Sunday 16 July 2017

Ruggedly through Rugeley

When we were boating earlier in the year, the weather tended to be fine in the morning and any rain fell in the afternoon, which was largely the right way round. This month, it seems to be the reverse, with damp mornings and dry afternoons. It mizzled down most of the time I was steering today, though it only got serious towards the end. (I’m not sure if mizzled is a verb in a meteorological context, though I’m sure you all know what I mean. Its other use is a piece of thieves cant from between the World Wars, meaning to abscond, vide the Doctor Thorndyke stories of R Austin Freeman.)

Anyway, off we went just on half eight and had a pleasant trip past the thrills of the Armitage Shanks plumbers porcelain factory and the gothic romance of Spode House and Hawksyard Priory, Staffordshire’s miniature Gormenghast. (Q: What does the Armitage factory have in common with the Palace of Westminster? A: you can get promoted in both for making a right bog of your job.)

We got to the shopping moorings by Bridge 66 just on half ten, so a pretty accurate estimation of travel time. We’ve done a successful bit of shopping, though for some reason Dr. Scholl’s moleskin for sore spots on your feet is no longer available anywhere we try. Very odd.

Off we went again just after eleven. The original plan had been to stop on the Brindley Bank visitor moorings, but they were very busy and we had some time in hand, so we’ve come on closer to the Taft Wharf moorings, stopping on a handy bit of Armco just short of the pig farm. It means that we’ll get to Colwich Lock even earlier than planned tomorrow morning, always a good thing when the cut is as busy as it is today. Naturally, once we’d committed to going on, the rain started in earnest.

Humorous wildlife note: ravens may be incredibly intelligent according to a recent report, but pigeons are definitely much less so. We saw a pair billing and cooing near the power station today, one each side of a two metre high mesh fence…



Location:Rugeley

3 comments:

KevinTOO said...

Try amazon.co.uk Bruce they seem to have some available or look here... https://youtu.be/fePU5CIHpas

Jo said...

"I nipped below and got a wash load running – I’m sure regular readers will be relieved to hear that…"
I've been at Wimbledon today as you'll know so only caught up with the weekend blogs now as I drink a cup of tea and settle back home. So I was indeed mightily relieved with the above passage from Saturday. All is now right with the world and I can turn in with peace in my heart!

Bruce in Sanity said...

Thanks, Kevin. Chemist Direct probably has them as well, but we won't have a useable postal address now until we get to Poynton. Could use a Post Office, of course, but it's not that urgent, just a matter of restocking. It's one of those curiosities that something that was commonplace in a pharmacy you went into has apparently disappeared.

Jo: hope you weren't too disappointed with the men's final – good to be there to see history being made, I guess.

Cheers

Bruce