The wild rumpus

 Marta, Trevor, Darby and Karol arrived on the Friday afternoon, after a speedy electrically powered trip in the Tesla from the south west of Scotland. Well, Karol was picked up from Barrow in Furness where he'd been on a week long international basketball camp. He said his legs were dead because he'd been running for several hours a day. And he was so tired he ate barely any dinner (no dessert!) and was in bed asleep almost as early as he was when he arrived down to stay with us a few weeks ago - that time was after a midnight bed time then a 5am start.

We stayed overnight in Festival Park Marina. Darby met the bald cat (Garibaldi ...) in the next door boat (not the one David clutched at the bargepole of on our entry to the mooring place). I think Darby had been keen to get one of these cats, but the info the woman passed on regarding the cat getting spots and rashes, and getting dirty rather put her off. I do find the appearance of those cats rather offputting ...

I had planned pikelets for breakfast for the kids - it is obligatory that when the grandsons are onboard, I make pikelets for brekkie - and scrambled egss for the adults. Marta suggested pikelets for all. So no scrabled eggs but an additional measure of ingredients was added and consumed.

We had decided that we would take the Wild Rumpus team down the Stoke on Trent Locks to Trentham, stay overnight and then head back towards the locks on Sunday prior to meeting Olek and Olivia off the train from Banbury. Then Olek could do the locks, either steering through them or lockwheeling. 

But of course, it hosed down on the Saturday, for much of the day. And of course, none of them had brought rainjackets, had they? Previously when we've had the grandsons onboard without coats, I've created ponchos from bin bags. For some reason, no one was keen...

I could have, with a bit more research, have discovered that within a 6 minute walk of the marina there were the following entertainment options:

• a cinema
• 10 pin bowling
• laser strike
• pool and billiards
• a swimming pool complex with hydroslides
• Pizza Hut
• McDonald's
• Frankie and Benny's

Entertainment AND food!  Doh!!

Instead we boated, in the rain that either spat, drizzled, pelted or gently showered down the 5 locks and along a couple of miles of the cut to Trentham where we moored up on the first bit of armco that we found. And as I put up the pramcover, down came the rain in sheets!

Some of those locks are deep, man...

Darby is a delight! Here she is, wearing my dad's jersey. She had been so cold that I said she could go inside as long as she finished off the dishes that David had been going to do. She was thrilled to have a warm task to do indoors!

Marta, Trevor and Karol on lock duty. Trev is obviously Scottish because he seemed imprev ious to the cold - until I noticed goosebumps on his goosebumps.

He's a natural at steering, this Trevor. Once the doubledecker goosebumps were in evidence, he was forced (by me) to wear David's zip up cardigan. The kids were a bit insulting so I had to tell them that the former First Gentleman of NZ politics (Clarke Gayford) wears cardigans and he is super cool!

 

Marta the Intrepid, wearing my spare coat, heading for the next lock.

Leaving a lock. You can see the leaking top gate through the bottom gate - a lot of water wastage...

Karol the younger grandson and his Grandad. Both great lockwheelers! Efficient, considerate. Julia would be proud!

 

I called Darby away from dishes duty to have a look at something. Wearing my dad's jersey she was happy to be on deck for a bit.

I, of course, am at all times the sartorial lead for nb Waka Huia - leather boots purchased in Castle Douglas some years ago, possum and merino socks purchased in Lambton Quay, Wellington, shorts purchased from Postie + in Paraparaumu, I think, rain jacket purchased in Kathmandu, Paraparaumu, topped with my leather Outback hat that I bought somewhere I cannot remember - it's the business: waterproof, stops rain going down my neck, can store tissues in its crown. Totally elegantly outfitted, don't you think?

Photo by Trevor of Crossmichael - arty shot, entering the lock...

Karol waiting for us to leave the top lock so he can close the gates. Love that boy!

 

Karol and Marta on lock duty - filling the lock.

She's not nuts, I swear... Beautiful though.

Working, working, working. He was on duty all the time we boated.

Darby had a go at steering  - she will be good with practice!

