06/10/2007 by Mark.Whalley.

As I have said before, the boat was bought to primarily serve one purpose; to provide accommodation for me when working away from home as a contractor. When originally purchased, I was based in Kingswinford – right in the heart of the Birmingham Canal Navigation (BCN) and with superb connecting canals to other parts of the country. When I took the contract at Rolls-Royce (Derby), finding Sawley Marina just 7 miles from the offices of Rolls-Royce could not have been planned any better.

As part of the negotiations of accepting the post with Ingres, it was agreed that I would be based at home. However, there would be times when I would need to visit client sites throughout EMEA and attend meetings and courses at Ingres’ UK offices in Slough.

The good news was that being based at home would entitle me to claim expenses when visiting client sites and the Slough office :-).  After considering the cost of hotels in and around Slough and the cost of keeping the boat (moorings, BW license, insurance, fuel, BSS etc), based on a single day per week occupancy on average, it worked out cheaper to keep the boat. Thus we agreed to keep the boat, and for as long as we could find a suitable mooring, would commence the move from Sawley.

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05/10/2007 by Mark.Whalley.

Having worked with the Ingres Relational Database Management System (www.ingres.com)   for over 15 years, initially whilst at the University of Wales in Swansea (www.swansea.ac.uk) and latterly as an independent consultant with Northern Electric and Gas / RWE npower (www.npower.com) and in early 2007 with Rolls-Royce (www.rolls-royce.com) in Derby, when I discovered that Ingres were looking for an additional member to join their Premium Services Team, my CV was taken off the shelf, polished and sent off to them.

My decision to apply for the post came around the time I had left RWE npower (after being with them for 10 years) and had decided to take a short break before looking for a new contract. Within days of starting my sabbatical, I was approached by an agent enquiring if I would be interested in a contract with Rolls-Royce in Derby. It was whilst waiting the for my MoD Security Clearance to come through (nearly three months!) that I applied for the post with Ingres.  Eventually my Security Clearance came through and I started working at R-R towards the end of April 2007. Over the coming months I settled in and thoroughly enjoyed the work at R-R, typically travelling from home to Derby on a Monday morning and returning on Friday afternoon. Within a few weeks I managed to bring the working week down to four days by working long (10-11 hour) days Monday through to Thursday which made the weekends seem far more pleasant and less rushed.

With so much work to do at R-R, travelling back and fore each week and the birth of our first grandchild Nia (subject of another blog posting) I put my application to Ingres at the back of my mind. Then in mid August, I received an email from Wouter Keyser (Director of Premium Services at Ingres) inviting me to an interview!

Needless to say, to be given the chance to work for the company whose products I have used intensively for the majority of my working life was an opportunity I was not going to let pass me by.

After attending an interview with Wouter and Sean Paton (one of the Premium Services Team Leaders) at the end of August, I was offered the post and started work on Monday 5th November.

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02/01/2004 by Mark.Whalley.

Having spent a really enjoyable New Year’s day with Mum and Dad in Rhayader, we (Bev, Daniel and me) set off to Ocker Hill to move Tastoma to Tat Bank.

We arrived at Ocker Hill at about 11am, and after doing the final preparations, set off slowly past the other boats at the mooring. A floating boom tied between two BW barges blocked the entrance to Ocker Hill. This was easily moved to one side to allow us to pass before replacing it. Two butties tied together and listing into our path made exiting a little more difficult, but not impossible.

When we got to the entrance of Ocker Hill, Bev left Dan and me to take the boat onwards, whilst Bev took the Landrover to meet us at the next set of locks. On arriving at the first flight of locks, Dan and I managed the first three together before we saw Bev in the distance. She then took the boat through the remaining locks whilst Dan and I worked land-side.

After completing the eight locks, Bev left us once again intending to meet us at the two locks at the end of the Gower Branch. With approximately 1 mile to travel, we arrived at the locks quite quickly. Whilst at the locks, we met up with a gentleman who informed us of his plans for a new boat to be delivered sometime between May and June this year, and that he was also hoping to be moored at Tat Bank – what a small world! With the two locks now complete, we had just over two miles to run before reaching the six locks at Oldbury. This time, Bev got to Tat Bank in plenty of time and met us on the towpath under the M6 flyover just before the Oldbury / Tat Bank junction. Just before Bev joined us, I noticed a small narrowboat engineering yard (Oldbury Boat Services) selling both gas and diesel -–I will need to check them out.

When we arrived at the final lock, we were approached by a family of five plus a small dog, who asked if they could ride with us as the towpath was blocked off at the top lock. If they had to walk around, it would have taken them quite some time. The mother and youngsters got on the boat and stood in the bow section, and thoroughly enjoyed going through the locks. Unfortunately, the little dog did not take kindly to the sound of water rushing through the lock gates and had to be held by the father on the towpath. After clearing the top lock, the father, with dog in tow, jumped aboard whilst we passed the 8’ marine ply board used to block the towpath. On clearing the obstruction, the family alighted to continue their walk towards Titford Pools. All were very grateful for the ride, and for saving them a much longer walk home.

Arriving at Tat Bank just after 4pm, we had completed the 7 1/2 mile, 16 locks in just over 4 hours. As previously had happened, the engine had cut out under load a couple of times. Although I am sure there are no blockages in the weed hatch, I will still check this out before our next journey, as well as getting the boat serviced.

During the run to Tat Bank, other than the handful of boats moored at Oldbury Boat Services, we did not come across a single boat. As we started to reverse into Tat Bank, we met Kevin – the resident from the flat at the top of the Pump House.

As there were still no other boats moored on the pontoon (other than the BW barges), we had the choice of moorings. I decided to opt for the first mooring on the pontoon, as this was well lit by the Pump House floodlights, streetlights and the high-mounted lights on the heating-oil fuel tanks running alongside the canal. It also meant I would be relatively close to the car park and other amenities. With a 3 hour drive ahead of us, and the light of the day already lost, we quickly made the boat secure and set off home, arriving at just after 7.30pm.

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23/12/2003 by Mark.Whalley.

(lunchtime)

With only two days left in Kingswinford before going home for Christmas, I decided to visit Titford. The main reasons were; to check on the progress of the lock repairs at “The Crow”, ensure my BW key fitted the main gate at the Pump House and to see if anyone else had moved in yet. Although there had clearly been quite a lot of work done on the locks and the chambers, and with a couple of stacks of new bricks at the top lock (nest to the Pump House), it looked as though work had been stopped for the Christmas break. Fortunately, although the tow-path was cordoned off with a large ply-sheet board, it would appear that all the locks were functioning. My BW key worked the main gate padlock, but as the Pump House was already open, and I could hear voices within, I decided not to try the key in the building padlocks just yet. Other than a couple of steel butties, no other boats were moored up.

The drive from Kingswinford to Titford was relatively easy, with the majority of the route being the same as travelling to Ocker Hill.

Later on I decided to plan the canal route from Ocker Hill to Tat Bank (Titford).