A bit more of the Thames

Latest on the health side is I now have the MRI, CT Scan and Endoscopy appointments during the next five days. Again many thanks for all your communications of good wishes that we have received.

This month Canal Boat magazine has an article on composting loos. Both ourselves and George and Carol  on Rock n Roll supplied photos and comments. Funny old subject among boaters is the humble toilet. We all have our views and I suppose it`s one of the more personal decisions of boat design we make.

The Oakley Court hotel

Bray lock.(I think)

Maidenhead railway bridge.

Queuing for Boulters lock

We made it in

Bray film studios famous for the Hammer horror films starring Christopher Lee. There was a plan to demolish the studio or turn it into flats and as you can see decoration not demolition is in progress so I guess the flats got planning permission.

After another hot day we find a spot under the trees  and Jaq is so happy. The Alaskan lady does not like to much heat. Just a rope back and front to a tree is all we need.

Dorney Lake

 
So far have one of three tests arranged. Sorry for the lack of blogging this past week but had a lot on my mind wondering what is lurking within me. Not moving far at the moment as we need to stay in the Hertfordshire area to access one or more of three hospitals.
We have decided to get a Freeview set up as a back up to the satellite system that seemed to always dictate our mooring be where the satellite can be seen by the dish. All working so with a more settled mind lets catch up on the travels of Nb Valerie.





Moving along from Windsor we had been told about moorings at Dorney Lake about 2 miles upstream just after Windsor racecourse. A big part of life along the Thames so far has been aircraft coming and going into Heathrow which from Dorney is about 8 miles. No prizes for the company name but we might give you a mention if you can supply the captain`s name.

So acting on information received we found a nice mooring with no restrictive signs so a nice few days were spent watching the world float by. There was enough room here for about three boats and it was full most of the time with vacated space being filled quickly. The river was very wide here on a bend just past the racecourse marina entrance and some very large houses opposite dominated by the expanse of water seemed far away.

Constructed and owned by Eton College, Dorney Lake was used for the 2012 Olympics rowing events. It is 1 mile 700 yards long and has eight lanes. The narrower slightly shorter section on the left is a return/warm up course.
The competition course is about 12feet deep and is fed by underground streams.
As in the case of the Olympic white water centre up on the River Lee Dorney Lake is also open to the public. It took ten years to construct and a lot of archaeological finds were discovered.
While we were there several company's were taking part in corporate rowing events to raise money for charity.

A little video of the Dragon boat racing

Windsor

First view of Windsor Castle as we cruise past the 700 acre  Home park belonging to the crown estate.

 Our mooring in Windsor along an island cut. The main river is to the right and boats are moored all around the island. There is a road just to the left so Jaq managed to get a Tesco grocery delivery.

 The fountain was built to mark 60 years reign of Queen Elizabeth. It has 60 jets that give the impression of a crown. Looks nice in the evening light and on a sunny day the little ones enjoyed splashing around in it.

 The original crooked house was built in 1592. In 1687 the council had to rebuild it having demolished it to make way for the Guildhall to the right. The tilt has occurred because of unseasoned Green Oak being used.
The street to the side of it is  Queen Charlotte street and is said to be at 50feet 10 inches the shortest street in Britain. I bet somewhere else claims the record but it is cute and at the top you can see the pub handy to quench your thirst after an epic walk.

The guard having been changed inside Windsor Castle the relieved guard (right) march back to their nearby barracks. These are Coldstream Guards recognised by the Red plume on the right side of their bearskin. The bearskin in the past has been made from Canadian bear fur.

 Nowadays when they become unserviceable artificial fur is used

The arch they march through, the Henry VIII gateway, was many years ago fully accessible to the public enabling watching the guard being changed and a view of the inside walls.

Today you must purchase a ticket to access any part of the castle.  Below is a short video I took of the guard arriving. Castle map.

Les' Health update

Following the consultation with a surgeon today, a CT scan, an MRI and an endoscopy are being scheduled shortly. 

