Heading for home

With around three hours boating to do, we set off just after seven this morning, the time between ten and eleven being optimum for getting a mooring at Alrewas. It was a bit overcast with the sun trying to break through by shining under the edge of the cloud. As I looked back at one point, the light had caught the cooling towers and stack of Rugeley power station in dramatic fashion. A latter day Omar Kayyam might have written

Awake! for morning in the bowl of night

Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight

And lo! the Hunter of the East has caught

The Rugeley smokestack in a noose of light.

OK, maybe not.

It was a pretty straightforward run to Woodend which we reached almost exactly an hour after setting off. The lock was full so I was able to go straight in after Sheila had swung the top gate. Down and through we went and on to Shade House which, like all the subsequent locks, was against us. Nonetheless we made good progress with some traffic beginning to appear in the opposite direction.

There was a boat ahead of us at Keepers which proved to be Ann and Iain on Kelpie, the renamed Prairie Crocus II that they've not long acquired. We only had time for a brief chat as there were boats on the move both ways by now. We got to Bagnall just before half ten, so three hours cruising and a bit of waiting time for boats to use locks in the opposite direction. No problem finding a space here. We had a coffee and filled the time before lunch with some emailing and similar online work.

Since lunch we've been shopping, Co-op and butcher, and I've made some bread dough which is presently proving in the shape of eight baps. The forecast is not too bad for tomorrow, so we'll probably head on down to Branston and carry on to Mercia on Wednesday.