Returned to the boat relieved to see it still moored in the same place with no obvious calamities – you hear so many stories of sunken boats when pounds are inadvertently emptied that it’s always a slight concern! H and H had left it all in good order and enjoyed their time aboard, even though the boat remained stationary.
We’d passed through quite a lot of rain on our car journey and judging by the wood on the roof there had been some rain here but the skies cleared up and so we decided to move further along the cut, mooring up outside a pub for the night, where R could also park the car. He left me to take the boat along the canal and the only tricky part was the drawbridge I had to operate alone, using my windlass to wind it up and down. What a doddle, or so I thought as I confidentially moored the boat at the preceding bollards on the right hand side. I crossed the bridge and started to raise it and then suddenly wondered how I was going to get back to the boat myself!! Obviously the bridge was by now up and there was no other means of crossing the water. What followed was slightly precarious. I returned to the boat and manoeuvred it to the left bank, walked along the outside of the boat, secured the bow rope on the one available bollard and then realised my windlass was at the stern end. Back along the outside, retrieved windlass and then on return to the bow I had to scramble off the boat onto the bank. The bridge opened easily enough so I then returned to the stern, moved the boat under the bridge and then tied the stern rope to the bollard just on the other side of the bridge. Once again jumped onto the bank, lowered the bridge, by which time a dog walker was waiting patiently to get across and was amazed I was doing this single handedly! Back on the boat and off I went feeling rather pleased with myself that I hadn’t fallen in the water, nor had my mobile phone. I wanted to record the event but it is really too risky to accomplish that manoeuvre with a phone at hand!
R met me further along as did a beautiful heron but I wasn’t quick enough to relinquish the steering and take a picture close up. Hopeful he would stay in the vicinity I wasn’t disappointed and this time I thrust the tiller towards R and got a reasonable picture although failed to capture him in flight.
We’ve moored almost opposite another boat which isn’t terribly helpful for other boaters but the towpath was so wet with puddles further back that I couldn’t face all the mud in the boat. I reasoned not many boats would be passing after 7pm and we can always move first thing tomorrow. Funnily enough not ten minutes later a boat arrived and moored in the space we had rejected. Apparently they were rendezvouing with friends at the pub and were already late so were happy to moor anywhere. It reminded me how foolhardy it is to give anyone a set meeting time on the canal network. You just never know what is going to hold you up.
R has gone off to the local for a beer but I declined having had a full-on couple of days at home. Saturday we went to an amazing firework display with the unusual happening of each firework containing some ashes of a friend who decided that was how he wanted his cremated body to be dispersed. Monday we flew to Northern Ireland for the Thanksgiving service of R’s aunt which meant a 4am start. We returned supposedly on the 0615 flight on Tuesday, so another 4am start. The problem was so many staff were off sick, they had to fly a crew into Belfast before the plane could take off. We could have had another couple of hours in bed! Instead of which we found ourselves on some very uncomfortable seating! It was definitely worth the effort of going, not only to catch up with so many family members but to hear of the many activities this aunt has been involved in over a life span of 90 years plus. I reflected that if I live to 90 I’ve still got a third of my life to come so, health permitting, think how much mischief I can get up to. Our children can now be the grown ups!
NarrowboatTLC 