A glorious potter in Stourport

It's been a very good day for pottering-type boating as opposed to navigation. After a lazy start, we sorted out the anchor and the life jackets, then worked down York Street lock and found both the short length of visitor mooring and the service wharf occupied. However, the boat on the service wharf was wanting a pump out but didn't have a card, so needed to wait until Limekiln Chandlers opened at half nine so that they could buy one. Accordingly, they pulled back onto an odd bit of unused wharf and Sheila shoe-horned Sanity Again in in front of him.

The pump out hose was ludicrously short and we ended up pulling forward and overlapping with the boat on the VM. This boat was filling with water and crewed by very friendly folk so a good bit of canal chatting went on between the three boats as all this was going on. Once we'd pumped out, I nipped into Limekiln myself to buy an up to date Pearson's Guide, no problem there, and a replacement pump out card for the one I'd just used. Of these, they were sold out...

Fortunately, Starline Cruisers were now open and our new friends pushed over there to get their pump out – at a better price of £14 rather than £16 for the brief CRT option. The other boats duly moved off and we've pulled forward onto the VM for the night. Whilst all this was going on, an ex-CanalTime boat, City of Durham, came down the lock and onto the pump out. Her steerer, Nick, is a follower of this blog, excellent chap, and he came over and made himself known to us.

It was good to meet you, Nick, it's always nice to have the reassurance that there are people out there reading my witterings!

After coffee, we made an expedition to the Co-op and Post Office. There was a Photo-me booth there, so we've finally been able to get out passport photos for our new bus passes. Back at the boat, it was just nice time for lunch. It's very pleasant indeed here, especially as the sun has returned today. We've washed the roof and one side of the boat, removing the evidence of having been tied under trees for the last three nights, thank you birdies.

The clock on the Clock Warehouse rings out the hours and there's a general feeling of living heritage. The Tontine Hotel has found a new purpose as upmarket apartments. Pearson rightly says that a tontine was an odd Victorian financial gamble whereby a group of friends each contributed to an investment, in this case an hotel, and the last survivor won the lot. He comments that it would make an excellent basis for a thriller.

Clearly hasn't read The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson, then, nor seen the 1966 film which starred John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers...

Location:Stourport