A great weekend at Braidbar

20th & 21st September

In a short phrase, it all went very well. We had a steady flow of visitors during the morning yesterday, the first arriving at around 9.15, and the last leaving at 6.30.

It slowed right down over lunchtime and into the early afternoon, but then we had a late burst that kept us going right through the end of the day.

Comparing it to Crick, it was noticeable that it was a different mix of people, and each party took a lot longer. This was, I guess, because these folks had made a serious effort to see specifically Braidbar boats, and were obviously either actively in the market for a new boat, or seriously considering their options in that regard.

There was none of the casual visitors that we get at Crick, where to an extent we are just part of the entertainment of the family day out. An extra bonus was that Tim Tyler the shell builder came for most of the day, and we had a chance in the lull to chat to him about his side of the work.

After it was all over, we settled down to relax in the evening. We had a large barbecue, with a lot of the meat supplied by Peter and Sue Mason. Peter also put in a virtuoso performance as a barbecue chef. There was plenty of wine, and as it got cooler and darker, we retreated to the house for dessert, cheese and the quiz Sheila and I had prepared.

Focussing on canals and Braidbar, of course, this caused much hilarity and seemed to be taken in just the right spirit, that is, not too seriously, but with some attempt by the teams to get some answers right. We didn't finish until late, and it must have been one o'clock before we were in bed.

Nonetheless, we didn't feel more than a bit tired this morning, and we've had a very pleasant and gentle day in fine weather (at last).

At eleven several of us went down to the Anson Museum, a short walk from the yard. It is mostly about old engines, but also has a section about the local history of Poynton.

They had a fair number of engines running, including some from the late nineteenth century. It's interesting (for some of us) to see the various alternative designs for an internal combustion engine that were tried before the Otto four stroke cycle became so dominant.

We came back to the yard and ate lunch in the sun on the lawn, then we all turned to and took down the bunting, the tent and so on, and put things back to its usual operating layout.

This evening we're going down the pub (the Boar's Head) for a meal together as the last bit of the Owners' Weekend. It's been enough of a success for people to want to do it again next year; we just have to pick a weekend that avoids the CIBC rally and the Huddlesford Boat Gathering, if we can.

Tomorrow we'll probably leave the yard and set off towards Alrewas for the first half of the stoppage season.