PAW 2011 - Week 4. Jan 22nd 2011 - Jan 28th 2011

Hello,

Well we are now officially the owners of Water Witch, 60 foot (and 1 inch) of floating money pit boating joy. I'm celebrating with another really bad cold and oodles and oodles of back pain.
In about 5 weeks WW will be over here in London completing the last leg of her trip to her new home. At times like these, having finally weathered the storm of purchasing a big lump of floating metal, one likes to get away from everything and just relax...a chair and a view of the canal is all that is needed...



Taken on the Regent's Canal near St Pancras Way. Canon 20d, Canon 50/1.4 lens.

Cue fanfare...

Received an email from the brokers today. We are now effectively the new owners of NbWater Witch. Hurrah! Hopefully we'll be visiting her at the weekend to start preparing the old girl for her new life on  England's prettiest watery cul de sac!

PAW 2011 - Week 3. Jan 15th 2011 - Jan 21st 2011

Everyone knows that every canal boat needs a buckby can and some kind of non human crew member. Currently we have neither of these, although sometimes SWMBO suggests I am only half human. So as an aide memoir for the things to be obtained once Water Witch is at her mooring, we have these clinging to the fridge of the bricks and mortar.



Canon 20d with Helios 44m plus extension ring. Only just squeezed this one in on Friday night, hence the flash illumination.
The Buckby can fridge magnet is available from The Canal Shop Company

Separated by a cigarette paper...

Paperwork sorted and mailed - check! Deposit sent - check. Money sent for insurance and recovery - check. All that stands between us and Water Witch is the Royal Mail, the loan people, and the electronic funds transfer system.

Fingers crossed

New paperwork arrived yesterday. Signed and witnessed. In the mail tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Booked in to be blacked and new anodes in middle of February. Week long cruise planned at end of February. Hopefully  we'll have her moved up to where we are at the beginning of March...other fingers crossed!

Aaaargh!

It appears that those inconsistencies cannae be ironed out except by sending us replacement paperwork to sign...which of course has to be witnessed! How very taxing!

Almost properly boaty...

Things on the Water Witch front are apporaching a finishing crescendo, to borrow a musical phrase. Today we visited our friends Chris and Elizabeth so that they could witness us sign the purchase and loan contracts. Tomorrow they will be in the post, once a couple of minor inconsistencies between the two have been ironed out. So hopefully by this time next week, we will be on the brink of owning Water Witch...

PAW 2011 - Week 2. Jan 8th 2011 - Jan 14th 2011

More walking along the canal last weekend. On Staurday from Hackney Wick to Tottenham Hale along the Lee Navigation, with a short refreshment stop at the Anchor and Hope. Last Sunday was my birthday, so we took a stroll from Roydon up to Burnt Mill on the Stort to make sure our bit of water was still there - it was! Then to the Plume of Feathers in Gilston for a very good lunch washed down with an amount of well kept ale. Anyway, here is this week's PAW:



Taken on the Hackney Cut of the Lee Navigation. Bronica RF645 camera with Zenzanon 65mm f/4 lens on Ilford HP5 film stock; processed in Kodak HC110 developer.

Exciting update on the WW front tomorrow!

PAW 2011 - Week 1. Jan 1st 2011 - Jan 7th 2011

The last couple of days I've been pounding the Regent's canal with a camera taking pictures. Yesterday I went from City Rd Lock out to the Hertford Union. On Saturday from Battlebridge Basin to Lisson Grove (and back). Guess it's an antidote to the waiting for things to be sorted with Water Witch. In a previous life I was in the photography game, but now it's more of a serious hobby (although that word has some negative connotations for me), which I can come back to when the feeling takes me. So while I'm feeling enthusiastic about taking pictures, I've decided to do a PAW - Photograph a Week - to keep the creative juices flowing. Every week I'll be posting a picture I've taken in the previous 7 days, with a generally boaty/waterway theme. This is week 1:



Taken with a Canon 20d. The lens is a Zenit Helios 44M, 58mm/f2, which cost me about a tenner on e-bay. The location is the Regent's Canal adjacent to the Hackney Road gasometer.

I've posted this one a bit early, but I'm going back to work tomorrow, so things may overtake me! My next PAW will be posted on Saturday 15th January.

For my flickr photostream go >HERE<

Happy New Year

Hello my follower(s)!

Happy new year to one and all. We have been in Paris for the past few days. Returned on the last Eurostar of 2010. While in Paris we naturally took a stroll along the canal, stopping for lunch at our favourite bistro on Quai de Valmy. Thursday we took a stroll through the catacombs...we had planned to go on Wednesday but the queue was about 80yds long! It would seem the tourists were, ehem, dying to get in!

Anyway, enough of that. Things are progressing on the boat front...but at an appropriately slow pace given the time of year. We have agreed with the vendors about the required repairs highlighted in the survey; once they are done the mortgage people should hand over the lolly they are lending us. We are going to split the cost of a new solid fuel stove, as the one already on board has a fracture in the top plate. The boat had already been booked in to be blacked in March, so it looks like we won't be moving her until the rear end of that month.
Have a peaceful start to the year and a most enjoyable 2011.