Catching up…

Okay, I’ve been having (a) too much fun, and (b) too much relaxing to write much lately. It’s been a fun couple of weeks since the last post. I stayed moored up in Saltisford Arm, in Warwick for over a week, getting the new batteries, doing laundry, shopping, and some sightseeing. Warwick Castle is in an amazing state of preservation, including the living area. The whole castle was a private home until 1978, although it’s been open off and on for public tours since the 1800’s. It’s now owned by a large company that does theme parks, which they’ve turned it into. It’s a fun day, especially for children, and the history if amazing, but it’s a bit too cheesy.

Jill and Peter arrived while I was in Warwick and we had a great ‘reunion’! They had a few days in London before taking the train north, so they managed to catch some of the sights. It is so nice to have them here, and everything is going exactly according to plan. We’ve done many, many locks (Peter is a machine and has done most of the work), the country’s longest aquaduct, a reasonably long tunnel, some beautiful cananl-side mooring as well as in town and pub mooring! They’ve hit all the high lights! It has been a simply brilliant visit, I’ll be very sad to see them go. I think they’ve enjoyed themselves a bit…

We did the Hatton Flight (about 26 locks) with another boat, and again made fast friends that I’ll be seeing again. A lovely family, Martyn, Amanda, and their daughter Charlotte.

They tried to stay for dinner when they smelled Jill’s roast chicken! Here they are begging at the kitchen window!

We’re now in Stratford-upon-Avon (yes, THAT one) as I write this, and have tickets to Romeo and Juliet tonight at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre. Jill managed to get a single last-minute ticket to Macbeth this afternoon so was over the moon (she was inches from some guy named Ecclestone?).

Not a bad spot to moor up! (that’s Cool Change right in the basin).

I’ll add more later, we’ve tons of great adventures and visiting! …