Narrowboatboy’s Big, Bad Blog...Narrowboat & Travel blog based on Lancaster Canal

Iv spent the last few mornings filling in holes that had been presumably dug by the Cinghiale (wild boar) during the winter.  The Cinghiale live in the dark, wild, wooded area directly behind La Cesa  http://www.lacesa-tuscany.co.uk/  that extends all the way over into Umbria and they are a real problem when they come down during the night as the pesky creatures root about and make holes everywhere they shouldn't. But a strange thing is happening here.... As I fill in the holes I start to notice more holes appearing, smaller but definitely new holes. More mischievous porky pigs?? Now, I have enjoyed many a 'Dick Attenborough' documentary, and quirky nature intrigues me so this morning I started to investigate further. I found some tracks coming from the woods, some new footprints but they were smaller and weren't trotter shaped? I found a latrine that didn't have pig pooh in it, then I walked further into the olive groves and came across a sing...

I have to admit, I'v taken up fly fishing.... Not the boring, sat on a riverbank with a flask and a cane rod, casting for some old wiley trout but actually fishing for flies...with a big net on a long pole...much more fun and I'm getting pretty dexterous at it too! The reason behind it is to keep the surface clear of creepy crawlees and ensuring the pool keeps looking at its best and sparklingly crystal clear. Some of the lucky bugs fished out are still alive and manage to get liberated but most meet a watery end in minutes and then float about looking unsightly. That's where I step in... You also won't believe the amount of insect life that finds its way through and into the filters. Every day I am faced with a mass carnage of insect casualties that have nipped in for a swift drink and not been able to escape, or accidentally flown too close and underestimated the viscosity of the surface. Some wriggle about for a while before getting filtrated to the infinity end and ...

The Chianina is one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world. A famous Italian breed that has been reared in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio for 2,200 years....wow...Bulls can weigh in excess of 1600 kilos and as they are bred mainly for beef so it was a shame not to sample rather a large lump of the stuff. Purchased yesterday from Claudio's, a faboulous local shop, cum deli-cum butchery-cum fruitery-cum-bakery-cum-off-licence.....(well you get the idea, it sells everything!)...any shop that has dozens of massive hams hanging up when you go in and smells of fresh bread is a winner in my book, and this one is ten minutes up the road towards Cortona. The owner, who is also the butcher, has his own farm in the next village, Montella, where he also farms the Chianina cattle. A favourite of Tuscan cuisine, the 'Bistecca alla Fiorentina' is a 'T' bone, grilled over a wood fire, seasoned with only pepper and olive oil after cooking and served rare, accompanied obviously by a ...

There are lots of jobs to do here so it's nice to have a lackey to set to work every now and then in the front fields. This lackey seemed to come with plenty of agricultural experience, some basic old tractor driving qualification and claimed that more recently had driven a 'Yanmar'!   She was fitted with some FFP3 RPE, safety sandals and bottle of cold water and sent off to mow the front field on the little Barbierri with the front and rear mowers! It certainly was a 'Dusty Spring Field'....... You will notice that I have cleverly used the wonderful ' Dusty Springfield 's name for the title of the blog so you can have any song you like, I suppose, but I'm going to choose a Dusty classic ; 'I only want to be with You'. https://youtu.be/osVaF4t-zFc Sent wi' th'ipad

I can now officially take you on a watery journey behind the velvet curtain and way down the pool hatch where we can speak earnestly of such things like pumps, filters, aquatic tanks, chlorine tabs, floating floatrons, filtration systems, long handled brushes and Hayward Robots...impressive, eh? This now, is the armoury at the disposal of the tight,'Speedo'cladded, 'Pool Technician', as I will, from now on, be probably referred to in some 'watery' circles; as today a new role has been added to my job description. After the last few days of training in emptying and cleaning tanks, identifying pipes, refitting pumps and taking apart filters it's now time for the swimming pool of La Cesa to throw off its cover and officially open with a newly qualified and newly appointed 'Pool Manager' (Hmmm...just promoted myself already!) The intensive 'Pool Technician Management Seminar' (PTMS) that I enrolled on was finally completed following attendance of...

As 'Porchetta' day comes around again, we ceremoniously troop into town to sample the flavoursome old sow that gets carved up once a week in the middle of the market.  Being a little later into Camucia than usual, we were at the back of the queue and down to the last remnants of the left butt cheek and this turned out to be a little drier than previous servings, so lessons need to be learned as an earlier start is required for future visits to get the juicer flesh! We mull over this thought over a frothy cappuccino on the street and reflect... The market stalls are full of everything that market stalls generally sell with plenty of local and traditional meats, cheeses and focaccia bread made from in and around this area of Tuscany. Today, we came away with locally grown salad, red juicy tomatoes and sweet seasonal apricots from the one of the many veggie stalls. Massive melons were also on display and looked very tempting but we were drawn away by an awesome smell, and ...

