Well that didn't work out plus boating

Hello again. What a week (I think it was about a week ago that I last updated this blog) and worthy of having a post written about it I think.

Sunlight at the train station

I remember signing off with excitement about the new job which I was starting the following day. I wasn't wearing my new suit or shoes to this but dragged out the Doc Maertins I bought just before heading over to Bulgaria and had pretty much never worn before this. I was getting the train and the timing for me walking down the ramp onto the platform for my morning train was perfect for sunrise. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were lovely and each morning I really enjoyed turning the corner to this corridor and seeing the sunrise in progress in the distance. There is beauty in lots of places if you look for it.

Reggae jam night

So anyway, the first day and pretty quickly it became apparent that sadly the interview had been misleading and this was in no way the job I was expecting. Nevertheless I decided to stick it for the first week to see how it would go. Wednesday I met up with Ryan for some drinks after work and then we went to meet John and A who had gone to what is now our local. What a great decision that was as there was a reggae jam night which started shortly after we arrived and finished just before kicking out time when we were still there, loving every second. There was one young white kid playing horn who was amazing, but frankly the whole ensemble including the random people who got up to join in sometimes mid song were brilliant. We shall be heading back there again this week I think.

Thursday was a better day as a new developer started who was both good at his job and a really nice lad as well; we had lunch together both then and on Friday but despite this improvement I decided that I really couldn't honestly keep working there. I have never finished a contract early before but this was definitely the correct decision. Friday morning I had a telephone interview for another place working and then I had the difficult conversations with both my agent and my manager and surprisingly they both took it very well. I certainly had no problem with either of them, it was other issues that had made me uncomfortable, and I was glad that there was no break down in relationship. I agreed to work out the day and then shook hands with the new guy and left. I was feeling quite sad as I don't like walking away from a challenge but that is how things are sometimes.

On the boat and ready for the off

And so, unemployed again (though hopefully not for very long), I went to the train station to head down to get on Ryan's boat for the weekend. The train was cancelled, which was the first act of a comedy of errors trying to reach where they had moored culminating in a taxi ride with A in a cab driven by a driver who didn't know where he was going. How you can get a job as a taxi driver if you don't know where the pubs are in your region I really do not know. Anyway, we found them in the end and had a lovely evening with nice food and good beer then a relatively early night followed by a dawn-start to get a jump on the long day ahead.

This swan was greedy and aggressive

We were up and breakfasted and ready for heading off before 8.30 which was really good news as the target for the day was past quite a lot of locks which always take more time than you think. First of all we had a visit from a very aggressive swan which hung around until fed and then chased us a bit as we pulled away from the moorings.

The first lock, and while we were in it

Before long we reached the first lock and shortly after that the second and then third. A had woken up with a really bad earache but was still able first thing to get out and help with the locks while I was really pleased to get outside into the fresh air and do some physical work after being locked in an office all week getting cabin fever. These locks were large with double gates both ends which needed two people to operate for the best speed. Cat was out with us all morning while Ryan drove.

Waiting to open the upstream gate

We got into quite a good rhythm going up these locks and finished the whole flight by about 11.30. It was not the best of days, weather wise, unfortunately and my coat was completely soaked through by the time we stopped. We all changed out of our wet clothes (Cat and Ryan, obviously, having had proper waterproofs on didn't have this problem) and hung them around the fire to dry for the afternoon as there were more locks ahead. Then it was down to a little cafe near the top lock for a lovely lunch of soup and a toastie. I bought some strawberry jam from there and a picture which will go up in the school.

A local called this the Stairway to Heaven

On the way towards these locks there had been a few, quite nicely spread out. As I was jogging along between them (it doesn't make sense to get back onto the boat between locks as it never really gets above walking pace) I had a brief chat with a couple of fisherman who were just packing their stuff away after being out all night. After pleasantries they commented that "just round the corner is the Stairway to Heaven" and when I rounded that corner I saw that they were right.

Water water everywhere!

After a really relaxing lunch we headed off again into the downpour which had worsened through the morning to a peak while we were eating. There were no locks for a while which meant I could stay inside and let the fire continue to dry out my outside clothes, while A was resting and hoping that her earache would clear up. We headed through one long tunnel which was pretty cool until a stream went over the top and it was dripping through in a very wet curtain which did get me a bit. It really was not very nice weather this day.

Serenely progressing along the gorgeous canal

As the day wore on the weather slowly improved with the rain becoming drizzle then going intermittent. One of the benefits of the overcast was that it was actually quite warm and even when I was soaked through I never felt any chill at all. The scenery we were passing through was lovely; with so few other boats moving and almost no one out risking the weather we cruised easily without delay until we reached the next set of locks.

Bridges with a slot in the middle

One of the features of these locks is the bridges near them. Back in the day narrow boats were pulled by horses hitched to their fronts and normally, at bridges, you had to unhitch said horse to get past the bridge. Around here they solved this problem by leaving a notch through the middle of the bridge through which the halter could be passed. Simple but effective.

Bottom gates opened and waiting

These locks were of a slightly different design, being narrower. They had a double low gates (entry, as we were climbing the hill) and a larger single gate at the other end. As the gates were smaller it was mostly easier to open than the morning ones. Ryan was a bit more athletic than I and when opening the low gates he did one then jumped across to the gap to the other whereas I just walked up and over the top gate and back. No way was I falling 20 feet or so into a canal just to show off!

