You can tell we've been busy – neither Sheila nor I have had time to do the regular blog, so this is a catch up.
On Sunday, I spent time with the sparks gang again, firstly checking that all was well on the show site, then assisting Malcolm Bridge to wire a new set of lights to the genny trailer – these are fancy state of the art ones, LED based so that they well take either 12 or 24 volts – no need to change them depending on which vehicle is towing.
It was a reasonably straightforward job for an experienced hobby electrician like Malcolm – the main problem being getting the relevant bits off the trailer.
Meanwhile Sheila was doing the behind the scenes stuff that's not very glamorous but is nonetheless essential, like litter picking and rubbish collection. It makes all the difference to a show if the site remains tidy and presentable throughout.
The show was very busy in warm but rather humid weather – it felt like it might thunder at any time, but never did.
Monday was another day for routine stuff, making for a relaxed start (ie eight o'clock) and pottering round keeping the show going. I spent much of the day driving the little tug we borrow from Wood Hall and Heward, Lenny. Lenny is actually two sterns of Springer narrow boats welded together with a BMC 1.5 under the deck. She's capable of pushing a big pan, but we use her for rubbish collection and the like.
She also took part in the parade of historic boats, carrying three members of the Police presence at the show. The early evening was a case of flinging ourselves back on site, taking down banners, clearing up rubbish and so forth.
Later in the evening, an old colleague of mine, Gethin Griffith, now working at Brunel University, took us out to dinner. We had a very pleasant meal at an Italian place we found not far from Praed Street. It was good to catch up on gossip from Bangor – being still in the groves of academe, he's kept up with their doings much more than I've been able to.
Tuesday was a matter of more of the same, dismantling the last bits of the show structures, sweeping and litter picking and so on. We managed to get Sanity round to the coal and diesel boats Archimedes and Ara to get diesel, before Sheila, Liz and I took Opportunity back to the Laburnum Boat Club, dropping off the market stalls at Camden on the way.
At half six I set off to collect Michael from Stansted Airport. This was one of those logistic exercises which went surprisingly well. In order to get back from Laburnum, I'd got a couple of Oyster cards, the cashless system for paying for tube and bus journeys in London, and I was able to use those to get from Paddington to Liverpool Street Station, to catch the Stansted Express to the airport. The plane was on time, and we were back at the boat by eleven.
Today we set off on our travels again. The weather has been getting hotter and hotter as the week's gone on, and sun block and floppy hats were definitely needed. We had a good trip along the length of the Regent's Canal, arriving at Limehouse by four.
Michael took to lock working as if born to it, Sheila steered ands I ran around making sure everything went to plan ( OK, this is the way I see it). Highlights of the trip:
- A pair of coots mating on a floating plank above St Pancras Lock
- A sunbathing terrapin on another plank a bit later on, below Mile End Lock
- A family of swans sharing Johnson's Lock with us.
We're now tied on the wall at Limehouse, hiding from the sun, getting cool showers and planning to go for a meal in the Grapes tonight. Tomorrow, the Thames.
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