Festival!


We arrived at Norbury Junction mid afternoon on Friday . It had been a slow journey,  even by narrowboat standards, as we were following a motor and butty all through the cuttings. They are shallow, and those old boats tend to plough the bottom. They were often getting stuck under bridges where the silt tends to gather.
Apparent chaos at the Festival moorings
Soon resolved, and we were able then to find our own spot. Then to to work, setting up the stall ready for the next three days. At a recent meeting in Shrewsbury, I had collected various bits for the stall to make unloading the car with the remainder a little easier.  

We would have then joined the boaters dinner, but couldn't with no gluten  free option available. So a quiet night in, ready for the onslaught.

Up and ready for action, 9am.  Disembark all the valuable, pinchable stuff to take to the stall. Gossip with old mates, chat to new faces, talk to everyone about the Fund Britain's Waterways campaign, squint at the clouds and hope they stay away or at least don't rain. At 4pm shut up shop, take valuables back on board, go to the pub.

Sunday: rinse and repeat.
Monday: same except for the clouds .. please, please don't rain just as we want to pack up.

And all of a sudden  it was all over . Off to the Big City next.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the move!

Image
Thursday 21st, and an ideal morning for a hike; mild, cloud cover but no rain expected, and a cool breeze. So I packed my lunch and headed off following a tour suggested by a hiking app on my phone. It mostly worked well, except where a so called path met an impenetrable hedge; there were a couple of detours required. But lovely countryside And loads of butterflies about. Here's the next generation: lots of striped caterpillars: In one village I came across a telephone box repurposed as a library. There was a bit more road walking than I really like, but when it's a quiet one, I should not moan too much.. certainly easier to walk on than stubble fields etc. Soon into more congenial territory: and then out the other side, what looked very much like a bit of Stourport basin, but on top of a hill in a cornfield. Turns out it was the stable block for a big Manor house. Now, it's a Franciscan mon...
Read more

Calor Gas crisis averted

There is currently a major supply issue ref Calor gas bottles in the UK. It's being going on for some time and there is some confusion over what has caused it. Some blame has been pointed at people buying patio heaters during the Covid-19 pandemic. Certainly Calor do not seem to be making much progress in sorting the problem.  Marinas and fuel boats seem to have been particularly badly hit with Calor either not delivering at all or only delivering a fraction of what was ordered. There have been many social media posts from canal liveaboards who are reliant on gas for cooking & heating and also from the fuel boats trying to supply them. So, when I was at the boat and tried in vain to light the oven to cook my half-baked baguette for lunch and then found that the spare was empty too, my heart sank. Quickly discovered that the marina had no gas available and could not even put us on a waiting list as they did not know when they might receive any... Luckily a recommendation from th...
Read more

Run for Home 11th to 14th June

During the trip to and from Froghall, Andrew became overwhelmed with the need to get home. He'd had it with trees and birds and being outside, and could not rest until we were back at our mooring in Nantwich.  So we were champing at the bit for the first passage of the day through Harecastle Tunnel. We did manage to get to the Italian restaurant, La Barchetta at Wheelock, after many occasions either not stopping there or the place not being open, and it was lovely.  Disappointed that both our pudding choices were unavailable,  Andrew in his unsettled state especially so. However, where we had diaried 5 days to cover the 35 miles and 31 locks back to Nantwich, we did it in 3 1/2, not even pausing at Middlewich (except at the King's Lock Chippy, obviously). And then we were home and I was not even sure at that point if he would ever go back to the boat again. However, it certainly was good to watch the election night on our big telly, Andrew in his comfy chair and me in the...
Read more