A weekend at Great Haywood

24th & 25th January

It was a slow start yesterday, after a bit of a restless, cold sort of night. It was seriously frosty when I finally poked my head out, and rolling the cratch cover became quite painful; you can't wear gloves to do it properly, and by the end my finger tips were complaining in no uncertain terms.

(We always roll the cratch cover, both sides, when boating. It just makes life so much easier getting on and off, and saves worrying about tearing it on tree branches and the like.)

Eventually I set off, and it wasn't long before I was arriving at the junction at Great Haywood. There had been no ice at all on the Wide, but there was a smidgen on the canal itself, but not enough to make any difference to the boating.

I'd intended to tie through Bridge 74, opposite the Farm Shop car park, but as I turned and lined up on the bridge 'ole, I could see two boats already tied there. There would probably have been room for Sanity as well, but rather shoe horned on, and there didn't seem much point.

The only thing was, I was now opposite the water point. Looking back, I could see plenty of room on the moorings between the junction and the bridge, so reversed Sanity all the way back there, I'm pleased to say without too much hassle.

Having settled on a mooring, I nipped to the shop at the lower end of the village, then after coffee set to and cleaned out the well deck. I needed to refill the coal box, so it seemed a good time to do this bit of housework. That's put my last two bags of coal in the box; I just hope I'll be able to get some more at Anglo Welsh tomorrow.

Elanor rolled up at lunchtime, and afterwards we took a walk in cold, clear conditions. A bit of cosy reading followed, after which she treated me to a meal in the Clifford Arms. This is the second time I've eaten there -– it's a pleasant, not too expensive pub, with a good choice of ales, and a varied menu. Portion sizes are generous, in fact in the case of the chicken goujon starter, ridiculously so.

We duly staggered out after a good meal and found our way back to the boat. There was more chat in the saloon before toddling off to bed. Today, Elanor had to be up in good time, as she had a riding lesson at eleven, so by nine I was on my own again.

A little walk to the shop got the Sunday paper, and I've had a quiet time of it since, watching another Indiana Jones DVD, reading the paper and generally loafing. Oh, and I've caught up with some email backlog, which is always good.

Just as I was getting ready to write this post, there was a knocking on the roof. On investigation, this proved to be Sue from No Problem, calling by for a natter whilst walking the dogs. We had a good chat before she went off with them again. It's always good to meet up with fellow bloggers.

Plan for the night is eat, read, sleep, then move onto the water point in the morning, and as I say, hopefully get some coal. The gas supply is a bit low as well, I reckon; on lighting a ring, there's a faint whiff of gas, which always seems to indicate that the cylinder is nearly exhausted. This would be handy, in fact, as Anglo Welsh are doing a special offer on propane at the moment.

Once that's done, I'll probably go back to Tixall for a couple of nights before ambling off towards Penkridge again. It's at that stage where it's not possible to make firm plans. If Cathy produces on time (she's due on Tuesday) then Sheila will probably rejoin me next Saturday, but of course, if not, not, and babes famously come when they are ready, not before.