Today has been one of those really beautiful days, from 05.30 when the birds woke me up with the incessant twittering as we were moored under the M6 to the beautiful sunset over Leigh the day has been glorious. And quite uneventful except for admiring what a wonderful country we live in. Open country of suburban town stunning is the best way to describe it, I believe that with a well trained and inquisitive eye you can see beauty everywhere.

Here now I must state that I will apologise to Wigan  I did say I was not looking forward to the todays excursion through Wigan, past experience has taught me to expect the worst because from leaving the Douglas valley at Crook and entering Wigan in the past it was like arriving on a different planet. Maybe it was the avalanche of mail and emails I sent to CRT that prodded them into action ( I would like to think so but I doubt it) What ever,, other than the canal having a fair share of general disposable rubbish ( chip cartons, plastic bottles etc)  the whole place has had a makeover even the locks worked

Well done Wigan We will come again though to get back we have no choice but at least now I will not be dreading it I shall be looking forward to it.

We shall stay here in Leigh tomorrow and then into Manchester on Thursday

Stay Cool

Buggerlugs

                

even the sun couldnt cheer this old Girl up

Wigan Peir

Ince Flash veiwd from the canal

The unused lock at Dean lock Under the M6

This must have been as busy as the M6 that now towers over this 

momument to transport 

Well May bank holiday and the sun is belting down what a fabulous day. This must be the first May bank holiday in years that it hasn’t rained this has to be the hottest day of the year .

The day started early picking Maryanne and Steve and getting them back to the boat everything set for the get away. Then it started, First John’s boat refused to start after a few minutes tinkering we found it was just an ignition problem, that was soon sorted and we were off just. All the marina turned out to wave us off now I am not sure if they were wishing us well or just making sure we left But! We will be back. As we left two boats were turning around in the entrance to the marina that meant that they were in front of us for the first lock, this duo consisted of one single hander and one boat with just one working as the second had to keep going for a lie down, anyway they were so slow I could have picked the boats up and carried them quicker however it was a glorious day the banks were full of walkers, cyclists, pram pushers, grandma’s granddads, everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather. All in the world was good except for the two noddy boats in front of us who were now beginning to (despite the great weather) getting right up my nose eventually we arrived at the junction of the L&L the two boats that were causing the hold-up turned right we turned left Great now we can get going half a mile ahead we had a swing bridge on arriving we were informed that it had malfunctioned (in other words some numtie had tried to open it too quick and jammed the mechanism As four boats were waiting on the opposite side of bridge and behind John and I  were another six boats luckily we know this swing bridge if it fails you have to close everything down then start again from scratch on the second attempt it worked Someone did say that they had called the CRT but we were the last to go through the CRT had still not arrived.

The rest of the run down to Dean lock  was uneventful except for the people the place was humming with them and everyone was in such a good mood

Tomorrow we will tackle Wigan I hate that place Wigeners please I do not mean you just the bloody canal it awful you would think that they would sort it out as the CRT offices are alongside the canal anyway we will get a good early start and be through Wigan before the scrotes manage to drag their backsides out of bed

As days go today has been a good one a day you ar glad yo have a boat and are fit enough to be out on the water

Keep an eye for us

Big Al

Buggerlugs 

Hi Everyone

That long awaited day has arrived because tomorrow morning we are off. Come hell or high water (though the weather looks good) I never bother about the weather as far as I am concerned the weather is like life you play the cards you are dealt what ever will be will be

The Breach at Preston Brook has been repaired has been repaired, so that means we will not have to face going through Manchester and up the Rochdale 9 I was dreading those locks???? Then it’s a nice long leisurely cruise to Cambridge. I know we have had some nice weather in the past few weeks and the forecast is good until the end of June, my only fear is that by the time we get to Peterborough to cross country through the middle levels we will be in a drought with hose pipe bans and low water

I will be checking with the water authorities before purchasing my short term licence I am not parting with £290 to get grounded if the worst happens I will go up the river and cross the  wash ????????

Everyone has now booked there hols with our floating hotel and it looks as though we will be getting time to ourselves and plenty of fishing time. This time we are going out legal as Buggerlugs is now legally a trading boat with my painting and Noreen’s

Biscuits we are hoping for a bumper year

Here we are ALL jobs now done I even had time to renew all the fender ropes with ropes that I platted,  and headed with Turks heads they now look the business, as well as painting, blacking, engine serviced, new stern button and as you know a thousand other little jobs but we are ready to face the riggers of 6 months cruising ??

