Senior Moments

Yesterday I set off down the towing path with the 2 dogs towards the first lock before Stone - tied them up & sorted it and headed off towards the day's mission of 2 flights of 4 (we always shut cats & dogs in at locks as they cannot be trusted to ,"sit & stay" when I cross to the far gate). Somewhere towards the end of the 1st flight I came across a pair of gates that did NOT want to shift. I hurled my entire body weight (probably a marginal 7 stone by now) at it for a good 10 mins whilst watched by a couple at a canalside pub, sat outside. These are all deep locks and I persevered until it was closed, refusing to let Graham come off the roof & up the ladder - the surgeon who did his knee replacement would be very unamused-by this time I was too kn... & couldn't shift the other, eventually, aforementioned beer drinker got off bum & helped me!Graham wanted to swap over & do the next flight, but by then it had stopped raining & it was really nice in the sun & I was getting into a rythm &, perversely, getting a kick out of the physical exercise. Hopped over a wall, down the road, back over the wall (due to towpath closure) & happily away with the fairies to discover another tiny female (1st day ever on hireboat) struggling furiously with, yet another, pair of recalcitrant gates & still smarting at the pub blokes lack of courtesy, threw myself into helping her into closing the gates, waved her on her grateful way to see Matilda Rose approaching closed gates!!!!!!! Derhhh!!!!Really must stop enjoying the countryside & conversation & start concentrating a little more on what I'm doing.