tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14255675787103136082012-02-17T04:43:27.230ZThe occasional on line musings (and sometimes alternative views) of the narrow boat SusieQ crew of two, and their navigations around the UK's inland waterways.Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06222089031461403603noreply@blogger.comBlogger521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-55196414908694119032010-09-12T18:09:00.002+01:002010-09-12T18:09:50.356+01:00

Just a reminder to our readers and followers we have moved on and SusieQ no longer is our boat.  If you wish to continue following us please change your bookmark to nbadagio.blogspot.com. Thank you for following our Blog - we hope to see you at our new one.

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-67203885576884914762010-07-25T20:38:00.002+01:002010-07-25T20:56:01.034+01:00

Well that's all folks! We handed over SusieQ to Ellie at Great Haywood Boat Sales today to be laid up afloat for sale. After a hectic week of return trips between Tattenhall and Great Haywood marinas we finally completed preparing SusieQ for the market. Hopefully, soon someone will fall in love with her, like we did 5 years ago, and take her on. As for us, we are sitting on Adagio amongst

Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06222089031461403603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-48967290128862304642010-07-23T20:50:00.000+01:002010-07-23T20:50:13.205+01:00

Hi Everyone, Well we have finally moved on to Adagio.  Not everything has found a home yet but we are able to sit in the very comfy chairs and we have a bed to sleep in tonight.  Just a few chores to finish on SusieQ then we hand her over to Steve, the Broker, for sale.  We have enjoyed a couple of quality days with our friends, The Macs, on a brief cruise down to Wolsely Bridge and Tixall Wide

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-40720861445105083582010-07-20T16:47:00.001+01:002010-07-20T16:47:02.967+01:00

Well we are almost there - I think.  SusieQ is nearly ready to go on sale and most of our kit is on Adagio.  Just got to find space to stow it all. We plan to officially move onto her this weekend with a relaunch ceremony the following week. We have taken a couple of hours break in Stafford this afternoon so I am taking the opportunity to update the blog. We spent an enjoyable weekend visiting

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-50628618486044382632010-07-11T18:47:00.001+01:002010-07-11T18:47:27.807+01:00

Well here we are at the end of our first weekend of retirement. So far we haven't stopped! What with moving stuff to Adagio and Sue having to do all the driving coz my knee is still crook. We are both tired bunnies. So we have postponed the 'real world' till tomorrow and are going to the pub for P&P. Tomorrow it will be for real and we shall close down some of our old life: gas, electricity,

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-3283946159843238492010-07-09T21:53:00.001+01:002010-07-09T21:53:04.701+01:00

Well today was the day I joined Sue in retirement. What a day! Sue has been labouring away sorting the house and ferrying our stuff to SusieQ while I have been clearing my desk for the past few weeks. But today involved completing the house sale, transferring funds to pay for Adagio, and emptying the house. The latter involved loading our small car, realising Sue was right - it wasn't going to

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-8813640842738608902010-07-02T19:43:00.003+01:002010-07-02T20:00:21.096+01:00

Hi everyone,We hope you are all well. We have received emails from some of you recently which is always a pleasure so do please keep in contact. Don't forget to register as a follower of our Blog to keep up to date with our adventures.Speaking of adventures - we have both taken early retirement so we can live on the Cut permanently. The house is sold along with most of its contents. Sue has

Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06222089031461403603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-82518063847270665822010-06-11T20:27:00.003+01:002010-06-12T17:11:13.340+01:00

Hello all,I'm afraid we admitted defeat and came home today. We had got so wet the call of dry land had got too much.We left our moorings at the Moat House at around 830, and headed back for the marina. There were a few locks, but there was a lot more traffic on the cut in both directions so we were able to get through them quite smoothly. People were more friendly today also, maybe it's because

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-53397177070750081682010-06-10T19:41:00.001+01:002010-06-12T17:09:17.118+01:00

Today has not been the best. The weather has remained grey & dull, and there is a damp chill to the air which makes your bones ache. Add to that grumpy boaters, over zealous help at the locks which threatens to flood the boat, and locks against you for most of the day and you end up with two grumpy sods who are desperate for an evening in a proper boating pub as mentioned in the Pearson's guide.

