A visit and a discovery

Sharpness is the end of the line for us so it’s now a case of retracing our route back as far as Tewkesbury and then further on up the River Severn.  Today we cruised back as far as the Pilot Inn at Quedgeley stopping on the 14 day ringed moorings beyond the water point.  I was on a mission and started walking east away from the canal.  After servicing the engine several days ago I completed the paperwork by entering the details into the engine manual.  That’s when I realised we were currently quite close to the manufacturer. Hence the walk.

Beta Marine was only 2.5km from the mooring and it seemed too good an opportunity to pass without purchasing some filters.   The staff at Beta Marine were quite helpful but I had the impression very few customers arrive by foot.

It will now be some time before we need to purchase more filters.

Can I also draw your attention to the white package on the right in the above photo.  Jan has made another useful discovery.  The package contains Sainsbury’s brand ‘wet wipes’ and they do an excellent job of cleaning the ceiling and chrome fittings.  Waiouru’s white ceiling isn’t painted, it’s a white laminate and we hadn’t realised just how much grime had built up until Jan started wiping it down.

She has made a start and you can see the difference in the above photo.  The wet wipes are doing a better job on the chrome than the brass cleaner.  I’ve discovered it’s terribly stressful watching Jan doing all this reaching and cleaning.  Fortunately I’ve found beer relaxes me!

One other observation whilst walking to Beta Marine.  In the same industrial park I noticed another trade name synonymous with diesel engines.

I had assumed Lister and Petter were names from a bygone era and was somewhat pleasantly surprised to discover they continue to be viable commercial entities.  As a young soldier I remember the NZ Army had generators powered by Lister engines and the boat engines were Petter.