Last year all Women’s Institute’s were asked to nominate people for the ‘Inspiring Women’ column in the W.I. Life Magazine. Members from my own W.I. at Grindleton in Lancashire nominated me.
Attached are links to the article which was published today, and dropped on my doormat along with every other W.I. member.
Hope you enjoy it.
The story really started in April 2014. If using a computer to view the blog, it is easy to go back to that date using the directories. It will be slightly more difficult from a phone.
Happy Reading, please email us if you have any questions or comments.
The story is due to continue soon with this years trip towards Holland.
I'm Off the Southampton with the car packed to the roof. Mostly anti-fouling gear and clothes.
Boat lifted out of the water.
Always a tense time. Our summer home on a couple of strops.
The marina guys then power wash it, to get off the mud, slime and barnacles. Then they went round her with a sharp tool to remove any stubborn bits.
The personnel at Shamrock Quay marina did an outstanding job taking her out of the water and cleaned her more thoroughly than anywhere we have ever been before, which made our job much easier. The whole workforce are friendly, accommodating and professional. Even to the point of installing plugs in the showers for hairdryers on my suggestion. We cannot praise them highly enough.
As she was going into a cradle on the land this year, she was lowered into it and then this ‘Thunderbirds’ like contraption, moved the cradle into a space on the car park or ‘hard’ as it is known. Having a lifting keel she normally sits on her keel and rudders, this is the first time she has been in a cradle.
Normally I can just about reach the toe rail to wash and polish etc, when she is sitting on the ground, but being in a cradle meant I had to use a ladder most of the time to clean and paint the sides of the boat.
Mick’s Maintenance Moment
The first job was to change the lifting keel anode and grease the keel raising screw. This can only be done while the boat is out of the water and hanging in the crane slings. The keel has to be fully lowered and the keel lifting screw removed from underneath. The anode can then be changed from the inside of the boat.
Other anodes were then changed, the one on the prop-shaft, the one on the end of the prop, and the one on the rope cutter. All were partially eroded and in need of renewing.
Three of the skin fittings and seacocks were next to be changed. This is not a straightforward job as the seacocks are fitted during the manufacturing process and the access for large tools is very tight. The scary thing is that you can’t really test them until the boat is back in the water.
The new parts and tools
The old seacocks and fittings
New seacock installed
New Skin fitting
As the boat is designed to take to the ground, that is, sit on the bottom when the tide goes out, the twin rudders have rubber boots fitted to them to spread the load of the boat. At some time during last years adventure one of them had come adrift and was lost. Two new boots at £100 each have been purchased and this was the time to glue them on. Plenty of glue and hopefully they will stay put.
One of the embarrassing things last year was the effect of all our luggage on the boat. She sat lower in the water due to all the weight and, whilst not really affecting the boat, was very visible as the waterline paint (blue) was very near the waterline. A two pronged attack was required to correct this. The first to take home everything that we hadn’t used and didn't think we would, which reduced the weight on-board dramatically. The second, to raise the waterline paint by one inch. These two solutions leave the boat bobbing in the water correctly.
AM with paintbrush. We use rollers for the big bits, but was painting the waterline here.
The keel is cast iron coated in epoxy resin, but over time this gets scratched and knocked and small spots of rust appear. These are treated with epoxy, primed and painted before a coat of antifoul is applied. As the boat was in a cradle this year the underside of the keel was accessible and easy to maintain.
The rest of the boat was then antifouled using rollers and by the end we had a blue bottomed boat, and two blue painted sailors (a very messy job).
Whilst Ann-Marie cleaned the back of the boat (difficult when the boat is in the water), I polished the hull and made good a few small scratches.
The boat was then re-launched and everything checked. No leaks, the keel went up and down, and the engine started. We moved Fleur back to her berth and had a celebratory cup of tea, a job well done.
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Graham and Pauline visited and we went for lunch.
Visited Graham and Pauline at home. We went to see Victor and Albert a comedy duo at the village hall and celebrated their wedding anniversary. Pauline and I went for a successful shopping trip in Farnham.
Back to the boat via Reading. During my working life I have visited many shopping centres as they are safe places to spend a few evening hours on my own, and the ‘Oracle’ had eluded me, so I think I have seen them all now.
Shopping trip to big Asda with the car to collect items which will be harder to obtain when we are without a car.
