Catching Up with More Photos from the ERII

Without further ado: two new links to David's Photographic Genius:

A Winter Hike to Stanage Edge

and
just in time for the Holiday Season (dust off your Dickens!)

Christmas At Chatsworth

Blessings of the Season
Shanti

Cinque Terre Italy - Part 2!

From the ER II's Owners - email dated November 8/10

(photo of the Madonna di Reggio - D. Wanamaker (c) 2010

We are recently back from our second visit to the beautiful Cinque Terre
in Italy - we were there at the same time last year so we went back to
the lovely Vernazza again, and had days of really great hiking - we've
pretty much done all the trails now except for one sanctuary at the top
end of the Cinque Terre region. May have to go back to complete it one
day...

David's photos, as usual, are spectacular -
Click here to view the most recent Cinque Terre Slideshow.

Had a lovely season out on the canals, selling cheese and chutneys and
talking to lots and lots of interesting people. Our cruising season
starts at the end of March next year, so we will take these next couple
of months to complete all the (dozens of) small jobs we never got around
to on the boat before we headed out last March!

As well, we have some Christmas events to attend, although we will be
doing most of them in halls or pubs - definitely not the time of year we
want to be moving around the canals on our boat! We are cozy and warm
in a nice, new marina in beautiful Cheshire - 1/2 hour to the west is
Wales, 1/2 hour to the east is the Peak District. There will be lots of
hiking and exploring over this coming winter!

Hope everyone is keeping healthy and happy.

Cheers,
Helen & David

Autumn comes calling on the ER II

Early Morning Fog On The Water

David has uploaded some more great shots as the ER II sails into the Changing Season on the canals.
Kindly click on the above photo for the slideshow link.

Also here is an Update as to where and what they are doing currently.

We will be selling our cheeses and chutneys from a stall at the Whitchurch Farmers' Market this coming Saturday, Nov. 6th. Come see us and enjoy a traditional Farmers' Market!

We are wintering at OverWater Marina near Audlem (CW5 8AY) and plan to sell our yummy cheeses and chutneys in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So many of you have asked us about obtaining our products to give as Xmas gifts that we will be arranging to meet in central places (like Ellesmere by the end of the arm, and Audlem near the Shroppie Fly and Audlem Mill) on the first and second weekends in December to drop off your purchases. Please check this page closer to the middle of November for information re: ordering and definite drop-off dates and times.

If you live in the Audlem/Nantwich area and would like to drop by the marina to purchase cheese or chutneys, please ring us on 07876 032698 for details, or for further information.

*****
So there you have it - Photos and an Update of the Elizabeth Rose II and her owners.
Season's Blessings!

ER II Saga continues....

Time for an update. The boat seems to be all better now.
Fingers crossed.
We got the central heating fixed, ( the burner was flooded - the dumb frackers didn't design the flue properly so rain water gets in and makes it way into the burner can - I have done a John Wanamaker and fashioned a hood for the flue) and the overheating problem is remedied.
Like I said, fingers crossed.

Cheese season is winding down, the day are growing shorter and shadows are growing longer.
No frost on the pumpkin, yet. Scotland's got frost....frost on the haggis?

Like I said cheese season is slowing down, we are going to sell cheese through out the winter but not at the rate we did this year.
We have sold over 5000 cheeses this year so far.
Not too bad.

While we are in Kings Sutton, Kris and Walter are coming over for a couple of weeks.
They fly into Heathrow Sunday and then National Express it to Banbury where we will meet them and stick them in a hotel.
On Monday we will leave the Banbury area and drive up to the boat in Audlem.
Plan is to take them out for a week or more on the boat.
Once we get those two on a plane back to Canada, Helen and I are heading off to Italy for five
days.
Back to Vernazza and the Cinque Terre.

It will be a much needed break.
We are both knackered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In November we have another reno to do for Peter and Chris.
They own the Audlem Mill and have been trying for years to get their kitchen finished.
I have a feeling this winter might just fly by.

We are looking forward to exploring more of Wales. The Welsh border is about a 20 min drive from the marina. Super cool!!!

Well the selling day is drawing to a close time take down the signs and drink a pint or two.

Love to you both,
Helen and David

Updating September - Where has the Summer Gone!

Email dated Sept 14th

We are up in the wilds of Shropshire on the Llangollen Canal. We have three festivals in this area in September. So far we have done Maesbury Festival on the Montgomery Canal and Ellesmere Festival on the Llangollen. Sales were good at both although I was surprised at Ellesmere figured it would be our best weekend yet. But Audlem blew her doors off. Everyone noticed that it was a little quiet. Might be the constant bad news about a double dip recession. BBC News, talk about self fulling prophesying!

Right now we are moored out of town, chillin' . Both knackered and slowly tending to small jobs. We are having the back end of some hurricane or tropical depression that's drag it's sorry ass across the Atlantic. Lots of wind and rain. According to BBC (those useless fuckers) it is suppose to blow through and we will have a nice late afternoon. If that is the case we will go and turn this boat around and have it pointing back towards Whitchurch and our next event coming up this weekend. After Whitchurch we have to get to Banbury by the 1st of October for their Canal festival. It will be a challenge getting there 159 miles and 103 locks in 10 days. All the wharf rats say its a two week trip (that's what I think also, I guess I'm turning into one of them, quick shoot me!) Watch this space!

At least that was the plan until the mechanical difficulty mentioned on the Cheese Boat Site occurred. Now they are on their way from Audlum headed for Norbury Junction for the week end of Oct 1st to 3rd.

We don't know what the problem was but they ended up at Audlum again last weekend. Probably for the best as Banbury was pretty ambitious.

The Llangollen Canal is the busiest canal Helen and I have ever seen. From dawn to dusk a boat passes us every 5 minutes or less. That is a freak of a lot of boats. This place is totally nuts!!!!!!!

No pictures this time, but we had to get caught up on where they are at least!

ER II Visits Kinver and Stourport

The CheeseBoat 2 does Chester!

I had mentioned to David (with some envy btw) that I would love to have some shots of he and Helen doing the Roman Wall Walk.
Well!
Here are his fantastic photos of them being 'out and about'.
Enjoy!