Keep an Eye on the blogg I will try and post every other day

See Yah

Big Al

Hi Folks

Really sad news to start with, two weeks ago my Father-in-Law died, Tom had a fantastic life and died very peacefully in hospital Noreen and I were with him and he had received the sacraments. Tom was one of those all too rare characters a legend in his own time, Loved and Respected over 70 years in the scouting movement of which I spent about 30 with him on various teams and projects he was not just my Father-in Law he was one of my best mates and I will miss him.    

Only a couple of weeks now before we set sail for  ?????????  Leaving that bit blank as who knows were we will end up. As I have said before travelling the system is one of those operations when its not the destination but the journey that counts.

I have attached a pi of me at my last Work Shop I did at Scaeisbrick it was a really good day I managed to raise £52.00 for Air Ambulance that cant be bad can it I hope to fit another one in before we move off. Its frantic now getting things ready I would like it to be a little warmer as I need to paint the gunnels and so blacking I also have quite a lot of varnishing to do and of course the engine needs a service. Today I have redesigned my TV aerial this time I believe that I have cracked it, only being out on the cut will prove or disprove my new design.

Before I go let me indulge myself in a little RANT.

In the past few months I have done quite a lot of motorway driving, not great distances only 40 miles at a time, now before I start my rant,  I must say that I was an HGV class two driver (Army) so I do speak from the heart, But I have become more aware of practice of HGVs overtaking other HGVs  Why oh Why do they do it? One  wagon cruising at 58mph attracts other HGVs like bees to a honey pot they just cannot resist the thrill of overtaking whilst doing an extra 5 mph more now my calculation is that it would take aprox 20 mins to complete that manoeuvre  (my maths are not good but you get the picture ) Is it machoism that makes these idiots block two lanes of a busy motorway just to prove that  his engine can pull 5pmh more that the other and lets face it 90% of the time they have to pull back in because they start to go down hill. I find the whole thing bloody annoying that our motorway system is being choked up by morons who for no other reason, other than they can because there is no law against it, irritate everyone around them  by pathetic egotistical stupidity and showing disrespect and discourtesy to other road users

Because they are big they consider themselves better, more important, and above the normal rules of common sense. Lets have a new road law that prohibits HGVs overtaking unless they can do it in a reasonable distance that does not hinder the flow of normal traffic

Rant Over

God Bless

Big Al

New design Celtic art is In

Barrels were a commission Job

Hi Folks

            We are here again        I now intend to start writing my blog again, its extremely difficult when very little is happening and other people have so much interesting things to say. I must say though that whilst I have not been writing my blog I have been raging a one man campaign against this Imbecilic Government  that seem to think themselves above and beyond the Law and general Morality. I intend to write to every single one of them expressing my contempt for all of them. I found it a very easy process. I go on line and see what lies and idiotic plans each one comes up with. Then I correspond with them giving them in a clear precise and logical reasoning why 90% of the general public considers then Bone Heads. They just do not relate to the real world. Anyway that’s how I spend the evening when I am not painting or at meetings.

Since my webpage was launched I have been rather busy I am not going to become a millionaire but it pays for the expensive paints I have to use, Breaking news is that on Tues 19^th I am doing a Painting workshop at Scarisbrick Marina, the coffee shop, I will be there most of the day so pop in have a brew a chat everyone is welcome, anything ordered on Tue will be ready before I start this years cruise.

Before we go out this year I have decided to make Buggerlugs legal and have applied for a trading licence, Its not as bad as I thought and in reality its not much more that the ordinary licence, it now means that I can set up shop legally.

I have doing quite well with the Celtic art I know its not traditional but People do seem to like it I do not do a lot but it breaks up the stall display

Sorry I can not stand it up????????

My shed has come into its own in the last month the weather has been so unpredictable I need a minimum of three hours dry when spraying so now I have the advantage of beating the weather

Talking of this years cruise, as a precaution I contacted Anglia water authority  just to see what licences I would require if any WELL its going to cost us £197 for a 30 day licence, that will cover the River Nene, Great Ouse, River Cam and river and the Old West. I find it absurd that I pay £2.35 (with my early payment discount ) a day for my licence. And then because I want to travel on a river outside the remit of The Canal River Trust they want £6.56 a day off me WHY do they not want us foreigners on their rivers I would hate to live down there that would make my annual licence £2394.00 I have no idea about early payment discount. Anyway after great deliberation we have decided to bite the bullet and go, even though they cannot guarantee enough water to sail in It will be a one off we will not be going again ????????      

Just a quick one here I had to take Noreen to Hospital yesterday morning as she had great difficulty in standing up, I know what your saying “tell her to take more water with it” No even I was worried  she couldn’t walk in a straight line really dizzy Southport General were great they did a good job (but how many times do you have to repeat your date of birth ???? Noreen had all the relevant blood tests (we now know her Heart, Kidney, Liver and Pancreas are all doing well, as she banged her head the day before they even did a full scan all clear after about 6 doctors they decided that she had a bad case of  “Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo” anyway the out out come is Noreen has Vertigo they gave her an injection and tablets today she is fine

And the prognosis is if it comes back take the pills. Luckily you do get warnings when it is coming on so she can still do the locks (Well you don’t think I am doing them!)  So in the true tradition of this family 24 hours sympathy is all you get ???

Noreen’s Dad had another fall last week he’s 90 and he only got 36 hours in a hospital bed no one can blame us for being a drain on the NHS.

Life at the moment is really good everything is going to Gods plan (not mine but he seems to know best) 

Well folks that’s your lot

Wherever this year takes you, may you find happiness along the way.

Stay Good

God Bless

Big Al 

So what happened to the snow then????
We were all set for some sort of white out but it never happened. if by now in your location you are suffering with a big White Out I am sorry  I have suffered enough in the past its nice to get away with it for a change

Not much snow but very nice

Hi Everyone

HAPPY NEW YEAR to Everyone

We as everyone else are hoping and praying for a trouble free 2013 no matter what the government, the environment or the weather might through at us. We will shrug it off and carry on, I love this stiff upper lip attitude it really makes me smile??

Now some catch up news??

My shed (as we live on a posh marina it’s now called a cabin) whatever it is, it’s now finished. I now have a dry place to spray and paint my Canal Art Talking of art. And doing lots of other little jobs, Marquetry, tying my fishing fly’s and all those repair and restoration jobs people bring me in. It’s very small but I have equipped it like a little work shop and I love it.

I have just spent two weeks designing my web page buggerlugscanalart.com hopefully now the orders will flow in???? I wouldn’t call it a work of art or anything spectacular but it says what I wanted it to say. I have also been busy working with my mate John on his boat Orion just a few tidy up jobs for the coming season. Just got that done before this cold snap started. At last today I got my car in the garage. It became very sick with a very poorly gearbox I eventually tracked down a gear box and with everything crossed it should be done by Friday. I am not a car person really if it starts and stops when I tell it too I am quite happy. I understand engines and cars but that’s as far as I goes anyone asks what car I have I say a blue one, just a metal box with an engine that gets me from A to B is that too simplistic a view point??

Even though the winter is still here I feel that Spring is not too far away at least the days are getting longer, We have decided that this year we will head off towards Cambridge we lived there in the late sixties Our first Married home. Ahhhhhhhh.

It would mean going south to the River Nene then north to Peterborough at that point we join the Angian Water Authority most of the trip from Peterborough to Cambridge is mostly by river and tidal rivers at that, now that should be fun??

I will publish the actual route when I have more info though if anyone has done it and got some tip I would love to hear them.
My social calender has been packed this week, Monday was Noreen's birthday, yesterday we went to lunch with Sylvia and Alan great lunch and catch up, tomorrow I have Bob and Norma visiting from NI they are also bringing Noreen's dad and Shirley that should be a great day for everyone if the snows stays away.
and today well! As you all know I have a lot to say on many subjects and never afraid to voice them???? In the past I have done a few interviews on local radio mainly with ref to the canal. Yesterday I had a call from Alison Butterworth Radio Lancashire wanting to come along to the boat and talk about the 50^th anniversary of the big freeze and how I remembered it ( I must now be looking my age ) anyway she arrived we had a good old chin wag and subsequently spoke with her and Ted Robins about how we cope on the canal in the winter all very boring as I really told it as it was. “just like living in a house YOU PREPARE stoke up the fire and relax. Anyway not 30 mins after that was broadcasted the phone rang and it was BBC local TV who wanted to come and conduct the same interview which they did I have no idea what I said or what questions she asked it all now seems very blurred ???? Out of the two Alison was best she was really taken with my new workshop ?????

On my paintings now I can say “as seen on TV”

Ok folks that’s your lot

God Bless

Big Al

Being interviewed by Alison 

My very small but usable workshop

(That's not a toilet roll its for cleaning my brushes)