British Waterways have started working on the electric lock at Stonebridge, with three barges in situ and some heavy equipment.

We also spotted a BW warden along the towpath near Tottenham Lock this morning, noting the boats, so it looks like we'll be moving Betty at the Weekend.

Last night the hub of our home, our Heritage Range stopped working, after dipping the diesel we realised it was because the diesel pipe for the range is a third up from the bottom of our diesel tank, consequently when the diesel starts to run low, the range cuts out. This was annoying as we had just started to cook a large pot of stew. We are also concerned that our diesel may have been syphoned, as we've used about 50 litres in 12 days, which seems rather a lot. We need to find a way of locking the diesel cap, as with the increasing price of fuel this is more likely to happen. Our neighbour allows cobwebs to form over his and can therefore tell at a glance if it's been disturbed. We managed to find 20 litres of diesel and top it up to a level where the range can function, however it took a while to get it started as the pipes were full of air.
Later, Simon made Sloe Gin in preparation for Christmas and this morning it looked a gorgeous earthy pink.