A look back through the photos

The bridge of Sighs, not in Venice but in Chester, UK. The bridge was built to enable prisoners to cross from the prison in the Northgate across to the chapel to receive their last rites. The old Northgate was a main entrance to Chester. It was replaced in 1808 by a Geogian arch. Now it is a arch going nowhere. The bridge cost £20 ($30) to build in 1793. During WWII the metal railings were removed and melted down.

I liked the wide walk board on this Chester lock. It makes avoiding the greasy winding gears easier.



The locks through Chester out to the River Dee look a little neglected, right. Access to the Dee can only be made at certain tide levels but it`s been a good few years since a narrowboat made the trip. The Tuesday night club I believe did the trip but I could not find a link to the report; a search box on the site would help. Anyway the narrowboat above found it`s way onto the Dee albeit with the help of a crane further up stream.

The Alaskan frontier woman has a dubious meeting with local aliens at a very quiet mooring between Chester and Ellesmere Port.

The Airbus Beluga is a regular site around Chester as it flies into Hawarden airport and the Broughton Airbus factory. It flies parts between Airbus manufacturers around the globe. The Broughton factory produces A380 wings that are transported by road and then by barge along the River Dee to be shipped from Mostyn aboard roll-on-roll-off ferries to France. The A380 can carry 555 passengers in three classes spread over two decks. I can just hear the hostesses saying "no standing downstairs; please use the top deck." If the flight was all economy the passenger total could be 840. They have talked of a three deck cargo version. My design--and I have patented this so beware--is a twin cabin, four deck version. Like a catamaran`s twin hulls, it will have five jet engines; two on each wing and one between the cabins to carry all those greedy w bankers. I reckon we could get at least 2,000 on board sitting on laps and in the gangways, landing them on some remote island.

The end to another perfect day!

Hunkered Down at Calveley

"You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail." ~Buffy Sainte-Marie

   We took the opportunity of a break in the rainy weather and left Chester behind once and for all on Monday afternoon (June 18th), cruising along through the willow curtains which obscure one's view across the canals, allowing a game of chicken with moored boats as well as those on the move!

The view from our window at Christleton

   We stopped for the evening at Christleton near the water point and took the bus back into Chester Tuesday morning to pick up my wedding ring from the jewelers, where the band was being repaired.
   Ring on hand once more, we cruised off again and made it as far as Beeston, just before the locks. Next time we come this way we will climb up to the castle; we knew the warm, partly sunny weather wouldn't hold out long and we wanted to put some miles between us and Chester.

Near our Tuesday evening mooring; Beeston Castle on the hill

A lone Pen with five of her six cygnets. One was nearer the cut. Where is her Cobb? We didn't see her partner at all. Swans mate for life. I wonder what happened to him?

   By Wednesday we found ourselves once again back at Calveley, moored up in one of our favorite spots between bridge 104 on the Shroppie and the winding hole before Bunbury staircase locks.

    We chose to hang out here after our second foray into Nantwich for Les' dentist at the end of May. Back then we clipped back the grass and hung our laundry out to dry in the sun, enjoying the quiet and privacy.
    We found our old spot empty on our way back from Chester and did the same thing again this past Wednesday, shortly after mooring up. We managed to dry three loads of laundry before the skies opened up and poured; now however the cut all along here is rammed nut to butt with other boats. Traffic entertains us coming and going from the winding hole behind us to the water point and services at Calveley, below us beyond the bridge.
    Why are we back here again and will we ever move on? Well, Les needed some DIY stuff to build a cabinet for our computer and a couple of bits and bobs to wire electrical 12 v plug-ins on the port side of NB Valerie near the dinette.
    Once these projects are complete we will no longer have computers cluttering the table and cables strung thither and yon. Trying to get up and walk to the loo while the computer is plugged in and the pointer is charging is a bit like trying to negotiate a giant game of Cat's Cradle!

