Countdown has begun.

Thursday morning and the Saltisford Canal Trust is on countdown for the Canal Fun Weekend. I got a decent nights sleep last night, which was most welcome, because of late due to the Menopause problems, I have been sleeping very little. So awake at 7.15 am and first cuppa of the day was drunk whilst watching the BBC1 news. Raindrops began dancing on the roof of the back cabin, which is a sound I really did not want to hear. We can do without rain, especially over the weekend.

Up at 8 am, breakfast eaten. It was off to walk his Lordship. I am talking about Paddy of course. These days he does not walk far, so we did around the block and then back to the boat. Marmite was waiting for her breakfast and being very vocal about the fact that she was hungry. It is not like she has no food, she has a dish of dried food always on hand or should that be paw, but she always wants her wet food, which for her is fish. Marmite loves her fish, she is not a meat cat. Finally all was quiet as Marmite munched her way through her fish. Paddy never complains, he just sits in his bed and waits for his bone shaped biscuits.

With our Canal Fun Weekend almost upon us, I headed off into town to get some float money and to have a quick nosey around the charity shops, after all you never know what you will find. As it turned out I did not find anything of interest. Having arrived back at the boat, Keith and I then headed up to Warwick Parkway where Tornado was expected to pass through.

60163 Tornado is a mainline steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways in 1960. It is the only example of an LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotive in existence, the entirety of the original production batch having been scrapped without preservation. OMG she was a stunner. Although it was a case of blink and you would miss her, as she steamed her way through the station. It was such a treat.

 



After such a treat we went back to the boat. There was time for a quick lunch, before heading to the Cedar room to begin preparations for the weekend. Raffle prizes were sorted. Teddy tombola and name the Teddy were all done and then it was time to sort out who and what was going where.

Jacky, Stuart, Dawn and I worked out the site plan and Stuart drew a fabulous site plan. The flip charts were used to list who was coming and given a number, which was then added to the map. We are so well organised, I just wish we could organise the weather as well. So we are well and truly on the countdown now.

All the trading boats are in and it was lovely catching-up with them all. I will post photographs of them over the weekend.

This evenings sunset is beautiful and all is well in my world.