Hello Colin Marshall and all,

I write this for Colin one of our Avid readers who reports to my brother when I haven't written, so as he is hounding me again I thought I'd better write, well he thoroughley enjoys his regular fix of our nonsense, and who am I to stop his little pleasures,so for you Colin.

I know I am not writing much at the moment, but that's because we are in the Marina and we dont really have adventures in here, although it is beautiful you are just not going to get the action packed installments, that you have when we are out.

I am putting some photo's up on the Gallery to show you just how lovely it is on the Cut at this time of year, every day changes colour, the sky the trees the sunrise and sunset, so for us it still makes it as exiting and we can pop out of the marina for little jaunts, when the fancy takes us, however with my little job now up until Christmas in the Asda Superstore we are a little tide to here, but it will pay for my frivolities, such as hair do's and shoes which I always need.

Richard went home last week for a couple of days to see Simon and Sarah and Jamie and Zoe, and also his favorite band who were playing at the Arts Centre in King's Lynn (Nine Below Zero) "I know I'd never heard of them either" but they wrote and played the Old Grey Whistle test themetune,  for our readers who are old enough to remember that. so I just mooched around the boat cleaning the brasses that got rained upon as soon as I had finished doing them, so they are as bad as when I started.The weather is changing this weekend and we are in for some cold weather so hopefully I may be able to get some frosty pictures for you, I have just taken some of the birds by the boat aswell there were Gold finches, Tits of all kinds, and a woodpecker, but I need a longer lens cos I'm just not getting the photo's I want, so maybe father Christmas will bring me a longer lens for my Nikon D40, and if he doesn't I will just have to get closer to my subjects we will see.

Bye for now

Love

Chrissie & Richard x x

Back on our Boat

Hello I know it’s been a long time since I last wrote but as you know we have been very busy with looking after Ash the dog and Kimberley and the house so I have been unable to write, “well I haven’t really been unable it’s just that excuses excuses excuses” well I just didn’t, but now I am, and we were so busy that we forgot to write about our little visit that we had between the party which was a lovely unexpected surprise from our lovely Niece Kathy “Sergeant Jackson” who had finished a tour of service in Cyprus, she has now been posted to Germany but she was over on a visit and she had bought her Nieces with her, Heidi & Cary’s our Great Nieces, all very confusing, anyway because I uploaded their pictures and videos on to Facebook for the family to see, I forgot to give them a mention on here so just letting you know that we are often getting some lovely unexpected visitors and its always lovely and don’t forget visitors you get a mention too.

Whilst we were at Hopwas we had the use of the car so I took a little trip to King'slynn to see the Grandchildren and Hayley and Jamie, as they are always to busy to with work and the children to come down here, so it was lovely to see Harvey and Ellie dressed up in their Halloween costumes.

Kimberley had been really helpful with everything and it was a pleasure being at the house with her, but it was good to see Joey and Jayne come back in the early hours of Sunday morning so that we could get back on to our lovely boat as we were missing it dreadfully, there really is no place like home, and this is our home now. Richard had bought the boat from Fazely Mill Marina to Hopwas on Friday so that we could light the fire and air the place out although we had been over during the fortnight putting on the central heating and checking everything out, because we did have some right frosty weather and you never know what might happen, don’t forget it’s all new to us. So on Sunday morning we turned around down at the winding hole and came back to Fazely,having our own rememberance service and two minute silence with the radio along the way, and it was quite lovely and peaceful, the weather was perfect, but changed as soon as we hit the Marina so we were very lucky that we didn’t get soaked,  we are staying here until the New year, because there are closures and repairs go on, on a lot of the canals from now until March but hopefully when we go out in the New Year we will be able to avoid any problems. We are loving the Marina everyone is so friendly and helpful and we look forward to spending Christmas here, and I have got myself a little Christmas job in one of the large supermarkets, just a nice little job with no great worries about, month ends or other such things, so I’ll earn an extra few bob along the way. At the moment I am doing alot of bird and wildlife watching at the moment as you know it’s a beautiful little haven here our boat is right next to the wood and  Linda the lady on the boat next door has a bird feeding station set up and we are seeing all kinds, we also have squirrels and Lions and Tigers “well not Lion and Tigers but it is lovely I hope to get the best picture’s especially of a kingfisher as we have plenty round here, I have now set up my tripod so hopefully I will get a good picture for you.