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-17614567978435891632010-06-09T18:41:00.001+01:002010-06-12T17:06:20.576+01:00

Hello all,Today we started heading back home towards Great Haywood. We had carefully planned our route to make sure no 12 hour days were required in order to get back to pick up our cat from his holidays on Monday. Because the weather had turned so foul, we'd decided to turn aroundyesterday so we had a slow, gentle cruise to Calf's Heath for my dose of wilderness.Although we managed to stay up

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-1734844398166849922010-06-08T18:41:00.001+01:002010-06-12T17:00:07.167+01:00

Oops. The save & send buttons are a bit close together.As I was saying, we hoped it would brighten up as we headed for Brewood (pronounced Brood) for lunch. Unfortunately, it didn't and we both got pretty soggy by lunchtime. We stopped at Brewood, not sure if we would bother continuing. It had got so bad I lit the fire so we could dry our clothes which were ringing wet. We had our lunch and

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-34309405593129474112010-06-08T15:00:00.002+01:002010-06-12T16:56:38.429+01:00

Hello all,Firstly, an apology. There was no blog yesterday. Sorry about that, we had a bad attack of the semi-colons which caused a malfunction in the blogging machinery. Fingers crossed today's issue will reach you unsullied by the punctuation-pixie and normal service can be resumed.So, yesterday was mainly sunny and we made our way from Penkridge to Coven via Calf's Heath. This involved a fair

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-87732484407243734752010-06-06T18:12:00.002+01:002010-06-12T16:52:08.597+01:00

This morning, at very-early-o'clock, we were woken by thunder which rattled the brass on the boat and for a moment or two made us fear for our lives. After not hearing anyone else screaming, we decided not to panic & went back to sleep until cup-of-tea-o'clock.Ian did his first unsupervised pre engine start checks this morning and found that either his legs are too long or his arms are missing

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-52568950197267899562010-06-05T18:06:00.002+01:002010-06-12T16:47:20.607+01:00

Hello all,Some of you may already know that Susie Q is under new Captaincy at the moment. After our intensive training weekend we have proved that we are SQEP (suitably qualified & experienced personnel) and as such are Dropping Out for one week only. With this priviledge though comes the responsibility of writing The Blog each day, something that does cause a sense of "mild peril"

Fuzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710996919863057371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-91267249844491419102010-05-30T15:05:00.001+01:002010-05-30T15:05:29.969+01:00

We managed to escape the marina despite the treacherous cross wind.  Quite sporty getting onto the cut but we made it unscathed. Really strong gusts meant we had to stay alert at all times - 57 feet of steel boat becomes pretty agile in all the wrong ways when the wind blows. Made it to our 'happy' place to moor without incident. We walked into Great Haywood to the Clifford Arms for a lunchtime

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-73295439796065372492010-05-29T18:33:00.000+01:002010-05-29T18:33:20.170+01:00

Well, what was that we said about slipping away this morning?  It has rained non-stop all day today - classic English Bank Holiday weekend weather.  So we have not got away yet.  That's the beauty of not being on any kind of schedule - you do not have to get wet. We took a stroll into Stafford where I purchased the new toy - a contract mobile broadband package merged with my existing mobile

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-29930833428308902772010-05-28T20:47:00.001+01:002010-05-28T20:47:25.573+01:00

Well here we are on the SusieQ for the holiday weekend. It's a glorious May evening although cooling down now. Just a short cruise planned - slipping away in the morning. Let's hope weather stays good. Can feel the stresses ebbing away :-)

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-617743863515224622010-05-14T20:47:00.000+01:002010-05-14T20:47:43.201+01:00

Well here we are again on the SusieQ for a weekend chill.  This time we have our new mobile broadband booster antenna which I am testing right now.  Although this area (Great Haywood Marina) only gets standard GPRS mobile coverage with the new antenna signal strength has gone from Good to Excellent.  Still not adequate for uploading images but makes browsing, posting and emailing a little less

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-85511559656663736442010-05-11T22:17:00.000+01:002010-05-11T22:17:32.980+01:00

Hi Everyone This is a post especially for our Canadian (Ottawa, Kewlona, Calgary) and American (New Jersey) friends.  We are changing email addresses so please ensure we have your latest contact details.  For security reasons don't post replies here :-o - so, please email your current contact details to my existing email address (you will know what that is).  (I have received a bounced email

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-13235477054673084772010-05-07T22:12:00.001+01:002010-05-07T22:12:58.094+01:00

Wonders of technology here is first mobile post. Let me know if this works.

