Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 31

Atherstone to Handsacre

 Saturday 21^st September (Crumpet Day)

 Well, we got through the four locks without incident yesterday, and dry too. We moored up between locks, so to speak, although the next lock can’t be seen from here.

 Today we have just two more locks to do, and then we’ll be in Polesworth. This is the place where we spent Sunday lunchtime in a local pub, only to discover that it was the manager’s last day there, and it showed. The walls had been virtually stripped of pictures and there were no ornaments or other items on display. Hopefully the new owners have made substantial changes because, despite there being another pub closer to the canal, we do prefer this one. Watch this space!

 Sunday 22^nd September

 It only took just over an hour to reach Polesworth and, much to our surprise there were no other boats moored there. We didn’t give that much thought until later in the afternoon, when another boat pulled in, stopped long enough to do some shopping and then moved on, leaving us the only ones there.

 Now, we love the peace and quiet of being on our own, but not in a town the size of Polesworth, and especially not on a Saturday night, and definitely not when two ne pathways have been constructed to allow foot traffic onto the canal from the nearby park. So, around about 4pm Sheila took a walk through the next three bridges, to see if there was room at the other end, which there was, so we moved the boat and joined three boats already there.

It’s strange the way the mind works, you know there’s nothing to worry about, but your instinct tells you otherwise, and we tend to run with our instincts in these matters. Better safe than sorry, eh?

 Now, a matter of some importance to eBay users. The following comes from an American lady called Debbie Henry who, as anybody who has seen her blogs will know, is a stay-at-home-mom who earns her living mostly on eBay and is recognised as an expert in all things eBay.

You can read the full item here: http://donebydeb.com/blog/reselling/service-not-as-described/

 ===========================================

“Updates to listing conditions. To further create a marketplace where buyers find what they want and drive positive user experience, we updated the provision regarding listing conditions to recognise the appearance and placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors. So, in some situations a listing may not appear in some search and browse results of sort order.”

 Deb: But wait, there’s more!!

 “We strive to create a marketplace where buyers find what they are looking for. Therefore, the appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

 1/ buyer’s location, search query, browsing site, and history;

2/ item’s location, listing format, price and shipping cost, terms of service, end time, history, and relevance to the user query;
3/ seller’s history, Detailed Seller Ratings, and Feedback; and
4/ number of listings matching the buyer’s query

 Accordingly, to drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer.”

Deb: Did they just do what you think they did???

Yep.

They just gave themselves permission to STEAL from their sellers – outright.

Make of this what you will, but I for one am now rather cagey about selling on eBay. They seem to be suggesting that, regardless of the fact that you are paying listing fees, your item may not even show up anywhere on their listings!! In fact, depending on eBay’s discretionary powers, your listing may not appear at all, and yet you still pay fees. Way to go!!

Today we’ll be staying here at Polesworth and using a different pub to the one we would have used. This is because another pub, one that we didn’t know even existed, has come to our attention. When we were moored at the other end of town yesterday, Wifey noticed so writing on the side of the nearby bridge that read, ‘Pub’, with an arrow pointing left. So, after lunch we took a walk in that direction and, sure enough there’s a pub a short way up the road, called The Royal Oak. It’s not even listed in the Nicholson’s Guide, despite being so close to the canal, which would account for us not noticing it before.

 Monday 23^rd September

 The Royal Oak pub at Polesworth is a man’s pub, well, it is at Sunday Lunchtime. We arrived there at about 12.15 and there were a few blokes standing at the bar. Within half an hour several more came in, still no females. Towards about 1pm a few footballers came in, accompanied by one girl, and that was it.

 Obviously this pub does like to look after its regulars because, on the bar was a tray of snacks; lumps of cheese, slices of pork pies, cocktail sausage rolls and biscuits; that kind of thing. On a separate table sat an electrically powered, stainless steel cooker which, when opened by one of the footballers, appeared to contain chicken stew, or some such.

 The pub will be under refurbishment from this morning and will be closed for two weeks. It will be interesting to see what they do to the place by the time we return.

 And that was our excitement for Sunday. This morning we’ll be off to Fazeley Junction, where we’ll catch the bus to Ventura Park, an out-of-town shopping precinct, where I’ll be able to get some more art materials.

