A LONG DAY - BY OUR STANDARDS

As you will see, we did not set out on our cruise yesterday because of the weather.  However, this morning was a totally different situation.  We were on our way by 0830 hrs....  a brief stop at Fazeley to post a couple of birthday card and to get a paper, no queue at Glascote - that must be a first for years!!

Then, we arrived at Atherstone Locks......  there was a stoppage.... there was too much water on the flight and the towpath was flooding...!!  How can you have too  much water when we are in the middle of a drought?????

BW were out in force and after a short delay (we were held up for only 30 minutes - apparently boats at the top of the flight had been waiting for up to 3 hours) we were on our way.  It was one of our easiest passages up the flight, BW were everywhere trying to help, and boats were coming down so we had an easy life for once...

It had been our intention to stop at Atherstone but there was no room, so on to Hartshill where there was plenty of room.  Tomorrow we will catch a bus into Nuneaton to buy a couple of bits and peices we forgot to stock up on - the bus stop is right by the canl bridge at Hartshill and the bus takes you to within 100 yards of ASDA in Nuneaton....

A long day by our standards, eight hours cruising, 13 locks and 16 miles..... tomorrow will be a lot easier!!

TO CRUISE OR NOT TO CRUISE.....!!

Having spent the last two days getting the boat ready to cruise, today was the day we were due to set off for a little wander up the Ashby Canal.  The weather forecast for today was bad..... heavy rain and strong winds, and, sure enough, for once the forecasters were right.    However, everything was on the boat ready to cruise, all the food had been loaded etc.   so what to do?   Discretion (i.e. THE WIFE) prevailed and we moved on to the boat and spent the rest of the day and evening on the boat at the bottom of the garden!!   The winds have now died down but it is still raining and cold, so in the end we made the right decision.  The forecast for tomorrow is much better so up early and make an early start. That's the plan anyway....

Rain, rain and more rain

They really should have declared a drought earlier in the West Midlands! On the news yesterday it said that the West Midlands was now suffering from a drought........ and ever since it has not stopped raining with more forecast for the next four days.....

Time to ponder.....

Had to go to another funeral today..... another fellow boater (and close friend) has gone to the great boatyard in the sky.... R.I.P. Andy, his boat will up for sale in the future, his widow will be unable to manage it on her own. The family, however, have plans, n.b. SORREL will have a final trip, before being sold. Friends and family will be invited for its 'final' cruise. Whatever happens I will make sure I am on that cruise!

Meanwhile, our plans continue, the house is still for sell, there has been some interest but no firm offers yet, however, our plans are now made. As from the beginning of June, the contents of the house will be sold, the house will be empty, in the hands of the estate agent, and we will set sail again on GUELROSE, hopefully heading for London and the Olympics, and then who knows where....? There are so many places we want to visit again (70 feet permitting!!) - initial plans suggest CCers for a couple of years, and don't, just don't get me started on extra charges for CCers.... In my opinion there are genuine CCers and then there are people who live on boats as compared to houses, and the two are most definitely different.

Before that, we still have a cruise up the Ashby planned for May with some close friends.... hopefully water supply will not be a problem there....

It is a sad day, our two cruising companions, LEWIS and ALFIE, are no longer with us. Thank you 'boys', for a wonderful 15 years, R.I.P.