Chimney part 2, and other things

Following Blue Moon's comment in yesterday's post, I decided to treat the wood support from the chimney collar with some preservative. So, with cracks in the wood filled, some Cuprinol on the wood and the whole of the metalwork treated with Rust Eater it looks like this:

I tested out the sleeve, and the tapered end will squeeze inside the collar, so it should be alright. I think I'll try using hull blacking paint to finish it – it's a quick straight-to-metal solution and I'm not aware of any reason not to. Then I'll have to find some way of cleaning the staining on the green paintwork. It seems to be coming along nicely.

Beautiful day for travelling today. Coming through the first locks we were never far out of sight of Beeston Castle's distinctive outline, misty at first and then with some sun on it.

Unfortunately for those coming the other way, all the traffic seemed to be with them – one couple had waited 2 hours to get through a couple of locks. We were accompanied on our way up the wide Shroppie locks by Gail and her recently acquired NB Four No Trumps. She had family on board, including her parents who have done lots of sailing in the Mediterranean – narrowboating was a bit of a novelty for them. It was nice to meet them.

Tonight we tied up at our favourite spot on the Middlewich branch – Sykes Hollow. It's a treat in the evening sun, as we sit outside, drinking our tea and making music.

Today we passed a couple of hire boats with Tolkien themed names – Thorin and Silmaril. I must dig out my list and see how many it now stretches to.