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2004

BACK TO CALENDAR 2004

1.5 9 to 15 May 2004




Sunday 9 May 2004 In Montchanin, chez Jeff's yard
Woke up after full night of hooly and driving rain. (If we "woke up" must have been asleep, so how did we know about weather during night? Just did, it was that foul.
Looked out, had a quick feel of conditions, and decided to stay put - even though better moorings available at same or cheaper price not far away at Blanzy or Montceau les Mines. Just too unpleasant to make effort to go! One of our problems here is our 100 metre electric cable - voltage drop is causing lack of sufficient power problems at boat end - the cable is really meant for strimmers, etc, not heaters and chargers on cold narrow boats.
Decided, however, to turn boat round so facing weather, view over canal, and hatch on canal side not facing blank wall of breastup-ee.
Canal Decorations
Quite exciting in the cross wind, and degree of cold on hands and faces indicator of how unpleasant boating would have been.
Watched huge péniche cut in half to fit locks going through at lunch time, then Colin and Yvonne in Kooperman arrived. They stopped off and had coffee and lent us a heater - infra red? big thing, bright light, swivels, but produces lots of heat for low power.
Mooring Kooperman up in wind lot of fun, and getting them across gang plank to Albert even more. Gang plank borrowed - bit dicey getting ours down 2 boats out. Very smart plank, painted in colours to match owners' boat, but big knots half way along - hence not really strong enough!

Monday 10 May 2004 Montchanin to Montceau les Mines.
Extraordinary weather - after weeks of wind and rain - dead calm, although still overcast and grey.
Set off in comfort (!) neither wet nor cold.
Paused to fill water in Blanzy (about 8 kms) and to get bread. Met and gossiped with Frank - l'Etoile du Sud, a Sagar, - met last year and previous at Jeff's yard, and at St Symphorien. Also Terry
Pottery Kiln - broken down with a Linsen and awaiting spares for 10 days from Holland. The ultimate cruelty.
The Canal du Centre have a perfect system with L.K.s They are all controlled from the office next to the lock in Montceau by mobile phone - right down as far as Fragnes, first lock off the Saone. If you want to stop, or re-start, or do anything different to what you were doing, you ring the office (they give you the number, and it is up in all the lock cabin windows) and the lady organises the L.K. as necessary, who are a pleasant, helpful and very competent crowd.
Countryside still small field, hedgerow farming, lovely bucolic white (Charolais) cattle in meadows now thick with buttercups and long grass.
Saw first field of crop in head, but think it was grass seed, grown as such. Cannot believe it was small grain corn!
Shower on way, so tried bimini - seemed to be OK.
Stopped just short of Montceau itself - big S.M. - le Klerk - right canalside. Tied boat to road crash barriers, walk across, pick up trolley, and you're in!
Biggest shop ever, then wheel trolley to boat, unload over crash barrier - it is arguable that 2
septuagenarians unloading a supermarket trolley (they call them "chariots" here) don't look as dignified as their age demands - and away we go again, up to the "Port" at Shopping Montceau
Montceau
Well found, neat and tidy port, electricity and water, lots of pontoons, and fingers, but virtually nothing there except rather scruffy deserted over winterers. Price for us, with electricity, but without water, was just under 5.00.
Found Colin and Yvonne in possession and evidence - lots of backchat as we reversed onto a finger pontoon about 5 metres long (we're 15), but used to it now after 2 winters in St J de L on short or no fingers, and
Hung balloons on pontoon for Yvonne's birthday how childish can boaters get.
Celebrated it with special buns and wine!
Tuesday 11 May 2004 Montceau les Mines to Genelard.
Heavy rain in morning, early, but then clear
Mooring up in town has dis and ad vantages. Dis last night was a ghetto blaster far enough away so the music was inaudible, but the boom boom boom was very insistent.
"ad" to-day was super market set up - totally silently - just next to port on key side.: Canal du Centre
Regardless of yesterday's shop, managed to find room for yet more food - cooked meats, veg etc.
Then, about 11.30, through lift bridges, feeling important and guilty as the traffic piles up waiting.
Arrived Genelard lunch time, expecting empty moorings, but found we were 6th boat.
Dutch Barge having birthday part on far (quiet) side. Moored up, opposite (noisy side) settled down - far too far away for electricity, but really don't need it after a day's run.
Invited to birthday party - very nice of them, and trotted over for a time.
Very noisy mooring - apart from railway line just beyond boundary, road works going on, heavy deliveries for road works.
However, once moored up, psychologically difficult to move!
All quiet by bed time - but some 11 boats (all looking for free lekistry) had arrived.

