| This Month's Totals and Average | |||
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After a very cold night (outside dropping to -3°C) into Saturday, the sun brought the temperature up quite quickly. Fitted the new air filter purchased yesterday, and spent some time getting photos of the drive-belts to try and ascertain the numbers on them. Finally got them, and forwarded to Matt at Burton Boat Company - hopefully he can source replacements. After a load of washing, topped up the water. Quiet afternoon reading. Sun was out all day - a very pleasant day, hopefully it will stay this way now.
Another cold night into Sunday gave another sunny morning. Drove across to Alrewas for their morning service (taken by Brian from Hopwas). After lunch, I had a long phone chat with Fhi in Italy, catching up, then did a quick run out to collect another parcel from Amazon (name badges for the cruise). The wind picked up during the evening.
The strong cold northerly wind continued into Monday morning. We had a mixture of sunny spells and moderate showers during the day. Spent a quiet day reading and crafting.
Winter really doesn't want to give up! Cold overnight again, although the wind did abate. Tuesday was a mixture of sunny spells and dull cloud, with the occasional very light drizzle. It was shopping morning for me, with a trip to Ventura for Sainsbury's own-brand stuff, then Lidl and Morrisons in Hinckley. Back for lunch, and another afternoon of crafting - the wooden tourbillon clock coming on well.
Wednesday was a quiet day, generally chilling. Mostly cloudy, with a few rain showers.
Last day of the month - had hoped to have a few miles on the spreadsheet before now. More freezing conditions forecast for the weekend so out for a top-up on the coal. A dull, cold day throughout, with a couple of l;ight showers.
Drove over to Streethay Wharf, hoping to get routine replascement parts for "Paws". Unfortunately they didn't have. Returned for lunch then went out to Midland Chandlers to try them. No luck again. Went into Burton centre to Shobnall. Again no luck, but Burton Boat had the air filter and said they could get the drive belts if I gave them the code numbers on the old ones (rather than the Yanmar part number). Horrendous traffic trying to get out of Burton.
After a wet night, the day started dull but dry. In the afternoon, the rain came back, very heavy with sleet mixed in. Forecast is for sub-zero temperatures again tonight.
Shopping on Monday morning, including collecting parcels from Amazon. When I got back, there was an email waiting with a surprise invite to dinner with the Carters, the Rigdens and the Smiths. Spent the afternoon setting up the (2nd) TV video receiver - found that I needed an app on my phone, but did get it working in the end. Out for dinner in the evening, at The Corner House in Bedworth - tasty meal and great company. A generally sunny day, with things starting to dry out, but it will take some time for the flooded areas to clear.
A lovely sunny day throughout Tuesday. Arranged MoT and tyre replacement in the morning - took some time due to examiners being on holiday! Quiet afternoon crafting. Our local blackie decided that spring was on the way - he was singing his heart out at dusk.
Wednesday started out very windy, with heavy rain. Spent the morning crafting again. By lunchtime, the wind had eased and the rain ceased. Went out for essentials and perishables, then sourced spares for the cooker - one of the knobs had disintegrated. The cloud cleared a little late afternoon, bringing occasional short periods of sunshine.
Moderate to heavy rain throughout Thursday. Quiet day crafting, and doing a couple of jobs around the boat. Despite the rain, the blackie was out singing again at dusk.
Headed across to Alrewas for the morning service at the Chapel. Nipped back to "Paws" for lunch, collecting a top-up of coal as I passed Holly Lodge. More craftwork in the afternoon, before returning to Alrewas for a "Village Songs of Praise" at All Saints - a very relaxed get-together hosted by Rev John Allan featuring hymns voted for by the community. A great afternoon. Back to "Paws" again for a late dinner then a quiet evening with the TV.
A generally dull day with a few showers, but much evidence of the flooding caused by the recent heavy rain.
Spent almost all Wednesday fixing faults on laptops, both on board and (remotely) at home, doing program updates and tidying data. Sent out the first draft of cruise timetable to participants. Moderate rain throughout.
Shopping day in Hinckley on Thursday. Collected the new TV receiver while out, then tried setting it up during the afternoon. Whilst I could get it to connect to my wifi, and the iPlayer app attempted to connect, it failed. The instructions were unintelligible. I gave up and sent it back for refund. Ordered a different one (one which appeared to be more European than Chinese in origin) - arriving Sunday. Sunny spells with heavy rain showers interspersed.
Pottered with routine chores Saturday morning (water, loo etc), then did craftwork in the afternoon. Received contact from the Moira Festival team about their event this year - passed to Pat for discussion. A lovely sunny day throughout.
