Cottage Day.....

Slow photo loading yesterday so gave up on yesterdays blog. Other NBers  are making early starts Trendy so not to be  left out of the In Crowd we were under way by 7.30am Friday morning. Insane, but I was out voted.

Heading for Stratford Upon Avon we had worked 14 locks and  by then the sun was making it hard work on locks with no shade.

We stopped  at Wootton Wawen, filled with Diesel, replaced a missing windlass, sampled some ice creams and  soon worked out it was cooler in the shade of the boat with everything opened to catch the breeze than doing locks so that's where we moored.

Along the way there where some interesting old cottages that had been well cared for....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barrel- roof and split stable  type door......

 

 

Side view... plants and free range eggs for sale...

 

 

Another barrel roof, barrel planters and hangin baskets...

Nice and tidy all around...

 

 Barrel roof, great garden and landscape......

 

With the other half of the house being  flat roofed.....

 

 

Unusual but styley architecture...

 

Not beside the canal .. In Wootton Wawen...

 

 

 

 

 Wootton Wawen...


Some people fix and alter their photo's. The following two have not been altered, this building is still standing and being used....

 

 

The Bulls Head pub  Wooton Wawen....  Those wall lines are for Real....







Probably the only building that looks better the More you've had to drink....

 

It was an Aqueduct day as well, cast iron water troughs carrying the canal across rivers, roads etc...

 

 

Approach to Bucket Lock over Aqueduct...

 

Leaving Wootton Wawen marina.....

 

Edstone Aqueduct, 200 yrds long.  The tow path runs at the lower level at the bottom of the trough not at the usual top of the trough....

 

For some diesel money Leonie's doing jobs....

 

Who says Mother In Laws Don't Shut Up... Hot sun and locks equal sleep...


Today, Saturdays been a little cooler but pleasant, made Stratford so more news from the basin tomorrow....

Never thought I'd see the day having Cloud in the UK....

 

Where It All Began......

Today was a scorcher and with plenty of locks to work it wasn't going to be flash. Heading for Stratford on the Stratford -on-Avon Canal we stopped briefly at Hockley Heath for Leonie and Pam to walk to the village post office funilly enough to post a post card.

Upon their return Leonie told me of a race car in a window. I better check it out.

I jump on the push bike with camera and find the target in a  Up Market  looking show room with new Bentleys, Rolls- Royce and Porsche cars in another room.  I tried to take a photo through the show room window but to much reflection. Then I see a dude in Flash clothes walk across the show room floor so I give him the "Gidday Mate" wave, Nothing. So around the building to the reception entrance I pedal, park the bike up to resemble a Porsche and in I go. Explaining that I was from NZ and that that race car thing all started from there and could I take a photo met with a "Sorry that show room is closed".
Well I explained again about smudgeing the windows trying to get a photo so please can some one let me in sort of thing.
After some interrogation of my objectives and  two phone calls another dude comes down stairs and explains that everything in there is so valuable, well I new that because I saw that Dudes clothes. If I promise not to touch he'll let me in, escorted, and stay by my side and it won't be for long. Okay mate..
 The Show room belonged to Rybrook  Specialist Cars, thanks for the session..

Nobody in that whole building seemed to dress appropriately for the heat of the day..

 

 

 

Couldn't have been my dress code that made them Wary. Add the camera round the neck plus the bike  and I looked like a Million Bucks I reckon....


The race car was a McLaren F1 that was driven by the late, 3 times world champ, Ayrton Senna.
NZer Bruce McLaren started it all in 1963....

My chaperone told me 2,000,000  value on this.....

 

Plenty of Down Force at this end.....

 

First F1 design to have the driver in a "Lay Down" position...  Now standard...

 

The Senna  name on the top air intake...



Then there  were  McLaren cars for the road. The company is to produce several different models with production at about 1000 cars per year....

 

In the 140,000 to 260,000 Quid bracket depends on your choice of Extra's....



They also had a McLaren road car with no body....  Aparrently I couldn't afford that either...




Rear end and motor...

