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

  Storm ‘George Eustless’, aptly named after the Environmental Secretariat minister, has really made a mess around here with conditions having deteriorated all week. From the endless annoyingly lashing midweek rain to the weekend warnings of an incoming stupidly named storm as gusts build to ‘very windy’ on the big grownups wind-chart with records recording that it’s worse than the very old, stiff winds first recorded back in the blowy day’s of 1764 when wind was quite strong. The climate change is happening under our very runny noses and is also happening a bit quicker than he thought and us boater’s are feeling the brunt of it. Waves reaching up to 4 inches were recorded breaking on the banks of the very full Lancaster canal and all towpaths have now been re-classified as ‘treacherous’ by a government sauce. A 78 year old dog walker was seen battling the winds and struggling with the pooh bags billowing and blowing about uncontrollably, splattering startled fishermen with c...

 Todays technical blog is about engines so if any girls are listening you might want to turn over as its probably going to get a little too complicated for you to comprehend the ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ of it all.... The ‘head’ is back on now but while attempting this complicated surgery he severed a main artery and diesel started to piss out uncontrollably so unfortunately, under current NHS post -Covid rules, the operation had to be cut short. This ultimately means that another slot will have to be booked to finish the job off, thus allowing the head doctor to legally demand that I pay even more money 💰 than intended to pay in first place! By the end of all this he will, however, have completely pimped my ride and I’m sure I will fully appreciate the level of comfort and reliability that a newly refurbished BMC1500 diesel performance engine offers. The head has been completely lobotomised and skimmed with “seven thouw” shaved off, new injectors fitted and valve guides gu...

  It’s not all about performance...but i do have an expectation that things will work, especially when you have spent so much time and money and investment on them so when they don’t it’s very, very annoying. But today, I    still find myself waiting and waiting to watch the machine spring back into life and start to purr again. The anticipation of this happening is driving me mad and I’m still not sure whether or when I will witness such an event?....dark days indeed and powerless despair down here on the cut! It’s bad enough to have witnessed the breakdown first hand in such a harsh environment but then to have to wait such a long time so see if someone can fix it is frustrating to say the least. Are you not supposed to be the ‘man who knows’ when it comes to getting things to work?...I’m beginning to lose confidence in your abilities especially when you are supposed to have all the tools to hand and the best workshop in town. Yes, I understand that there are lots of mo...

Well...after thousands of emails demanding “Why don’t you write them witty and informative blogs anymore”.?...and littered with worthy praise like “as I found your literary skills littered with bad grammar and your misguided observational musings so amusing and informative, not to mention enlightening.....and the world is such a grim place without them” Really...?...so I have relented and bowed down to peer pressure! View from the bow Really...? Well...not really....I was just talking the other day and remembered that I used to enjoy to write occasionally and thought I should maybe give it another bash and do an update. I then made a New years resolution, there and then on the 26th Jan that I could at least try to produce at least one blog for each month of the year for 2022,,,can’t I?...we’ll see, can’t promise but I will try. So here goes...I have revamped it and rebranded the product to freshen things up but it will be the same old me moaning about stuff, littered with inspirational...

Ok, that’s the end of the trip. We had gone out in the sunshine and returned back in the rain passing once again the thought-provoking plaque to little Clare and Paula before we boarded onto the morning ferry. The synopsis of our visit to Northern Ireland was very positive, the people we had met and spoken with along the way had been friendly and the drivers very courteous to us cyclists.  Some flag waving Nationalist and Republican areas still seem uneasy and are a reminder that trouble could quite easily return and the gates could be closed overnight if the peace process was upset in any way...fingers crossed that this never happens. On the whole, we had a great time so thanks to Buster and Pongo for the company and the ‘craic’...just need to get a few repairs done to the bike for the next one! Today’s final title track from Derry band D-Ream that included a young Professor Brian Cox on keyboards. https://youtu.be/V6QhAZckY8w

Today was to be a jaunt taking the riverside route and cycleway down the River Lagan from Belfast to Lisburn. Breakfast stop off at the Lock keepers Cottage by the overgrown and neglected canal At Lisburn I stopped for a chat with Eric Morcambe, the comedic inventor of the defibrillator! A few miles from Lisburn was affluent Hillsborough, with its royal residence for the Secretary of Northern Ireland and somewhere that Liz and Phil can stay when they visit the territories. When they go out for a pint they usually visit the trendy Smithfield House bar in downtown Lisburn, so we did the same. Todays track by frontman Gary Lightbody from up the road in Bangor, Northern Ireland lead the successful band ‘Snow Patrol’ that I once saw as a support band to ‘Athlete’ back in the early nineties.  https://youtu.be/GemKqzILV4w

Today, was going to be easier as it was not as far to make the return journey back to Belfast up the west side of the lake. We left an overcast Ardglass after a good breakfast. Downpatrick, Killyleagh and then a brew stop at ‘Daft Eddies’ at Whiterock. From here it was back to Comber and returning down the Greenway towards the cranes on the docks. The evening beverage was taken in certain lovely old famous Belfast pub owned by the National Trust that was opposite the most bombed hotel in the world...The Europa, bombed 32 times!! Today’s track is by the the lovely Neil Hannon and Divine Comedy born in Belfast. Some of the best lyrics that you will hear in a beautifully crafted song .