Took a drive across to St Chad's in Hopwas on Saturday for their coffee morning, then back for an early lunch. Confirmed with the Moira Festival team that we would be there as volunteers. Did some more craftwork in the afternoon before an early dinner. Headed out to Lichfield in the evening for a concert by the Cardiff Methodist Community Choir - fantastic evening, but the event was dramatically under-patronised. A dull day finally turned to rain around dinnertime.
A day on "house"work. Bed change, cleaning and routine chores. Yesterday's lovely weather had returned to normal with heavy rain and cool.
The BBC, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that the downloading functionality of iPlayer (from the website) is to cease for PCs and laptops, being only available through their 'app' on tablets and phones (Android, IOS, Fire). As I download in order to remove the buffering in poor-signal areas, this causes a problem - my tablet does not have a mini-HDMI socket and my TV is not 'smart'. I will need to install the appropriate app on my tablet and obtain a receiver to connect to the TV to enable "Casting" (a means of wirelessly mirroring my tablet screen onto my TV). We'll see how it goes and I'll report back.
A nice sunny Saturday morning, and rose to a warm boat. Went to Sainsbury for own-brand items, then had a quiet day.
The misty start to Sunday soon cleared to sunshine. I visited our friends at Trinity Church Atherstone in the morning then, after lunch out, headed to Alrewas where Rev.Jo was taking Communion in their monthly afternoon service. It also gave me a chance for a chat about the cruise. She is happy with the details so we go ahead with the current timings. A few showers dampened the afternoon but it cleared again by evening.
A lovely sunny day throughout Monday, with only a light breeze. Drove to Ikea for a couple of things in the morning, then did a bit of research on electric cars in the afternoon - I had heard there was an electric version of my Smart Car now available and wanted to find out more (Food for thought). By the time I got back,"Wobbly" had headed off (they were going to Milton Keynes then on to Brentford for the floating markets).
The heavy rain of yesterday continued through the night and this morning - the canal level was up by about 2". Pottered until lunchtime, and by the time I'd finished lunch, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. Did the bleeding of the water and fuel to the replacement heater and she flashed first time - I have heating again .
Alan (next door) was telling me that the section around Brinklow (Oxford Canal) that has been unstable for several years finally collapsed overnight - navigation and towpath closures. That will be a big job to repair it and it will take some time!
Monday and Tuesday were quiet days, spent generally pottering. Went out for coal (extra required due to the heater failure), and to collect the part for the heater (hopefully get that fitted in the next couple of days). Weather cool, dry and cloudy, turning to heavy rain by Tuesday evening.
Rain had cleared by Wednesday morning to a bright but cold start. RCR arrived to carry out and engine inspection - a couple of 'advisories' but nothing serious. Routine chores for the rest of the morning. By lunchtime, the sun had actually come out. I started work on replacing the heater. A couple of problems delayed me but, with the help of Alan next door, I got the unit installed before the light faded. No time to bleed the water and fuel of airlocks so another night of just the front stove.
After a very cold night, Thursday morning broke with heavy rain and a strong wind - the heating will have to wait. A quick trip out during a lull in the rain to see if there was anything of interest in the Dobbies sale (nothing!). Remained cold and wet for the remainder of the day.
Early rise for the drive to Doncaster - it seems now to be an annual event to visit our friends at All Saints Church (they invited BCF to join them online during the 1st Covid Lockdown, and we have remained friends since). Great communion service from Stephen and Joan, thoroughly enjoyed it, and great to catch up again in person. Packed lunch in the car on the way back, getting in around 15:00.
Quiet remainder to the day, which had remained dull throughout with occasional showers and a rising wind.
Thursday ushered in the month sunny but cold. Spent the morning out shopping then, after clearing the loo, had a quiet afternoon. Went to put the heating on late afternoon to heat up for the evening and it failed on start-up. I'll have to get the manual out tomorrow and see if I can find the reason (not a great start to the month!).
Spent Friday morning looking through the workshop manual for troubleshooting clues. Checked the fuses, water level and fuel supply - all OK. Couldn't find anything in the manual that helped so researched a replacement. Found and ordered new part on eBay at 1/3 off. Spent the afternoon cleaning.
The sunny start on Saturday deteriorated into a dull afternoon, and turning to rain by dinnertime. Drove across to St Chad's for their "Tea & See" coffee morning, where I met up with Andrew and Keith and had a catchup on Thursday's meeting. Also met Sue and had a lengthy chat with her about the cruise and various other topics. It was after 14:00 till I left, and returned to "Paws" for a belated lunch. What was left of the afternoon, I used to update paperwork.
