Never far from my thoughts

I had no idea!

A QISMA size mooring

We too shattered from the day to go back at night...stolen from the web

What are the chances?

Up at sparrows and off to the Tower to see the poppies with less than 50 people there. Thousands and thousands there during the day yesterday.

Look what else caught my eye......

I so want to find out who this is so I can let them have the pic. 

Siting at a railway station ... Ticket for my destination

In an hour I will be leaving this behind

 View to Downham from the Sluice..can't quit see the station!

 Off to see the poppies

And then these guys... who we know are on their way

Will he miss me?

Get out that suitcase.....

A busy day on Friday. All the weekend chores complete. I would put a big smiley in here but know it won't transfer over when the blog is published.

I have also been trying to pack for my trip... As much as possible out of site of Alistair and LJ. Obviously Alistair knows I am going away but I don't want to be insensitive ... Perish the thought .. Moi?

So I AM trying to keep the lid on my excitement and not doing too badly considering I am off on a two week all expenses paid trip to South Africa on Tuesday AND seeing The Marvellous Mr Curtis Stigers at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday AND also seeing the poppies.

What did get into my bubble  was tonight's sunset

New waters ...on the Little Ouse

In our two boating seasons here, one short, one long, we hadn't cruised on the Little Ouse, well not beyond getting fuel at Little Ouse moorings...about half a mile in. This week, it was time.

All the Great Ouse tributaries are very different. We kept waiting for the Little Ouse to get narrow but mostly it is fairly wide. The two GOBA moorings too muddy and marshy for us so we kept on. Our mistake, not to be repeated, was to head straight there from Ely. It would have been better to overnight on the way.

We plodded on, LJ with his lovely long legs crossed ... eventually finding a 'wild' mooring about an hour from the end of navigation.  A lightly used railway line very close and.. We later discovered .. We were nicely poised to get the full thrust of aircraft departing Lakenheath. That WAS loud but enthralling as we watched a few planes hit the night sky and being pretty sure where they were headed.

Off fairly early. ...for us...yesterday. The farmer was around but didn't come to chase us off, which was a relief. It would make a lovely GOBA mooring!

We had planned to moor at what, for us at 58 FT is the end of navigation at Brandon. We lost Tuesday to the wind and rain and with rain forecast for today we decided to start heading back. Of course, the result of that was that the day ended on our mooring at Denver.

Little Ouse

Unexpected danger

Grateful for this Wild mooring

 Getting some attention

The end for us ... The lock is too small

EA Moorings

Restoration challenge! 

 Home mooring

 Feeling good

Dark clouds overhead

We arrived at Waterbeach just ahead of these clouds but the weekend was dry. The small Marina next door has a pet sheep. The largest sheep I have ever seen ... And I lived in the Falklands for nine months!

Crossed the lock and found more lovely walks. This is the way to Lode which, at 5 miles for the round trip is a bit too far for LJ now he can suffer with a bit of arthritis.

With gale warnings and our hours up we moved into Ely. Next week it will be this dark at 1700 and it will feel like winter. 

 We had strong, but not gale force winds gusting through the day and some heavy showers but all in all ...

From the blogs I follow seems not as bad as forecast. In 1990 I very briefly worked in the section at MoD that funded Met Office equipment ..I never understood how they could spend so much with such poor results ......

Mended and on the move ....😀😀😀😀😀

We are boating! After a couple of stressful days with the engine and electrical problems. The engine was simply a hose reaching the end if it's life but the initial repair was a half done job .... Just what you don't need. Especially when it seems likely RCR probably only have one engineer for this area. Not inspired with confidence.

Thanks for the messages from a host of friends.

Now we are happily moored in Waterbeach. We like it here. I seem to use that phrase a lot! Lovely cruise from Cambridge. A number of rowing crews out but, despite what we have heard, we have never had any trouble with rowers here. We slow down. Are happy to follow them. They say thanks. We say enjoy. Doesn't quite work like that on the Thames ...or on the Wissey where one chap takes his 'learner' rowers and it really isn't wide enough.

Something from the Twittersphere

I know Twitter is not for everyone. I love it and have made some great boating and non boating pals. As the saying goes, you know who you are. It is the same for LJ.. He has one incredibly amusing pal who we call VP!!

More to the point. Here are just a couple of pics that I have loved this week and would not have seen 

Do you think this boater knows? 

