the bottom of these locks is a pub called bridge 61 , run by dave and owned by a gentle giant called sam , plus scotty , sue and humphrey entertain me all night , i am not allowed to buy a drink, not only generous to a man but bloody good company , truely i did not want to leave that place , the icing on the cake , i am invited to use the shower in the morning , wow !. back to humphrey , his claim to fame is that he had a barbecue on a canoe , ruined his new jacket , plus his dog did not want to get on board , i use this episode so you can imagine what kind of evening i had , it was mental . another tunnel , it began with an "s" , 808 metres long , easy , half way through and honda stalls ,this engine hates the dark i think , i have picked up a great lump of weedy mass , no power , pitch black , i have to leave the light at the front , i just dont fancy twenty tons of narrow boat ploughing through me , out we come , nothing seems to bother me any more , except rain. then its mile afer mile of locks , and field after field of sheep , its getting dark , at the point of giving up and up pops the " navigation " at kilby bridge , thank the lord. i update and get a meal , i did it again , nothing all day . sat . revenge is sweet , as i woke up this morning i sneezed ,and it frightened a coot that had boarded during the night , bloody good job. i meet a nice chap called jack , we buddy up for a few locks , its easier , then it pissed down , i mean it really rained a lot , we seek refuge, and that was the end of our progress that day , not because of the rain but because we met peter and linda corbett , nice people ,between us we managed to talk from twelve untill eleven at night , dinner and pub in between , thanks linda for cooking for us all , and thanks to the cricketers arms in leicester some where . what a great way to while away a day , must have done four miles . sunday . we have the gaul to nag until ten , again , but then me and jack get motoring , i am meeting sam and co some where but when you are on the river you dont always have a clue where you are , so i said to sam i am north of leicester , the bugger found us at the white horse in bistall , before i told him my location, he fluked it , jammy sod. a meal with sam and co , they get a ride on the boat and they sod off , a smashing family i am blessed with. a guy waved me down and asked how honda was , my engine has celebrity status, i am upstaged. enough is enough , you must be weary of this by now , i am , guess where , in a firkin pub. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ updating is getting a bit scrappy, due to me trying to write as i steer the boat , if any thing comes the other way i have to dump m y note pad ,pronto . after sam and co leave i catch up with jack , as is the way on these waterways , mount sorrel is our mooring for tonight , update in a public house full of stentorian characters , noisy bastards to you and me . when i moor of a night i always wind up my accomadation tent thing , cover up my seat ,petrol container, and macmillan bucket so that when i get back from the pub i just have to get into bed , rather than fall overboard trying to do all the above in the dark, self preservation. me and jack leave mount sorrel when it stops raining , we just nag while it stops , no sweat . mickey and philip phone to ask if i want to use their boat club house shower , two showers in three days , i will never get to stink rotten at this rate. philip, mickey me and jack , a potent nagging combination , no one hogs the podium so we could talk forever , but me and jack leave at about five , another day almost gone . once back on the river , i speed off to set the locks and await the arrival of jack and "cleveland " his boat, at one point he clocked 5.1 miles per hour , the fastest he has managed before , but he wont do it again i dont think. this river soar is a peach of a place , at its end is another peach , the junction at the erewash and the trent , you could park here for a fortnight and not tire of the view, lovely gaff. into the steam boat to up date , two drinks and i cant be arsed , i will make up for it later . prior to going into the pub i met up with tom and his lovely crew member , she is gorgious, tom runs the narrowboat world forum, eighty plus and still young at heart , a pleasure to have met him. in the morning i am going down the trent , tidal for the most part of my trip back , i have been warned that it is not nice , others have had no problems , i will let you know , any one seen my lifejacket . up early but me jack and another lad conspire to nag until eleven o/clock , i dont know how we do it . anyway i set off at twelve , one lock on and four fire men want to know all about what i am up to , yet more chin wagging , but great lads , as are all firemen , nurses,air sea rescue ,some old bill , and ambulance men. i really am concerned about this trip ending , meeting all these waterways people is very magnetic , there are no class levels here , just people . for those who are concerned about hondas well being than mine , " honda " is fine ,a guy flagged me down to ask if honda is ok , am i to be upstaged by an outboard engine,on that vein i think honda sobotaged the suzuki, jim the outboard man phoned to say its fixed now , strange. as i write i am in a cafe in beeston, the riverside cafe , run by a great guy called tony, a great setting and a good old style cafe , long may they reign. as i write i am in a pub in nottingham , a stones throw from beeston , but its hot , and two o/clock . asi write i am in a public house no less , in gunthorpe , on the trent , this is hard graft . in between pubs i go through the biggest locks i have seen to date , plus a lot of miles of scenery to die for , i am a lucky guy, a perfect day. a footnote , at the riverside cafe my little boat was parked next to a second world war landing craft , it was in private ryan , and more recently , two weeks ago , it features in a george clooney film , my little craft has made it more famous , i have taken a picture , that will follow when i find my camera. up to date, not many more postings to go , by now i have met a few thousand people , english foreign , black , white , thick and sensible , i have waved to so many folk to draw attention to what i am doing that my arm may fall off , but what has kept me going , nothing more complex than smiles , if someone finds what i am doing is amusing , they smile, this has great power , thanks to all those folk that smiled , to those that did not , go home and practice. what a fuc**ing wind bag i am , good night. to donate. macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor
  4. Sorry for the delay. Have been a bit busy! tuesday. bank holiday is gone , so has the good weather,i cant sit about waiting for the rain to stop, after two two locks i behold a wonderous site , the m25 was totally gridlocked , and i was not not on it, but i sailed under it at four miles per hour , was i chuffed , sad or what. next i see two chinese guys , fishing , the chinese dont do fishing , but i sussed what they were doing , crayfish , loads in the canals , so number forty seven , lobster surprise , is likely to be canal crayfish . i then start to wander a bit as i chug along , why dont they teach kids how to smile and react to people , so many long faces in the south , but its not just the kids. by twelve my bag of crisps from the night before have worn off, my head is spinning and i am also wet through, i am now getting sombre and pi**ed off . at apsley bridge i pull in to a posh pizza restaurant , not my scene , but they do a great breakfast , two hours later i am drenched again , so i go into sainsburys, a large baguette and two dough nuts are consumed , i am now eating " mood food " if there is such a thing . my carol used to say to me that boring people talk about foood , i do boring , sorry love. it brightened a bit so off again , i met darren girl along the way , he flagged me down so that he could donate and have a chat, thanks darren. no one seems to know the exact most easterly point so i am calling it the river little ouse near brandon, sorted , i actually looked at a map . on dark days my moods kick in ,its not a place i like to be but it happens , not having carol around to knock me into place does not help. apart from all my delays i am now in birk hampstead ,nice place . tip for the day , dont have the lobster. see ya . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________- leaving berkhampstead wednesday morning, in the rain was bad enough but two locks later , a canal persons worst fear , no water , overnight something went wrong , my boat has only an eighteen inch draught so i was the only one moving that morning , i felt a bit smug. at the next lock i met paul , his girl friend barbara is fighting cancer as we speak , good luck to her , it hurts a lot to hear of these situations but it seems to help people when i share their problems . no breakfast again , so i stop in the worse pub in england for dinner,soaking wet again , get me out of here. one hour later the heavens open , i end up in the second worse pub in england , i hate this poxy rain, sh*t pubs, and the world . but then i met scott , his two kids , ewan and isla, she had a party piece , she sat in puddles , while ewan opend the gates , well he thought he did, they had me in tears of laughter , thanks kids . thanks to the lady who threw her donation money out of her window, also steve and his mate who clearly never had a pot to piss in , they gave a fiver , bless em. water proof boots tomorrow, pub tonight. tip for the day when pushing open the lock gates in the rain , put your hands behind your back , or you get a wet arse . thusday. you know when you wake up and think, "its gonna be a good day " as i though that , it pissed with rain ,this is now soul destroying , and i mean that . at a lock a guy left the gates open on his exit , you dont do that , so i got the hump , because muggins had to close them, i caught up with him later and as i passed i said " thanks for not closing the gates ", he yelled a reply but the honda drowned it out , plus i stuck a finger up . boots , if i dont get some i will end up with trench foot ,i walk all around leighton buzzard to no avail , but i got a tap on the shoulder , it was the man at the lock , he was trying to say that the canal people asked him to leave the gates open, oops , me and my mouth. i leave buzzard , more drizzle , more soul destroyed . i am doing this report in a pub in wolverton , its karioki night and barry white just got murdered. tip for the day ,when in doubt , shut your mouth. thanks , alex and chris , steve and the nice lady who thew her money out of the window . and jim the lockie . could it really rain tomorrow . night all . ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ friday sat. wolverton was easily forgotten , a sad place. carols best friend debbie and her daughter are going to meet me at stoke bruerne ,someone to talk to that i know , plus i con debbie to get me some petrol, carols oldest and best friend , and mine as well. before i forget i saw a vulcan bomber , well it interested me . as i set of i am freezing my nuts off , by the time i get to stoke bruerne i am down to my tee shirt , my trainers are on the roof of my boat , and looking good , they may get dry yet. i make excuses not to tackle the two mile long tunnel until tomorrow , three pints will not help my navigation at all. up to this point it was a nice kind of day , just nice, then they turned up , twenty piss heads on the loose with a large narrow boat ,all dressed as sailors , bar one , he was bo-peep, they announced their arrival by hitting the boat next to mine side ways on at speed , then they hit the lock gates , also at speed , the owner of the pub had to show them how to operate the lock , while