David and I have always had the rule that kids can only use their devices (or the TV when we had one) before breakfast and after dinner. So that meant part of the afternoon was spent playing games. And Karol became quiz master for the teams men against women. He is a great quizmaster, but doesn't tolerate much in the way of discussion and debate. And we weren't allowed to phone a friend, dammit!

David and Trevor narrowly won; also dammit. In part our defeat was my fault because I gave a couple of wrong answers without consulting with my team ... My bad. In part it was because some of the questions were naff, e.g. what is the pH value of bleach? of lemon juice? which planet is closest to/furthest away from whatever ...

After that defeat, Marta and Trev, David and I left the two teenagers on board and we walked back to the Barge Inn Booze boat which was moored near the bridge over to the stadium - there was a football match on Stoke vs some other team. I had met Geoff, the owner of Barge Inn Booze a few days before when he was moored at Etruria, so it was nice to catch up with him and his partner, Wayne. They couldn't take EFTPOS that day because the football club had arranged for internet blocking so no one could live stream the game. Fortunately Trev could do Paypal or some such. I broke my no alcohol rule and had a lovely gin (Stokie something with vanilla after tones ...) and tonic. It was beaut but I wasn't tempted to buy a bottle.

David had hot chocolate. A good choice because he could warm his hands!

We wandered back to the boat and had dinner - construct your own burgers and sausage sandwiches with plenty of salad veg to make it all healthy.

David and I were sleeping in the dinette so everyone had to go to bed early-ish. There weren't many complaints though.

And on Sunday morning, we headed down to the winding hole a few hundred metres past our mooring, turned around and then headed back. Darby, Karol and I were on the stern - interesting conversations ...

We arrived at the bottom of the locks early, so we let the arriving boats queue jump - well, not really, because we weren't actually queuing - we were waiting under the bridge out of the rain and away from the noise of traffic for the train from Banbury...

Marta and I had determined that Darby and Olivia (Marta's 13 year old half sister being escorted to SoT by Olek) would be on lock duty. However that appeared not to be possible because of the false nails ... Note to self: do not have false nails fitted; indeed, keep on with your pattern of cutting your nails very short while on board, Marilyn.

The no devices rule caused consternation for the new entrant, but hey ho, such is life.

It was a pleasure having Olek visit even though it was fleeting. And there were no photos of his time onboard! How did that happen?

He and Karol are great on all the boat stuff - during Covid they spent a fair bit of time with their dad on board, and Olek has been boating with us since he was about 7 or so, and Karol even younger.

Lunch at Etruria when we moored up - I think the steak and cheese pie and the cheese tart were well received. And I'd made cheese scones for Olek to take back to Chipping Norton.

They had all left by about 5.30pm - Marta, Trevor, Karol, Darby and Olivia were heading towards Stansted for a flight the following day for 12 days in Poland. 

It was so lovely to have them all to stay.

The only one left was Yogi, the teacup miniature yorkshire terrier. He is temporary boat dog. 

I think I was in bed by about 6.30pm ... And we let Yogi sleep on the bed that night - easier than possibly having to cope with him mewling in distress at being left with the wicked grandmother ...

He is very cute - Yogi, I mean...

Hurry up and wait ...

After a time of wonder, and before we left the mooring near Bridge 20, I finally got around to changing the latch for the stern doors. The knob had come off and we had to move the slider with a hook. So the old latch came off.

Drilling holes for the new latch that we bought in the little hardware shop way back when we were in Tamworth. Hence the comment re a time of wonder ... I'd had to file away some of the wood on port side so the keeper would sit in line with the latch. My drilling and measuring technique was very hi-tech as you can see ... I did have to use shorter screws than provided because the outside of the door is steel, and wood screws are notoriously wussy about going into steel.

And it's done. Some paint is needed next. I'll wait for another time of wonder to pass by.

 

When the canada geese were away foraging, the heron went fishing across the cut from the boat. He was so still and stealthy.

 Our very slow progress down the Caldon was to ensure we arrived in Stoke on Trent in the same timeframe as Marta and Trevor and two of the kids who were coming for the weekend before heading off to Poland for 11 days. So on the day we made our move from below Bridge 20, we headed all the way to Etruria - and not without incident!

