To Sharpness and back

11th & 12th July

Yesterday was the first day for ages on which we made a seriously lazy start, not rising until Terry Wogan was in full flow, and connecting to the water point alongside the mooring to top up before setting off for Sharpness in leisurely fashion. We got there after about an hour's steady boating – this canal, like all others, is not as deep as it should be, but it's supposed to be 15 feet deep, so there's still plenty for Sanity to swim in.

Sharpness proved to be more rural than we'd expected – the moorings are on the end of the canal proper, and the industrial stuff around the port is mostly hidden. We found Nackered Navvy, Wild Otter, Lady Hannah, Chesterton and Canny all ensconced on the towpath. Seemingly they'd been into the Dockers' Club for a meal last night, which was very good as regards quality and quantity, but some of them had had to wait an hour and a half to be served.

The answer, apparently, is not to go there in a big party. We had conflicting advice from their crews about the availability of supplies, so I set to and baked some rolls for lunch.

They all set off back in the course of the morning, leaving us with just a couple of longer term moored boats, but it was a nice day, and we had a good view over the towpath wall to the estuary, so we weren't too upset.

After lunch we took a walk around the end of the canal – it's well worth visiting the place, and I took yet more photos which will have to wait for a better connection before you can see them. There is indeed a small basic shop in the angle between the two arms of the canal, but it's no longer a Post Office, having been the victim of the current slaughter of small POs by this government.

Today we slept in again, but made an effort and were boating by eight. The weather is showing a slow improvement, being showery and mild, with not too much wind. In what seemed very little time we were back at Fretherne Bridge, closest approach to Frampton, where I got a paper and some more bread.

Being Saturday, there's a bit more activity on the canal, but it's still very quiet compared to the Midlands mayhem. On arrival at Saul, we found ourselves fourth in the queue for the pump out, but since it was barely gone ten, we were not bothered.

The pump out proved to be all that it had been cracked up to be, very powerful, and with a good length of time for your tenner. In addition, the pause option doesn't time out, so there's a good chance of being able to use the tail end of someone else's time before you have to put in your own card.

Having given the tank a good rinse and seen the green light shining on the gauge again, we untied and headed for a mooring just the other side of the Junction Bridge.

The red light did not change to green after the bridge had swung, however, and the reason quickly became apparent as the faux paddle wheeler, the Oliver Cromwell, hove into view.

Needless to say, the wind promptly came up, giving me some problems in hovering Sanity out of the way, but we made it and finally got through to tie just beyond the Wycliffe Sculling Club.

We've had a quiet afternoon, sorting out the plants on the roof (the bay tree has been attacked by leaf rolling caterpillars, for heaven's sake), doing what we can on the net, though the connection here is worse than ever, and waiting for Elanor to turn up with our post.

Tomorrow, we plan to go as far as Quedgeley, then on into Gloucester on Monday morning to meet my sister Jane.

Life on camp V, and back to boating

8th, 9th & 10th July

This is a transitional post between finishing wrg camp mode and getting back into cruising mode, so it may feel a bit disjointed, not least because I'm still recovering from the last big push.

Tuesday we spent chasing around trying to get all our stuff done on site whilst we still had folks around to do it. It has to be said that Cotswold Canal Trust's attitude to the wrgies didn't help. Their purchasing manager made a number of decisions which substantially complicated our task, and indeed left us feeling quite unloved.

For example, he authorised the removal of the shower block on Monday night, when we still had the best part of two days to go on a site which was by then a mud bath. Only Bungle's energetic and assertive intervention got us one back. Similarly, the accommodation marquee was supposed to be there until Wednesday morning, but was taken away during Tuesday, the tables and chairs we were eating off having gone the day before.

The final phases of a festival camp are always a bit tricky, as you pack away the stuff you've been relying on to do the job, but the poor logistics of this one just drove us spare. It's to be hoped that they find a more competent person to do the purchasing next time. Our mood wasn't helped by the signs which were all over the site during the Festival, that it was run "entirely by Cotswold Canal Trust volunteers".

So what were all these red shirts doing around the place then?

Anyway, enough moaning – I just want to show that it's not all hunky dory at these things, not that anyone with experience of working with volunteers would expect it to be, I guess. We had a final meal in a Chinese restaurant, as we no longer had any means of cooking one on site, and it made a great end of camp occasion.

