Summer Pootle Day 8: Down the drain

Ely - Stretham Old Engine GOBA moorings

We stayed in bed until lunchtime, pretty much, as we were completely knackered from the weekend's fun and frolics! We planned to replenish our provisions at a supermarket and head out to Stretham, but things didn't quite work out that way!

I pulled the plug from the kitchen sink after washing up, only to have the plughole surround come away in my hand - and the bottom of the plug fall down, dumping a load of water into the cupboard beneath! I pushed the surround in hard and called for Amy, and together we managed to hold it together from top and bottom to let the water out into containers, before investigating the problem.

It turns out that the sink waste is in two parts, top and bottom, of a recessed hole in the sink. The whole thing relies on one bolt - plastic in this case - between the two to clamp them hard against the edges of the hole and prevent leaks. Amy had nipped up the bolt tightly a few weeks ago to cure a drip, but I found that the head of the bolt had sheared off completely, so that the two parts were not held together.

So we headed into Ely to try and find a replacement. Unsurprisingly, none of the local shops stocked the parts, and so we found several more promising shops on a small industrial estate just by the railway station. We visited Jewson's builders merchants, and a plumbing merchants, and came away with a new, metal, waste. It was slightly larger than the existing sink waste - I'd brought the old plug surround along to compare sizes - and so we hoped it would fit.

Luckily, it was only a 5-minute job to fix. The two parts, in the sink and below it, fitted perfectly and a bit of fettling managed to fit the existing overflow to the same sink waste unit. Job done! And, as the replacement parts are all metal, hopefully more durable, too.

As a result, rather than leaving at lunchtime, it was now the late afternoon. We headed to the waterpoint, and whilst filling the tank, Yarwood arrived; Lesley and Joe had been taking relatives for a cruise. We had a pleasant chat, and headed back through Ely.

Earlier, we'd bumped into Kev in Tesco. Another blogger, he moors his widebeam on EA-administered moorings just next to Bridge boatyard, and so we breasted up temporarily for a cup of tea and cake, and a brief tour of his very impressive and stylish boat. At 60' by 12', it's palatial inside!

We tore ourselves away, and headed out into the grey evening towards Stretham. Although there was a little drizzle, it wasn't really a problem.

We were dismayed to find that the (very short) 48 hour EA moorings at Stretham Old Engine had been dismantled, and were now being used by a private boat; but, even better, there's a long (150') or so GOBA mooring opposite. We moored on that bank before, three years ago, and it was pretty wild and untamed. Now it's quite neatly kept.

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