Wind down

It has been a cold few days on the wharf but this afternoon it has really warmed up, according to Angela who has been informed by Denise that the weather is going to improve massively for the weekend, apparently when Denise talks about the weather she is usually right! Lets hope so, in both cases!

Its not been overly busy here this week so far, although Monday was quite busy for those that were in the office,but that was mainly due to my absence because of meetings and people being either on their days off, off sick or on holiday!

Nothing really to report about, the usual stuff has gone on, boats being painted, boats being blacked, hire boats going out, day boats going out, bacon sandwiches being cooked (I hate that because the smell is gorgeous and I would love to have one every time I smell them)

The reason for the post title is that Ange is on wind down as she is off on holiday next week, in fact she is off from this coming Saturday, Guess what and where she is going........................yep I reckon you have guessed it, shes going boating, on her boat and up to Llangollen, so keep your eyes open for her boat, the Merry Pippin, give her a wave if you see her and her motley crew which will be made up of her hubby Mark and friends Peter and Sandra.

No boating for me, just yet!
Simon

Is your engine happy?

There is nothing quite like the steady throb of a happy engine as you cruise along through the English  countryside on your boat. But there is nothing worse than the time when it dies on you, just when you really need it. You should have listened to what your engine was saying because it can’t give you as many clues as a car with all its modern computer systems and even the old-fashioned clues like oil or water on the ground
where you park.If you saw oil on the drive under your car you would get it checked out - but your boat engine might be  leaking oil and you would never know - unless you have a spotless bilge! 

In fact, boat engines are subject to more abuse than the average car, even by the fuel they use. Red diesel is nowhere near the quality of white road diesel and that means changing the filters is even more important. Regular servicing is the key -just how regular depends on the number of hours you are out boating each year.

At Norbury we know a lot of boats whose engines regularly work 1,000 hours a year or more - in fact our own hire boats can come close to that -and we have to work on them regularly to keep them running smoothly. You might not come close to that but an annual service is really the minimum.

A vintage Lister JP2M rebuilt by Norbury Wharf's experienced engineer's,
waiting to be installed in a narrowboat.

Norbury Wharf boss, Simon Jenkins, said: “Don’t be like the customer who called in recently with a gearbox that was completely destroyed. When we asked about the boat’s last service he told us it was when he had
bought the boat two years previously!

“The chances are that, if he had had a service, the problems with the gearbox would have been spotted and probably solved before it became too late.”

Norbury has a staff of experienced engineers, some of whom have been working on engines for four or five
decades, and they are accustomed to the little foibles of marine engines.

“Our years of experience mean we can often diagnose a fault quickly, perhaps from just listening to the  engine.

"In fact, most boaters can do the same. Although an annual service is the minimum I would suggest every steerer tunes in to the noises his engine is making.

“You can tell when it is running sweetly but you can also hear when it starts to develop other little noises and different handling characteristics.

“If you hear a problem developing, get it looked at sooner rather than later - it will be cheaper in the long run.”

Listen to what your engine is telling you - it may need help Norbury Wharf’s most experienced engineer.

ice cream sales on the up

Wow what a busy day it has been here at Norbury today. It started off a little frosty again this morning but the sun soon burned through and it has been absolutely glorious day all day. So much so that we have a serious run on ice creams, I was in 2 minds on tuesday when the supplier rang whether to order at all so I asked her to ring me the next day and see what was going on with the weather, still not looking too good I reluctantly placed an order.......phew, so glad I did, I'll be topping up onTuesday and hopefully again on Thursday ;-)
We had 5 hire boats return to us this morning and all had a good time and we have had "Princess" depart this afternoon with returning customers aboard for 2 weeks and heading towards Llangollen, have a good time Rob, Charlotte and co. We also turned Wharf Cottage around that was cleaned by Sylvia.
Fred has been doing his usual saturday morning stuff and being a general pain, he has also been doing bits and bobs on the trip boat along with Mick and Steve.
I've done a couple of holiday bookings today but have spent most of my day in the tea room with Mrs Tupp, it was quite quiet this morning but then I think everyone woke up all at the same time and came to Norbury for an all day breakfast. Lynn has been out cleaning "Princess" and has then stripped all the bedding etc from the boats that returned to us today and ploughed through a whole hoard of washing.
That's it from me for today, until next time byeeeeeeeeeee Ange.

