2004
BACK TO CALENDAR 2004

 

 
1.6,    16 to 23 May, 2004
 
 
were_here_1.6.jpg (56338 bytes)This Weeks "We-think-we-are-here-map".
 
The Map is a "thumbnail", click on it for full size whilst still connected to the web-site
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sunday, 16 May 2004              In Roanne
Sunny, Clear, and hot
Fun to be back in Roanne for a bit - but unbelievably noisy compared to what we are used to.   Traffic, wailing  syrens, (Pompiers and Sapeurs depot just by the port) building sites, people talking and shouting at their dogs!1785_1.jpg (77753 bytes)
In port "routine"
Cycle round and see who is in, and why.
Launderette.
Computer
To supper with Viv and Claudine at Italian Restaurant at Renaison

 

 

 
Monday, 17 May 2004                               In Roanne
Working Day!
To France Telecom - still trying to get Pipex internet call onto Mobicarte pay as you go.   First found they had moved - confusion!
Found them and enjoyable discussion - helpful and understandable lady.
No joy - we should have got Claudine to come and bully them.   As far as we can see, France Telecom wherever they can, put a block on non France Telecom ISPs (as they do on mobiles - one can readily use a Brit mobile with a French SIM, but not bring a French mobile to UK and install a Brit SIM - bloquèed).   They would probably have sorted us out, if we used Wanadoo, but are not prepared to help us reduce our bill enormously and not use their ISP!   Understandable, but maddening.   Including our standing charges, and counting in winter costs, we are paying around €0.70 per min, but could do it for €0.25 through the mobicarte.
Up to Norauto - Barr's leaks for minute dribble leak in engine cooling.
1793_1.jpg (38775 bytes)To Carrefour for heavies.
To Capitainerie to pay bill.
Frank introduced us to "new" Capitaine - one Allaan.  Not, as rumoured, lady in scruffy boat in harbour, but unable get any other information from Frank, and not our business, anyway, but do not believe we have full story.

                                                                                                                                                   Roanne Port

Tuesday, 18 May 2004                                 Roanne to 1.5 kms N of Iguerande     Canal Digoin a Roanne
Another fine hot sunny day.
Photos first thing in and around harbour.
Herself off for last minute shopping with Yvonne - not seen for 3 hours thereafter.
To Ed for wine, etc. and then watered up.
Set off 1400 (pre-booked, good thing ordered realistic late start time).
Lovely run - enormous pleasure from reviewing all places, sites and views we have previously enjoyed in this beautiful bit of luscious and traditionally farmed countryside.
 Cattle and landscape is pure picture postcard - white Charolais (don't think we've 1794_1.jpg (36157 bytes) seen more than 6 beasts of other breeds since we left St J de L) standing up to their bellies in grass in meadows full of wild flowers .Badly held up in first lock - 1.5 hours waiting for lock keeper (manual) to put boat through "other" lock.   Reckon all phony - he hadn't taken note of our booking, and was in the wrong place at the wrong time with wrong boats and with locks facing wrong way. There was no other boat, anyway, that we then or subsequently found      
(there never is)!   This, unfortunately, still seems to be the way of the Digoin a Roanne,
and only shows now in the context of the enormous improvement elsewhere on the system.
However, we still - and always will - love this canal dearly, and we are guests here, anyway!
Moored up on little mooring at Iguerande we have frequented in the past, and settled down, for an hour, or so, but eventually had to move on - 6 or so kids took over the mooring area for their scooter and giggling jamboree.  In no way were they unpleasant - directly or indirectly - to us, but like Mantoche on the Sâone - it is just not fun sitting out of an evening in the close proximity of children/young teenagers doing their noisy thing.   Noticeable that mooring itself very overgrown and abandoned looking
Moved about 1500 metres up canal, found an extremely nice deep water bush mooring on sheet piles, and all was joy! -                                                                                                                                                        Across the Loire
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Wednesday, 19 May 2004            Iguerande to Artaix      Canal Digoin a Roanne
Treated to sight of unafraid red squirrel wandering along a canalside wall on way into Artaix.   Much redder - more russet - than Isle of Wight breed, which are closer to fawn, than traditional red.  Have to say, Artaix squirrel truly magnificent - great thrill to see.
Much too slow with camera - which has taken to refusing to start of a morning.   Much fiddling so far has got it to work - hope we can tickle it along until the winter.
Object of stopping in Artaix was to clean boat - Roanne, beautiful though it is, is filthy, with blowing dust from building sites on harbour side, that awful red grit they lay down on the moorings, and strong winds.
Moored up on grass right in corner, by wash-house, clamped hose onto wash basin taps, and cleaned everything in sight.
Hot and exhausting!
Connected electricity to single point available in wash-house and hammer and tongsed it.
2 Swiss boats arrived, moored up, and pottered about - one was the big white gin palace with green lettering who had a loud high pitched screaming match with a perfectly innocent well behaved hotel boat year before last at Sens.
Looked as though they wanted electricity as well.  
         Herself
1806_1.jpg (47083 bytes)Now, what is the form?   Should we have leapt to our feet and offered to share (we do actually carry a French 3 way distributor).  Or should they have asked us first. whereupon we would have agreed?   Of course we would, so long as the 2 (or in this case subsequently 3) of us don't overload and blow the breakers.?
In fact, they left very soon (in an un-expressed huff?)!
Next drama - older teen-agers with cars arrived.   One did a handbrake turn on sand - fortunately not upwind of us, then they all settled down (3 cars, and about a dozen kids) on the far side to talk and play boom boom music.   Then football and,  happiness, 2 cars departed.   Football kicked into canal, thrown sticks and stones drove it further out!   Offered long boat hook.   Incredibly polite youth fetched and returned it, got ball, and off they went in car.   
Total tranquility prevailed.
Good days work cleaning up, but knackered!
Slept - first time this year, with door blocked open.