A Birthday mention for another of our Nieces Joanne, happy birthday for the 5th of November and look forward to seeing you when we do.

 Until next time

Lots of Love

Chrissie & Richard x x

After the Party

Hello thought I’d better write in case you forget about us and that would never do!! After sending off Emma and Stuart who had stayed with us on the boat for the party down at Hopwas we went back to the Marina to get a few jobs done, touching up etc, (the boat not me) still not got to planting my little garden the plants I bought are still in the pots they came in, but they will have to wait now and I’ll tell you why I was shopping with Jayne last Thursday, she needed a few last minute cruisey things to go off on their Caribbean Cruise on Friday then we were going to go up to the house Richard and I to go through what went where, when to put the bins out and all that sort of stuff, anyway Joey called Jayne and I in town and said there was something wrong with Ash (Their dog) he seemed quite perky but could not walk, so Jayne told him to bring him straight to the vet that is very handily in the pet store where we were, Well the vet took a good look at Ash and said that having Xrayed and checked him all over they would need to operate this was at 7pm in the evening so we had to leave  him there, the vet operated and kept him in for the night, so with Joey and Jayne away on the cruise, we are left not just looking after the house and Kimberley, but also poor little invalid Ash. We brought Ash from the hospital on Friday afternoon and the poor little might was drugged up to the eyeballs to keep him from getting to exited or racing around and damaging himself, he has a big stitched scar up his tummy and also a couple of stitches in another opening they did under his back leg, where there appears to be a lump which is still there, they could find nothing wrong with him, well not something that he had swallowed but he did have some rotten meat left in his intestines, it appears he had eaten so much at the party or found the scraps after it, that it hadn’t been digested and had caused him a bad case of gastroenteritis (that is my spelling before spell checking) so remember do not allow animals to come to party’s they are fed by all and sundry cos they make themselves look cute and hungry and everyone thinks a little taste of whatever they are eating won’t hurt, but if there are a hundred people at the party then that’s alot of scraps for the dog, and a very expensive lesson too,  nigh on seven hundred quid, they do have the dog insured which is very fortunate for them.

Saturday we had  Simon & Sarah , and Jamie and Zoe coming to stay for the night at the house with us, which with that many people is a whole lot easier to put them up, we can really only do two at a time, on the boat, so we had to get Jaynes dad to come with me to take Ash back to the vet on Saturday afternoon because I don’t know the way on my own and Richard was entertaining the family ( so thanks Chris Wood for doing that) the vet was pleased with Ash’s progress and asked to see him again on Monday so we took him to see her, she didn’t give him the injected drug that was a pain killer and keeping him calm and sleepy he is now being medicated by us with antibiotics pain killers and another little something to help him sleep at night, but he is the perfect patient and getting a little spoilt, not with food but love and attention and I hope that Joey and Jayne don’t find out he is sleeping in the bedroom everynight with us, but the vet said he was so distressed when she put the great big lampshade around his neck to keep him from biting at his stitches that she felt he would be better without it, so that is why Richard and I are keeping an eye on him through the night so that he is not biting his stitches open, and he hasn’t so far he is healing beautifully and today we took him walking down the canal with our boys who feel they are having their noses right pushed out by this “spoilt little brat” (Giggsy and Rio’s words not mine), I will put up the pictures for you to see, for those of you that squeamish there are some of Ash’s scar so maybe best if you don’t look.

