Monday 4^th June 2018

After dinner last night we both had showers. While Brenda then went to bed, I sat up to only to hear the water pump start. Obviously something was wrong. The pump was switched off but no leak was found even though the pump ran continuously whenever it was switched back on.

Looking again this morning a pipe had become completely disconnected from the back off the shower control panel. Calls were made to Andy and Graeme. Surely this time he must come out.

Andy and Dec were here within the hour followed shortly after by Graeme himself. Hallelujah. Almost three weeks after her launching, Bridge Street gets a visit from her builder.

It is fascinating watching Graeme operating when he has to. If he had been this way throughout the build, the boat would have been finished long before she was.

It was obvious though, that he was expecting a hard time from us. We were both conscious that if that had been the case he would have just left and no work would then have got done.

The pipe was reconnected and lots of other snaggings attended to. Jobs now, that I don’t have to do.

Andy is returning tomorrow and a cooker guy is to come at some point to fix the horrendous noise coming out of the back of it, sounds like a fan hitting the casing.

Sandra, the electrician I know from Middlewich Narrowboats, turned up to do the lighting in the rear cockpit. This was a job that was not done during the build and I had insisted on, so Graeme outsourced the job to Sandra. Graeme had previously drilled holes in the gas locker bulkhead to fit the lights. I had questioned this at the time as it didn’t seem right to me to have lighting fitted in a locker containing gas. Graeme reassured me that it is within the regulations and, as the builder, it is assumed he knows the regs. Sandra took one look at what had been done and point blank refused to have anything to do with the installation. She even stated that any holes in a gas locker, except the external vent, were in breach and a boat safety certificate would be unobtainable.

After they have left more washing was hung out. This has become my job because Brenda reckons she can’t reach.

The engine bay was cleaned but really the engine could do with a good wash-down.

The car was picked up. This seemed very final. We have continuously had a car for 43 years. It seems as though we have lost a lot of our independence. It was actually worse to see the car go than the house. Brenda found this very upsetting.

More tidying, more jobs.

Phil, our next door neighbour then came in for a few beers before bed. 

Tuesday 5^th June 2018

Andy turned up again followed not long after by Graeme. More jobs were attended to although all were jobs that should have been done before the boat left the workshop. The only job that could be considered a snagging job was the curing of the leaks on the water tank filling and vent lines. This turned out to be no more than jubilee clips and screws had not been tightened up.

I then went to see Malcolm in the reception to say our farewells as we are, hopefully, staring to move tomorrow and he is not working. It was Malcolm that we saw in September 2016 after I was made redundant and, through him, we were put in touch with Graeme.

Both Malcolm and Andy at the brokerage have seen us through a lot.

I then took Phil next door, out in his boat as he is inexperienced and a bit fearful of using her.

We walked to the pub in Ravensmoor, the nearest to here. It was a long way. We had our dinner there and a few pints and then a longer walk back.

Tomorrow we intend to move but first have to wait for the cooker guy. Hopefully he won’t be too late.

We want to get to Middlewich for Folk and Boat weekend on 15^th-17^th June. It will be a hard push, which we never intended doing, but with the breach in the Middlewich Branch it is 119 miles and 115 locks instead of just 7 miles and 9 locks.