 Tuesday 24^th September

 Rusty had us up at 1am this morning. She was obviously busting to go out and this is the 2^nd time in just a few days. We’re assuming that she’s either picked something up on her walks, or it’s just old age, We’re scrupulous with the cleanliness of her bowls and her food is always from fresh sachets or tubs and, more importantly, we never give her our scraps. We really don’t know what to make of it.

 Autumn is here, though you wouldn’t think so with this warm spell. We lit the fire again just a few days ago, but only because it was chilly in the mornings. Right now, despite having the side hatch and the front doors open, I’m fairly sweltering.

 Yesterday, more in hope than expectation, we visited that arts and crafts shop in Ventura Park again and, would you believe it, they didn’t have any of the white watercolour paper that I bought last time. I did find a pad of lightweight pastel paper though, this time in 3 shades of white. Well, they’re supposed to be white, but all I see is 3 shades of pale yellow. But, it will do until we get to Crick Marina, when I’ll be able to shop online at Turner’s in Stockport. This is a family business and, if they don’t stock what you need, they’ll order it in.

 I’ve been gradually persevering with pastels and, despite a few that I’ve thrown out, I do believe I’m slowly improving. When I finish one that I’m ‘really’ happy with, I’ll see what I can do about posting it, along with the original photo.

 This morning we’ll be off to Whittington.

 Wednesday 25^th September

 We had a really good day yesterday. After Wifey walked off for the paper and milk, we disposed of rubbish and topped up with water, then took a slow meander to Whittington, passing right through the village and mooring up between two open fields. After the initial drabness of the morning, the sun eventually came out and gave us a pretty warm day.

 The temperature remained quite high throughout the day and way into the evening, so much so that we decided to let the fire go out, rather than suffer the heat first thing this morning.

 In actual fact, when I got up at about 5.30 it was quite chilly in here, so, having first checked that we had sufficient voltage in the batteries; 12.5 as it happens; I switched the heating on and, nothing, zilch, nada!!

 Now, back at the end of last month – was it really only a month ago? – we called into a Marina, initially to take a look to see if we wanted to winter over there, but also to have our heater checked out. We had to call back a few days later for this, but their engineer assured us that, contrary to what we thought, the burner only needed cleaning out, rather than replacing. This was excellent news to us and so was the £50 bill. We suspect now that we met with an engineer who didn’t want to go through the process of ordering a new burner and settled for the easy option. Needless to say I have complained to the marina people, but I’m not holding my breath for a refund. Equally needless to say, as you already know, we won’t be going there for the winter and, although our decision had nothing to do with our present heater situation, we’re even happier that we’re going to Crick, where they have more than one engineer to call upon, should we have problems during the winter months.

 Today has dawned misty and drizzly, but it’s not windy and so we’ll probably go on to Fradley Junction this morning.

 Thursday 26^th September

 Just a small amount of rain on the way to Fradley, but nothing to worry about or get us soaked. We were pretty lucky to find a big enough spot to moor in but, soon after we did so the boat in front moved off.

 Later on, after lunch we took a walk to buy our pudding, which came in the shape of a chocolate lolly, followed by a pint of Murphy’s at the White Swan. The amount of boat traffic passing through was quite amazing, considering the time of year. At one point there were four boats queuing up to go through one of the locks, only one of which was a holiday boat.

 I received an email from the marina re-the repair to our heater. Of course, as I expected, they have placed the onus on us, either to take the boat back for another look; as if; or give them a call, and also suggested we may have other electrical problems, which we don’t believe for one minute, considering the fact that we now have six new batteries and the new Alternator to battery Charger. As far as we are concerned, all that really needed doing in the first place, was to replace the burner.

 Friday 27^th September

 I think I may have stirred up a hornets nest with my email to the marina yesterday, although not in a bad way. I received another email back from them this morning, this time from the owner of the marina, who has asked me to give him a call because he thinks he knows what the problem is. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, because we really don’t want to be buying a new burner every time we have a problem.

 We moved on to Handsacre yesterday morning and managed to keep dry whilst doing so. What with this being the tail end of our annual cruise, we now spend most of our time simply lazing around and taking short walks. Today will be similar in that respect, as we’ll be moving on to Rugely for shopping and then, since we don’t feel comfortable staying there overnight, we’ll move a couple of miles further on and spend the night opposite the pig farm.