By the way I did spell check and my spelling of Gastroenteritis was correct, top of the class for me !!

Bye for now

Chrissie & Richard x x

Heading back to Fazely

Yes again we head off back to Fazely, because we have another party to attend, we left you with my last update on Saturday so to begin the travels from last Sunday 12^th October and another

 week has rushed by again, on Sunday we travelled from somewhere in Stafford where we had the very cheap Carvery but it really was lovely, and headed for the Plum Pudding pub in Rugely to meet Joey, Jayne and Kimberley as it is an old favourite haunt of theirs!! We arrived about 3pm and the weather was glorious so we were able to eat a wonderful Sunday lunch outside and it was super although the choice of puds was limited so we went over the road to the other pub and had pudding there.

Monday we travelled as far as Whittington which is a few miles from Tamworth and a lovely country setting but the Virgin fast trains run by every 20 minutes, but they didn’t bother us to much once you close the doors and we are cosy inside with our fire blazing its just as quiet as can be with only the sound of crackling logs and coal burning and the two dogs snoring their heads off.

Tuesday we got back to the Marina at Fazely Mill where we have decided to stay for the winter because there is always something we need to be doing from now up until Christmas, first we are house sitting for Joey and Jayne whilst they go on a Caribbean Cruise (he nearly had another accident to stop him going like the last time he was supposed to go Cruising with us) he took a fall at Jayne’s 40^th Birthday party that he had arranged

 for her at the house, so after him warning everyone about the steps in the garden, that we should all be careful not to fall down them, he fell himself (not due to the drink he says) no he was talking whilst walking backwards and down he went like a great big falling over thing, well once we saw he was o.k its always funny, but no bones broken and although he was a little sore on Sunday he is fine today.

Yeah so we had great Party on Saturday night, although Jayne’s birthday is not until the day they go on their cruise, happy birthday and don’t worry too much I’m sure being 40 can’t be that bad, well I hope it’s not, cos I’m getting their in February !!!!!!! so don’t worry Jayne and tell me all about it so that I can be ready for that great milestone in life, and do enjoy your cruise.

Richard and I have decided to stay here in the Marina now until February  so we don’t have to worry about getting stuck anywhere with stoppages and nowhere to stay or go, but the Marina is lovely and so are all the people it’s a party place and we look forward to it all. So if the write ups become a little few and far between, its cos we are not around or off on holiday or whatever so keep checking we will write when we can.

Bye for now

Chrissie & Richard xx

Today we left Gailey at about 10.0clock but before we left we went to the garden centre that was right close by and I got some new plants for my tiny boat garden, you know that bit at the front, well my geraniums drowned in all the rain we had over the summer,I did try and rescue them, but Alan Titmarsh I am not,  so they unfortunatley are well not alive or barely if they are, and after falling in to the herb garden and hanging on them to save my life last week " you will know about it if you are keeping up to date with all of my entries on this site" well I am updating the garden with some winter violas and an Evergreen bush type thing, that will also come in as an outside christmas tree as it is a little bit christmas tree shaped so I will put lights on it come the time.

We were going to moor at Stafford boat club but it looks like they have let out all their outside moorings for winter, so we carried on to here, so whilst Richard walked the dogs I made the fire and it worked and then I put up the sattelite dish, which Richard normally does with this gadget squeaky sattelite finder thing, but I can't do that but there are some houses in view and I just pointed in the same direction as they had theirs pointing and it worked, amazing !! whilst Richard was out he checked on the pub we are moored near and they are doing a carvery for £3.50 and it was just fine no worse than any carvery I have had for double that, and actually it was better and I have got  3G power here so the photo's are all up to date let me know if you think there are any more I should add but thats it for now and until next week we will call that a week so dont expect a write up tomorrow as you have had two this week.