Somehow I have lost the knack for wide corners - or it could be the silt build up that catches me unawares. Either way, it drives me nuts that I end up on the far side of the cut... Mostly, apart from damage to my pride, there are no consequences of note. 

But on our way around the long bend after Bridge 8, right next to Lidl's, the cornering went horribly wrong and I ended up way way over on the right hand side and under the trees. I considered trying to reverse out, but thought I was likely to end up with crap from the shallows around the prop, and if not that fate, then it was likely I'd still be caught in the trees. And I had too much forward momentum to avoid the trees anyway. So bravely and foolhardily onwards, team.

I did have to yell for David to come and manhandle the 75mm diameter branch and its smaller siblings and related leafery over the back third of the boat - over the rearmost solar panels, supine pramcover, and over me! Good man held it up, pivoted to make sure it was safely away from me. But he had to let it down after that. 

I looked around after I was sure the boat was clear, and what did I see? The stern rope trailing in the water behind us! How did that get knocked off? Well, simple really - the goose tiller pin had been wiped out and the rope went with it...

Look, Mum, no goose! By this stage, however, I had retrieved the rope... And look, a clear bit of towpath on the Caldon Canal!

Dammit! However, a few weeks ago, when we were staying overnight in Kings Orchard Marina, I had looped a rope around the goose and a stern stanchion to hold the tiller still in the strong wind. Such was the strength of the wind and the softness of the brass that the pin bent. Ian (our man who can) gave it a good whack to try and straighten it. Fortunately he didn't fully succeed. Good thing too, because while the goose departed to be buried in the silt, the bent pin stayed in place and the tiller arm didn't part company with the swan's neck!

Just after one of the lift bridges, these beautiful kettle chimneys have been preserved in a new housing estate. IIRC, when we were here with Barry and Pauline, the chimneys were surrounded by rubble.

No carpet at Lock 3 this time. But we did have a lovely experience with two young boys who were watching us approach. We got them to help David with opening and closing the bottom gates. So delightful to see them opening up to us and enjoying it. Their smiles and those of their mum were very warming.

Working with David opening the gates with their mum filming too.

And the second one - they are ready and waiting for David to appear.

And there he is - they can start pushing now. I've had to look closely at the photo - it looks on first, second and third investigations as though the right hand gate is closed. But it's deceptive - what looks like the gate is a wall and weeds outside the lock.

Aren't those the happiest little faces?

 

As I waited for a boat coming up the staircase locks at Etruria, I spoke to a young woman walking past. I cannot remember the university named on her sweatshirt (Tweed perhaps), but I asked where it was. It was the uni she had attended and graduated from with a degree in environmental science. She is an ecology scientist now. We talked about the dreaded Himalayan Balsam. She said how she had been on a walking holiday in the Lake District with her dad recently and had stopped every time she saw HB, and pulled it out. What a star!! I suggested she come to NZ and get work with the Dept of Conservation - they would love to have her!

We moored up at Etruria, in a patch clear of trees so the solar panels could do their job (in the periods when the rain stopped ...). What a fabulous mooring - near the services, away from noisy roads, and across from a lovely 2 storey complex of sheltered accommodation with lovely grounds. The towpath is wide, well used and by a park. Altogether a very lovely place.

Our battery woes that started when we were in Kings Orchard Marina have continued - the new battery (purchased at Streethay) was overcharging and boiling. And the alternator was playing up (I cannot remember how Ed knew that). Ed arranged to purchase a new alternator and yet another new battery, and met us at Etruria to fit them and make sure there was no more potential for overcharging - something to do with the 12v battery having 24v solar panels feeding into it - bad, bad, bad. It was a modification made during Covid that had unintended consequences.

The almost deceased alternator. It has fallen off its perch, life is extinct (well, nearly). That is a dead alternator. (apologies to Monty Python, Palin and Cleese.)

These fuses are probably close to needing to be replaced. They are behind the dash.

