MERRY CHRISTMAS
from Yardley Gobion
No not this year - a few years back!
Red Diesel Theft Gayton Marina
Living close to Gayton Marina and Blisworth Arm, I received the following message through our local Neighbourhood Watch and thought it might help to post it.
Theft Red Diesel - Gayton Marina |
Northamptonshire Police are appealing for
information.
There has been a Theft of Red Diesel which occurred Gayton Marina, Blisworth Arm, taken from boats and a crane used on site.
This happened between 01:00-02:00 Friday 21st December 2018
Did you witness anything?
Did you see any person(s) in the area that looked suspicious?
Did you see any vehicle(s) that you were suspicious of?
If so, then please contact Northamptonshire Police on 101
REF 18000619966
You can also provide confidential information should you wish to remain anonymous. These calls can be made to the Independent Charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
101 is the number to use to report incidents and for general enquiries. In an emergency dial 999.
In an emergency, when there is a crime in progress or a life at risk, always call 999.
To report a crime or incident, provide information or for advice, call 101 or visit www.northants.police.uk
To contact your Neighbourhood Team covering Towcester and surrounding villages they can be contacted on the following email:
NeighbourhoodTeamSouthNorthants-Towcester@northants.police.uk
You can also provide confidential information should you wish to remain anonymous. These calls can be made to the Independent Charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org
There has been a Theft of Red Diesel which occurred Gayton Marina, Blisworth Arm, taken from boats and a crane used on site.
This happened between 01:00-02:00 Friday 21st December 2018
Did you witness anything?
Did you see any person(s) in the area that looked suspicious?
Did you see any vehicle(s) that you were suspicious of?
If so, then please contact Northamptonshire Police on 101
REF 18000619966
You can also provide confidential information should you wish to remain anonymous. These calls can be made to the Independent Charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
101 is the number to use to report incidents and for general enquiries. In an emergency dial 999.
In an emergency, when there is a crime in progress or a life at risk, always call 999.
To report a crime or incident, provide information or for advice, call 101 or visit www.northants.police.uk
To contact your Neighbourhood Team covering Towcester and surrounding villages they can be contacted on the following email:
NeighbourhoodTeamSouthNorthants-Towcester@northants.police.uk
You can also provide confidential information should you wish to remain anonymous. These calls can be made to the Independent Charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Progress on the New Milton Keynes Marina
Since we've been back home the new Campbell Wharf Marina near the city centre in Milton Keynes has been coming on a pace. Our monthly walking group held its annual Christmas Dinner at The Barge Woolstone in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. As is customary for our group we had a walk in the morning and it included a section in Campbell Park.
From the park it was possible to see the progress being made with jetties being installed. I see from their web site video that yesterday they installed the footbridge across the Grand Union.
The walk around Campbell Park and beyond (about 7 miles) was very pleasant with the recent rains abating and very little wind.
New marina with jetties being installed
From the park it was possible to see the progress being made with jetties being installed. I see from their web site video that yesterday they installed the footbridge across the Grand Union.
The walk around Campbell Park and beyond (about 7 miles) was very pleasant with the recent rains abating and very little wind.
A couple of obligatory group photos in Campbell Park
Bed Storage Project
Storage on narrowboats, irrespective of their length, is always valuable. Our double bed, which is 4 ft wide and therefore technically a "small double", sat on a fixed base. Originally the storage under the bed consisted of a box stretching across half the bed and accessible via two drop down flaps, and two modest drawers strategically positioned at the end of the bed (where there is a small alcove adjacent to the Alde heating and one of our two wardrobes).
The bed base on Albert was originally constructed from wooden slats. Soon after purchasing Albert I discovered that half the area under the bed base was unused and the space wasted. Getting access to this area was simple - I just cut the slats in half and lifted them out position whenever I needed access. Thus was born Albert's deep storage.
However, the physical effort to gain access was considerable because it required lifting and removing the heavy mattress. Over the years this deep storage has become invaluable, particularly for bedding and duvets, but the effort involved became a chore. Recently, with the change from summer to autumn boating, and the need to accommodate some extra bedding for our grandchildren, we accessed the deep storage on several occasions and it became irksome, so I began to contemplate improving access to the whole of the under bed area.