 

 
Thursday, 20 May 2004              Artaix to Wisteria House, Avrilly.       Canal Digoin a Roanne
Off as arranged - 0900.
Dashed off at first lock on bike on bread jankers.
Ha - To-day is Ascension day - official feast day and holiday in France.  Boulangerie shut!1807_1.jpg (73624 bytes)
Committee meeting once out of flight (3 locks) and moored up.
Sent back to local town - Marcigny - 2 - 3 kms.   Come back with bread, or don't.
Found S.M. on near periphery (2 kms, not 3) open with most of France in it shopping.   Achieved bread - and some rather good oranges.
Crisis resolved.   We eat again.
Off we go, only to meet a boat named Scum.   Some sort of Scandahoovian, we thought, but didn't recognise flag.  But, in any language, what a name.                                                                             C.  Digoin a Roanne
On to the Wisteria house - Avrilly - used hedge trimmer for first time in anger.
Cut back nettles, long grass, etc from around wall mooring.  Officially, a halte nautique.   Made a nice mooring of it, with path to viewpoint over Loire.  No bollards, but trees convenient.
Hedge trimmer superb for job, so long as don't try to cut too big a swathe.   Much better than last year's strimmers, which needed an electric extension cord from the boat, and plastered us and boat with mashed sticky grass.   
Only disadvantage is, hedge trimmer's charger has died, and once battery is flat we are back to nail scissors and side cutters.   
Wondering whether we are manufacture the wrong sort of electricity to charge these things?   My toothbrush charger has failed (this is the second one to go - Argus will doubtless replace it in the winter) and the little B & D Dust Buster is making funny noises.
As a matter of interest, the Dust Buster is far better than a fly swat, or a book at abolishing mozzies, errant bees, and floppy evening bugs.
Another good "invention". This year we brought back some anti mozzie wipes, little damp cloths 1810_1.jpg (78499 bytes) impregnated with anti bag muti, sealed up in little bags.   After use, if you find ants using mooring ropes as traffic route onto boat, tie one round the rope!
Set out chairs, and spent rest of day asleep in them, or very nearly so.   Are we past it?   one day's boat cleaning, followed by half a short day's motoring seems to finish us.
 
    
    Wisteria halte
Friday, 21 May 2004     Avrilly, Canal Digoin a Roanne  to  Coulanges,   Canal Lateral a la Loire.
Lots of rain after thunderstorm last night, so boat again filthy.
Weather grey and cool, and we seem to have that horrid little cold north wind with us.
Out of C. Digoin a Roanne, left at tee junction onto C. Lateral a la Loire.
Canal is paralleled by N79.   Very noisy and busy with lorries.   Much of canal - as far as Diou - within feet of road, so have to be very careful selecting overnighters.
First hint at road. canalside halt/picnic spot at "le peage".   Site closed down, filthy, and overgrown with long grass..   Used to be neat loos, caravans selling food, picnic tables, etc. for main road, and available to us if we scrabbled up bank.
Then, we tried for mooring where slight kink in canal puts road about 300 metres away behind trees.   Had extensive committee meeting on position of actual spot - we've stopped here in the past - but couldn't reach agreement.
Then realised traffic, except for occasional 2 CV non-existent.  
Studied updated "carte verte" map - only 5 years old, not 8, like most of ours, and saw faint lines of proposed bye pass due to open in 2002.   Realised - after some intelligent and far reaching reasoning, that it had opened last year, firstly from Paray le Monial - changing that town from an insufferable cauldron of lorry howling (our first year on the canal we were almost constantly "horn pooped" by Portuguese, Spanish, French, Brit, and East European lorry drivers) to a pleasant, interesting, profitable and peaceful stop in a lovely town. 
Then the stretch from Digoin going West,  so that the canal, and, of course, the villages it runs through, are back after many years, to a natural bucolic peacefulness.
Hence, this canal, from Digoin to Diou, has changed from one to be suffered and passed through as quick as1797_1.jpg (63595 bytes) possible, to one that can be thoroughly enjoyed.  The little P de Ps at Pierrefitte and Coulanges are quiet, as are the many spots along it where both depth and vertical sides allow bush moorings.    Beware of the horrid white sand at Coulanges, however, but enjoy the bread from the boulangerie 50 metres away.!   Pierrefitte has everything, incl restaurant.
Slept well and peacefully - the committee meeting suddenly seemed irrelevant, so just tied to the nearest bit of sheet piling, knocked off and super.                                                                                                                                                Across the Loire

