Khayamanzi on TV!

OK so it's Japanese TV but it's still TV none-the-less! Today we have moved fromAtherstone and moored up right on the first mooring above Shade House Lock at Fradley Junction. A fine evening meal was had in 'The Swan' - the first time I have ever stopped at this hostelry and I have to say it was very good! At the bottom of the Atherstone flight, we pulled in to the water point to take on water and dispose of rubbish and just about squeezed in behind Hotelboat 'away4awhile' They were very apologetic but explained that they had to take on water and were also meeting a Japanese TV crew who were filming the equivalent of our holiday programme and were featuring British canal holidays.

We got talking with the people from the boat who were extremely friendly and pleasant and helped pass the time whilst waiting for our water tank to fill! It wasn't long before the film crew arrived and filming had began.


As we left the water point, the film crew were filming the hotel boat as it crept off down the cut and we were pleasantly surprised to see them panning round on Khayamanzi and following us also as we made our way down the Coventry Canal.

Smiles all round were needed! Maybe someone who has access to Japenese Tv could let us see it sometime!!

We decided, given the mysterious amount of shoes one sees floating down the canal, that it would be funny to collect them!Of course, no sooner had this decision been made than the 'show supply' dried up leaving us with a measely 3 which I dutifully disposed of at the end of the day. Great fun was had not only in the collection process but also in the complicated design of a major canal based game which we felt might take off based on a point scoring system of collecting said items and the trading of them amongst fellow boaters! We even made up the constitution for the commitee of the governing organisation responsible for regulating and monitoring fair play amongst fellow 'shoers'!! Such is the boredom whilst cruising through Tamworth behind a very slow weekend hire boat!

Whilst chatting to the crew of the holiday boat, we endulged in a little 'tale sharing' of stories reported to be true from various hire companies. These included:

• The hirers who contacted their base to complain that the process of filling the water tank seemed to be taking a very long time. Upon investigating further, the hire company discovered that they had attached the hose to the kitchen sink and the other end in the water tank!
• The hirers who reported to their hire company that they were sinking and had been baling out water for the past hour and it had made no difference. The company immediately raced to their rescue, only to discovere that they were baling out the weed hatch!

Along with many more stories that escape me now but I am sure I shall remember and report them on here soon!