Craftsmanship

Hi again,

We have had quite an interesting time since our last blog because we are able to do the tourist thing whenever we want now,camera,Bus pass,or Rail card in hand and away we go.We’ve been sightseeing in and around Poole,Wimborne and Bournemouth as well as nipping up to see Chyandour at Trent Lock.Both myself and Lisa have friends and family down here in Dorset, and it has been wonderful to see them again,most  of them for the first time in years,how some have changed.All of them are in the best of health though,I’m pleased to say.I lived down here for seventeen years and I am now getting to see places I haven’t seen before.Strange how we never really visit places on our doorstep.One of the reasons for going to live on Chyandour,and cruise as much of the network of canals as we can,is that,in all the years I drove for a living,I didn’t really see places.Just mile after mile of tarmac and then the factories,shops and warehouses that I delivered too.Things can look so different from a canal,sights we get familiar with as we go about our daily lives can look so different even from a few yards away from the towpath or from a boat.

Anyway,enough of that,here are a few pictures of places and things that we’ve seen on our travels down here in deepest Dorset.

      

We decided that the boat on the left was just a tiny bit ostentatious for us,the one in the distance,that is,and anyway,it’s not likely to get through some of the locks and bridge holes on the inland waterways.These were taken down on Poole Quay where there are lots of Sunseeker boats if you are into that sort of eye candy.The one on the right is of the famous old Poole bridge,a bascule bridge,built in 1927 taking the road over to Hamworthy.There is now a new lifting bridge but we haven’t got to see that one yet.Poole is also the home of the R.N.L.I.,a wonderful organisation that saves so many lives each year on the waters around our coasts.You can just about make out the Poole Tyne class lifeboat City of Sheffield moored outside the lifeboat station.

     

On the left is Bournemouth pier,taken from the restaurant at the entrance.We had walked to the end of the pier and back,and,just before the exit,the heavens opened and we had to take refuge.An excellent cup of coffee though,while we waited for the rain to stop.The one on the right is of Bournemouth’s gardens.Anyone visiting Bournemouth should take a stroll through here,they are extremely well looked after and we were lucky enough to enjoy them without the rain.

O.K. so now let’s get on with the important bit,our visit to Chyandour at Trent Lock.We were lucky again with the weather,i.e.it wasn’t raining,which is a reason to celebrate at the moment.John and Mick are doing a fabulous job fitting Chyandour out,and it’s a shame none of the photo’s will ever do justice to their workmanship.We are going to get a beautiful boat from them.A lot of the pictures that we took on our visit on the 18th are rather boring,I’m afraid,they are mainly for reference in the future should we need to know where wiring or plumbing has been placed,so I have plagiarised their website again to give you some better pictures.These were taken on Friday the 22nd of June.

                          

The picture on the right is of the front doors,these open out onto the well deck at the bows,on a nice day they’ll be open for us to sit outside,glass of wine,or similar,in hand,enjoying the scenery and watching the world go by.On the left we have the rear doors,these are in the workshop because they are to be painted,partly to protect them from the elements but also because we are going to have them painted with traditional Roses & Castles.Something along the lines of what you see below.

                                 

These are just four examples of some of the traditional art work on the canals.

Below you can see,to the left,is the central heating boiler.This is an Aldi gas boiler,designed to be fitted in narrowboats,which we will use to supplement the multi fuel stove that will be fitted in the lounge.It will help keep our water hot and also ensure we will not freeze if we run out of coal or logs.The black pipes you can see are from the engine which will supply hot water most of the time,and the white pipes are the pipes to the radiators and the taps in the galley and bathroom.

                 

The right hand picture is of the third and final pair of doors.These are on the side of Chyandour and you can see down into what will be the galley.Lisa can open these if it gets too hot for her as she slaves over the hot cooker or the galley sink.

That’s all again for today,we are going to Kent for a few days next week so I will post some more pictures of our travels and any that Mick posts on Kingfishers blog.John is having two weeks well deserved holiday.Bye for now,take care everyone.