A new phrase in our household is 'don't let the old man in' (or old woman) a reminder to not give in to old age either mentally or physically. The physical bit in some ways is easier to control than the mental bit. As I get older confidence waines and with it comes a sprinkling of anxiety - especially so when despite copious amounts of planning things run out of your control. I may be being hard on myself as all through life plans are made then events outside of my control render the plans adjusted busted and/or lost or changed. I guess as you get older you tend irrationally to blame yourself rather than the universe for such happenings.
Back to that later... to complete this story of Percy's adventure we have to look back a few days to the last post when we arrived and our mooring had not been vacated by the incumbent boater the alternative offer was too short so we ended up with great relief onto our friends mooring just past bridge 44, she being away for blacking.... all up to date?
Saturday saw me get the electric (ha!) Brompton from the forecabin pump the tyres up and head off 18 miles back to Great Haywood to collect the car.... despite judicious use of the electric motor the battery gave up on me about 8 miles in ! Not wishing to give the battery a free ride I dumped it under a hedge in an industrial park just off the A34 noting the location on my phone and peddled the remaining 10 miles to collect the car. Fed and watered at the canal side cafe I drove back picked up the useless battery ( I need to rebuild it with new cells.... any experience of that out there or links to places that do it ?) and back to our mooring squat.
Then off to Derby for event 1 in young grandsons Teddy's 6th birthday weekend, a meal at TGI Fridays in Derby.... god I'm old - loud loud loud .... I was sooo glad to leave not helped by a banging headache. Back to the boat, eat sleep wake drive back to Trowel this time to help set up for his 'official' birthday party complete with about 15 'mates' who had a high level of competency in screaming and running around all fueled by sugar... He had a good time as did his little brother Benny who I had the honour of accompanying on the bouncy castle !
Tranquility restored by getting back to the boat, anxiety increased by lack of contact I was expecting from the mooring manager/owner/farmer etc etc. A contact was made to Overwater marina for a plan B and a few options reviewed but sadly discounted associated with a possible mooring when we used to moor just past bridge 44.
A frustrating and somewhat mardy (me) night saw us getting up on Bank holiday Monday ( yesterday) pondering a few jobs and waiting on contact re the mooring as we were time limited on our friends mooring obviously. We decided we needed a good walk so took ourselves off to the Norbury canal festival about a six and a half mile round trip back down the canal but a very enjoyable walk as it was when I used to take Leai for breakfast at the cafe at Norbury - she always having the sausage off my plate as her part of the treat.
Pizza coffee and cake consumed plus a few bits for presents and a txt saying we could put Percy on a different larger mooring - spirits raised we yomped off back to Percy deciding if to move that evening or wait until next weekend. As we were committed in some part next weekend we fired up the donk, and set off north to wind at the canopy makers winding hold before a slow fly past our old moorings again to head south to hopefully a new home for Percy to the short/medium/long term... to look back on when we know the answer to that !
The wind got up blowing off mooring ( always helps - not) and a boat approaching a small final test of patience and reward. Of course nothing having been in this mooring for a while it was silted up more than off side moorings usually are... with the wind being mean and the canal bottom close to the top we had to use what muscle power I have to drag Percy to the edge, using the prop to dig and pull the silt thru the mooring noting with some envy the ratchet straps and shroppie wheels used by one of the boats adjacent - tells is story in one.
In tied up introduced ourselves to the neighbour and car fetched we had arrived. We were told it was a traders mooring and they were away for the summer - I don't want to move mooring again so that might be an issue later in the year....
So we left Shebdon just after bridge 44 September 2021 and arrived back between Bullocks bridge and bridge 44 May 2023.... some blacking cruise !
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