Home 18th March
While we were away I managed to make 3 bears.
See www.handmadebyannmarie.blogspot.co.uk for more on bears.
Home and Mick continues his one man battle with the gutter. I think he has won this time.
Went to Mick’s other sister’s (Jackie and Murray) with Annette and Julian to mend their 40 year old Hillman Imp. Jolly family get together with all six of us and their 3 boys.
The Hillman Imp had not been on the road for over 10 years and had been left in a garage all that time. On a previous mission we had changed the clutch and clutch slave cylinder,
and the mission this weekend was to get the engine running. Ably assisted my nephew Thomas, we found a spark, cleaned the carburettor, lots of gunge in the float chamber, and the engine burst (well limped) into life with an enormous cloud of smoke. Much tinkering, adjusting and tweaking later the car was ready for a test up the drive. The clutch, all the gears and the engine worked. Unfortunately the braking system was a little below par. New brake parts are now on order and the next chapter of this trip down memory lane is scheduled for early April.
Jobs Completed
Mick changed the brake pads and the anti roll bar bushes on the mini.
Changed the immersion heater element. It was pretty shot at and a really good save.
Went to Manchester to help his nephew Alex fix his Morris Minor ‘Hilda’. They changed a broken valve in the cylinder head and several other smaller jobs. They had an amazingly successful day and Hilda passed her MOT the following day. Result.
Cylinder head with new valve.
Happy Hilda.
Fixed a laptop.
Tuned the piano at the Pavilion. Jerusalem sounded decidedly dodgy at last months WI meeting and it was not the piano player.
New front tyres on the mini.
More navigation and route planning for this years trip towards Holland.
Accumulation of items for this years boat maintenance. More of which next month.
Social
Mark’s 40th Birthday Bash at Turf Moor. I am one of 15 cousins, so a family get together can be a large affair, hence they don’t happen like they use to. I had a party when my dad was 80 and Mark wanted to get us all together again. It was great to see everyone. Facebook helps me to stay in touch with quite a few so we had lots to talk about. Big thanks to Mark for this generous gesture, made more generous my his collection for the MS society. His wife Laura also made him a football shirt cake with his name and Burnley colours. Excellent night.
We made a curry for Annette and Julian. Chinese takeaway at Paul and Marias, lovely evening with Luca and Isabella too. Indian with Annette and Julian with their book club friends.
Went to Pendle Stitches with Liz to learn how to make Bobbin Lace each Monday afternoon.
Event City Craft Fair. I went to Event City with Liz and Pat. It was a large fair but not as big as Harrogate. As a bonus there was a cake fair in the same building which we were allowed to look at. WOW I have never seen cakes like these. There was a competition, with may different categories and the cakes were unbelievable.
Yes these are cakes!!!
We visited Llangollen to see the Quilt-fest (as advertised at Event city). We then went to Llangollen Aqua-duct. Built in 1795 by Thomas Telford it is a world heritage site. The aqua-duct is 128ft high and takes the canal across the gorge in the most dramatic way. Quite un-nerving, must be much worse when you are steering a barge as there is no rail on that side.
Ladies Lunch. I went to my first ladies-who-lunch lunch. The WI have been running intermittent lunches for many years and Jan was the host. It’s a Jacob’s join and with the usual WI precision we all managed to bring different but complimentary things. I have never been able to go before as I was working so this was a real treat. What the WI members do not know is not worth knowing and a new lady went home with a list of local builders, plumbers, electricians etc. including a chap called ‘Silicone Sid’, who apparently is a whizz with a sealant gun.
Things Made
Bag for Sally. Lloyd Loom Box refurbished. Craft Room Chair recovered. Summer bag for this years cruise. Grey Rucksack for Mick. Lace bookmark.
For details of makes and Denman trip see craft blog. www.handmadebyannmarie.blogspot.co.uk.
Our last few days of the month were spent separately. Mick went to Glasgow to meet up with Laura and Damian, they had a great time sampling the delights of Glasgow. I went to Denman College with the WI Lancashire Federation trip.
March is maintenance month on ‘Fleur’ so we will have lots to report prior to this years trip.
We decided to recover the bench cushion on the boat as one of the corners was just showing some age. As we were going to use the boat all summer we thought it would be better to cover it before it got worse. The small leather repair had been tried and was 95% successful, in that it was repaired but a perfect colour match was very hard to achieve and it showed a little.
