Wednesday 1st June
Less locks today, only 4 and about 5 miles have brought us from Hebden Bridge to Sowerby Bridge. We got our coal delivery this morning as arranged and the weather has warmed up dramatically so I haven’t needed to light the fire tonight, typical! However, coal hasn’t got a burn by date and it won’t go off so it’s no ill store. Having it on the roof helps with the trim of the boat anyway.
The canal became a bit shallow in places and we ran over something rather hard and rather large. Following this our prop whine had disappeared – unfortunately an inspection down the weed hatch revealed that our prop is now bent! The boat is still driveable but there is a certain amount of vibration on the tiller which means there is vibration on the prop shaft and the gear box, not good, aaaargh! Tomorrow when we go to Shire Cruisers for diesel we may be able to find someone to ask if we need a new prop (likely) or if it can be straightened out (unlikely).
Another source of annoyance today was that when we got to Sowerby Bridge we discovered there is not really anywhere decent to moor up overnight to wait for passage down the locks and through the tunnel at Tuel Lane. Had we have known this we would have moored below Edward Kilner Lock where it was quite nice and come here in the morning.
We are moored on the lock approach here at Tuel Lane and it’s ok but not particularly edifying. When we arrived there were boats waiting to go down the locks so we moored temporarily round the corner (about 2 ft from the bank) and I asked the lock keeper if we could wait on the lock approach after those boats had gone down. He said it would be ok and we moved up later. Unfortunately not before Ken had stood in dog poo and traipsed it all in the boat – twice! It was worse than Congleton along there and I thought that was the dog poo capital of the canals!
As we were mooring up on the lock approach we were besieged by five boys of about 7/8 years old and a ruder, cheekier, thicker, more obnoxious and aggravating bunch of kids you couldn’t wish to meet! One of them jumped up on the gunwhale of B and B’s boat and argued with them when they told him to get off. Then they all started making comments about B and B having loads of money because they have a boat and ‘only rich people have boats’.
The first boy then managed to get himself on the water side of B and B’s mooring rope and we had to tell him to go away before he fell in between the bank and the boat and got crushed. One of the other boys then argued with us saying he wouldn’t get crushed. Ken said his leg would be crushed like a sweet if he put it between the boat and the bank. This boy then said sweets only get crushed when you chomp them. Ken told him to put his leg in there and find out. The boy told me to put my leg in there because he needed his but I didn’t need mine. When I asked him why I didn’t need my legs he said it was because I didn’t have to get up in the morning! Where did he get that sort of thing from? Only from his parents because he couldn’t have had those kinds of ideas himself surely?
Another boat moored up behind us and the boys turned their attention to them throwing some weeds from the canal on to their roof. Fortunately they soon got bored with us all and went away. It’s a pity their parents haven’t taught them to respect their elders (and betters) and to have better manners! Years ago we could have got away with giving them a ding round the lug but unfortunately that is not the case nowadays and we’d probably get ourselves arrested!
I have to say Sowerby Bridge is a bit of a poor relation to Hebden Bridge. I mentioned the skateboard park in the park at Hebden Bridge, well the kids here also have a skateboard park – it’s called the car park! In Hebden there is a wealth of independent shops and nice pubs, here there is a wealth of tatty shops and closed pubs! They do have a B M Bargains though, say no more!
Anyway, we are off down the locks tomorrow about 9-30am. That is, of course, as long as the bottom lock’s temporary repair, which they had to do this afternoon, is still holding up. Things just keep getting better and better.
