Day 002

Well, woke up this morning and the wind was howling! The wind seems to be a feature of this whole year according to the lock-keepers weather forecast at Atherstone! It certainly was this morning but I decided to 'give it a go' anyway and set off crabbing all over the canal. There was a great spirit between the few brave, (or mad,) boaters out with jokes shared as we past each other fighting to keep the vessel under some sort of control. It was a welcome relief when you entered a wood or rounded a hill and got a little bit of shelter. The sun was shining though and between clouds it had the potential to be a lovely day. After an hour of cruising, I arrived at Atherstone Top Lock only to discover, having not seen another boat for ages, I ended up behind one and following them down the locks. An uneventful trip down with even the sun coming out at times and the wind subsiding a little as I locked down hill. There was a group of three young lads out for a cycle ride who past me as I left my mooring this morning. All day they 'leap frogged' me battling against the biting headwind. They seemed to use me as a marker as every time they got ahead, they paused for a rest under a bridge, waited for me then took off again. I reckon they were about 12-14 yrs old but lovely kids and we made jokes and friendly chat as we past each other. They got to Atherstone, rode down the locks and then turned for home after a cheery wave good bye. At the middle lock in the flight a couple of young teenagers came leaping over the fence and ran up past me being chased by their mates. After a while they turned and strolled back home. As they came alongside me, I made eye contact and they said "hi, how are you?" we exchanged pleasantries before parting. Two examples of some lovely kids along the canal to counter the many horror stories. It did cause me to muse on the difference between the kids I met today and the group smashing up the metal gate with a hammer that I past yesterday at Marston Junction. I'm sorry to stereo-type but I have a mental image of the sets of parents of all three groups in my mind and needless to say, although I can almost guarantee I was right, they weren't very politically correct images!!

Decided to moor up in the long pound between lock 9 and 10 - just in time!!

Within an hour of mooring up, this turned up....

The temperature plumetted from 14 degrees to 4 degrees and this hail left a white layer on the ground and made my Alpine garden in the front gas locker look positevly, well, Alpine! Here it is as taken through the front cratch.

Right now, the fire is roaring, the generator is humming in the distance to finish topping up the batteries and give me unlimited 240volt power, the Sky dish is tuned in well to a high signal, the beer is warming nicely on the bench and the steak in the fridge is about to be sizzled - doesn't get much better!