Putting some effort in to opening the gate

These locks may have been easier than the morning ones but it was still quite an effort to get them started from stationary, particularly when the water wasn't quite equalised and my impatience led me to try and jump the gun. We did see another boat on this run of locks, crewed by a man on his own who was most amusingly grumpy when I stopped to help him shut the top gate of the lock we had just left so he could go in. "How am I going to enjoy my coffee if you make things go faster?" was his comment. I said "don't worry, I'm only helping with this one" and was off up the canal after my boat which was in the next lock and ready for my help.

Moonlit view that night

We reached the target for stopping mid afternoon and decided to crack on and try and get to the next pub. It was getting dark really fast as we chugged along and, after going underneath a drawbridge, we found some bollards to tie up to and stopped for the night. By this time we were all hungry again and the BBQd pork chops with nearly cremated (but awesomely tasty) potatoes and corn on the cob went down very well indeed. After this we decided to walk up the tow path to the pub which we found after about 20 minutes of torch lit procession. This pub was less friendly than the one the night before but still served a nice pint so we had a couple before making our way back. By this time the moon was out and the torches were unnecessary so we turned them off and found that we could see much better without them. Just before we got back to the boat I stopped and tried to capture the magical light. I didn't have a tripod so was forced to lay down and try to keep dead still for 10 to 15 seconds for each exposure. It was a lovely evening and I was sad to have to go inside.

First view of the morning

Definitely not a morning cat

Tiller and tie up rope frame this shot

Drawbridge and dawn

The sun has risen

We had a couple of drinks before heading to bed and when we woke the next morning it was to a much different day. The rain had cleared and a slight fog was over the water and it was a gorgeous sight which greeted me as I climbed out to get some fresh air and wake up properly. The above are a selection of the best shots I took while having that short morning stroll, including Milton the cat who decided that it was too cold to get off the boat and went back inside after that peek.

Expert drawbridge operator

After a very nice bacon and egg barm for breakfast, and a slightly slower and more relaxing beginning to the day than the previous one, Cat sparked up the engine and we were off. Fortunately A had woken up without her earache which was really good news however we both spent most of the day ensconced in the cabin reading and relaxing as those two drove. We had done all the locks on the route the day before and there was no need for me to get into my working clothes at all. That is not to say there weren't things to be done however Cat got out and did the winding on this drawbridge before I could offer.

Taking to the air

Kingfisher in closeup

Kingfisher silhouette

A little while after this I was sitting reading when I heard a yell from Ryan and I was told that a kingfisher was in the trees. Suddenly I saw it but then it flew off down the river and I wasn't quite quick enough to get the camera to bear. I went down to the front of the boat and spent the next ten minutes or so trying to get a good picture. It would sit on a branch by the side of the canal until the boat was roughly level then suddenly swoop off in its dipping flight until just out of sight before stopping again. I got a lot of very blurry pictures with a blue smear as it flew, but with the short lens still on the camera nothing came out that clearly. A took over after a while and I went to sit inside and she was able to get a couple of cracking pictures with her longer lens. What a beautiful bird it is.

Two ducks lead the way through a bridge

Beautiful reflections

While I was hanging out the front of the boat failing to get good pictures of the kingfisher I was proving that what I lack as a wildlife photographer I make up for in scenery shots. With the stillness of the water before we passed through it I was able to compose a few very lovely shots. I really do love water in photography and particularly either reflections or light or a combination of both as they interact with the surface.

This almost looks like an optical illusion picture

A also loves the reflections and she got what I think is the best picture of the lot here, as the trees which met overhead at this point are perfectly reflected in the still water and it looks like you are staring down a hole, not looking ahead along a canal. Stunning.

A steady hand, and all that

Try as I might I could not persuade A to drive the boat however I took a bit of a stint during the afternoon where I managed to not crash once. I handed back control as we entered a slightly more congested stretch of waterway with boats moored on either side. It was harder than it looked to keep going in a straight line but with slight adjustments I was able to navigate roughly down the middle of the waterway with no dramas. Success.

The (tagged) guillotine lock

The final interesting historical sight was this guillotine lock. Once used to regulate the flow of water between two competing canals (stealing water was frowned upon) this is now derelict and sadly tagged by some mindless yobs who can't even do something creative with their spray cans.

Entering Birmingham

We were now heading into the centre of Birmingham and the greenery and trees that had surrounded us all day (even as we went through Solihull and other built up places) gave way to concrete, bricks and then suddenly high rise buildings. It was such a dramatic transition not least because suddenly there were loads of people on the tow paths, a fair few taking pictures of the boat as it is quite distinctive when compared to others on the water. We drove along for a while, then dropped Cat off to try and find a long term mooring for them over the next week, but eventually settled for a 48 hour location and then headed off to find a beer before myself and A were on the train back up here.

Milton asleep

What a lovely weekend it had been and really relaxing; it is important that we keep doing things like this as much as possible while we're back in this country as otherwise it could get so depressing so quickly being in a place we don't want to be. So now I'm going to sign this off with a picture of Milton asleep next to me, and here's to my job interview tomorrow and maybe starting another new place this week.