Bye for now

Love

Chrissie & Richard x x

Hello again

"Shocked are you " ? that I am writing again so promptley and its only Friday, well I thought I would tell you about our visit to the Secret Nuclear Bunker.We left Nantwich to travel a couple of miles further to Hack Green where the Nuclear bunker is, we went in and it is amazing to see the utter waste of money (I dont mean our money paying to go in ) I mean government money,  rooms upon rooms full of computers and great big old machines, i'm sure they were computers of the day, well it was built in 1952, and do you know how I know that ? well strangely enough whilst we were in there we met two old guys, and one of them actually started on the building in 1952, he was a brick layer, although it was built of 3ft concrete lined with steel, and he was told he was building a radar station, it was the first time he had been back to see it, now that I thought was pretty amazing and he told us he was on 3 bob and hour, thats 15p to you youngsters out there !! and he was a tradesman, how times they have a changed eh !!.

Wednesday 8th October we went on to Market Drayton another gorgeous day, we stayed for the night but we had missed the market, however moored right next to us was our trainer  T.R Boathandling (Terry) on his boat Shropshire Lass the very boat and the very place we did our training and he had a couple doing the same things as we had done, I'm sure he must have told them that we were his ex pupils, good job they didn't see me driving !!

Thursday 9th Oct went on from Market Drayton to Wheaton Aston a pretty little village and the diesel was only 62p a litre so Richard was pleased, so we filled up, got some coal and blue stuff that we put in the toilet, I am also collecting wood whenever I walking alongside the boat with the dogs, but its difficult with Rio Grabbing at every stick I pick up, but I am trying to get a collection together like some of the boaters I see, I was asking someone if we could buy some wood as the top of their boat was full of neatly stacked logs, and I thought it was the Wood boat, well it turned out it was wood this lady had collected, well I have about three sticks, but I am going to find some, British waterways cut down trees that are dangerous and sometimes, they leave piles of cut logs for the boaters, but we are never in the right place at the right time, I mean we could buy it, but it would be fun to be able to gather it for free, thats what boating is about in the winter.

Today we stopped at Gailey. I must say happy birthday to our niece Tana, I could not call her as I lost all my numbers with the phone in the canal so if you dont get a call its cos I dont have any numbers, get calling me or send your names and numbers to me, but anyway Happy Birthday Tana with love from

Richard and Me x x x

No pictures.  still in the countryside I dont get that much G power.

Goodbye Llangollen

As lovely as it is it’s a bit out in the wilds with no mobile connections, or when you do get one right down back to the start of it again, which is at wrenbury a local was telling us they have never had a decent mobile connection and that’s in Cheshire. Since I last wrote on the 29^th

Sept which was Bethan’s our niece’s birthday we have been having a wonderful time, apart from when Richard fell in the cut, no I forgot to tell you last time we were untying to leave from Ellesmere, when Richard lost his balance and fell in, which is quite normal apparently according to all the old hardy canal dogs, your nobody on the cut until you have fallen in a few times, well when I realized he was fine and climbing out I was able to laugh, a lot, well he would laugh if it happened to me, well it very nearly did when we were moving the boat to another mooring in Llangollen basin so that we could fill up with water easier, and to get away from the crazy wind that had taken the chimney cap in to the canal and a rug   we use outside the boat when its rainy or muddy anyway we were coming in to moor and I was at the front cos it was a head on mooring, and I slipped, but Richard hadn’t even seen me go down so if I had not  hung on to my herb garden and the geraniums I would have been in, so I am more careful now, Richard isn’t, he nearly tripped today rushing to help me with a rope, when I can manage just fine, but that’s the name of this dangerous game !! If you lot out there thought it was all calm and easy think again we don’t half have it tough!!!

Well after Richard had climbed out of the cut I made him take all of his clothes off outside the boat (except his undies) and then he went straight in to have a hot shower and I put his dirty clobber in the washing machine and off we went again, with no harm done.