Wednesday 12 May 2004 Genelard to Paray la Monial.
Still same changeable to good weather.
Also still same lovely peaceful bucolic farmer Giles type of country - hate to say it, but one says "just like England", forgetting that there is very little of this type of scenery left by agribusiness in England.
Into Paray lunch time - it seems half of a very short day is as much traveling as we need/like!
Vandalism?? Wander round town - found they were cutting down grove All that's left
of large plane trees right by by Port de P.
It was being done very professionally and neatly (difficult, in current climate of conservation, to say anything good about felling of lots of very large and beautiful trees) so one felt - especially as on the whole French seem very good at planting and maintaining trees -there must be a good major master plan.
Into Lidls - do we ever stop shopping? Probably if boat was twice size, would still fill it with necessities.
Went to Info Bureau but forgot to ask about tree felling.
Found Nevilles - Richard and Linda in ???Can't remember small schalk/Dutch Barge.
Much gossip - last saw them on Bourgogne last year with Ruth - before that Saverne.
Kindly "supped" us.

Thursday 13 May 2004 Paray (C. du Centre) to la Beaune or Croix Rouge (C Digoin a Roanne)
Left the Canal de Centre, having traveled end to end - River Sâone to Digoin.
Very good trip in spite of weather.
Scenery - especially at this time of year - beautiful.
Lock keeping and all pertaining thereto spectacularly good.
H's bike has a slow puncture!
Canal traffic looking up - both private and hire boats about.
Passed N.B. Meg just below Digoin deep lock.
Round Tee junction to C. Digoin a Roanne to 1sr 3 locks to find closed, blank.
Little white van arrived making frantic signals to us to pull in - we were already pulled in, far too much wind to hover!
Éclaircie followed by Locaboat hire boat eventually crawled in from top, descended, and crawled out.
2 more hire boats waiting at top of flight when we eventually emerged.
Arrived at targeted mooring to find - as on previous occasions here - someone got there first. There is only enough room on the old wood jetty for one boat, and the bank on both sides shallow. Mooring occupied by nasty little plastic job, but Compaen, schalk/Dutch Barge Pauline and Derek (last seen on Marne a la Sâone last year) pulled up as close to bank as poss, so amidst the usual chaos and noise common at these meetings, we pulled in too, gang plank moor up, but perfectly comfortable.
Drinks and supper and gossip with each other.

Friday 14 May 2004 Croix Rouge to Artaix, C. Roanne a Digoin.
High grey cloud.
Repaired puncture - although pressed for time - promised Bourg le Comte lock between 1100 and 1200 - optimistic.
Stopped at ruined canal control cottage - moored there several times in the past on good wall - appears on one of our cards - to admire and photograph run wild Wisteria. Truly spectacular. Wisteria
Arrived at Bourg le Comte lock 12.01. Lunch on this canal 1200 to 1300! Dangled across canal in wind and current and had own lunch till 1300.
Still trying to work it out. Since Fragnes we have been going through "small farm, small field, hedgerows not fences, Charolais beef cattle in meadows with buttercups and long luscious grass". However, the steadiness seem huge - in some cases almost young hamlets. Perhaps the C.A.P. is subsidising even more than we realise. Anyway, scenically it is superb
Albert IS there
Into Artaix mid afternoon, to find Histoire d'Eau moored up. One huge immaculate Luxmotor/Dutch Barge. Australian
Tucked in beside, and found rumour of electricity being available in one of the little shower block to be true, but too far away to be worth paying out miles of cable.
Sat in sun and read for a while, then took bikes and wandered round. Lovely little village - absolutely quiet and apparently abandoned and asleep. Only person seen one elderly lady on knees working in veg garden.
Found slightly shabby barn - also deserted and silent - with neatly stacked pile of newly manufactured trailer double axles, and pallets of various crossection steel, presumably waiting to be made into more axles! Seemed incongruous - miles from any industrial estate or working.

Saturday 15 May 2004 Artaix to Roanne.
Sun woke up with vengeance - strong and hot.
Sizzled for a fair while, then remembered bimini built and installed for ensuring comfort in these conditions, so raised it. First time used "in anger". Splendid!
Bit worried - swallows feeding off water surface, and this is usually sign of bad weather coming. However, remained hot and sunny all day, and venetian blinds also came into their own. Not totally satisfactory - some re-thinking necessary.
Quick stop in Briennon to buy bread. Bus load of pensioners issued from canal museum as we arrived and formed crowd around shore side of boat talking among themselves - obviously about us. Curious how singles or 2s and 3s will strike up conversations, but never crowds.
Arrival in Roanne mid afternoon great, although naturally many old friends - it is 3 years now - not here.
However, there were enough, and enough things of interest, to make the obligatory bike round the port interesting and very long. Wretched circus at top end, occupying and blocking off whole of that end.
Jackie - captained - has left (only recently) and Frank, his assistant whom we have always known well, was in command pending installation of new Capitaine.
Off loaded bikes, and up to Bricorama and round town - lots of that well know French sport of installing new one way systems has been played since we were last here - so route confused.
Called Viv and Claudine - in for late, after supper, drinks.