Yesterday we had a final final half day on site, chasing round loading stuff and putting things away in the two freight containers CCT keeps at Saul. After lunch we let go from the mooring we'd been using for a bit over a week, and went back to Gloucester to get water, and do some shopping this morning. We didn't bother going through Llanthony Bridge into the dock itself, as there's a water point just outside, and some 48 hour moorings on a pontoon there.

Having shopped to restock with perishables first thing today, we were most of the way back to the boat when I suggested we get a pump out card to work the BW pump out machine at Saul, available from the BW offices at Gloucester.

"Good idea" says Sheila, "I'll take most of the shopping back to the boat, you nip in and get the card."

I soon discovered that although the Harbour Office building has a huge BRITISH WATERWAYS painted on its side, it is no longer the BW office, which is diametrically opposite, near the narrowboat pontoons. So I plodded round there, loaded daysack on my back, eventually found the office and got the card.

The River Severn is very high at the moment, so we were glad we'd planned to go back the length of the canal to Sharpness before attempting the river passage to Worcester. In fact, as we boated along this morning, we decided that it will be better to stay a few more days down here, and give the river a chance to settle down.

My sister Jane is due to join us for three days on Monday, and we'd thought to get her to meet us in Worcester so that we could show her some narrow canal boating, but it's going to make more sense to ask her to come to Gloucester and see the Ship Canal and the Docks.

We had a bit of a problem on arrival back at Saul. Normally the bridge keepers are very good, and start swinging the bridge as soon as they are sure that you want to go through. This means that you boat confidently up to the bridge, slowing a bit if you realise the guy is mowing the grass or something and has to get back to his office, and the bridge swings in nice time for you to slip through.

This time, nothing happened, and, as we got close, it became apparent that they were testing the gates they can use to close the canal if there is a leak. Each bridge has a set of traffic lights the keeper can turn on if he thinks it necessary, but this time they were blank.

Muttering darkly, Sheila put Sanity over onto the bank (in a tricky cross wind), where we hung about until they'd finished and swung the bridge.

Just a bit further down the canal there's a place where you can get diesel and Calor gas, so we tied opposite to eat lunch, then I took over the helm, Sheila being well worn from the morning's exercise, and put Sanity across there.

We took on rather more diesel than I was expecting to need, and the Calor bottle cost over £21, the most I've ever paid for one, but hey ho, there you go.

Off we went again down to Patch Bridge, the closest approach to Slimbridge, and managed to find a space on the visitor mooring there. It's only a short walk down to the Wildlife and Wetland Centre, and very good it is too. You can't get the full benefit on one visit – at least we couldn't before our much molested feet threatened to go on strike, but it's a great place, and we must clearly come back here on another occasion.

Tomorrow we'll go on down to Sharpness to see the docks there, then back to Saul for the weekend and another visit from Elanor before going on to arrive in Gloucester on Monday, probably.

Life on camp IV

6th & 7th July

First thing yesterday we took down the night fence in pouring rain – the outlook really did not look good for the show, as lots of people decide their weekend plans over breakfast, and if it's tipping it down first thing, they may well decide not to go out.

In fact the weather improved steadily during the day, but parts of the site are now soaked and muddy. This caused a problem for vehicles trying to leave site, and Sheila, Elanor and I, together with Dave Worthington (aka Daddy Cool), spent a good chunk of the day at the main exit, first off helping to push vehicles which got stuck, and then operating the set of traffic lights controlling the one way passage over a little bridge over the River Frome at the entrance.

This was good fun in its way, as it involved the use of radios, and there was a definite sense of achievement in keeping things moving smoothly.

In a break from this we did have time to get round the show before Elanor had to leave to drive home and Sheila and I went back on bridge duty. By the time Sheila had to go off site to run the engine, things had dried up enough to allow us to turn the lights back to automatic working.

Dinner last night was a great laugh – a distinct sense of end of the event, relaxation that it had all gone reasonably well, although there's still lots of work to do taking it all down, of course. The weather, however, had turned very wet again, and continued so during the night.

When we turned up for breakfast this morning, it was to find that some of our colleagues had been up until three o'clock, monitoring the levels of water in the Frome, which had come up quite dramatically, and threatened to overflow into part of the site.

