Off we go again

I found myself lying awake in the night wondering if the wind would moderate sufficiently for us to get away today, but needn't have worried. Although it was mizzling down in a rather unpleasant way first thing, there was very little wind at half eight, and I made the turn out of the junction without too much trouble.

There was a fair amount of traffic about, but we only had to wait a little while at both Haywood and Colwich Locks. There was plenty of room to tie here at the Pig Farm by Bridge 69, which we reached at half ten.

We spent the rest of the morning pottering about, mainly on the internet, and listening to the wind rising again. Early boating was the answer today, no doubt about it.

Just as we were thinking of getting some lunch, Hadar was seen through the portholes, apparently coming in to tie. In fact they'd just stopped to sell some coal to the boat tied behind us, which didn't prevent us all having a good old natter on the towpath for about half an hour.

We've not had a chance to catch up for a couple of years, so it was very good to be able to do so. Jo is now selling mats and coasters based on her wildlife photography, so we've bought a set for Walnut Lodge.

The afternoon has slipped quietly by, Squirrel lit and the paper to read. It's still pretty yucky out there; we're hoping for an improvement before a longish day's boating tomorrow, through Rugeley with a shopping stop and on to Kings Bromley.