7th July – 13th July 2026
We have spent the week at our marina in Brinklow getting ready for the Electrika Boat Show. John and I were involved, John as Master of Ceremonies and me as a speaker. We worked with Kay and Paul Sumpner who organised the event for the third year running.
We watched the showboats and other boats arriving for the show. It was good to meet up with friends from other Ortomarine Boats. The heat of the week made it tricky to do anything but try to keep cool. It was however great to see our battery charge increase day by day as the solar panels did their job.
It was really too hot to walk Teasel and Bracken too far but we took to them to the pond for a swim and game of fetch the stick which they both really enjoyed. They were not so keen on the fresh water shower on return to the boat to get the pond water out of their coats. This was quite a job as they are very ready for a visit to Nicky (the wonderful dog groomer) in a couple of weeks.
Ortomarine created the short video below of the show from the air. This not only shows you the boats on show but also the beautiful surroundings of Brinklow Marina. (click the link to play on YouTube)
The show went very well. I helped on the entrance gate while John made sure all the speakers were introduced, as well as trying hard not to use the megaphone that Kay had provided him with.
It was very hot both days but the Ice cream van did good trade from us, delicious Mr Whippi! We enjoyed music in the evening on Friday from the brilliant Leigh Chambers with drinks and friends which was really nice, especially as we were in the shade.
On Saturday, Henry joined us for the day. It was great to see them. Unfortunately the show caterers let us down badly, so I organised a fish and chip run so that food was available for those that wanted it. The fish and chips were great but I have never seen such a monster portion of chips before in my life. We shared a large size between the three of us and there was still more than half uneaten at the end. Definitely note to self that a small portion is more than enough for 2 and 2 dogs!
There was another band, Thurmanville, playing. This was much louder which made socialising difficult. They wrapped up at 9.30pm while the marquee was converted to a football screening venue for the big match at 10.00pm. Not being footie fans we went back to the boat and enjoyed the sunset over another drink.
On Sunday, after a leisurely start we all drove to RSPB Middleton Lakes to see the birds. It was hot but the wind took some of the heat out. We thought it was going to be fairly uneventful as all was very quiet, but we were rewarded by 3 Little Egrets, a Redstart, some Terns and 3 Pied Avocets.
We said goodbye to Henry at Middleton Lakes returning back to the boat and giving the girls a walk. We had drinks onboard with Guy and Sally who had been our neighbours for a few days. They have a diesel narrowboat (Mokoro), the last one built by Ortomarine but are looking to refit their interior. They were keen to see our dinette layout and we were able to show them its versatility.
Monday was spent washing and having a good tidy up. As it was considerably cooler, John was able to start laying the matrico tiles at the stern of the boat. Eventually we want to have Tekdeck put down at the stern. The metal gets very hot in the sun, which is a worry for the dog’s paws, and in the winter it is very cold when you are driving the boat. We had tried large rubber mats but they were started to breakdown quite quickly and moved around too much as well as making the deck uneven. We will see how we get on with the Matrico tiles.
On Monday evening we had Paul and Anthony with Sebastian the Labradoodle from Narrowboat Life Unlocked onboard for drinks which was very pleasant.
We are looking forward to welcoming Pat and Brian onboard Jenny Wren later in the week when we will be out cruising again before returning home for a few weeks.
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