Kingfisher, Lights & Nappies
We finally moved aboard Dædalus on Wednesday 1 December. We extended our booking at Aylesbury Canal Society’s amazing facility at Circus Field Basin for a further three nights so we could take part in the annual Christmas lights switch-on.
Most of the afternoon was taken up with moving everything we have left on board, including our cat Buffy. The Bufster was brilliant in the car on the way over. Usually adverse to the shortest of car trips (occasionally to the vets or cattery) she remained calm for the 80 minute journey. Yes, it’s only a 37 mile journey but traffic around Bicester Village and the various HS2 sites along the way made it a slow one.
We woke early the next day and whilst getting dressed I was gazing wistfully out of the window reflecting on the massive change in our circumstance when I spotted the Kingfisher that was perched on the boat. He was just three feet away from my head through the glass. Engrossed in preening his iridescent lovely blue plumage he hadn’t spotted me. I whispered for Kate to come see on no fewer than 5 occasions (she’s as deaf as a post*) and on popping her head round the corner to see him, he detected movement and flew off (needless to say, before I could photograph him.) I felt emotional being so close to such a beautiful creature and hoped that the sighting was a positive portent of things to come.
On running the engine for the first time we noticed the bottom of the boat (visible in the engine room) was filling with water. We bailed out as much as we could but after half an hour of crouching in the confined space with a bucket and a plastic tub there was still quite a bit left. On chatting to another boated he suggested we get some nappies to soak up the remainder. A quick visit to the Lidl opposite the marina sorted the leak. Just ten nappies soaked up everything! The “leak” later transpired was a result of an electrical fault meaning water wasn’t being pumped around the engine and was gushing out of the header tank.
At this time the junction of the Aylesbury Arm with the Grand Union is closed for repaired to locks 1, 2 & 3 until 17 December. This meant that we were confined to the six miles of the arm for a further two weeks. We decided we’d spend a week of that at Aylesbury Wharf about a mile away.
We cast off and the first thing we had to do was make the tight turn out of our berth and then another tighter one out of the marina. We headed west and cleared our first lock about twenty minutes later and on the approach to the second met a dog walker who announced he’d just witnessed a tree falling across the canal. We moored up to investigate and confirmed that, yes indeed, having travelled about half a mile our progress was halted. We spent three nights conveniently stranded behind a Tesco Superstore.
Anyway it’s now Boxing Day (we’ll it was when I wrote this - it’s now almost a month on) and a lot has happened. And if I’ve learned anything (other than the fact that although I have very few possessions and that I now live in a teeny tiny space, it is still possible to put something down and forget where I’ve put it) it’s that I should keep my blog updated more regularly! So much happens in such a small space of time that saving up stories = stupidly long blog. So shorter blogs more often is the key.
