A little bit of lubrication and a bit of fender erection

Steve D came over today with some new seal for the stern gland.  It's been dripping away for quite some which has required pumping out about once, sometimes twice, a week.  We found one of the studs had a thread-bound nut.  That was released with a couple of large scanners and the fitting removed from its housing.  Everything was cleaned up and new seal inserted.  There doesn't seem to be any water leaving past the seal - we have run Sculptor in gear just  to prove things and we'll take another look below the floors again in the morning.  We know the way she is loaded at the moment that the bottom of the hole in the rudder should be level with the water so it is any easy check to see if the seal has remained in place.

I have always been told that the rear fenders should be erect rather than floppy!  They are now more erect that they have been for some time.

Volunteer hours 5 (total 708 to date)

Doris Osborne's Funeral

We were privileged, on 2nd April, to have a very precious cargo, in the form of Doris Osborne's coffin.  We carried Doris' coffin from the southern portal of Blisworth Tunnel to the former James' family home at 3 Canalside. Doris was a daughter of Jack James, a boatman and later in life the lock keeper at Stoke Bruerne.  Jack started the museum in Stoke Bruerne.

There is a link here to images taken on the day by Steve Dean:

There is a link here to images on the Northampton Chronicle website:

There is a link here to a report of the funeral on the Northampton Chronicle website:

An appreciation of Doris' life by her sons Tony and Philip follows:

Farewell to Doris Osborne (née James)
6.5.1928 – 15.3.2015

Doris Osborne who was born on 6th May 1928 arrived in the canalside village of Stoke Bruerne on board a narrow boat and at her family’s request on Thursday 2nd April 2015 arrangements were made for her depart in the same way.

Doris was the daughter of Jack and Emma James and was born in Reading on board narrow boat ‘Emma’. She was schooled at a convent in Oxford whilst her parents worked boats over a large area. During the Second World War at the age of just 13 she helped the family run the boats Badsey and Balham as her elder brothers had been called up for war service. They often ran from Park Royal in London to Birmingham carrying a variety of loads the most notable of which was Guinness.

Jack and Emma James had come to know Sister Mary Ward in the course of their regular journeys through Stoke Bruerne and following the hard winter of 1947 they decided to purchase one of the canalside cottages owned by Sister Mary. Now the resident of No.3 Canalside Cottages, Jack decided to apply for the vacant position of Lock Keeper for the seven locks that climb up to the centre of the village. He quickly expanded his official duties and began tidying up the area and regularly won a national competition for the best kept lock. He also collected waterways artefacts and this was to become the foundation of the acclaimed museum in Stoke Bruerne.

In 1954 Doris married Reginald Osborne a jeweller and pawnbroker based in Regents Square, Northampton. They had three children, Anthony, Philip and Wendy. Doris lived a long and happy life and was involved in many voluntary roles and an active church goer, latterly at St. Peter’s in the village of Weston Favell. Doris was extremely proud of her heritage on the waterways and her family connection with Stoke Bruerne.

It was to honour and respect her past that she was carried from the southern portal of Blisworth tunnel aboard the narrow boat Sculptor the short distance to the front door of cottage No 3 above top lock. Sculptor was operated by volunteers, David Blagrove MBE, Kathryn Dodington and Rob Westlake with Doris’ sons Anthony and Philip on board. The towpath was lined by members of the family as well as boaters who were moored in the area, all paying their respects to a lady with such strong connections to the waterway network and village of Stoke Bruerne.

Volunteer hours 6 (total 703 to date)