Changing the awful and correcting the spelling

The last daily post didn’t include the photo of the newly painted fake rivet tops on the water tank hatch.  Jan has more than suggested the clash of colours couldn’t be much worse.  You judge!

After considerable thought and being mindful of the consequences of not taking action, the rivet heads have been repainted.

The small patch on the roof under one of the solar panels has also been given a first top coat.

Blog reader Bill sent us an email pointing out my incorrect spelling of Hertford.  However he missed the incorrect spelling of Bishop’s Stortford so he doesn’t get the bonus point.  Bill also passed on some interesting information regarding the mills

When the mills were built the rivers probably already had boats being worked along them, locks as we know them came later, the best way to move large loads was by water and London would have needed flour and grain, remember in the seventeen hundreds Thames barges would be bow hauled from Reading to Newbury up the river Kennet [yes river] by men in a day, so the Stort would have been much the same,

When locks came along mill owners had mill ponds built to help the water flow, this also meant water levels stayed pretty much the the same, some mill ponds were some way from the mill but a leet [a small man made water course] would have been built to aid the flow.

Yesterday evening I went for a local walk visiting the nearby “city park”.  At the southern end is Waytemore Castle.  The Normans built a motte and bailey wooden castle on the site.  The motte being an artificial mound with a timber or stone keep on top.  It was usually surrounded by a enclosed courtyard (the Bailey).  By the Tudor period all that remained of the castle was the motte.

The base of the motte is now circled by a shoulder high hedge.  My intention was to walk to the top but I discovered the gate was locked with a council health and safety notice stating entry was barred because there were sharp and uneven stones on the top which might pose a hazard to children.  Looking up I noticed three youths mucking around at the top.  Chaining the gate obviously only prevents adults!

We went for a stroll around the town.  Bishop’s Stortford has been able to retain some of it’s earlier character  with most of the High Street shops located in an inconspicuous shopping mall.

Jan particularly wanted to visit Coopers of Stortford.  She bought a small dehumidifier online from Coopers when we were living on the hire boat at Aldermaston in 2011.  The store is reasonably large and located in a former malt kiln.  Their website states

Situated on the Hertfordshire/Essex border, there has been a business premises on our Bridge Street site for more than 300 years, trading from the original 16th century timber framed building.

This charming building is made up of three linked premises including a 19th century malthouse.  Our main shop entrance leads into the original 16th century timber-frame building where, on the ceiling (currently above the cookshop), can be seen examples of original, early pargetting (plaster ceiling decoration) which would have been undertaken by highly skilled craftsmen.  The offices above the shop remain a labyrinth of passages with beamed ceilings and sloping floors and, amazingly, there is still a section of 17th century wooden paneling remaining.

Further along the High Street I noticed a shop I was sure Jan would want to visit.  I was right! 

The owner of the boat moored in front of us arrived back at his boat today.  He asked if we were aware we (and he) were on 24 hour moorings.  That was a surprise to me as we had passed the 14 Day Mooring sign when we arrived.  He had been on the moorings for five days and received an email from CRT notifying him he must move.  According to him CRT are patrolling all of the Lee & Stort every 7 days as part of a plan to eliminate continuous moorers.  Later in the day we bow hauled Waiouru so she was moored beside the 14 Day sign.  This proved to be quite fortuitous as we can now receive a signal from the ‘dot in the sky’ and also have terrestrial.

Not long after this a boat familiar to Pip & Mick (nb Lillyanne) arrived, winded and moored behind us.

Looks like we have a prime mooring for the weekend.