Well what a busy few days it has been and I haven’t had a chance to write.

Friday night was excellent as we went out for a meal with my daughter and we also got to show her the boat. The boatman’s cabin now has a new name…..according Jessica it is now called “The Nerd ‘Ole”. Hilarious! I don’t think she had seen so much lace, ribbon plates, brass and knitted cushions all together in one place in all her life. She liked it though which was good.

Saturday was the day we were supposed to set off but that didn’t happen. There was so much to do at home first. Roy needed to do all his invoicing as he is a little late getting it all sent out. One months worth!! Took him ages to do and then we ran out of envelopes and stamps so it was a trip to post office. Even managed to strip all the bed at home and wash it before we headed off to Overwater Marina in Audlem to drop one of the cars off ready for the end of our trip. 2 hours later as we got chatting and also looked at alternative moorings for when Foxglove has been painted, we then headed back home, bit more housework, empty bins, pack some clothes and off we went.

One of the blogs I have been following is about Narrowboat Hadar. Well we knew they were moored up at Stone on Saturday and I was so excited about meeting them that on our way to the marina we decided to call in on Jo & Keith (Hadar) to say hello. It was like meeting 2 celebrities as I have been following their blog for 6 months. They are like the “Posh & Becks” of the waterways. It was great to finally meet them. Wish embarrassed the life out of me as she decided to have a go at their dog Paddy who I have to admit was gorgeous and so friendly. We also met their cat Marmite. I really was quite “star struck” to meet them all. We bought some coal off them and also made Roy empty his wallet…..ha ha ha as we bought a rag rug from them which is gorgeous by the way. Thanks Keith, it is gorgeous and it looks fantastic in the “Nerd ‘Ole”.

Finally arrived on Foxglove around 7pm! Had a quick bowl of soup as we were both starving and headed off to Morrisons to do the weeks shop.

We were shattered by the end of the evening that we stayed at Aston Marina for the night. We slept really well.

Sunday morning, what a way to start the day with one of my cooked breakfasts. The diet has gone out of the window. Got ourselves a spare gas bottle , some kindling and finally around 11 am we set off for our trip. Gorgeous day. The sun was out and we were relieved to finally be making our way.

We moored up at TixallWide which is one of our favourite places to moor and stayed there for the night.

Off we set this morning to yet another sunny day but perhaps a little windy. Wish is becoming more and more confident now on the boat which is great. She is shattered today after all the walking. She never used to leave me and when Roy goes to open a lock she would not go with him or she would jump off the boat with me and as soon as I got back on she would follow but now she is great. All I have to say is “off you go” and she jumps off the boat and follows Roy to open the locks. I have a special tune that I whistle to Wish to call her back and she is so much fun because when she is at the lock I whistle her back and then when she gets back to me I give her a big cuddle then say off you go and she goes straight back to Roy. There was also a point today that we decided to let her off the boat on her own whilst Roy & I stayed on the boat and cruised along. She was so obedient and kept checking we were there. This is the first time we have done this with her. She is absolutely shattered tonight.

We called in at Midlands Chandlery on the way as we have lost our BW key and we will be needing it tomorrow. We have travelled through Penkridge for the second time ever. The first time was on our first boat Clare-Louise which was 3 years ago. We are now moored up at Otherton. This is new Waterways territory for us and it is really nice. I love looking at all the gardens and at this time of year everywhere looks very pretty.

Cooked chicken kievs tonight with home-made potato wedges and lots of salad. It was yummy and we were both starving so it was enjoyed even more. Had a lovely bath, washed my hair and now going to relax for the evening and watch a film. Wish (the dog) is fast asleep and so all in all it has been a great day.

Roy is unbelievable as he can be only person who can manage to get sunburn in this weather! As I mentioned earlier even though it has been a bit windy we have had lots of sun all day. If we both go home with a sun tan that will be quite funny! English weather. So unpredictable!!