 So, let’s get this thing posted. Have a good weekend.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty

 

 

 

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 30

Market Bosworth to Atherstone

 Saturday 14^th September

 Yesterday was a lot of fun! We left Market Bosworth at about 8am and, after a stop at Sutton Wharf took a slow crawl down to Bridge 23, where there’s a Farm Shop that we wanted to visit. Getting ourselves moored up was not easy, simply because a small stretch of the moorings is silted up, but we managed it eventually, after which we paid a visit to the shop. The beef was recommended by a customer but, when we think of the price it makes us shudder. But, we bought a couple of items, including ice cream tubs –yummee!- and a chicken and mushroom pie, which came in the same casing as your average pork pie, so we’re looking forward to that with a bit of salad.

 Yesterday evening, well, no actually, more like from yesterday afternoon, we were inundated with flies. Of course, we do get the odd one or two, like most folks, but this lot were really annoying. I put it down to the slight drop in temperature, encouraging the little blighters to seek refuge in our nice, warm boat. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about, they could be breeding in some secret cranny within the boat. Yeuk!

 Anyway, we couldn’t move on yet because it was raining quite heavily, so we had to stick it out and kill as many of them as possible. So far this morning I’ve killed about half a dozen, but they are still whizzing around. Hopefully they will disappear once we move off later this morning. Can’t come soon enough for me. Hinkley Wharf and the nearby Tavern of the same name, look out ‘cos here we come.

 Saturday 15^th September

Just to be sure of a mooring at Hinkley Wharf; there’s only space for about three boats; we waited until 9am before leaving our mooring at bridge 23. Even so, when we arrived just after 10am, there was still one boat there but, since it was one that actually ‘lives’ on the Ashby, we figured it would probably move on later, which it did. This boat was moored at the furthest point from the bridge, so we moved back to that point as soon as they moved on. This was just as well, because two more boats came through the bridge and moored up in front of us. Luckily the people on the first boat realised what we were trying to do and held off until we’d finished.

 Apart from walking to the paper shop, we did nothing special for the rest of the day, unless you count killing flies as special. However, having found the hidden can of fly spray, we were free of the little blighters by the evening, and there’s no sign of them this morning. Job done!

 Today we’ll visit Hinkley Wharf Tavern at lunchtime, simply because we haven’t tried it before. I do hope we’re not disappointed. More about that later.

 Monday 16^th September

 Yesterday was a pretty mixed bag of weather but, since we’re usually pretty fortunate in that regard, it stayed dry whilst we visited The Wharf Inn, where we found snacks on the bar and a friendly barmaid. I suppose the snacks and smiling barmaid were there to offset the exorbitant price if the Guinness which, at £3.70 per pint, ranks as the record high price now. So, on this trip we have gone as low as £2.90 and as high as £3.70 and for no particular reason that I can see.

 On the walls of the Wharf are black and white 1960s photos of the pub and some of the places in Hinkley. The photo of the pub; taken from a turning across the main road; shows two, Mark II Jaguars which, at that time were pretty expensive cars, so I suspect that the brewers, in their infinite wisdom, still deem the area to be rather salubrious, else, why charge so much for booze. Consider this, Guinness per pint is even more expensive than petrol per litre at that place!!

 Anyway, back to the boat and, yep the heavens opened up. But, that’s OK, we had no plans for long walks, or anything like that. However, by the time Wifey took Rusty out for her evening constitutional, the rain had stopped and we had a clear sky and, although it came as something of a surprise, we still have a clear sky this morning. I’m hopeful it will stay that way, because after taking the bus into Nuneaton, we’re moving along to bridge three in readiness for leaving the Ashby.

 Tuesday 17^th September

 Yesterday morning saw us taking the bus into Nuneaton for shopping, back to the boat by 11.30 and on to Lime Kilns by 12.30. The last bit was not much of an achievement since Lime Kilns is only about ½ a mile from Hinkley Wharf. Once again we were lucky and did all that without getting wet. No sooner had we tied up at Lime Kilns than the heavens opened up, then it was on and off rain for the rest of the day.

 Just by the bridge at Lime Kilns there is just one space for a boat of our size, after which is the water point, which is supposed to be free of overnight mooring. Not so yesterday because, yet again we have a boat there. We could just about get past it and top up with water, but the reason for restricting moorings on water points is to allow freedom of access. Still, if we give that boat a clout as we pass it and pull in, the owner has only himself to blame.

 We are almost at the end of the Ashby now and we should be back on the Coventry by tomorrow morning and settled in at Springwood haven Marina, but this does depend upon the weather which, according to the experts, is not looking good.