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-36299171475987795332010-05-04T22:12:00.000+01:002010-05-04T22:12:41.082+01:00

Well here we are safely home so I can fill in the gaps from yesterday's headlines and add some pix. The weekend was really good - the weather was cool but dry.  The cut was not very busy which was OK by us. On the return journey we called in at Penkridge and went for a wander around town.  Mum treated us to lunch in The Star pub in Market Square.  This is an excellent pub with friendly staff,

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-72861432584011140232010-05-03T21:09:00.000+01:002010-05-03T21:09:16.529+01:00

Well here we are moored at Tixhall Wide - the beauty spot we have mentioned before.  Three tired bunnies after a tough day's cruising.  Not a good connection tonight so headlines only - read the Blog tomorrow when I can update it and fill in the gaps from home on the broadband InterWeb connection. Here are the headlines: Small person moves 1 1/2 ton lock gate by will power alone As if that is

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-19925877965012823422010-05-02T19:57:00.000+01:002010-05-02T19:57:57.621+01:00

Well here we are on day 2 of the May Bank Holiday weekend cruise.  Weather is cool and cloudy.  The sun has tried to break through the cloud without success today but at least it stayed dry.  We all retired to bed about 2145 last night and awoke at around 0600 to the slide whistle calls of the Lapwings, doing Klangers impressions, in the field opposite.  The fresh air, change of scenery, slower

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-33947047920450919112010-05-01T20:19:00.000+01:002010-05-01T20:19:55.897+01:00

1st May and it's Mum's first day on the SusieQ.  The weather has been quite good, mild but cloudy. We headed out of the marina at about 1330 and set fair for Tixhall Wide - we are cruising to Penkridge or thereabouts, who knows? who cares?  Mum sat in the bow watching the countryside glide by while Sue and I took turns at the tiller.  Not many boats on the cut yet but surely that will change as

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-71160898921046575202010-04-17T20:23:00.000+01:002010-04-17T20:23:49.161+01:00

What a glorious day it was today.  Blue skies (and no commercial aircarft courtsey Iceland's volcano) and sunshine!  Not bad for April. I managed to scrub all of the Winter's muck off the boat to reveal the blue paint in all its faded glory.  There's no doubt the SusieQ needs a paint job soon.  Tomorrow I set about her with the special blue T-cut and try to restore some of her shine.  While I

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-27485412127047121292010-04-16T21:44:00.002+01:002010-04-16T21:44:34.234+01:00

Well, here we are back on the SusieQ for Spring Clean Weekend - Yeah!  A few hours graft to restore our boat to her former glory which involves a lot of scrubbing on the outside by yours truly and a lot of scrubbing on the inside by Sue.  The weather promises to be good to us so we should achieve our objective. At the moment, though, we are sitting at the table drinking a little wine, savouring

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-60355124631856312022010-04-05T22:27:00.000+01:002010-04-05T22:27:55.942+01:00

Well we made it back to Great Haywood in excellent time this morning. We awoke to an orchestra of woodland birdsong today. What a beautiful sound. The day turned out to be sunny but breezy. Talking of breezy there was a keen crosswind when we arrived at the marina. Ian had the tiller so had to learn the technique for getting back to our berth in short order. The boy done good and responded

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-57199019691921673492010-04-04T20:22:00.000+01:002010-04-04T20:22:43.306+01:00

Easter Sunday - weather dry, cloudy sun, cool. Today we rose early (well for us it was early) and started off about 8ish. Toasted bagels on the go for breakfast this morning. We wanted to make it to Wolseley Bridge by the end of the afternoon for our end of cruise meal hence the early start. We stopped at Happy Girlie Hens on the way to buy a dozen extra large eggs for our proper breakfast

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-75876420235531480582010-04-03T21:07:00.002+01:002010-04-03T21:07:26.206+01:00

Well, we awoke to bright sunshine and birdsong this morning. Having moored close to the wildlife sanctuary at Fradley we were treated to the entire orchestra of woodland birdsong. The ducks, however, were less welcome after their racket during the night and the noise of their very early breakfast of nibbling weed from the hull of SusieQ. We were joined at our breakfast by two young Cob swans

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-37106493533817108962010-04-02T20:58:00.003+01:002010-04-04T19:59:45.365+01:00

Good Friday - weather overcast and cold; rain threatened. Ian took his test in Daily Checks this morning and passed with honours - so job done. Today would see his most challenging task - emptying the toilet cassettes. Not a job for the faint hearted. Sue cooked up some fantastic scrambled eggs for breakfast so, suitably fueled up, we set off for Fradley Junction. The Captain gave Ian the

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-80303184445835427262010-04-01T21:13:00.003+01:002010-04-01T21:13:41.993+01:00

Well here we are cruising once again at Easter. This time out we have Alix and Ian aboard to learn the ropes for when they take the SusieQ out on their own. We all arrived at the marina Wednesday evening so we could get settled in over night. Sue cooked a large pot of chilli which went down well as the weather was shaping up for classic English Easter – cold! We noticed the rain was quite

