A day in port - Kidsgrove

Still in Kidsgrove
Total to date : 112 miles, 79 locks, 20 lift bridges, 6 tunnels, 6 aqueducts

Toilet talk, beware :

The mission for today was to resolve the loo problem.  I spent some time last night searching for info on the Sealand vacuflush loo.  There was a forum on a "cruiser" website that had someone who seemed to know a fair bit about them.  They had a good description of how they worked.  It answered some of our unasked questions about it.  Now we know what the pump sound is and what the vacuum does.  We also know that we should have some spare parts to hand.

This morning I did the rounds of the local shops while Mick walked to B & Q to buy a plunger.  Roger (Crown) left a message last night saying to call him about the loo so when Mick returned, plunger in hand, he rang Roger for advice.  We had decided that the plunger was worth a try before attempting to pull apart any components of the loo. 

Much to our delight it worked!  We can move on as planned!!  But, now we have the Harecastle to contend with tomorrow.  I looked this up for Erin, my US friend, while we were chatting on Facebook today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harecastle_Tunnel

While trawling the local shops I was on the lookout for a suitable size plastic container to store our canal guides, gloves, and other bits and pieces we want easy access to while cruising.  I found one that would do the trick and also had another brain wave.  I'd been thinking about the idea I'd seen on a boat the other day - the fellow had his cruise guide in a shallow box with a clear lid so he could have it on the hatch without it getting wet.  Today I bought a packet of zip lock bags that are big enough for the books to fit in.  Now we can just open it at the right page and zip it inside a bag.  Perfect!

We're very happy with our storage area now.  Mick's made shelving (out of some free second hand shelving he picked up) so we can store more things there in the engine bay.  It works well.

In the drink to date : Elly - phone charger (retrieved - it floated!), Mick - sunglasses, Mick - hearth brush, Mick - mooring hook (retrieved with sea searcher), Mick - reading glasses