To move or not to move?

Hi Friends.

You can certainly tell the August Bank Holiday weekend is on the way. The weather has turned wet, cold and miserable, just the sort of start to the weekend the National Boat Festival expects every year. I can imagine all the volunteers are in their wellies and rain gear at Beale Park. I hope it brightens up for them, otherwise they will end up in a quagmire by the end of the weekend.

We were in a quandary this morning as to whether to set off or not. We had had non stop rain since yesterday afternoon and it was still pouring when I took Paddy out for his walk.

Yesterday afternoon there was a knock on the engine room door, and standing outside was a very soggy looking Carrie. I invited her in for a hot coffee and a chat before she cycled off on her way, heading for Crick and camping along the way. I hope she makes it ok.

So back to the decision to move or not to move. After some ummming we decided that we would make a move towards Wolverton, where we wanted to shop at Tesco. We donned our wet weather trousers, donkey jackets and hats and left our over night mooring. Cruising in the rain is actually not to bad if you have the right clothing and it is not to cold. It was quiet on the cut, with not much moving, probably due to the rain, but as we approached the Aqueduct near the disused windmill at Bradwell, the hotel boats Snipe and Taurus were coming across the aqueduct, just as we approached, Keith got Hadar to reverse as quick as she could, which has to be said is not that fast, because she always has to think about it. But there was no collision and we passed with a cheery good morning. It was lovely to see them again. We arrived at Wolverton and did a reasonable size food shop at Tesco, which I put away whilst we moved on towards Cosgrove. Having arrived at Cosgrove, we found a place to moor in front of Historic working boats Beverley and Ascot run by Gary. He was not at home, but his cat Oliver was on patrol.

Hazel the mooring warden came and said hello and also gave us the new Towpath Talk, which was really nice of her. We had not read one for a while. We get on really well with Hazel, she is a lovely lady, who makes amazing Rag Rugs. Having caught up on her news we let her go on her way and we got on with boat jobs.

I stood in the back cabin looking out at the cut and was mesmerised by the Swallows, House Martins and Swifts which were darting, swirling and swooping along the surface of the water. despite the weather and the cold, they were clearly busy catching flies and bugs to feed their families. At times they came so close to the boat, it is amazing how they do not bang into things. It will not be long before they head off for their Winter home in Africa. Swallows alone can cover up to 200 miles a day in daylight hours, which is truly incredible. It is hard to imagine these tiny little birds doing up to 22 miles an hour everyday.

It is now time to think about dinner and the evening's entertainment. I have yet to put the TV ariel up yet, but we usually get a good signal here. It is time for me to go and see what we have on offer for dinner, so I will wish you a good evening.