Bogged Down by an In-Convenience!

 Saturday 16th to Wednesday 20th 2023 in Audlem.

Saturday morning started with a very welcome visitor. Its not often that you see a kingfisher sitting still for long; this one was perched on the tiller of the boat opposite long enough to get a photograph in the morning mist.

We took the bus into Nantwich, which seemed to career at an alarming speed down twisty lanes so narrow that the bushes on either side were brushing both sides of the bus. At one point the driver had to slam on his brakes to avoid an oncoming car and everything not secured down went flying down the bus! In the process of avoiding the car, the bus hit a wall on the roadside and took a lump out of the fibreglass bumper. It was all quite exciting, really!

Nantwich has a large indoor market on a Saturday, so we wandered through to see what was on offer. There was an excellent fruit and vegetable stall, borne out by the length of the queue of customers.

M loved these slate notices and bought a similar one for our next door neighbours.

Next to Morrisons, we had often seen a short piece of 7inch railway track but never any sign of a train. Today as we passed, we heard the familiar whistle of a steam train and found that a group of volunteers runs trains each Saturday morning in the summer to give free rides for charity. Needless to say, we took advantage of the opportunity for a ride. The volunteers looked so proud!

We ended the day with a coffee and cake at the Bookshop (the building is 440 years old and everything is wonky!), followed by getting the mandatory "few bits" at M&S before catching the bus back to Audlem.

Back at MM, we found a note from our friend Angela to say that she was moored two locks further up. We called her and arranged to meet up at the nearby Shroppie Fly pub for a drink and a snack. Her travelling companion Stuart was also there and it was so nice to see them again and catch up. We first met Angela on the Kennet & Avon canal eleven years ago and we've always kept in touch.

Angela planned to go up the remaining 12 locks of the Audlem flight of locks tomorrow so we agreed to get together in the morning to help her through the locks.

So, on Sunday morning, R walked up to Angela's boat and met up with Stuart and together R and Stuart did the locks while Angela drove her boat and looked after her three dogs.

Towards the top of the flight, M joined us and kept Angela company on the boat. At the top we all had a well deserved cuppa before saying goodbye to Angela and Stuart, although we will probably see Angela again at Norbury.

On Monday morning, M thought it wise to go home for a few days as there was not much she could do on MM until the toilet was fixed and she didn't want to get in the way when R started the repair work. R went with her to Crewe to see her off but we made the mistake of taking the fast No 84X bus, which only went to the Bus Station and not the Railway Station. We had to walk the last bit, after a rather tedious journey of three buses in pouring rain.

On Tuesday morning, R was delighted to see Nb "Emma" moor up next to MM. "Emma" was the first boat that we ever hired; that was back in 2010 from Napton Narrowboats at Autherley Junction.  She still looked in good condition despite her age and the people on her were clearly happy with her.

 

Our friends Martin and Brenda had very generously offered to have the new toilet motor delivered to their house just outside Chester and soon after mid-day they appeared with a large box. Having opened it and checked that it looked to be the right part, the three of us went to the Shroppie Fly Pub for a drink. It was so kind of them to bring it all the way to us. Martin and Brenda have a share in a narrowboat and coincidentally their mascerator toilet has also broken down - it must be something in the air!

R spent the afternoon taking the toilet to pieces and fitting the new motor. Luckily he managed to do this without causing a spillage of anything unmentionable. To check, he left the toilet unsecured overnight to make sure that there were no leaks.

The impeller on the old motor was completely gummed up with a rock-like deposit, which explained its lack of effectiveness. Occasionally, the old motor also didn't start when you pressed the switch, so a good thing to replace it. The new motor sounds very much more purposeful!

On Wednesday, M came back by train to Crewe and R took the bus to meet her. Inevitably we stopped in Nantwich for a "few bits" before coming back to MM on that same roller-coaster bucket of bolts of a bus!

Tomorrow we will do the Audlem flight of locks. We plan to be in Norbury by Saturday mid-day as our friend Jenni and her two sons are due to pick up their share boat Nb "Rufford" from there and we have promised to help her as her son Will is currently injured and in plaster.

MM has had these few days off with the engine only used to top up the batteries.