There’s a nasty breeze and the windchill dips below zero. Time for some internal warming and Steve’s home brewed stout. It’s taste is “wow!”. Very rich. Very hoppy… . I’m getting licorice, hint of Victory V, dark bitter chocolate . . and at 7.5% very quaffable! Have experimented on the neighbours – let’s see what they think!
More Soar
Another short video from the Summer trip along the Soar … including the odd dragonfly … warms us up in these cold & windy winter days . .
A Reminder of Summer
A short reminder of the gloriously hot Summer of 2015 – we took Adagio out in August. This is a short video of the river Soar, coming down to Leicester.
Thanks to David for pointing me in the right direction for publishing videos. Not something we often do owing to the limits of bandwidth when out & about!
New Year’s Day Walk 2016
Despite the jollificatons with fellow boaters over in the coffee lounge for New Year’s Eve and then returning to chez nous bateau for further imbibement of wine and watching the fireworks and then turning in at 0145 … we managed to be up and atom by the usual time … we went for a walk up Cracks hill (bit of a tautology as Crick or Crack is the ancient word for hill).
And on top of the stone monument is . .
Some indication of where things are . . blue line is the canal. Cracks hill looks over the village of Crick as well as Jn 18 (M1) and the huge DIRFT terminus.
All for Dog!
The canal wanders right around the hill – note the picnic benches … more for the Summer . .
Village of Crick with the spire of St Mary of Antioch
There’s a beacon on the top plus Viv & Toby . . spot the ball contest
Thinking ahead to Christmas 2016
Looks like this year’s Christmas dinner is lining themselves up:
Or maybe these beasts (Viv reckons they are Balwen or Zwartbles? Any experts out there?)?
Meanwhile the stout looks and tastes good …
Gunpowder, treason & plot
It’s quite rural up here, despite being just minutes away from the infamous Watford Gap services, junction 18, M6, M45 and the A5!
Whenever we drive out, we always seem to pass signs for Ashby St Ledgers but never go to it … so today we did. We parked by the ancient church and walked across muddy fields to the staircase locks at Watford … and back.
The church is quite famous – see http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=4537
As is the manor house and village – being the HQ for the Gunpowder plot!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashby_St_Ledgers
With it’s unusual wall paintings (skeleton) and the flagellation of St Margaret (ca. 1325)
And our destination … across those very muddy fields …
(I kegged the beer this morning – tastes great – heaps of licorice & chocolate plus about 7.6% . . ready in a week or so …)
Merry Christmas! We met during the summer, shared a few locks going down the Soar and onto the Trent. We have NB Anchilla, we are selling the house! Hope to complete end of Jan then move aboard full time then start looking for a bigger boat, as they said in Jaws. Hope our paths may cross on the cut sometime in the future. Jill, Jon & Harry
Ok, thanks for remembering us! Merry Christmas to you all! We’re up in Yelvertoft. Call in if you ever pass by. Cheers Steve and Viv
The Must-have Present
What does an expensive flat-screen TV want for Christmas?
Yes, a screen protector! And no, not an everyday one but one made from pure Reindeer skin – the Rudolph cover:
This stops our dog from shaking mud and water all over the LG TV and from bashing into it when getting tooooo excited in preparation for his food/treats/walk/presents from P&J …
Very stylish and the standby light even gives it a red nose!!
Christmas Trip to Leicester
Not perhaps your first choice but we went to Nottingham last year and saw their famous winter display with markets and ice rink. Leicester is only 40 mins away and they have a fabulous covered market and there’s the Watermead park just to the north, which we visited twice on our Summer trip:
Animated displays – Toad of toad Hall, a nativity scene plus Wallace & Gromit
Then off to Wanlip – a long walk around the lakes and endless swims for Toby
The canal runs alongside the park
A tableau – King Lear is supposedly buried under the River Soar . .
And then back via the White Horse at Birstall
Winter skies over the marina . .
F8 Gales & Rain
Yes, more gales and rain … this would normally be weather for the equinox – around September/October but the climate seems out of kilter. Our new cowling flew off the chimney stack last week – going to send it back. Not what you’d expect for 6 weeks of use:
