We put the boat
into the fourth lock on the Aston flight and the gate won’t close fully. We
poke behind the gates with the boat hook, sweep the boat pole in the deeper
water around the centre but don’t dislodge anything. We faff about a bit, have a chat with a woman
from a following boat who has come up to see what the delay is and think about
ringing C&RT. They’re not far away
and it will give them something to do.
But fear not
faint hearted boaters help is on the way! On the tow-path a t-shirted crusader
can be seen in the distance on his trusty two-wheeled steed. He’s hunched over the handle-bars, knobbly
knees working like pistons, grey hair streaming in the wind and under his arm
he is carrying a boat pole as if it is a jousting spear. It’s Captain Splendid!
The only thing missing is accompanying music of The Ride of the Valkeries. We were just getting into a conversation
about the performance of Michael MacIntyre who the crew of the following boat
had been to see the previous evening. But Captain Splendid has no time for
small talk, he has a mission to accomplish, he has an itinerary to stick to, he
can’t waste time with jammed lock gates.
He ignores us and vigorously pokes around near the lock entrance and
locates a solid obstruction. Deciding
that it needs more equipment to dislodge it he jumps back on his bike and
pedals away furiously to get said equipment.
I lean on the lockgate so as to continue the conversation about Michael
MacIntyre and it closes. So we put the
boat back in the lock and go on our way.
No comments:
Post a Comment