Finishing off in Alrewas and then away for the North

15th & 16th September

I'd been expecting a call from the GP on Monday afternoon but it hadn't come, so at ten past eight yesterday I was waiting on the surgery doorstep to get an early appointment. This ploy worked as it usually does and by nine I had been seen and was on my way back to the boat. It turned out the receptionist had taken the number down with one digit wrong.

Doctor Mager-Jones was her usual helpful self and gave me a sheaf of post dated prescriptions to last almost until I'm due to see her again.

We joined the village walk later in the morning; unfortunately neither Will nor Jane could be there, but it was still very pleasant exercise. Five and a half miles later we were back in the pub for lunch. The George and Dragon continues, in my view, to be the best of the Alrewas pubs at the moment and we had a jolly time.

It was a quiet afternoon. Elanor called on her way home from work to collect her Aerobed. I think that I've been successful in patching the leak, but time will tell.

This morning we set off again on our trip north to Higher Poynton – after nearly a week it was good to be on the move. Regular readers will recall that, because of pressure on the moorings when we arrived, we had not been able to top up the water tank during the week and so a stop at Fradley was indicated. I think I've said before that the best answer to the poor water pressure at the tap on the Trent and Mersey at Fradley is to get there early before other demands on the supply reduce the pressure still further.

We managed to get away just after seven and were above Keepers Lock by ten past eight. A boat which had spent the night on the visitor moorings at Fradley was already using the water point. We tied just beyond him and were shortly able to pull back and connect our hose. In the meantime, we'd started the washing machine; after a week of being cautious with water there are a couple of washloads waiting to go.

By the time we set off again, things were getting busy and we had to queue for each lock. It never got out of hand, however, and everyone remained remarkably good tempered. We've come on to the mooring just short of Handsacre that we used last time we were coming this way and it's been a quietly pleasant afternoon.

Sheila e-mailed the Braidbar list with the suggested programme for the Owners' Weekend which is now only ten days away. We also did some internet research in connection with my private pension arrangements.

Gosh, don't they make these things complicated? We are both reasonably intelligent folk, educated to graduate and postgraduate level and with a good working knowledge of the basics of financial markets. Nonetheless, it takes a deal of careful thinking and a lot of reading to have even half a chance of making the right decisions.

Presumably, those with less knowledge or inclination just have to trust the judgement of a financial adviser and hope they are not being ripped off.

Tomorrow, we shall carry on through Rugeley on the familiar route north.