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-31646368870767363532010-02-28T10:03:00.000Z2010-02-28T10:03:20.407Z

We finally had the opportunity to get back to the SusieQ this weekend to check her over after having left her at the mercy of the savage winter we have experienced this year. What with work commitments and the bad weather it has been almost 3 months since we were last aboard, so it is good to be back.  She is not looking too bad either, just a little rust on the decks which I shall have to attend

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-19769915045193896042009-12-05T20:31:00.001Z2009-12-05T20:49:57.073Z

Last night's meal was totally free.  By that I mean we cooked it on the little Squirrel stove - pork casserole in a le Cruesset and baked spuds individually wrapped in Bacofoil all stood on top of it.  Although slow cooking there is a certain satisfaction in achieving a tasty meal without using electricity or gas. Woke up quite late to a sunny but cool day.  Sue cooked us a pile of scrambled

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-7198065756823282512009-12-04T17:47:00.001Z2009-12-05T20:51:47.391Z

Well, it's that time again.  Get the SusieQ ready for Staffordshire's deepest Winter.  Not so much freezing, although we do get iced up here, but more cold and wet.  Our local rivers at home, the Severn and Avon, have both burst their banks around Worcester and Tewkesbury respectively due to the recent heavy rain.  The Trent, next to the marina here is swollen but this far up it is quite a

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-66360274006775087222009-10-26T19:52:00.002Z2009-10-28T07:45:40.452Z

Well what a mixed day it was today - both regarding the weather and people. The morning started bright and sunny but soon the sky clouded over. However, it remained mild and dry so cruising was comfortable enough. While Sue went up into Penkridge to buy a few supplies I got on with the boat chores to get SusieQ ready for the day's cruising. There were a few boats about at first including a

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-37118975462534309242009-10-25T18:46:00.001Z2009-10-25T19:31:03.343Z

So today we turned the SusieQ around and started for home.  The clock having lost an hour last night (we are now on GMT in the UK) meant we enjoyed an even more leisurely start to the day.  It was another beautiful Autumn morning.  Sue cooked up a great Full English breakfast and we took our time over the daily boat chores.  The English weather being what it is there soon was rain and gusts

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-9230146572094102652009-10-24T21:00:00.001+01:002009-10-25T18:57:01.679Z

I am writing this drinking a glass of red while Sue sits across from me catching up on reading magazines. Today it has been grey, damp and sunny by turn.  When the Sun did break through the cloud it still had enough strength to make you want to strip down to shirt sleeves.  When it rained - it poured.  A real mix of English weather today. Last night was quite restless.  Penkridge is close to

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-2269975586478927952009-10-24T20:21:00.001+01:002009-10-25T18:54:13.103Z

We were discussing The Boat pub today and agreed it was good to see real 'locals' using a pub.  Most of the people in the bar yesterday evening knew each other and all seemed to be local trades people of some description or other.  Whatever the circumstances it was good to see a small community of folk together.  It felt somewhat reassuring that not everyone retreats home to the TV at the end

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-47918434442885962162009-10-23T20:47:00.000+01:002009-10-23T20:47:53.433+01:00

Tixall Wide So, this being the weekend on which our 36th anniversary occurs (actually Tue 27 Oct) we have taken the opportunity to take the SusieQ out for a long weekend cruise.  And so we have headed for Penkridge on the Staffs and Worcs canal - that's a right turn at Great Haywood Junction for the uninitiated. It has been a really lovely day - cloudy sun for the most part but the sun still

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-16637917992765930302009-10-23T19:53:00.000+01:002009-10-23T19:53:41.149+01:00

 Well it has been a stressful few weeks for the family.  Dad was in the Critical Care Unit at the Royal Gloucester hospital for 5 weeks where the staff were incredible in both their dedication to caring for him and their efforts to help him recover.  Sadly, despite fighting bravely Dad died on 25 September.  Mum, Diane, Trish and I were at his bedside during his last hours.  Dad was able to see

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-88215314870739153372009-08-29T11:04:00.000+01:002009-08-29T11:04:56.208+01:00

Well that's it, the SusieQ is safely back at her berth.  It was a bit hairy in the marina due to gusty wind conditions but the team got her tied up OK. The homeward trip was fairly uneventful with reasonable weather conditions all the way.  Today we shall visit Dad in the hospital. We intend to post a cruise review soon but for now the posts will be occasional until the next trip out which,

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-17387806621361105552009-08-27T21:32:00.000+01:002009-08-27T21:32:43.966+01:00

First the good news is that Dad is making some little progress.  Early days but still encouraging. Weather - sun, sunnier, sun, cloudy, cloud, wind - no rain. Struck out from Alrewas today.  We like this little village and it makes a great stopover.  Coates the butcher we highly recommend.  All local produce - meat from their own abbatoire (apologies all you veggies and for spelling mistake?)

