2008

BACK TO CALENDAR 2008

 

1.4    13 to 19 April 2008

 

Last fiddled with 03 January 2009 and should be on axmw44.

 

 

To the Map on the Contents Page Just click on the words, but you will have to find your own way back till I have worked out a fix. 

 

 

13 April 2008              Sunday                  Montceau-les-Mines to Genelard        Canal du Centre

 

Grand to wake up to "going on up the canal to-day" drill, even though must have passed through this section of the Centre 6 or 8 times.    It appears to take me exactly 120 minutes from throwing back bedclothes, making coffee, returning to bed to drink, listening unintelligently to the start of Radio 4's "To-day" programme (aren't they a crowd of non-essentials), getting up properly, making and eating breakfast, clearing everything up, and getting away.

Cold, - very -, but, for once, dry.

 

 

BUT - was quietly bimbling along mid morning not fully awake, when swallows arrived - dozens of them.  They boomed  up and down the canal, beat up Albert like juvenile Spitfire pilots, charged off excitedly under the eaves of canalside buildings making nest building signs, and entertained me with their antics to such an extent that France very nearly came across the canal and hit the boat.  Their very presence, gave me enormous pleasure.    

 

Am satisfied this was THE ARRIVAL OF THE SWALLOWS, 2008.

 

At present, whatever the statisticians say,  spring is physically only just beginning here.  Large trees, of course, haven't moved yet,  but the low scrub and thorn between them is showing a haze of green, and the nettles and grass are well away.  Great joy was ability to see through the canalside scrub to views of fields, hills, farms, and villages that I didn't know existed, and that once  again will disappear in 3 weeks time.

 

The reason - the main reason - for my coming out to France early was that I felt that as a result of one thing and another over the past years, I have missed spring.  For some years we lived a semi urban life style in UK, and it is not the same - regimented Daffodils - and in France the boat always had to be sorted, or we were late getting out.  This year the weather has been ridiculous, cold and thoroughly nasty.   It has snowed and rained when it should have done neither, temperatures have been a sick joke, the boat has been warm, comfortable, and welcoming, but bits of it have been a bit more naughty than I could have wished, but I have and am enjoying watching, and even in a small way, being part of the events and mile posts of spring from the beginning in a completely untrammeled and unorganized rural setting - and am enjoying the act of enjoying them.   

 

This has made the whole effort worth it.

 

 

Digoin marks the end of Canal du Centre (runs from Fragnes, near to Chalons sur Saône,  up to Digoin) and the Canal Latéral à la Loire which goes on through to Briare.

Into Genelard at tea time - pleasurably.   One of 2 most favourite moorings on System.      

30 minutes after tying up decided that I preferred the other side of the pool, so carried out the exercise that used to drive Herself completely up the wall,  unmoored, and moved over and re-moored.  

 

No rain or snow to-day, indeed several spells of real spring weather, but, on the whole, cold.

 

 

14 April 2008             Monday                 in Genelard          Canal du Centre

 

The intention to-day was to have a quiet day, doing nothing very much, especially as thick morning mist was quickly swallowed up by warm sunshine;  and recover from cleaning and blacking.

However - best laid schemes, mice, men, etc.

The pump that pumps out the loo holding tank wouldn't pump.  Details not necessary, except I was expecting it - in a moment of forgetful lunacy about 6 weeks ago I had dropped a little plaster and lint wound dressing down, and it is a well known fact that anything cloth inevitably jams up the knife in the pump, and hence disables it.   I had a spare pump, and separately  a re-furbishment kit, but over the years hadn't bothered to amalgamate them.   In something of a panic, the old pump was re-furbished and installed, but didn't seem to want to pump.   Cleaned out the original one and it didn't want to work either.

 

Ouch!

 

Much panic stricken fiddling about, and suddenly the thing started working when held in a bucket of water (even this simple test had proved a non starter so far) - Rigged arrangement that by-passed pipe from tank to pump, that appeared blocked and un-unblockable, cleared tank, cleaned up, put everything away for night, had supper, (I had missed lunch in the panic), and hoped all would be joy to-morrow.

 

Went to bed.

Not a good day.

 

15 April 2008              Tuesday                Genelard to Paray-le-Monial             Canal du Centre

 

Mist again - so off at 0900.   By ten it was clear, sunny and warmish.

 

Pretended that had had no trouble with loo pump yesterday.  It is still working!

 

Nice run - weather broke at lunch time, but by a brilliant piece of timing the rain started falling exactly as I completed the mooring exercise by closing the back cover.   Public moorings - good ones - blessedly empty.

 

Later in the evening rain cleared for a bit and first ducklings of 2008 appeared.

 

 

16 April 2008           Wednesday     Paray-le-Monial to Pierrefitte       Canal du Centre and Canal Latéral à  la Loire

 

Stopped at the canalside S.M. (intermarche) on the way out of Paray for odds and ends, and because we always did stop at that particular S.M. and there appears to be nothing so compulsive as old habits.

 

The section - only 13 kms between Paray and Digoin is a pleasant quietly pretty stretch of canal - 3 automatic locks only to interrupt the bucolic peacefulness once the overhead N69 is passed.   Wide shallow valley formed by the little River Bourbince, which has been beside us since Montceau.  Mostly the land is small farms, small fields, and cattle - invariably Charollais,  although passed one area of huge fields near Dompierres.   Yellow of the oil seed rape is just starting to show in one or two early fields otherwise all is green, very pleasant.  

