Lurking at Fradley

10th & 11th January

The weather forecast finally came true yesterday morning; the cut was frozen quite hard when we eventually staggered out of our pits. I walked into Alrewas again, this time taking the Garmin with me. I wanted to use it to decide whether the route across the playing fields from Bagnall Lock was, as it appeared to be, quicker than going on down the canal and crossing by Gallows Bridge.

It was a pleasant walk in cold but not frosty weather. Using the Garmin not only indicated that the playing field route was (just) shorter, but also that I was walking around four and a half miles in total for the pleasure of having a copy of the Independent on Saturday.

Back at the boat, I made a start on the next fender, the vee shaped one for the bow. When I've done and fitted this, Sanity will be exclusively equipped with fenders I've made. They are not, I believe, as neat or smart as the professional ones obtainable from Tradline, but it's still quite a buzz.

Elanor showed up for lunch, complete with freshly cut and dyed hair. She's reverted to her copper colour for this month, which is very striking. As planned she took us to the Lichfield Morrison's to stock up.

After she'd gone we had a quiet time. I pressed on with my half hitching, whilst Sheila took it very easy: her back had decided to give her a bit of trouble. It's been a while since she had an episode of what used to be a regular problem for her, but a dose of anti-inflammatory meant she was feeling much better by bedtime.

This morning we woke to much less sign of ice. There was still a layer under the melt water, and the wind was scheduled to get up in the course of the day, so we decided to stay put for the moment. We're on a 48 hour mooring here, and this is the first time this winter that we've overstayed, but we should be away tomorrow.

The downside of the morning was that the Eberspacher failed to start again first thing. Investigating after breakfast showed that the fuse holder was once more dropping voltage. I've fixed it again for now, but that fuse holder has to go. Hopefully, whilst Sheila is off the boat next week, I'll be able to call at Midland Chandlers as I head for Penkridge. I've already got a 25 amp mini circuit breaker I can substitute for the in-line fuse holder, but I need some hefty spade terminal sockets to fit on the ends of the line.

The ice has continued to melt during the day, and now is largely gone, with just a few bits and bobs floating about. After lunch we took a little ramble up the flight, stopping to chat with Tony and Jacquie off Timewarp at the top. There's not much more ice up there, so we're pretty hopeful about escaping in the morning