VOTING DAVENTRY CANAL

Walking around Daventry yesterday i noticed notices in many shop windows urging local residents to vote that very evening in the referendum on weather or not they favour a canal into Daventry.
Also driving around the town was a van advertising the event with the passenger leaning from the window urging people to vote.
Eight polling stations had been set up with no polling card required and only your name had to be on the electoral register.

Today searching the Internet i see it got thumbs down by a large majority.

I remember reading in one of the boat mags that a new road had been constructed near the proposed canal terminus site that allowed headroom for the canal to pass under it so it would appear the district council have made up their minds. I suppose like the Milton Keynes/Bedford project this again might mean my boating to a ripe old age to achieve a cruise into Daventry.

More info on the council plans for Daventry HERE.

CRUISING INTO SPRING

Spring is in the air and enough time has been spent sitting around feeling under the weather so
i left Fenny Stratford looking forward to a lock free cruise of 11 miles. The first site i wanted to
stop and look at although in the picture above there`s not much to see was where the proposed Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway was planned to leave the Grand Union. At 16 miles long and estimated costs of £160-200 million is not expected to open until 2025. I`ll be 77 yrs old and i wouldn`t mind betting the cost would have risen sharply.

With Spring comes the Lambs and as usual amongst my fellow Bloggers i`m the last to get the
pictures but no matter Blogging isn`t a competition i`m just telling it as i see it.

Over the Aqueduct at New Bradwell

and under Soloman`s Bridge at Cosgrove.

Stopped off at Yardley Gobion village just a short stroll from the canal to get milk and bread.

The Lambs like buses you don`t see one for ages then they`re everywhere.

Fenny Stratford = Bletchley Park

A couple of days at Fenny Stratford gave me a chance to visit Bletchley Park which was the hub of wartime code breaking and is only a 20minute walk from the canal.
I spent 4hrs wandering around the exhibits but still hadn`t seen all there was to see as some sections run by outside groups only operated at weekends but the beauty of the £8 admission was the free return anytime in the next 12 months.
So much to see and read most of which is better read by yourselves so follow the links and if you pass by pay a visit, i guarantee your being intrigued by what went on here during the war.

An Enigma machine

Perhaps the most famous code breaker was Alan Turin. This statue is made of thousands of pieces of Welsh slate.

Mock up of a `Bombe` machine.After the war Churchill had all the machines at Bletchley and other locations broken up.

The original red brick farmhouse had many additions after Sir Herbert Leon purchased
Bletchley Park in 1883

Just two of the added rooms inside the house.

The Colossus machine re-built by Bletchley Park curator Tony Sale.

Machines at Bletchley
Sir Herbet Leon
Churchill`s secret
Alan Turin scrapbook

FEELING BETTER Thanks

I don`t know exactly what germ, bug, or disease took over my normally healthy life but for sure it hit me for six.
It started on the 20th Feb, my usual free and easy lifestyle would have prevented me from quoting this date as the march of time and myself put up with each other neither one interfering with the others pace, this being a couple of days before the Birmingham show and all it appeared to be was a cold. Wrong diagnosis on my part as on my return from Brum things went downhill with.......loads of things but i`m better now so best not to dwell on it.
MANY MANY thanks to you all for your comments and e mails wishing me well, cheers all.

The boat and caravan show at the NEC boasted about 6 canal boats out of the advertised 250
boats on show but for me and i would think other boaters is the fact that the equipment, gadgets and gizmo`s are common amongst caravanners and campers with the majority of the displays being of interest to a wide audience.
So what did i buy other than the overpriced coffee and food you are screaming aloud, well to go with a £500k gin palace ( below) i thought a battery monitor system might be handy so a
NASA BM-1 was my choice and when i get 5 mins and when/if the cheque clears for the gin

palace i`ll fit it. Change of plan i`ve cancelled the cheque i love my narrow boat to much and
besides look at the bow wave i couldn`t handle life that fast.
Another purchase was some Rescue Tape that attracted my attention for among the many uses it has i liked the idea of having something to repair a water hose, although i do carry some spares it might be the one i haven`t got that goes or perhaps a quick repair to keep me boating until a re-placement hose can be obtained and fitted.

So back from the show and feeling better after a couple of weeks it was time to do a couple of very short days of cruising as i was becoming stir crazy in the same place.
Above NB Valerie in Leighton lock and the fields have flooded from the R. Ouzel.

The view from the middle lock at Soulbury 3 as i dropped down, perhaps the by wash was restricted and couldn`t handle my lock full of water but all returned to normal as i entered the lock in the picture.
Mixed breeding has produced this rather attractive Mallard.

RESTING

Just to let anyone who might be curious know i am resting up for a while trying to shake off some virus that has taken me over temporarily.

Can`t remember the last time i slept without waking in the early hours coughing my heart up even though i am sleeping in a almost upright position.

Be back soon, can`t keep us boaters down for long.