 Wednesday 18^th September

 After topping up with water yesterday morning and chatting to a boater who, with his info about a pub charging £4.00 for a pint of Guinness – he seemed genuine enough – we moved along to just half a mile from the end of the Ashby canal. It was dry, but quite cold; enough for me to dig out my winter coat; but an easy 1½ hours of steady cruising.

 This stretch of canal, whilst having the usual corrugated metal upon which to hang our mooring hooks, does have a lot of overhanging tufts of grass. As a consequence of and despite keeping Rusty on a fairly tight lead, she managed to slip over the edge and into the canal. One second she’s there and then ‘plop’, away she goes. Without the lead on her, I doubt very much if I could have kneeled down to pull her out. Wifey then has the job of rubbing her down with a bath towel, which our pooch seems to enjoy.

 This morning, possibly due to that dunking yesterday, Rusty now has an upset tummy, the growling of which can be heard from one end of the boat to the other. She hasn’t had a problem for about three weeks now, and we certainly haven’t given her anything different by way of food. Still, three weeks is pretty good, I have to say.

 This morning; assuming the rain doesn’t bucket down; we’ll be moving off and heading for Springwood Haven Marina for diesel and will moor up opposite. This is quite a small marina on the Coventry canal and is one of the places that we regularly top up and moor overnight.

 Thursday 19^th September

 Despite the promise of warmer weather to come, we suffered chilly winds and slight showers on our five mile trip to Springhaven Marina and moored up just a few hundred short of it. This morning we’ll call in for fuel and then go on to Atherstone, assuming the weather stays dry of course.

 Since there are no shops or anything like that near the marina, there’s not much to report, so I shan’t bother. Today’s another day…..!

 Friday 20^th September

 Yesterday was certainly another day, but it started out well and we had to suffer some light rain on the way to the locks at Atherstone. Most days we’re pretty lucky with the weather, but I suppose I’ve been bragging about that for too long, as I will now explain.

 Shortly before arriving at the top lock, we were treated to some heavier rain and Sheila suggested we might stop before the locks and go on in the morning. However, as we neared the moorings the rain stopped again and so we decided to go on.

 Now, once you are past the moorings there’s no turning back, but all seemed well at that point and we pulled in to top up with water and dispose of rubbish. Then, just as our water was gurgling to let us know the tank was almost full, along came a boat just exiting the lock. So, I backed off from the water point; just in case he needed to top up; and waited for him to come out.

Wouldn’t you know it, as he came out of the lock down came the rain, and pretty heavy too. We had five locks to do before the next line of moorings and, by the time we had tied up we were soaked and the rain had stopped. It seems our luck had run out!

 We are planning on being at Polesworth for the weekend, so, this morning after Wifey has walked into town for the paper, we’ll go down another three locks and moor up there ready for our run into Polesworth.

 Meanwhile, as this is getting rather long, I’ll post and wish you all a great weekend.

 All the best from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 29

Hawkesbury Junction to Market Bosworth

 Saturday 7^th September

 Well, contrary to those people who tell us what weather we’re in for – some of whom should only be paid by results – this morning has dawned bright and calm, although there is a chilly breeze to go with it.

 We’re meeting up with Alan and Chris, sometime in early October, which means we have some time to spare, so instead of staying here, at Hawkesbury Junction, for the weekend, we’re going to take full advantage of this bright weather and set off for the Ashby canal, one of our favourites. I don’t know how far we’ll get today, but it will be near a pub. Can’t miss out on our Sunday lunchtime drinks, now can we?

 Whilst we’re on the Ashby, we’ll also take a bus into Nuneaton, another of our favourite shopping centres. Somehow Nuneaton doesn’t present itself as just another shopping centre, a difficult concept to explain. Suffice it to say, it’s different!

 Sunday 8^th September

 So, where is all this horrid weather? This morning has dawned bright and sunny again.

 Yesterday we left Hawkesbury Junction at about 8.30 and made our way to the Ashby Canal, all in very good weather, albeit a little chilly in places. With no locks to worry about, we made the seven miles to Lime Kilns in just 2½ hours. We had hoped to find a bus stop and take a ride into Nuneaton, but, since this stretch of the Ashby runs under the main A5, there wasn’t a bus stop to be seen. So, that trip will have to wait until we get to Hinkley Wharf tomorrow.

