WHAT! £3.30 a pint !

We went to one of the pubs in Cropedy last Sat night.   I went to the loo and Dai went to the bar.   “Great” I said when I returned “there’s free live music on here this evening.”       “Oh no there isn’t” retorted Dai “I’m not paying £3.30 a pint to listen to folk music all night.”  So, guess what?   Yes, we drank up and walked to the other pub.   I’ve told him to expect to pay that plus over next few weeks as we journey further south!    Looks like we’ll be drinking boat stocks then!

Its been a week of overnight frosts and (mainly) blue clear bright days although the wind at times has had a chill nip to it.    Of course this week has been the UK Airspace Lockdown and I’ve had to smile at the people saying on telly how nice it is to hear birdsong again.   One of the delights of being on the canals is that there is constant birdsong - I’ve really noticed that.  

My daughter Amy is still stuck in Spain though.    She should have returned home last Saturday after a university field trip.    Latest I heard yesterday is that they were just setting off on a coach to drive to Calais and she was hoping to be back in Nottingham Thursday evening.    She’s had quite an “eventful” trip what with that and getting her bag snatched at beginning of the fieldtrip with her passport, money, phone, etc stolen.

Today we are back on the Grand Union Canal having “done” the Oxford Canal.    We are moored at Braunston, pointing south.    General plan is to go down to London - not sure just how far into London.   Think it depends on the price of a pint !

Since last blog we have done 47 miles and  34 locks. This makes total since Setting Off ….. 178 miles and  112 locks.    

pic 1:  where we bought 2 dozen hen eggs and got one dozen free duck eggs!
pic 2: hello from Pigeon Lock on Oxford Canal
pic 3:  sooner be at this Gibraltar than the other !  Especially this week with the UK Airspace Lockdown.
pic 4:  I want some on Jandai's roof (unrepeatable what Dai's response was!)
pic 5:  "just cleaning my teeth"
pic 6: winding (turning around for our non-boaty friends) at Dukes Lock on the Oxford Canal
pic 7:  yes,' works' even on canals - at least these repair works didn't hold us up for hours.  Just had to slow down from 3 miles a hour to 0.5 miles a hour!
pic 8:  6-sided lock on Oxford Canal (L33, Aynho Weir Lock)
pic 9:  after a hard day's boating!