Another Kiwi and a return to Bletchley Park

On Monday morning, as we were preparing the boat to head away, a woman stopped to speak with David who was doing the outside sorting. Wendi is a Kiwi who has lived here since 1979 - this lovely lady was out walking her dogs and saw the boat name.

We had a long chat and have invited her to come onboard and have a meal with us when we come back up this way in a couple of weeks.

Wendi and I and her two dogs and one she was walking for a friend.

During the stop for water at one of the canal network's slower/slowest taps, I helped a woman who was struggling along with a new plastic-wrapped cot mattress, a frisky dog on a lead and a trolley - she is expecting her first grandchild in a week and is quite anxious. She lives on a widebeam that was moored on the towpath side, so I took the mattress off her and walked with her over the bridge.

Once the tank was full (David did say he was prepared to give it another five minutes and then declare it full enough but 3 minutes later he was turning it off as it was overflowing - see how effective threats can be to waterflow? Quite Basil Fawlty, I think.) we came on to Fenny Stratford and got the last mooring in the 14 day section. Keith, the man on the boat behind said it had only just become vacant, so the slow running tap was a bonus then!

It was beautifully sunny and warm on Monday so we got two loads of laundry done and dried - none of it detritus from the grandson's visit though - all clothing of ours ... So once the rain and bad weather in the forecast for the next few days has done its thing, I will get sheets and towels washed ready for our next guests in a couple of weeks' time.

While I did washing (leaving the engine going with the key out) I went to find Pollard's hardware in Fenny Stratford, and talked to Marjorie and Norman in Newmarket (walking along the street - two things at once, mind), David headed by walk back to Bletchley Park to complete his tour more thoroughly.

I was on a mission to find effective clothes-pegs that don't slide along the line, and I thought Pollard's, one of those shops that sells everything and has most of it set up on the pavement, was my most likely source. However Pollard's windows were all papered over and the business appears to have closed down. That is a shame - but I would guess they cannot compete with the Homebases, Wilkes and B&Qs that have proliferated. And there is mostly only on street parking here, whereas the big chain stores have acres of parking lots.

So, no clothespegs - the only convenience store didn't sell them. Not to worry, I have enough good ones to cope till the next supermarket trip.

It was a fasting day yesterday (our first for AGES - it's hard to fast when kids need feeding at frequent intervals) and I forgot as I walked back along the towpath past ripe blackberries ... But dinner was very healthy - chicken breast marinated in coriander and one tiny but extremely hot chilli (both off the roof), lemon juice, soy sauce, chilli sauce and ginger; carrot and beetroot salad; green salad off the roof augmented by other salad veges from the fridge.

Tuesday was scheduled to be rainy and windy, so we deemed it a no moving day. That meant I could have a day in bed reading. However I did get up at intervals to:

• write this blog
• make cups of tea
• remove them from my person after filtering them through my kidneys
• sweep the floor

And Tuesday (as I wrote this) was NOT a fasting day, so I cooked Gu chocolate pots for lunch! Well, why not?

See, I did. And with fruit and yoghurt it was even healthy!