 Monday 9^th September

 Looking out of our windows this morning, directly east, we have a beautiful sunrise. But looks can be deceiving, because when I took Rusty out and looked due south, we have some pretty ugly, grey clouds. So, on our trip to Stoke Golding; not Hinkley Wharf as I mentioned yesterday; we might just get a bit wet.

 Yesterday we paid a visit to the Lime Kilns pub and, much to my surprise they didn’t have Guinness. Instead they had their own Marston’s Stout which, of course, I shied away from. I did have a wee taste of it but, much like the stuff they sold in The Clothworkers Arms in Sutton Valence, where we had our shop, it was pretty insipid. So, I had to suffer that Carlsberg lager or, perish the thought, Kronenberg, yeuk!

 This pub however, does something with food that we’ve never seen in all the years on the cut, they serve ‘small’ Sunday lunches. They also serve full sized meals but, for those who really can’t face a full meal at that time of day, there’s a smaller version. We both had the roast lamb, which turned out to be quite nice, although I have to say, the broccoli was a bit overcooked. Still, it was well worth the £4.95 price.

 Shackerstone; which lies about two miles this side of the end of current navigation; held their festival weekend this week, which accounts for the amount of boats that passed us at Hawkesbury Junction. Yesterday evening some came back and passed us, but three of them, all working boats, sat themselves at the water point and stayed the night. Why they do it goodness only knows. With their reputation of good sense and consideration, these boaters especially should abide by the rules. This now means that, unless they move off early and well before we do, we’ll have to wait a few more days before we can top up with water. Just occasionally we find holiday boaters doing this, but that’s because they tend to travel later than most and, when they arrive at their destination, they find the water point is the only free space.

 So, rather than stop at Hinkley Wharf this morning, which is only a couple of miles away, we’ll be going on to Stoke Golding and catching the bus into Nuneaton from there.

 Tuesday 10^th September

 We had intended going on through to Stoke Golding yesterday, but as there was plenty of space at Hinkley Wharf, we decided to take the bus into Nuneaton from there. (Which was just as well, as you will discover.) From the moorings here it’s a straight and level walk to the bus stop and there’s more than one bus into Nuneaton. Whereas, from Stoke Golding it’s a steep hill-climb up to the bus stop and the service is only one per hour.

 I had hoped to buy a pair of good, solid, waterproof boots whilst we were in town but, instead of calling into Clarke’s we popped into Stead and Simpson, where they had a clearance sale on. Would you believe, I picked up a pair of wide fit shoes, with a wide Velcro strap, for just £14.99p? Wow! They will do until we get to Crick, when I can take my time in choosing those boots.

 Today has dawned calm and dry, so we’ll be off to Stoke Golding this morning. We’ll probably stay for two days and, I have no doubt, we’ll pop into town again at some point.

 Thursday 12^th September

I didn’t have enough time to update this yesterday morning, for once in a blue moon, I overslept.

 So, on Tuesday we moored up at Stoke Golding as expected, but that happy situation wasn’t to last. After a couple of clouts by holiday boaters; who don’t seem to understand how to navigate a wide bend; we finally settled in for the day, or so we thought. Good grief, it’s not rocket science! We have to wonder how these people cope on the open road. Do they smash into parked cars when taking a bend? Probably not. But they treat boating as a contact sport. Sadly, it’s a cross that most boat owners have to bear.

 Later on though, another boater asked if we might move back and give them some space to get in. As usual, being the kind hearted boaters that we are, we readily agreed to do so, with the result that we found the tail end of Shiralee on a bend and were unable to hang a fender. So, in somewhat high dudgeon, we decided to move along and ended up on the 24 hour moorings at Sutton Wharf, where we spent a pleasant and quiet night.

 Yesterday we made our way to Market Bosworth and, what with Wifey doing some washing we were a wee bit late for catching a bus into town, which meant yet another hike up that pesky hill. Luckily the rain kept off until we returned about 1½ hours later, at which point it fairly chucked it down.

 If anyone reading this blog has any reason to call in to Market Bosworth, you might want to visit the butcher’s there. Their pies are out of this world, they really are. We bought a large chicken, leek and mushroom one, along with a large pork pie, and the man himself warned that, because the chicken one was chock full of meat we would have to make gravy. He wasn’t wrong there, it really was absolutely stuffed full with meat. The pork pie is pretty tasty too!

