| This Month's Totals and Average | |||
| 6.93 miles | 0 locks | 2.67 hrs | 2.60 lmph |
The wind had subsided by morning and day dawned with wall-to-wall sunshine. A quick tidy up and got on the move, leaving the marina just before 09:30 and turning left (north). Headed past Carlton and Congerstone, then Shackerstone and Gopsal to Snarestone. A beautiful run through the farmland. The trees were starting to bud and flower, but one could still see the birds - the usual culprits (blackbirds, robins, blue tits, coal tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, chiffchaffs and wrens, with moorhens, mallards and a couple of grey herons down at water level, and I also heard a song thrush calling).
I elected to go through the tunnel and moor at the head of navigation - unusally, it was completely empty! Moored up and had lunch.
In the afternoon, went for a walk along to the ACA (Ashby Canal Association ) shop. It had suffered damage during the gales of last November and was now being repaired and upgraded. Assisted with an extra pair of hands putting in new glazing. New banking had been put in where the badgers were causing problems, so walked out to the 52ft winding hole, before returning to "Paws" for an afternoon cuppie, and a quiet remainder to the day.
| 6.93 miles | 0 locks | 2.67 hrs | 2.60 lmph |
 grapes.surprise.propelled |
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The overnight strong breeze had died by Monday morning, and I woke to a bright wind-free morning, although cold. Long lie, then up and out for shopping. Back for lunch, then routine chores and a walk in the afternoon.
Heavy rain overnight into Tuesday cleared by dawn - the day slowly improving throughout. Quiet day pottering.
A cold night led to a misty morning on Wednesday, but it quickly brightened up. A generally quiet day, with a drive into Hinckley in the afternoon to collect an Amazon parcel and get a couple of items of shopping.
Another quiet day on Thursday. Catch-up telecall in the morning with Fhi in Italy. My usual walk round the marina in the afternoon in the wall-to-wall sunshine. Incoming email from the organisers of the "Harborough 75" event saying that they now have too many for the cavalcade - we await the decision from them as to who gets to go and who is prevented from participating.
Heavy rain overnight into Friday, with an increasing wind. Although it faired up by lunchtime, didn't go anywhere.
Saturday was another lovely sunny day - great for watching the partial eclipse of the sun. A day of chores - loo, water, more coal & sticks - and a trip for shopping to last into next week (in case the weather holds after Sunday), extra parts for "Paws", and sourcing a repository for PodBack recycling).
Beautiful day on Sunday, although the wind was a lot stronger. Drove over to Alrewas for the Communion service for Mothers' Day - Rev.Jo taking the service. Caught up with all our friends there. Drove back for lunch, hoping that the wind would have abated a little, but no such luck. Decided to stay put and get out tomorrow.
Up early on a damp morning. Away from the house by 07:00, heading south again. Low cloud over the Pentlands caused light drizzle, but this cleared. Occasional gusts eventually became a steady moderate breeze. Usual stops en route and arriving on time (around 15:00) despite the hold-up getting out of Stoke-on-Trent on the A50 (no apparent reason).
Opened "Paws" up again, unpacked the car and stowed everything away. Quiet evening with the TV.
Held-over medical appointments attended. After adjusting medications, nurse gave clearance to go away for the summer. Intend going south again on 23rd.
Away from home (in Glasgow) over the weekend of 15th-16th for the first of our two 70th birthday celebration specials - concert show at the Theatre Royal by Anton Du Beke, with special guests Lauren Oakley and Lance Ellington. Fantastic evening with a meal out, and a day round the shops the previous day.
After the debacle last year over my car failing MoT and having a long wait for the repair work, got the MoT done early this year (at a different dealer). Booking for the MoT was for the same week. It did fail but the repairs were carried out within 48 hours by the same dealer. Car back to me within 4 days fully working. Big relief.
Got away for the drive north at 08:00, on a sunny morning. A good drive, with fairly quiet roads. Arrived at the house just before 16:00. Unpacked, and settled in for a fortnight of postponed appointments and other things for which earlier appointment weren't available.
Once again, a drive down to Atherstone for the service at Trinity on Sunday. On the way back, deviated via the marina office for kindling. Lunch on arrival back at "Paws", then spent the remainder of the afternoon with the problem of Kindle books and Calibre. Think there may be a solution (albeit expensive).
Think Spring has finally arrived - yet another sunny day on Monday, although still frosty overnight and chilly during the day (when out of the sun). Drove down to Whilton Marina in the morning for loo-blue (I believe it to be the cheapest on the cut, the cost of the petrol for the journey being recouped if I buy more than 2x5ltr bottles). In the afternoon, I fitted the new horn (purchased Saturday), then took a trip to see what the new garden centre was like, it having just reopened over the weekend.
Spent Tuesday on small jobs, including a load of washing (bed change). Took a drive to Tamworth (Ventura) for items out of stock at Hinckley and for parts for minor repair (they were out of stock so will have to go bavck tomorrow. Another lovely sunny day. Downloaded and installed a new piece of software to attempt to clear the problem with our books library - awaiting feedback from Fhi to see if it worked.
More small jobs on Wednesday, including collecting and fitting the parts from yesterday. Also took a long walk exploring the perimeter of the marina (1st time going out to the extremities).
Thursday was a day of routine chores, including laundry, water, loo, car wash and paperwork. Feedback received from Fhi about the books - all appears to work well, so another problem off my to-do list. The wind picked up for a short while during the afternoon, but it was far warmer than of late, and cloud started to build.
After a shower of rain overnight, Friday dawned sunny again although the warm wind still remained. A quiet day reading, puzzles etc.
Spent Saturday making ready to head to the house again - packing and a bit of cleaning. Another beautiful day - warm and sunny (doors and ports open most of the day).
Another lovely sunny day. Drove across to Park Gate Chandlery in the morning for a replacement horn (they seem to fail with monotonous regularity). In the afternoon, went into Hinckley for stores.
When purchasing some more books from Amazon, found they are no longer supporting "Download and transfer by USB". This means that we can't use Calibre software as our 'library' for sorting and cataloguing our e-books. Another job, to find a solution if possible.