We bought several metres of Upholstery fabric from Immanuel Fabrics at Burnley for £1 a metre. They specialise in ends of rolls or discontinued lines so you can buy really good quality fabric at tiny prices if you are not bothered that it is not this year’s colour/design.
This internet clip was a great help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7m0No1tUHo
The first one was quite straightforward as it was almost rectangular. The issue with boat cushions and I suspect this applies to caravans etc is that the back of the cushions are thinner so that they fit snuggly under the seat back cushions. Therefore all the angles you are dealing with are odd. You are in fact covering wedge shapes. Anyway the first one went quite well so we rushed back to Burnley to buy the rest of the roll of material before someone else snapped it up.
The fabric is a short napped plush with a flame proof backing, which is kind of rubbery. I was really surprised how easy it was to sew.
The next 3 pieces were much harder shapes as they formed a ‘U’ shape around the table.
First we traced around the front edge of the cushion. The video suggests taking a pen and drawing around the cushion with the pen pointing slightly under the edge at approx 45 degree angle. This gives the sewing line and you need, and a cut line to allow approx 2cm extra for your seam allowance. The stretch fabric needs to be cut so that the finished item is slightly smaller than the cushion and so fits snuggly. We cut out the shape, leaving the back open for further adjustments.
We then placed that piece face down on the fabric and cut out the bottom of the cushion.
We then cut out a strip for the front of the cushion. We cut it to the maximum depth so that the narrower side pieces could be shaped as necessary.
We then pinned the top piece to the front piece and sewed around the edge.
**Mistake 1. We then pinned the top piece to the cushion to ensure we fit the base properly. At this point we should have turned the fabric inside out and fitted it to the cushion in reverse, as it would have been MUCH easier to get the fit right by pinning the edges, right sides together, with the wrong side showing.
**Mistake 2. We drew a line around the bottom edge and then sewed the top and bottom pieces together and then clumsily refit the whole thing and re-sewed some edges until it fit properly. Phew!! It took 5 refits which means we had to wrestle the cushion in and out of the fabric 4 times, phew again!
We ended up with two flaps at the back of the seat. We trimmed and neatened the top and bottom flaps so that they fit nicely with an overlap.
Next, I sewed the velcro along the edges, sewing all the way around the velcro edges to make sure it was secure.
We chose to use Velcro instead of a zip. 1. Because we thought it would be easier and 2. Because as the seats sag a little with wear the velcro can be un-fastened and re-fastened to tighten the fit, and another strip could be added if necessary, as it is underneath the seat and so will not show.
The finished seating in place.
Note the dual purpose collapsible fruit bowl/colander. Beautiful and Useful.
The first week of the year was spent pottering around and getting ready for the Cruise.
I covered some boxes with fancy wallpaper, to help tidy my craft room.
Mick pulled the suite apart after watching You Tube. He put some new elastic slats under the seats and we will investigate new foam inserts in the future, now we know its possible.
Out to the Dresser’s Arms at Brinscall with Nigel and Debbie. The ‘Little Hong Kong’ restaurant was great, and the food excellent. The whole place has been gutted since they had a fire and they have made a modern yet comfortable eatery. Really lovely evening.
I went Burnley with Karon and John, material shopping.
I visited ‘Preston Lace Makers’ society with Liz. Lovely day seeing other peoples work and chatting. It is a large and thriving society which bawds well for the future of Lace-Making.
Packing for Cruise.
Travelled to Southampton to spend 2 nights on our boat ‘Fleur’ prior to setting off on P&O’s Oriana to Casablanca, Portugal and Spain.
11th January – Sunday
A short taxi ride took us to the Cruise Terminal at Southampton. We booked last minute and so where not expecting much as she is 20 years old, but the Oriana has had a refit and was very well appointed.
13th January – Tuesday – La Coruna, Spain
Arrived La Corunna in Northern Spain after 2 days of Force 10 gales in the Bay of Biscay. Glad we were on a huge ship and not ours. Serves us right for being cheap and travelling in January, only to be expected really.
La Corunna has been a major port of call for centuries and has a lovely old town feel about it. The most prominent features are the covered in balconies on the buildings. If a Spanish town needs covered in windows they must be lashed by the Atlantic at times. They do Art Deco city tours and you can see why.