A simple task in the afternoon sun ☀️now takes quite a lot of energy, so to supplement myself I have taken to standing under a certain tree and munching away on my new found delicious fruity offerings. It was a delight to discover the Mulberry tree with its tasty dangling berries so much so that I am now in competition with the birds as to who can eat the most- they are truly tasty! Energy 179.912 kJ (43.000 kcal), 43 calories, Vitamin C and a daily intake of anthocyanin all rolled into one tree! The garden's grounds have an amazing array of various trees from all over the world, many fruit bearing and interesting so I might have to feature a different one as I find them along the way. It's nice actually having the time to appreciate them. They are all desperate for a drink and the ground is as dry as a bone! Still, they'r only trees....who needs 'em? ' The Trees' is a song sung by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp and dates back to 2002, this tune a live tra...

Some are wondering how I'm occupying myself here so today I thought I'd maybe give you a snap shot of life at La Cesa, in downtown Tuscany. Each day is extremely challenging and technically skilful but I am having to use all my transferable skills, built up over the years, to the max. Today was supposed to be about the pool, but yesterday, the old lady manning the desk at the pool shop where the pumps are being refurbished, said that we need 'Franco', and he isn't around till Thursday (all in broad Italian I might add) so we told her that it just so happens that we DO have to come back into town on Thursday because as you all know - it's Porchetta day, so we now intend  to kill two birds, and a pig, with one stone! ...and that's how it is...! So, I found a job to do and named it 'Getting rid of dead wood!'....a crucial and satisfying task to remove all the old, useless, malingering, unfit for purpose excrescence lying around the place in order to be ...

It's only taken a couple of days to see the irony... Trying to do ANYTHING in the afternoon is near impossible and if you try, you wilt quite quickly and eventually head for some shade. When the wind gets up and there is a chance of cloud you start to wonder positively if there is a bit of rain for you? Just a drop, to cool you down and give the plants a break....? ...but no, it misses and falls in the next valley! England and Scotland don't realise how lucky they are with their rain sodden summers...! Been trying to rescue the pool too... Almost forgot to mention that the track is by 'The Jesus and Mary Chain', but I guess you knew that... Sent wi' th'ipad

We hit the autostrada outside Strasbourg after a hearty breakfast and continued to head south towards Karlsruhe on the A5. Now the number plates started to change from F to D as we marched deeper into German soil. The road signs changed too and got a lot longer with comedy names of towns like 'BillWerbenickledunkenschlongen' and Schittenfuggerschaffendorf to keep the kids amused.... Approaching late morning we desperately needed some go juice so it was quite a relief when we finally managed to 'Ausfahrt' into the services before we followed through to  'Munchen Gladbach'....!😜 By lunchtime we were in amongst the pine forests and rolling German hills as the scenery changed and became more mountainous as we entered Austria and past Innsbruck in the afternoon.  Peering through the insect splattered windscreen we could make out the Alps in the distance. We crept slowly in the heavy traffic over the famous 'Rory Bremner' pass and into South T...

Leaving Dover with the 'sole' intention of getting the 11.15 ferry we arrived earlier and managed to get on the 10.15 sailing on the ' Jolene ' heading for French France.  Today would be all about the girls as per today's blog title... Looking back at Vera's white cliffs, we were accompanied most of the way by the seagulls...   After Calais it didn't take long for the monster truck to be in top gear and we headed south down the Rue A26 at about 130 Rappels a hectare passing sleepy towns like St. Quentin(de Crisp) until we needed to stop for a 'peage'... During the journey I concluded that northern France is actually quite boring, as it's just kilometres and kilometres of wheat and barley and beans and no one really lives there, no Maisons with chiens behind them...nothing but unfeasibly large fields of crops! A few 'Peage's on and we got to the the famous Champagne town of Reims where we were ready for a break; we were ok for ' gonfl...

Leaving the city of culture, past the ornamental Mecca bingo and the Edwardian Travelodge I couldn't help noticing the gothic architecture of the Arco warehouse....Arthur Negus would be proud! (One for the kids). Picked up the unassuming Red Cherry 🍒 and headed south. I know your wondering and yes, it's a 4litre, twin cam, double sprocket, wrangler with added flange washers and leaf springs.....(why anyone would make suspension out of leaves is beyond me but don't let it be said I don't know my 🚗) It's a noisy, petrol suppin', wind rattlin' brute of a thing but it's my ride... Overnight in Dover. A T-Rex classic as I can't be arsed to think of wot else at this time of nite! Sent wi' th'ipad