My concept was for a lifting solid base using gas struts that would allow for easy access to both sides of the bed. I chose 18 mm thick plywood sheeting for the base and used the cutting service at B & Q to get it accurately cut to the bed aperture. The next stage was to provide suitable ventilation via a series 48 x 70 mm holes cut by hole-saw. It took most of an afternoon to carry this out tedious task but I was pleased with the result.
To provide lift (and support) I chose two locking gas struts hinges from SGS. The weight to be lifted is required for specifying the struts. In this case the mattress weight was not easy to obtain. We purchased our mattress in 2016 from John Lewis but strangely the don't regularly provide mattress weights. It took some phone calls and a couple of days before I eventually got hold of a furniture specialist who provided the data. Our mattress weighs in at 24 kg and the base 18 kg.
Fitting the hinges required some physical effort because of the size and weight of the board and aligning the hinges was not simple but I achieved it using the instructions from SGS. Once in place the hinges worked well, so now we can get to deep storage without great effort.
The bed base on Albert was originally constructed from wooden slats. Soon after purchasing Albert I discovered that half the area under the bed base was unused and the space wasted. Getting access to this area was simple - I just cut the slats in half and lifted them out position whenever I needed access. Thus was born Albert's deep storage.
However, the physical effort to gain access was considerable because it required lifting and removing the heavy mattress. Over the years this deep storage has become invaluable, particularly for bedding and duvets, but the effort involved became a chore. Recently, with the change from summer to autumn boating, and the need to accommodate some extra bedding for our grandchildren, we accessed the deep storage on several occasions and it became irksome, so I began to contemplate improving access to the whole of the under bed area.
My concept was for a lifting solid base using gas struts that would allow for easy access to both sides of the bed. I chose 18 mm thick plywood sheeting for the base and used the cutting service at B & Q to get it accurately cut to the bed aperture. The next stage was to provide suitable ventilation via a series 48 x 70 mm holes cut by hole-saw. It took most of an afternoon to carry this out tedious task but I was pleased with the result.
Ventilated Bed Base
To provide lift (and support) I chose two locking gas struts hinges from SGS. The weight to be lifted is required for specifying the struts. In this case the mattress weight was not easy to obtain. We purchased our mattress in 2016 from John Lewis but strangely the don't regularly provide mattress weights. It took some phone calls and a couple of days before I eventually got hold of a furniture specialist who provided the data. Our mattress weighs in at 24 kg and the base 18 kg.
Fitting the hinges required some physical effort because of the size and weight of the board and aligning the hinges was not simple but I achieved it using the instructions from SGS. Once in place the hinges worked well, so now we can get to deep storage without great effort.
Storage
("normal" left & what was "deep" to the right)
SGS Locking Gas Strut Hinge
Back to Yardley Gobion
Frosty Morning in Berkhamsted
We travelled back to Albert on the evening of Thursday 1st November so we could get an early start on the Friday. The aim was to return Albert to Kingfisher Marina over the weekend. It was interesting negotiating the towpath in the dark but it was clear that in the intervening four nights the empty moorings had filled up a bit. We immediately set the stove and turned on the Alde and tried to get the boat warm. The morning was clear and very crisp with a good layer of frost on the roof.
Frost
Moved off after an early breakfast and picked up water in the town. Maggie visited Waitrose for supplies as I waited for the tank to fill. By mid morning we were working our way out of Berkamsted into Northchurch where were at one of the locks we met another boat going in our our direction. We were able to share the locks for the first time since Brentford. The other boat was going to Cowroast for a few days before taking part in the floating Christmas Markets later in the month.
Cowroast Lock
Tring summit
Bulborne Dry Dock
Marsworth Flight
We moored up just below the flight. It is a quiet location away from the train-line.
The next day, Saturday 3rd November, we were again up early and took Albert back across "The Fields" to Leighton Buzzard. A series of Wyvern Shipping hire boats were out for some late autumn cruising and passed us going South. There were also a number of live-aboards moving their boats.
Mike Askin's motor Victoria and butty Mercury at Leighton Buzzard
Bloggers Derwent 6 moored up at The Globe at Leighton Buzzard
On the Sunday morning, 4th November we dropped down our last significant lock at Stoke Hammond where we met a crew coming up (very handy) and then cruised through Milton Keynes to home.
Since we passed through MK a month ago the contractors working on the new marina and other developments at Campbell Park had made significant progress.
New marina in Milton Keynes
So in our month away from Yardley Gobion it appears we have travelled about 170 miles and passed through 176 locks.
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