Nuns aboard?

Thou hast shewed the people hard things: thou has made us drink the wine of astonishment.  Psalms 60:3.

A most astonishing sight today as a boat with a crew of Indian nuns passed!  Later in the day they walked back along the towpath stopping to chat with Jan who was at the side hatch.  Apparently there is a convent nearby and they are in the UK for one year!

After leaving Tixall Wide at 7:45am we came upon a boat who had a considerably deeper draft than our own.

Someone once loved it and now it looks abandoned!

We then passed over the River Trent aqueduct immediately before the canal junction at Great Haywood.

Less than a kilometre from here the River’s Trent and Sow join

We briefly stopped at the Great Haywood water point and to my surprise the pressure was much better than on a our previous stop a month ago.  Then I realised Peter hadn’t started filling Kelly-Louise’s water tank and we had all the pressure!

We’d only just gone through the first bridge hole when I noticed a very familiar looking boat moored on the towpath side.

There was only time for a quiet ‘toot’ on the horn to alert Chas & Anne to give them a wave before carrying on. 

Jan then noticed some alternative accommodation should we need to leave Waiouru.  We’d certainly be ‘down-sizing’!

But living like this probably provides numerous government handouts financial benefits.

The canal started to get rather busy and we found 3-4 boats waiting at most of the locks.  Just below Aston Marina a hire boat approached on the right, then the left, then across the canal.  No problem for us, but the other steerer was in quite a tizz.  As we approached Stone another hire boat appeared.  This one wasn’t quite sure which side we should pass.  I just stopped and waited for him to make up his mind.

There wasn’t a vacant 58ft mooring on the south side of Stone and we went up through Star Lock.  The 48 and 24 hour moorings were full but whilst sitting in the lock I noticed a boat pulling out on the 24 hour moorings.  Unfortunately a boat coming down nicked it got there first.  There was a Black Prince boat full of Australians on the 48 hour side so Jan walked down to ask if they intended to depart shortly and in the spirit on ANZAC ‘mateship’ would they let us have the mooring.  No they weren’t….. they were going to the pub.  Aussie bastards…… Can’t trust the mongrels!

We had to go through another two locks to find a vacant mooring on a bend.   Jan did some tidying up and played with the online accounts whilst I walked to the Morrison’s to buy the two items on her shopping list.  Being a male ‘hunter-gatherer’ I walked around the isles throwing anything that caught my eye into the basket.  No doubt I’ll pay the price for that later!

Jan made wog food spaghetti bolognaise and pasta for dinner.  She was about to serve it up when a passing boat screeched to a halt and reversed.  The lady aboard nb Cullen had been to NZ some years ago where she worked as a midwife.  Their son now lives out there in Raglan, on the west coast of the North Island.  Small world!

Off to Stoke on Trent tomorrow……..