 

Nasty shock after passing through the last lock of the Centre - about 6 kms out of Digoin.    Water level was terminally low.  Wild worries go through one's mind on these occasions - especially when there is no one about to ask.   Is the big pont canal over the Loire on the blink and leaking?   Should I know that this section of canal is closed and won't re-open for a year?   Will I be trapped for the summer in Digoin, like some poor souls who spent all last year trapped in Roanne, or others who have been trapped in Chalons sur Saône by the river flooding for 2 months so far this year.?  I did tell the L. K. when I started where I was going so presumably he would have stopped me if I couldn't get through - but................

 

However, just outside Digoin there was a large work gang plus machinery building bank revetments.    Interesting -  they were building a very neat revetting arrangement of treated poles  (there is a wood treatment plant in Paray) instead of the normal environmentally and wildlife  unfriendly vertical interlocking steel piles.   They had dropped the  water level so they had access to bottoms of the banks. The pound affected included the whole of the moorings and P de P in Digoin - dirty great big barges moored right out in the middle of the canal, or lying up with grubby high water marks showing away above water level.

Even though I now understood the reason for the low level, felt driven by a strong sense of insecurity to rush through Digoin, so arrived at the aqueduct lock in the L. K.'s lunch hour.   Let boat drift over to lee side of collecting pound and had own lunch overlooking the Loire , then on up the slightly grubby section bordered by the old N79.  Now that it - the road - has been by-passed by the motor-way road, this section is bliss with practically no traffic, all the villages along it re-generating, and good canal-side, village, and bush moorings.  

Into Pierrefitte moorings in the rain, and fiddled ineffectually with loo arrangement.   Can't think why - it was working fine after a fashion, and trying to fix any part of boat after a day's run is asking for trouble.  l

Lucky - things marginally improved.

 

 

17 April 2008             Thursday               Pierrefitte to Beaulon      Canal Latéral à  la Loire

 

Still very changeable weather - cool to cold.   Even when fine - squally showers with wind and cold catch one unawares.

Gentle run - only 19 kms into Beaulon. 

 

L. K. frantic to know when I was leaving.  Just to keep him quiet, told him not for a week, had the moorings to myself.

 

 

18 April 2008             Friday                   in Beaulon             Canal Latéral à  la Loire

 

Up to renew acquaintances in the village, get bread, veg and fruit etc.

 

Then hey ho for the loo problems.

 

After minimal thinking and going  back to first principles  problem made itself plain.

The pumps had both been cleaned out properly, and were quite competent, but were connected the wrong way round so that they made a hideous noise while ineffectually pumping air into the holding tank.   Must have misconnected in the initial stages of the panic, and then  perpetuated it.  The thought comes to mind - what if we had had an underwater outlet pipe?  Would have pumped water into the boat, not air. - lots and lots of it.    

Just shows - don't make repairs in a panic!  

Tidied the whole horrid affair up, permanentised all temporary repairs, and, while I was about it sorted the fresh water flush supply with a new and permanent fitment.  

 

Don't understand - as far as I can tell, the pump inlet pipe is still blocked.   Pushed rods down to feel the blockage,  but was scared to be too vigorous - was it a blockage I could feel, bottom of the holding tank, or the bottom of the boat - or just a simple foot valve no one told me anything about?  Not keen on poking holes in any of it, so left well alone..

Anyway, the pump is now working well -, in fact it is now working as before - so will leave everything well alone - blocked or not.

 

Had discovered that with the wall panel removed, the washing machine could be moved just further enough back to unclutter a disproportionate amount of precious floor space, making a big difference to comfort in the bathroom.   Deserve the extra comfort - during the exercise the wretched thing fell forward and viciously trapped my hand against the basin pedestal, so that I streamed blood over the clean towels.

 

 

19 April  2008              Saturday               in Beaulon             Canal Latéral à  la Loire

Set too to clean outside of boat - started with a real scrub at the roof - all ladders, poles, and things out on grass so we look like gypsies.  Tried to get the new pressure washer to clear the water-line grime, but no good.   It seems that the only thing that will shift it is a good scrub by hand - but really this is 2008. 

Horrified at how much junk we are accumulating - I am a complete sucker for the unbelievably cheap gadget on offer at S.M.     Hence a pressure washer that washed down the boat very well, but is horribly complicated with pipes and wires.  Not wildly practical - most moorings resent use of their fresh water for boat washing, and I lost half the lance in the canal, anyway.   Also an enormous spider thing for hanging washing on.   Had ideas of drying washing while going along canal.   Not practical - miles of unmanageable plastic cord..   Also a wooden chair "flat folding" that doesn't, an enormous fan bought cheap  at the height of the hot weather 4 years ago, with the idea of creating a through draft the length of the boat, but it didn't, and finally a dirty great box of fuel for the cabin stove.   I have heretical opinions on S.F.S. (solid fuel stoves) in narrow boats, and daren't put them in print.   Suffice to say that all these items have not been used for a long time - in the case of the fuel for some 5 years - and are occupying space that is more valuable than they are.

Still vainly polishing cabin sides - the paint has long since "gone off", and Albert does not look smart.   Am looking for someone to paint, but who?   Herself was the painter amongst us, and I hesitate to tackle it myself.