The Journey - 'Rosy' Goes to France

I left you just as I was arriving in Kortrick ....

The next day, several boats left, so we moved upstream of the sewer outlet.  I spent much of the rest of the day cycling round Kortrick trying to find the right sized plug to plug into the free electricity provided by the king burghers of Kortrick.  Nearly everyone uses a standard sized plug - a few people use a bigger one.  Kortrick does, and I hadn't got a suitable lead made up.  I had by 3 p.m.

A Dutch sailing boat moored up.  It was called Archimedes, which is, when you think about it, a very good name for a boat.  It's design is based on an old barge, so she had a flat bottom and lee-boards.  They had a book called 'Sailing flat bottom boats'.  They showed me theirs, and I showed them mine (boats!).  Mine was bigger!!! 

The next day, a Sunday, Jeff the Book drove over from Gent, with his sister who was visiting him - she lives in Banbury.  Visited the town museum, where there was a painting of our mooring - 200 years ago.  Luckily there was a post card reproduction.

On Tuesday I visited a beguinage.  A Beguine is woman (I think) who is not a nun, but might wear a habit like one, and lives a life of quiet contemplation and being nice to people.  The beguinage is where they live.  The one in Kortrick seemed to have one Beguine, but non-beguine women (and men) mostly elderly, living in the 16th /17th century houses.  It was a lovely, quiet spot is the middle of a busy city.  There was a small museum, showing life as it was.  Who would have thought of putting single, contemplative ladies to making church candles, but that, it seems, is what they did at Kortrick.

On the Wednesday, we entered waters new, by going over the Bossuit canal.  This is quite short, connecting the valley of the river Leie/Lys to the valley of the river Schelde.  Through some big (115m x 12.5m - about 350ft x 40ft for the imperialists), deep (28ft) locks.  All for me, as the canal is not very busy.  We moored for the night at Bossuit.

Thursday was an OK day, with a journey through the centre of Tournai.  Nowhere to moor there, as the channel is not too wide, and there is a lot of barge traffic.  At the lock before Tournai there was a fee to be paid, as we were briefly into the French speaking bit of Belgium.  The lock-keepers asked for my intended route (through Valenciennes to Cambrai), and said 'Non'.  There is a stoppage 'til the end of June.  So I'll have to go via Douai instead.  Just beyond Tournai is the French border, and just before that there is a fuelling depot, for barges (and 'Rosy') to fill up with cheap, red diesel before entering France.  So, fill up we did, and moored for the night.

Friday was a pretty much perfect day.  It was nice and sunny, so we left earlyish, and travelled along broad, tranquil waters, almost devoid of other boats, with trees and forests along the bank.  I listened in to the last episode of '2001 - a Space Odyssey' which was being serialised on BBC World Service, so at last I know what was happening!!!  And then I struck the Belgian courtesy flag that has been flying, and ran up the French tricoleur.

Then a right turn onto the River Scarpe, a small country canal.  A few locks and lift bridges all worked by travelling lock keepers, who dash ahead to prepare the way.  It being a river rather than a canal, views opened up across the flat country - cow country, lots of Friesian, all looking reasonably sane.  Two water voles swimming across the stream, and another running along the bank.  A lapwing dive-bombing a crow in a tree.  Lots of bankside flowers - the gentle blue of forget-me-nots, elderflower trees bending under the weight of the blossom, blackberry bushes a-flower promising some nice puddings later in the year.  And some great crested grebe chicks hitching a ride on their parents backs.  I had to shout at a pair of shelducks, to remind them of their parental responsibilities - they flew off at our approach, leaving their chicks to our mercy.

Finally arrived at the village of Vled (nearish to Douai).  The maps promised electricity (but electricity is off dear) and water (that's off, too, dear).  I now have French money and have drunk French beer.  Another narrow boat appeared - Adagio - a Pat Buckle hull, fitted out by its owners (Peter(?) and Mary).  He has since fitted out 3 other boats.  All hard wood inside, held in place by screws, 8000 of which are on display - brass, countersunk, with all the slots lined up.  They have only been in Europe for a week, and are doing advanced 'weekending' - coming over for one or two weeks every couple of months to move the boat on.

I've had electrical problems, which are being sorted out via e-mails to Andy Clarke.  This weekend, I've been titivating the paintwork, and have finally got around to painting the unpolished brass mushroom vents with black paint.

Tomorrow (Monday) we're off again, hoping to get to Cambrai on Tue or Wed for a bit of First World War history - it was the site of the first tank battle.

There!!  See!  I CAN write about boats and boating when I try.

Toodle pip!!

Bill