2004

BACK TO CALENDAR 2004

This Weeks "We're Here" Map

No map this week - same as last.                                                               11 to 17 April 2004   1.1

 

 

Firstly, Last Week's Log.

After transmitting last week's epistle - done in a hurry as the computer and telephone system both took it upon themselves to work at once, and these chances have to be grabbed quickly - realised there were errors, or omissions.

Firstly:-  the word "Francophonic".   This was meant to be "liking all things French".  Does it, or should it be Francophilic.   Anybody who really knows, or is prepared to look it up in a dictionary - please e-mail us.

Secondly, I had perfectly good photos of Albert high and dry, in the snow at St Jean de Losne over Christmas 2003, but forgot to include them, they were taken by Paul Furderer and I thank him.   Looks cold. don't it! 

 

 

Secondly, this week's Log..

A lot of what follows are minor events of no interest to anybody but  - possibly - a fellow boater, and ourselves.   A lot of the information - such as dates of battery installation - length of time between waterings - where to buy pipe fittings in France - is valuable history, as we are usually able to remember that we did some particular thing some time in the last 5 years, but never where or when.

 

 

Now This week's log.

 

 

11 April 2004, Sunday

Easter Day - but not noticeably Eastery.   Not nearly so high key commercialwise here as in UK.

Cold, clear and windy. Dust - wind carried earthy dust - a problem.

First Cuckoo - hurrah!

Put some water tank cleaning chemical into drinking water tank, and re-filled. Furious frothing - what had we done?  Let it stand, while wondered if bottom of boat was being eaten away. Emptied in the afternoon, and refilled.

Water clean but tasted horrid.

Removed 3 oldest domestic batteries, and installed new ones, brought from Cowes, UK.

Operations involved moving boat around moorings, for convenience of water points, and jetties approachable by wheeled buggy, and where we could load and unload batteries boat/jetty side

Knackered - us as well as the old batteries!

Got someone's discarded plastic cover on prop during maneuvers - formed itself into incredibly strong rope and had devil's own job to get off - had to cut it up into bits.   Cold.

Battling with hot water supply.   New accumulator and pump valve have alleviated but not solved problems - basically varying supply, pressure, and temperature in shower. 

 

 

12 April 2004,  Monday

Public holiday, but again, not noticeably.

Clear, cold - very - and breezy.   Gets warm in the middle of the day, but cold at each end.

Installed computer.   Once again, many curses on computer world (not the shop, the whole industry) for  supplying each different part of the machine with different electricity requirements, so one has dozens of plug points taken up with dozens of foul little black plug mounted transformer boxes all with different output parameters.   Surely it is not beyond wit of man to design one box, with if necessary, different power outlets, or better still, all suppliers get to-gether and agree on one system of supplying voltage and current.

 

 

13 April 2004, Tuesday

Veronica, Ian and James to lunch.   On way home from skiing - lucky.

 

14 April 2004  Wednesday

To Dole.

Objects - to buy shower head and troll through large camping car/caravan shop between Auxonne and Dole, and to try and get sense from France Telecom (Orange France) re affordable mobile phone alternatives, and to get copper water tubing for our cheapo bimini.  (Semi permanent collapsible sun shade over cockpit).

Couldn't find caravan shop!

Bought making for picnic lunch in baker favoured with our support during 2.5 weeks moored up sizzle lat summer.   At it by river/canal opposite Nichol's hire base (all boats in) and beautiful view of town up to Basilica.   Sod's law - didn't take camera!   Good lunch, though, sun and temp spot on, view excellent.

Saw first duckling family - with attendant adult males waiting to re-rape poor wretched ma.

Purchased shower head at brico (try that, nothing else seems to get the bloody shower working - and current head has been dismatled so often to remove lime holes must be very worn.

Also obtained tubing for bimini - horrified, after finding 1" piping not available in UK or France, to find 22mm (3/4") hard to come buy, and fittings - except at large establishments, rarer still.  Got some tubing, and quarter of required fittings.

Pleasant day's outing - fitted shower head on return, and eureka, we have proper working hot water shower

 

The telephone saga.   Last year and previous year's phone bills utterly excessive.   Had a "spare" mobile (got 2 French and 2 English).   English will work with French SIMMs, French are "bloquèed" and won't work with English ones.    Decided to purchase Pay As You Go (mobicarte) for redundant French phone (original Bosche modem that died last spring)  €30.00 for SIMM, and as much as one likes on cards from €10 to €100.00.

Specified w/e and evening tariff - the system was defaulted to most expensive and we had to change it first - so calls cost .25 after 9.00 p.m. and w/e, and overseas .75 per min.   All this we had to work out for ourselves, and will only be proved when we get a chance to work out costs as we go.

The object of this part of the exercise was to stop treks to call boxes  in rain after dark.

This now leaves the modem phone doing nothing but computer transmissions, and means - especially with line charges being due in winter when not in use as well as summer, pro rata costs getting on for .95 per min.   Therefore, as soon as we settle down with this new mobicarte, we'll get another mobicarte for the modem, cancel our abonnement, transmit after 9.00 for .25 per minute, and hopefully save lots of money.

Expect it will end up as a ball of chalk - but why make it simple if with a modicum of effort it can all be made gloriously complicated.

 

15 April 2004, Thursday

Last night and this morning could not get either phone to work properly.

Solved the mobicarte - dialing wrong number.

Other phone locked on "call divert" - been having trouble with this since we arrived out 5 days ago with people calling us getting put straight through to some French speaking answer phone - not even our own one - as soon as they call.   We've met this before at the start of the season - it is done in France Telecom, and we reckon it is their revenge for us not using their services for 6 months.   Asked Florant in the office if he could do something - he did, and it now works splendidly.

Meantime, text or call as before, and if your phone notes a strange number from us when we text you, use the old number, or answer direct to that as desired, and put it into your phone address book!

Clear??!!?? 

Spent working part of day installing new button fender on stern - turned out to be just one of those jobs - hang it over the side, but seems to take enormous energy and time.

 

 

16 April 2004, Friday

Worked on "building" Bimini all day.   i.e. from 11.00 a.m. to 13.15, then 15.15 to about 1700.

Watered lunch time, water now clean and tasteless, but still filtering kettle water to try and reduce lime-scale..

Fell heir to a new Crown Blue Line sun brolley.  Bright yellow, and very Crown Blue Line but just the job for shade in the front well of boat.   If you see us coming round the corner with brolley at the high port - no, we are NOT for hire (unless the money is very good).

 

17 April 2004,Saturday

Much warmer - less cold - and silly useless drizzle.

Into Dijon first thing to get balance of required tubing and fittings for bimini.

Most superb bricollage ever - acres of mouth-watering gadgetry goodies, enormous range of goods, and lots of helpful staff.

Home again - rained properly on the way but still drizzling in St J de L.

Couldn't work outside, so fought the computer.