Coal delivery, filming and dinner out.

Hi Friends.

It has been the most amazing day for us. We had thought it was going to be a day of loading coal and then moving towards Saddington, but it did not turn out quite like that.
The alarm clock broke into song at 6.30am and we were up and dressed ready for our coal delivery during the morning. After walking his lordship, I opened up the sheeting and lowered the side sheets, to make life a lot easier when loading. Keith helped me to pull the side sheets down and secure them in place. Whilst waiting for the delivery to arrive, I got on and hoovered throughout the boat, as we seem to have accumilated lots of dog hairs and leaves. Most of the leaves were in the engine room it has to be said. Hoovering done Chris arrived with our coal from W.G. Hill & Son. We had Three Tonne to load on to the boat today, which is 120 bags of pre-packed solid fuels. Whilst Chris unloaded the lorry a film crew arrived to interview a gentleman about the first IWA rally at Market Harborough in 1950 for a program about the history of the canals. He was to be interviewed onboard First Fruits, David and Viv's boat. But the interviewer Ian soon became interested in us loading coal on to our boat and asked if he and his film crew could film and interview us as well. We were happy to oblige. I was given a radio microphone, which was fitted on to my shirt and as i loaded the coal into the hold, I had to talk about my job and our life on the canal.
I certainly looked the part all covered in coal dust, no make-up and hair in a mess. But thats the life of a coal woman ha ha ha. As Chris wheeled the coal to the boat and I loaded the coal into the hold they filmed away. I was asked about the route we covered and the customers we supply. They also wanted to know about our life on the waterways. It was then Keith's turn to wear the microphone and load some coal and I took a back seat. They asked him about his history with the waterway's and why we do what we do. Keith is so much more at ease in front of the camera as he has done it all before when he used to teach rock climbing at a school. I am not quite as confident, but I think I gave a good account of myself. I will soon know, because my part will appear in this program to be screen next year ha ha ha. I have a feeling it may all end up on the cutting room floor though. We were then asked if they would be able to film on the boat as we left the basin, so Tony the sound man and Bertil the camera man climbed up on the roof and took up their positions. We took them a short distance up the canal and then dropped them off. it was all rather exciting stuff. We had our five minutes of fame, which will probably never see the light of day, but if it should do, I will let you know when to watch BBC1. Having dropped of the Tony and Bertil we continued on our way, through the stunning countryside and Autumn views to Bridge 5, having cruised just 4.6 miles, in 1hr 55mins, where we met up with Richard and Chrissie off of NB Digitalis. Having delivered them some coal, we have been inted to dinner, so I now have to get the grime off of my hands and face so that I look presentable for an evening of wining and dining. Took this lovely photo of one of the Gypsy horses, with the other one looking over the hill.