We walked from the ship and it was a bit showery but warmer. I had a little snooze on deck in the afternoon, I love the old reclining deck chairs on Deck 7 (Promenade Deck) and a bit of winter sun, just sent me off after our walk.
14th January – Wednesday – Oporto, Portugal
We visited Oporto a few years ago with Andy and Sue. We had previously been on a city bus tour which fortunately took us to the Port. So when we walked off the boat we knew where we were. We walked around the Port area and along the promenade which is approximately 1 or 2 miles from the Centre of the main town. It is worth a trip and all the Port Wine houses offer free trips.
The local fishermen land their catch here and there are many fishmongers and warehouses. On the sea front there are tiny restaurants which look nothing from outside but on the inside are quite special. In the summer there are canopies outside so that you can eat outdoors, in winter the canopies are gone but you still see the large barbecue's, at the side of the road, ablaze and ready to cook. No sign of the safety elf.
I found the most delightful haberdashery shop, which in a very small space, had every sort of lace, ribbon and trimmings you could ever want. Where most shops have 6 of something she had 30. Amazing.
15th January – Day at Sea
For those not familiar with Cruises, sea days pass quickly going from one event to another with food breaks in between. Itineraries are left in your cabin each night for the following day so that you can choose. There is something for everyone, lectures, recitals, dance lessons, gym, saunas, pools, quizzes, and much more. Port day talks about the next destination, a cinema and TV’s in every room streaming films and various interest programmes and news channels along with a bow camera to check on the weather conditions.
We attended Ricky Bastin’s Concorde lectures. He was a technical engineer for Concorde for most of her life. He gave impassioned, if a little biased lectures on every aspect of the plane, including her downfall. He then took questions in one of the lounges in the afternoon after each speech. Great to get information straight from someone so intimately involved. He is worth googling.
The entertainment deputy Karon held Craft gatherings on sea days and sold small craft kits for people who had not brought their own crafts. I met a lady called Margaret who showed interest in making a bear. I had brought 3 bears cut out and would never make them all so was happy for Margaret to have a try. Her passion is Embroidery so she was handy with a needle. Over 5 sea days she managed to make a bear, which she christened ‘Teddy Oriana’. We met some lovely ladies and it was nice to bump into each other around the ship too.
Michael went to Piano recitals when I was at Craft sessions. The first one in the Bay of Biscay had to be aborted after the Grand Piano broke free of its position. It was likely to dent passengers and its expensive self (£70,000).
He also went chatting to the Concorde guy.
16th January – Friday – Casablanca, Morocco
We opted for an organised trip on this occasion to get a good feel of the city. We passed ‘Rick’s Cafe’ on the bus, an enterprising American lady had created it after the success of the film ‘Casablanca’ which was all filmed in Hollywood! (You can just about see the sign).
First stop was to the Hassan II Mosque, the seventh largest in the world (we were told third largest). Finished in 1993 after only 6 years building with 10,000 people involved (we were told 15,000). It does have the world’s tallest minaret and it is difficult to show the scale.
The picture below shows the beautiful marble bathing facilities for the faithful, which extends under the whole mosque.
We then visited a Catholic Church (Church of Our Lady of Lourdes built 1930), we did not fully understand the reason for the visit, as it was very plain concrete on the outside, but had the most fabulous strained glass walls on the inside. Not just windows but the whole wall down each side of the church.
We were then dropped off to walk around the old town hall which had intricate carvings.
Then onto the Souk. Sadly it was Friday and due to prayers many of the shops were closed. We stopped for Mint Tea at the ‘Cafe Imperial’ and then back to the bus.
There is a small shopping area at the Portside if you did not want to take a trip, but as the Moroccan's are avid traders, the people who chose to walk were pestered quite a bit. There were also many armed police around, as we were there very soon after the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ incident.
17th January – Sea Day
18th January – Malaga, Spain
Sadly this was a very rainy day, but un-deterred we took the Portside walk from the ship to the town which takes about 10 minutes. There has been heavy investment in shops and cafes to cater for Cruise ships and tourists in very modern surroundings.
