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.

Unusual Sights

4th April-had Linda & David from NB Critical Point round for drinks last night, which was our 1st spontaneous "entertaining" of friends met and made along the cut. En route up through Hayward junction yesterday, Graham decided to have another change in our sign language communications system. We started off with him pointing in the direction he wanted me to point the boat, then changed it to which direction he wanted me to point the tiller (a much better system-as, in times of stress, you're less likely to inadvertently go the wrong way) he didn't, however, bother to inform me that he'd changed the system! Yesterday he surpassed himself-he pointed; Ipointed tiller in the same direction; he shouted, "other way". now I'm a pretty placid person so I enquired if we had changed the system back, "no he said, you're going backwards so I'm pointing in the direction I want the swan neck to point". I thought about this for a while & looked about for large white feathered creatures wondering how I was expected to catch & control them (as well as the boat) without getting bitten - it was all too much for me so I walked the dogs up the towpath & did a lock or 3. later in the day I discovered an article in Waterways World about reversing (which he had read) saying point the swans neck (curvy bit on tiller) in the direction you want to go. With time & patience all (usually) becomes clear...well, clearish. Failed to get through Stone today largely due to having another really good lunch in the Saracens Head at Weston fantastic food and glorious armchairs! By the time we came out we were 4th in a cue of boats all going up & the locks are deep, so did 1 more & called it a day at 4.30. Daren't get stuck in Stone 'cause of the cats. One more question I'd like answered why is it the heaviest lock gates are the ones that come open again?

April fool's day

Moored up opposite an airfield between Huddlesford and Fradley-the windsock is parallel to the ground! Stuck my head out the side hatch just in time to see a hire boat career into us as they lost it in the wind. A boat moored just above us has spent most of the morning trying to get off the bank, with the only result being marital dis-harmony. Fascinating body language! Another boat bounced off both sides of the bridge behind us. It's certainly April fool's. We're off up the pub, but praying we don't come back to find a hole in our side!

Excellent lunch at the Plough-fabulous menu & good company having met up with an old friend. Came back to the boat in time to see another NB in front of us rammed by another cruiser. NBs are lethal weapons in high, gusting winds, why do people try to cruise in this - no matter how much you need to be somewhere it surely isn't worth the risk.

Muttley decided to be a proper boat dog yesterday & started running round the roof whilst we were cruising, he thought that was great fun, but I was having kittens in case we went under a low bridge - I mean, how do they know when to duck, especially if they're looking the other way? I asked that question of an experienced boater today and wasn't much pacified by the answer, "scoop 'em out and get them to the vets to have their heads stitched up-all mine have scars on their heads". Not quite what I wanted to hear!