AmyJo's Livery thoughts

Hi peeps,
    I promised to post our thoughts on AmyJo's livery and here are our two designs, both very similar, that we were thinking about.  The pictures have not turned out brilliant on the blog but clicking on them should open up a larger version that is clearer.  Those of you using Windows Internet explorer should also be able to use CTRL and + or - to zoom in and out if it helps.

The first colour scheme

Has Grey deck, side doors and roof , black sides with black panels and blue recessed panels piped in white with a blue roof handrail.  The detailing in the blue panels could look something like

Whilst the second very slightly differant scheme

Is virtually the same but with grey sides instead with Black panels piped in white.  The blue recessed panel detail would then look something like

Ignore the number 17 thats just there for a filler we might have something else there instead.  I have to confess I borrowed the blue from nbChance as it is a really nice shade and seems to go well with our overall design.  We've not decided the final font for the Name AmyJo just yet and are happy to leave that to the sign writer but would like that to be shadowed in the same blue as the blue panels something so looking something similar to

As I said both designs are very similar but we cannot make our minds up which we prefer and having not done anything like this before we would really appreciate your thoughts on them.  Are there any sort of do's and don'ts I should concider?  I notice most transoms are red and white, is my idea of blue and white OK or are they red and white for a reason?  We also cannot make our minds up about the bow artwork, we would like the name on there but not in the cream panel some have, we would also like some sort of design but see most boats have diamonds or circles, is there a reason for that?

Mooring Sorted

Hi Everyone,

    What a few weeks we have had.  We've been up and down the M6 so many times we're beginning to know the M6 toll operatives by their first names now!  We went down to Chris's dads funeral the other weekend and everyone gave him a wonderful send off.   It was a lovely sunny day and with his many friends lining the crematorium avenue in guard of honour it was all really quite moving.   I admit a few blokes piped a few tears as well.... yes and me more than the others I'm afraid.  Roy might have been my father-in-law but he was also a good freind and I'll miss having our evening tots of scotch together

  

   That was a couple of weeks ago and we've had Chris's mum staying for a week so she could be with her family when she needs them most. That was until yesterday so now we are trying to get back to our daily routines and move on.  That in mind we are once again turning our attention on planning for AmyJo.  Yesterday whilst enjoying the last of the Bank holiday weekend and Chris away running her mum back home I popped into Tattenhall Marina and reserved us a mooring 





    For a modest deposit they will hold open a mooring for us as long as we need until AmyJo is eventually berthed there.  At least now we have a home for AmyJo once she is built.  That had been worrying me for some time now as many people have told me to be sure to get a mooring before your boat is built.  As you can see from the photo Tattenhall still has moorings available but they are filling up and 70' moorings are few here.  AmyJo will be 65' and as they tell us we have to have a 70' mooring we felt best to reserve one before they all go.  It's not cheap to moor there but security and the facilities are second to none so I'm happy with that for now.

   I have been thinking more about AmyJo's livery and with thanks to Chris and Stelle on "Belle" I've managed to acquire their spreadsheet (downloadable from their blog) and have started playing with it to get a feel for AmyJo's colour scheme in more detail.  My Chris and I have come up with two colour scheme choices we like but can't decide on which to go for.  If I get time this week I'll post them so you can have a look.  We'd really appreciate your views as to which looks better.

   We have also been looking at artwork  and have a few ideas for that too.  In fact I decided to use Microsft Onenote for now.  It's like an electronic Filofax but you can add pages, copy and paste, type text, add hyperlinks, link to files etc or anything you want in it.  It's a great tool for keeping everything in one place and it auto saves so you don't loose anything.

Well go to go as I'm supposed to be working.  Hope everyone is well and enjoyed the lovely Bank Holiday weather. 

That boat looks familiar

Whilst  in Chester  undergoing some retail therapy, Chris drove past the basin and recognised a boat moored up there.  It was a familiar boat we had seen before.  We took this picture when we first saw it.

