High Summer on Crack Hill

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." ~Carl Sandburg

  We were cruising on new water for me. Les has been up the Leicester Arm twice but this was my first time. Rural in nature with some spectacular views between Crick and Yelvertoft, it is an extremely busy section of the cut, with a lot of hire boats on the move as well as a few share boats and private shiny boats--all racing by without slowing down. What is it with folks these days? The Canal Boat Club hire boats even have a sticker below the ignition requesting drivers slow right down when approaching and passing moored boats. Some days it is madness--the total antithesis of being on a cut. Go figure!! 
   It was a year ago on August 17th we received Les' cancer diagnosis, so we celebrated Les' return to good health quietly with a walk up Crack Hill overlooking the village of Crick to South and Yelvertoft to the West, reveling in the view far above the fray. We indulged in my Best Beloved's favorite summer past time: picking blackberries! 
   The hedgerows are loaded with an abundance of ripe fruit so come along with me--the best is yet to be! Walk with us to the top of Crack Hill and back home again...and glory in the great green and golden tapestry that is high summer in England...

NB Valerie is all buttoned up as we walk away up the towpath.

This is the entrance to Yelvertoft Marina--newly built in 2010 with 150 berths, offering 23.25 miles of lock free canal to toddle along. Originally part of Flint Hill Farm, we were told by locals that the farmer is the owner of this marina. 

We've crossed the canal at bridge 17. Farmland and low, rolling hills lay just beyond the low hedgerow of Fireweed and dried flowers on one side...

while the other side of the path wears a tall green fringe laden with late summer fruits and berries! Hawthorn (good for the heart muscle), and Sloes--aka Blackthorn.

 You are probably familiar with Sloes as an ingredient of the drink Sloe Gin Fizz. Sloe Gin is made from soaking the fruit in gin or vodka with sugar added and allowing it to mature. 
   I am familiar with Spinus Prunosa as a medicinal plant and it has been used extensively for many thousands of years. You may remember the discovery of an ancient body frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991. Otzi as he was named, dated from Neanderthal times (3350-3300 BCE). Amongst his precious few belongings were found some dried sloes--medicine for his journey.
  A tea from the flowers is a harmless and reliable purgative and has beneficial effects on the stomach and stimulates appetite. Recommended for mild bladder problems, skin problems, catarrh, stomach cramps, dropsy (edema), and stone formation. Juice of the berries used for inflammations in the mouth and throat. A jam made of the fruit is a palatable laxative safe especially for children. A decoction of the root bark reduces fever.

Blackberries reaching for the sun! They too are medicinal. A tea of the dried leaves alleviates diarrhea. Blackberries and Raspberries contain Ellagic acid--a potent cancer preventative.
“Ellagic acid prevents the binding of carcinogens to DNA and strengthens connective tissue, which may keep cancer cells from spreading.” Ellagic Acid has the ability to inhibit mutations within a cell’s DNA. Furthermore, it is considered to be a cancer inhibitor which has the ability to cause apoptosis or normal cell death in cancer cells." (Webster Kehr, Independent Cancer Research Foundation, Inc. | Last updated on March 14, 2013)

It is amazing to me how abundantly blessed the hedgerows are in this country. Ma Nature is generous in Her fecundity.

A break in the hedge allows us a view of Crack Hill surrounded by golden wheat.

The gate up ahead marks the farmer's land and this Bridle Path and footpath are a public right of way. 

 The air is warm and honeyed with the slightly floral scent of ripening berries and an undertone of licorice from drifts of Sweet Cicely growing nearby. Bees buzz, birds sing, the wind kisses our cheek, and the clouds change shape and color as we watch.
   Beyond the gate, a short walk across a small grassy field bounded on three sides by Blackberry brambles and littered with Sheep scat, and we climb quickly to the rounded summit of Crack Hill.

A lovely spot for a sunny picnic!

  Reaching the top we spy a Jubilee Beacon, a picnic table, and a plaque which explains that this is a glacial outcrop on the edge of the Northamptonshire heights from which the town of Crick takes its name (from the Celtic word cruc meaning hill). Worked flint has been found there indicating pre-historic activity. There is also evidence of a Roman Station and of open field ridge & furrow farming predating the Enclosure Act of 1778. Human activity has marked this hill for thousands of years.

Strong man holds up the Jubilee beacon! Les looking and feeling fit and healthy.

The top of Crack Hill is circled by giant oaks...