Was it cheese scones that day or little cheese tarts and strawberry and lemon muffins? However I'm sure it was tomato, mushroom, capsicum, onion and garlic sauce with pasta for lunch.

I'd offered cheese scones to the young CRT guy who had gashed his hand earlier that day and had had it stitched. He refused, but Ed said to me from down in the engine bay that he didn't know what he was missing. If I'd offered him blueberry muffins he'd have said yes. But Ed tells me the UK doesn't really do cheese scones. Later that day, I gave him a scone to compensate for his stitches. And he said it was delicious. Success!!

We had walked to the Tesco Extra and did a big shop for the weekend - two whole trolleys. Lots of cheese. And lots of meat - most unusual for us to buy meat. I'd bought salami, sliced ham and bacon, plus stewing steak so I could make a steak and cheese pie given I know that Olek and Karol love steak and cheese pies. I was dreading handling it, but beef here is not very bloody as it is in NZ. It is so pale I was concerned that when cooked it would not have a rich colour. But a spell in the oven and a small container of liquid beefstock sorted that out. I did have to taste it to make sure it was flavourful: salty enough, tasty enough. And it was. Gosh, it was tempting ...

On our way back from Tescos, we crossed the carpark for Etruria Locks Park. The Canada geese were spread out - no room for cars!

I made enough pastry for a large cheese tart and the planned large meat pie (with a lid) and stored it in the fridge well wrapped ready for Sunday. 

I had planned a menu for each meal from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch and thought about a tasklist. I had said to David I would identify the tasks he could do, and he sighed and brought me two pieces of card for tasks, one of a decent size, and one about the size of a large postage stamp - for his tasks. So I used that one to note down my key task: Supervise David's tasks. No surprise that that list did not survive long ... And then he found something vitally important but unrelated to visitor prep that he absolutely HAD to do, didn't he?

 

Menu - not on beautiful parchment, but handwritten! And on sides of cardboard packets that I save for list making, score recording, drawing, and now menu planning!

Mmmm. Does the allocation of tasks seem like it can be fair? Fear not, it wasn't...

Before we left Etruria, we did a self pumpout at the CRT Services. We thought it best to have both toilets clear for the influx of visitors. The machine wasn't reading the CRT vouchers, so the manager there used the manual override and we got a free pumpout! How cool is that!

People with houses on the canal side are creative about their canal frontages...

Adam Porter, this is the notice on the only towpath gate of the gas place by the bridge. And the gate is padlocked. No notice of a phone number, no bell. What gives?

This building is next to the bet365 complex. It's lovely and historic - cannot remember what it was though. (Information, Wiki-Irene?) However that bright green stuff is artificial grass. What good reason is there for that?

So that Trevor had somewhere secure to park for the weekend, we booked a night in Festival Marina for the boat and a couple of nights for the car. It was a good place to leave the car, but prior to their arrival, we had to get the boat into the space we had been allocated.

Not simple! the wind came up, of course. And the space was about 8 feet wide and the jetty was a finger mooring, not a full length one. And we needed to go in backwards ...

We made it, but not without incident. And the incident involved ACP making a leap of about 1200mm (about 4 feet) on to the gunnels of the neighbouring boat, reaching for the handrail, only to discover that it was actually the barge pole, which of course, moved and provided no purchase... Fortunately, I didn't see him make the move in its entirety. I saw the last second or three. But still plenty to give me palpitations! I saw the grab for the barge pole and the slide of that towards the handrail which he was fortunately able to grab on to.

His major sin though was laughing about it. His response was probably in fear and relief, but I could have clobbered him! And that would have been about fear and relief too. Especially as if he'd fallen, he was far too close to the turning prop. I am going to tell Julia about it and she will give him a right telling off!

Of course before the team arrived, we needed more groceries - things we'd forgotten the day before. We always forget stuff! This time, a trip to Morrison's at Festival Park. Lots of chippies, 2 packs of Giant Wotsits and white bread ... All the healthy stuff, of course!

And then, it was time to let the wild rumpus start!