It went down by morning, then came up again during today – it's a case of the impact of the tide in the Severn at the confluence of the Frome causing it to back up. Accordingly, Adrian and Nick, as those responsible for the management of the work programme, decided to try to get as much as possible done today, rather than spreading it over two days.

Sheila and I have been on the fencing team all day, pulling down and stacking the Heras fencing. It's one of those jobs which is quite easy at first, but the panels and blocks get heavier and heavier as the day goes on.

There'll be a fair bit more to do after dinner tonight, so I'm keeping this short again – apart from anything else, my back is complaining a bit at all the abuse, so typing is not too comfortable just now.

Life on camp III

4th & 5th July

Yesterday was the frantic day in getting stuff ready for the Festival, which was due to start at four, with the main events getting under way at seven. Sheila had a mixed day, in that she was again part of the fencing team first thing, then went shopping with Eli the cook, getting us some more supplies of wine and beer.

Meanwhile, I had had a "just" job (as in "Can you just do so-and-so, it'll only take five minutes"). In this case, it involved running a cable from the end of the music tent to the gazebo where they are selling CDs of the artists performing, for which they needed power for their card machine. Like all just jobs, this one took much longer than predicted, as part of the cable had to be buried, and the ground was rock hard, having had the marquee contractor's vehicles all over it for a week.

Then the electrics team were asked to rep[osition the small stage in the bar, from one corner to another. In its way, this was another example of the "just" job. The actual moving of the power supply was no more than a fiddle, and meant certain amount of time for Terry up the ladder. The trouble started when we came to move the low stage. The ground in the new location sloped towards the bar far more than on the other side. With aid of blocks of wood and some longer stub legs for one end, we were finally able to get it level.

The only thing was that, looking at it from the bar, it now appeared that the stage was tilted backwards by around 15°, so the drinkers will be having some strange experiences whilst watching the performers.

After all that, there were a load of bitty things to do – odd banners to position, or to be rehung to better effect, and so on. We put up a short stretch of night fence, to keep the revellers out of the children's play area, then finally it was all done, more or less, and we were able to relax a bit whilst those directly involved with the traders ran around.

We were all pretty quiet in the evening. Elanor arrived quite late on, and stayed overnight in the accommodation tent, as we had retreated to bed before she turned up.

Today we got our wristbands, so that we could come and go around site even when the public were about. We also got our nice red tee shirts with the Festival logo on, and our names on the sleeve – very smart.

The night fence was taken down right after an early breakfast. Sheila and I were given the job of putting up some signs that hadn't been ready in time, or where we'd not had a chance to do them the day before.

We were told that it would be apparent where each was to go, and this was indeed true for some of them, but for others we had to get advice, and there are a few even now that haven't gone up. Note for next year: when signs are ordered, please record on a site plan where they are wanted. A sign saying "Slippery surface" could be needed almost anywhere.

After lunch it's been very quiet, and we've had a chance actually to go round the show and look at the stalls before retreating to the boat to run the engine and do housekeeping type stuff.

It's a surprise 70th birthday party for Roger Burchett tonight, which should be good fun. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we should have recovered from it.

Life on camp II

2nd & 3rd July

These posts will be appearing 24 hours in arrears, because I don't want to break the alternate day rhythm of my posting, but it so happens that it's my turn to come back to the boat to run the engine in late afternoon on the intermediate days, so I'm composing this one on the 3rd, but I'll set it to appear on the 4th.

As I think I said last time, we are asked only to run the engine between 8.30 and 10.30 in the morning or 4.30 and 6.30 in the evening. Since Sanity needs a couple of hours running time every day, Sheila and I take it in turns to finish early, come back to the boat, run the engine and do any other stuff that needs doing, and get a shower.

There are showers available on site, and they are not at all bad, but Sanity's is just nicer to use.

Things are generally pretty organised now, the site taking shape for the weekend's festivities and the wrg camp functioning efficiently as ever. Both yesterday and today, I've been part of the sparks team, mostly pulling and heaving heavy great lumps of cable around (everything from 125 A 3-phase down to 16 A single phase for those interested in such stuff) whilst Sheila has been fencing – it's amazing just how much Heras fencing and crowd barrier you need to put up for an event like this.

