What happened in 2010

When you read our blog you must be thinking that in 2010 we did nothing - stayed at home - put our feet up.

Don't you believe it!

Early in the year we visited Polgara only to find that we had problems with the water system. Over the winter, one of the original copper pipes that runs tight against the bulkhead had split and we were without running water. Not a problem since we were in the marina and showers and toilets were all readily available. But, what to do next? Well, as usual, I set to work to find out where the pipes ran. After removing the corner cupboard and half the forward bulkhead I soon realised that to take out the old piping to replace with new would mean taking half the boat apart. So we decided to cut our losses and bypass the old by running flexible piping along the boat at floor level.
 

This meant that the sink had to be removed along with the worktop and the gas stove.

Once the under sink piping had been exposed we found the plumbing equivalent of spaghetti junction with pipes going every which way but the way you would expect.

Never mind, plenty of scrap copper coming out and a shorter length of flexible piping going in. And, WOW, what a surprise when we switched on for the first time - water flowing really fast and hot water gushing out of all the right places. Another good job jobbed!

In June we managed a long weekend away and, after visiting our favourite local pub, stopped overnight just a short way away from the marina.

Lovely to be out on the cut away from the hustle and bustle of Pillings.
Later in the year in August we managed to get away for three weeks and tackle the Leicester ring.

There was something nostalgic about this particular trip since our first ever canal holiday started from Welford and we completed the Leicester ring - mind you we did it then in a fortnight but taking three weeks is much nicer.



Welford - where it all began



Ever since buying Polgara we have had a problem with the generator and keeping the batteries topped up and with the fridge not keeping everything cold enough. And there was no difference on this holiday - flat batteries every morning.

Well, we arrived a Braunston and happened to wander into the chandlery there and what did they have on display but a 12 volt fridge and not the 240 volt type that we were trying to run. They were quite happy to sell us the fridge and even happier when we enquired about the gas stove standing nearby. They even arranged with Justin next door to fit them both for us.

Don't they look good?

The following day, and indeed until the end of the holiday, all you could hear from me were squeals of delight since the batteries were still fully charged every morning and a days travelling just topped them up nicely.

The following are some pictures of the rest of our holiday.

Brasswork all nice and shiny

During the year we have tried to visit Polgara once a month. It hasn't always been possible but we have tried.

Our last visit over Christmas saw another pipe split (even though I had drained the system in October) but a quick visit to Wickes and all was fixed again. Mind you, it was so cold that even the Portaloo was frozen solid when we arrived. Anyway, stove fired up overnight and the following day everything was back to normal.