fradley pics

I thought I'd post a couple more pictures of our mooring in the autumn as it is so beautiful. I love this time of year. Yes, it can be damp, cold and muddy, but with all the hire boats gone and very few other boats moving, it feels like the canal is all ours.

It is also a treat to wander up to the junction of the two canals and pop into our local, which in my opinion is pretty much the perfect pub! This is where I will be having lunch with my whole family (almost) on my 50th birthday next month. They are visiting my mooring for the first time after a couple of nights in a cottage in the Dales, courtesy of my brother James - bless him! I'm so looking forward to the holiday cottage as I will be able to have my second bath this year!!

My friend Shirleyann sent me a whole set of new curtains and seat covers for the boat. She picked a perfect pattern and made them beautifully. Here is Bonny showing her approval of the seat covers!!


And lastly I thought you would like to see Bonny flirting with her boyfriend Bernie. He is very patient with her, but sometimes she is rather exhausting to be with, especially as he is ten years old and she isn't two yet!

rocking and rolling

I had an interesting day yesterday. On my way to work I had to drive through a bit of a puddle and on reaching the dreadfully busy A38 in rush hour, my engine started coughing like a 40 a day smoker. I knew it was going to cut out and so I tried to get off the dual carriageway. I just reached a short slip road and got round the corner when my car died half way over a canal bridge. there I was, in the rain, on a blind bend, that people coming off the A38 usually take at some speed. I left Bonny in the car and I stood in the rain directing cars around mine. The reactions were interesting. several drivers (all men) shook their fists or made other rude gestures as if I had chosen to stop there for fun! Others looked quite terrified as they swerved round me, including a coach driver. By then I was convinced it was only a matter of time before someone hit us and was fairly terrified. One man stopped to see if he could help, but with no tow rope between us, he gave up and left. after the longest 15 minutes of my life, 2 retired men in a 4 wheel drive stopped. They offered to tow me, showed me where my tow point was - no, I had no idea! I was so shaken that one of them drove my car for me and they towed me all the way to Barton Marina and wouldn't accept anything in return. I was so effusive in my thanks that I think I quite embarrassed them! So, thanks again to my Good Samaritans - you may well have saved my life, or at least my car!

During the day my car recovered from its asthma attack but the wind started to get up and by the time Bonny and I returned home, it was blowing a gale. All the boats on the mooring were rocking and rolling and the trees were bending right over. I spent some time anxiously watching the trees and wondering what would happen if one fell on my boat. However, probably due to the rocking sensation, coupled with my emotional exhaustion after the fright in the morning, I slept like a log. I woke to a world scrubbed clean and the sun creeping above the horizon. All the boats were still firmly tethered and upright and I celebrated seeing another dawn!