Warwick (No sign of Angus)

Saturday was one of those days where we felt we were busy all day but looking back on it we didn’t seem to do much.  It was because we had to buy odd stuff like material, a flip chart stand, cushion fillings, coat hooks and varnish which meant we had to go to many different shops.  We also had to go into Leam to pick up my wedding ring that had been altered, Karen’s watch that needed the strap repairing and her engagement ring that needed the stone resetting.  The flip chart stand was not for the boat, I hasten to add, Karen needed it for a meeting in Manchester on Monday.

Reflecting on our day over a beer in the evening we decided that I should do jobs like that when Karen is at work during the week so we can have more quality time at weekends.

During the day, Steve had sent a message on our FAMSpam WhatsUp group that it looked like Angus was visiting us all that evening.  Having not heard the news at that point we didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.  As it happened we didn’t get the strong winds but it seemed to be raining all night.

Sunday was a bit more relaxed; Karen started making curtains for the lounge and we managed to get a good walk in before it got dark.

Lounge (saloon) nearly finished

We started off by walking up the 21 lock Hatton flight which, as I have mentioned before, is closed until Christmas for winter maintenance.  I  have walked up and down the flight several times over the last few days and have been fascinated by a boat moored in the second pound.  He clearly cannot move until Christmas as the locks above and below him are being worked on.  What's been fascinating me is how he managed to not be moved on before the locks were closed.  We stopped and had a chat with him and it transpired that he wasn't asked to move on before the locks were closed and so he is stuck until Christmas.  Of course they may well have knocked on the boat whilst he and his partner were at work.  Anyway, they seemed happy enough as, like Karen, they work locally but they do have 1/3 mile to walk to get water.
 
After our walk Karen made a lovely apple cake and a really spicy parsnip soup whilst I put up yet more hooks.

Apple cake to keep me going during the week

Hooks to hold coats whilst they dry before being put away in a cupboard

The hooks will also work well when we are cruising and expect wet weather.  We can hang our wet weather gear on them and as the doors are open when we cruise we can easily get them if it starts raining – saves stopping the boat and scrabbling around in the cupboards.

We are having our first sleepover guests in a couple of weeks!  My sister, Judith, and Nigel are coming up to see us. They are really easy going and we always have a good time so they will be more than happy to be guinea pigs.  I say guinea pigs because we have yet to convert our dinette seating into a spare bed.

Buddy and I have a busy week ahead as we need to get back to Braunston by Friday.  We are meeting up with Mike and Aileen one last time before their narrowboat is shipped to France the following week and they start cruising the French canals and rivers.  This is a link to Aileen’s blog which always makes good reading.

We only have to travel 20 miles through 25 locks which isn’t much I know, but the weather doesn’t look like being too kind this week so I don’t expect to be cruising for hours on end each day.  To start with we need to carry on in the opposite direction tomorrow as we will go down the Saltisford arm for a pump out before reversing out turning round and heading back east. We found Buddy's coat over the weekend so I expect he'll be wearing it this week.

Mine and Buddy's journey for this week