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-29278113838974193132009-08-26T21:52:00.000+01:002009-08-26T21:52:43.397+01:00

Weather - rain, rain, then more rain.  Oh, did I mention it rained today? A family crisis has come to a head this week.  Barry's father was admitted to hospital for an emergency operation and is very ill.  He has now been placed on a ventilator so we decided to curtail this cruise and return to base so we could be closer to the hospital.  Being out and about on the canal system does have its

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-3269854679337333692009-08-26T21:19:00.000+01:002009-08-26T21:19:18.765+01:00

Having read again my post from yesterday I think my witch comment might have been a little harsh.  However, if the 2012 London Olympics has a bitching and moaning event those ladies should form the England team - a gold medal would be guaranteed! :-))

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-55092018882884753242009-08-25T22:12:00.002+01:002009-08-26T21:12:37.795+01:00

Weather - sun, cloud, rain.  Sun, cloud, rain. Etc, etc.......... Today I shall comment on canal people in general.  We discovered to our cost that many boats are cruising our way because they are going to the IWA festival at Redhill.  So it is queues for the locks all the way :-( Now it is queues at locks that bring out the best and the worst in people.  Generally, a lot of team work goes on

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-50138066144004441142009-08-24T21:13:00.000+01:002009-08-24T21:13:27.775+01:00

Overcast and decidedly cooler morning today. After yesterday afternoon's relatively hard slog to get through Fradley followed by a late night (well for us it was at 2330) we took a leisurely start to the day. Unusually for Fradley Junction there was not much traffic of the boat kind. A couple of boats passed us at around 0800 then not much happened after. Wonder if this is an effect of the credit

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-2731565803196810972009-08-23T21:57:00.001+01:002009-08-23T22:34:03.203+01:00

Woke up this morning.....this was the view from our bed.......... Today we struck out towards Fradley Junction which is the intersection of the Trent and Mersey and Coventry canals. We stopped over at Rugeley to take on some extra provisions and to eat a marvellous brunch Sue cooked up in the galley. Ah, the bright lights of Rugeley have turned the head of many a young Staffordshire farmer’s

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-44643439975158704982009-08-22T20:32:00.000+01:002009-08-22T20:32:16.849+01:00

The technology works!  We have a GSM connection which means dial up type speeds.  Better than nothing. Well the Summer 2009 cruise has begun.  We made the tactical decision to drive up to Great Haywood on Friday evening after work so we could take a leisurely start on Saturday morning.  Despite the chaos due to 'an incident' on the M5 it was the correct decision.  The 'incident' was not helped

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-70177898649734111962009-08-16T20:15:00.004+01:002009-08-16T20:52:12.820+01:00

Another birthday just done. 56 this year - old enough to know better? Anyway, had a fab weekend. Took Friday (The Big Day) off from work so Sue brought me tea and hot buttered toast in bed. Lovely treat. Spent rest of the day painting - no not the creative kind but decorating kind (life is one rock'n'roll party). Getting the bedroom ready because Matt coming home for weekend.Grilled Texas

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-38680967311269940542009-08-11T20:49:00.006+01:002009-08-12T19:44:37.114+01:00

This past weekend we stayed with Alix and Ian to visit the Banksy exhibition at Bristol Museum and the Balloon Fiesta.What a treat!The Banksy exhibition was worth the 2 hour wait to get in. What a thought provoking show that is. Some of his work is quite disturbing but all of it presents a highly charged message. Highly recommended, especially if you like art that makes you think.The Balloon

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-1288006364560367372009-08-06T18:40:00.000+01:002009-08-06T19:18:57.039+01:00

Well we did some maintenance last weekend to prep her for this year's cruise.Fitted new shower which works a treat. Actually feels like a shower rather than a damp drizzle!Took her out to Tixhall Wide for an overnight bit of peace and quiet after refuelling. (That was a shock to the plastic! But a full tank should see us right for some time now.)On our return gave all the carpets a good scrub

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1425567578710313608.post-32071711447341090212009-08-05T20:42:00.000+01:002009-08-05T20:50:06.477+01:00

This is the online log of the meanderings of the narrowboat nbSusieQ along the inland waterways of the UK. In this Blog we shall share the experiences and travels of the SusieQ's Crew of Two.Enjoy!

SusieQcrewnoreply@blogger.com0