...giving it the feel of a pagan chapel. As a witch I would love to return to Crack Hill on the high holy days of Winter solstice, Spring Equinox, May Eve, Summer Solstice, Fall equinox, and close my year at Samhain (Oct. 31st) standing in the twilight on the summit with the wind blowing around me. For me Crack Hill is a sacred place. I can easily believe that while Christians worshiped in the Crick village church, witches met on Crack Hill to turn the wheel of the year and give thanks to the Goddess and the Green Man.

Looking outward to the fields beyond and moving in a circle around to the right. I loved the way the lone far tree in the hedgerow was framed by the break in the trees on the Hill.

A close up from the hilltop, of the canal below, which curls around three sides of the hill. Beyond is a green checkerboard of fields and hedgerows that seem to roll on forever. 

One after another, narrow boats cruise in meandering curves following the canal as it curves around the foot of the hill.

A narrow boat below cruises slowly toward the village of Crick in the distance.

A close up of the path from Crick village to Crack Hill and three walkers surrounded by verdant green pasture. The village church tower stands tall and proud, marking the spot where Christians have worshiped since the beginning of the Norman conquest. Off to the far right on the village pitch...

...a football game is in progress.

Between Crack Hill and the public footpath across the green pasture, another narrow boat glides slowly into view!

Boaters are making the most of the sunshine as another one slips by with wind Gennie's in the background.

Looking down on the wheat farm at the foot of the hill, it is time to start back.

The path down leads between two large oaks, moving through the farmer's gate. The pasture below is ringed on all sides...

...with blackberries! We stop and fill two containers to overflowing. It is not for nothing that one of Les' nicknames is Blackberry Biggs!

Off the hill, blackberries picked, we cross a low field and make for the gate...

beyond which is a field of sweet corn (the word corn is a generic term used by Brits for any field grain), and the path back home to NB Valerie.

 Even though this isn't a typical kissing gate, Dear Sir is waiting to kiss me through...

On our way back to the cut we pass the wheat farm we saw from the hill top.

Yelvertoft Marina from canal bridge 17.

Across the bridge, down the stairs...

...and onto the towpath where I spotted this fuzzy caterpillar making its way toward the canal. I wonder what kind of butterfly it will become?

Further on past the marina this bridge bears the marks of the horse's tether in its brick facing, from the days of horse drawn boats.

In the galley we weigh our plump, purple booty. Five pounds!! I can see into the future and I spy Blackberry and Apple pie, Blackberry cobbler, and Blackberry and Apple Crumble.

A blackberry sunset bids us goodnight.

Customer service plus a challenge if your daft enough.

What happened to good old customer service here in the UK? that`s if ever there was any to start with.
Just over the last couple of months a few things have happened.

On one of my trips to the hospital recently I was on a bus to the hospital when all of a sudden the bus turned into the yard of the bus garage/depot and the driver switched off the engine and we sat there for 10 minutes in silence. Now i had a pretty good idea what was going on as an intermittent buzzer could be heard as we traveled along. Suddenly a mechanic appeared around the corner with a water can and topped up the radiator. Driver starts up no buzzer and without a word off we go. Now surely he could have stepped out of his cab when we first stopped and just let everyone know what was happening. Customer service, passengers pay the wages treat them with some respect.

Had a problem with my phone a week or to back so fair enough the call is free and after pressing 1 for this and 2 for that unless you have some other problem then of course you press 4 not 3. So having pressed several numbers thinking I`ve ordered a Chinese takeaway/to go and they will answer soon for my address I patiently listen to the music after being told to hold, why can`t I just sit and wait? do I really need to hold onto something? Then a click and a voice, I`m through! yes! yes!....NO.
The recording tells me the queue is long and if I press another button I can use the priority queue and be put through quicker............................they will charge me 50 pence.
Put the priority 50 pence call answering staff on the normal queue and give everyone a fair chance. It`s called customer service. In case your curious it was EE.

Now I do have a sweet tooth and Peanut M and M`s are for me hard to resist.
Jaq is shopping at Tesco on-line and bless her asks me if I need an MM fix. There are three sizes, and sorry U.S. readers these in grams so just pretend it`s ounces and it will all work fine. First pack is 165g for £1. Second 330g for £2. All fine double the quantity for double the money although you might expect a small price reduction for buying the larger bag. The third pack is 300g for £2.25. Less quantity for more money. How many folk do you think grab the more expensive bag without checking the weight thinking it`s going to be the bumper weight best buy.
A short time ago they had limited edition bags, world cup if I remember, on sale alongside the standard pack. Same weight but 50% extra price.
Customer service means you get charged fairly but then do they care......no.

