The baffle plate lives up to its name

Wednesday 8^th October; Oddingley to Perdiswell Park

It was grey, quiet and dry this morning when we left our mooring.  No-one about except the ladies in the field opposite and they were too busy eating to be speaking to anyone.

Good morning

It drizzled as we passed through Tibberton, just enough to need waterproofs, but the heron didn’t seem to mind.  Perhaps it was digesting a good meal, I can't think it was fish-spotting from 20 feet up a tree.

Hello up there!

The drizzle had stopped before we got to the top of Offerton locks.  The top lock wasn’t quite empty, and as I filled it the volunteers emerged from their hut, one to go down to set the next lock and the other to join us at the top.  We were down the flight of 6 in half an hour, probably the fastest we have ever done it – they aren’t particularly deep, but one of the pounds is quite a long one, too far to lock ahead if you have no-one else to help you.

Thanks!

There was just enough time to boil a kettle, make tea for Dave and a pot of coffee for me before we arrived at Tolladine lock.  It started to drizzle again on the way.

Undergoing repair?  Yeah, right

I looked back at my blogs and found a photo I took of the same paddle taken in March last year, 18 months ago.  I refer you to Neil’s summary of the recent CRT survey.  The lock took ages to fill of course, being a deep one, so I amused myself by stretching to reach a large section of floating reed to add to the heap that had already started building up.  I was holding on to the gate, since you ask. 

Back on the boat once more, my insulated cup kept my coffee warm as we worked through the last lock of the day, Blackpole.  Luckily a boat had just come up so I only had to push the gate open and we were down in a jiffy.

This top gate swings open a bit – someone has fashioned a prop from available materials.  Very helpful, if you can remember which way round it went.

Our favourite Worcester mooring at Perdiswell Park was free and we were all tied up by midday.  The contractors were out between Tolladine and Blackpole locks doing their annual edge-to-edge cut, and it looks as though they have been here too, but only with the mower.  They were strimming everything in sight back there, so why didn’t they trim the nettles by this mooring I’d like to know!

The resident swans were rushing along the canal towards us as we moored.  Too impatient to paddle all the way to the bridge behind us, they had suddenly burst into frantic action and took off for a bit.

I missed the lead one.

Then all they did was paddle about behind us, pecking at the greenery.  It took us a little while to moor, as the sun had come out and we wanted the best spot for the solar.  Jess started agitating for a visit to the park before we had finished lunch, so Dave did that while I went off to the supermarket for some bits and pieces.  Then he went to Halfords while I prepared to do battle with the flue pipe.  We still haven’t got around to getting ourselves a proper flue brush, so it would have to be a bunch of holly as usual.

Prickly, but effective

And as usual, the stopper was the baffle plate.  Before I started, I donned Dave’s engine-hole clobber  – bitter experience tells me I will get soot all over my arms.  There must be a knack to getting the baffle plate out, but I haven’t found it.  The plate has a screw at one end, which drops through a hole in a lug projecting forwards from the back of the fire.  The plate sits on lugs on the other three sides to hold it above the fire.  It's purpose is to direct the heat forwards to the glass and the room before it goes up the flue and away.  And you can't clean the flue till you've taken it out.  ‘Just lift the screw out of the hole’, the instructions said, and ‘tilt the baffle plate’ above the lugs to drop it down and remove it.  There seems to be no space to tilt it, and it kept getting jammed, but I managed it in the end - I wish I knew what I did!  I dragged the holly through the flue a few times, cleaned up the soot and it was as easy as pie to get the baffle plate back in again.  Why?

The screw is rather long.  I wonder why?  Maybe we’ll bring the bolt croppers next time and trim a little bit off.

Jess and I went for a walk in the sun afterwards to soothe my shattered nerves.  Dave had been busy working on the port side with some paint restorer stuff he got in Halfords, followed by T-cut, which is bringing up the paintwork quite well.  But the sun went, and by the time we should have been admiring tonight's Harvest Moon there was a thick blanket of cloud.  To start with it wasn't cold enough to light a fire - later on we wished we had.

4 miles, 8 locks