While I've Been Away

After my last post, back in September, I intended to have a break from the blog - but perhaps actually deleting it was a step too far! I've been heartened by the number of readers that say they have missed these ramblings so, after several hours trying to understand the gobbledegook (googledegook?)  of Blogger's "help" feature I finally found out how to undelete  restore it and here I am again!  The immediate stimulus for coming back was actually last week's trip on Starcross down to Compton and back and seeing Seyella, Moore 2 Life, Rock and Roll and Chertsey - all of whose blogs I follow - in the space of the few miles between Norbury Junction and Brewood!  George and Carol on Rock and Roll were the only ones I actually spoke to - and that was just a snatched "conversation" as we passed in opposite directions, but they did say they read the blog and in doing so  made me feel guilty for deleting it!


You haven't missed much. I had a trip up to Goldstone Common and back in October; the new title photo shows Starcross at Shebdon Wharf on the way back. The rest of the Autumn has mainly been spent working on the new house in Lancaster, which is almost finished - just like the new moorings at Norbury Wharf - both of which were supposed to be done "by Christmas"!


Last week's trip to Compton, on the Staffs and Worcs was leisurely to say the least: two full days down, with an overnight at the rural moorings just south of Brewood (my new way of saving money - stop somewhere without a pub!), a couple of days at Compton with a side trip around the Black Country and to Birmingham's Christmas Market by bus and two overnight stops on the way back- at Brewood, where I picked up my old boating mate Hugh, and at Gnosall from where we took the bus into Stafford and spent all the beer money I'd saved the rest of the week! 
Starcross seemed to have developed a leaking window in my absence; hopefully some waterproofing and re-tightening of the screws holding in the windows will have done the trick. Before leaving I also drained the domestic water system and checked the pipe lagging just in case we get a cold spell over Christmas. Most of the copper piping has now been replaced by plastic following previous years' disasters but I still think its worth doing.  There are no photos of the trip because half-way home I remembered I'd left the camera on Starcross, so here's one from the Goldstone trip in October!

Wharf Tavern, Goldstone

And that's it until after Christmas.