And we are on our own again

 After the disappointing dinner at the Hollybush and a peaceful night, we headed away after I had persuaded Bevan to unload their stuff from the boat before they had breakfast - because we eat after we have moored up at locks while they are filling or emptying, the desire to eat before doing anything else is not in our mindset. So all of their bedding and clothing and food from the fridge was moved from the boat to the motorhome, and it was all aboard the Skylark.

We were aiming for the CRT moorings at Park Lane; Bevan and Mads were coming with us and then walking back to get the motorhome. It wasn't a long trip - a couple of miles and 3 locks. When we moored up, I made an obligatory last batch of cheese scones and the 6 of us had a final morning tea before B&M headed back to the Hollybush and away to Wales.

Of course, no more than 5 minutes after they had walked off into the distance, I opened the washing machine which had done its thing as we travelled, and found Bevan's shirt. Upshot is that we will take it back to NZ for him.

2IJ stayed for a night - the only place available for them on arrival was way down by the former bridge-hole - git gaps galore. Not huge, but cumulatively enough for at least one more and possibly two more boats.

I volunteered to make rhubarb and apple crumble - I had two large cooking apples and Irene had two sticks of rhubarb, and Ian was making veg chilli - after he fixed the porthole window that was leaking near their bed. He is very clever...

I had walked up to their boat for some forgotten reason, when we saw that the boat that had been moored in front of us was on the move. So C-rings undone, ropes on board, tiller on, engine started and off Free Spirit went in reverse - Irene steering, me fending off near the stern, Ian fending off at the bow. She had to get past about 5 boats IIRC. And the guy in front of where we were moving Free Spirit to leaned out of his duck hatch and said 'He'll be annoyed - they were only going up to turn around and come back.' Ooops, too bad, never mind. There was a space that they would fit into where 2IJ had been.

Well, we started a 2 boat trend. The guy who'd spoken to us as we reversed back past him decided he would move back too. So he pulled his boat back about a boat length, using up the git gap left by the turner-arounder. It was all change!

And 30 minutes later (not sure what the turner-arounder did for that time) they came back. There was still a good sized space for them, so no harm done.

And the move meant that I didn't have far to carry the crumble - I had bulked out the apple and rhubarb with sultanas and dried cranberries, and the crumble had pumpkin seeds and flaked almonds plus a little bit of cinnamon. It was very yummy. And Irene doesn't like rhubarb so she was happy the flavour was masked.

And Ian's chilli was excellent - I think David will be emulating it soon!

Last games of cards, lots of laughter and then time for bed. In order to delay the goodbye, I asked them to come for brekkie - they would have to bring the eggs as we were running a bit short. So breakfast was baked beans on toast with a fried egg or two on top. David had HP sauce on top but could not convince them to try it. Don't blame them myself.

Then off they went after multiple hugs. It was sad to see them go. No worries with them about fish and friends. (Look it up - Oscar Wilde.)

Ian, Irene and me wearing Oz hats. I am not sure what style David's is, but I am sure men wear them at the cricket ... Can you see the kereru on my T-shirt? It is most clear in photos amazingly. When looked at with the naked eye, the picture is just a lot of parallel white lines. Pretty cool. I bought it at Zealandia when we went there with Olek back in March.

And off they go. They are dear friends.

I walked along beside 2IJ to the end of the visitor moorings - I wanted to see how long we were officially allowed to stay. However that part of the signage had been removed. So we decided it was most likely to have been 2 days. No evidence, apart from the fact that up close to the services the sign said 24 hours, and had a separate sign (also removed) and an arrow pointing the other way. But even in the 24 hour moorings that gets disregarded - the two yoghurt pots mentioned below have been in situ for well over that timeframe!

We had Ed arriving for what was meant to be his penultimate day with us - we have added to and saved up the list of tasks for him to while we were close by where he lives. And we feel really honoured because he has changed his work focus to fitting solar and their management systems in the last couple of years. And engine servicing etc is no longer a service he offers. But he does it for us and we really appreciate it.

It may be because I always feed him cheese scones and lunch, but I think it's more than that.

