Anyone Live Near Sawley Marina???

Im looking for somewhere safe to park my car whilst I help a friend bring his boat up the River Trent.

It would be from the 7th August for i'm guessing about 5 days.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Paul

Pikey Living

I left Mousehole and Cornwall last Saturday, I really enjoyed staying there but it would have been so much better with some company.

I do love Mousehole, it is a lovely unspoilt Cornish fishing village. 

A sensible sign, do it at your own risk, back in Manly Australia any sort of diving off the wharf was banned with huge fines for anyone who dared have some fun. 

The sign at Manly wharf where the water is deep and no chance of whacking your head, $1500 fine if you dive or go for a swim!

You are just about allowed to walk on the wharf. It was my biggest complaint about living in Oz, it is so far removed from the land of the free. No such thing as public footpaths across the countryside, as for bridleways , absolutely no chance.

The boys loved going to the ship inn, as the friendly chef brought them tasty morsels every night, they had  steak, roast beef, pork, chicken and if that was all gone they had to settle for dog biscuits! 

Goodbye little house.

After an overnight stop at Milton Keynes at my brothers house, I met up with my sister and hubby and they kindly towed their caravan up to Napton On The Hill, this is my home now until next Tuesday. The original plan was to stay at my mums place in Milton Keynes but as we all know she died back in February so that option was gone.

Its a good spot and close to the village and the Folly pub which is well known to narrowboaters. 

My lovely niece Kimberley came up to stay on Monday so we went for a nice walk along the canal. 

We spotted Elli and Micks old boat Parisien Star, she is looking very good. 

The Folly is a very interesting pub! 

Tuesday I caught the train down to Bearsted Kent to catch up with Elaine's sister Julie who is battling fkin cancer!

Her daughter Leyna turned up with her boy William so we had a good catch up. 

Ted the dog was looking good. 

As was brother in law with the cool name Paul! 

Wednesday I went to see another lovely niece Leigha and her two boys Mason and Alfie.

Alfie is also fighting against cancer and has had a big op and chemo, he was diagnosed at 10 months and is now two years old so hopefully he will beat this insidious disease.

On Wednesday night I caught up with a lovely lady Dee who I met in Mojacar back in March, she lives very close to Luton which is my old town so we had a lot in common. She is a lovely lady and we had a great night out, it was really nice to go and have a nice long chat in a pub with someone from the female persuasion rather than sitting there on my own like a sorry sack.

My plans have changed a bit, originally I was going to leave here next Tuesday and go and watch niece Kimberley showjumping until the following Sunday, then it was off to the Lancaster canal to borrow NB Ferndale for a couple of weeks whilst they had the Jag and toured Scotland. This of course all changed when Dianes dad suddenly died a few weeks ago and they went back to Australia. This has resulted in them having a big change in their life plans. They are quitting narrowboat life after seven years and will live back in their native Australia.

However they have to sell their boat, so at the moment Ray is back on the boat sorting it out to sell. my plan now is to meet up with him on the 6th August after the show jumping has finished and give him a hand to get the boat down the tidal Trent into a marina. 

So if anyone is looking for a well proven 55ft liveaboard narrowboat this could be the boat for you.

You can check it out here on the  Apollo Duck site or here on their blog site.

Once I finished helping Ray down the tidal trent my plan is then to go to Macclesfield where I will catch up with friends and family up there plus most importantly go and visit the lovely people at East Cheshire hospice. The anniversary of my lovely Elaine's death there is 18th August.  Im not sure whether it will be a good idea to visit on that date, my gut feeling is probably not. I would think by then I will be heading back to Mojacar which I am missing terribly, not so much the fantastic weather which will always be there. I'm missing my friends there and the general happy friendly atmosphere which to me is lacking in the UK. Its probably because im on my own so its just not the same, Im on my own in Mojacar but my options to meet people are huge. Maybe because its that the people in Mojacar are either happily retired in a lovely place or they are on holiday and in a positive mood.

As much as I love the UK and the magical countryside and quirky pubs, when the weather is bloody awful for the most of the time it gets you down, well it does me that's for sure.

To finish on a positive note, Next February I am going to Italy with some of my boaty friends plus some friends from Mojacar, we are going to watch England play Italy in Rome plus have a few days exploring the city, I have never been there so it will be fun, plus to be with a group of fun people it will be brilliant.

Tomorrow my niece Kimberly and her boyfriend Chris are having their engagement party, so that will be good to catch up with friends and relos.

Stay happy people xxx

The Penlee Lifeboat On A Job

The weather had deteriorated overnight,  the wind had really picked up and the sea had become quite choppy. I checked the weather radar and there were mega storms out to sea, but it looked like they were going up the coast and would miss us in Mousehole.

I spotted a large jack up rig coming into the bay, it was being towed by two big tugs. Im guessing it was sheltering from the rough seas.

As I was taking the boys out the Penlee lifeboat was motoring out at high speed. 

There was also a large helicopter hovering just above the sea. 

The lifeboat was heading out to a yacht. 

They soon caught up with it and came along side.

Im guessing it was engine failure and it would be too tricky to sail into the marina with high winds. 

They soon got a tow line on and away they went back to port. 

I carried on my walk through the village and up to the hill behind Mousehole. 

I went for an afternoon beer down the ship, the weather just looked too dodgy to go exploring. 

The rig has now jacked itself up well out of the water and the the two tugs were anchored nearby.

I sent my photos to the local Penlee lifeboat station, they sent me a nice thank you note and put up a couple of my pics. 

Well done the RNLI.

Back To Being Nigel.....

............No friends.

Brother Russell and wife Tracy left yesterday afternoon, but firstly we went for a good walk around and managed to get a look at the redundant Penlee lifeboat station from another angle.

After they left I went down the pub, it was absolutely packed with the Mousehole choir, they had been singing earlier on the quayside. They belted a few songs out in the pub, it was very moving.

As it was a Sunday the chef came to visit the boys with loads of roast beef, they are very spoilt down there.

They are switching on the lights at night, they are quite nice. 

After a very late night it was a late start to the day, I went for my usual stroll around Mousehole with the boys. 

Elaine and I stayed at this cottage about four years ago, its lovely inside and has a nice garden and a garage! 

It really is a lovely place to visit. 

After lunch I drove over to a beach near Hayle called Gwithian, its separated into two parts dog and non dog friendly. 

This is the non dog beach. 

And this is the dog beach, and what a lovely beach it was. 

I tied them together so Sammie couldnt scarper. 

The biggest dog friendly beach I have ever seen. 

There were a lot of people out learning to surf. 

Next stop was Praa Sands which is where my love affair of Cornwall comes from, we came down here every year all throughout the sixties and early seventies. 

On the way back to base I pulled in to check out the Penzance to London sleeper which is kept in sidings near St Michael's Mount until it is ready to head back to London about 22.30.

This engine was originally built in the early sixties and hit the tracks on February 18th 1965, it has been rebuilt, but still good going to be hauling an express train at over 50 years old. 

The St Mary lifeboat was on the slipway at Newlyn so I had to stop and check it out, looks like its just getting an anti foul.