Along the way up to Llangollen we had been meeting a holiday boat full of Americans, they were absolutely lovely all of them there was Bill & Linda Slupe, Don & Dorie, Dad and Daughter ( Don also took a fall in to the canal this week) and Janna, we kept meeting up because you don’t always moor at the same stops so you sort of stagger their in front you’re in front and so on throughout the week, so near the end of their holiday you are getting to know each other very well, well we had said our goodbyes a few times and then kept bumping in to them on the way back, finally at the Jack Mytton inn which is a super pub that does wonderful food so we had lunch with them for the last time and really said our last goodbyes exchanging addresses and Linda gave me some special hand cream that she had and it’s so lovely that she is going to send me some when they get back home to Idaho, Dorie, who already knew us as she had Googled us whilst in America (yes we are world famous) she recognized Giggsy & Rio tho not us,  wasn’t going back home she was going out to Africa on a tour to see some friends, we must be on a million photo’s of hers, she thinks if you take enough you will eventually get a good picture, but I did tell her she wouldn’t get a decent one of me unless she called in hair and makeup !! But she never did, it was great meeting all of you guys and maybe we will meet again someday.

Well we really enjoyed Llangollen such a pretty little village and still alive with holiday makers, shops selling everything that is Welsh and its lovely to see these places thriving, the River Dee runs right through it Richard and I ate at a hotel that looks right on to the river it was gorgeous. We started to wend our way back stopping on Thursday at the Jack Mytton pub for lunch with the Americans and we stayed until Saturday morning as we spent Friday evening having dinner there with Gill & Paul our friends that live at Ryton X1 Towns which is not far away and had a lovely meal again at the pub. Saturday we stopped  at Whixall where David and Christine Garside live to collect Richard's books,  David came to have a drink with us on the boat on Saturday night, then on Sunday we made our way down to Wrenbury where we spent the night it was Freezing cold but not for us we have the fire on and roast and when we woke this morning everywhere was white and frosty and the sun was shining on the water and it was all misty, you will see the photo’s when I get enough G power to upload them, so we set off today which got us off the Llangollen canal and turned back on to the Shroppie going round the other way from where we had come so tonight we are in Nantwich, it’s such a pretty village, I came here about nine years ago to Bethan and Chris’s wedding, and I’m sure the hotel we stayed at then is now shops but I will have to check with them, but it’s still very pretty, tomorrow we are going to the market in the morning and then tomorrow afternoon we will go and see the secret nuclear bunker, but don’t tell anyone as it’s a secret !!!

Thats all for now sorry the pictures are late but I’m still not getting 3G power so until then you will still have to imagine

Love

Chrissie & Richard x x

Struggling with getting a connection up this Llangollen canal, well thats my excuse for not writing until today, but we have been so busy, you may wonder what we have to do all day, well when I'm not dragging Giggsy out of the canal,I'm cleaning and watching the world go by, mainly watching the world go by,  whilst Richard does all the driving, but he really doesn't like my driving,last week for instance he gave me a go at the helm and I got distracted, whilst he was doing something else and we ended up in the undergrowth, so thats it until I promise to pay attention. its so intoxicating you can get right lost in it, but where we have been travelling since the last time I wrote has just been so gorgeous, we have travelled through cheshire which I have never been through before, I think I may have been through it on a motorway to somewhere but, never have I seen it this way nor has Richard.

We moored the other evening at a lovely quiet spot, apart from the motorway in the distance, and then along came this other holiday boat,and we thought "hello a noisy stag party of young hoodlums", how wrong can people be,they turned out to be the lovliest family we have met for a long time you will see their picture in the gallery and why they were out on holiday,so Mr Martin and boys it was a pleasure to meet you, and hope that we meet again along the canal if you make it an annual event. Even if it is crazy swimming in a freezing cold canal !!. Had a lovely Birthday drink with them in the pub when we stopped the next night at Middlewich, it was to celebrate Danny's birthday he is the singer in the family.