I remember when Jaq and I were back in the U.S. for a while getting her visa sorted and we were in the supermarket shopping. Something was say $2 each or two for $3. Jaq picks up one and I said get the two it`s a better deal. No says she we only need one and it will be half the deal price at the checkout. Now UK readers know that one item would have been at the high price but in the U.S. it was reduced to the offer price at the checkout. Now that is customer service.

This box which appears to be made of  lead is in the churchyard of St. Mary`s Welton. Not quite sure it`s purpose it bears the date 1673 and is quite fancy. I did at first think the drain pipe entered it but you can see the pipe just empties onto the ground.
One gravestone tells of six year old John Hewitt who in January 1806 was lost in the fields and starved to death.

From the Leicester Arm by bridge 2 a walk through Weltonfield boat yard the footpath across the field leads to a lane into the village, about 30 mins walk.

 Destination the White Horse for a meal. No we did not take the Burger challenge and why anyone would is beyond me. But for sure this is minute compared to some stateside.
Try this 55oz if you need a challenge dude.
Some very strange food challenges here.


The food was good in a lovely atmosphere of an old thatched roof pub.







Can you imagine 7 pubs within one a third miles. Something that has fascinated me for a while and will blog it soon.

Looking back but thankfully to the future.

Many thanks for all the good wishes coming through by different means including the chap who scurried across a field near Yelvertoft to wish me well. Sorry but I was so taken back to hear you say my name and hope all goes well on Wednesday and Friday I forgot to ask your name.

Sorry not to have blogged lately but we moored a few days near to Crick Marina for transport reasons and the signal both phone and Internet was almost non existent.

Looking back,  and may I just say I feel very fortunate being able to, over the past year or so has been like climbing a very high ladder.  I, can at least look back but my GP- Dr. Lewis- sadly at 50 years of age passed away 2 weeks after referring me to the hospital. Another soul visited by Mr. C back in the 1990`s and having survived then to be taken 23 years later quickly and by complete surprise.
He told me because I asked and he could see that I could handle it that it was almost certainly Cancer and what would be the probable course of treatment. Dr. D. Lewis started his medical life as a surgeon and decided he preferred not to cut people open and became a General Practitioner.
You bastard Mr. C. you can`t win forever.  R.I.P David and thank you.

At this very moment I feel at the top of that ladder having slipped back the odd rung at times and have now just to step off to end the long hard climb. That step will be the final surgery to reverse the  Loop Ileostomy that has been a constant companion for the last 10 months.

Back in October last year the talk was of 3/4 months and the Ileostomy would be reversed. Then came the surgery and the discovery the Catheter would not fit where most of us men wear their post surgery hardware and so the time stretched on till now after another surgery to open up the Uretha track to the bladder. Pretty straightforward, the nurse holds it tight and the surgeon drills down with a Black and Decker driving a 10mm drill bit.while you lay there awake! Ok I`m joking about being awake and the Black and Decker but the Anesthetist said dream of something nice so I`ll leave the nurse`s part in the story.

Wednesday was the pre-op check up that was I learnt requested by the surgeon in July. All the usual stuff ECG, MRSA screening, past medical history and some strange questions like how many pillows do you need at night. If they are thin then 3, thick maybe two although if.......I was tempted but just said with a smile, two. A quick chat with the Pharmacist and away I went clutching a form for my blood test that has to be taken within two days of the admission date.

Friday was the surgeon`s clinic where he explained about the 1 hour surgery that would reverse the Ileostomy. When was the thing most on my mind and it seems it could be two months but asked if I was willing to accept a short notice admission date. Having said yes he proposed that it could be much sooner but all surgery depended on urgency and like mine last year Cancer takes priority and because of it suddenly appearing timing can be disrupted. I need to have a C.T. scan shortly as they want to keep a regular yearly check on what is or preferably NOT going on inside my outer casing.

So once again we find ourselves suspending our cruising and turning back to Watford or at least Cow Roast in anticipation of an early appointment. Our plan all along has been to winter around Llangothlan and the general area including Chester and Nantwich. Looking now that our plans might yet just work out.

On the Wednesday I used the train for the pre-op appointment but on the Friday Jaq and I hired a car to visit family before and after the surgeon`s appointment.
A little 998cc Toyota Aygo was all it needed to whisk us down the motorway and at £24 ($38) plus petrol it was cheaper than two of us on the train. Stupid thing was the fuel guage it read two, lets say notches, and I`m thinking that will get us there.

So off we go and only just 10 miles later just as we turned onto the motorway (freeway) the low fuel alarm started having a meltdown and my notches were no more. Ended up in the next service area paying extortionate prices mostly upset because I finally thought I would get a chance to use my Tesco fuel discount.

