I picked Karen up from
work on Thursday and we went down to Wendover to spend the night at her mum’s
house. Ann was away on holiday but was
kind enough to let us stay there; Karen was off to Porto for the weekend and it’s
a good way to break her early morning journey to Stansted.
Buddy and I pottered
around Wendover during the morning and then caught the train to Aylesbury to
stay with my sister overnight. The
apparent disparity in train fares always gets me; the ticket was £4.80 which is
fine for two stops, but it was only another £1.40 to get all the way back to
Warwick, albeit with three more changes.
As it happened, Judith and
Nigel decided to go and see Mum and Dad in Yorkshire over the weekend so ended
up giving me and Buddy a lift home on the Saturday morning.
When we got back to the
boat I noticed our first daffs had come into flower over the two days we had
been away…
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…but I also noticed how
many puddles there were on the towpath, so it seemed there had been a lot of
rain whilst we had been away.
Once I got unpacked and
had a coffee, we went for a walk. The
water was particularly dirty and foamy and I think it must be something that’s
washed from the fields around this area.
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Foamy bottom pound
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There was still a lot of
water running down the flight. The old
single width locks all act as overspill weirs now and make for quite a spectacular
display when there is a lot of water running down.
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Original single lock working
as an overspill weir with the replacement double lock on the right
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| I don't think I'll be letting Buddy drink from this |
I had rather hoped that
the forecast for the weekend for warm weather was going to be accurate, so I would
see my first butterflies of the year. Unfortunately,
the temperature never quite made it to the required level on Saturday, so I was
disappointed.
Between the rugby matches
we wandered down to Cape locks and I saw a boat I didn’t recognise coming
towards us. It wasn’t one of the local
ccers and turned out to be a couple taking their first break of the year. They had friends with them who looked frozen –
obviously not dressed for several hours standing outside on a boat all day.
The reason I know all this
is because I got chatting to the owners as I wanted to be sure that they knew
they couldn’t get much further as the locks were still closed. They hadn’t realised but, fortunately I told
them before they reached the Saltisford arm which is the last place they can
turn around. We had a good chat and they
were laid back about the whole thing and accepted they would have to change
their journey plans for the rest of the week.
I mention all this as it
reminds me that, even in boating, there can be snobbery. It’s such a shame because we all share the
same interests, it just seems that some people cannot avoid looking down on
others. During the winter months you don’t
really come across it as there are not so many people on the move and those
that are all tend do be of the same disposition.
When the holiday season is
in full swing then that’s when it becomes noticeable. We all get different labels depending on
whether our boats are shiny, old, plastic, wooden, steel, private, hire, shared
or have stuff on the roof or not. It’s
like being on the roads where BMW and Volvo drivers have cachets associated
with them irrespective of what the drivers are really like.
That’s what I’m trying to
say really, it’s what’s inside of you that matters and not the size of house or
type of boat you live in. So, this year
I want to avoid making references to these labels (if I can 😉).
Anyway, I need to get on
as it feels warmer outside this morning so hopefully the butterflies may be
around. Before I start looking I must finish
proof reading Jo’s dissertation first.
It feels slightly unfair as she is away with Cat and Karen in Porto for
the weekend ☹ Like all the
uni work of our children it’s not on a subject I really know anything about so
it gives me a chance to learn something. 😊
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The girls sampling port whilst
I slave away on the boat
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