Cold winds, not even May yet

We know from Sonnet 18 that spring time winds were an inconvenience even in Shakespeare's day, so I guess we mustn't complain too much that the recent incredible weather has given way to more typical end-of-April cool and windy conditions.

Sheila steered us round to Peel's Wharf, where you can just fit a seventy footer onto the service wharf. We hooked up the hosepipe to the well-pressured tap, and, whilst it was running, I nipped off to the Tesco Express to get a paper.

The tank was three quarters full on my return, and we sat there for another 15 minutes or so until it was brimming. Off we went again, Sheila steering round the tricky turn under the road bridge at the junction, so that we were now indisputably on the Birmingham and Fazeley: the section from Fazeley to Whittington having been built by the B&F, but now usually counted as part of the Coventry.

I started the washing machine running, and set up and lit the stove, it being that cold. Apart from anything else, it clearly wasn't going to be a day for the whirligig, so we needed some decent warmth in the boat to help the clothes to dry.

There were a lot of boats scattered along the towpath, but some space on our usual mooring at the foot of the Curdworth flight. Indeed, a boat was just leaving from the prime spot, so I hovered whilst he got himself untied and finally pottered off.

Admittedly, Sanity Again had by then blown across the cut into the reeds on the offside and was well stemmed up, but I was a good little boater and refrained from suggesting that he might for once get a move on. Some energetic shafting at both ends pulled her across, whereupon the only other boat on the moorings untied and left as well.

(Note well; neither of these boats "pulled pins"; they had sensibly tied themselves to chains passed through the waling of the piling. ;) )

We've spent the rest of the day peacefully sitting here by the Water Park. The new toilet tank gauge has just started reading three quarters full, and we plan to pump out at Fazeley Mill on the way back. As it's the first time we've let the tank get as full as that since the new probe was fitted, I satisfied myself that it was working properly by dismantling the relevant bit of the bed, extracting the probe and dipping the tank.

It was indeed almost exactly three quarters full, so that's a relief.

We'll stay put here today, then amble back to Huddlesford on Thursday, where we plan to rendezvous with Elanor that night; she works her final shift in the present job tonight, not having had a break since she started over two weeks ago. You can understand why she's looking for another job!