Runnymede- a piece of America in the UK

Health update: Les received a phone call today to say he has an appointment this Friday afternoon with a consultant/surgeon.

The front yard of this house opens onto the Thames so all the mail slots are on the towpath side of the houses. Jaq is surprised to find a U.S. Post box mounted on a front gate. Perhaps an American is in residence here.

This is the path from the Thames, across the fields to the Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede.

This is a lovely memorial on the lower part of Cooper's Hill is built in the Classical style to commemorate the sealing of the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215 by King John requiring the King to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary. For example it was explicit in stating that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right that still exists. the beginning of English Law and hence American law took root here on the fields of Runnymede. Copies were sent out to all the Barons and Bishops in England. Four copies now survive--two of which can be seen in the British Library.  It is thought to have been sealed somewhere here on the surrounding meadows.

Under the beautiful blue dome with gold stars are the words, "Erected by the American Bar Association." It was built with donations from over 9000 U.S. attorneys.

The words inscribed in granite speak for themselves.

This is the gateway to the John F. Kennedy memorial, dedicated May 1965 by Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy. The memorial consists of a garden and a carved tablet of Portland stone with part of JFK's most famous speech. The area of the memorial was given as a gift to the people of the United States by the people of  Britain. When one steps through this gate, one is on American soil.

The memorial is reached by walking a steep path of irregular granite steps which represent a journey of pilgrimage. There are fifty steps in all--one for each state in the United States of America. Each step is different from all the others. The entire flight was made from hand hewn blocks of 60,000 granite setts.

Jaq says this is one of the most tranquil, touching and inspiring places she's ever visited. It is humble while inspiring great awe.

This memorial was carved from a 14 ton block of Roach bedstone weighing 7 tons. Shells trapped within the stone suggest it is at least 7 million years old. This stone rests on a granite cushion representing the shoulders of the multitude. It was designed by Sir Jeffrey A. Jellicoe.

Last views of the River Wey

 Hi everyone. I have received so many good wishes that I feel a need to update you all. I  have no great pain and expect an appointment very soon.  A slow cruise towards Watford with stops along the way is very relaxing. So let`s try and bring the blog a bit more up to date.  Thank you.

 Now this is a great mooring. Others moored here but there is plenty of room to still be well away from the next boat. Of course the permanent residents no nothing of privacy and will sit by the boat and stare through the windows.

Behind the 18th century front lies a timber framed building parts of which date back to the 16c. You can just imagine a coach and horses passing through the arch dropping off perhaps Lord Nelson and other passengers to rest for the night. nice to come across so many of these coaching inns as we travel the waterways. 

 

Now I can`t pass by any wood and a nice quiet mooring away from anyone is ideal to cut and split it.

On the right is a Wey barge, horse drawn and once a very common sight not just on the R. Wey but also the Thames. The National Trust is restoring the 1931 Wey barge reliance (below) at Dapdune Wharf.

 Housing both modern and traditional can be found along the river but mostly it`s rural all the way.

 I spare you a picture but the elsan (toilet) disposal inside the hut is very basic, pleased we have our composting toilet. As the sign says you wash out your cassette with canal water.

 A lot of narrow road bridges, some having traffic lights or like this one just common sense.

Nothing standardised as far as water points go on the Wey. Above the mooring jetty for water........

next to the lock. The tap can just be seen to the left of the piling spouting the greenery.

 

Well all good things come to an end. Having paid the National Trust £108 for a 3 week licence we leave where we started at Thames lock. A really good experience on a river flowing through some very nice countryside.

