Naughty Mr Cyril

Still at Wheaton Aston pointing north.    Nothing moving yet because of ice still ---- starting to thaw now but guessing it’ll take until at least the weekend before its gone enough and that’s only if we don’t get any more freezing temperatures.    Feeling positively barmy today and last night we got soooo hot inside the boat that we had to open the outside door for a bit of draught!!    Crazy eh.


Had pheasant for Christmas dinner which was delicious and made a change from the old turkey!


I’ve been on bird watch - we hung up some fat balls, peanuts and seeds on the tree branches outside the boat and been entertained by antics of blue tits, long tailed tits and one robin in the main.     Mr Cyril very naughty though as he has now wrecked the peanut hanger for 2nd time after I had spent ages one night mending it with pink cotton and we think it was him who kept hanging on the seed hanger which has now also broken.   Although I did spot some moorhens up in the tree and a couple of fat pigeons have been waddling about.     When I go into Stafford again (hoo wee, my weekly day trip out !!) I’ll get some stronger hangers - not having a squirrel beat me !!   (wonder how many other people have said that)

Amy bought us a Nitendo DS for Christmas - all I can say is that my brain age is slightly better than Dai’s !!    


Since last blog we have done …  0 miles and 0 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 876 miles and  848 locks


these wintry scenes took the other day just before the thaw started

Dai having to pick out ice balls from between Foxxie's toes

Merry Christmas

This week we have done …   nothing !!    Yep, nothing again and yet again .   Still at Wheaton Aston pointing north.  

Not really got much to tell you about.---- still frozen over everywhere, snow lying on top of snow and ice.

I did get to meet up with Amy yesterday which was lovely ---- I got the local bus to Stafford and then train to Birmingham and Amy came from Nottingham to Birmingham.    We only had a few hours because my last bus back to the village is early evening and then, of course, there are loads of problems on trains.    Luckily we both got there and back with only very few delays.     Amy has a Christmas temp job which means she has to work Christmas Eve so no way can she get to us on public transport.    It will be the first Christmas that me and Amy have not spent together so |I feeling a bit weepie about that but - hey ho - that’s life and at least we did have our meet-up this week.

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday time - keep warm and safe.

Since last blog we have done …  0 miles and 0 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 876 miles and  848 locks

the obligatory fairy lights

Dai worried how he's going to get his Black Sheep Ale !!

holly, holly everywhere

meat trek

This week we have done …   nothing !!    Yep, nothing again.   Still at Wheaton Aston pointing north.    We are resigned to the fact that we’ll be here for another couple of weeks.   The ice is gone but starting tomorrow the plunging temperatures, ice and snow is due back.     So, we’re better off staying put.

So, what are we doing ??    Well, there’s the water fill-up run every day; loo emptying run about every 3 days.   We walk every day ---- up and down the towpath!     Most days we walk to the shops (ha ha, shops, all 3 of them!!) just to see if any reduced bargains in Spar!      I crochet, read, listen to radio, do crosswords.   Dai reads and does sudoki.    We watch telly in evenings and occasionally go to the pub.    Dai cooks and I bake.     Fire mending takes a remarkable time up for Dai and washing up for me!!      About every 3rd day we look like a Chinese laundry inside the boat with clothes drying ………….. And I just don’t know where the time is going to !!     Mind you, I don’t like having to put lights on earlier and earlier in the evenings.     


We changed all our light bulbs to LED this weekend - some warm white and some cool white.    Ordered them off internet and delivered to the Post Office in the village the very next day.     They are so much better for battery consumption - a fraction of the power it took before with the halogen lights.


Holly run done this week down in the woods, so I have been able to construct a holly wreath which is now hanging on the front of Jandai (as you can see in photo above) - I am really rather chuffed with it as they were selling in the village for around £15  !!!


Had surprise visitors last Sunday ---- we were doing the water run before taking Foxxie for a walk when who should shout hello from the bridge??     Glyn (Dai’s brother) and Linda who decided to pay us a visit while we were in the “ice gone but its coming back with a vengeance“ stage.    It was lovely to see them 


Today we decided on a different destination for our daily towpath walk - 3 miles up to next village - Brewood - to go to the butcher there.    A round trek of 6 miles to get some meat is nothing when you think how far some people in the world have to walk every day for water.


Since last blog we have done …  0 miles and 0 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 876 miles and  848 locks

last week's ice bergs floating by

Peck-Athon and Ash Patrol

beautiful winter wonderland

This week we have done …   nothing !!    Still at Wheaton Aston pointing north.