 Friday 13^th September

 We decided to stay another day at Market Bosworth and, being gluttons for punishment, we walked up that pesky hill again. I always seem to enjoy an almost pain free evening when I’ve been for a good walk, so although the hill gives me gyp in my calf muscles, it’s well worth the effort.

 For most of yesterday we were alone at these moorings. It wasn’t until much later in the afternoon that a few other boats arrived and tied up. Around about 8pm Sheila took Rusty out for a short walk and, just as she did so another boat came up behind us, quite obviously with the intention of stopping the night. Unfortunately for them, they had chosen the winding hole, and that is definitely a no-no. Then, when Wifey told them that we would be backing up in the morning in order to take on water and turn around, they quickly scarpered.

 Ordinarily, being so late in the day, it was unlikely that anybody would be using the winding hole, but, since they didn’t fancy being woken up at 7.30 this morning, they decided to move on. Actually, there was plenty of room further along the 48 hour moorings, so the really didn’t need to moor behind us. Some people!!

 We are now well stocked up with essentials and won’t need to do any shopping for a few days, so, this morning we’ll be doing just what Sheila told those two last night, backing up, taking on water, turning around and heading back to Hinkley Wharf. We really don’t want to leave it too late for meeting up with Alan and Chris.

 And that dear friends, is that, for this blog so do take care and have a great weekend.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty

Shiralee: Cruise 2013 # 28

Braunston to Hawkesbury Junction

 Sunday 1^st September

 I have a code id my doze and I’b not very habby! Bud id won’t stob be from enjoying a drink ad lunchtime!

 Monday 2^nd September

 A really good day yesterday, with a slow stroll up the first three locks for a leisurely drink at the Lord Nelson. Just for a change we partook of a wee bit of gongoozling. To you landlubbers, that’s watching other boaters pass through the lock. This can be great fun, especially when the boats going through are holiday boats. There’s always one person on board who knows everything about boating and then, by his own actions, proves that he doesn’t.

 I also had a long chat with the boater who moored behind us yesterday afternoon. He’s done the Kennet and Avon canal and gave me a cd of photos he took while they were there. He also assured us that, contrary to what we had been told, there are no problems with moorings along there, except that there are times when you need to ‘walk the plank’. So, we just might make the K&A one of our trips next year.

 This morning has dawned bright and sunny and we’ll be off to the bottom of Hilmorton Locks, about seven miles away.

 Tuesday 3^rd September

 After a bright and sunny start yesterday; which stayed with us for the rest of the day; we took a leisurely cruise down to the top of Hilmorton Locks. This is the place, you may remember, where we were ordered to stand in a queue at the local pub. As if! Anyway, after the usual faffing about with walking the dog and drinking coffee, Wifey sauntered off to find the nearest bus stop and newsagent’s as we needed to get into Rugby in order to put my prescription in. The news was good, there were a couple of buses serving Rugby and they ran every 15 minutes. The lady in the paper shop told Sheila to ask for the Featherbed Lane shops on the way back.

 After waiting almost ten of those minutes, the 3A arrived and, by the most direct route possible – no round-the-houses for this one – we arrived in town and did the necessary. It was rather warm and sticky yesterday and, not wanting to stay long, we looked for the bus stop and took the number 3 back to Hilmorton, and that’s when the fun started.

 The number 3, as opposed to the number 3A, does go all around the houses and, after we had taken our seats, the next passenger on asked for the place we wanted to get off, so we only had to wait for her to leave the bus and we would ‘know’ we had arrived. Yeah, right!

 The long and short of this is, just as the bus pulled away after we got off it; at Featherbed Lane shops; we realised it wasn’t our stop. However, sure enough, when we looked at the address on the bus stop, there it was, as plain as day, Featherbed Lane and, equally sure enough, there was a row of shops. Only, they weren’t the same ones.

 So, we walked down the hill and, spotting another stop around the corner, we decided that that’s the way the bus went and we continued walking, thinking, quite wrongly, that this would lead us in the right direction. But, as you have probably guessed by now, we were nowhere near where we wanted to be.

 Just across from our moorings is a transmission tower, which we could see from where we were standing, and it seemed an awfully long way off. So, after asking a very nice lady the shortest route to the canal, off we set for about a mile trudge, arriving part way down the locks, with the prospect of another ½ mile to the boat.

