Yet another hot day  , the gardeners came round this morning one with mower and one with strimmer the towpath looks like a lawn the opposite extreme to some we have moored on . This has the advantage that it  reduces the dog doo hazard as not only can you see them but I think their easy visibility encourages owners to pick and bin .
We have begun to become members of the club of boaters who moor up and spend the day doing "bits" to their boat today I have painted one side from gunwhale down to water line with matt black ,the other side will be done when we are moored the  other way round Hilary has repaired a loose zip in the canopy , scrubbed the bedroom carpet , sanded the water marked side door panel linings and re varnished them but now the lure of the chair and the shade of the tree is gaining strength

Smart new matt black lower half

Four geese lined up The first one said I don`t know what he means " eat grass to fatten up for Christmas whats Christmas? "

Looking through the glare of the sun over the newly mown grass towards our tree

Back into relative civilisation  again phones internet and some tv working , we have decided to leave the final part of the Llangollen for later this year and return back down as Friday it  is back to the marina , Enterprise "we pick you up " and a few days back in Yorkshire .It has been another red hot day , tonight we are moored in Barbridge next to a large tree nice to get into the shade.

                  Saw this in the village of burland it is an interesting chimney I guess that is harder than one would think to create either that or the local beer is good

Lunch break on Tuesday 

Tuesday evening paella with a mixed salad and a small beer 

paella courtesy of Vesta now there`s a name  from the seventies 

Whilst shopping in Whitchurch on the way back we found a supply of Vesta products in a pound shop actualy 99p and got well stocked up with beef rissotto ,paella and curry they may not be to every ones taste but they are quick and easy 

One of the many lift bridges we passed through you have to open and close them yourself using the windlass to wind a hydraulic pump

See the wear on the plate which is iron and over 2" thick it protects the sill from damage caused by hundreds of boats rubbing over it

If you can remember a couple of weeks ago I took a photo of Sybil in lock 1 of the Llagollen showing how tight a fit it was well this is today when the boat Serenity became stuck whilst trying to enter 

Narrow boat Tickety Boo was tied to the back whilst the lock keeper opened  all the top paddles to flush water down and with much reving of both engines  Serenity was inched back out An embarrassing end to their attempt on the Llagollen 

Here we are securely moored up awaiting our spare part .

Notice Sybils bottom is looking much smarter , the old bike rack and bits have been taken off and our flower garden on the roof is starting to look ok

Today after a little research on the internet we decided to go into Oswestrey to do a little browsing and shopping so just after ten am we were stood at the side of the road outside the  boat yard ,there was no official bus stop so despite hgv`s passing at high speed in clouds of dust and debris when a bus appeared on the horizon  we resorted in the good old fashioned method of stepping  into the road hand raised and hoping anyway it worked so geriatric pass in hand on we got , my ticket was printed as "eng conc"  ie english concession after all we are on the welsh borders , Hilarys ticket only cost £1.55 considerably less mile for mile than Yorkshire .After we tired of the pleasures of Oswestrey the next challenge was to get back ,our first attempt at the bus station failed as the bus we needed didn`t leave from the bus station rather from a stop in town , whilst we waiting we got talking to some locals of a similar age to us maybe older , but free travel again for me foreigner or not  ,the bus duly delivered us to the boat yard gate and left with our new found friends and some that we didn`t know waving from the windows .

Good news when we got back the part has arrived , fingers crossed tomorrow is the day to fit it .

Oswestry memorial gardens fantastic floral displays 

 This a Beta 43 drive plate see the blue bushs around the centre spindle they are the shock absorbers

The roof garden

We are still at Bridge five but have now moved over to the other side of the canal onto the hire boat moorings (who's engineers are also going to fit the new drive plate for Rcr ) when it arrives , might be on  Wednesday now which is better than one estimate we were given  of next week .Just  our luck to have the engine /gearbox with the unusual interface !! apparently Beta did change things on a regular basis
Al least we now have access to electric , water and waste disposal facilities , every one here is very helpful .
Earlier on today I tried to ring the canal river trust to inform them that we may have to over stay on our mooring I rang the 0303 etc no the operator transferred me to the regional enforcement officer whos voicemail told "Iam on holiday till the 14th please ring 0303 etc" so I did the operator then put me through to the regional supervisor whose voice mail said I am on holiday till the 7th ????? Please ring 0303 etc" so I did and the operator told me " they forgot to  change their messages !!! I will get supervisor to ring you back
Guess what I am still waiting good job there wasn`t a leaking canal  bank , I think of the little dutch boy with his finger in the hole could have  been me

A nice quiet day today doing a few jobs watching all the hire boats going in all directions but every one happy , one crew of six young people set off with a "ya hoo" waving to us as they meandered away up the canal  nice to see so many people enjoying themselves .Damp this morning the big overhead cables were really singing , but the sun came out later a lovely afternoon much more comfortable than some days we have had .
Rcr have contacted us to say that the required part will be delivered tomorrow morning and the boat yard opposite will fit it then we can continue up into the hills around two days travelling to reach the head of the canal .

The man from Rcr has been and  his opinion is that the fault lies with the gearbox drive plate a rubber cushion plate between the gearbox and engine if thats what it is it will be repaired for fifty pounds (Our excess)

now thats a bargain  compared to the full cost of the work so our subscription will prove its worth ?

First lock on the Llangollen canal where a big sign says lift fenders before entering   you can see why as  its a very tight fit with around two inch clearance at lower level  but opens out as you rise

One of the gargoyles on Ellsmere church

Three old ladies in Wrenbury

Ellsmere church looking  over the mere from the gardens

wharehouse at the head of the Ellsmere branch

We have started up the Llangollen very pretty and rural , limited internet and mobile signals this last week , we had two days in Ellsmere possibly the last real chance to get supplies for a few days .Tonight we are stopped at bridge 5 and have called the RCR the boat equivalent of the RAC as the drive coupling has got a little graunchy , better to get it checked before it does go wrong in the middle of nowhere.
will see if I can get an  internet signal in the pub over the bridge and put a few pictures on later .
The weather has been pretty good mainly sunshine , Friday was so hot I did very little except water the plants and try to keep cool Hilary varnished the plank which will become a seat across the rear of  the boat ( a nice piece of elm from Alan Magson).

We are back on Sybil tonight after a few days at home , the hire car has been emptied of all the stuff we brought with us paint , tools , food , drink , flower plants for the roof including two bags of compost and even a five ft plank tied on the roof  then the car was safely returned to Enterprise who ran us back to the marina , hows that for service .
Its bucketing down with rain at the moment but the forecast looks quite good , we are hoping to get some jobs done while we are  in the marina as there is an electric supply to the mooring and we have paid up till Monday so the laundry and our showering is all included as well  .
Our most likely route when we leave here will be up the Llangollen as you may guess this is up  into Wales , one of its attractions is crossing the Pontcysyllte aqueduct  126 ft high see here that is going to be some experience .
All our moorings were very rural last week no one else about  apart from the wild life and cattle also no tv or internet .

Just relaxing in the sun last weekend .