And one from me ...why?

i

QISMA is proper poorly

Poor QISMA ... broken down in Cambridge ... No honestly! RCR came out on Tuesday. Came back yesterday with a bit of hose but repair hasn't held. The pipe has split elsewhere. Thing is. The shuffling around sorting it out brought extra problems and at one point today we had no electrics, the batteries wouldn't charge from the generator and we couldn't start the engine because the hose is useless. Not the best of days.

I have to say Alistair was brilliant ... Please note I said this... And persevered until all problems, except the hose, are now sorted. We await the return of the repair man.

Time for ....a RANT On speeding

This is a photograph of a prize *******

On the Fen Rivers the speed limit is 7 knots .. Or 8 miles an hour. Thus is a safe speed and doesn't create the huge wash that will cause serious erosion to the banks. Simples. Don't go faster than that.

Well...we all know it IS human nature to push the boundaries. We law abiding canal types regularly rant about boats going too fast and not slowing down as they pass moored boats. One of the top sins.

This, not a boy, racer, came past us on the Cam on Saturday at a speed we think was in excess of 20 mph. 20 mph! He screamed past us and increased his speed, raced round the next two bends and pulled up just before a small Marina. Then he turned.

By this point we had the cameras out. Back he came. As he reached the second bend he realised what we were doing and slowed. Came up to us. Pulled up and explained that he 'had' to test his engines. We will see what the EA make of it.

I want to scream and swear. What if someone, or LJ!,had been swimming, or a canoe had been hugging the bank when the Tsunami hit. You Sir are a disgrace.

PS full marks to EA...  Come back already and said he has been spoken to by the River Inspector.

Give me some peace and quiet ....

The title would probably lead you to believe I am lacking in peace and quiet... Not so. We are on the River Cam and getting to realise that there are very few boats on the move at the moment.

We are on a favourite mooring ... Not just with us. In the summer it was almost impossible to moor here.

A bit grim for the last half mile and of course, the wind gusting wildly as we moored...a Sod's law that we had been talking about only that morning... But easily on and since then .. 

I have booked rail travel for my next outing ... It DOES involve Curtis Stigers (sorry folks but you HAVE to catch him when you can) and  also poppies and air travel! 

I think the word is ...smoking!

Fortunately, not our engine!

Two nights off QISMA for me and a bit off nostalgia. Down by train to my friend Marion's and an outing to see The Marvelous Mr Curtis Stigers in Guildford.

I've recently been in contact with some WRAC friends from way back.... I mean way back. So the journey down through Guildford made me a rad nostalgic. Marion used to live there so Memory Lane for both of us. The announcer at Woking was famous in my WRAC intake for his poetry....

The train now standing at Platfirm 2
Is for Surbiton and Waterloo
Surbiton and Waterloo
The train now standing at Platform 2

How could you forget that?

Back to Curtis.

Always a great mix of people at a Stigers 'gig'. We were chatting to two women before the show and I was described by one as 'mad but fascinating'...that works for me!

I had been lucky and last week won two extra tickets so caught up with my soon to be emigrating amazingly good friend Joan. There was one brief moment of panic... Joan was there with her chap, Andy. I went to collect their tickets and was given ... One ticket! Fortunately a very nice man from Air Agency was at the desk and got it sorted in a nano second. Phew...my heart sank though. I have previous in the ticket department! Especially good to see Joan because as soon as she sells her house she is bound for New Zealand and she...as LJ might say .... Ain't not comings back.

Also caught up with fellow Stigers devotee Justine's Mum and met Justine's  Dad. Great night and although this might fall into the ...she would say that category.... Mr S was on fire!

First sighting of the .......

Do I call it the lesser spotted QISMA or the greater spotted QISMA? 

I've been a bit behind, goodness knows why, in catching up with the blogs I read. It's not as if I have anything else to do but reading WAIORU yesterday evening and it was definitely a WTF moment. Will you just look at this!

We had heard of her, Kim from NB PROGRESS has reported regular sightings. We've been asked if we were at x last week but here she is! Is she our namesake or are we hers? Checking the boat names site shows there are just the two of us. 

Thanks to Tom for posting this. 

Down to Downham ...what a relief!

Well, it is called the Relief Channel! Which, to me, implies some narrow drain like navigation. Not so. Even wider that the G&S and we believe we are the only boat currently making use of its 11 miles. Just yards and one deep lock from our new mooring. 

The channel runs close to the tidal section of the River Great Ouse where we grounded, several times, on our way back from Kings Lynn. River on right. Relief Channel on the left. LJ,in between.

LJ can't read