Burton on Trent to Branston Water Park (1 mile, 1 lock)

Slightly spruced up sign for the top of the butty roof.  Hopefully attract a bit of passing trade?

Easter weekend and the shop has been open, except........there have been no people about because this is 'The Arctic' !  Nevermind, it took me all weekend to sort out and unpack stock, label etc and organise a display in the butty, so I have not been worried and the sun will come out soon....

I have a counter now on one side of the butty, just needs varnishing.  Richard sourced (paid for with cash, in case anyone wondered) scaffolding planks to make aforementioned counters.

So yesterday, as it was so cold, I didn't open up, but sanded down the new counters Richard had improvised for one side of the butty.  This has 2 benefits: 

1. Children with parents who seem oblivious to their need to touch EVERYTHING, will now not be able to reach!!

2.  People wanting to rest their bag (not their bums), can do so to get their purses out! Well I do have to enhance the overall shopping experience, don't I? 

Richard removes the old radiator, no longer required for the new water cooling arrangement

Meanwhile, the waterpump has gone to Braunston to be assessed for viability and Plan B is taking place in the engine room.  Our Lister HRW2 engine, like all Listers, was overengineered having 2 systems of water cooling.  The waterpumps, are no longer in production as a unit, so it was suggested that the old system of radiator and pump be removed, and just relying on the skin tank (a radiator, cooled by the cold coming through the hull of the boat) on it's own.  This has other benefits, as on the old system, the calorifier (watertank hot water system) was plumbed into the old radiator set up, there by never getting hot.  We had always wondered why we never really got any hot water, even when we had been on the river, now we know why!
Also, Richard will put another alternator on the engine to double electrical input when the engine is running.

View from the canal (not the A38 direction !)  That's behind us!

So, hot water within an hour (so they tell us) and increased charge to the batteries, win win situation.....