As you can see the boat was Caxton, in town, on her return trip from Ellesmere Port Museum.  Now Chris and I had been on board Caxton when she was displayed a Crick in 2009 when we first started to look for ideas for our boat.  We simply could not resist taking a few photos of her so we called back later in the day to ask Lesley and Jo if we could take the pictures and to say hello.

Lesley and Jo were not on board at the time but as we were about to leave they came along with Fletcher and Floyd their two lovely dogs.  We introduced ourselves and were invited onto Caxton for a look round and a chat.  Is was good to see how Caxton had fared since Crick and I have to say she still looks as good as she did then, she has even grown a little too.

Jo and Lesley made us more than welcome and we chatted at length about various aspect of boats, our plans for AmyJo and about what they would do different on their next boat.  I have to say their advise is gratefully received and has given us a lot of new ideas to think about.  Both Fletcher and Floyd enjoyed the fuss we gave them whilst we chatted and sat beside us all the time.  What lovely pair of dogs those two are.

With time getting on and not wanting to out stay our welcome we thanked Lesley and Jo for their hospitality and advice and bid them safe passage and then took our leave.

That telephone call we've been dreading

It finally happened!


The telephone call we were both dreading came throught last Saturday morning informing us Chris's dad had passed away.  Without a second thought we drove down to Essex and joined the rest of the family and started making arangements none of us ever want to do.

We are going to spend a fair bit of time traveling between Chester and Essex over the next few weeks as Chris's mum is not taking Roy's passing well.  Come to think of it neither is Chris so we may not be posting for a while. 

Hope everyone stays safe and well on the cut and we both enjoy reading your blogs, they help to keep our spirits up and our dream alive.

A Gongoozling we will go

With everything going on with the family and things quiet on the house front Chris and I want to savour the cut once more.  The wish to walk the tow path again was tugging at us in an ever increasing rate.  So with no boat we decided we would have no choice but to be gongoozlers and with that decided to go for a walk along the cut into Chester.  Our eldest daughter Amy lives a few yards away from Chemical lock and so we parked the car at hers and made our way along the cut into Chester.

When we reach Chemical lock the Mill Hotel restaurant boat was just arriving.  Most unusual this boat as it has a rudder on the bow as well so they do not have to wind the boat for the return trip.  By the way the meal onboard is excellent too!

 We soon arrived at the infamous bridge of sighs.  History states that this bridge was used to walk the condemed prisoners from the prison to the gallows and they would sigh as they walked across.  You never see birds settling on this bridge and as you walk under the air suddenly turns cold and everthing goes quiet until you pass out the other side!  Now I'm not one for believing in ghosts and all that superstious stuff but I admit a few hairs did rise on the back of my neck.

There are a lot of new apartments springing up along the canal and this monument is in the gardens of one set of appartments.

 15minutes later we reached the Chester 3 lock staircase.  These are deep locks and not for the faint hearted.  We watched as two boats came down and make their way to the basin.

 After helping Somnia come alongside as the wind in the basin was making it difficult to moor and spending a few minutes chatting to the lovely couple on her we said our goodbyes and made our way back up the cut. There are not many boats here at the moment but that will change as the season progresses I guess.

.

The weather was not brilliant but it was dry and reasonably warm so we took our time enjoying the fresh air while marvelling at the Victorian workmanship on the water tower. It does not look much at first glance and you might be forgiven for thinking it's an eye sore but take a closer look at when you pass by it and you will see just how much care was put into the design and build for what is basically a large tank.

We got back to Amy's an hour later and had a welcome cuppa and a chat before heading home.  It felt so good to walk along the cut again and it gave us that little boost we both needed.  What a great day and I know both of us will sleep well tonight!