Having a moan back at the hire base as it ended up being returned with 3 notches, sounds like a gunslinger story, the manageress gave me a quarter tank credit note for next time. As the car needs to go back with the same amount of fuel in the tank these modern gauges are a pain. I loved the old style guages with clear graduations showing just how near to or from empty your tank is.

The cars tank capacity is 7.7 galls (9.24 US gallons) and with six notches I guessed two should have been around a third of a tank 2.5 galls or being generous lets say 2 galls. Should easily have traveled half of the 160 miles we completed that day.

Norton Junction

Having come up the lock flight from Braunston and gone through the tunnel we decided to have a few days at Norton Junction where the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union starts. Our mooring was just before the last bridge on the main line before the junction. This gave me access to Long Buckby station(35 minutes walk) and a train to my Urology appointment.

As I said before all was well but just the last few days has seen an appointment turn up for this coming Wednesday for a pre-op check up. Strange as I am due to see the surgeon this coming Friday to tell me the results of my Water soluble contrast enema.
If you remember when Mr. C was cut out the damage was sewn up and this test was to see if anything leaked before the sewage pipe was put back as it was. Anyway the Urology surgeon told me all was good.

Today being a holiday I have no way to check/alter appointments but can only assume the Colorectal surgeon has asked for the pre-op so he can on Friday tell me the results of the leak test and add me to the list for the Stoma reversal surgery.
The plan was to hire a car for the Friday appointment and see family at the same time. Now I might jump on a train for the Wednesday pre-op as I no way want to delay my getting on the waiting list for the surgery. Tuesday and a couple of phone calls will decide my best plan.

A view from the mooring.

Norton Junction. Braunston and our mooring are to the left. Leicester arm straight across and to the right the Buckby flight and downhill all the way to London. Coming from Braunston turning up the arm the view is limited by all the overhanging trees. To the right the maintenance depot has gained some extra boats.

Fourteen vessels taking some mooring space from boaters and reducing the canal to single lane in one place. If your counting the Blue ones are motorised and there are a lot like the one in the foreground, towpath side, hidden amongst the Blue tops.

Looking up the arm

and down. Plenty of width to get through but no clear view of anything coming from the right.

Daft place to put a water point

Time to walk around while the water tank fills. This is a genuine Shepherds hut, well the chassis is. It was rebuilt on an original chassis and is just a bit wider than the original. The lady of the house told me it was used for extra sleeping accommodation. The huts were used by Shepherds during lambing season and were towed into the fields by horse or tractor. Link HERE.

The footbridge replaced a swing bridge and all thats left to see is the guide rail.

Drifting along through the counties of England

The carved wooden village sign

One of the village streets

Another day back on the boat heading for another village mooring.

Upper Weedon and Lower Weedon known as Weedon Bec. Bec is a place in Normandy and following the Norman Conquest the manor of Weedon was given to the abbey in Bec hence Weedon Bec. Later Eton College became lords of the manor. More HERE.

Just a few spots of rain but just about the time she hopefully said "I do" the heavens opened for an hour  so not sure about the wedding photos following the service. Perhaps they used the umbrellas. Weedons hidden canal.

 

A nice bit of thatch on the roof and signs of the 1696 window tax on the upper floor to the left of the door. Perhaps our government might try to re - introduce it after the bedroom tax failed.  I can hear U.S. readers asking so here`s a link.

 

William dates back to 1931 and is now a camping boat. Twelve bunk beds on board and at a cost of  £200 ($324) per day including skipper seems a cheap camping experience with a difference. Cost that to hire a canal boat that comes without a skipper and his canal knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here comes the Admiral, must tell her to keep away from the top gate.

Now that is what you call leaking gates.

 What it looks like when the gates are holding back the water. This flight of seven locks at Buckby raise the canal by 63 feet and when you get to the top and perhaps are sitting in the new Inn with a pint just be grateful they didn`t build the intended 10 locks back in 1790.

All Saints` church Braunston.

All saints` has stood above Braunston for a thousand years in one form or another this one was built in the mid 1800`s.

The red dome of the windmill is a 20thC addition. The original mill was 80 feet high and had a castellated top. It was built in the early 1800`s to compensate a miller whose mill at the top of Braunston locks was unworkable as the canal came through and took it`s water. The Anchor was a pub attached to the mill at the top of the locks and with the six other pubs in the village it`s easy to see why the boat people loved Braunston.  There was of course a lot more to the village for the working boat people than just the pubs.

Just love this but know nothing about it. Only guess is it is the old timber frame of an old cottage once adjoining this building. Braunston History link

Some neighbours at a mooring along the way.

Goodnight.