
Black swan event in Cropredy
So here it is.

Handsome fella isn’t he! The next boater along tried to tell me it was a goose {variety} when I arrived. This came with a heavy smell of bullshit as he also suggested that they flew over Upper Heyford on their migratory path. Upper Heyford is 8 miles away. In nautical navigation terms, 8 miles or so is insignificant…. Smells like bullshit.
But anyhow, it is a black swan. They originate in Australia and don’t fly anywhere. It has been suggested that it was an escaped specimen from an ornamental garden which seems much more likely.

Here it is, chilling with it’s not so distant relatives.
Windows

So, I’ve been meaning to replace my single-glaze ‘hopper’ style windows for a while.
These are aluminium framed with a tilting slat at the top which can be opened. The rest of the metal on the boat is polished steel.
The windows were never in fitting with the rest of the boat. After we painted her, they didn’t look so great, whilst the rest of the boat looked really good.
The disadvantages of old windows apart from that is:
- They’re very cold during the winter: I used to buy a film you could put over them which insulated them keeping out a lot of the draughts and some of the cold.
- They leak rain if not cleaned properly: Realised this recently after giving them a thorough cleaning. The moss, dirt and organic matter which gathered naturally in the windows nooks and crannies used to give rise to leaks through the frame structure and into the inside of the boat.
- The interior condensation gullies: Continuously used to fill up with moss and algae and gunk on the interior side of the windows. If not regularly cleaned, the overflow holes at either end of the window would block and the condensation would flow out onto whatever was underneath the windows (computer, bed etc).
These problems were not insurmountable, but they did make it a less comfortable space during the winter and adverse weather.

Built for comfort, not for speed
I’m all for comfort, so I decided to get rid of the old windows and get some which would improve all these problems and make my living space more comfortable.
I bought some new double glazed hopper windows from these people https://www.wesleywindows.co.uk/
I also contacted Caldwell who quoted over the odds, so I went with Wesley, they also had a better website and more professional attitude.
The lead time was 10 weeks on a direct replacement which was these hopper windows in polished stainless steel https://www.wesleywindows.co.uk/double-glazed-windows/clamp-on-top-hopper/18-x-24-double-glazed-clamp-on-standard-hopper-window-satin-gold/silver.html.
No video
I was going to create a video showing how I put the windows in.
After some upload problems with the very large files, the video didn’t happen, which was kind of a relief. I’ve created some really useful videos in the past, and Google, (youtube), just penalises them, along with the rest of my content, including this blog.
Google has been doing this for a number of years.
It banned my commercial site out of existence meaning I had a very tough time for a number of years.
Why did they do these things? Why do they still do them? No-one knows. I guess they ‘have rights’, whatever that means.
Anyway here’s a
Summary of fitting windows to a narrowboat….

- Remove old windows: I used a wooden block and a lump hammer. Undid the screws and smashed them out.
- Prepare the frame on the cabin: Remove all the old adhesive.
- Match up screw holes or drill new ones: Using the new window, match the screw holes with the old holes in the cabin. Where not possible tap & die new ones.
- Prepare the frame on the window: Get some LLPT tape, which is like putty, and tape around the window.
- Put the window on the boat and seal: Place the window. Screw in. Seal with silicate.
Job done!
Only took a few weeks to sort it out. To be fair, there were two storms Bert and Darragh during my stay over at Forge Farm.
Cost £370 for 30 days mooring. This included logs and electricity.
I was also able to store my windows in Greg’s sheds. The marina down the road, Cropredy marina, were suggesting I needed to keep them on my boat if I wanted to stay there.
30 days with 8×12-20kg windows, most over a metre long kicking around your living space. Less than ideal. That combined with a month in a marina, I’m sure by the end of it, I would have been close to losing it completely. The windows would probably be at the bottom of the marina…
When I rang Greg for a quote, it came in at roughly half the price the marina would have charged. Plus I don’t get to wake up to the side of another boat every morning.

I’m not the biggest fan of marinas…
Moving to Cropredy village
I’ve been here a while. Two weeks or so. No-one seems to be moving around these parts.
One of the guys near the lock was on the visitor moorings for 3 months. I used to walk past his boat every night.
I’m not in any hurry.
Lil’ floods
We had a couple of little flooding events since we last spoke, Bert being the most severe.
Cropredy sports field and the adjoining road turned into a giant lake. Some brave travellers tried to travel through. You can see their abandoned vehicles in the picture.



Us less brave souls stayed home, or drove around, which was nigh on Impossible. Oxfordshire was a very wet place.
Aside from that, I attended a choir service at Cropredy church. That was nice.
NYE Cropredy Let me hear yooooooo!!
I also went to a NYE event at the Saucy Hound, or the establishment next to it, called ‘The Souk’. It’s not on google maps.
As I got off the boat on NYE, (to find a pub), I could hear the music, so it sounded like an obvious choice.
I didn’t regret it. Different music and acts throughout the night from story tellers, to cover versions, a saw player and a floating piano! What more could you ask for on a new years eve.
I got there at 9pm and didn’t at any time feel bored.
At midnight they served up baked potatoes with beans and cheese, and a teacup of prosecco, a combination I’d not had before.
We were all told to stand in a circle and sing auld lang syne. The girl beside me had a sausage in her hand, and the guy on the other had a can of cider. I guess this is a Cropredy tradition. I’ve no idea what the girl was doing walking around with cold sausages. The cider is easier to pass off.
I ended up singing the new year in holding on to a cold sausage and a half drunk bottle of cider. 1st time ever!
Here’s a little video I posted to whatsapp about that time of the night. Just to give you an idea.
Get prawns
The bigger the better…
One last picture of some prawn cocktails I prepared for our family pre-christmas get-together.

Had capers and chilli, liven them up a bit.
Hadn’t had a prawn cocktail for ages. Lacked alcohol in my view. I will look into this for next time.
Thanks to all the other family members who are reading this and prepared something.
Next year will be better!
Finally, some pictures from around Oxford(shire).







‘Till next time.
3 thoughts on “Black swan event in Cropredy”
Fixing the windows was a mammoth task a good job well done and a brilliant way to see out 2024. You’ll have great view and warmer toes in 25. Today the floods are back. We need some good hard frosts to kill off all the nasty bugs there are about. Happy 2025.
The windows look great. Maybe vodka in the prawn cocktail? Just an idea..
It’s been so long since I had one. Needs something to give it a bit more bite.