On a lighter note

Whilst at Chris's mums we came across a parish magazine and we thought we would share these excellent recipes we liked the look of

Recipe for Mum's and Toddlers Flapjacks

Remove Teddy bear from oven and preheat oven
Grease shallow 19cm square tin
Remove teddy bear from oven again and say "No No"
Cream the butter
Take butter tub away from toddler and wipe down the cupboard doors
Mix together the sugar and oats and gradually work into creamed butter until thoroughly blended.  Remove small plastic dinosaur from mixture.
Take the butter away from toddler again and wipe down the cat.
Apply antiseptic and bandages to scratches.  Glare at cat.
Remove crayons from prepared tin and replace with mixture.
Press this evenly into tin with a round bladed knife.
Open oven, retrieve now smouldering teddy bear, and open windows and doors for ventilation.
Place flapjack mixture in oven, and reassure anxious neighbour that house is not on fire.
Bake Flapjack mixture at 220 degrees mark 7 for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
While flapjacks are baking conduct swift neighbourhood search for toddler who disappeared out the door when anxious neighbour came in
Lift toddler out of muddy puddle next door
Take toddler home and on way through kitchen towards bathroom switch off oven
By time toddler has been bathed and changed the flapjacks will be cool and ready to eat.  This is a good time to discuss with your toddler about why the tub of oats would have been better left alone and not sprinkled around the living room carpet in a pleasing pattern.

A bit late now but useful recipe for next Christmas

Christmas rich Fruitcake

INGREDIENTS
I cup of water
1  cup of sugar
4 large eggs
2  cups of dried fruit
I teaspoon of salt
I teaspoon of baking soda
I cup of brown sugar
8 oz. (225 grms.) nuts
Juice of I lemon
I bottle of whisky

Method:
Sample whisky to check for quality. Take a large bowl. Check whisky again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink. Repeat!
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure whisky is still okay.
Cry another tup. Turn off the mixerer.
Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the whisky to check for tonsisticity. Next sift two cups of salt — or something — who cares?
Check the whisky.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one tablespoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4.
Don't forget to beat off the turner. Thrown the bowl out of the window. Check the whisky again and go to bed.



Enjoy!

Best Laid Plans

Unfortunately I had to fore go my trip on Towy. We got a phone call from Chris's mum just after my last post informing us Roy has taken a turn for the worse and had only days left. Naturally Chris and I dropped everything and took off to Essex so she could see him. I stayed away from his bedside for fear he would catch my cough (I'd never forgive myself if that happened) and Chris spent some quality time with him.

We're relieved to say Roy is still hanging on and it may be weeks rather than days but he is definately in a bad way, we think Chris's mum is so stressed about him she does not know what day it is, but we are preparing for the inevitable we know will come soon. He is dosed to the hilt on Morphine so is pain free and comfortable, if a little drowsy and occasionally way with the fairies.

Towy made the trip without me and had a lovely run in bright sunshine, making the trip in 3 hours. My friend Dave helped out as he was also going and only put her aground once :-)  She is in the museum basin with the other work boats for now. Stewart tells me the plan at Easter is to take her down the Manchester shipping canal, cross the Mersey into Liverpool so hopefully I can help on that trip.

Greatly honoured and humbled!

After having had an awful week with my cough that is finally subsiding by chance I have been given the oppotunity to do something I have always wanted to do this weekend!

I have always wanted to travel on an old traditional work boat on the canal and thanks the the Chester Heritage trust my dream is going to come true.  I am to help move wooden hulled NB Towy (CLICK) for more information  from Chester Basin to Ellesmere Port Narrowboat museum this weekend.  My grateful thanks to Stewart Shuttleworth for organising this for me

The narrow boat Towy was built by Fellows, Morton & Clayton Ltd at Uxbridge in 1938, one of a batch of eight new motor boats designed to work between Stanlow Oil Refinery on the Manchester Ship Canal and the Midlands. Like her sisters, the Towy was named after British rivers, the 'T' names signifying craft built or acquired in that year; other 1938 craft included Tweed, Tay and Tees, while the 1937 boats included the 'S' craft Stour and Spey). The batch was completed in 1939 with the two 'U' boats Usk and Umea.  I have had the good fortune to stand on the deck of Stour myself. 


