Fenland Tour 2001 Page 1

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Tour 2001

Fenland Tour Summer 2001

1- Langley Mill to Nottingham Erewash Canal, River Trent, Beeston Cut, Nottingham Canal.

Wednesday 27th June 2001

Neil left home to take the extravagant way up to Langley Mill (£110 taxi!) The food shopping already done, so this had to go up, as well as SCSI the Parrot in her small "boat" cage - Son Peter made up a cardboard tube shield for the round cage – so the bored bird did not chew through Fagash Cabs rear seat belt! (finally SCSI will get her “seawings”) Also to go up was 2 tons of assorted hardware! The taxi left home at 10.00, and we arrived at 11.40. On the way up Neil and Asian taxi driver put the world to right.
Neil spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the boat, touching up paint / blacking scrapes and sorting all the stuff / food out. After this Neil had leisurely time extracting boat from basin, through the swing bridge and mooring just above Langley Mill Lock. Neil was attacked by grumpy young swan during mooring up. Neil tried to contact Sheila and Ray Denton at R&D Fabrications, to meet up for a drink as in the next few days we would be in “their” patch. Neil was horrified to find that Sheila was having a day off!!!.....as usual Ray cannot be found! Neil then phoned up Andrew Hooke, Earnest's excellent woodwork fitter. Andrew said that he will meet up with Neil that night, as he is going down south the next day.
The crew for the next few days - Peter Brown arrives at 18.40 in spiffing new Peugeot 307, Quita his wife has given him a lift up and was to stay for a meal / drink in the “Great Northern”, Kimberley Ales pub, by the basin. We arranged to meet Andrew Hooke there. We went to the pub at 19.20 - yet again not doing bloody food, although it is advertised outside!!! Quita then drove us into Eastwood (D.H. Lawrence HQ!) and we went to the old “Sun Inn”, with the object of having a meal and getting back to the Great Northern, in time to meet Andrew (On motorbike - mobile off!) The Sun Inn was doing food. NOT AT ALL BAD!!! Neil had a sweet and sour chicken concoction - actually it seemed to be home made and did not come “in a truck” We sat at small round table. Half way through the meal Neil's place mat crept to the edge of the table - yes you can guess what happened! - fortunately Neil was wearing shorts. The staff were most apologetic and reseat us and mopped up Neil / table and floor.
We arrived back at Great Northern at 20.15. Quita departs soon after. Neil gets fone call from Linda. She was somewhat distressed as Barry our normally placid, direct neighbour had just been round giving her a bit of verbal. The story unfolds as this: Paul “blabber mouth” Neil's other direct neighbour, has told the intimate details of the unexpected second sprogging of Barry and Claire. Apparently it was an IVF fertilisation and they were expecting twins. Due to their existing daughter going to private school, it was mentioned that they may have to move to finance their next sprog’s education. Neil mentioned this to Linda, this got mentioned to Linda’s piano teacher...blaa, blaa, blaa.......and eventually got back to Claire. Barry was really trying to find out who originally split the beans, to cover up his own big mouth………..ho humm..Bosnia Gardens = Brookside.
Anyway back to some vague boating content............Andrew Hooke arrived soon after. Andrew's own nb shell was well under way and has a few interesting departures from the R&D norm – double chine bow and longer slipper stern. The final fitout plans and piccies of shell so far were shown. I shall report back eventually as this craft is fitted out. Andrew left about 22.30 after a quick coffee, back on Earnest. Peter B and Neil then retire soon after, knackered after going
nowhere!

Thursday 28th June 2001

Both Neil and Peter B had risen by 07.00, and horror of horrors!!!......the Commode D'Or prepares coffee and bacon sarnies. After having moored the two ex neighbouring nb's in the basin, Neil drops the key back to the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association cottage and we set off at 07.45. Rather uneventful and un-crud stirring trip back down Erewash.
At Stenson's Lock 0915 to10.15 we have a Sea Searcher fishing stop - retrieving a windlass lost by a crew member of the Rumpus Fun Crew, on the way up. A windlass, vaguely matching the description was found, but after having pulled out a large amount of other steelwork. Steel items recovered during windlass recovery Program:
1x Half a TV strand
1x LP gramophone record rack
1x small grappling hook (useful!)
1x Mountain Bike (flat! - two man lift , Sea Searcher got caught in remains of wheel, had to pull it up as would not drop off! - just as well I fitted heavy duty thin rope on TNC Sea Searcher mark 3)
6x Builders metal marker rods (popular these, you know, the type you stick in the ground and put demarcation plastic tape round)
9p - 3x 2p and 3x 1p
1x Brolly frame
10x indeterminate bits of metal tube.

Passing through Ilkeston we see a pair of nb's coming up, nb Laura - displaying Cutweb Pennant! and nb Marianne. We arrived at Trent Lock at 15.00, during one of the brief showers of the day. There was still no word from John Chapman and the re-exhausted nb Frogmoore II, we had planned to meet John at Cranfleet at 14.30.
We hit the River Trent at 15.20.........and pulled out right in front of nb Frogmoore II! We were soon together in Cranfleet Lock and had a reasonable run down to Beeston Lock. Neil for the first time saw the new Beeston Weir HEP station - not much to see!...also Beeston Weir is totally unprotected, the boom having been washed away in the floods. Sheila (R&D) foned up soon after and offered to meet us in Newark the next day and take us all out for a meal in North Muskham.......she did not realise we were with another boat!……...still Ray and Sheila have a people carrier thingy and we would all fit in.
As we were passing Castle Marina in Nottingham a old Harborough nb was seen with all the louvre windows smashed out!......we went a bit further down to moor, right outside Sainsbury's (17.35). That evening Pat, John's wife and her crew mate friend, Lesley offered to cook. Neil supplied the wine and beer and a jolly evening is had by all.