Monday 12 September 2016

A new passenger, and a brief chat at Hopwas

Monday 12th September
Last Monday we moved across to the water point & topped up with water & emptied the cassettes at Rugby, we decided that we would move onto Hawkesbury Junction to meet Lee & Vicky, who were bringing their 7month old chocolate Lab called Marley for us to look after for 10 days!
These two swans were busy eating at the water point.
Swans are lovely but very much in your face!
We managed to get moored at Hawkesbury Junction on the last mooring before the stop lock. We had given Lee the postcode for the Greyhound pub, as usual Lee was running late and they didn't arrive at Hawkesbury until after 9pm! We had hoped that they would get there before it got dark to enable Jaz & Marley to get to know each other on the grassy area close by. So it was dark when they came but Kev took Jaz to meet them. It was a hectic night to say the least, both dogs got on really well and it was fun when we made the pullman up for Lee & Vicky to sleep in. They were staying the night as their flight to Mexico was at 10am from Manchester the next day. We closed off the door between our bedroom and the bathroom and all we could here was Marley crying to get into Jaz, it was funny hearing Lee trying to get Marley to go to sleep, but eventually all was quiet!
Our new passenger "Marley"
Once Lee & Vicky had left at 6am we took the dogs for a run together but we didn't let Marley off his lead as we needed him to get to know us first. Later on after our breakfast we headed to the stop lock and I fastened Marley in the back and we kept the doors closed and he was fine. We were soon on the Coventry canal and we spotted a diesel boat so we flagged him down and we pulled alongside the towpath and he pulled up alongside us and he filled the diesel tank up and we also got a gas bottle.
All done.
We were on our way again and got through Nuneaton and then we moored before bridge 27 and stayed there for the night. We had some good walks with the dogs and we even managed to get an ice cream from Springwood Haven marina! 
On Wednesday we managed to get down the Atherstone locks quite well as there was a couple lockies at the top lock and the next 2 locks there was a lockie at each. The next 6 locks were all in our favour was there was a couple of boats coming up. When we got through lock 9 we pulled over before bridge 47. There was a few stubble fields for the dogs to have a good run in.
On Friday we moved on to Polesworth and moored on the visitor moorings and Kev went to get a takeaway from one of the Chinese takeaway's there. The weather had turned a bit and we had quite a bit of rain  and wind but on Saturday lunchtime we set off from Polesworth, I stayed down below in the boat with the dogs as it was still raining when we left but it was that fine rain and kept stopping and starting but by the time we were approaching Glascote locks it had stopped and so Kev got off the boat to go and do the 2 locks there. It was quite good as there was a boat nearly ready to leave the first lock as I was approaching it so we just passed each other & I went straight into the lock, the next lock was the same with another boat coming up too. When I got out of the second lock Kev got back on board, we didn't go much further and we moored opposite Peels Wharf.
Yesterday morning I put a wash on and then we pulled across to the services and topped the water up etc and we were soon on our way again and we moored at Sutton Road Bridge so I could walk to Asda for some shopping while Kev stayed behind with the dogs. We won't leave them on the boat as Marley is a bit of a rascal! I have moved all my ornaments off the shelves as when the two dogs play Marley's tail wipes everything out in its path, he also can be a bit prone to chewing wood and so I wasn't prepared to risk leaving him. He is getting better with his behaviour though and he needs to be told! Lee said Marley will think he has come to boot camp! He has no manners and the second day he was on the boat he took my bread roll off the work top! So every time he was naughty he got a good telling off then was tied up at the back, he is now a lot better and starting to behave. 
Anyway after I had got back from the shop Kev had took them for a walk so they would settle down when we set off again.
When we were passing through Hopwas there was a boat coming towards us and the couple were pointing at R&R, I just thought they were pointing at the little dog we have on the table in the cratch as a lot of people point to him as we call him our lookout! Then Kev shouted to them as he recognised the name of the boat, "Second Star On The Right"and as they passed it was Philip & Janet. We had met them at Kev's mams 80th birthday party a few months ago and Philip is the brother of Kev's sister Angie's husband Ian, they are from Oz and come over in our summer months to cruise the canals on their boat, they were on their way back to Northampton marina where they moor the boat and then they will be going back to Oz. We didn't get a chance to have a talk as usual there was boats on the move and there wasnt much room to stop.
Nice to see you both again.
As we got through Hopwas School Bridge there was a family walking on the towpath and they shouted over to us that they had just seen a large Terrapin sat on the other side of the canal.
Quite a big one too!
The weather was quite nice today and we managed to only wear T- shirts, as I wanted to get my washing hung out to dry when we got through Tamhorn Park bridge there were some nice moorings so we pulled over and got tied up. Kev still had a bit of painting he wanted to finish and it was a nice open spot with a field for the dogs to play in. We could here a band playing quite loud and very good they sounded too, and we had a walk with the dogs and a man from one of the houses told us it was one of his neighbours 80th birthday party. The band went on for most of the day and by the evening it sounded like a disco was on.
Kev with the dogs in the field ( no crops)
They are fighting over a bunch of reeds!

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