on Friday we reached the Llandgollen canal which was quite lovely rolling hills green and pleasant but still in Cheshire, Saturday turned out to be a wonderful day for Richard, we were travelling along the Llangollen when it got to the time where we start to look for somewhere to stop, we thought we would eat out tonight as I cant be a domestic goddess all week, so we found a pub, advertising  food, moorings and so we thought that'll do for us, but it never appeared so we carried on with me worrying about having to cook again !! when we happened along the prettiest moorings advertising the shop in the garden, so we thought we would go and have a look, its always good to shop !! when we were in the shop the lady spotted Richards Norfolk accent and asked where we were from, it turned out to be the ex  Harbour Master of many years in King's Lynn and Richard new him, it was David & Christine Garside, so they shut up shop cracked open the wine and beer and we had a good few hours chatting with them, which I think both Richard & David enjoyed as they both still love and miss King's Lynn by the sea !! small world hey. They sent us away the next day with a fresh baked loaf some black pudding for me and cooking apples, oh and wood for our fire, Thanks David & Christine we will call in on the way back for Richard's books on King's Lynn. We only travelled untill lunch time and stopped for lunch and the night in Ellesmere, which must have been a very busy little canal town in its day with some lovely old buildings down at the basin, which is now being redeveloped Richard got a haircut, I got some Rosie and Jim Videos in a charity box for Harvey and Ellie so they can see how Nanna and Gandy Live on the water,although they do already have some.We carried on  today after shopping in Ellesmere this morning and got to Chirk, with Richard having to Navigate through two tunnels, one 386 metres and the other 174, and the chirk Aqueduct which is high but not as high as the one we will do tomorrow.

until next time

Love

Chrissie & Richard x x p.s pictures are very slow up these parts so until I can get them on you will have to imagine.

Still travelling to Llangollen

But before I start, or should I say before you start reading this entry, go back to the last entry because I have edited it and added an entry from another writer, Mike Moorse from nb Guelrose, who wrote about our day with the Brave injured soldiers from Selly Oak hospital. So if you would like to go back and read that first, he explains about the charity which I wasn’t sure of all the details so this will explain it all.

Sunday 21^st September 2008

Well we are still wending our way to Llangollen and it’s an absolute wonderful journey the scenery the people and the weather has been like the summer we never had. Spent the day cleaning the boat went to the Wedgwood factory and shop could only visit the museum as the factory tours only run on weekdays. But still very interesting and lovely pottery and stuff! Another glorious day but can it last, the day had started with a misty cold morning but with a lovely sunrise & ended with a beautiful sunset.

Monday we left to go through Stoke I am really lost now, I sort of cant picture on the map where I am, I know I have never been this way, but on the canal it seems really odd that you arrive at places and it’s not by road so maybe it’s just me, and my lack of spacial awareness, and geographical knowledge, but then I look at my map of the whole canal system that also has roads on it and then I’m fine, Stoke was not pretty but very interesting with all the old potteries sites and the old fat jar kilns, we also passed Stoke City’s Football Ground that I don’t think you see from the road, so all very interesting,  we moored for the night at the portal for the Harecastle tunnel, which was a bit of an obstacle as Richard suffers with Claustrophobia,  which he is ok with the shorter tunnels where he can see the light at the end, but with this one it is 2756 metres long and they have to close the doors on you so that they can turn fans on to extract the engine fumes so that we don’t die of fume inhalation !! and you here tales from other boaters that say it’s really tight and you can hardly stand up, “not true” it’s not that bad at all. well we hadn’t been moored for ten minutes when another boat turned up to wait for the morning trip through the tunnel they were a lovely foursome and they said that one of them would take the boat through whilst Richard walked round with the dogs, the Tunnel master had told us the night before that the end of the tunnel with the most boats waiting goes first and it takes about 45 minutes to get through, so if the first lot go through at 8.00am then the others would go at 8.45ish, I was working on the premise that there would be more boats at the other end, I was wrong, so whilst I was in the shower at 7.55am rushing to be ready by 8.45 I was suddenly plunged in to darkness and we were off with Ian off the other boat at the helm, so I was able to finish my shower and dry my hair whilst he got on with it, and we were almost out by the time I went up top, but the tunnel didn’t seem scary at all it was big with plenty of standing room and Ian said he only had to crouch down once and he was quite tall, so thanks Ian and all of you on the Canaltime cruiser for your help and a great time and look forward to seeing you again sometime when you are on the cut in your own boat. ( sorry that giggsy came on to your boat and wouldn’t leave until some hours later) but they did enjoy his company.