Thing is - ice, ice and more ice !!    Where we are, the canal hasn’t frozen but a few yards either way, then it is solid.   Some days we get icebergs floating by where it has started to thaw further up but then, it all freezes solid again.    We are on ash patrol every day - emptying ash onto the towpath and around the water point as otherwise it gets lethal to try and walk on.   We still have water running most days - just a couple when some dimwit has turned the water off despite a big notice on it saying “please leave water dribbling so that it doesn’t freeze up”.


Have you ever heard the noise of 99 ducks all pecking at the boat at same time??   Well, I can tell you that it’s horrendous!     They started last night about 9 pm and were still at it when we went to bed about 11 pm.    We know they are pecking at the weed growth just below the water line but why oh why did they start in the evening?   We were expecting to see a big sign in duck muck on towpath this morning ----- please turn around so we can clean the other side.    No way !!


Somehow don’t think we are going to be moving this week either.   Apparently there’s going to be a thaw over this weekend and then it’ll start freezing again.    We know from other blogs that the ice is as thick as 5 inches about 5 miles northwards - it’ll take more than a couple of “warmer” days to make that much disappear.    We are warm enough, can get water, food, drink, coal, diesel, gas easily so if we have to stay here then no problem.     Of course we are now more than 14 days on a 48 hour mooring but apparently British Waterways have suspended the time limits in one place while the Big Freeze is on.


Since last blog we have done …  0 miles and 0 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 876 miles and  848 locks

please form an orderly queue to sign up for the Peck-Athon

in flower already??   Naw - hoar frost outside Jandai

igloos built on the canal

---- well, not really - but it's icy enough .................... 


This week we have done …   Cross Green then turned at Autherley Junction onto the Shropshire Union and now moored at Wheaton Aston pointing north.


We got to Wheaton Aston last Thursday and can’t move because of the ice.   We are not actually iced in ourselves but a few yards going north, then the canal is frozen over once  you get out of the cutting onto the embankment.    We are ok.    Water point has kept open and flowing as we have (or rather someone has) fastened a short piece of hose and keeping the water on during evening/night.    Elsan open although the water has frozen to it off and on but we can empty the loo and then flush with water from the tap outside.   We have diesel and coal right opposite where we are over the bridge where there is also the pub “Hartley Arms”.    There is a Spar in the village and another newsagent type shop ---- so, to be honest, we have everything we need.


I caught a bus yesterday into Stafford and, as well as a wander round, filled my wheelie bag with stuff from the Sainsburys across the road from the bus-stop.


Keeping warm inside Jandai with the fire full whack ---- but we haven’t had to turn the central heating on as well  ---- I dread to think how cold it will have to be for us to need central heating on as well as the fire !


Not much snowfall here - today about an inch on the ground.   We have only had snow flurries off and on for last few days.


Since last blog we have done …  11 miles and 12 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 876 miles and  848 locks

is it warmer on here ??   is it??   is it ??

bet you wish you had a coat like mine today !

one cold and frosty morning ........

squatters build igloos on the cut

---- well, we are expecting them any time now!!    ice, ice and more ice !!

This week we have done …   Cross Green then turned at Autherley Junction onto the Shropshire Union and now moored at Wheaton Aston pointing north.

We got to Wheaton Aston last Thursday and can’t move because of the ice.   We are not actually iced in ourselves but a few yards going north, then the canal is frozen over once  you get out of the cutting onto the embankment.    We are ok.    Water point has kept open and flowing as we have (or rather someone has) fastened a short piece of hose and keeping the water on during evening/night.    Elsan open although the water has frozen to it off and on but we can empty the loo and then flush with water from the tap outside.   We have diesel and coal right opposite where we are over the bridge where there is also the pub “Hartley Arms”.    There is a Spar in the village and another newsagent type shop ---- so, to be honest, we have everything we need.


I caught a bus yesterday into Stafford and, as well as a wander round, filled my wheelie bag with stuff from the Sainsburys across the road from the bus-stop.

Keeping warm inside Jandai with the fire full whack ---- but we haven’t had to turn the central heating on as well  ---- I dread to think how cold it will have to be for us to need central heating on as well as the fire !

Not much snowfall here - today about an inch on the ground.   We have only had snow flurries off and on for last few days.

Hope everyone reading this blog is warm and safe ----- roll on summer!

Since last blog we have done …  11 miles and 2 locks
This makes total since Setting Off ….. 887 miles and  850 locks