TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS YEARS

AUTUMN 1979

Part 1 : Autumn week-ending back to London.

Click on a picture to see a bigger version with a caption

For more information about our then boat , Felis Catus, see here.

At the end of our main Summer cruise, we had left the boat at Buckby top lock. We continue the story from there.

It was a late start, at 09:16, after the now-usual water-pump repair. The weather as yesterday. We locked down Bruerne with Alan Swaisland on Swazi Warrior, then Wendy made breakfast on the move. At Cosgrove loo-point we used the sani station and watered. I made a toasted cheese mountain for lunch on the move. We'd thought of mooring at The Globe, Linslade, but the weather was so nice by the time we got there that we decided to go on. We finally moored before Slapton lock at 20:36, finding poor depth for mooring there. Roger cooked roast shoulder of lamb for dinner.

Bulbourne (above & below)	There was rain overnight but it was dry by the time we got up. Roger cleaned out the stern-gland greaser which was clogged with hardened grease. We set off at 08:49 and reached our friends Mike & Lindy Foster's boatyard Castle wharf, Berkhamsted, at 16:06. We stayed on board overnight and travelled back in the morning.
	Cowroast lock	Dudswell bottom lock

We left the boat at Mike & Lindy's for some of painting weekends : Mike, Wendy (& Roger for Saturday) on 8th & 9th September, Mike & Wendy for 16th September.

A WEEKEND RUN SOUTH

We came up from London to breakfast on board and said farewell for the season to Mike & Lindy. It was warm & sunny. We set off at 11:33 and stopped for beer at the Fishery Inn, Hemel Hempstead. Later I did lunch on the move. We finished the day at Cassio Bridge at 18:35. It had cooled down a lot by now. Roger cooked dinner.

We set off at 08:40 and stopped below Batchworth lock to take on water. We stopped for lunch at the General Elliot, Uxbridge then continued to use the sani station before Cowley lock. We moored by our friends George & Sue Forrest's houseboat before Packet Boat Lane at 16:58.

A DAY TRIP WITH VISITORS

Roger Fox was an old friend of the other Roger's and mine. I'd known Roger F at University, Roger D had worked with him on pantomimes at Lambeth Town Hall and at the Lambeth Country Show, in Roger F's capacity as Entertainments Officer at Lambeth, in which capacity we'd also had dealings with him for our Drama Club. Roger F was later to become Roger D's boss on the technical staff at the Barbican Concert Hall & Conference Centre.

They set off at 11:55, and passed through Bull's Bridge junction on to the Paddington Branch. They had a stop at Northolt Road bridge then continued to the water point at Paddington Stop and finally to the boat's winter mooring at Maida Hill, where they tied up at 18:30.

Partly as the result of this trip, Roger and Caroline decided to buy their own boat. Roger was in charge of Site and Services at the Brentford National a few years later, putting his experience of running the Lambeth County Show at the disposal of IWA. We still see them (now on their second boat) on the cut from time to time,. most recently in August 2001 at Watford locks.