Update sewing machine, etc

  We have succeeded at last in getting the replacement sewing machine to work and Kim sewed a new sofa cover from two curtains.
  I have not been able to blog for several days, as the site didn't offer the alternative to start a new article. However, I succeeded in resetting my Google password and here is the proof it works!
  Breakfast calls!

Boating on the canals

 A recent programme on TV about the canals reminded me of two very pleasant holidays we spent on the canals in the UK, when the kids were much younger. We were leafing through a Hoseasons catalogue, and decided to hire a barge, or narrow boat as they are properly called on the Southern Oxford canal. We chose one of the smaller boats but when I rang to book, it was not available and the same for our other choices. I put the question another way, what DID they have, and it boiled down to a few of the largest size boats that can fit on the canals! All boats have to be a max of seven feet wide, this is why they are called narrow boats, and can be up to seventy-two feet long. We must have left it a bit late to book... We decided to take what was on offer and shared the cost with my sister, Cath.
  Eventually, Kim,I, Cath and our two youngest, Kerry and Debra drove up to Braunston to board our floating home for the next week. The boat was grandly called the Sir Mark Isambard Brunel, and looked HUGE alongside the dock at Braunston Boats. Although only seven feet wide, it was longer than a single decker bus.. The boatman came aboard when we had stowed our gear in its three bedrooms to give me a course in handling it.
  The behemoth is steered from the rear cockpit with a tiller, rather than a wheel, perfectly simple once you realise you push it left to go right and vice versa..the engine is also controlled from here, by a simple quadrant. Central position is neutral, with the engine idling. Push forward to engage ahead gear, push further to increase revs til you are travelling at its maximum speed of four to five mph. To reverse, pull the lever back, increase revs by pulling it further, simple, no? He untied the warps and we were off. He quickly handed over the tiller to me, and it was not too difficult,once you had got used to the five second delay between putting over the tiller and the boat starting to respond... We went about half a mile up the canal, where we passed under a bridge, the towpath kinking under the bridge so that towing horses didn't have to be untethered. He said,'ok, you seem to have got the hang of it, see you in a week' and hopped nimbly on to the towpath to walk back to the boatyard, leaving a terrified novice in charge.
  An abrupt bend loomed up and the boat drifted towards the bank, despite maximum helm. You have to realise that it steers largely by the rudder redirecting the flow of water from the propeller. I quelled my natural reaction to slow down, and increased revs, pleased to see that this enabled the boat to go round the corner happily. The next crisis was at the first lock...locks are only about two feet wider than the boat and the cabin blocks the view of the helmsman seventy two feet further back...by guess and by Goodness I passed between the gate pillars and we entered the lock chamber. If you are going up, someone has to climb up a slippery vertical ladder to carry the warp up to tie up. He, or she, then has to open the sluices with a tool like a starting handle to let water into the basin, AFTER closing the gate by heaving on the beam. When the lock is full, the top gate is opened, the warps are cast off, the crew hops back on, and we motor grandly away. A minor miracle of eighteenth century technology, to lift umpteen tons of steel boat twenty feet, using no motorised force!
  the boat was quite luxuriously equipped inside, once you got used to living in a sort of long corridor.. you have everything you need right with you, in the same way as a caravan, and we passed a very pleasant week on the canal. I had our old Alsation, Flicka to keep me company in the rear cockpit. Each time we came into the bank, she leapt off for a walk, only fell in twice... Cath was helping to push out the bow of the boat when we were setting off once. You have to push long and hard to budge a heavy steel narrow boat and Cath continued beyond the point where she could regain the bank or pull herself onto the boat, she found herself suspended like a human gang-plank. She gave a despairing howl and fell in. I put the engine in neutral to stop the prop and Kim hauled her aboard by the collar, a highpoint of the trip

I-Pad

Dowsing reminiscing for Noah and wife

  For the last few days , the water supply company has been marking the water points and underground pipe runs with orange spray paint. Yesterday , I saw one of their operatives using a long rod with a dial on top to detect the buried pipe runs, modern science at its best... However, this reminded me of a much more primitive method--dowsing.
  Many years ago, when we were still living at Plymouth , we had a friend who was a cantonier for Cornwall county Council. He lived near Looe and we were visiting him one day. He was about to trace a water pipe at his house, and mentioned he would detect it by dowsing! We were most admiring at his unusual talent, but he stated in a most matter of fact way that this was the normal method of detection and produced from his toolbox the necessary apparatus . Far from being a willow twig, this consisted of two short lengths of copper tube, cut from a water pipe. Into each, was inserted a two-foot length of stiff iron rod, bent into a right angle. You held the copper pipes in each hand and the wire, which was free to swivel , protruded in front like two pistols. He explained that if you walked over an unerground water pipe the two wires would stop pointing straight ahead and would turn towards each other to form a cross.He offered me the chance of trying it out, and steered me towards a part of his garden which was crossed by an underground main.
  Now it was obvious to me that if you allowed the two tubes to incline towards ea other, Gravity would cause the rods to cross. I therefore determined to concentrate on holding them vertical as I walked to and fro. However , I got a huge shock, when the two rods swung smoothly towards each other and crossed in front of me! Really, it sent shivers down my spine... My friend confirmed I was standing over the pipe. Kim tried next with the same result. We were both badly shocked. Apparently, this only works if a human is holding the pipes, it is an interaction between the pipes and the holder. We tried later with the more traditional willow fork but without success, that takes much more talent.
   A strange experience , which left a lasting impression.
  Bye for now from psychic Noah and wife...
 

