Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

Easter 1999 :

MAINLY DELIVERY WORK

The main purpose of this cruise was to deliver as many Cavalcade posters and handbills as possible.

Mike came with the cats to the boat at its mooring at Hillingdon Canal Club, Uxbridge and backed the boat along to the clubhouse mooring to take on water. Wendy joined later, after a singularly sanguinary day.

We made a slow start at 9:07 as we were both very tired, beginning by winding in the slipway. For much of the run it felt as though there was something on the – not surprising with the amount of rubbish in the cut – it looked as though there had been some fly-tipping. Checked the weed-hatch, but nothing much there, so we assumed it was just poor depth. We stopped at Tesco at Bull's Bridge for major shopping. I lit the stove, but found more of the same smoke trouble as we had had at Christmas, if anything worse. So we decided to let the stove burn out and to see about getting it repaired or replaced. In the afternoon we joined the Paddington Arm and stopped at Willowtree Marina for a pump-, then continued. By the Westway, we had a volley of stones thrown at us by a bunch of 10 - 14 year-olds, hitting Wendy sharply on the hand. I 'phoned the police. We tied up by Formosa Street footbridge at 19:02 and I did the first poster distribution to pubs.

We had a leisurely breakfast, then a poster distribution session. At 11:41 we st off, crossing Browning's Pool and joining the Regent's Canal. We winded at Dead Dog Tunnel, Camden and came back a little way to moor by Gloucester Avenue at 12:41. I went off almost immediately to deliver a load of handbills to the Canal Museum, then to lead a King's Cross to Camden walk.

We set off again down the Regent's at 10:36. Wendy was going down with a 'flu-type bug, so I worked the locks all day. At Duckett's junction we turned into the Hertford Union Canal Foot and thence to the River Lee Navigation, mooring at The Narrowboat, Tottenham (an ex-Wetherspoon's pub) at 16:26. By arrangement we met Alan Russell to give him a batch of posters and handbills for distribution from Limehouse up the Lee. We decided to stay therefor the night. I took a poster into the pub and was pleased to be asked for handbills as well.

We started at 9:40 by winding at the junction below Tottenham Lock. We'd planned to stop at Springfield Marina for pump-out etc, but their mooring was full, so we pressed on to the Hertford Union, where we stopped at the Top of the Morning and Wendy took them a poster. Then we went back to the Regent's and stopped at the top of Old Ford lock for water, elsan & rubbish. I took a poster to the Royal Cricketers, which was about to change hands. (It seems never to have re-opened.) After that we went to to above City Road lock. There was no room on the visitor mooring (unusual), so we tied up at 15:29 between the lock and Frog Lane bridge. I went home overnight to do some work.

BW advised Wendy to pull across the cut, but she decided to stay put as it wasn't for a long time. But she had some bother from young lads. She did a poster distribution to a lot of shops, pubs etc. I returned around tea-time and we set off at 17:52 , mooring at Gloucester Avenue at 19:38, just before dark. I'd meant to take a poster to the Engineer, but it's very much a restaurant now, rather than a pub and was incredibly busy, so I thought the timing wasn't good. But I did rediscover the Albert (a pleasant pub, if a bit Islington-New-Labour), which was happy to take a bunch of handbills for their leaflet display.

Wendy went to buy some hot chocolate for breakfast, but the first shop didn't have any, so she distributed posters to several shops, pubs & a café. After breakfast we lazed around waiting for Orinthia to finish exploring. We set off at 10:53, through Browning's Pool to Paddington stop for water & rubbish. We supplied the Toll Office with handbills & posters, then wen on to Carlton bridge to take some posters to the eponymous pub. The next stop was another poster drop at the Grand Junction Arms , which had a new landlord and was busy for lunches. Orinthia enjoyed the garden.