 I think it’s only fair to say, that Stagecoach Buses should know better than to give two bus stops the same designation, especially as they were at least a half a mile apart. Both stops were in Featherbed Lane and both had shops nearby, so a stranger to the area could easily make the mistake that we did. The usual practice is to give the bus stop the name of a nearby street, but not Stagecoach, oh no!

 Now, because of that error, we will be going down the locks this morning and moving on to Newbold, and then going in to Rugby to pick up my prescription. From past experience, we know where the bus stops are at Newbold. Lesson learned, methinks!!

 The transmission tower I mentioned earlier is directly across the field from us, but my WiFi unit icon is now showing as being OFF. The unit itself, however, is fully functional and has been working perfectly so far this morning!

 As I write this the darned thing has switched to normal function. Perhaps a faulty laptop? Now, there’s a surprise

 Wednesday 4^th September

 Yesterday morning we made our way through the three locks at Hilmorton and went on to Newbold, a distance of just four miles, where we moored up and had our caffeine fix before wandering down to the local Co-op for bread and such, then checking bus times into Rugby. We’ll go back to Rugby today to collect our prescriptions.

 When we go to Rugby this morning, we want to have a really good look around the town, because there’s so much we didn’t see on our earlier visit from here. I’m particularly interested in finding art suppliers, because Rugby is the main town we’ll be visiting while we’re at Crick marina. Of course, the other big town reachable from Crick is Northampton, which may also have such a shop and we’ll certainly be visiting that town.

 Thursday 5^th September

 After our sojourn into Rugby yesterday; where we didn’t manage to find an art shop; we returned to the boat to engage in some R&R for the rest of the day. We had thought to maybe have a pub lunch, but it was far too hot to even consider walking the short distance required. But, that’s no problem as we’ll be at Hawkesbury Junction for the weekend.

 We did hear from Sandy and Andy though and they managed to brighten us up. It seems that, even though they are already somewhat dearer than Crick and other marinas, Mercia have raised their mooring fees by 3.5%, which means that, if we include the charge for postal deliver; which is free at Crick; then we’re saving over £50 per month by moving. I do believe our friends are a little jealous but, since most of Andy’s work is around the Willington area and the marina, they have no choice but to stay there. We know they are staying in the marina for the month of September, but what they’ll do after that, we don’t yet know.

 We’ll probably move on to Brinklow this morning, or maybe a couple of miles further, then Hawkesbury on Saturday morning.

Friday 6^th September

 I sometimes wonder just what CRT do with our licence fees, I really do. When we left Newbold yesterday morning, our intention was to moor at bridge 26, the same place as when we came through some time ago. However, it came as something of a surprise to discover, that the whole of that stretch was already taken, so we were obliged to continue on, towards Hawkesbury.

 We finally managed to pull in between bridges 11 and 12, which entailed a further four miles of travel and, by the time we reached this spot, our wee pooch had all four legs crossed, poor wee thing. And the reason for having to push on this extra four miles, weeds!!

 You see, we are pretty careful about where we moor up. Much of the canal system, except for recognised mooring spots, can be quite hazardous for mooring, due to rocks that lay under the water and out of sight. So, unless there are obvious signs of it being safe to do so; such as flattened or mown grass; we try to steer clear of them. The place we are at now already had a boat moored there and there was the usual strip of corrugated metal into which we could use our hooks, otherwise we would have had to continue on to Hawkesbury.

 Oh dear, the promised rain has turned up although, as I write this, it has stopped, albeit temporarily. If, as the forecasters have said, it continues to rain, then we’re unlikely to go on to Hawkesbury. We’re about two miles away from there, at a very quiet spot, with just one other boat moored behind us, and so, since it’s only Friday, there’s no particular rush to go anywhere.

 Saturday 7^th September

 Yesterday was our 7^th anniversary living on ‘Shiralee’, doesn’t time fly. The early part of the day was marred by rain and it didn’t look like we would get away from our out-of-the-way moorings but, around about 11 am the rain stopped and, although it was a wee bit drizzly, we headed off for Hawkesbury, where we arrived at about midday.

 Apart from settling in and drinking coffee, we disposed of rubbish and did nothing much else for the rest of the day.

 This morning we’ll be heading off for the Ashby canal, where we’ll spend a week or so, before we set off to meet Alan and Chris at Stone.

 So, until next time, take care and have a great weekend.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty.