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Appendices - Trip Reports 2005.

Trip Report - Autumn Coal Run, 7th - 15th October 2006, By Gill Clutterbuck.

Peter & I were invited to join the autumn coal run as crew members, to learn the ropes & help with anything we could. We agreed to join skipper Keith Norfolk at a pub near Aynho where the boats were moored. We met Keith & his girlfriend & the other crew member, Nick Wolf & found the boats in the dark a few hours later. Our car-unloading took rather longer than everyone else’s – well, I do like to be prepared for every contingency! After a cuppa before bed, we all retired, to the wonderful news that we were leaving at 6am! Next morning dawned dark & early, teas all around & Keith’s girl friend left us, which was a shame, as I had hoped for some female company & help in the galley. Off we went & as the light began to brighten, I got my first proper look at out home for the next week. My first impressions had been that the arrangements were rather basic - & light dawning proved that to be true. I had hoped, there would be BW facilities along route & giving plenty of opportunities to shower etc. during the week – wrong again! We spent the first night in the cabin on the motor, Nuneaton, which was warm & cosy. The decoration of both interiors was beautiful & fascinating. We had looked around quite a few working boat cabins before, but never stayed in one, which is a completely different kettle of fish. The toilet facilities were rather basic; I decided VERY quickly that the “bucket” in the engine room was not for me; The loo on the butty was a great improvement, being a porta-potty; it was unfortunate that the tiles had been damaged & partly removed during an earlier repair & the rest had got sprayed with something black; it was also dimly lit, which is either a draw-back or a blessing, depending on how you look at it! The area I really got to know & which became my “home” was the galley – the smallest I’ve ever seen. At least there was a fridge & there were 4 gas burners to cook on, but virtually no preparation space. A cooked breakfast was next on the agenda, so I got going & expanded the kitchen to include the top of the gas locker, just outside the door. Luckily it wasn’t raining. Keith had brought eggs, sausages, bacon, bread & spread, so this was obviously the normal fare for the coal run. During the day, we changed cabins with Keith, he had Nuneaton & we had Brighton, which has a slightly larger cabin, he said it was because we brought so much stuff; I think it was because I would be nearer the galley! We stored as much of our stuff as possible & soon settled into a routine of me making teas & coffees & feeding the crew at regular intervals. It was quite a long day with no stops until we moored for the night just before Isis Lock, Oxford at 8pm. Dinner was followed by a trip to the pub, which soon became the normal order of events for the week. On Sunday 9th we had a lie-in & started at 7.30am! We made just one delivery to Issis Cottage and stopped for the night at Pangbourne meadow at 8.30pm. By now I was really getting into the routine of feeding & watering the crew; however, rain began to hamper proceedings & limited the additional kitchen space. Washing up was the biggest challenge - facilities consisted of boiling a kettle & pouring into a bowl on the floor or propped up somewhere – like on top of a pile of coal bags. There is not enough space in the galley to wash up, so you just had to get wet! I tried lifting a bag of coal & quickly retreated to the galley – tried being the operative word! Monday saw us off at 7am, we delivered to Romelly Swan at Mapledurham and Tilehurst at the Thames & Kennet Marina. We delivered 20 bags to Padworth by road, as we were behind schedule, which gave us an afternoon off! Also, fantastic! We were moored at the marina, next to Keith’s Dutch barge, which meant we could make use of the facilities – real hot gushing showers, in a huge tiled, heated, lit building! Keith’s girlfriend joined us again & they took us to sample the delights of their local for the evening.  There were no deliveries Tuesday, but Keith was still pushing to get us ahead, so still no lie-in. A 7am start, with the usual routine of washing up from the night before, cooked breakfasts & teas, more washing up; lunch, teas & coffees, more washing up, prepare dinner, eat & pub. Wednesday dawned rather grey, but dry – a proper lie in to 8am & then we picked up our friend, Tim at Shepperton Lock. Tim joined Nick in his sleeping quarters under the sheets at the front of the boat. We had a busy day and Tim’s extra help was much appreciated. We had boated with him & his wife previously, although in more comfortable surroundings. There was more tidying up today giving extra space for moving around either end of Brighton; Nuneaton having more of the remaining coal. We delivered to Laleham Read, Docket Eddy Lane then onto the River Wey, to Pyrford Marina and Walsham Gates; we winded and returned & moored at 6.30pm to the Anchor at Pyrford Lock; a pub know to Peter & myself from previous visits. Nick managed to get us very convincingly stemmed as we left one of the deliveries; Keith caught his foot between the boats while trying to sort it out & got it well squashed, luckily no permanent damage, but he had a pronounced limp for quite a while. I had rebelled & said weren’t we ever going to eat out, so we ate at the pub, which was pretty good food & great as I didn’t have to cook it! Thursday 13th saw us leaving Pyrford at 7am to return to the Thames. The first misadventure was Peter falling in the lock, having slipped off the front of Nuneaton which was slippery after rain. He grazed his leg badly, but seemed unperturbed. I think the rest of us were more concerned than him & he was more embarrassed, having broken his unblemished record of 20 years of boating; it didn’t help that it was also his birthday! We delivered to Ash Island and Nick left us lunch time, as he had other commitments. We moored at Teddington to await the turn of the tide; having never stopped long on the tidal Thames, I found it interesting to watch the rise of the water & was quite surprised that people park their cars below the tide level – woe betide anyone who gets delayed! On Friday 14th we picked up another friend – Colin, or rather he came & found us, before we were all up; we had a later start as we had to go with the tide, so entered Teddington lock at 10am. Once again, we were glad of the extra hands for the largest delivery of 103 bags to Eel Pie Island, where we met up with Treasurer John Fevyer, who also helped. We met the tide at 12.30pm and turned into the Grand Union where we made a further three deliveries. I took a nose dive from the top of the electric locker & hit almost every part of me on the way down. I ended up on my back half way into the kitchen, although I have no idea how I got into that position or even how I came off the locker. There’s an awful lot of metal around & it doesn’t give - I still have a lump on my shin to prove it! Peter got utterly jammed that evening in a narrow part of the canal at Norwood; it took three quarters of an hour to free us, with help from Richard Hayes travelling in the opposite direction, who winded to return & help us. There were moments where it looked like we might still be there in the morning, but a bit of patience, lateral thinking & a lot of hard work freed us up. We tied up at Cowley at 8pm, the end of a hard & not-to-be repeated adventurous & painful day. Keith’s call to “breast-up & butty to the bank” caused temporary confusion & laughter when Colin admitted he thought he meant “tits up, arse down – sandwich on the bank!” I rather like his interpretation, although I don’t think anything quite so rude was called out, particularly not as an instruction! Our last day, we still got up early at 7.30am, to clean & tidy the boat. Several repairs had been made during the trip, many by Nick during his stay – I don’t think he could sit still long; he always had to be doing! Everyone had done something & even the brasses had been polished. Everyone departed over a period of time, leaving me alone to wait for Pete to return with our car (remember all out stuff!!) later in mid-afternoon. We left the boats partly sheeted with the butty empty & Nuneaton with a part-load. We took the seat covers from Brighton to wash them, so returned a week later; Peter returned a couple more times to pump out Brighton, as there had been a huge amount of rain & then again to fully sheet up, to keep the worst of the rain off. All in all, it was quite an adventure, which I am still not sure I want to repeat in quite the same way! Perhaps if I made a cooking & washing up rota & had one or two improvements – but it might be a “girl-thing!” Many of our friends still think we’re mad & I would tend to agree! I’m glad we did it & would like to be involved in the future, but perhaps for a shorter trip, or after some “girly” upgrades are made! The cabins are fairly comfortable & certainly get cosy, if not hot! My main problem is wanting more space in the galley & somewhere to wash more easily. I would encourage other to join in & have an adventure – many hands make light work. Gill Clutterbuck (& Peter!)

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