Today we more or less finished the heavy stuff and started to run lines into the various locations requiring power. The traders and caterers have started arriving, so it's good to be able to connect them up as soon as they start asking for juice.

Last night we celebrated Adrian's birthday with a cake. I don't know how they do it, but wrg cooks are just brilliant at producing cakes to mark suitable occasions. They tend to be quite large, as the only cake tin available is usually a Grundy tray of the sort that you use for bulk baking, but with 20 or so of us having a go at it, it didn't look out of place. It'll keep appearing at tea and coffee breaks until it has all gone no doubt.

I'd love to post some photos of all this, but as I've said, the internet connection here is pretty iffy, and it's a fingers' crossed job just getting the text up, quite frankly. I'll try and take some photos over the next couple of days, and then put them up when I've got a decent connection again.

Life on camp I

1st & 2nd July

I'm doing this first thing, as breakfast on camp isn't until 8.30 today – I approve of Adrian as a camp leader! I'll set it up to post this afternoon as usual.

I thought I'd try and give a flavour of what life is like on a wrg camp in Festival support mode. Yesterday was a relaxed one form our point of view – some folks were having to rush around a lot, but until various items like marquees are set up, there's limited scope for our input.

In the course of the day, I spent a bit of time replacing the ordinary 32 amp cable that runs from the genset to the row of caravans with a steel armoured one, as a variety of heavy vehicles will be crossing it in the course of the next few days. We then buried a length of it between two lamp irons to indicate the main line the vehicles should take.

Later on my stamina was tested more severely, helping to unload the components for the staging in the main entertainment tent. In the course of the afternoon we started putting it all together – it's like a giant construction kit, so quite fun, but the stuff just weighs a lot when you are heaving it about.

After lunch we were pleased to see the arrival of the kitchen unit, as was Eli, our cook for the week. The weather continued to be very warm, though it looks as if we can't rely on that for much longer.

Back end of the afternoon, we had to come back to Sanity to run her engine for battery charging purposes – we're asked only to do so between 8.30 and 10.30, and between 4.30 and 6.30, which can be a problem for those of us who are grafting hard at those times.

Returning to site a bit before dinner, Sheila, Phil the bitch (odd nicknames they have in wrg) and I cleaned out the oil drums Bungle has got for moving diesel to the gensets.

Dinner was excellent – meatballs on spag with garlic bread and green salad, followed by raspberry cheesecake.

Today will be more of the same – there's 250 chairs to move into the ents marquee, for a start, and I have no doubt lots of other jobs will occur.

and so to Saul

29th & 30th June

A quickie blog post this time, squeezed in between getting Sanity all clean and shiny as we are tied on the towpath here at Saul, and going out for a drink after dinner with the wrgies that are here already.

Yesterday was a day for exploring Gloucester – an excellent city, but very quiet on a Sunday. The National Waterways Museum is good value – much better than either Stoke Bruerne or Ellesmere Port as we last saw either of those.

I've taken a load of pictures of Gloucester Dock and the Johanna Lucretia, a topsail schooner apparently abandoned there. I'll have to do a serious photo gallery after we've finished at the Festival here.

Apart from that, the dock is a great place to sit and watch the world go by on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Today, we left the dock as soon as Llanthony Bridge could be opened (not during the rush hour), and boated steadily down to Rea Bridge, from where you can access the Tesco at Quedgeley. It's a bit of a trek – about 15 minutes, and the First Mate's Guide map is invaluable.

Fully stocked up, we set off again at around 11, and arrived at Saul Junction a bit over an hour later. We found our mooring OK – one of the other two boats sharing it with us, Callum and Sue on Kalamazoo (nice one, guys), were there already. The third boat should be Nackered Navvy with Roger and Sue Burchett, but they are still tied nearer the junction at the moment.

We've spent the afternoon cleaning and polishing, as I say, then we wandered down to the show site and made contact with the folks who are there already.

When I've finished this, I'll cook the spare perishable food for our last dinner on Sanity for a week – we'll be eating on the WRG camp from tomorrow. I'll try and keep to the regular posting schedule, but they'll be brief bits, I expect. Normal service should resume in the middle of next week.