Day 49:. Messing about on the River Severn.

Hello Friends and Followers.

This morning we left the Barge Canal Droitwich and headed onto the River Severn in bright sunshine, although it was a tad nippy.

We travelled with friends Carole and Adrian on Rypeck and a good time was had by all.

We got to play amongst the rowers from the Worcester Rowing Club today. There are some seriously good rowers amongst them.

Worcester Cathedral came into view.

I got to play at the tiller on the river for a bit. Hadar loves rivers because of the deep water, she gets to stretch her legs and we both love rivers.

We are moored up at Upton-upon-Severn.
The town is a busy town with some beautiful buildings. The road layout though is hectic and it is always busy.

Love this garage.

The town has a long history and well worth a visit.
Our day ended with beers on the back counter, lots of laughter and fun.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 48: Short hop.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Life throws curve balls your way and then follows it up with a massive shock. Sadly a good boating buddy passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 57 years old. To say the boating community that knew him are shocked is an understatement. We all think we are invincible in reality life is fragile and none of us knows when our life clock will stop ticking. Our heartfelt love and thoughts go out to his wife, family and friends.

Today we said "Cheerio" to Droitwich Spa.

We headed back down the Barge Canal with friends Carole and Adrian on Rypeck.

It was a chilly start to the day with a bit of a breeze, but the sun did shine now and again.

Working the locks with company is always nice and makes life so much easier.

We stopped at 11.50 am above Hawford Top Lock, so we are ready for the River Severn tomorrow.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 47. And relax.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Wow what a time we have had. Sorry I have not posted for a few days, but what with the festival going on and then taking everything down, it has been somewhat manic.

On Saturday I climbed to the top of St. Augustine's Church tower. The panoramic view was incredible and I for  good photograph of the festival site. The weather was glorious.
We were so well looked after as volunteers and we cannot thank the team for looking after us so well.

On Sunday Scorpio bought salt back to Droitwich, which was very exciting. Planning has gone into building a new brine pool at the Lido, so hopefully that will get the go ahead.

On Monday we had the pleasure in photographing the dog show which was won by the English Pointer. He was a very handsome chap.

Merlin was my favourite puppy though. He was so very cute. (Do not tell Paddy).
I can honestly say we had the best time ever and will definitely do it again. I took so many photographs, and I cannot possibly post them all. But I will say if you get the chance to come to this festival, please do it. You will not be disappointed.

Day 41. The Festival begins.

Hello Friends and Followers.

After an exhausting day yesterday, we had a fantastic night in the pub with a cottage pie dinner and a couple of pints. To say I was more than ready for my bed was an understatement and I slept so well.
Awake at 6.10am when the first train came through, it was time for a brew and a natter about yesterday's events and what would be happening today.
Having sorted out the animals and closed the boat up, we headed for HQ for instructions on the days events. I was helping with the washing of the tables and chairs, but before we could even contemplate that task, we had to unload them from the van. Keith got on with putting up more tents and we had a couple of coffee breaks in between. I heard from a neighbour that the gentleman who was pulled over by his dog, had broken his hip, so I went into town to buy a card, which we will all sign. Hopefully he will make a full recovery. having done the tables and chairs Carole and I went to get the baked potatoes, which we would be having for dinner. We washed, pricked them and put them in the oven to cook. Paddy the site manager had made a pot of Sausage and Bean Chilli and a Chicken dish, which would be poured onto the potatoes once cooked. I made three trips in all into the town and by mid-afternoon my knees were shot. The site was really taking shape and people were arriving with their stalls etc. The main marque was finished, so the music for the evening could take place. Come 4.30pm the potatoes were finally cooked and so Carole and I dished up dinner for everyone in the tea tent. Just around 5.30pm we got back to the boat to feed mog and dog and to run the generator for an hour.

Come 7.30pm, we walked back to the site, where the music was beginning and the beer was flowing. Meet on the Ledge were tonight's band. By 10pm the site was heaving with people and the bar full. It was time for us to head home and have a last coffee, before trekking off to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 40: Shattered but content.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Wow what a busy old time we are having.

We are as you know doing the Droitwich Festival and offered our help with the setting up of the festival site. Unless you have done this, you will never know just how much goes into setting up a festival. we have done quite a few and it never ceases to amaze me how hard people work and how essential Volunteers are to making the event a success.
Today we have done our second full day of helping and we are both feeling shattered. Yesterday was very wet in the morning, whilst putting up the marques. But once you are wet it is fine and with the company all in the same situation, you make the most of it. The Gardeners pub supplied us with Sausage and Bacon Sandwiches around lunch time and there was plenty of tea and coffee on the go from the workers tent. Once the Marques were up, it was then a matter of sorting out the security fencing and unloading vans here, there and everywhere. The evening was spent in The Gardeners, where the chef made us all a Chicken Curry. Not having to cook is a bonus. It was washed down with a couple of pints which really did hit the spot. I am not sure it will do much or my waistline, but who cares, we are having a wonderful time. We both slept like babies.
This morning no sign of the rain which had swollen the river Salwarpe yesterday and the river had come down by a few inches. Today's tasks were to stack more security fencing and put some up for the four degrees. That is what the four lady volunteers are calling ourselves.After lunch we were down to the three degrees. Unfortunately one of the locals walking his dog, was pulled over by said dog and hurt his hip, so we had to get him an ambulance. The gentleman's neighbour was going to look after the dog, but she just wanted to be with her owner,  and with no lead, I had to lead her with her jacket to the neighbours house because she would not go with him. Hopefully the gentleman will be alright. Sausage and Bacon Sandwiches were delivered to the site from the pub again and you have never seen people gather so fast for food and drinks. After a break Sue off of NB Aimee and I were tasked with delivering programs to all the shops and businesses in Droitwich, this took two trips. By the time we got back we needed a coffee. I then got on with doing the boaters packs. Keith was all over the site helping out, which included putting up another marque and doing whatever needed doing on site. By the time it got to 4pm I was feeling like I needed to put my feet up for a while. The generator was put on to charge the batteries, mog and dog fed and we will be relaxing for a while.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 37. Strolling and pints.