On Friday he did 

• a giant clean up of the modifications made to the electrics while the tenant was on board, 
• a complete engine service and renewal of the antifreeze for the engine cooling,
  
• removed one of the additional radiators and all the associated piping (in the bottom of the wardrobes and under the sofa that had been installed while the tenant was living aboard through winters). We took the radiator and piping down to the bins and left them beside them so another boater or home owner could make use of them if desired.
• bled the system and filled up with fresh antifreeze, and showed David how to replace the florescent tubes with LED lights throughout the boat.
  

I sent him home with some kumara and chickpea curry, some cheese scones plus a slice of Irene's banana and walnut cake.

Kumara, pea and chickpea curry

On Saturday it was our turn for the reversing trick - not such a long way, but both boats we were passing by were overstaying yoghurt pots. They don't do well when encountering 16 tonnes of steel. So David was on fending off and I was well over to the other side to minimise the opportunities to play squash. The risk on being too far over to the offside was that I would pick up muck on the prop, but we escaped that fate. And no yoghurt pots were harmed in the manoeuvre.

We had reversed back to do a pump out and to fill with water, as well as emptying the cassette and dumping the rubbish. The radiator and piping were gone - yay!!

I left the engine going all the while we were at the services because I had got some washing going before we left our mooring.

For non-boaters it probably sounds bizarre to be talking about this, but the toilet tank pump out was successful - I was quite proud of myself because the outlets were on the water side not the towpath side - perching on the gunnel while manoeuvering the heavy hose is a bit tricky, as is bending down to open and shut the valve. David was on the control panel: pushing the buttons for the start, the pause, the restart, as well as heading down into the boat to empty a couple of buckets of water into the toilet - the hose for the pump outs would barely reach the shore side of the boat, let alone over it...

There was a young woman sitting by the building, she had a clipboard and pen, and several water bottles beside her. Of course I asked. She was the marshall for a walk for charity (Breast Cancer) and the Park Lane Services area was the halfway point.

So once we were emptied and full in the respective tanks, we had a good wash of our hands and moved off towards Stockton Brook and points south (or east or whatever, but on the way towards Bridge 20).

That is the stretch by the Stoke Boat Club that I 'weeded' with the loppers for 2IJ a few days before.

This is me going the correct way across the roundabout - you can see the blue arrow. I got it right twice, Irene only got it right once ...

At Stockton Brook Top Lock two CRT people had done a sterling job of clearing what looked like at least a cubic metre of reeds and their root systems from the lock. 

At Stockton Top Lock I think, after the crap had been cleared away, and after I had missed out on a pink silicone bracelet ...

There were two women in hi-vis standing on the towpath by the bridge, so given I was aware of the walk for charity, I asked. Yes they were. I went down into the galley and retrieved the little bag of change we had and threw it to them as a donation. One of them threw a pink silicone bracelet to me but over threw it (she won't get a place in the cricket team!) and it landed in the canal on the other side of the boat. It did not float...

If any boater got it around their prop, I want it back, OK?

At a couple of the locks we saw a young mother with her two kids, so I invited them to help David with the gates on the next lock.

This is Sarah and her two little ones. The older one had Gruffalo gumboots - and I want some!

They were delighted to be able to help! I love engaging and involving kids in this adventure. Liz Burnett will remember our doing so down near Berkhamsted back in 2019 - a whole bunch of little ones who helped Barry...

 

And as we started the penultimate lock the rain came down in earnest. I managed to get my coat on but David toughed it out until the last one. It was a short sharp squall, but he got soaked... He was brave!

I had to ask Irene what this derelict but elegant building once was. The pumping station for the Stoke on Trent water supply. I suggested that it would make wonderful apartments and perhaps the four of us should buy it. Ian could do the renovations. Irene thought David could be Ian's helper. I told her that teaboy was a more appropriate role for David and helping Ian was more likely to be me. Irene wanted to be project manager - no chance, that's my job. So I told her she could be David's supervisor and good luck... Trying to keep that man on task is a challenge. Morning tea would probably arrive in time for lunch! So far, we haven't made an offer on the place. Apparently last time it went up for auction with a guide price of £400,000 it was passed in.

