Thought I’d better make the effort……

It struck me today that I’ve not posted for a week, so I’d better get my finger out.

We’re still here, below Gailey Lock, but I think we’ll be on the move early next week. The ice thawed quite a bit where we’d chopped it up going up the lock to the services, but we had a couple of sub-zero nights mid-week which put a thin skin back on the water.

Where the ice hasn’t yet been broken it stretches right across the channel, but it looks quite rotten and soft.

There’s not been much to report, odd trips up the lock to the services and to receive deliveries from Tesco. Although warmer now, it’s a lot damper, rain or wet snow has been the norm for the last couple of days.

This morning we’d planned to go up to meet the coalman from Cannock, bringing us some Supertherm smokeless fuel. (we’d had Taybrite from him last time at Penkridge, and, although warm, it’s very, very dusty.)

Not a very nice start to the day though, as I set off with Meg this morning.

Damp snow this morning

We picked up Ann with Molly as we passed Moore2Life, then the phone rang, to tell me that the coalman was on his way. Meg got her walk truncated, and we stood in the falling snow near the lock for his arrival.

We offloaded our ¼ tonne of fuel alongside the lock, then he went on his way to deliver a couple of tonnes to Otherton Boat Haven, nearer Penkridge.

After breakfast, and with the snow easing, we took the boat up with the help of Carol off Rock’n’Roll, loaded the coal, filled with diesel and replaced an empty gas bottle, then topped off the water tank and emptied a loo tank before dropping back down again.

The water temperature must be just too warm to freeze the falling snow, but too cold to melt it. Instead it sits on the water like a sheet of tissue paper, rolling and folding in on itself as it’s pushed along by the boat.

Weird snow….

We’re going to be driving this weekend, up to Yorkshire tomorrow then across to see my folks near Loughborough on Sunday. I’ve a new internet gadget waiting for me to collect, but you’ll have to wait to see what it is….

Anyway, I went over to Enterprise at Cannock for the car, and picked up a new Vauxhall Meriva with only 180 miles on the clock. I’ll have to be a bit careful with this one….

It took me a minute to suss out how to start it; you have to push in the clutch before you turn the key. Then the handbrake is a button on the dash, but you have to have pressure on the footbrake before it’ll disengage…..

Give me a 1950’s Riley any time; they were so much simpler (even though the gearlever is on the right).

My pride and joy, 1956 Riley Pathfinder, restored from boxes of bits.

Now owned and cherished by a guy up in Scotland. I don’t think it’ll have been on the road for the last few weeks.

Maffi commented about bird feeders attracting all kinds of birds, and even rats, but I think this is taking the mickey….

Oi, leave some for the little uns!

I hope we do get going next week, this enforced stay is starting to get a bit tedious. Just have to decide where we’re going….

Hey, this is odd. On the blog - http://www.seyellas-journey.blogspot.com the line spacing on this post is fine. but through Google Reader there seems to be double spacing between paragraphs.

Any ideas? I've just started using Word 2010.