Branston, but not pickled

We've made it to Branston today, having set off early and spent a bit of time on the Alrewas water point getting the tank good and full. As before, it also gave me time to pop into the village, get a paper and buy some more meat from the butchers. Coates opens very early in the morning, which is handy for those of us who like an early start.

We had a chance of a chat with Ann Street as we dropped down the river lock; Copperkins II was tied just the other side of the bridge from the water point.

The other highlight of the cruise was a tanker we saw as we descended Wychnor Lock. It was bright blue and decorated on the side with the company name. Now hairdressers are notorious for punning names (A Cut Above and It's a Snip and the like) and so are boats on the River Wey (Wey Ahead, Wey Down and so on) but the trend seems to be spreading to septic tank emptiers. The one we saw at Norbury Junction had as its motto "Number One in the Number Two Business", which was bad enough, but this one was called Suck*Cess.

Having arrived at Branston just in nice time for lunch, we were joined later on by Elanor and Sally bringing us our post, which let us get another lift to Morrisons, very handy. It's necessary to think ahead on this route, as the opportunities for serious shopping are quite restricted. After Burton, the next town we'll visit will be Loughborough in around five days time.

As forecast, the weather is showing signs of turning wetter, not so good for us, perhaps, but I'm sure it will be a relief to farmers and gardeners, not to mention those trying to ensure we've got enough water to float in for the summer.