i restrained the owner of the boat they hit , he wanted to take them on , dont blame him , his boat was just recently refitted . a few hours later i am in a nice indian restaraunt , i am treating myself, who walks in , twenty really well oiled sailors , they caused havoc , plus the owner of the boat they hit was outside looking at the menu , at this point i left , i hope he never went in. no two days are ever the same on these waterways . thanks lorna york for your information and donation. sat. stoke bruerne was one of the nicest setting yet , people just wandering about watching the boats etc. what woke me up this morning , the loudest fart that you could imagine , from the boat next door , the guy whos boat got whacked , i wanted to roll up , he did not know i was right next to him in my wind up bed , within a mile of this guff i see a cabin cruiser called " passing wind " , i am not making this up i promise. what happened next was special , now that i can look back on it , i am just about to enter the blissworth tunnel , two miles long and i am told it has a plumbing problem , big time so out comes the brolly ,and my nine ninety nine wilkos torch , bring it on , right hand for steering , left hand for holding the brolly and the torch , no hands left for the throttle so i set it before i enter the dark hole , to say i set the throttle too high was an understatement , my boat flew off , you try shitting yourself for two miles , if anything enters the other end i will have to ditch the brolly , it seemed to be an age before i come out at the other end, harrowing that was , but great at the same time , odd. what else can this lovely day come up with , how about seventeen locks , all in a row,tip for the day lock number eleven squirts water from both sides of the canal , get your missus to do this one . after these locks you are then on the river nene , except for northhampton is is possibly the nicest place yet , first lock a very nice lock indeed , but it requires a special key , have i got one , have i f**k, abandon mission go home bo**ocks, f**k it , i gather my thoughts , at this lock i ask norman the owner of the northampton boat club for his help , he conjured up a key from somewhere, cheers norman. these waterway people will help you even if it puts them out of their way , thanks to all of them. i now feel like the luckiest man on earth , only one thing missing , her in doors , bless her , she would love this place. getting dark now , i ask a fellow boater and his wife , where i can find a pub , he suggests the crows nest ,cogehoe mill leisure park, thats where he is off to , i sort out the boat and spend a great night with them and mike and tina , and others what a bunch , plus i am allowed the use of the "SHOWERS" , johns getting a shower , alert the media , i could have stayed in there all day . enough i am off , i am knackered , night.
  5. next blog, bank holiday monday. once i got back on the canal at cowley , things went quite well untill i decided to share a lock , something i avoid due to the fragile nature of my boat, i was not aware of the fact that the narrow boat i was sharing with was manned by people that were on a training course, i was waiting for my boat to be wrecked , it did not happen but they then went in front of me rather than behind , the narrow boat then drove straight into the bank of the canal nearly taking out a young couple in a rowing boat , at this point i over took them , when i got to the next lock i refused to share , they really got the needle . while i was just about to leave rickmansworth , i was thinking how dissapointing the south of england was in donation terms , almost nothing , then i was caught up with by ted who is skipper of " trevor " , he insisted on taking me through a lock , donated twenty quid , a very nice man to boot , thanks ted . as i type i am in hunton , three pubs and no food , no bitter either , so a guiness and a packet of cheese and onion, but the sun shone today. my boat , if it holds up , and survives this trip, what do i do with it , i wont be using it again , it will be a shame to break it up , i wont be boating in the future i dont think. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ tuesday. bank holiday is gone , so has the good weather,i cant sit about waiting for the rain to stop, after two two locks i behold a wonderous site , the m25 was totally gridlocked , and i was not not on it, but i sailed under it at four miles per hour , was i chuffed , sad or what. next i see two chinese guys , fishing , the chinese dont do fishing , but i sussed what they were doing , crayfish , loads in the canals , so number forty seven , lobster surprise , is likely to be canal crayfish . i then start to wonder a bit as i chug along , why dont they teach kids how to smile and react to people , so many long faces in the south , but its not just the kids. by twelve my bag of crisps from the night before have worn off, my head is spinning and i am also wet through, i am now getting sombre and pissed off . at apsley bridge i pull in to a posh pizza restaurant , not my scene , but they do a great breakfast , two hours later i am drenched again , so i go into sainsburys, a large baguette and two dough nuts are consumed , i am now eating " mood food " if there is such a thing . my carol used to say to me that boring people talk about foood , i do boring , sorry love. it brightened a bit so off again , i met darren girl along the way , he flagged me down so that he could donate and have a chat, thanks darren. no one seems to know the exact most easterly point so i am calling it the river little ouse near brandon, sorted , i actually looked at a map . on dark days my moods kick in ,its not a place i like to be but it happens , not having carol around to knock me into place does not help. apart from all my delays i am now in birk hampstead ,nice place . tip for the day , dont have the lobster. see ya .
