To Penkridge for Pump Out!

Friday 20 April

With no final decision yet made about how far we were going today, we set off just after 8. I left Sheila setting Haywood lock whilst I nipped into the village to post a birthday card for Cathy and to buy a paper.

I got back just as the lock was ready, and worked her up. Then on to the water point to fill up and start a washload. Sheila then performed a neat reverse and turn into the junction and we headed off along the Staffs and Worcs.

Tixall and Deptmore locks were passed without much in the way of incident - it seems a long time since we came this way on 17 March with snow forecast. That time we did a long day all the way to Gailey. This time we were to an extent killing time, so settled for a mooring we've never (that I can recall) used before at Acton Trussell. After the village, the M6 comes very close to the canal, so we stopped on the towpath on the Tixall side.

The guides are a bit sniffy about Acton Trussell, especially Pearson, saying that it doesn't live up to its romantic name. In truth, it's basically a dormitory for Stafford and Wolverhampton, but the houses, though very modern, are smart, and the locals clearly take pride in their gardens.

At the far end of the village is the Acton Moat House Hotel, not part of the chain, but so called because the core of it is an old moated manor house, part of whose moat was utilised by Brindley for the canal.

Back at the boat, some time was expended in cleaning the dusty side and polishing brass, then it was inside to catch up on the blog for the two previous days and cook Thai chicken and rice. This is based on a recipe from Steve Haywood's book Fruit Flies Like a Banana, is very quick to do once all the prep is sorted, and makes a great change from my usual Chinese or curry recipes for chicken.


Saturday 21 April

Setting off at 8.15, we had a pleasant run to Teddesley, and went into Midland Chandlers there. I wanted some spare bulbs for the reading lights over the beds, and in fact decided to try one of the LED clusters they now sell. It's very expensive at £10, but will last virtually for ever, and uses a fraction of the current of the quartz halogen ones we have at the moment.

On we went to the foot of Penkridge Lock, where we saw a new thing. Thirty two years boating, and there are still surprises from time to time. In this case it was a swan white water rafting (without the raft). Penkridge is one of the deeper locks, and when you raise the bottom paddles, the water fairly boils around in the bridge hole below. This swan was deliberately swimming into the mini-maelstrom and bouncing about in it, ducking its head under from time to time. I was on the towpath holding the boat, so couldn't get hold of my camera, worse luck.

We went up the lock, waited for another boat to finish using the services point, then popped over and did a self pump out. This took about half an hour, then we winded, worked back down the lock and moored below. There was just nice time to shop before lunch. I made an impulse buy of some fresh spaghetti, to put with some Bolognese sauce I already had in the freezer. It struck me later how our attitudes to food have changed, that I took it as quite normal to be able to buy fresh pasta in a Co-op. I can remember my Mum being taught by an Italian butcher how to make Bol sauce, and explaining to a friend's mother (whilst at University, so in the 70's) how to cook spaghetti.

After all this we went back to Acton Trussell for the night. We now had the other side against the towpath, so could put in a bit of time washing and brass polishing that side. This was just about finished when some people we know from the IWA Festival team turned up, walking their dogs, a pair of Norwegian elk hounds. They'd moored a bit further down the cut.

Pat and Sheila live on Fair Fa - when we first met them, at Calveley on the Chester canal, they had three elk hounds, but sadly lost one over the winter. They (the elk hounds, that is) make super boat dogs, compact, friendly and full of personality.

We all stood round on the towpath swapping gossip about the IWA and telling stories about BW. When boaters meet, there are two unfailing topics of conversation; toilets, and the daft things BW do.

We took so long over this that it's a good job I'd planned a quick dinner. The semi-defrosted block of sauce was popped in the oven, I took a shower, and then cooked the pasta, taking a call from Graeme in the process. Note to self - 500 grams of fresh pasta is more than two people really need, though we managed to eat it all. Well, it had been a hard working day.

As a result, perhaps, we were ready for bed in good time, and just about managed to stay awake long enough to appreciate the new reading light. It's a softer light than the QH, but as such better for this purpose - it'll make it easier to read in the night without disturbing the other one.