After lunch we winded in the feeder from Brent reservoir We were followed back eastwards by a bunch of canoeists from the Waterside Centre near Sainsbury's, so we gave them some handbills. We stopped at Sainsbury's, Kensal Rise, for shopping & a poster-drop. We were delayed there because Wendy kept setting off their alarm system & they couldn't find why! Continue We met no vandals this time on our way back to Little Venice. , where we again tied up by the footbridge at 16:25. I went off to an IWA London Region Plan/Nav Committee meeting, and Wendy did a publicity drop. The Gondolier has closed, as has a launderette near it.

Wendy woke later than intended but still decided to do a publicity drop in Praed St & Edgware Rd areas (including 2 launderettes). She found a lot of resistance to taking posters in shops. Hotels around the station were very pleased to take handbills. She found me some pyjamas. We set off at 10:07, winded in Browning's Pool and went to Sainsbury's at Alperton. Here they say it's against company policy to take posters - wonder why it's different from at Kensal Green? The Pleasure Boat took a poster. The next stop was another poster drop at the Black Horse, Greenford, after which we went on to Willowtree Marina for a pump-out. At the Hambrough Tavern, Southall, we had the usual, immense difficulty mooring because of underwater obstructions. Old coping-stones? I held the boat while Wendy did a poster drop to the pub, shops &library. We went on to Bull's Bridge junction and the main line, mooring at 17:37 just above Packet Boat Lane bridge. I went off home en route to Oldbury next day to speak at an IWA Communications Seminar. Unfortunately the nearest boat to us had a cat – we hopes ours wouldn't pick a fight with it.

Our cats got on OK with the one off the other boat, and with dogs from further down. Unfortunately the dogs' person was a tedious old man, from whom Wendy was rescued by Jackie from the other boat, who is a colleague of Lynda Eade (one of our friends from HCC). Wendy had a launderette session. I came back about 21:00.

We made a leisurely start at 10:50 and decided to postpone a poster-drop at the Shovel until a weekday and make straight for our mooring at the Club, from where I went to Uxbridge Boat Centre to talk about the stove. It seemed better to replace it than get it repaired, so I put a deposit on a new one, and got the 'phone number of Graham Theakston to fit it. I also bought a rain-cap for the chimney collar and a new bow-fender, which I then fitted. While we were on the mooring, two men jumped over the fence from the building site, being chased by the police.

We set off again around tea-time and locked through Uxbridge & Denham locks with Ozymandias, with a crazy couple & a baby. They've only had the boat a short time and have been out before "with a crew". They decided on impulse to go out today because it's a nice day. The woman wouldn't steer and the man had no idea about leaving the tiller in order to work the paddles. The woman was reluctant to leave the baby, so only managed to open one paddle in total at the two locks and didn't close that. We were glad to lose them at Harefield Marina, but they turned and moored somewhere, so who knows if they'll latch onto us if we come back the same way later. We winded and tied up before Copper Mill lock (before the mill-race) at 18:33 2:31 4.7 0 4 4 Winded and moored. PI did a poster-drop to the Fisheries (since renamed the Coy Carp).

We set off back south at 8:40. Fran's tea-room at Denham wasn't open, but John Shoemake (an acquaintance from Canalway Cavalcade) was waiting to see them so we asked him to pass a poster on. We made a poster drop at the Swan & Bottle without mooring. At The Shovel, we made a poster drop before they opened. The next poster drop was at the Woolpack, where I found the strippers a bit off-putting at lunchtime! Next we stropped at Workhouse bridge to make a poster drop at the Blue Anchor. There was a big thunderstorm while we were there. Once it moderated, Wendy walked down to the next bridge to do a publicity drop at various places near Hayes station. Later we moved on to Adelaide Dock for another poster drop and to talk to them about possibly blacking FC2's hull, but they are filly-booked for slipway work until late June. We made more poster drops at the Old Oak Tree and the Grand Junction Arms, Southall, where moored as 18:16 for the night.

We set off at 9:37 and stopped at Tesco, Bull's Bridge to buy cat litter, as nowhere in Hayes stocked it. Then we went on to West Drayton High Street for publicity drops in various places. Finally we went back to our Uxbridge mooring, arriving there at 13:21.