  6. Some piccies from todays visit. We met dad at Black Jack lock in Uxbridge and had lunch at the Coy Carp pub in Harefield. Grandson number 2 struggling with his first lock Grandson number 1 on his first ever lock! Moored up at "The Coy Carp" pub in Harefield for lunch
  7. a catch up on hi blog, thursday. today is the day , i am off to the gym for a shower , clean again , i make for waitrose in godalming, the only place i could find that would change the coinage into paper money , sainsburys , wanted eight pence in the pound , theiving bas**rds , language timothy. next up i buy a large can of expanding foam , so that i can try to fix my leaks, both hulls leak now, i drill a small hole , shove in the pipe and squirt , foam comes out below the water line , holes every where , both sides done , did it work , i will find out in the morning . weather , it was nice , it rained, it was nice , and then hailstones , back to getting wet again , and i have just got a shower this morning , am i bothered , no . i arrive back at the anchor pub in wisley , near weybridge , what a nice bunch , they set me up with a spot so that i can update in style, thanks . then the nicest event of the day , a chap in lincoln has heard on a canal forum that i needed a spare engine , due to the electric one having no regular power supply , so what does he do , he upsticks from lincoln , with a 4hp suzuki , meets me at the anchor , my new home, and swaps his engine for all the bits that go with the electric set up , two batteries the outboard , speed controller , etc, for no other reason than to keep me on the river and finish the course, thank you barry and girl friend , i bought them dinner , but i owe them both , big time , i may need two working engines for this thames thing, thanks again. as a result of all this my boat is a lot lighter and sit on the water ok . i have come to the conclusion that the days are less eventful because i may be getting the hang of things , quite likely , i dont knock the boat about so much lately . tip for the day , dont help germans , i was waiting for a german guy and his family to vacate the lock , so i suggested that i open the sluice for him , he nodded, i cranked away , he screamed for me to stop , he shit his self when too much water came into the chamber , so i had to close it to his requirements , half an hour later he went , dozy hun. donations , £1 , oops, but i have the last weeks to put in after this update. tomorrow i should make teddington , then the grand union in order to try to get to thetford at a later date , due to encouragement from various people i feel easier about the tidal bit of the thames , i am not a person that bottles it but sometimes my enthusiasm has caused me grief , as my late wife would tell you , if she could , bless her socks. i dont often realise that so many people have taken an interest in this trip , to all of you , thanks , if i dont raise another cent it would not be the end of the world , i am doing it for my late wife carol , i dont mention her as often as i woukd like to because our time together was another story , and some. i am going to read my self a bed time story tonight, i will bore myself to sleep. night . ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ friday. out of the wey . what a sh*t day , a desperate day , a dark day, it began with another bottle bank job , five in the morning this time , followed by the bin men an hour later ,i think there is a conspiracy going on, up at seven thirty , and down came the rain. then it hit me , one of my hulls is full of water, if i had not tied it up on that side i would have sunk, does not make for a good nights kip. one hour to pump out the hull and limp over to the pyrford marina , they let me use their slipway to effect a repair , you try a glass fibre repair in the rain, it dont work, the rain stopped for a breif time , slap bang whallop , job done , hopefully it holds up , because tomorrow i am back on the thames. how do you express how pissed of you are,i want someone to say " john , scuttle the boat and go home " , but at four the rain stops again , i upsticks and go for it , two locks later and down it comes again, i cant seem to get off of this bloody river wey ,i may never be seen again. i seek refuge in a shit pub, full of bragging , bullshi**ing numpties ,but its dry and warm. i am jaded and feeling sorry for myself today, a guy said to me " its going to be seventeen degrees tomorrow " i should have pushed the pillock in the river . its stopped raining yet again , one lock and i am back on the thames , half way down the lock the heavens open , i dont give a sh*t , i am now " FREE" , f**k you river wey , i felt like humphrey bogarde when he comes out of the swamp and into the lake in the african queen no tips , no boat names , but one thing , in the night i heard from time to time something in the river was trying to catch the ducks, pike otters , beavers i dont know, any ideas. i am in a pub , one last thing , since i have been doing this trip , i must relate that the boating community is the nicest bunch of odds and sods i have ever met , snobs , drop outs, old ens , young ens ,all sorts , i am honoured to have met a lot of them , long may they reign. another pint and i may retire early , another last thing , these posts may be getting long but i am off loading my woes , so tough, night night. