What will be dangled in the Cut next?

Quiet week as we still on “go slow” because of winter stoppages at Lapworth lock flight and Camp Hill (we could go either way into Birmingham from here) which are both due to open on December 7.

Moved from Long Itchington down through Bascote 2-lock staircase and the 2 “normal locks” fully intending to then moor but - as is a constant problem at this time of year - nowhere to moor unless we wanted a mud bath every time we ventured off the boat!  Not a problem really for us but Foxxie does get a very dirty undercarriage!    So we carried on and stopped just above Lock 22.    

All the way down these “candlestick” locks (as I call them, Dai calls them lolllipops) there is the usable wide lock with the original single lock blocked off and used as a bywash.    So we moored in front of the old single lock well out of the way of the double one.   There was a little fishermans tent (ar, well, the tent was little I mean!) pitched there but no-one around.  No worries, he’s probably gone home for something or even perhaps inside fast asleep.

Guess what greeted us when we got up the next morning?    No, unfortunately not a frying pan full of fish - or even a solo tiddler - but a chappie washing his feet in the canal !  Now its middle of November and was blowing a gale strong enough for me to send out urgent requests for seasick pills.   I so wanted to take a photo but dare not as he was obviously a crazy man.   But you know how you want not to look at something but for some reason you are mesmerised?    So it was - I was just wondering what he would be washing next !!     But no, he just put his boots on (I bet the socks walked away by themselves) and then his 2 mates arrived.   

They were OK and didn’t bother us but got louder and louder as the contents of the White Diamond bottles reduced and even, at one stage, started fighting and then suddenly all went quiet.   It was too dark by now for Dai to check how many bodies were in the cut, I was just glad they had shut up because naturally by now, Foxxie was getting a bit vocal.

Dai was woken up this morning by arguing so I guess they had just passed out last night so we decided we would up pins and move.   However, it then started teeming down and as all was quiet on the western front, we stayed warm and dry inside.   The rain stopped about 2 pm so we decided to move and just went down 2 locks and are now moored in open countryside just before Leamington Spa.  

Since last blog we have done … 5 miles and 9 locks  
Total since Setting Off ….. 2057 miles and  1678 locks

I tried it but my legs are too short!