FIRST TIME SELLING CHEESES FROM THE ER II !

I think it is probably with a great deal of relief and a bit of 'finally', that the ERII was put to the use she was built for - namely being one of the best darn Cheese Boats on the Canal System!

Here is David's amazing photography, giving us a look at what where they are and what they do.

Arrival at Fradley Junction

ER II in the early morning light.
The most picturesque junction (Fradley) in the entire canal system

Setting Up Shop

Our first time selling cheese from the boat.
Helen and a young customer

More Fradley Junction shots

(the Prettiest..Have to agree with you David on that one!)

ER II at Fradley Junction
Fradley Junction,with The Swan (known by the locals as the 'Mucky Duck')
Elizabeth Rose II with The Swan in the background Lock Keepers Cottage Fradley Junction
Now then, who wants to buy some cheese?
Remember you can 'try before you buy'.
Seasons Blessings of Christmasy Cheeses

First ER II Video! Work In Progress

Cinque Terre Sojourn

One of the advantages of living in this part of the world is, that when you get tired of hammering and a 'bangering and glueing and dealing with eejits, you can just put down your tools and go away for a nice holiday.

So off to Italy, Helen and David went, and they got to see (lucky things!) Cinque Terre!
Enjoy.

By the wearin' of the Blue...

The Elizabeth Rose II gets her first coat of Brilliant Blue Paint.

Now when they came down to Canada, scarcely half a year
She's married this bold captain who called her his dear
She's dressed in silks and satins now, and she cuts a gallant show
She's the finest of the ladies down Canadee-I-O

Come you fair and tender girls wheresoever you may be
I'll have you to follow your own true love, when he goes out on the sea
For if the sailors prove false to you, well the captain he might prove true
You see the honour that I have gained by the wearing of the blue

Helen's Pride and Joy - the GALLEY!
David's Amazing Example of Finishing Work -
Boatiful Blessings!
Shanti

The Current: News and Views of the ER II - Aug-Sep 09

Hi Guys, Just a quick note I know I owe you a phone call and proper email. But we are run ragged right now we are in the middle of the two cheese selling weekends. At the same time we trying to work on the boat. I will have some new pics up real soon. In fact I think there is some there now. All is well with us hope it is the same for you. Talk soon!

Talk about FEAST! Thanks David!
One of the 'fun' things about living at Yeatsall Farm, is that the Farm boasts its own flying field.
On August 31, they had an Open House Fly In and anyone who could still manage to putter, zoom and squeeze into those WWI or WWII outfits (including the planes!) were welcome.
Here is the latest from Helen who gives us more info about The Day at The Farm:
As an added bonus, we had what the owner of the farm called 'Fun Day' on August 31st. It was an event he and his family host every year to raise funds for the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue people. We thought there would be a few planes flying in (Yeatsall Farm has it's own airfield and hangars, it's such a cool place!) and a BBQ - turned out to be a huge deal: many, many planes flying in and out, including a Russian Antinov (very scary), over 200 vintage cars and motorbikes (Frank, we thought of you immediately!), huge radio-controlled models of tanks running around the farm followed by kids, fire and rescue demonstrations (the kids loved that part, setting cars on fire and putting them out), an entertainment stage with singers, etc.. all day long, a steam-powered tractor pulling a gypsy caravan (took them 4 hours to get here from 6 miles away!) plus all the food/drink was by donation only, recommended amount being a pound for everything, including pints of ale! We know quite a few of the pilots here now and I was lucky enough to go up with one of them - in no short time, we were up flying over the beautiful Peak District, what an experience! I believe David has included a shot of me in the plane (it's a Luscombe, to those of you in the know)
* Since I had so many wonderful shots to share, I thought the best thing to do was put them in slide show format on here.
If you find it's moving too fast for you to view, then move your cursor to the bottom right and you can pause, back up or fast forward.
Enjoy! I know we did.

September 09 - ERII Interior Shots - More Work

Helen writes:
"On the boat front, things are coming along nicely, we are taking a lot more time to finish this boat out to a higher standard than last time (yes, those of you who were lucky enough to see her will wonder about that, but trust me - this boat is WAY nicer!) so progress isn't quite as fast as last time. However, we moved onto a half-finished boat then and are determined not to move onto ER II until she's completely done! Having said that, apparently your boat is never finished until you sell it...:

Hiking the Yorkshire Dales - Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

Helen writes:
"The following Monday was the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance (Google it!), one of the stops always being here at Yeatsall Farm. This event has been going on since the 13th century, very ancient and not just a little a bit weird.! David and I got roped into doing the horn dance by the owner, Richard, and his son, Greg - let me tell you, those horns are heavy!! Unfortunately, because we were dancing, there are no pictures of us - but you'll get the general idea from some of David's shots.

We did a lovely hike in the Yorkshire Dales with Heather and Jamie a couple of weeks ago, one of those 'Let's make up our own walk' type of thing, started out rainy and misty but broke out into the most glorious afternoon sunshine, as you will see from David's pictures. Just a perfect afternoon and we finished off with a pint at the pub in Appletreewick, a charming village in the Dales."