Then the lift bridge which I thought would be up but was down, and Lock 4 and Bridge 20. And then one of our favourite moorings of this trip. Lovely clear towpath, Norton in the Moors on the hill across the cut, clear field before the village.

And we haven't moved the boat since then. 

• On Saturday we walked to Milton to go to the Coop for some shopping and to check the best place to moor up to meet Ed for his (meant to be) last visit with us



Some nice homes in Milton on the offside - the weeds are prolific there too. Can't moor across from there though - weeds...

There we are, within sight of Lock 4 and Bridge 20, with  a few of our neighbours, the canada geese. We are finding that they are very interesting to observe across the day, and they act as a community rather than as individuals.




I sat in the shelter of the pramcover with sides up and took advantage of the warmth, I read and drank tea. I may also have eaten chocolate biscuits ...


• Later we walked up and across Lock 4 to see if there was anywhere closer than Milton that Ed could park which didn't involve us moving the boat 
• And cards:



Quiddler: I won on the last hand because David got left with a rockcrusher fistful of high value cards and no vowels to make them into words ...




We decided to try 2 handed Up and Down the River - hilarious because a) tricks can be won on the lowest value cards, b) not being able to have the number of tricks bid equal the number of cards dealt means someone is always going to go down - and in 2 handed  it's often both players.


•  
• Yesterday 
• David walked to Norton in the Moors to the Coop - we had forgotten the port and the sherry - doh!! 
• And he investigated where to meet Ed to bring him down the public path to the farm across from the lock.
• I blogged and slothed for most of the day and did a load of washing while David was away.
• dinner was left over chickpea and kumara curry and rice.

I recognise those two ...

This piece of steel (iron?) protected the bricks from the ropes between the horses and the boats.

The horses would have had to keep their heads down getting under that bridge...

 

This morning after I had mixed a batch of blueberry banana muffins, we walked up to the Coop in Norton in the Moors and got a couple of things - forgot the list so didn't get everything - its the story of our shopping experiences! 

On the way we discussed Quiddler and homonyms. I had to inform David that phonetically spelling a word incorrectly does NOT make it a homonym for the correct spelling - and therefore is not allowable in Quiddler ...

David waited for Ed and I found out where the path was that goes across the fields  and down to the lock. (I asked a young man with his child and his dog - most likely to know, I thought). Found the path and proceeded to get very wet boots and very wet socks very quickly! Long grass will do that. 

Note to self: the very next time my boot are dry I MUST dubbin them!

As I walked down the field the dog with the man a 100 yards or so in front of me came tearing back towards me. What a beautiful animal - the dog, not the man. A huntaway, and I think I was being herded. So the man and I chatted. I am going to find out some info for him re training huntaways - they are working dogs and need to be busy. I am going to ask Linda my former sister in law whose partner Grahame is a former champion sheep dog trailist. His dogs are beautifully trained. I have invited Paul to visit us on the boat over the next couple of days so I can give him the info.

And the walk back was through nettles in parts and I was wearing shorts. Ouch ouch and ouch. But I was brave.

The canal is down there somewhere, well past that hedge

Looking back up to the main road. The huntaway, Bruno, appeared at about this point.What a lovely dog he is!

Ed and David were on the boat when I arrived. I baked the muffins while Ed worked. 

 

He is explaining something to me here about the fuel filter, I think.

 

We walked him back to his van because we had loaded him with:

• the soda stream, bottles and gas cannisters we do not use
  
• the remaining muffins
• a loaf of sourdough out of the freezer.

We thought it was the last time we would see him this year, so we had to have a selfie.

 

Since Ed left David has discovered that the engine battery is overcharging. Dammit!

Ed is coming back tomorrow to replace the regulator on the alternator. I am going to make little cheese tarts for him.

Irene sent this photo to me as proof she had been to the doctor re her infected toe. I had to take it on trust, because where in that photo is there any evidence of a doctor's visit?

Our dinner tonight is going to be stuffed mushrooms (cream cheese and garlic I think - they are from the Coop), potato salad and a lettuce salad. And there was some muffin mix left so I made two ramekin sized puddings. We have custard ...