Sunday 1st February 2009
Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire, Oxford Canal
Today: 7 miles, 3 locks. Total distance: 1953 miles. Total locks: 1336
Back in Banbury again.
My sore throat and chesty cough doesn’t seem to want to clear up, which is strange for me, I never seem to catch any of the bouts of colds and flu’s that go around. I was feeling quite rough last night and went to my bed with a hot water bottle and a Lem-Sip just after 19:00 !!
There is a met office forecast of heavy snow for Monday and Tuesday so I decided that I would move back to Banbury where I can find a doctor if my throat doesn’t clear up in the next day or so. I didn’t fancy a six to seven mile round trip walk to a doctors in the snow – must be getting soft in my old age…..
Had to go down to Nell’s Bridge to turn in order to get back to Banbury. They are building some new moorings down there, a nice spot for long term mooring – photos below.
My son Glenn came to visit yesterday. He phoned me on Friday evening to say that he would bring his bike on the train so that he could cycle the 3 miles or so along the tow path to get to the boat. I advised him to buy a puncture repair kit as the hedges have been cut recently and there are lots of thorny branches lying around. He never managed to pick up the repair kit but, unfortunately, he did manage to pick up punctures in both tyres and had to push the bike back to the train station.
Current Mooring
Son Glenn visited yesterday
Archie sitting on his bed, a very cold morning today
New moorings at Nell's Bridge
A big thank you to every one that has taken the trouble to email me to enquire after my health. I am pleased to say that the worst of my cold is over and I am now feeling a lot stronger, it really did knock me out for a while, I felt very weak during most of last week.
I did move the boat a short distance late last week as I didn’t want to over stay my welcome near the Tramway long term moorings. I am now about a mile south of Banbury. As soon as the weather improves, I will be heading on southward. At the moment, the canal is frozen over with a good inch of ice and the weather is wet so I will not be going anywhere.
Current Mooring
A few photos taken over the last week around the Banbury area
I was just getting out of the shower last night when I heard the familiar tinkle of nb Dusty’s bell. Nb Dusty, owned by Mark is the coal boat that services this area of the South Oxford canal. I managed to call out to Mark to let him know that I wanted some diesel. Mark reversed back and breasted up while I got dried and dressed. It took 111 litres of diesel to fill the tank, not bad considering the last diesel I bought was on Xmas Eve. Mark is currently selling diesel at 64p per litre. I also bought two bags of coal to keep me going, I was down to my last seven bags. The cheapest smokeless on offer was £9.40 for a 25kg bag, not cheap by any standards. The last coal I bought on Xmas Eve was £7.40 for the same stuff.
My cold is all but gone now, just left with a tickly cough in the evenings and early mornings. Time to start moving again I think, itchy feet again. I had intended to carry on southward but the canal is closed at Aynho and again a bit further south due to flooding. Also, I am getting very low on logs and I know where there is a fallen Ash tree some ways north of here – if it is still there. So, north it will be. Weather permitting, I will set off tomorrow.
Welcome
nb Dusty
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