Where do the days go?

My two days off of work seem to fly by and I never do get far away from the canal! Tuesday saw me heading off south with a pair of working boats, owned by some good friends of mine. In actual fact I used to live on the butty boat prior to moving to Norbury some six years ago. I had a great day out with them and we ended the day by sitting talking about boats with some other acquaintances. Yesterday I drove upto Anderton; not to see the Anderton Boat Lift - although it seems more impressive each time I visit, but to see Sue and to have lunch in the Stanley Arms. Since we went to Chester before Easter she has been to Ellesmere Port, across the Mersey to Liverpool, Wigan and back down to Anderton. She is off down the lift to Northwich next, then back up the lift to Middlewich and Braunston. I was then back here for 5.30pm to take Simon to Stafford station (I had to ensure he didn’t miss his train haha) and then I was off to Church Eaton to meet Karen on Dave off of Sandpiper. I boarded the boat whilst Dave was expertly turning the boat round and then had a ride back to Norbury with them, which also included a stop in Gnosall for a well needed pint and chip butty in the Boat Inn. That’s the first time I must have been in the Boat for nearly three years, and I must say it is a vast improvement from then.

The day seems to have flown by today. Steve has been making his way along our moorings up the main line with the mini digger to make the path a bit wider. I think it is going to prove to be a slightly bigger job than we first envisaged, but it will be well worth it when it’s done. Bernard has been doing some jobs on a couple of private boats, as has Graham. Lorraine has been getting Princess and Motorhome 1 ready for going out at the weekend, whilst Ange and Jay have been occupied in the shop and tearoom, taking holiday bookings and generally looking after our customers. Lee is making good progress with Falcon. He is now at the undercoating stage – I will get you some pictures tomorrow.

Best regards,

David