We are now in Cheshire at the locks just before a place called Wheelock, the journey through to here has been as pretty as a picture and the weather again was perfect, on to Middlewich tomorrow and that will take us back on to the Shroppie where we head for Llangollen.

Bye for now

Chrissie & Richard x x

To Llangollen    

We Left the Marina on Thursday, because we had stayed to take the boys from Selly Oak Hospital on a trip, we took a lovely lad Mike Lewis who had been injured whilst serving in Afghanistan, he is from 2^nd Battalion

 Parachute Regiment and what a lovely lad he was to, we took him and his nurse Catherine for a little trip up the canal,just to get them away from the hospital for a change, he is really happy with all the treatment he has recieved so far, but its still nice to get out now and then, and then back to the pub for lunch, (just received a lovely thank you email from Him) there were other lads on other volunteers boats and it was a lovely way to spend a day, and really nice to feel we were doing a little bit to thank  our troops for what they are doing in the wars we have going on all over the world.  

So on our way, and the weather is perfect Thursday we travelled from the Marina to Handsacre  which is near Rugely In Staffordshire, found a lovely mooring near the village, Giggsy fell in again and was nearly crushed by the boat, he is always doing it, we start to pull in and he thinks “I’m off here” before we are close enough to the bank, and with 40 tons of steel (14 Richard says) well whatever it is its gonna squash him. Joey and Jayne popped over well we weren’t far from them only a 15 minute drive for them and it had taken us about 7 hours, we had already eaten so they had fish and chips from the chippy, but it was a gorgeous evening, one of those that we should have been having in the summer and he had something to bring to us that we needed for the TV so thanks Joe. Then we had to go and visit our new neighbours who we had spoken to earlier in the evening who had come for a look at our boat and we had said we would go round and see them so a couple of bottles of wine later and another great night so to Annie and Pete on Nb Annie had a great night chatting hope to see you again on the cut.

Friday left at nine in the morning and stopped off at Morrison’s in Rugely to get supplies and then carried on and moored at 5 o’clock in the middle of nowhere all on  our own, no light pollution no houses no nothing just the sheer beauty of the countryside, it was just before   Weston Locke at Weston on Trent, you just can’t imagine such loveliness, the sun set was gorgeous, and in the morning it was all misty on the water and the sun rising red again it was a beautiful morning, we love Saturday mornings anyway with SOTS at eight on radio two and then at ten over to Planet Rock on digital radio we headed off for Stone in Stafford, but there was nowhere to moor as it was so busy so we carried on until we got to Trentham, which is the home of Wedgwood the furniture (nah only joking I know its pottery really. Another glorious day walked to the pub for a carvery and shared a giant nickerbocker glory type thing and another glorious sunset it’s a lovely life on the cut.

Happy Birthday to Linda that was on the 18^th and then on the 24^th it’s our lovely

 Jamie Hems birthday Happy Birthday Jamie, from your favourite mother in law & Richard x x

This is an Entry that I have taken from one of the Narrow Boats that took the Servicemen on the trip up the canal as well I have taken this entry from his blog nb Guelrose which you can also read, I am sure he wont mind but he describes the day much better than I did. "Thanks Mike & Jenny hope you dont mind"

Wednesday 17th September 2008