Views above and below, of the cut at Calvely today

   We were being held hostage by the heavy rain and high winds anyway. The Met weather office issued an amber weather alert for the area around and just below Manchester--which included this part of the cut. Heavy flooding, pouring rain, and high winds to fifty MPH are forecast so we will stay hunkered down until a break in the weather allows us to cruise back onto the Middlewich arm and head towards The Anderton boat lift and the river Weaver.
   As I type this I am listening to a streaming of WDRV radio out of Chicago, Illinois; classical hard rock. The Stones are entertaining me with "Waiting For a Friend." This is one of three stations I listened to back in Pullman, Washington. The others were NPR (National Public Radio) and Martini in the Morning which broadcasts 50's and 60's Rat Pack music out of California.
    A nod of thanks to Rita and Scooby Talbot (NB Festina Lente) for inspiring last night's dinner. We had the best boneless Pork steaks I've been able to procure over here. Tesco's had giant Pork leg joints available. Too much meat for two people, they are an excellent buy for four to share. Scooby had the scathingly brilliant idea to split one with us. From our half we have four lovely boneless steaks, some chunks to make a stew, and a large roast from which I will make BBQ pulled Pork once we get another spell of hot weather.
   We enjoyed sauteed Pork steaks rubbed with Beau Monde, garlic, and lemon pepper, with a dark brown crust outside; tender and juicy inside. Accompanying our chops, I decided to attempt Risotto. For this I must thank Rita who served mushroom Risotto when they invited us aboard for dinner back in Chester.
    I am not a fan of rice. I don't like the sticky oriental variety, and regular white rice reminds me of insipid school lunches from childhood. Risotto is in another class all by itself but for some reason I've always been intimidated by the apparent finickiness of Arborio rice.
    Rita's excellent dinner inspired me and I made a delicious Cheddar Cheese Risotto ala Nigella Lawson. In this recipe I used Vermouth for the white wine and I whipped up some stock with Knorr's Vegetable stockpots.
   For dessert we had N.L.'s Chocolate Guinness cake--also inspired by my North American correspondent aka Rita Talbot (she's Canadian) who has baking this cake down to a fine art. After tasting hers I knew I had to try it.

    I also knew it would never cook in the tiny boat oven if I put it in a single spring form pan so I divided the batter into two silicone nine inch round cake pans. I spread cherry jam between the layers and frosted the top with Nigella's recipe for Cream Cheese frosting made with whipping cream. Deelish!!!

The happy captain of NB Valerie and my heart!

   In the evening a small wood fire kept us warm as rain came and went, poured and slackened, and the wind genny purred atop our boat.
    Every time I think I cannot be happier, I find I am delirious with joy; all the more surprising for me because I chose to be single for so long, convinced marriage was a trap for women and a failure for me. Les too has been having "pinch me" moments, overwhelmed with happiness; our lives our simple, uncomplicated, and we are filled with gratitude.  Led Zep calls me now with "Cashmere." Stay dry, warm, and may you be as blessed as we two. Happy cruising wherever you are!

Inside the walls of Chester and the water is not hot!

Rain is pouring down as I sit here typing and I have no intention of cruising in such miserable conditions. Instead I spent 3 hours trying to discover why HOT water decided not to flow through our galley tap. Since the water is heated by the engine, my first thoughts were of a possible air lock in the pipe work from the engine to the hot water storage tank. Some time back I had installed a bleed valve to make releasing air from the system easier.

I discovered this valve fitting was leaking and I wondered if it was allowing air to enter the system. With a new fitting in place and the engine running hot I bled the system. Still no hot water. I removed the pipework in several places to check for a good flow of water; all  was okay and very hot in the pipes but NOT in the galley.

So I went back inside to see just how far the water pipes were hot on their way to the storage tank under the bed. After removing the mattress and top boards,I gained access to the tank. I discovered very hot pipes all the way to the tank as well as the hot water pipe supplying the boat.

I asked Jaq to try the bathroom tap and hey--we have scalding hot water there but still none in the galley further along. Now I was puzzled. I could find no sign of leaks so I visualised the pipe work through the boat system. Then it hit me: the washing machine is plumbed in before the galley sink! I felt sure somehow an air lock had occurred here, stopping the hot water flowing to the galley. I hit the washing machine "on" button and after a cough and splutter, hot water flowed into the machine. Air lock cleared. This allowed the hot water to flow through the galley tap. 

From the walls of Chester can be seen these small houses dominated by the larger one. Both look old but in fact the large one dates back to 1881, whereby it`s smaller neighbours date from 1650. They were Almshouses built for the poor and needy and were a block of 9 but only 6 survive after being restored in 1969.

Sedan House on the left, so called because of the porch that enabled the rich arriving by Sedan coach (pic. right) to arrive warm and dry.  Each side of the porch had an entrance door. The coachmen would enter either side, stopping to allow their passenger to exit directly inside the building.

The Chester Rows are covered galleries above the street level shops with access at each end and steps at intervals from the pavement; additional row of shops are above.

These shops are located above the ones in the top picture. Was this an inspiration to our present day indoor shopping centres?