Hello Friends and Followers.

We have spent our first full day in Droitwich, which began with a full nights sleep, only to be woken by the Reed Warblers singing and a train passing by.
We have already caught up with people and friends we know and met new people who will no doubt become friends.

The weather forecasters got it wrong on the weather front. There was no strong winds, or heavy rain for us, which was nice so we went for a stroll around the town.

I love the places which are leaning, due to the salt mines beneath them.

We are looking forward to spending a nice few days here. We will be busy though helping with the setting up for the festival, so we will earn a pint or two no doubt. We sampled the beer in the Railway Inn this afternoon, with boating friends. A couple of hours and two pints later, we got back to the boat with Marmite screaming about how she wanted to know where we had been and it was getting on for tea-time. She did in fact have another hour to go, but her clock is completely different to ours.
So a lovely day was had.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 36: Decided to move.

Hello Friends and Followers.

Shock horror moving on a Sunday?
If you follow my ramblings, you will know we rarely move on a weekend. But when the weather forecaster this morning said that Monday was going to be vile, with strong winds and heavy rain, we twiddled our thumbs and then thought shall we or shan't we as we drank our first brew of the day. The answer was we shall.
Before setting off, we took on a dribble of water, emptied the cassette and got rid of rubbish again. Now I know it is a Sunday, but boats do move on a Sunday and it was after 9 am, so what was the problem with one apartment owner? I did not see her, but heard her say "Don't you know it's Sunday". Well it maybe a Sunday, but that does not stop boats moving and if you do not like boats moving then do not live in a waterside apartment. Rant Over.

All the boat stuff done, we made our way to the lock. There I was already for action with my windlass.

I need not have worried, because two lock keepers were on hand to do all the work. I did offer to help, but was ushered back to the boat and allowed to watch as the two gentlemen did all the work. Now that is what I call a Sunday treat.

We were soon out on to the River Severn and Hadar stretched her legs, so to speak. She loves it when there is plenty of water beneath her base plate and her engine is opened up.

We passed the Cathedral.

We were not the only boats on the river. The Worcester Rowing Club were out in force and performing well, considering it was a touch parky. One poor lady got stuck, she was tangled up in an over hanging bush, but managed to get herself free.

There are some beautiful properties along the Severn and yes I can well imagine they cost a pretty penny, but there is no harm is looking. 

We arrived at Bevere Lock, where a nice C&RT lady welcomed us in. I put the centre line around one of the cables to hold us into the side and in no time at all the lock was filled and we were on our way with a cheery "Goodbye" and "Thank you".

We then arrived at the first lock onto the Droitwich Barge Canal and this was where I would have to do some work. Keith dropped me off and I emptied the lock ready for his entrance. The lock gates were bloomin heavy even for me. But with a bit of huffing and puffing I finally got them under control. At lock two we waited for a boat to join us. Shared Ownership Swallowtail shared the rest of the locks with us, which was a bonus.

We made it to Netherwich Basin Droitwich and moored up in the basin, which is where we will be until after the festival.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 35. Worcester walk and lunch.

Hello friends and followers.

Yesterday evening we moved mooring, to below the Commandery Lock, after some men had been knocking along the boat. I opened the engine room door and said "Can I help you", to which one replied "We were just seeing if anyone was on the boat, because we wanted a ride on a barge". My reply to this was "Yes we are in and we are not a barge and we do not give rides". This unnerved me, so we decided to move down with other boats. I am glad we did. We have a guys sleeping rough alongside the boat in a sheltered spot, but he is no problem and when we moored up, he waved and said "Hello". To which I said "Hello" back, so all is well there.

After the past couple of days and the amount of work I have done what with walking a locks. I slept so well last night and it was a peaceful evening thankfully. We woke to it still raining, so we were in for a soggy day.
We decided the weather was not going to spoil our day in Worcester, so after all the usual stuff, we left the boat and walked up alongside the cathedral, which is stunning outside and in as we would discover later in the day.

You cannot go to Worcester without going to see the river and this morning the swans were in competition with the rowers.

St. Andrew's Spire.

Berkley's Hospital and Alm's Houses.

Worcester is a vast place with lots of lovely side street and beautiful shops. There was also a market going on, with some fabulous items for sale. 

Lunch was eaten at U Canteen, which is a Chinese Buffet, where they cook to order. The food was extremely good and was a belated meal out for my Birthday.

Worcester is so worth a visit. There is so much to do and see. I love the higgledy-piggledy buildings, where they look like they have been squeezed in to a space.

Tomorrow we will do some more exploring.

Pop back soon xxx