Worksop (2)

Here I am Rune

Distance 0 miles

Total 1418 Locks 71 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1960.9 miles 

Getting the parts I needed took a lot longer than I had hoped and even now I don’t have the replacement screws to re-fit the ventilation mushroom, all in all not a good day. I started off early to get out to Screwfix to try to get the replacement screws but it was a massive disappointment, similar to my excursion to Halfords a while ago to get a replacement drive belt, I was hoping for a level of expertise that was totally non-existent. The conversation went something like this:-

Q “Have you got any of these screws?” (putting a sample on the counter).

A”What are they off?”.

Q “ A boat”.

A”What a car boot?” (I must try to speak with a more northern accent!).

Q”No, a boat that floats”

.A“What size are they?”.

Q“I don’t know, how do you size screws?”.

A”I’ll get you a tape measure”.

Q “2 ½ centimetres”.

A “What is that in millimetres?”

Q “I dunno, 250? 25? Something like that!”.  

Looking at her computer screen, A“Think that this is the one, we haven’t got any in stock”.

Q “Have any of your other depots got any?”

A “Sheffield’s got one in stock”.

Q “I’m going the other way down towards Lincoln, Newark and Nottingham”.

A “Newark haven’t got any, Nottingham haven’t got any, Long Eaton’s got one”.

At this point I gave up and just bought some sealant! Travelled back into Worksop and found an old style hardware shop where I posed the same question, “Have you got any of these?” to which the proprietor replied, “It’s a 25 mm M5 brass screw and I’m sorry but I don’t stock them”. Although he didn’t have one it was a pleasure to talk to someone with actual knowledge of what he was selling rather than the previous total dependency the computer. Looks like getting replacement screws is going to be a bit of a challenge, an internet search shows the possibility of a wood yard in Newark MAY have some.

After all the faffing around trying to get parts for the boat, we didn’t have time to move on today so tomorrow probably on to Forest Middle Lock where we stopped off on the way up.