......"Is that a deep fried boiled egg and chips you want Madam"?

We stayed at Stone for a couple of days to replenish some stocks as Morrison's was close by and also to watch the swans.....there were Mr and Mrs Swan with 3 cygnets and they were so protective it basically shut the towpath down.....nobody and I mean nobody was going to go past the parents. Some locals told us they have been a nightmare for a few years now, although you often hear people say "don't go near the swan they can break your bones" does anybody know somebody this has happened to?

We left Stone and made our way to Stoke-on-Trent which is our first "biggish" city we have been to. As you approach Stoke the first thing you see is The Britannia Stadium home of Stoke City FC, looks pretty similar to St Mary's home of my beloved Southampton FC (not keen on the new home shirts...where are the stripes)

Stoke City's Britannia Stadium

We moored up opposite a cemetery adjacent 2 restored bottle kilns, in it's heyday there were almost 4000 kilns and up to the 1950's still over 2000. Today there are only 47 still standing.....sad eh? We decided to wander in to the town and not to do the people of Stoke a disservice it is a bit run down though with more shops and pubs shut down than I have ever seen although I did see an Indian Restaurant close to where we were moored.....Hmmmm.......I really miss Indian food!!

2 of the 47 remaining bottle kilns

Suzie was quite happy for us to go in, I'd eat, she would watch and I'll do her some egg and chips back at the boat. We get in the Restaurant only to find that they would cook Suzie egg and chips......nice one!
2 mins later the waiter came back and asked if Suzie wanted the eggs in a sauce?.....No no just fried please says Suzie. The waiter returned again to ask if she wanted deep fried boiled eggs???? It took some explaining what Suzie wanted but they got it spot on! out came 2 fried eggs with chips, it did look lovely and we were very pleased. My curry........It was probably the worst  Indian meal I have ever had.....we expected Suzie's eggs to be a bit of a disaster with the difficulty we had explaining what a fried egg was, but my curry!!!!hey ho, such is life.....I am still hankering after a nice Indian meal!

We get up the next morning and do a couple of locks and the turn right at Etruia and go down the Caldon Canal. Etruia is the home of the last steam powered potters mill in Britain and has been "steaming" since 1903.

The last steam mill still working in Britain

 Down the Caldon we go and after we do a few locks we then come across our first (real) swing bridge. We pull over and I go and have a nosey.....phew! it is electronic. I jump aboard and Suzie goes up to barrier off the road and to press the buttons. Once through Suzie closes the bridge and then spends the next 5 mins swinging on the counter balance weight of the barriers trying to open them all to no avail!!!!.....it was like watching a comedy sketch as I could see it just wasn't going to happen! Thank you to the guys on their lunch break!

Under the swing bridge and round the corner and we meet a boat coming at us......tis Fred and Lisa...."We'll meet you at The Hollybush Inn in a couple of days" they both shout. "No problem, we'll find it" I say.......we moor up not long after and get out the laptop only to find that The Hollybush Inn is here in the village.....happy days. The next day we walk into the village of Stockton Brook and have a bit of a nosey round and to post a birthday card to Suzie's Brother-in-Law John (we did receive a text from John thanking us for his card although it's a month early, however, he went on to say that it was Suzie's sister Pat's birthday!!!.....we'll send her one next month!) In the village we find The Hollybush Inn has closed down and is now a fancy Italian Restaurant (surely Fred and Lisa don't mean this?) we carry on walking and come across a locals pub where not to be rude we pop in and have a few. Back to the boat and have a afternoon nap.....such a hard life we lead! We wake up about 4pm only to find NB Chyandour moored right behind us! So, 2 hours later we are back in the local pub till closing time. We discover from Fred and Lisa that the Hollybush pub he meant is 4-5mls away in the village of Denford....doh! The next day the sun was out so we all decided not to move on but to stay and have a BBQ which was delicious and move the following day.
Off the pair of us go for a few miles, over the Aqueduct, down 3 locks and moor up round the corner from The Hollybush Inn. we stayed here for 4-5 days it was a bit of a busy time......late night drinking and BBQ's with Fred and Lisa, but brilliant fun was had by all.

Suzie and Fred trimming the hedge!

The BBQ king at work

Out and about on our daily walk! 

Fred and Lisa moved to Leek the next day to catch the market but we stayed as it was here that I caught up with an old mate from work who had the same attitude as us that life is more important than money. Terry also retired at 55, moved to Staffordshire and he and Jayne have their Narrowboat moored at the bottom of their garden. Was really nice to meet up and we'll meet up again in a few weeks. The next day we move back towards Stoke to spend the weekend at Etruria again with Fred and Lisa

We have to say a big thank you to Fred and Lisa (NB Chyandour) for wonderful hospitality and truly great company the plan was to meet for a drink as we were passing each other and it turned into a 10 day holiday!

If you see Fred and Lisa......say hello!

Since the last blog we've done 20 miles, 25 locks.
This gives a grand total of 192 miles 100 yards, 129 locks and 6 tunnels (tunnels over 1000yds only).

Nearly a proper boater?

We have not done much since the last blog just the simple task of having to call out RCR (the canal equivalent to the AA) after I did the 250hr service. You see, I inadvertently left the "old" oil seal from the oil filter stuck on the engine block so after putting the new one on and topping up with oil, I then started the engine and of course oil spewed out between the 2 rubber gaskets all over my nice clean engine bay floor!.......what a dope! A phone call to RCR at 18:00 made me feel better, they'd come out now but could it wait till the morning?........of course, I say.

So early the next morning the 2 guys from RCR turned up. I tell them what happened and they both looked to each other and said "bet he's got a Beta 43 down there"?... yep, I have said me!.... they then said "it's a common fault that the oil seal sticks to the block and not to worry" (did they say that just to make me feel better?) they had it sorted in 10 mins. So, a big thank you RCR, if you are not a member and have a boat JOIN! great value and great service. I mean, Charlotte from their office even dropped us some oil mats on her way home a few days later!

Should I really be down here?

 After the trauma of me doing our first service we slowly continued north but then at Great Haywood Junction we turned off the Trent and Mersey and went down the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal so we could go to Tesco. It was here that I felt I'm getting there as another boater was getting into all sorts of problems and asked me, yes me for help. I got him sorted and tied up and he was very grateful, he was a hirer and it was his first time.
It's only 5 mls down the canal from Great Haywood but then we had to go another 3 mls through a lock to a winding hole, to turn the boat around. Back at the lock after winding Swamp Frogs 2 working boats arrived just after as we had a bit of a wait.....we said that they could go through before us as we were in no rush at all. Lorna, one of the 2 working women was telling us that her family have been on the cut since 1795 WOW!! and that she has records going back that far to prove it! She also said that she was the first generation in her family to be born "on the bank" (This is the term that us boaters use for you guys that live in houses)

They showed their thanks by chucking a bag of coal on the ground and wished us well on or travels how nice was that eh? So, so different than being in a car!

We moored up just after Deptmore lock and stayed here a couple of days as it was such a beautiful spot. Lovely garden and loads of animals to see.

What a bunch of posers eh?

The posing cows!

Sparrow Hawk flying around all the time......

.....as was this Buzzard!

Suzie captured this........
.....what a great photo!

CaRT mending some fencing

Poor guys from CaRT couldn't get back on hehe....

Talk about protecting the young!

Patiently waiting for his tea!

Lonely horse on a hill.

As you can see from the pictures above it truly was a lovely spot to moor.

We left Stafford and while cruising back to Great Haywood we passed NB Herbie We don't know them but seem nice people.

We also passed this........all a bit sad.......

Another one bites the dust!

We stopped at the junction for fuel and to visit the farm shop across the road. Fuelled and stocked up we carried on and are currently moored just outside of Stone where we passed NB Shoehorn which we've seen many times but yet to stop and have a drink together......it will come. Within 15 mins of mooring Suzie tells me to come out as a bloke was in a right pickle, so out I go.....he is trying to moor a 70' Trad and having all sorts of problems and ended up at one stage 90 degrees to the canal......(hmmmm......been there and done it myself) 30mins later he is all moored up and very grateful..........I've helped 2 boaters in 2 days.......So am I nearly a proper boater?......No by a long way! I have many years to go yet and so much more to learn!

We are still hoping to catch up with Fred and Lisa owners of  NB Chyandour for a drink after the week-end, it may mean us deviating up the Caldon Canal but hey........what's the rush?

