Off we go again.

Having praised Norbury Wharf in my last blog, I find I have to qualify that this time, I fear. Things started well this morning, with one of the guys lifting the end of the top stop plank at five to eight, just as we were getting breakfast. The dock took just on an hour to refill, and they started shuffling boats about to clear a route out up the arm as it was finishing.

With the planks out of the way, and the gangway lifted up, we all started to pull the boat towards the bright sunny morning. Unfortunately, the boat shuffling hadn't been quite enough, and both as we left the dock, and again as we got to the bridge over the towpath, quantities of our nice new blacking were left behind on copings and other boats. I know that it will get scraped soon enough, but for it not to survive even the exit from the dock is infuriating. I mean this is 845 quidsworth we're talking about.

In addition, the roof was covered in fine rusty detritus from the cross beams of the dock roof, which are elderly steel, and an offer to wash us off would not have come amiss.

I suspect part of the problem is that there's only a skeleton staff on a Sunday, and we'd not long started on the boat moving when Steve got a call on the radio to come and see the day boat out. This added an air of rush to the whole thing, and Steve went off well before we'd left the arm.

It's a real pity; as I said yesterday, the quality of the work was good, and the charge very reasonable, but we'll think hard before going back.

I'll get the photos sorted out in the next couple of days and put them up.

Having got onto the service wharf, we had another rather expensive pump out and some cheap diesel, and a couple of bags of house coal. Then we crossed over to the water point and settled down to refill the tank whilst starting a washload.

Here we had another irritating experience. There are a lot of boats tied on the offside opposite the water point, so that there was just enough room (maybe nine or ten foot) to pass our stern. Most boats made it without difficulty, just slowing down and taking  it easy. This strategy did not commend itself to the hirer on Sir Galleron from Countrywide Cruisers, who kept the revs on, swung Sanity Again about and finally clouted her one.

The hose reel fell off the bow locker lid, taking my nearly full mug of coffee with it. Coffee and bits of mug covered the well deck, so it's goodbye to my personal Braunston tunnel mug that I've been using ever since we moved on board.

Heigh ho, it's too nice a day to stay angry for long, I guess.

We've stopped at Gnosall for the night. No Vodafone signal on the 48 hour moorings – you have to stop on the 5 day ones in the cutting for that – but a fast 3 connection.

We walked up into Gnosall proper to get some fresh lettuce and cucumber, but no Voda signal up there, either. Very odd – I mean, I know we're out in the wop wops as they say in NZ, but surely Gnosall is a big enough place to justify a mast?

Tomorrow, on through Wheaton Aston and Brewood to stop by Bridge 7, then a long day to Hatherton, definitely not stopping in the Pendeford area, it being the school holidays. We've noticed a huge increase in boat traffic already, so no doubt the little darlings on the estates round there will be out and about and looking for mischief.