A very long day for the Ark.

   Yesterday was the day we were due to pick up Kerry, our daughter, from the Bordeaux airport. She was due to arrive at 11am so we set out in good time at 830. Despite a few mist patches, we were making good progress and had covered more than half the journey, when we received an alarming phone call from Kerry. Her flight had been cancelled, would we stop and await news. We accordingly pulled off the road and found a very pleasant aire to drink coffee and run the dogs, one of the few good memories of this stressful day. Kerry eventually called back she was diverted via Paris, and wouldn't be arriving at Bordeaux until 1730! Poor girl, she had got up at some unearthly hour to catch her direct flight and now this...
  We continued our route but decided to stop for lunch and after trying to find a resto for some time off the Bordeaux periferique , we stopped at a Brit Hotel . They served us an excellent lunch, the second compensation of the day. The dogs, we had fortunately thought to bring with us, could be left in the shade, round the back.
   We went on to the airport , parking in their expensive car park, and had to while away the afternoon until 1730. We found the flight from Charles de Gaule arrived in the main terminal , rather than the Billi, as the budget airlines do but luckily, the flight was on time, even five minutes early. We had a touching reunion with Kerry, whom we hadn't seen for some time, as this is her first visit to Mort Limouzin.
  We set out for home, a journey which should take some three hours or les but now came the final straw--the N10 was blocked by an accident and we were stationary for what seemed like hours creeping slowly forward a few yards at a time. By the time we arrived at the scene, and could proceed following the directions of a helpful Gendarme, some hours had passed and we arrived home exhausted at 1130! What a day....

   Bye for now, even thinking of this is wearing me out and Mrs Noah and daughter are having a sieste.

The Ark's tender is up for Controle Technique

   The dreaded test has come round again, the French equivalent of M O T. However, it only comes round every TWO years and the test is done at a special test centre, not in a garage as in England. I have always felt uneasy as to the honesty of the testing garage, anxious to provide some work for the repair side of the business . One hears unpleasant rumours of sharp practice.... These pressures are not present in the French test centres, so we can be sure all the problems are real. Luckily, the problems were not very serious, and only one needed a re-test.
  The van went for its test on Ninth of Aug, but Our garage couldn't do the necessary until yesterday, never mind, there is a delay in booking the re-test. Laurent at Couture arranged to have the van for repair yesterday  but lent us the garage 206 to use while the repairs were carried out. It's a shock, driving a car with no power steering or brakes, isn't it? We were told the van might not be ready before tonight, but in the event, Nadia rang late yesterday afternoon to say it was ready, a happy surprise ! Booked in for free re-test tonight at 6 10. I don't anticipate any problems, Garage Bayou is most reliable . Nadia said to call in next week for the bill, not ready yet! An English garage wouldn't have released the car without a payment , preferably in cash, ,even for regular customer, the attitude of the French garages is most refreshing ...
  Bye for now, going to have a little doze....

Alyson's visit

Our daughter Alyson has just returned to the UK after spending two weeks on thE Ark. The weather was kind to her, Al likes nothing better than to bask in the sun, improving her sun-tan. We put out a sun bed in the cour, and she lay there, roasting like a chicken. I don't know how she does it, Kim and I stay in the shade during the heat of the day.
  On Friday, we took her to see the Ile d'Olreron, which she had never seen. It rained all morning as we drove to the Ile, but after we arrived, the sun came out and we were able to sight see on the island.  Al wanted to see Fort Boyard and we found a spot where we could see the Fort in the distance. Afterwards, we drove to the Chassiron lighthouse at the tip of the island, and had a coffee at a near-by restaurant . Then we went to see the sea where the currents meet as they sweep around the point, it's obvious what the lighthouse is for!
  Then, the long drive home, where the dogs were anxiously awaiting us for their tea... A very pleasant excursion in spite of the morning's rain.
   The next day, we had to reluctantly take her to La Rochelle airport to catch her plane home. The nightmare delay on our previous trip, when traffic queuing for the Ile de Re bridge nearly made her miss her flight made us anxious but in the event there was no problem and we arrived early . We said our goodbyes at the barrier, and set off for the drive home with heavy hearts. Als flight was forty minutes late, although check-in was at the normal time.. She didn't get home until after one am! Almost quicker to walk to Plymouth than to take a plane.
   Bye for now, Kim gone up for an afternoon nap, might doze myself....