Take care people.....

Since the last blog we've done 26 miles, 10 locks.
This gives a grand total of 172 miles 100 yards, 104 locks and 6 tunnels (tunnels over 1000yds only).

In search of the lost Penguins!

We left Polesworth after a great night with Roger and Pat (The Cat's Whiskers) and continued on towards Tamworth where Suzie got all excited as we come across our first swing bridge........hehe

Not what we expected but it's still the first!

As we continued on our way we were met with calls from boaters coming in the opposite direction shouting "watch the boat round the bend" and "stay left round the bend" so, cautiously around the bend we went now, on "The Cut" we generally cruise down the centre but pass boats coming the opposite way on the right so staying left round a bend could prove that Narrow Boating is truly a contact sport.....slowly we go only to be faced with this.......

Couldn't spot a notice on the boat?

We got to Tamworth and moored up just outside the town. Suzie and I are not Town/City people and much prefer mooring in isolated spots but hey, sometimes need must.......it's better to pay £16 for 30 cans of Carlsberg than £7:50 for 8! So, off I go to Tesco with my sack truck. I do get some funny looks but it just makes sense......get the bargains when you can (I've just counted our beer stock, we've over 280 cans of assorted beers and ciders....happy days)

Whilst moored up at Tamworth I hear this Swan going nuts first thing in the morning.......luckily it was just having a wash and preening itself and nothing more!

With Swamp Frogs re-stocked with the essentials we head of early the next morning and take a slow cruise to a place called Hopwas and moor between 2 Canal side pubs.....The Tame Otter and The Red Lion. We take a walk through the village (10mins) and just enjoy the rest of the day sat on the boat chatting to passers by....it is so nice that people seem to have the time to stop and chat whilst walking the towpath, so different from any High Street in any Town. I mean, one woamn even said "if you need anything, a shower, need the washing machine, anything at all  just come and knock my back door".....we could tell that she was sincere in the offer....how nice eh? can you imagine saying that to a stranger parked outside your front door????.....No, it just wouldn't happen!
Early next morning we are up and ready to set off. It would appear we are not the only ones to make early starts. Graham and Liz from NB Down to Earth slowly make there way past us around 06:00 whist we have a cuppa before setting off around 06:30 ish. It is the best time to travel as we are both early riser's and it just makes sense to us, it's quieter for a start and wherever you are heading for, people have left so it's easier to find a mooring in popular places.
We arrive at Fradley Junction and moor up and spend the day/night here....we had planned to carry on but it was so nice we called it a day so we could explore.

The Swan Inn as it is today

The Swan Inn from over 50yrs ago

It's not just roads that need
 signposts!

                                                                                                             

Fradley Junction map.

While here we visit Fradley Pool now a Nature Reserve but it's original purpose was a reservoir as constant water supplies are essential for canals and the Trent & Mersey Canal Company didn't want to lose any to their rivals, the Coventry Canal Company. So they built an ingenious overflow weir and channel which carried the main flow of water from above Middle Lock, around the Junction, under The Swan and behind the cottages at Junction Row, to Fradley Pool, where it was stored. When water was needed for their canal, they released it into the canal near Keeper’s Lock.

Suzie is looking for the alleged penguins

Well spotted......these are RARE!

You have to see these to believe it!

Hmmm.......not sure what to say?

Who is following who?

Not a lot of room

Our first "proper" aqueduct.

A Buzzard just taking off!

We leave Fradley Junction having spotted the Penguins and pop into Kings Bromley Marina where I hoped to get the oil and filter ready for me doing my first service.....I got the filter but no oil! I now had to reverse Swamp Frogs out of the Marina.......easy, although I've not done this before but we managed it ok (with a little help from the bow thruster) and on to Rugeley to get some oil. Having got the oil we are currently moored 2 mls from Great Heywood.

Our garden for today.

Fred and Lisa, who we met over a year ago and own NB Chyandour are not too far away and we hope to meet up with them before we both take different routes off the Trent and Mersey.........

.......Till next time!

Since the last blog we've done 26 miles, 7 locks.
This gives a grand total of 146 miles 100 yards, 94 locks and 6 tunnels (tunnels over 1000yds only).