Monday, 29 November 2010

We're not going anywhere

We've settled down to wait out the bad weather, so there's not a lot going on to blog about today. We went and got the paper, and Sheila took a load of washing across to the main building; in order to save water on the boat (since the supply taps have frozen up), we're using the laundrette now. It's £2.50 for a (big) wash, then £1.25 for the tumble dry, except that it's two tumble loads to every washload, so it's a fiver for the equivalent of two washloads on the boat.

It could be worse, and will allow us to run on the water we've got in the tank for a good long while.

It all feels a lot like last winter, to be honest, which isn't encouraging. Before then, whenever there was a cold snap, it would be a few days to a week at most before you could move again, fetch water and so on. Last winter and this, there's no end in sight, and we've just got to make do as best we can.

The only real grumble I've got about the marina, which is, as I've said, generally an excellent place to be, is the lousy choice of solid fuel. You can have Taybrite, or you can have Taybrite. The problem with that is that it's my least favourite fuel, though it's very popular with a lot of folk. It's full of cement dust, so that where I was emptying the ashpan once every two days burning Excel, now I'm emptying it twice a day. And at £10 for 25 kg, it's not as cheap as it claims to be. Last winter, some may recall, we were buying fuel from Stewart Hooper on Anne. His Mixed Ovals were brilliant.

Heigh ho, can't have everything, I guess, at least we are warm and dry and want for nothing essential.

2 comments:

Dave Ballinger said...

Hello Bruce & Sheila

Good to catch up again with your blog...and you are on every day now!

Looks cold up there, coming down to us tonight I fear. Just as well we winterised Load of Hay a week back. You will be pleased to know that your ecofan did sterling service helping keep us and the boat warm. Thank you!

We let Susan know that we plan to be at the open day next year prior to an autumn cruise on the Llangollen. Hopefully see you there if not before elsewhere on the system.

All the best, and Happy Christmas (sorry if that's a bit early, but there are lights up already in our road...!)

Dave & Anne
nb Load of Hay

Baz Juniper said...

Ah, so that's what it is with Taybrite - we have exactly the same phenomena with our multi-fuel at home. We used to use good old Coalite, but that belongs to the past. I'll have to scour Somerset for Excel or summat like.

Baz