The Towy was an 'oil boat' for many years, carrying loads of up to 19 tons of fuel oil from Stanlow refinery (actually thats where I currently work) to Langley Green, and taking about three days for the 80 mile trip. It was the custom for Claytons boats to work in pairs, and the Towy usually worked with the 1930 butty Kubina. These two boats were home for the Berridge family - Mr & Mrs Leslie Berridge and their six children. The long-distance oil traffic ended in 1955, and Towy thereafter became a 'day boat', taking loads of tar from Birmingham area gasworks to the works of Midland Tar Distillers at Oldbury

   Claytons withdrew from canal operations in 1966. It has often been said that the introduction of North Sea Gas finally killed the gas works traffic but the chronology of natural gas discovery and utilisation does not entirely support this theory - in fact, the change from coal to oil fuel in many local gas works, together with the building of the M5 Motorway through Claytons' depot at Oldbury were far more important factors. 

Now almost fully restored Towy is often used as an educational tool for school children to learn about life on the waterways and working narrowboats.  She travels the Cheshire canals stopping on her way to provide a hands on classroom for many youngsters to get a feel for how it was.  A fitting end for a lovely old gal and I am really excited to be getting my chance to move her on a stretch of canal I have yet to travel on.  It truely is humbling to be allowed to handle a rare peice of history from the very place where I work.  I can't wait!

Watch out for my next post with, hopefully, plenty of photos.

Not a good week so far

Hi all,
I'm feeling really down this week as I have developed the most severe cough of all times.  Sure I've had coughs before but nothing quite like this one.  The bouts are so bad they make me dizzy and the ensueing headache afterwards feels like I've just been battered by a lump of 4 x 2.  My chest muscles are screaming at me to give up and with each breath I take I feel like another coughing bout is on it's way.  To top it all the Codine tablets the doc gave me are making me so drowsy I nod off at the drop of a hat, at least until the next coughing bout.  Some good news is Chris only had a megraine and was better the next day so took off to Essex to see her dad.

Sadly there is no good news on that front either.  Roy is once more back in hospital and is even more weaker.   He too has a cough (not from me I'm glad so say) and is struggling to cope with it.  We are not sure when he will be allowed home again but for now he stays put. We're still praying for him.

Being half term the house sale front seems to have dried up too.  We had no viewings last week and none for this week so far.  Chris and I are beginning to wander if we are meant to have AmyJo as everything is conspiring against us what with no movement on the house front and the VAT increse as well.

Whilst Chris's car was being MOT'd we had a super walk along the cut from the Old Trooper Inn in Christleton to Chemistry Lock in Chester.  We helped a lovely looking boat called Lady Rose through one of the locks and it felt so good to be in the fresh air and away from everthing.

Guess we just have to be patient.  We'll not give up and right now our dream is what keeps us going.

Home Alone - not

Well another week has passed and once more the viewings have gone well, this time though one couple actually told our agent they would concider a second viewing when they sell their property, so we are clinging on to that for now.

Half term is now apon us and the kids in our area are off school, amazing how empty the roads become at rush hour when schools out!  Seems Mum and Dad's taxi's are out of service for the duration.   I'm not complaining though as it also means Chris is off work too, she works as a teaching assistant for the reception class of our local private school. 

Chris had planned to go south to visit her parents to see how Roy is getting on so I was going to be home alone but I've had the most awful headaches and hacking cough the last few days that has been met with "huh it's only man flue, go to work you wuss"......  Well now......guess who is tucked up in bed as I type this, coughing her heart out and complaining of a headache too?  Poor thing, guess it's not man flue then....  Seriously though I do feel for her and hope she gets better, I hate it when Chris suffers like that.

Things are looking up for our vist to Crick too,  we have had a nice comment from the owners of new build nb Chance (thank you James).  They let me know nb Chance will be on display by MGM boats at Crick so we'll look forward to meeting them while we are there.  So too will another couple who are having their boat built by Fernwoord so already we are getting to know people who will be on the cut when we eventually get there.  Chris and I wish them both well with their respective builds, they are so lucky to be near to realising their dreams.  We feel certain our day will eventually come, in the mean time I look at this picture and simply drift off......

Er sorry got a bit carried away  there for a second :-)    Keep well until the next time.