Am only going to summarize what there is for the month of June 2010.  Little was achieved, although having said that, it is still fun "not achieving" it if failure involves a boat.

Unbelievably untidy month - much rain and grey cool to cold weather, but finishing off in the last week with blazing hot sunshine.  Hesitate to complaining about the weather - to-wards the end of the wet found a degree of tranquility had set in - if it was going to rain - and it was - then better to be out in it in a boat than stuck behind windows in a suburb watching raindrops running down the window panes.
In actual fact got virtually completely used to it - except locking, where 3 hands were required  -  1 to hold brolley - utterly vital, 1 to hold tiller - also utterly vital, and 1 to do gear change forward and backwards, and boat speed on throttle also totally vital.   NONE of these are duplicatable! 

Started off the month running from Belleville to Montargis.   Plagny to Chatillon Coligny area is one of the worst in France for cell phone or equivalent communications traffic, and was going spare trying to set up adequate and reliable communications while there.   Really rather silly, and should not have bothered, but long wet evenings made the computer into a magnet, and spent hours poking at the thing to try and get something out of it - even just half an unmashed e-mail would have been encouragement.  

Left Belleville to travel through Briare, and Chatillon Coligny to Montargis.   Apart from the trip itself, the intention was to try and do something about communications between Albert and the world at large.   Apart from incipient poor signal over whole area, GPRS mobile phone and modem are proving - this year - prohibitively expensive, and are both feeling their age, both in physical terms, and up to datedness terms.   Basically, worn out old hat.

Got a super gadget from SFR at Montargis that worked splendidly for 4 days - internet, e-mail, the lot, and fast.  But as soon as I got back to Chatillon, like most electronic gadgetry I have handled this year, it fell in pain, taking the computer with it rather terminally.

Going back to Montargis - after "wasting" a month, to-morrow, then decide whether to go up the Seine to Joigny and Auxerres, or go right back across the 4 Central canals to the Saonne.   As it is very hot - 31.6 in the cabin, but my little  old fan is doing a superb job - will take the easiest route back to Decize for next month's trip to UK.  

Odd things -

Falling asleep at the tiller on a very hot sunny afternoon, and ramming France, which was, at that point protected by a very solid stone wall, bursting one of my bow rubbing strake fenders with a world shattering bang, then spending hours hanging over the bows trying to hide the bits of broken fender and holding cords so no one could see.    Not cool to drive along with a burst fender and sundry bits of broken cord dangling in the water.

Mooring up in Chatillon Coligny in heavy rain, some wind and slight current at right angles to direction of travel in 1 of only 2 slots left, to find on approaching that all the other apparently abandoned boats already moored up contained people who came pouring out panicking that narrow boat approaching driven by elderly gent under brolley was going to cause mayhem.   Fortunately, they largely occupied each other and left me to it, but someone did got hold of one of my long mooring ropes (always leave them coiled on the bow lockers tied to a cleat for occasions such as this) and virtually knitted knitting Albert to everything available whether it floated or not.   Very difficult, on these occasions to persuade people that Albert is designed to place his/her bows firmly on the water/land edge, and swivel on the point under control of rudder, engine, and - one trusts - skipper, and anyway there are few humans who can physically hold 12 tons of boat against it's engine without a proper fixed holdfast or bollard.   My cry "let her bump" is total anathema, and as such, ignored - clearly, anyone saying it is a heretic, and should not be believed.   Moved next day to more suitable accommodation.

Battled to keep the butter spread able.  One would assume butter is a poor conductor,  but it goes soft all the way through evenly when left out of the fridge.   Fascinating.   Now, of course, it is turning liquid.

BBC Radio 4.   Throughout the general election - a reasonably important period to all of us - we were treated to hour after hour of stultifying cricket.  Through Wimbledon - the same.    At the time of writing think the World Cup soccer is being played - England v Germany - but daren't listen in case I get -  cricket.

               Gazonne Lock

 
      different mode of power

    Excludes bike punctures








          How to pollard







           Jerry's Jetty








             Chatillon Coligny