 

 
Saturday, 22 May 2004.                             Coulanges to Pieux.     Canal Lateral a la Loire.   
Day started by lunatic Belgian in large ship type cruiser doing about 15 kmh straight down the centre line of the canal, throwing up a stern wave well over both banks!   We pitched for 10 minutes in his swell.   Stupid arrogant vandal.   France was more than adequately tied to the boat, so no drama with us or France.
Grey and cool - north wind element in light breeze still very much extant.
Then gently on, still green luscious countryside.   We are, of course, in the river valley of the Loire, so it should be good!
Lunch at Diou halte. because - in theory - it was L.K.' s lunch hour.   In practice, we just wanted to stop!
On to Old Grumpy's lock above the Dompierre turn off - but he has "disappeared",  according to the present incumbent, who is one of those tragic people who had retired, but has found that his pension has also disappeared, so he was temporary lock keeping.
Lock Keepers Differ
1815_1.jpg (62560 bytes)Through Beaulon no 8, into old péniche lay by, half of which has silted up, other half mooring for +/- 4 boats with 1 water and electricity point.   Several fishermen on mooring, but boisterousness of arrival greetings between us, Sea Bird and Ijslemeer who were already moored up, put them off, and they left (the fishermen, not the boats).   Not really room for us, so moored up on canal side, in exact spot we occupied last year with Anna Trotter, and Derek and Pauline.  Long electric cable coupled us up, and all is joy.
Cycled into Beaulon Village looking for a tel box.   About only thing they haven't got - everything else - food shops, restaurants, churches - that a boater needs are there - 10 minutes on a slow bike.
Sunday 23 May 2004                           Pieux to Ganay.      Canal Lateral a la Loire.
To get this log to match the weekly lay-out of my diary, this week will have 8 days!
The countryside is all change from here on.   The land is still the Loire river valley bottom, and hence flat, but fields are much bigger,
Enormous irrigation units, in fields laid out to match them, can be seen, and agribusiness is creeping in.   There are still, of course, small field small farms in between, and all still looks enormously lush and healthy, and pleasing to the eye..    Seen some small grain corn well into head, and sileage/hay is being cut and carted.
Left Pieux about 0930, and motored gently until arriving here, Ganay, nice mooring, usual facilities, simple little port a favourite of ours, Connoisseur hire base just next door,  at lunch time.   Total of 4 to 6 locks!  Hard work, but it's Sunday - boiled eggs for breakfast.
Weather clear, sunny, blowing a serious hooly, and really quite cold - sweat shirts and sweaters order of the day, although full bright sunshine.
Trip enlivened by Swiss gent in a sailing dinghy with outboard motor doing some sort of sponsored trip.   Considered that he was the most experienced and competent skipper around, and people like ourselves and the L.K.s  should stand in line and do as we were told.   He had erected a pole in place of his sailing mast, and covered it with flags and streamers.   Almost as naff as our little flag mast.  Really a bit of a pain - had to take enormous care not to touch him in the locks, as he would probably have disintegrated. - and he was highly conscious of this, although thought it good idea to breast up to us, instead of safely fore and aft, as is the custom.  Although not much over 1 metre wide, insisted on 2 gates at each end!
Would like to have spent afternoon in Ganay in sun sitting or working outside, but north east wind so cold, in spite of full clear sunshine, had to come inside, .and even then wear extra clothes. 
Up to little cafe at top of mooring for entrecote and ice cream for supper - good, but heaven help waist lines.   Thought this cafe - a favourite of ours - would go under when the hire base closed.   Not so - hire base still open, albeit looks reduced, but cafe humming (bellowing??) with local footballers and fishermen this evening.