Busy friday

Well what a busy day it has been here at Norbury today. When I walked along the towpath this morning it was a bit icy underfoot and the sun was shining. The sun has stayed out all day and has been quite warm. It hasn't stopped folk buying coal tho, we still need the fires lit. We have sold lots of diesel aswell and also done a fair amount of pump outs.
I sent Simon out shopping this morning as he kept saying "I haven't got a lot to do today", so he went to Stoke and when he got there the warehouse was shut, they must have heard he was on his way....ha ha.
David has been busy doing brokerage paperwork for the accountant and I have been busy with holiday bookings, the phone has been relentless.
Lynn and Joyce have been out cleaning and Mrs Tupp has been busy in the tea room.
Fred has been outside with his friend Alan who is learning the ropes and doing well I hasten to add.
Steve has been carrying on with trip boat which is coming along nicely and Mick has been helping him.
Well that's all from me for tonight, the blogs will have a bit more content soon, promise....byee Ange.

East wind!!!!!!!!!!

That bitter East wind has been relentless today, the temperature is in fact around 7 degrees but the wind chill must be minus something, it hits your face and it makes it feel raw, there is no escaping from it if you are unfortunate enough to be outside, given the cold conditions I reckon that everyone that has not needed to move any where has stayed put with there feet up by a roaring log burner, I know that's what I will be doing tonight, its a shame really as the nights are now drawing out and we should all be enjoying the evenings outside rather than being stuck indoors!

Its been a funny old day, not much traffic about, we have had a couple of hire boats return early, only a hand full of boats on the wharf for services and a relatively quiet day in the shop, office and tea room, the lads have been busy though, Steve on the trip boats doing wood work, Bernard has been grinding a hull in the dry dock for most of the day and Richard has been paint the boat in the wet dock, we have had a new chap start today, Alan his name is and he has replaced Mick (Mr handbag) Mick decided that he wasn't enjoying the job as he thought he would so left on Saturday, shame I as quite like the chap! Any way the new addition to the Team is Alan and he will be taking over Fred's duties when he retires (eventually)

That's it from me for today
Off home to a nice roaring fire
Simon

Norbury Jam

I am not on about a Sweet tasting fruit product that we sell in our shop, rather different sort of Jam! Over the Easter bank holiday there was the usual Historic boat gathering at Ellesmere port boat museum and the one of the routes used to get there is along the Shroppie, we did see quite a few old boats heading that way prior to the gathering and on Monday 6 of those boats decided to return via the Shroppie and stay at Norbury for the evening, 5 out these 6 boats where 'Joshers' made up of 3 motor boats with Bolinder engines, 2 butties and a Grand union boat, it was a lovely sight to see 5 old working boats tied on the wharf for the night, they turned up late and were gone early the next morning so they didn't really have any impact on the navigation through Norbury but it did look like the canal was jam packed full, I tried to get a picture but only had my Phone on me so I am sorry for the poor quality of the picture, the light was fading and I had had a couple of beers too!

It must have been a great sight and sound early the next morning as 3 Bolinders were kicked in to life and disappeared over Shelmore embankment in the early morning mist!

This morning was a cold one, the boats were well covered in frost on my arrival to work, but the sun was beating out its glorious rays from first light which was superb, the frost soon disappeared to leave us with a stunning day, just the sort of day that you want to loose your mooring ropes and go cruising! It has remained a glorious day all day long which has bought folks out to enjoy the wharf, given that today is our thinnest on the ground in terms of staff it hasn't been over busy, a couple of pump outs a bit of diesel but nothing to get to excited about, Richard has been cracking on with the paint job in the wet dock, Simon welding on a boat in the dry dock and Steve has been cracking on with the trip boat

Regards
Simon

Has it finally arrived?

I am of course talking about the start of the cruising season, I haven't been around over the weekend as I was being treated to a weekend away, well it was my birthday after all, anyway I know that David had several boats go out on Saturday which I would say was the start of the season, He said that he had a busy day on Sunday but today has been very busy indeed and we have seen boats queueing to get on to the wharf for services, the shop has seen lots of people in and the tea room has seen its fair share of folks through the door, It would have been a different story if that orange thingy in the sky had put in an appearance then we would have been manic but as usual it hasn't been out much today and its remained bitterly cold.
Me and David have been in and out of the office today and we have been moving boats around and generally tidying up the boats on the wharf, whilst out there I noticed just how many boats have been passed and the canal has been nice and busy, I will apologise in advance if I don't get around to posting any more blogs this week but I reckon that we will carry on being busy!

Regards
Simon