Festival! Thursday 30th April - Monday 4th May

Thursday dawned beautifully sunny, and since the forecast was not so good for Friday, we decided against a day off exploring Market Drayton in favour of getting down to Norbury Junction to find our allotted mooring.

We're the IWA Support Boat, don't you know.

Tyrley locks are always picturesque 
despite their notoriously fierce bywashes. Even Woodseaves was doing its gloomy best.. it is a very deep, heavily wooded cutting, shallow and narrow. And i was at the tiller so could not take time to find a pretty view.

But we did snap local celebrity, Henry the Heron.
A quiet afternoon on board, very much the calm before the storm.

Friday 1st May - set up

Display stand, banner, A frame, teardrop banners, tables, literature, bric a brac, you name it, everything turned up in the back of a car.  Except for extras, which are always legion.. to display a jumper, a hanger from on board.. a bit of wire to display a watercolour.. a bolt to replace a missing one.. each time trotting back to the boat, 100 yards away.

Which was looking pretty, too.


Around us the other boats were gathering, and everything was shaping up nicely.

Saturday and the sunshine and crowds were upon us. A busy day on the stand with the 2027 calendars hot off the press.


All sorts of trading and historic boats, including a convoy of steam launches, all brass and varnish. Two trip boats busy all day.

In short, proper festival..

It rained overnight, a lot. Next day,  the weather was drier than forecast, but cold, and visitors were sparse. Monday much better, but we weren't sorry when 4pm rolled around and we could pack up, load the car, and have a little sit in the pub..

Thanks Norbury, but now it's time to move on.

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