On to All Oaks Wood

Only of course the trees mostly seem to be beeches these days...

A seven o'clock start and round onto the water point on the Oxford to top up the tank. We weren't the first on the move; a smart R D Davis was ahead of us through the stop lock. Sheila managed the tricky turn with her usual panache and then did most of the subsequent steering on a very pleasant morning indeed.

The main fun was at Stretton Stop, the Rose Narrowboats base with a swing footbridge over the narrows. There were sundry hire boats and privateers playing chicken there; we held back against one of the moored boats to let them sort themselves out.

We had a hail from Elly of Parisien Star which was out of the water on blocks, I guess for a survey. Sadly these engaging Aussies are finishing their year on board; one less blog to follow.

We've tied at All Oaks, the mooring for Brinklow. It's busy here and we can expect things to get busier from here on in. We've had to tie on pins off the end of the decent piling, bumping a bit on the dreaded Oxford Canal sloping wash wall despite deploying the tyre fenders.

We've rinsed and microfibred the starboard side and persuaded ourselves that it doesn't need another coat of polish for the time being.

We've also had an email from Susan at Braidbar about the evening arrangements for Crick. Because we'll have Elanor and Sally, aka the Black Hearted Sinner Dog, with us, we're going to host both evenings which will be good fun.

Malcolm, Martin, Graham, Beryl, Peter and Susan: do not worry, Sally likes humans!

Honestly, we'll try and stop her climbing into your laps. At 35kg, she's a bit much for a lap dog.

:)

Incidentally, if you are planning to come and see round Santiago, there's still time to book a viewing slot. Just give Susan a ring on 01625 873471.