The town itself was a total surprise and a real treat. We had expected a Benidorm type experience, which could be found in the sea-side part of town. But the old town was beautiful. Old and modern buildings sitting comfortably together. The old Cathedral was impressive from the outside and full bling on the inside. Including large TV screens which we had not seen before in a church.
The old castle was charming and had an amphitheatre in the grounds, which was discovered relatively recently.
Lovely lanes of shops and cafes darted from every square. We had a delightful day despite the rain.
19th January – Cadiz, Spain
Our first fully sunny day. A short walk from the ship took us to the centre of Cadiz. The small narrow streets then merge into lovely squares. One square had a market and an old tiled market house.
The Cathedral was very old and not ornate inside. We happened to walk through another church which had a kind of cloister. It also had very strange life like statues wearing ornate clothing, and lifelike cadavers in caskets, which were quite unsettling, we did not linger.
I managed to buy some more bear stuffing from a sewing shop, after Michael had failed in a previous shop to mime ‘stuffing’, to the owners amusement.
20th January – Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon was a sunshine and showers day. We had been to Lisbon before with Andy and Sue so decided to have a walk around on our own. What should have been a short walk from the ship into town became an uphill hike through tiny streets after we took a wrong turn and headed ever upwards towards the castle. The walk down was much more pleasant.
There is an old fashioned tram system in Lisbon and the trams are very attractive.
The whole area including the coasts of Spain and Portugal were hit by a large earthquake a century ago and when Lisbon was rebuilt the town centre was built on a grid pattern. So the main town streets are very uniform and old world modern. The main square is a whopper and is surrounded by decorative buildings.
Leaving Lisbon by sea takes you under the suspension bridge and a Brazil-like enormous statue of Christ (just visible in the background). This was our last big ‘Sailaway’ party of the trip so many people took advantage of one last look from the back of the ship.
21st January – Sea Day
Drink with Peter and Sheila who are related to our friends Graham and Pauline. It was a special birthday trip for Sheila and we had seen them around the ship but it was really nice to sit and have a chat in the bar in our Black Tie clothes for the ships last dressed up evening.
22nd January – Sea Day
Margaret finished her bear which she christened ‘Teddy Oriana’.
23rd January – Friday
Off the ship at 09.15 and said our last goodbyes to Jo and Bob who had been our dinner companions during the Cruise. It is fortunate if you meet people who you get on with and we were very lucky with Jo and Bob.
Went to the boat by Taxi and she was covered in a hard frost which had settled under the clear sky of the previous night. It made her look like a snowball.
Aldi Indian Meal for two, not quite the 3 course meals we had on board the ship but very good nevertheless.
24th to 26th January – Saturday to Monday
Mick carried out some maintenance. The rudder had a rust prevention treatment using Galvafroid. He also replaced the water pump speed seal.
Monday – Portchester
We had a drive around the coast to Portchester. When we were in Portsmouth Harbour we could see a castle in the distance across the bay, which turned out to be Portchester Castle. Then onto Port Solent which is a purpose built marina village.
There is an excellent Chandlers called Marina Superstore. We bought pilot books for the next leg of our travels. Antifoul paint for the bottom of the boat once she is out of the water in March, as it was such a good price. I managed to find a pair of heavier duty, wet weather trousers with the ladies back flap. There were times last year when I coveted them on our sailing chums. They had been in the shop 3 years and after 2 reductions were £30 instead of £100, bargain. http://www.marinesuperstore.com/
There are lots of shops and restaurants at Port Solent and it was a very pleasant find. There was even a trading post for local crafters, so something for everyone.
We then went to South-sea Marina, as we had talked to people during the summer who use it. The facilities seemed excellent and the staff were very friendly. The amenities are currently being updated so should be ready for next season. The Indian ‘Bombay Bay’ which was recommended was sadly closed, better luck next time.
We then travelled back to Southampton on the coastal route via Lee on Solent with great sea views. We had the biggest bag of chips ever, (Karon’s on the High Street) so much so that dinner was abandoned when we returned to Fleur.
27th January – Tuesday
Home in under 6 hours. Boat leftovers for tea.
28th January onwards
Since coming home, I had my hair cut, Mick went out with work colleagues, and I made 2 bags.
We are spending February at home, then back to the boat in March for preparations for this years trip to Holland. Well towards Holland, last years plan was a little rigid so we are going to aim towards Holland in no particular hurry.