 

Centre and side section... Extremely strong Monocoque type construction...

 

Front on with Large chassis rail  protection and built in Crumple Zones...

 

Then a couple of locks along a Fine English Gentleman drove over us, on a bridge, and pulled into the Lapworth Cricket Club. Had a chat and  Leonie went on photo duty...

A Nice Morgan was his wheels.....


The Mother in Law wanted a push bike to check out the tow path or venture farther...
So we got a new one off the net...

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It's a fold up job, 20 inch wheels and a carrier..  Out of Retirement to assemble it...

Happy as a " Pig In S - - - " ......


Pams been hangin out to do some locks,  well today we done 25 and she's not hangin out so much...


This was the first lock ..  you do one side like this....

About 11 seconds after this photo shot the Windlass in her hand was in the bottom of the canal......
"Not like That"......

Another windlass, that's more like it......   22 to go....

You can use Anything You Like to Push With....

Tomorrow an easier day,   24 locks....

Bout Time.....

Another post went to print. We have been holed up in central Birmingham, there's a lot worse places, doing plenty also marking time until we picked up a rental car to drive to Heathrow to meet Leonies mum ,Pam, who's staying on the NB inbetween visiting friends.

It's been so hot and a lot of shops havn't got a plan for hot weather so no air con, means a short stay inside and no spending.

The trip to Heathrow was uneventful except for the odd horn blowing from behind. In an  1100cc car and indecision on directions,  plus the lights work backwards to NZ traffic lights, my "staging' wasn't always up to "Big Daddy" Don Garlits standard.

When the "Mother Inlaw " arrived at 9.30pm  27c temp was a nice surprise after leaving -3 frosts and heavy rain..

Called to Oxford on the way South to see a mate from home, Napier NZ, Spencer Timmo who owns the best two car dealers yards in  Oxfordshire  located at  Sandford and Farmoor.  With over 100 cars on hand at affordable prices  you wont get a better deal especially if you mention this blog..



A bit more of Selfridges building in the Bull Ring Plaza...  60 million Quid, 15000 anodized domes make it just right....

 

 

 

 

The sky bridge crosses the road..

Scroll down over this and believe your eyes....

Even the luxury car  show room over the road was taking advantage of the design....



Napier NZ Sunday, breakfast in Birmingham on a NB Tuesday..

Four hours sleeps is  more than enough.....



To do the locks you need to learn to use the Walkie Talkie  cos  you'll be way ahead...

Mother Inlaw doing a "Maori Warden" impersonation on the RT....
Leonie doing Food...

Youv'e seen it, Steering the boat, you Won't ever  see it again...

Waiting for the water tank to fill... doing a great job...

Second to best looking boat on the cut people say....





There has been a week long Jazz festival in Birmingham. Plenty of free music around town...

In Victoria Square they played. Different bands to days in a row...

Plus had a food festival with top restaurants and others showing off the "Tucker"...



On one of the hot days we went to a park to cool and watch...

He left "Frisco" in 63 and he's walked the whole way....

Leonie took a look in the St Phillips Birmingham Cathedral.....

I  lay outside under a tree in the shade looking up....

This" motion less" Dude was good, one of the best wev'e seen....

 

Had a look in the museum....

Lewis Machine Gun should be standard issue to all border security.. chuck in the grenade too...

SD Timmo car sales,  Sandford Oxford....  

Hands On Spencer...  Nostalga on the wall from riding solo's in the English League...
The Kombis   They're just Cool......

 

Then down to, just around the corner, the Kings Arms over looking the Sandford lock on the Thames for lunch...  A nice setting.....




The council do a great job in Birmingham with flower displays....

Upright or.....

 

Downright.....Good...


At the Town Hall it was Graduation Day,  you know, whole lot of people in black gowns and silly hats.... Normal people look on....

 

You turn up proud to be one of the family,  get everything Spot On,  but all the Attention goes on those Graduates getting their diplomas....

 

Victoria Square...

Were on the move again and have noticed the canal level seems down. That probably explains the frequent scrapping of the hull bottom. I'm not praying for rain......