Up the Hanwell Flight....into the Company of Friends

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~Marcel Proust

   After coming off the Tidal Thames at Brentford we stopped to top off our water tank and Les dashed down the street to Morrison's for a few bits and bobs. Off we went, up two locks to moor near the bottom of the Hanwell flight. We traveled up the two locks with Malcom and Sue on NB Yorky and Dave and Jane on NB Norfolk Lass, getting to know them as we helped each other up the locks out of Brentford. 
   When we came down this same canal in May on the way down to the Thames, we found it empty and peaceful, with plenty of mooring space. We were also amazed at how clean the Southern Grand Union was--Canal and River Trust (CaRT) had just been down in front of us with barges and nets, tidying  up. 
   As we rounded the bend to the same mooring spaces last week, we were surprised to find it rammed with a mix of continuous moorers and summer boaters on their way down to Brentford/The Thames. The recent weeks of scalding hot weather caused bubbles of methane from rotting vegetation to break the surface of the canal. Boats on the move--including ours--churned up the mucky, black bottom, and a terrible stink, or pong as they say over here, filled the air. Just by our bow as we pulled in to moor was a disgusting assortment of piles of dog poop. Yep, we are not on the Thames anymore where one seldom saw such filth and dog owners usually kept their pets on a leash. Sadly we were sure it was a boater whose dog was leaving this mess--let out of a boat in the early morning on its own to do its business. Later events confirmed this to be the case.
   Our fellow travelers moved on the next morning and we stayed a day to rest, sort out our drawers and wardrobe, and pack up all our winter clothes. We were woken up at 4:30 the next morning by two dogs fighting viciously on the towpath just outside our boat, and a transvestite running down the towpath in a dress and stiletto heels yelling, "Get off of my dog!" We decided to move on later that morning. 
   We shared the locks up the Hanwell Flight with Jim and Joyce aboard NB Joie de Vivre. Jim fished for leftover coconuts from the Festival of Diwali, a celebration in which the local Asian population fill coconuts with scented oil, light them and set them to float in the canal. Jim lines his treasures up on the roof of their boat and enjoys the scent of the oils. We had a good natter about all kinds of things and it was a pleasure to share a bit of canal travel with Jim and Joyce.
   Soon enough we reached Bulls Bridge where the Paddington Arm branches off the Southern Grand Union (G.U.) and continues into London. In the mid afternoon sunshine we spotted two immediately recognizable boats and a gaggle of fellow boaters standing on the towpath. It was Paul and Elaine on NB Caxton AKA the Manly Ferry,

Ali and John, and Paul and Elaine; fellow boaters and bloggers.

and Ali and John aboard NB Triskaideka--fellow bloggers all!
   We spent a lovely hour and and a quarter having a good chinwag before Ali and John headed north up the G.U., Paul and Elaine headed south for Brentford and the Thames, and we went to the canal side Tescos across the parking lot from where we had all gathered, for a grocery top up. In the golden afternoon sunshine we carried on up through Uxbridge where we stopped for the night. 
   The next morning we started off again sharing a couple of locks with a lovely couple who are just beginning their life afloat--four weeks on the cut!! Eventually we found a shady spot in a lovely slice of canal and we stopped for the day. 
   Sue and Vic on NB No Problem are moored nearby and we've swapped morning tea on each others boats, walks with the dogs and time catching up with one another. As we slowly make our way to Watford it is perfect timing, catching up with Vic and Sue, who are dear to Les' heart and mine. We had a scrumptious dinner invitation aboard Sue and Vic's boat and I will tell you I felt like I had truly arrived! I've been reading about the famous Sunday Suppers aboard No Problem for four years. At last I was going to attend one! The whipped cream and cherry on the top of this was finally properly meeting Graham and Jill aboard NB Matilda Rose whom we had passed along the cut when I first married Les.

Graham, Sue, Vic, Jill, and Jaq. Les is taking the snap.

    We experienced the authentic British Sunday Roast ala Vic--and it was to die for! The roasted potatoes were exquisite, the gravy was mouth watering, the meat tender and juicy, and the Yorkshire puddings were round, crisp clouds filled with gravy.  Graham made an Apple Crumble that was perfect in my humble opinion--the topping was sweet with brown sugar and crunchy with oats; the apples were tender but firm--not mushy. Heavenly!! Between the fabulous food, the good wine and the brilliant craic, we were surrounded by love, friendship, and goodwill. This morning Vic and Sue were kind enough to provide me with cooking lessons and recipes for how to make a real British Roast Dinner. I am humbled, happy, and filled with gratitude. Vive la Friendship!!