Sunday, 18 May 2014

Onwards ............


Onto The Grand Union Canal
What a lot of boats.

What a lot of locks.

What a lot of people.

After eight months of living in splendid isolation on a riverbank all this activity comes as a bit of a culture shock.  I'm used to a couple of boats a day passing by on one side and only fellow moorers wandering past on the other.
What a lot of hard work at the locks.  I’m used to the Nene and Great Ouse Locks where at the end of a days travelling you only end up with a stiff thumb from holding down the button on the guillotine gate (I'm deliberately forgetting about the locks with wheels even thinking about the wheels is traumatic).  After a day on The Northampton Arm every muscle aches (except my thumb which was never used).  I’m sure I’ll get used to it. By the time I reach London I’ll be so fit I’ll be able to just effortlessly twizzle the paddles up.

After the Stoke Bruerne flight I get my first bollicking.  I’m trundling along on the helm and my mind is away with the early morning fairies.
The hatch on a shiny boat is flung open and a red faced man shouts ‘Slow Down’. 

‘Sorry’ I say but I’m not really sorry.

No comments:

Post a Comment