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ sat=sun. i was totally knackered after escaping the clutches of the river wey , so as soon as i left the thames lock i parked up , right opposite the biggest weir i have seen to date , what a noise , but sod it . i make for the pub , i have a choice , right or left , i choose right , after about a mile i ask for directions , back the way i came , shit , i was about two hundred yards away at the outset . saturday morning i set off for teddington lock , in order to catch the tide at three twenty , i am told that quite a few narrow boats are expected , so i can tag along behind , thats the plan . when its time to go the only person to turn up is a nice guy from cyprus who did not know the way either , i followed him anyway. life jacket on, prayers said , where off , whats all the fuss about , one mile on and i am cruising . tits up is a term thats applicable , the yarmouth belle , was first to attempt to sink me , at twice the speed limit my skills of getting in close and occupying his wake was not going to work , a rock and a hard place was where i was , f**k it i am going down , i thought it had to take a dive , but it rode it better than i did , four or five more episodes like this and we have arrived at brentford lock , amen . i was too busy shi**ing myself to be scared , would i do it again , only if you come with me . at brentford my son sam and his family are waiting at the lock for me , sam points out that the nearside pontoon is barely out of the water , but " listen " made it . i spend the rest of the day with my family , i am a lucky man. sunday morning , i get another shower , i dont even smell yet but i make hay while the sun shines . breakfast in brentford high street , better than you could imagine it was great , there is a little market on sunday morning with a nice atmosphere . off they go . so off i go , this boating lark may be getting to me , i am glad to be under way . a five rise lock does not phase me any longer , but what happened half way up did phase me, i was doing two locks at a time , i left my boat rising on its own , it looked ok but while i was gone it went diagonal and lodged one corner into the ladder, i got back to see " listen " going down as the water rose , i put the lock into reverse quicker than any one could imagine , stuff had bailed itself out, including two thousand macmillan leaflets in a box , but they did not sink , i retrieved them , a miracle i think. i am now a wreck , back to the bad old ways . the shit in the canal is back , where there are people there is crap , shame on us. i must find a pub to drown my sorrows, before this fu**ing canal does . upto date again . what of my health , i have lost about two stone in weight , i had arthritis when i left , but it has almost gone , my hands were splitting but they are slowly getting better , and my feet ache most days , mental health , up one day and down the next , one more john smiths , and bed , see ya,
  8. Well, he made it (JUST!) but not without a bit of a scare! He decided to follow a narrow boat which was all going swimmingly. He turned around to notice that the RNLI were following him. He said they followed him for ages at 4mph so thought someone had given them the heads up and they were escorting him. Just before he got to Brentford (to turn off the Thames and into the Grand Union) they powered past him and nearly turned him over! (of all the people to have nearly ended his trip!).
  9. Just spoke to dad. He's at Brentford with his grandkids but shall be heading north tomorrow up the Grand Union canal. He has asked me to ask if anyone knows a quicker way of heading east towards Thetford on a "short draft" boat i.e. is there a small river to cut across where long/narrow boats can't go? Not quite sure why he's asked this as surely funds will ry up as he's not likely to pass many people. I'll pick his brains tomorrow as I'm going to see him.
  10. Shouldn't be too hard to spot. He probably looks like Robinson Crusoe by now!
  11. He has my brother and his grandchildren there today and tomorrow so not sure if he'll go anywhere.
  12. Just spoke to dad and he met up with Bazza. What a star!! Dad had a meal with them, a bit of a chat and then set off for a long journey back up north. What a guy!!! Thankyou very much Barry. After yesterdays atrocity, its kind hearted gestures like this that restore your faith in human kindness. Top guy is an understatement. He's an angel!
  13. Rob, you are a star and a true gent but I think "Bazza" actually decided to make a day of it and run the engine down to him today!!! All the way from Lincoln to London. I haven't had it confirmed yet as I can't get hold of dad but I think it was a cert. Thankyou very much for your kind offer.
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