There is More to Grimsby than Fish.
This is specially true for canalaholics or the lesser mortals who enjoy but do not inhale.
Some of the highlights of our weekend studying industrial history in and around Grimsby were the bridges.
In the city the Corporation bascule bridge is in regular use.









At Keadby, near Scunthorpe, is this Scherzer rolling lift bridge.






Built in 1916 it takes the road and railway over the River Trent but has not been opened for the passage of shippng since 1956. The bascule was originally powered by large batteries but was converted to mains electricity later.







Where the Doncaster to Scunthorpe railway crosses the Stainforth and Keadby Canal there is too little headroom for boats to pass under.


The railway crosses at a considerable skew and so when a boat needs to pass through the whole railway slides to the side.
Winches housed in the grey shed pull the bridge with cables and it rolls back on small wheels and rails of its own.
Not having a boat with us we could not persuade the bridge operator to move it over for us.

Sign of the Times?

A Tale of Woe
I hope you have the tissues ready....
Over the past five years we have had intermittent problems with water seeping in through on of the windows. Various measures have been tried but as we leaned recently, they have not been very successful. With winter approaching we decided to get professionals to look at the problem. So we are in Blue Haven marina near Hillmorton (Rugby). The first job was to remove the window frames from inside which exposed the fittings. These windows are are supplied with 18 little clamps to hold the window in position tightly against the bodyshell. The boatbuilder had seen fit to use only seven of these and none at all along the top edge of the window. So we found the cause of the leaks.

Whilst the repairs are taking place we have no window in the dining area. But undeterred, i work on to bring this blog to you.


With luck we will be away from here on Wednesday and move on to Braunston for a few days before heading down the Grand Union.

Meanwhile, She who must be obeyed has been in to Rugby to buy essential supplies and take a tour of Rugby School. Photos may follow!

10/10/10
On this day in 1911 the Qing dynasty in China was brought to an end by the Wuchang Uprising and the Republic of China (now known as Taiwan) was founded. Double Ten Day is therefore their national foundation day. The tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year however is not so special as one might expect because the calendar in Taiwan started in 1911 so next year will be more significant to them.
I was going to write a piece about the Panama Canal as we have a diary entry which says that that canal was opened on this day in 1913. I am not sure if that is correct so I will check this before I subject you to my photos of that amazing canal.

Tete-a-Tete with Granny Buttons
This posting is for Chris and Paul somewhere in France on nb Dream On.
The engineer brought our domestic alternator back on Friday evening with the comment "the regulator was not connected to anything. Where did you buy it?" Not being as au fait with Severn Valley Boat Centre as some of us he was surprised when I said it was fitted when the boat was built and had not been touched since then. Anyway it is now back in situ and all seems well. (!)
This morning we made our way down to Rugby, topping up with diesel at Rose Narrowboats. On our way we passed several groups of photographers waiting for a steam loco to pass by. We managed to be in the only place it could not be seen when it did pass. No pictures from me, then.
Approaching Newbold Tunnel - the short one with pretty lights and room for two way traffic- a second hire-boat came racing past us in a hurry to nowhere. We could see a boat coming through the tunnel towards us and were wondering why Jenson Button had overtaken us at this point. I think they may have asked themselves the same question a few minutes later when they managed to obstruct the tunnel portal preventing the oncoming boat from leaving.




This tunnel ain't big enough for the two of us!






Soon after mooring and re-mooring, the place we had vacated for a better one was taken by nb Granny Buttons. For those not acquainted with Granny Buttons a visit to the blog is worthwhile.
Those who follow that blog will know that the boat has been hi-jacked by antipodeans.
Even wihtout his boat he gets 50 times as many readers as me! :-(

Weekend Away
When we moved up from Coventry basin to Sutton Stop on Thursday there was an extraneous noise emanating from somewhere in the engine region. We called out RCR for the first time since subscribing to their emergency service over four years and they quickly identified a fault with the alternator which supplies power to the domestic battery bank. Friday to Monday night we were away on a study weekend in the Grimsby area with 24 others from WADIHS. On Tuesday at 8am the engineer removed the alternator to get it repaired or replaced. Our next task was to recharge the batteries using our on-board generator. This would not start: completely dead. This left us with low battery power and no way of recharging it and hence no way of cooking dinner for Ali and Elaine who were coming that evening.
In the event our generator man came and fixed that problem and our guests could not make it due to unforeseen circumstances.
So now we are almost back to normal, just waiting for the alternator to return.
Ali and Elaine are coming for dinner tonight and I shall put up some information about our study weekend in the next day or two.

Blow Up
Sunday morning 9 am
Activity around the basin.

Men in overalls laying out lines and setting up lights.



Cameras ,and people dressed in black with clip boards.





Could I just move the boat as there was to be a depth charge just - There!!




So I hauled Gecko around the corner on the ropes beyond the expected shock waves.
A short action film involving a giant humanoid robot shooting at a famous TV actor, no less.

Having no TV the actor was not famous to me. But he did do the running up stairs bit well.






Five hours waiting for the explosions and then I got one shot of smoke before the camera battery died. Oh the frustration of film-making!




I hope the film crew were more successful.

Coventry to Oxford in One Day
The train from Coventry to Oxford only takes 50 minutes so I left Gecko behind for this day trip.
I was viewing flats for Marcus who is moving back to UK from Germany sometime soon now that Olga has finished her studies. Macus's employer has an office in Oxford and they have agreed that he can carry out his duties as effectively there as in Mainz.
Douglas, the younger one, aslso has a connection with Oxford. After graduating and before training to teach, he worked for a Chartered Surverors on Oxford Castle and Prison. The castle was built in 1071 and was a working prison until 1996. Ten years later a National Lottery grant made it possible to excavate the area and subsequently the prison buildings were converted to an hotel.

Before the work began, the site was in a fairly run-down condition. This photo was taken during the survey.







Excavation in progress.
Photo coourtesy of English Heritage








Looking a lot smarter now as a boutique hotel.











Where people pay to sleep in a prison cell.









Click here to download a brochure about Oxford castle

Reader Response
"If this bridge really looks as elegant in the daylight why not show us"


So here it is and the houses still muscle in on the scene.

Not Alone
I really felt as though I had been sent to Coventry today: The three boats who shared the basin with me last night all left. Including Whio which belongs to a Kiwi couple who moor it in Aylesbury over the winter. About four pm a Yellow Peril arrived as I was going into town for some bits and pieces. When I returned they were setting off again leaving me all alone. This has happened a few times whilst I have been here. I have checked my aftershave and religiously have a shower each month whether I need it or not so I assume that some people do not realise that the city is only two minutes walk from the basin. If the lights around the basin were switched off during the day the city could afford a sign of some kind to encourage the visitors to stay and spend money.
Coventry is a compact city. I can walk from the basin which is just outside the ring road to the railway station which is beyond the ring road on the opposite side of town in 15 minutes. For its size Coventry saw more destruction than most industrial towns in WWII. Perhaps this was because the Industrial Revolution passed the city by and the industry which did develop here was the more recent technologies - internal combustion engines, aeroplanes, bearings and the like - and more relevant to modern warfare.