Once again,  the banner picture is totally irrelevant to the log of a narrow boat wandering around France - however with the poor weather there is little chance of nice boaty pictures being available, and although these pictures are probably rather boring, they give me great pleasure - so please live with them.
I have replaced the dreadful picture of poor tatty Albert at the head of the "season 2010" page, so if you are still seeing the old one, please go back and refresh.

End of last month saw us jettyside in boatyard at Montchanin.

Fri, Sat and Sun 1st to 3rd May 2010.   v important national holiday, and week-end.

Monday 4th May 2010.   Late morning van arrived with 5 lovely new domestic batteries, driven by entertaining individual who asked me to install them while he went off for his 2 hour "obligatoire" lunch break.  
He would come back p.m. and check the work!
So pleased to have them, started de-installing old batteries, but after comprehensive disconnection found there was no way  could safely lift then out and onto the jetty.   So had lunch as well.
After lunch, guy came back, popped old batteries out, popped new ones in (joys of youth), coupled up, and there we were registering 95% capacity instead of 15%.    
Followed a minor farce of paying for them.   Am well used to "distance selling" as practiced in UK, or the carrying around of little credit card machine.   Not so in this case.   Machine securely locked to computer/telephone ware in office in le Creusot, and transaction required entry of that magical pin number which everyone of my age forgets.
No probs, as they say.   Plenty of day left, so delivery van became private taxi, and off we went - with great good fellowship up to le Creusot, did our thing with the gadget, and came back again.
As stated before - horribly expensive - like slipping and blacking sides and bottom - but what to do?   Got to have them.   Arguable that no necessity to have so many, but great source of comfort and feeling of flexibility that fridge will continue to fridge, computer will continue to compute, lights to shine, vacuum cleaner - etc etc etc.

Wed 5th May.    Left boatyard heading back down for Decize.   Started off cold and bleak, and got steadily colder and bleaker - then rained.
Stopped off in Montceau les Mines for prolonged domestic purchases, and gas.  (bottle 13kg butane now 52.00 euros.   Last year 27).   Apart from most prices having risen in terms of local currency,  everything much more expensive by reason of low value of GBP.
To big very good hardware store to get further supplies of gloss paint - Dulux Valentine - of which they had plenty last week. I had only bought the odd tin, as wished to try it, and there was plenty in the shop.  Now, except for a few odd tins, it was off the shelves, situation same as big brico in Decize.   Take "this", Dulux no longer available, "this" is just as good, disregard vastly enhanced price.   Having tried "this" and found it rubbish, refused it, and re-iterated request for Dulux.   As customary, in a French shop, if you don't take what you are given - regardless of what you asked for - you become an "enemy".  Left without buying any paint, but very disappointed.
Arrived in Genelard - one of my favourite moorings, and watched it rain for 36 hours.

Fri 7th May.    To Digoin - unbelievably cold, bleak, but dry until late afternoon, then it set in getting steadily harder.   Luckily was in Digoin when it started, and able to stop boat under large bridge while wet weather clothes and cover donned.   Went on down into C. Lateral a la Loire, and along for a couple of kilometres looking for mooring.  (Not really interested in stopping in Digoin)   Found a jewel of a quick overnighter. 
Over the winter they have built a superb cycle cum roller blade track on the old towing path right through from Digoin to Diou - about 20 kms of it, and naturally 'elfnsafety - as everywhere nowadays - have got their sticky fingers on it, so that every corner, every where it comes close to the canal, every ditch crossing, is fenced with neat cast iron barriers.   Naturally, where the bank is close and vertical, and the water deep, these make splendid mooring points, being set in concrete.   At one of the ex factories (buildings set well back, low, and not intrusive) about 1.5 kms out, they have run along a stretch of straight concrete embankment exactly the right height for boats.  Tied up to their barriers without leaving Albert, nice and comfortably, and settled down to listen to the rain, and enjoyed availability of lots of electric power in boat without shore assistance.

Sat 8th May.  To Beaulon, another favourite mooring.   Noticed, as Albert left moorings, that the cycle path builders had included good bollards every so often between their cast iron barriers.   Very sensible, but was too wet and bedraggled last night to notice.  
Had Beaulon to myself until late evening, when joined by 2 hire boats.

Sun 9th May.   To Decize.   Big greetings all round - Decize now feels like home. 
Weather starting to pull itself to-gether, but still very cold-space heater in boat vital.
Very busy in Decize doing not very much - but good fun meeting all the folks again - spring/summer still advancing, although nobody has told the weather people.
On the one would-be dry day did a bedding wash - but the inevitable happened and it had to hang and dry in cabin.   Quite used to doing normals this way - indeed Herself rigged 2 drying lines in the cabin in her day, and still use them 5 years on, but not really appropriate for sheets.

Wednesday 12th May.   Frank helped out with car to do big shopping on St Leger side of town.   Normally take boat on these occasions, but have to cross the Lore, and although "open" it is flowing strongly.   Couldn't turn a good offer down.

Thursday 13th May.  Set off down canal to-wards Nevers, Cours les Barres, etc, but come lunch time found little halte nautique at Fleurry quite empty, so stopped for lunch, bought 2 euros electricity, and stayed the night.   Achieved 13 kms!

Friday 14th May.   On along to-wards Nevers - weather improved, down to only 1 jersey under jacket.   Had lunch on mooring marked in Navicarte as used by us for an overnighter in May 2000.   Can see why, and after tying up realised that had also used it last year.   Nice piles and nice view.
Stopped back 3 kms from entrance to embrachement down to Nevers.   Want to go there to seek out a large hardware shop, but don't want to stay over night - very fancy moorings, and very expensive - I think.||

Saturday 15th May 2010   Got up early, and covered last 3 kms by lock opening time.   Lock lights not switched on - means lock not in commission.   Tried to ring L.K. but French Mobile completely dead - not holding charge at all.   Rigged cable and got through.   Pull tirette says he - no power says I - never mind, pull tirette says he.   Pulled, and green light - indication safe to enter lock - came on.   Since gates were shut and 2 and a half metre level difference, refrained from believing green light.   In due course lock filled, and gates opened, still on green light.   Worked out that only thing wrong was bulb in red light.

Down into harbour in Never - fancy moorings turned out to be rather untidy and littered.  Expensive.
Intentions - France telecoms to sort misbehaving mobile and a good hardware shop for Dulux Valentine.   But so much time wasted at lock, and Orange France shop so disorganised (it was the same 5 years ago when we bought that particular phone) took all day to achieve nothing.   They told endless specious stories about my phone and my GPRS system being out of date, unavailable, and new battery would cost more than a new phone, and a "dongle" for internet access would be cheaper and better.  Tried to get them to write a list of what each item would cost - but that was total anathema.   No ways were they going to commit themselves.   Went back for another session in the afternoon - complete with computer, and although some clarity was achieved, they started slipping in extra charges for things like installation on site - 29.00 euros!   Basically, the staff did not know their products, or their schemes, and were trying to extract quotes from sales literature meant for the public to take away and read.  The 29.00 euros was the last straw - folded up, admitted defeat, and back to Albert.

Pulled out - thankfully - and came up to Plagny and moored canalside on village picnic spot.

It did not rain all day - although there was a beastly north wind right on our nose.

Evening sun appeared - good sign, or yet another mickey take.

       Ready for re-launch






















        Bleak Montchanin

























     Peek around the corner





























   Cabin on wash day with rain