Nottingham in the heat

Sat 16th Jul  Nottingham

It was the start of a very hot spell. We had some admin to catch up on, including a report for the Canal Ministries website, so we stayed on board for most of the day.

When it cooled down a bit in the evening, James went to Sainsbury’s for a few bits and pieces. 15 minutes walk each way. Sainbury’s was nice and cool. Coming back outside was like being in the tropics or the Mediterranean.

No boating today

Sun 17th Jul  Nottingham

We had a short walk to Trent Vineyard. They have services at 0930, 1115, and 1900. We turned up at around 1045, as they serve coffee between the services.  We found our way in, and managed to get a coffee, but sadly there was no-one there on the door to greet us. It is a large church, and spotting newcomers or visitors is a challenge. There was a welcome desk where we could have gone.

Elaine arrived and joined us, and we enjoyed the worship and the talk. At the end there was a time of ministry. The service itself was great, and there is a lot going on behind the scenes, with kids work, life groups, outreach initiatives, Alpha etc. At the end several people spoke to us as we were leaving.

Trent Vineyard

Elaine had some Canal Ministries leaflets for us, as we have almost run out. She took us to a Thai restaurant in the centre of town, and we had a lovely meal. It was good to catch up with her.  She had parked a little way away from the restaurant, and so we took a tram back to the boat, as it was almost door to door.

Elaine Hazel James

It was a hot afternoon.

No boating today

Mon 18th Jul  Nottingham

We took the advice given out on the news, and at about 6am we closed the doors and windows to keep a bit of coolness, while the air warmed up outside. We were very pleased to have the fan we had bought. We drank lots of water and didn’t do much.

In the evening we decided to walk to the Waterside, the pub by the marina, as it was probably airconditioned. It wasn’t. it was very hot inside, so we opted to sit outside, where at least there was a slight breeze. Sadly, it was very grubby, with lots of uncollected glasses, rubbish under the seats, and ants exploring the table tops. Perhaps they were short staffed. When we finally went past on Wednesday, we saw that the glasses had been collected.

Water art

No boating today

Tue 19th Jul  Nottingham

Grateful for morning shade

It was even hotter today, with temperatures reaching record levels. We struggled in the heat. James went out to wet the boat roof from time to time, but it didn’t make a lot of difference.

Temperatures

We persevered in the knowledge that it would cool down tomorrow. We amused ourselves at one point by watching a rat making its way along the opposite bank, almost at water level.

There is a fair bit of flow along the canal here. At Beeston Lock, we are asked to leave a top gate paddle and a bottom gate paddle open, so there is a continual flow. The two locks in Nottingham both have bypass weirs which seem to take a lot of water. At Trent Bridge, it all flows back into the Trent again.

No boating today

Next: leaving Nottingham and going downstream on the Trent to Newark.